After saying goodbye to Elena, I followed Felicita out of the main building of the mansion.
“Hey, where are we going?”
“Over there, from earlier.”
“Oh.”
Given that she said “over there,” there was only one possible place.
The annexes that make up the mansion along with the main building—specifically, the place where Felicita keeps a bunch of animals.
It was the same spot where I had just tasted the fruit from Pudu’s head.
“Kiieeek!”
“….”
As soon as Felicita opened the door to the annex, Hebili came flying in. He was flapping around and making the most raucous noise, unlike his usual self.
“What’s wrong with this guy?”
“Is he hurt or something?”
“No, I don’t think he has any injuries.”
Felicita and I took a moment to observe Hebili.
But he just stood still on my shoulder, showing no signs of movement.
If I had been hurt, he would have been making a fuss about it.
I grabbed the little guy who was perched on my shoulder.
“So, what’s going on, Fel?”
“…Luke. Do you remember the black gang from the south?”
“Those guys? I think they got a bit roughed up by Dragovich recently. Why do you ask?”
I wondered if they had clashed with the Marinelli Family.
If Dragovich’s family had given them a serious beating… they would likely be looking for other options.
In that sense, a collision with the Marinelli Family, who were dominating the southeastern part of the city, seemed inevitable.
“They sent someone over first. I think they wanted to talk about something.”
“Were there any clashes?”
“Not yet. We’re ready to respond if anything happens, but they’re not giving us any reason to.”
“…So, what are you thinking of doing?”
“For now, Manfredi and Lia are going to check it out.”
The eldest son and the second daughter—Manfredi was also the underboss of the family, so it was a decent delegation.
“Wait, have you said anything to Elena?”
“Yeah. I’ve already told Elena.”
I asked, half-hoping, since she had called me away like this, but it seemed Felicita wasn’t overly suspicious of Elena.
“First, we’ll stabilize the Carmen Family and then deal with the Sanchez bunch.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
As Felicita replied, she said she’d also give a heads-up to her two younger siblings.
“What kind of heads-up?”
“I’ve told them to avoid any friction with that side. We can’t afford to be worrying about the black folks in the south right now.”
“…That’s true.”
The Russo Family hadn’t dealt with the Vipers up north yet.
And the Dragovich Family was also holding down the southwestern part of the city. Turning the black folks in the south into enemies wouldn’t do anyone any favors.
“Is that all you have to tell me?”
“…No.”
From the moment she said no, she had already gotten sufficiently close to me.
It seemed she’d made up her mind to show me just how much she liked me through her actions.
She rubbed her forehead against mine, wrapping her tail around my waist, saying it had been a while since we had been intimate.
“Were you calling me for this?”
“Why? Is an assertive girl not your type?”
“No, it’s not that.”
When I think about it, she had been like this from the start.
If it hadn’t been for her aggressive pursuit, our relationship might not have even started.
I gave her head a gentle stroke, and Felicita’s gaze shifted.
What happened next was a fleeting moment.
“….”
It feels a bit odd to think about it afterward, but I wondered whether it was okay to engage so intensely with her while she was pregnant.
For now, I straightened out Felicita’s disheveled clothes.
“How’s your belly, Fel?”
“…Huh?”
Was it the flow from earlier that had them lost in the moment? She seemed still caught up in that lingering feeling.
I brought up the concerns I had again.
“It’s fine. It’s not in the mid-pregnancy phase yet; we’re still early.”
She responded as if there was no need to worry at all, like she knew everything already.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“More than that, can you help me for a second?”
Felicita then asked me to bring her a pot with some mandrake planted in it.
I figured since she had changed clothes to see Elena earlier and she looked a bit tired now, so I agreed.
“….”
It crossed my mind that, given the distance, all the animals in the annex would have easily overheard what was said between Felicita and me.
Of course, they might not have seen it directly.
I made my way toward the area where the animals were gathered. Just then, out of nowhere, Hebili swooped down toward me.
‘Where’s the mandrake?’
Now that I think about it, I hadn’t seen the mandrake in the hotel room, but Felicita had shown it to me a few times.
However, since we moved to this place, she probably hadn’t mapped out each animal’s location.
“Godfather! Godfather!”
As I was looking around the area,
a Tokotukan in a cage, hanging at a suitable height, shouted out to me.
“Is that a Tokotukan?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
According to him, the name Tokotukan wasn’t actually a name, but just a term for the talking bird.
“Do you know where the mandrake is?”
“If you’re looking for that strange plant, it’s over that way.”
Most of the animals inside the annex were animals. While plants like the mandrake were there, they were extremely rare.
As I followed the direction the Tokotukan indicated, I soon spotted the rigorously guarded pots containing mandrakes.
I carefully picked one up.
Just as I was about to head back to Felicita,
“Could you help me?”
“….”
Unlike the others, a mandrake was poking its head out of the soil and spoke to me.
“What?”
With green leaves that looked like lettuce and pale purple flowers blooming above, it had yellow pistils that made it appear both simple and flashy.
“Could you bury my head in the soil again, please?”
The mandrake, which resembled a humanoid, asked beneath its leaves and flowers.
I didn’t respond but used a nearby trowel to bury its face back in the dirt.
Then it sighed, “Thank you,” but I could barely hear it through the mumble.
I hurried back to Felicita’s side.
“Felicita, is this enough?”
“Yeah, one is enough.”
While I was fetching the mandrake, Felicita had beautifully packaged the fruit we had eaten earlier.
“Isn’t that what we ate earlier?”
“Yeah, I thought about giving some to Veronica.”
“What about this mandrake?”
“Better safe than sorry.”
The mandrake—a legendary plant said to resemble a human—exists in this world.
Like the one that just spoke to me, these plants are alive and can even talk with people.
Perhaps that’s why they’re sometimes used for security purposes.
They are planted in suitable places and will scream at suspicious individuals, immobilizing them.
Of course, for security and oversight, the mandrake’s face must peek out from the soil.
According to Felicita, being in that state causes a lot of stress for the mandrake, and the more stressed it becomes, the louder its screams get.
“Veronica will be lucky too.”
“What’s that?”
“Having a sister-in-law who cares about her like this.”
“Veronica should think the same way—she better back off from her brother.”
There seemed to be real sincerity in Felicita’s words.
Afterward, I gathered the things she had given me and boarded the armored vehicle parked in the yard.
*
Before we set off, it seemed Elena sensed something odd about our departure.
Of course, Felicita would surely deny that anything was wrong, so the explanation would fall on me.
“What should we do, brother?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Should we go straight through the Solomon Family territory, or should we take a detour through the Russo area?”
“Ah. Let’s just go straight through. After all, it’s not like we’re clustering up like before, so they won’t notice.”
Since we weren’t making a point to draw attention to ourselves, it seemed okay.
Even if the Sanchez Family maintained tight control over their territory… they wouldn’t be checking every vehicle on the road.
As I assumed, the armored car passed through the Sanchez Family’s territory without any issues.
Once we entered the Carmen Family’s domain, everything was smooth sailing.
Now belonging to Veronica, the Carmen Family’s base welcomed me right in front of the casino.
“Godfather, the boss is waiting for you.”
“Got it. Let’s head right up.”
I handed the mandrake Felicita had gifted to the organization members and instructed them to send it straight up to Veronica’s office.
“Be careful with that dangerous thing.”
“…Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
While I felt a bit uneasy, I couldn’t imagine they wouldn’t be able to handle that one task.
Afterward, I took the elevator to the 4th floor.
On the 4th floor, there were Wolf Trainees, Gollymen, and members of the Solomon Family.
“Godfather!”
“Little Dom, all quiet here, right?”
“Yes, it’s been quiet. Just before you arrived, that Orc and Spider guy went into Veronica’s office.”
“Really?”
It seemed like I had arrived at a pretty good time.
I entrusted the Pudu fruit I brought with me to Solomon and headed toward Veronica’s office.
Instead of barging in, I knocked a few times and called out my voice.
“Come in, brother.”
As soon as I opened the door, I spotted McBratney and Iktomi.
And unlike when I was with Solomon, Veronica was wearing a metallic mask that was resized to fit her face.
“Can I join in on the conversation?”
“Of course.”
The two High-Ranking Officials felt the same way.
From what I heard, it seemed those two hadn’t yet been appointed as Underboss and Consigliere.
