Is it because of the sudden change of atmosphere? The girl sitting on the bed looked at me and Ludvio in confusion.
“uh… … grandfather? Are you a business? with him… … Doing business with the Mafia?”
She makes a face that says she can’t keep up with the story. In response, Ludvio puts his hand on her shoulder.
“Would you mind leaving for a while? I feel like I have to tell you something important.”
However, she shakes her head at this.
“no! no, I do not want! If it’s Grandpa’s business, I’ll listen!”
Saying that, she clenched both hands, got up from her seat, and stood next to Ludvio as if she were a bodyguard herself.
Seeing that figure, he put his forehead on his head and shook his head.
“Really, I can’t stop it. then… … Can I call you Carlione? Or Han?”
“Eugene is enough. Maestro.”
“Okay, then I’ll call you comfortably. Eugene. I can’t help this child’s stubbornness. Is it okay if I stay with you like this?”
I am in a position to listen to requests. The client said it was okay because he was a trustworthy person, but I had nothing to say.
“You can do whatever is convenient for you.”
“Thank you. You must know the general story that you decided to come here, right?”
“The Maestro is in trouble, and he told me to go and help him. That’s all I’ve heard.”
This is the quest window that popped up then.
【Hidden Quest】
[Return of Maestro]
[Ludbio, who is said to be the world’s best master at making shoes. He is in a difficult situation due to an incident in the past. Help him solve various problems and become his benefactor.]
[Goal: Complete Maestro’s request]
[Reward: Maestro’s favorability increase, influence on Sicily Island.]
I seemed to vaguely remember what I had seen in the game, but unfortunately I couldn’t remember the details.
That’s right, most of the sub-stories were skipped for fast progress.
“Then I should briefly tell you what I am going through.”
“grandfather… … .”
Elena puts her hand on Ludvio’s shoulder and puts on a pitiful expression.
“The mafia forces in Sicily in the past. I once borrowed a large sum of money from the Medici family using the workshop as collateral. At the time, I thought I could pay for it.”
borrowed money?
“May I ask how much it is?”
Well, if it’s something that can be handled with money, it’s an element that can be solved comfortably.
I asked with such a light heart.
“I can’t count.”
“… … yes?”
“With compound interest, 15 years have passed. will you get the hang of it? I’m just assuming it’s astronomically priced.”
Oh, is that obvious?
In the first place, this request was not something that could be solved with money.
“Then how did you borrow that money?”
It was Elena who answered this question.
“… … Because of me. I was very sick when I was young. At that time, my grandfather treated me by collateralizing the workshop for me.”
“I heard that they are not granddaughters, but what kind of relationship are they… … .”
“That child’s father died because of me. To be exact, he died trying to protect me. Do you know what Italy was like in the past?”
“yes. Because of that, my father also left for another country.”
Worldwide dungeon rampage.
Among them, Italy has been in anarchy for several years in fear of the appearance of monsters and dungeons due to poor initial response.
At least I knew that the mafia, who had acted as a vigilante from the past, fought to protect their property and farms in Sicily, and that the environment was prepared for people to live to some extent… … After all, they are just normal human beings.
“Even in that environment, we tried to survive. Oh, and your father, of course. I don’t mean to criticize Carlione. At that time, Italy was no longer a country, but a land mass called the Italian Peninsula. It was natural for each of us to live on our own in order to live.”
In the first place, they were the ones who remained saying that they could not leave their hometown.
Ludvio tried to protect his property and workshop. And it was Elena’s father in the past who helped Ludbio and defended the village together.
“As an early Awoken, he was very strong. No one in Sicily at the time could not help recognizing his skill.”
But he died.
He lost his life due to the rampage of the dungeon and the mutant object protruding from it.
“And God started taking care of us.”
Just when you thought everything was over Reinforcements arrived from mainland Italy.
A newly reorganized military organization led by the pope rather than the already destroyed Italian government.
‘crusades’.
They moved and started clearing all dungeons and monsters across Italy.
“But it was arrogance to think that it saved everyone.”
Most of those whose lives were saved were those who lost even more.
“I thought I should help them too.”
So he started helping the village rebuild, using the wealth he had accumulated over the years. And in the process, I met Elena.
She was afflicted with an unknown disease.
“To save her, a holy relic in the Vatican. They say they need ‘Holy Blood’, an elixir called Elixir. that’s why i bought it money with and without money. I borrowed money from the Medici family because it was not enough even after pulling everything.”
He took it for granted, and he still thinks that thought has not changed.
It was because she thought it was right to use her life saved by her father like this.
And this is what started taking everything from him.
“… … Even then, I knew I would be able to repay it with my skills. However, the timing was not good.”
With the Vatican as the center, the rebuilding of Italy begins, and he said he thought everything would get better.
But it was an illusion. The Vatican started selling all the materials obtained through the Crusades abroad, which made it unable to cope with the rapidly increasing inflation.
The client also did not exist.
Italy, where everything was destroyed.
Although it is said to have improved, there are still many areas that are dangerous areas, so most of the existing customers have collapsed.
However, he believed in his own skills.
He had no doubt that many people would come to him to overcome the difficult times.
However, strangely, no requests came in for him, and in the process, debts began to grow like a snowball.
“I was trying to survive somehow.”
But even so, he was a maestro.
A person who has a title that can only be awarded to one craftsman in each event in the world.
Eventually, as time passed, many people started looking for him.
he worked to death To overcome this situation, I started working like a dog and paying off my debts.
However, the trap that was cleverly set in the first place was not something he could do with his power alone… … Even if you pay it back, only the interest is settled, and the principal borrowed shows no signs of diminishing.
“Then I heard about the old Carlione kid. Who knew that the bravest and most righteous kid in town would now become a mafia boss who terrifies the world?”
So he asked Carlione for help.
The children who used to buy sweets from them in the past came to visit their studio and listened to old stories.
Vito Carlione and Dominic Adanvanto. to those two children.
“… … before coming here. There is something the godfather told me to tell Ludvio.”
“hmm?”
“──Carlione does not forget her debt.”
While talking, I grabbed his hand, who returned with an aged expression, and continued with a serious voice.
“I, too, am only here to pay off the debt. Maestro.”
Then a smile spreads across his face.
* * *
After all the stories are over.
Elena and I came out in front of the cliff outside the cabin.
It was because he wished he had a more comfortable meal when he was tired from talking hard.
“… … I’m sorry I just surprised you.”
“yes?”
When you are silently looking at the waves under the cliff. I heard Elena’s voice.
“As Grandpa said earlier. My grandfather was in danger because of the mafia. So I thought you sent me to get money from the Medici again. What is it?”
Sitting on the cliff, bouncing her legs into the air, she turned her head to me and lowered her head.
“therefore… … really sorry. And, thank you so much for coming to help us.”
Seeing her suddenly apologizing, I shook my hand and said,
“it’s okay. It’s misleading enough. Even if I suddenly say that the other person is a member of a mafia family, I will be on my guard first.”
“… … Thank you for your understanding.”
After answering that, she raised her head again and brushed back her hair that had been tousled by the sea breeze.
“If you ever need my help, let me know.”
“… … yes?”
“I’m actually quite strong.”
Saying so, she spreads her palms.
At the same time, the wind began to gather on her palm, and a bluish canary rose above it.
“… … government ordinance?”
“ah. Do you know? that’s right. The child’s name is Tinkerbell. You are always by my side to protect me.”
I felt something from the first time I saw it, but was it someone who made a contract with the spirit?
“I heard that elementals are quite rare, but I never dreamed that I would come across them by chance. If you don’t mind, may I ask when you woke up?”
Even if it’s not enough to take the form of a bird like a canary, it’s a contract with an intermediate level spirit.
If so, it was clear that he had been with the spirits for at least a long time.
“I heard that you woke up after drinking the holy blood. Tinkerbell has been with me since I was little.”
… … It is beyond imagination.
Having been together for such a long time, it seems that he was able to handle intermediate level spirits at that age.
“Certainly, an intermediate level elementalist would be helpful.”
“Yes?!”
“But I will refuse.”
“yes?”
Her expression, which had been smiling brightly, collapsed.
“Dae, why? You said it would help?”
“That would be helpful. But will old Ludvio like it?”
He was the one who wasted all his fortune to protect her in the first place.
But what if she, who had kept it that way, gets involved in dangerous things again? It was obvious that he would have to stop immediately.
“… … Grandpa, I will convince you.”
“It doesn’t work though.”
“Why again this time!”
Why can’t she be with me
“you. You are weak.”
“… … yes?”
She was too weak to move with me.
“If you use intermediate level spirits, you can definitely think that you are stronger than your peers. But that doesn’t mean you’re strong enough to stand up to the Medici family.”
“You don’t know that yet!”
“So, would you like to bet?”
“… … A bet?”
How to convince people to do something like this. It’s very simple.
“Let’s spat lightly. I only use my left arm and you fight me with all your might. If you succeed in subduing me in this way, I will be with you.”
It’s just breaking with force.
It was also very overwhelming.
“Dil?”
Where should I take a look at that talent?