The morning in the city has dawned.
I headed straight to the Academy from Sunday morning.
I couldn’t afford to waste any more time, especially since I couldn’t just ignore either Elena or Felicita.
“Brother, wouldn’t it have been better to bring Sarina along?”
“Well, we brought those wolves along, didn’t we?”
Right now, we’re in a special car heading to the Academy.
I’m riding in my father, Vito Felini’s, bulletproof car. It used to be a safe haven for the Godfather and a moving command center.
It was custom-made at my father’s request, as he had been in constant battles with the Five Families, so it’s equipped with thick bulletproof glass, armor plating, and even a menacing machine gun at the back.
[The best defense is a good offense.]
Sure enough, steam suddenly fogged up the window I was looking out of, forming letters. Before, it had just been sitting still.
And there’s one more thing I haven’t mentioned.
The car’s color is the same green as the police cars in Hebili. Plus, it’s equipped with police sirens, flashing lights, and radios inside and out.
Yes, it reflected the wisdom of past wolves, who had disguised their cars as police vehicles to avoid troublesome conflicts.
“Phew…”
The stale air in the confined space was gradually filling up.
It’s rare for someone to smoke without even opening the window in the world I used to live in.
But this world is different. The thing I’m smoking isn’t exactly called a cigarette; it’s called a magic herb. The problem is, there’s no filter on this magic herb.
You could say it’s a true manly smoke.
I guess it’s just because it’s not a modern world like the one I came from.
“Brother.”
Giovanni handed me an ashtray before any ashes could fall.
“Are the Gollymen keeping up well?”
“Yes, they can’t be such fools that they can’t drive.”
Several cars were tailing my bulletproof vehicle. Among them was a car from the Gollymen who had recently surrendered to me.
Sarina, on the other hand, was stationed in Greenbug with her wolves. Giovanni probably thought it’d be better to bring Sarina along.
But I had my reasons.
For our strength, drafting a few members from the Gollymen organization was sufficient. However, it was necessary to let them know that the northeastern part of Greenbug now belonged to the Felini Family.
After discussing with Elena, one of my subordinates had been dispatched as a Caporegime to the area surrounding Greenbug, but I still couldn’t expect him to have that level of infamy and charisma yet.
So I decided to send Sarina to Greenbug, and I planned to fill that vacancy by drafting personnel from the Gollymen.
“Giovanni, is there a professor who’s turned to Botari’s side among the Academy professors?”
“So far, it seems to be three.”
“Three?”
Not too many, not too few. It was an awkward number.
“However, two of those professors have contacted us.”
“….”
I continued to concentrate on Giovanni’s words. Noticing that I didn’t react, Giovanni carried on.
“They claimed that their siding with Botari is purely a disguise.”
“Are they planning to betray us from within?”
“Brother, what should we do?”
Four professors have turned against us, and two of them are hopeful for betrayal. Botari Professor’s coup was already pretty much over before it started.
Moreover, if these were the people still within our influence, there were many others besides the professors: administrators, staff, and students. Especially that the administrator was still on our side was a relief.
“Given the money we’ve thrown at him, that’s only natural.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if the day the Felini Family fell came with him going down too.
“Which department are those professors from?”
“They’re all from the Humanities Department, just like Botari.”
“…Then it would be best to infiltrate through the Humanities Department Dormitory.”
“Yes, there happens to be a secret passage leading out of the Academy.”
We had a more precise destination now.
*
Meanwhile, Botari Professor at the Academy wasn’t just sitting idle.
“Damn it.”
“Botari Professor, so what happened?”
A short goblin approached the professor who had just met with the administrator. Rarely seen in this city and Academy.
This goblin was indeed one of the professors in this Academy.
“I was wrong. It seems like they have no intention of listening to us at all.”
“…Well, that’s to be expected. The administrators are already in a fateful partnership with the mafia.”
“Isn’t that true for us as well?”
During the conversation between the human and the goblin, an elf intervened.
“Danièle.”
Among the three people gathered in the same place, he was the only one who wasn’t a professor; he was a teaching assistant.
“This time, I’ll go.”
“Stop it, it’s just a waste of time.”
“We never know the outcome until we try.”
As the Goblin Professor repeated the same attempts that Botari had done, the elf assistant seemed to have something he was curious about.
“Professor, I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while.”
“…What is it?”
The professor responded while continually pondering.
“Why are you suddenly resisting them?”
Some might find it strange that this assistant asked such a question. However, there was a reason behind his inquiry.
Amadeo Botari was one of those behind the distribution of drugs in the Academy, helping the Felini Family’s operations.
His activities, propelled by the lucky fortune of being human and the earned status of a professor, had turned the Academy into a veritable opium den.
Now, that very person has turned against the Felini Family.
“Professor, whether this succeeds or fails, we’re all likely to get killed by them. Why did you make this decision?”
While the assistant asked his question, the professor simply stared at the strange creature passing by outside the window.
“…If I don’t do it, then who will?”
That single utterance from the old professor carried a multitude of meanings.
A regret over having ruined the bright futures of countless youth blinded by temporary greed.
The insight that the chaos following the death of the Godfather and leader of the Felini Family, Vito Felini, could not be overlooked.
And even a small sense of mission that he could not finish their history leaving a stain.
“….”
But the assistant still could not understand.
He felt that all of the professor’s actions were not for the sake of atoning for his own behavior. Above all, the professor was bringing in yet another external force to oppose the Felini Family.
While such conversations unfolded in the Humanities Department building,
We successfully entered the dormitory of the Humanities Department.
“It seems those guys couldn’t manage this passage after all.”
“Well, it feels like we’ll be enough.”
Unfortunately, the Gollymen were too large to fit through the secret passage leading to the dormitory.
For now, we decided to enter the dormitory and let them in later.
“This place hasn’t changed at all.”
As Giovanni said, there was one thing that made no sense.
‘What kind of idiots put the students’ dormitories underwater?’
I thought academic disdain only applied to the universities in my previous world. That would be true, considering the location of the Humanities Department dormitory in Hebili Academy was incredibly inappropriate.
Underwater. An old underground prison.
Combining these two words perfectly described the dormitory of the Humanities Department.
Having entered the dormitory through the secret passage, we changed into outfits resembling familiar Academy staff. It was important to blend seamlessly into any place we went.
“Tsk.”
After changing with the wolves, a student clicked their tongue when they noticed me. It was probably because I was an elf. They were human, after all.
They probably didn’t like my excessively long ears.
“….”
“Giovanni, let’s get out of here.”
“Yes.”
I hurried Giovanni to leave the dormitory before he did something stupid.
Getting used to discrimination against different races in this world was one of the hardest things. Moreover, people of color had higher status than whites.
Anyway, we moved to escape this underground prison masquerading as a dormitory.
In the dark and gloomy place, we pressed on, feeling the damp stone walls. Judging by the green mold all over, it seemed like cleaning wasn’t much of a priority. The scenery visible through the window was evidence enough that we were indeed underwater.
‘I get why Humanities Department students use so many drugs.’
I wasn’t sure where they got the money for it, though.
*
We emerged from the dark underground prison back to the surface.
Even though it was a short time, how welcoming the sun and fresh air felt again!
“Alright, Giovanni. Let’s get started.”
“Yes.”
Giovanni sent a few of his wolves to the Academy’s front gate. The Gollymen also needed to respond from the inside to enter.
The remaining wolves followed Giovanni and me toward the Humanities Building at the Academy.
Even though we were disguised as staff, moving in such numbers was still quite ominous.
“….”
“What’s going on?”
However, there was something we hadn’t anticipated.
The Five Families, specifically the Russo Family operating in the northern part of the city, had already reached out to the Academy.
“It must be the Russos.”
“Yes, those annoying pests have a high likelihood of being the culprits.”
Not all members of the Russo Family were like that. While the boss and a considerable number of them were vampires, some didn’t share that trait.
Those chillingly smoking in front of the Humanities Building were vampires too.
“….”
“Giovanni, don’t use your gun.”
Despite my difficult command, Giovanni nodded. As he stepped forward, several wolves followed behind him.
Then they began pulling out hidden weapons one by one.
Naturally, it wasn’t firearms. The last thing I wanted was to escalate matters by shooting guns inside the Academy.
“What?!”
On the other hand, the vampires who spotted the wolves wore expressions akin to ours just moments before. Almost as if they were questioning why we were there.
Before they could alert anyone else,
“Gah…”
The area in front of the Humanities Building turned crimson. I ensured to hide the bodies somewhere out of sight. The bloodstains… damn it.
“Brother, we’ll handle this.”
A few wolves volunteered to clean up the scene. Giovanni and I left them behind and ventured deeper into the Humanities Building.
In the lobby, there were stairs leading up to the higher floors, a cafeteria, and a map displaying the layout of the Humanities Building.
“His office is… Ah, the third floor.”
“….”
As soon as Giovanni spoke, I headed toward the stairs, but Giovanni stopped me.
“Brother, let’s take the elevator.”
There were elevators at both the west and east ends of the building. We decided to split up to guard both the central staircase and the elevator.
It was a complete blockade of our retreat.
“It’s been a while since I met Botari.”
“Indeed. He took our territory in the Academy from the lady.”
I hadn’t mentioned that to prompt a reaction from him, but of course, with Elena, she’d likely not hesitate to apologize for that incident.
I figured after dealing with Botari, Elena and Felicita would put pressure on me to choose between them before the day was over. As I contemplated what to do then, I realized the elevator had already arrived at the third floor.
“….”
“Brother, the gun….”
“We can’t help it. Use it.”
On the third floor where Professor Botari and the other professors were, members of the Russo Family were positioned proudly.
Due to the long hallway’s characteristics, we couldn’t effectively counter them without guns.
As we stepped off the elevator, a gunfight broke out in the heart of the Academy.
