Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 146

A small city located on the northern outskirts of Hebili, called Death Plains.

It sounds like a name out of a horror movie, but in fact, Death here doesn’t refer to the end of life; it’s just Des. Plus, the city got its name from the nearby Death Plains River or something like that.

Not exactly a place worth noting—just your typical small town.

The reason I found myself here, in a place with a population barely exceeding 60,000, was simple.

Because this is where the Vipers’ hideout was located.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“I wouldn’t expect people of the Godfather’s generation to know.”

That comment might come off as cheeky.

But Elder Leonhart only said what he wanted to say.

This town, which at first glance seemed utterly ordinary, was actually the first place a famous fast food chain established itself.

“Jimmy Croc operated the first Aerodrome here.”

“Aerodrome?”

“That’s what they used to call Greenbug back in the day.”

I wondered how long ago that was.

According to the Elder, the Greenbug brothers, who were Orcs, owned a hamburger joint called Aerodrome, and a businessman named Jimmy Croc approached them and changed the name from Aerodrome to Greenbug.

Greenbug was quite a well-known fast food chain in this world; it would be the equivalent of McDonald’s or Burger King back in my world.

Especially since the founders’ surname became the name of the restaurant itself; it seemed McDonald’s was the closest comparison.

But I puzzled over what significance that held.

“So what’s the point? The Vipers aren’t hiding here to chow down on burgers.”

“Well, that’s accurate… I just thought I’d lighten the mood.”

The Elder seemed to detest a serious and heavy atmosphere.

“Lighten the mood my foot. We’ll be arriving shortly anyway. Let’s get ready.”

“Yes, Godfather.”

In response to my words, both the Elder and the driver, Wolf, replied energetically.

After all, the one who would play the part of the fake me this time was none other than the driver of my armored car.

He’d been my driver for years and was somewhat familiar with my behavior, but he wasn’t part of the family’s upper echelon or a Caporegime.

If something were to go wrong, he was in a suitably safe position, I guess.

Of course, even if he was just a driver, Wolf was still a Wolf.

It’d be quite a waste to use him as a mere throwaway pawn. So I had a plan to keep him safe, even if it wasn’t as secure as hiding inside Elder Leonhart.

“How does it look, Godfather?”

“Perfectly convincing. What do you think, Elder?”

“…On the surface, there’s no difference from you, Godfather.”

While acknowledging the impressive advancement of the magic, the Elder still left a hint of reservation in his tone.

“If everything goes as planned, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“Godfather, it’s time to step up onto the walking device.”

“….”

The armored car, with my doppelgänger as the driver, was just about to arrive at the destination.

At this, the Elder hurriedly tried to hide me within his own body. That was the plan from the start after all.

“I suspected it, but this feels rather gross.”

“How about you consider the feelings of this old man who’s hiding you?”

Neither of us felt great about the situation—whether it was me being hidden or the Elder doing the hiding.

“Sigh… there’s no helping it.”

All three of us in the armored car began to carry out our respective roles.

A few minutes later, the armored car arrived at the destination. Only two people got out of the car.

Luke Felini, one of the bosses of the Felini Family, and his driver.

As soon as the Godfather stepped out into Death Plains, two others approached him.

Giovanni and Viola Carmen.

Both had supported the Russo Family in the conflict against the Vipers, and it turned out they’d uncovered the hideout’s location too.

“Brother, you arrived quicker than expected.”

“…How’s the situation with the Vipers?”

Luke Felini replied in a slightly awkward tone, unlike his usual self.

The behavior of the driver following him also seemed off, but Giovanni and Viola didn’t pay it any mind.

Now wasn’t the time to fuss over little details.

“They’ve been complying with our demands.”

“Seems like their patience is wearing thin, though.”

Viola responded just as Giovanni leaned in closer to Luke and whispered in his ear.

He mentioned that the Vipers had agreed to the two conditions Elena Felini had conveyed.

Before Luke could even ask what those conditions were, Giovanni began explaining in detail.

They were to meet in an open space, not a closed one.

And to keep an appropriate distance during the meeting, allowing enough space without getting too close.

“…Not bad.”

“Brother, do you want to meet with the Vipers right away?”

Upon hearing Giovanni’s words, Luke unconsciously glanced at the driver. The driver didn’t budge, and Luke nodded.

“As if there were any other options.”

“I could wipe them out right now. Even without the Russo Family, we’ve already surrounded them.”

At Viola’s sudden remark, Giovanni slowly nodded in agreement.

It was an opinion to clean up the mess neatly without taking unnecessary risks. However, Luke didn’t want to end things that way with the Vipers.

No, at the very least, he knew that the person he was dealing with would definitely think that way.

“Take me to them right now.”

“…Understood.”

While Giovanni led Luke and the driver toward a certain location with an expression that said he had no other choice.

Viola began giving orders to her subordinates and Giovanni’s Wolves. The easy path was barred, but it was uncertain how bad the situation could get.

They needed to be fully prepared to respond immediately, no matter what happened.

And thus, according to the conditions set by the Godmother, the meeting between the two sides took place in a suitable field of Death Plains.

“Are those guys over there?”

“Yes. The taller one is the leader, and the shorter one is his subordinate.”

“What are their names?”

The leader of the Vipers, Dwight. And the subordinate next to him, Corner.

Thanks to the intel passed on by Angela, a former Viper who’d defected to become a Caporegime of the Felini Family, I had some knowledge of Dwight.

However, Angela hadn’t provided any details on this Corner character.

Luke and Giovanni barely had a moment to talk. They were drawing close to the field where the Vipers had arrived first.

*

“Wolf.”

“Viper. Was it Dwight?”

Dwight called out to Luke first, and Luke replied in kind.

Giovanni, noticing the cue, stepped away from Luke and the driver to maintain distance and started to survey the field.

Since they were two on each side, it was more than sufficient.

The Godmother had indeed instructed that both sides should have ample attendants, and there were indeed members of the Felini Family strategically encompassing the field.

“I know you well, but you won’t know me.”

“…Yeah, that would be the case.”

Dwight, currently the leader of the Vipers.

He was merely one of the Vipers originally.

The elimination of the Vipers began with the Five Families, and with the Spider and the Wolf rampaging through them, he became an unwitting leader.

He was the most experienced among the surviving Vipers, though that was only for about five years.

That’s how much the Vipers had fallen.

“I’ve heard you took down Sanchez recently.”

“More accurately, it was Gata Melata. Sanchez is detained.”

They had Gata Melata in custody, along with the Golem Princess, Sanchez’s daughter, who could be considered his weak spot.

They hadn’t been able to take down Sanchez yet, but the scenario was practically a victory.

“Anyway, it seems Dragovich is left.”

“Yeah, I suppose that’s right.”

Still not matters of great importance.

Though it did give some indication of the Vipers’ level of intelligence.

“Let’s cut to the chase.”

Luke said this while scrutinizing Dwight closely.

Perhaps he seemed a bit different from what I had anticipated? According to Angela’s intel, Dwight was a vengeance-driven individual lacking an objective view of the situation.

However, the leader of the Vipers standing before me appeared quite… composed.

“…Alright, fine.”

Surrender or submit.

Just to be safe, this was the last condition thrown out there.

“However, we also have conditions.”

“What? You think you can make demands in your situation right now?”

“….”

At Luke’s words, the driver momentarily flinched.

Luke thought he understood the reason, but Dwight shrugged it off as if it were no big deal.

“Let’s just hear it first.”

“I want a chance to take revenge on Vito Marinelli.”

“No way.”

“In exchange, I will pledge absolute loyalty to you. Just like we did back in the days of the old Five Families.”

“I already said no. The circumstances between you and the Five Families are entirely different now.”

Was this lunatic really speaking with a clear mind about targeting the wife of the Godfather and her family?

“And Vito Marinelli? He’s just an old man addicted to Blue Eyes.”

“….”

Originally, the establishment of the Vipers was pushed forth by three families.

Cassio, Marmala, Marinelli.

The Cassio Family is now known as the Sanchez Family, and the Marmala Family has become the Carmen Family.

Both the initiation and the execution of the Vipers’ cleansing were decided upon by all Five Families. Of course, there had been differences in opinions on the severity of the cleansing.

“How about settling for Eddie Sanchez and Mikhail Dragovich?”

That was a more than generous offer for the Vipers, hiding away in a pit like this after being pushed by the Russo Family.

They might not want to admit it, though.

“Not satisfactory, but generous. You must really want us that badly.”

“That’s part of it, but it’s also about helping out those who were once in the same situation.”

Luke continued, stating that should the Vipers submit to him on the spot, they could become his direct subordinates, and he’d promise them a place as a Caporegime, just like Angela.

“….”

“You still seem to have the luxury of silence; guess you’re still living comfortably.”

Luke sneered immediately at how lukewarm Dwight’s response was. The subordinate next to him flinched once more.

“Fine.”

“What?”

Dwight’s unexpected response made Luke ask again.

“I’ll submit or surrender. But you’ll ensure our safety, right?”

“Of course, I’ve said it. You’ll become my direct subordinates.”

“But first, I want to confirm one important thing.”

“Here we go again. You’re in no position to lay down conditions.”

“Right, that’s true. Then how about this?”

Dwight gave a signal to his subordinate, and the Viper named Corner hastily left his position.

“Hey! Stop!”

At that moment, Giovanni and his men, who were waiting nearby, tried to intervene Corner’s sudden move.

In that instant.

Strange green smoke burst forth from Dwight’s body.

“Let’s test just how lucky you are.”

“You crazy bastard…”

The threatening poison fog enveloped Luke and his driver.

Luke quickly rolled away to evade it, but the fog reached him faster than he could dodge.

The situation was much the same for the driver next to him. But at the same time, the two began to change in form.

As if they weren’t who they had originally been.

“Brother!”

Giovanni shouted in a voice filled with concern as bullets started to rain down toward the poison fog.

It was the members of the Felini Family, following Viola’s orders, who were firing.

After a flurry of bullets rained down, a dull gunshot followed from within the dark green poison haze.

Simultaneously, a thud sounded, as if a body had collapsed in the field amidst the mist.

Meanwhile, changes occurred on the side of Luke and the driver, who had been caught up in Dwight’s self-detonation.

The figures of Luke and the driver, who had just moments ago been acting as such, completely vanished, leaving only the driver sprawled out on the ground and a slime propped up on a walker.

“…Godfather. Godfather!”

The old slime urgently called out as he rapidly shifted his form. Almost as if creating an emergency exit for someone inside him.

Somebody inside hastily escaped from the slime’s body.

“…Phew.”

It was the true Godfather, Luke Felini.

The little elf who had been convinced Dwight would recognize him as Luke Felini was merely Luke Felini’s driver.