Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 79

Before the old fox man approached the Lupus Hotel.

The boss of the Palmas Family, Johnny Palmas, was holding a meeting with his executives in a very serious atmosphere.

“Things have been a complete mess since Salido disappeared.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything! The guys who used to pay us along with Salido are all holed up in their homes and won’t come out.”

“The cops are the same. They’re acting like they have no ties to us.”

“….”

“More importantly, finding out what happened to Salido is the top priority.”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s the work of the Wolves!”

“No, there’s no solid evidence yet….”

“It’s impossible unless it’s the Wolves. It’s definitely not the work of those dumb gangs.”

The executives continued to make dismissive comments about Jacob Dread’s Dwarf Gang.

They concluded that the disappearance of Salido was due to the incompetence of the Dwarf Gang, connecting it to the actions of the Felini Family.

While this was a clear fact, their dismissive attitude towards the Dwarf Gang led them to reach such a conclusion.

After all, Dread’s gang used to be under their control.

However, since the gang was defeated by the Wolves, the Dwarf Gang had fallen from being the Palmas Family’s tool to becoming the vanguard of the Felini Family.

Their serious discussion eventually led to one conclusion.

Since an all-out war wouldn’t solve anything, they needed to target the heads. The question was who would step up.

“I’ll take the lead.”

Among those listening to Johnny Palmas and his executives, there were regular members with equivalent power and influence, even if they weren’t Caporegimes, as well as high-ranking officials.

“Dova, is it you?”

Alexander Dova.

The old fox man, who had just entered his 90s this year, volunteered for the role.

“Dova, you should leave this dangerous business to the younger folks.”

“How about you think about retiring soon?”

The executives weren’t underestimating Dova; they were showing concern.

With an ordinary build and short stature, Dova appeared to be just an average old neighbor from anyone else’s perspective.

But the reality was different.

He had lived for 90 years, ever since the Godfather, Vito Felini, was born. To add a joke, he felt like the living witness to the underworld of Hebili.

Because of that.

Many hoped Dova wouldn’t get involved in such matters at his old age.

To add more to it, encouraging retirement stemmed from the idea that if he cut ties with the Palmas Family, this old man in his 90s might survive.

“I won’t retire until the day I die. So, quit your nonsense. I’ll kill for the Family right now.”

Yet, Dova dismissed such opinions about him.

In his younger days, he was the epitome of a fiery mafia character. Among the Felini Family, the one most similar to him would probably be Richard Vanella.

Under his continued demands, Johnny Palmas had no choice but to agree.

“…Alright then.”

“….”

Dova got up from his seat, and Palmas said instead he would assign someone to support him in this task.

“No, that’s not necessary. I can handle it alone.”

For Dova, this situation seemed simple.

After all, if someone had to die, it might as well be him, with not much time left.

The young folks should preserve their precious bodies for the upcoming showdown.

Back to reality.

Suspicious as it was, a man approached the seemingly harmless old fox man.

“Hey, you. What are you doing here?”

“….”

It was clear he approached to pick a fight.

Unknowingly, Dova simply glared at the punk in front of him without saying a word.

Previously, the Hebili police described Dova as a rough and dangerous figure, despite his age, in reports related to him.

Dova’s expression became increasingly frightening, and the man quickly apologized to Dova looking at him.

“….”

And then he hurriedly left the scene.

If Dova had been just ten years younger, he would have split the guy’s skull right there.

However, the man was a member of the Felini Family. He immediately shared the information about the menacing-looking old fox man with his colleagues.

Before Dova even realized it, he was being closely watched by a group of persistent observers.

Regardless, he simply enjoyed the warm sunshine.

Meanwhile, unaware there was an assassin near the hotel, I was busy with other matters.

After forcibly making Felicita eat Manfredi’s horn with Veronica’s help, the rest was left to Elena.

“Fel, can you ride this for a moment?”

“Why? So I can go meet Elena?”

“Yeah. It’s better to just do it now than to mix around and add stuff later.”

Felicita seemed displeased that I was with Elena on the day she was spending time with her.

“Fel, I’m asking a favor.”

“…Alright.”

After begging one more time, Felicita ultimately yielded.

“Sis, you’re pretty soft on big bro.”

“Bera, you think you wouldn’t be?”

“….”

Veronica was right with her remark.

Regardless, I mixed sweet syrup and Manfredi’s horn powder into milk and headed towards Elena’s Room.

While coffee wouldn’t be bad, I feared it would keep me awake, so I opted for milk. After all, there’s something quite nice about drinking milk.

“Elena, wake up for a moment.”

“…Hmm?”

“Elena.”

Even though I kept trying to wake her up, Elena wouldn’t budge.

From her slow reactions, it seemed she wasn’t completely out.

With a determined decision, I patted her butt and thigh with my palm.

“….”

Elena’s earlier reactions disappeared.

But soon she began to glare at me, realizing what I had done.

“Luke?”

“J-just a moment.”

I offered her the horn juice that I’d placed on the nearby table.

“…What is this?”

She was visibly angry but still somewhat drowsy.

“It’s something that’s good for you, so just drink it down.”

Though Veronica wasn’t there to hold her, like when I did it with Felicita.

Elena trusted my words and drank the juice without suspicion.

“So, what exactly is it?”

“It’s ground unicorn horn mixed with milk.”

“…What?”

A startled expression showed her sleepiness was completely gone.

Since I was planning to put Elena back to sleep anyway, I summarized the essential parts.

“So just make sure to thank Felicita later.”

“….”

“Elena.”

“Got it.”

She definitely acknowledged it.

Before telling Felicita about this, I laid Elena back down on the bed to let her sleep. It seemed I made the right choice with the milk instead of coffee.

After returning to Felicita’s Room, I relayed Elena’s response.

“…Surprising. I thought Elena wouldn’t say something like that.”

“Well, until she comes personally to say it, we don’t really know.”

“Big bro, can’t you skip breakfast?”

“…I have to.”

Since I had just put Elena back to sleep, I decided to leave her behind.

Although it struck me that I shouldn’t have just put her back to sleep, it was already too late.

“I never planned to drink anything anyway.”

“Here he goes again. The kids are important, but so are you, Felicita.”

“….”

Felicita seemed quite put out by having to drink the horn juice thanks to me and Veronica.

Of course, considering I had intended to grind up an entire horn for the kid, there were probably reasons beyond that.

“Gravadlax and carpaccio.”

“Big bro, are you planning to eat only salmon for breakfast?”

“A buffalo pizza and a Quattro Formaggi pizza, one of each.”

“….”

Upon hearing Veronica, I decided to splurge and added two pizzas. At that, Veronica couldn’t say a word.

*

The dishes I ordered were quite unique.

The first to arrive was the gravadlax and carpaccio. Both made from salmon, but the gravadlax can simply be described as fresh salmon cured with salt and sugar. In this restaurant, it was impressively colored with beet juice, giving it a purple hue.

Carpaccio is a dish that has thinly sliced ingredients drizzled with olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice, served with various vegetables.

The pizzas were also no less unique.

Buffalo pizza includes tomato sauce, cheese, and basil. At first glance, it seemed similar to margherita pizza, but there’s a crucial difference.

The cheese used in this pizza isn’t made from cow’s milk but from water buffalo’s milk. The word “buffalina” itself means buffalo.

Lastly, Quattro Formaggi pizza.

To put it simply, it’s the pizza version of the Quattro cheese burger I used to eat in my world.

It’s a cheese pizza with four types of cheese, but in this restaurant, the types of cheese change periodically, making it a menu that’s not bad to have occasionally.

When all the food arrived, Veronica commented on the amount.

“Are you really going to eat all this?”

“It’s okay. You and Felicita are here too.”

“I’m fine. I do like pizza.”

At Felicita’s words, I handed her a slice of pizza.

“What about you, Veronica? No thoughts?”

“I’ll eat if you give me some.”

That was indeed a typical response from my sister.

Even though Elena was missing, dining with one wife and one sister made it just as good.

After finishing breakfast, Veronica and I had to head to the Academy.

“…Be careful out there.”

“Got it. Fel, don’t overexert yourself either.”

“Yeah.”

Felicita made a sad face parting from me but quickly smiled at my concern for the child.

“Veronica.”

“What?”

“By the way, how was Sarina?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Really?”

I thought Sarina might not think highly of Veronica.

My expectations were pleasantly shattered.

Of course, it was possible that Veronica could be lying to me, so I decided to ask Sarina or Kambara as well.

While thinking that, the elevator I was in with Veronica reached the first floor.

“Brother.”

“Is the car ready?”

“Yes, I’m bringing it right now.”

A brief wait.

As soon as my wolf subordinates parked the armored vehicle we would ride in front of the hotel, we stepped outside.

“….”

Unbeknownst to us, an old assassin lay in wait for the moment.

Bang—!

A bullet shot at someone.

Following that, a barrage of gunfire erupted.