Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 77

The news that we successfully abducted Salido.

After I finished my call with Viola, I immediately shared the news.

“What does Viola plan to do now?”

“She’ll keep attacking. Figuring out if there’s any useful information from Salido is a different matter.”

“Wasn’t Salido Johnny Palmas’s driver?”

“Yeah, but he’s not just any ordinary driver.”

“Of course. He used to be with the Wolf, after all.”

“That’s true, but the guy manages the Palmas family’s garbage business.”

“…Seems like he knows more than we thought.”

I decided to leave the task of getting information from Salido to Viola.

Whether it meant torture or threats, I figured Viola would handle it since she was a member of the Carmen Family.

“Did Viola say anything else?”

“Yeah. She called me ‘Godfather’ again.”

“Seems like Salmo relayed the message well.”

It was just today that I told her not to call me that. It felt strange that she seemed to reverse that before the day was even over.

“Elena.”

“Yeah?”

I turned around to face her.

“Now that I’m the Boss too, there’s something we need to resolve.”

“What is it?”

“We need to appoint a new Underboss.”

“Oh, right. That’s true.”

After hearing my words, Elena looked thoughtful.

“Well, we don’t have to decide it alone.”

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to consult Salmo, the Consigliere, and the former Consigliere as well.

“How about we at least narrow down the candidates?”

“Giovanni, Sarina, Carso.”

“Those three?”

Elena looked puzzled. I observed her reaction and asked.

“Why? Is that not good enough?”

Although I had become a Caporegime, it was a bit complicated since they were the ones who led the Wolf.

“No, it’s not that. Giovanni or Carso might be suitable, but…”

“The problem is Sarina, right?”

“…Yeah, she’s not really suited for the Underboss position.”

So we decided to exclude Sarina for the time being. Honestly, she likely wouldn’t want that position anyway.

Now, as a Caporegime, she had her own area to manage and subordinates to supervise, and she was clearly full of complaints.

“But with only two candidates, isn’t that a bit too few?”

“What about Vanella and Lumini?”

“Vanella and Lumini, huh…”

Did we really have that few members in our family?

No, it wasn’t that I thought those two were incompetent or foolish. It just felt like they were too distinctive to become Underboss.

Right now, Vanella had the nickname “The Madman,” and Lumini was known as “Lumini’s Wolf,” which meant he was quite a cunning guy.

The only saving grace was that despite those flaws, neither of them was dumb.

“What about those two? How about Viola?”

Elena then suggested Viola Carmen as a new candidate.

Her performance during the operation to secure the city’s northeastern region wasn’t bad. However, it should be noted that things went smoothly thanks to Michael and the Wolves under him.

“So we have five candidates, then?”

“Giovanni, Carso, Vanella, Lumini, and Viola. That seems right.”

“Oh, wait. What about Armo?”

“…Okay, then it’s six.”

We didn’t share more opinions about the Underboss among ourselves.

It felt better to meet with Salmo and Mr. Salmo to make a decision together.

“Luke, come here.”

“I feel like you’ll just move me anyway.”

“That’s true.”

More than anything, it seemed Elena didn’t want our time to be interrupted anymore.

Sure enough, as soon as I mentioned it, she lifted me and placed me back on her lap.

Well, until we appointed the new Underboss, it was practically me still playing the role, so I’d let that slide.

Afterward, Veronica returned from the Academy to the hotel, and the three of us—Veronica, my two wives, and I—had dinner together.

“Veronica, how’s the Vice Chairman work treating you?”

“I still have a lot to learn.”

“Campara said otherwise, though.”

“Maybe he wanted to flatter you, brother?”

Is that so? But Campara didn’t seem like the type to flatter anyone.

“Still, you sure are eating a lot today.”

“Luke naturally eats this much.”

“Elena, don’t go putting your food on Luke’s plate unnecessarily.”

When Veronica mentioned that fact, which seemed obvious, Elena reacted.

Moreover, when Elena subtly scooped some of her food onto my plate, Felicita quickly seized the opportunity to call her out.

“Of course, I’m giving it to him because it’s what Luke likes. Mind your business if you don’t know!”

“If Luke wanted it, he would’ve ordered it himself.”

While the two wives squabbled about trivial matters, I focused on my meal.

Honestly, Elena’s words were right. It was one of my favorite dishes, so I didn’t really mind.

But it seemed Felicita didn’t catch on to that. Maybe she just wanted to criticize Elena’s behavior.

Seemed like she was more sensitive today since it wasn’t a day for her to have alone time with me.

“Both of you, stop it and eat your food already. What are you doing with delicious food right in front of you?”

“Luke, is there any food you wouldn’t like?”

“Probably not.”

Unless we exclude the outright inedible trash food.

I started eating a dish of large chunks of meat mixed with crushed pineapple.

Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of eating pineapple with other ingredients, especially meat.

Had I not come to this world and continued living in my original one, that wouldn’t have changed.

However, after being trained to become a Wolf, I grew thankful just to have food available, so I stopped caring much about those things.

“Plus, pineapple does serve as a nice tenderizer.”

Apples, pears, and pineapples can be seen as natural tenderizers for meat. Plus, the slight sweetness from the pineapple mixed with the salty seasoning on the meat created a combination that wasn’t bad at all.

“You two are quite the same.”

Meanwhile, Veronica remarked that it seemed like Elena and Felicita always fought every time they met.

“Ah, by the way, Veronica, there’s something I didn’t tell you.”

“….”

Veronica didn’t ask directly, but she certainly paid attention to my words, not taking her eyes off Elena.

“I’m pregnant.”

“…What?”

“You’re going to have a nephew.”

Right, since Veronica was my blood relative, my child with Elena would be her nephew.

However, upon hearing Elena’s sudden pregnancy news, Veronica looked as if she’d been hit by a pregnancy bomb.

“Veronica?”

Seeing her expression, Felicita asked.

“What?”

“You should at least congratulate her, shouldn’t you?”

“….”

For some reason, Veronica seemed unable to act freely in front of Felicita.

Of course, Elena treated her like a sister and welcomed her into the family, so it wasn’t like Felicita could treat her harshly either.

Now that I thought about it, Felicita had mentioned she would make sure Veronica didn’t do anything strange with me.

Perhaps since then, she’d been giving her warnings and advice?

Felicita was a benefactor to Veronica, connecting her with me, so it would be awkward for me to act poorly.

“…Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

I guess you could say this is what they mean by bowing down to receive a blessing.

I wondered if Elena and Felicita were being too harsh on Veronica.

“You both stop at that.”

“….”

Of course, the looks I received from the two were frighteningly intense.

It seemed like both of them needed that reassurance to feel secure.

To summarize, tonight’s dinner wasn’t a plain one either. Just like always.

*

Elena and I returned to our private chambers once again.

Aside from the occasional calls needing our confirmation from Campara or Viola, it was our time alone.

“Elena.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“You seem to be gaining more and more muscle.”

“Oh, I’ve actually been working out a lot lately.”

“Now that you’re pregnant, you should avoid intense exercises.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Elena replied obediently to my words.

She wasn’t dumb enough to engage in strenuous activity knowing it could harm our child.

“Should we sleep now?”

“So soon? Feels a bit early.”

“I’m just a little tired today.”

Like every day, but today felt particularly busy.

After I insisted a few times, Elena eventually relented.

So we exchanged a few words back and forth on the bed before I fell asleep in an instant.

“….”

When I opened my eyes again, it was still dawn.

After waking, I stared at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought.

Arguably today… or rather, it’s correct to say yesterday. Since we decided if my child with Elena were a girl, we’d name her after her mother.

In my dream, Rachel Felini. Elena’s mother appeared.

Whether it should be called a dream was somewhat ambiguous, as it had also been something that actually happened.

“Ugh!”

“….”

In the dream, I was arm-wrestling with my mother.

She was trying her hardest to win against me, even though I was barely ten years old.

“Go mom! Win for brother!”

Little Elena, who was still small, cheered for both me and my mother, dancing adorably by our side.

“….”

I suppose I thought back then that it wouldn’t hurt to let her win a little. But I didn’t want to be too obvious either, as it would hurt her pride significantly.

I had to put on the performance of a lifetime to make it look like a plausible loss.

“I’ve won!”

Even though I wasn’t her biological child, my mother was genuinely happy to defeat her young adopted son.

Could it be because she had been unwell?

“Wow! Mom wins!”

It might be a bit rough to call it a memory… but it surely was a time I longed for.

“…Did you lose, brother?”

Just a moment ago, Elena who celebrated our mother’s victory, came over to comfort me for my loss, even if it was just a performance.

As I hugged cute little Elena, that’s when I woke up.

“….”

The Elena from my dream and the one sleeping beside me were worlds apart.

‘Back then, she was really cute.’

At some point, she had grown significantly and turned into a stunning beauty much taller than I.

Beep.

At that moment, I heard the sound of the front door opening.

Is it Felicita?! She arrived earlier than usual.