Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 80

The old fox pulled out what resembled a Ruppara from his coat.

Across the Tyrrhenian Sea, that’s what they call a sawn-off shotgun. Specifically, it’s what the Tyrrhenian mafia calls it.

In Tyrrhenian, “Lupo” means wolf, and “Ruppara” refers to something meant for wolves.

It was a gun commonly used by Tyrrhenian folks when hunting wolves… There couldn’t be a more suitable gun for catching a new wolf.

“This bloody bastard!!!”

The assassin interrupted my daily life with Veronica with that exclamation.

It was right after we stepped out of the hotel to board the armored car waiting for us.

The wolves hadn’t caught wind of the assassin pulling out the gun. He had hidden it among his massive fur, so it was sort of understandable.

Anyway, to put it simply.

The assassin pulled the trigger in my direction, and in an instant, several bullets hit my body.

“….”

I couldn’t make a sound and collapsed.

When the assassin pointed the gun at me, I instinctively bent my knees to dodge the shot, but it was futile.

Perhaps knowing I was short, or maybe considering the strong recoil of the sawn-off shotgun, the bastard targeted my torso instead of my head.

“Brother!”

I could see Veronica rushing towards my fallen form in a panic.

Then came the barrage of gunfire. Even though I was completely incapacitated, the assassin didn’t target me anymore.

No, he probably couldn’t.

With Veronica’s support, I struggled to lift myself up. I spotted the fox man, now a porcupine from the multiple gunfire he endured.

The sudden gunfire shocked everyone around the hotel entrance, and the nearby crowd gasped.

“Brother!”

Needless to say, the wolves and the gang members were in an uproar. There might have been more of the assassin’s pals lurking around.

“….”

In that moment, Veronica and I threw ourselves into the armored car.

I was still silent from the pain where the Ruppara had hit me.

“Ugh….”

As the car started moving, a sharp pain surged through my abdomen. It seemed I had taken the brunt of that sudden blast from the sawn-off shotgun.

“Still, I survived because of this.”

I spoke while touching the bulletproof vest wrapped around my stomach.

This wasn’t just any vest. It was made from a rare material. If it had been a standard vest, it wouldn’t have withstood a sawn-off shotgun from such close range.

It was a blessing that the pellets from the shotgun didn’t hit the parts of the vest that offered protection.

“Veronica, help me out.”

“…Okay.”

Veronica still seemed rattled by the attempted assassination.

With her assistance, I took off the vest worn beneath my clothes and immediately checked the condition of my abdomen.

“….”

My bare abdomen seemed too much for Veronica to handle.

Naturally, the bruises all over my abdomen made her face turn pale.

“Anyone would think you were beaten to a pulp.”

“Brother, you’re joking right now?”

“…No, I’m just saying I feel like I’m going to die from the pain.”

I was just speaking my honest feelings. Yet it seemed like low-quality humor to Veronica.

“You’ll be fine once we get to the Academy. We can treat you there… Ugh.”

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

My abdomen was already a patchwork of blue bruises. The size and shape of the bruises, of course, varied.

With Veronica’s help, I got the vest off and put my clothes back on, easing my body.

“….”

“Brother, who do you think did this?”

“Too many suspects.”

Considering the assassin was a fox man, the most likely culprit was the Dragovich Family.

They were now one of the two families reduced to scraps by me and the Five Families, and their ranks included a decent number of wolf-men and beast-people.

Of course, it could also have been the work of Rita Carmen, wishing it to be attributed to the Dragovich Family.

“One thing for sure is that I’ll only know once that bastard’s identity is confirmed.”

“….”

*

While Luke Felini headed to the Academy with his brother.

News of Alexander Dova’s assassination failure began to spread around Hebili.

The Palmas Family took a significant morale hit from this news.

Sixty years. That’s how long Alexander Dova had been affiliated with the Palmas Family, working hard.

Yet, he had lost his life so pathetically.

Even now, in this dire situation, where he had firmly believed he wouldn’t die, his death was a huge shock to the organization.

“…Damn it.”

And it was also a big shock for Johnny Palmas, the boss of the family.

With Salido missing and Alexander Dova’s assassination failure, the two pillars of the family had vanished into thin air. Even so, the enemies advancing from the south showed no signs of relent.

Options seemed bleak, and worry was beginning to fester.

But Johnny Palmas didn’t need to worry about anything.

Because Elena Felini figured out the assassin’s identity first through the police at the port.

“…Miss, is Luke alright?”

“Salmo. Listen to me first.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Giovanni, Sarina, send Carso to northeastern Hebili.”

“Are you planning to take out the Palmas Family?”

“Absolutely. They’re targeting my husband.”

“…Understood. I’ll contact them right away.”

“And let Viola know too. With this level of manpower, there’s no need to drag things out—just crush them.”

“…Yes, understood.”

The family’s Consigliere, Anthony Salmo, could do nothing but agree.

Even listening from the other side of the phone, he could feel the boss’s fury boiling over.

“….”

Once the call ended, Elena informed Felicita, who had come to visit her.

That all necessary measures had been taken.

“…Still, I’m glad that Luke isn’t seriously injured.”

“Shot and you’re saying you’re glad?”

Elena said with a look that conveyed her disbelief.

According to the wolves and members of the organization, it was clear that the bulletproof vest had saved Luke Felini’s life.

But she was overly worried about her brother and husband heading to the Academy in such a state and wished she could rush to their side immediately.

“….”

Of course, Felicita felt the same way.

Her little wolf, who had just begun to be called a wolf himself, nearly walked the same path as the previous wolves.

She didn’t want to become a widow, nor did she want her child to be left an orphan.

Above all, she didn’t want to lose her beloved husband.

Meanwhile, when I arrived at the Academy, a bunch of cars was leaving.

“…Is that Sarina?”

“Yes, it seems so,” Veronica replied, sticking close to me. She had pressed against me unnaturally.

“Brother, we’ve arrived.”

“…Got it.”

Veronica had no choice but to step aside, even if she disliked it.

From my perspective, I wanted to get out of the car as quickly as possible. The vibrations from the vehicle made my abdomen throb.

“Brother.”

As Veronica helped me out of the car, Kambara approached with my wolf subordinates in the Academy.

The wolves surrounded me as if I were a presidential candidate being escorted.

“Let’s head to the office for now.”

“Yes.”

While it was good for them to be concerned about my safety, it felt rather conspicuous.

“Kambara, was that Sarina leaving just now?”

“Yes, the young lady contacted me about it.”

“…Elena? What did she say?”

Thinking of how Elena and Felicita might have heard about my situation, I unknowingly felt anxious.

They both surely knew I wasn’t dead.

“It seems that she told the other two brothers and sister to take their wolves and assist Viola Carmen.”

“Looks like it was a Palmas Family job.”

“….”

It seemed the Dragovich Family wasn’t the culprits after all. Honestly, it was a bit unexpected.

I hadn’t thought they would have the guts to pull off something like that.

Elena’s judgment might imply that there was solid evidence linking the assassin to the Palmas Family.

“Brother, let me check your condition for a moment.”

“Sure.”

I lifted my shirt slightly to show the condition of my abdomen.

Veronica’s face reddened again, but regardless, Kambara’s expression was very serious.

“Brother, what kind of hit did you take?”

“Ruppara.”

To make matters worse, it had hit me from close range.

“Well, that’s something.”

“Kambara, is that something you say to someone who’s been shot?”

“Oh, that’s not what I meant….”

Kambara hurriedly pointed to some of the bruises on my abdomen, trying to explain himself.

“It’s a relief that the bruises don’t cover more than 20-30% of your body’s skin.”

“….”

I was beginning to understand what Kambara was hinting at. A person could die even from bruises.

When muscles experience a strong impact, something called myoglobin is released, which can lead to impaired kidney function. The larger and more numerous the bruises, the higher the amount of myoglobin released.

This can lead to death due to renal failure, which is commonly referred to as acute kidney injury.

“I’ve already contacted the infirmary. Someone will be here shortly.”

“…That’s a relief.”

“Brother, stay still.”

I stopped showing my abdomen. Though she didn’t show it, Veronica seemed a bit disappointed.

“Kambara, how did Sarina react?”

“It was pure chaos. She was shouting about killing everyone. I even got hit while trying to calm her down.”

She must have been really furious.

Witnessing Sarina’s furious response was followed by Giovanni and Carso.

Thinking about it, I could also receive help from other families. For instance, the subordinate families like the Russo Family and the Solomon Family.

Though the Russo Family was currently struggling against the Viper, and the Solomon Family was too busy holding back the Sanchez Family to have any spare capacity.

Before long, as Kambara had mentioned, someone from the infirmary arrived.

A doctor, pharmacist, and even a nurse—all the personnel from the infirmary seemed to have come to assist me personally.

“….”

I didn’t say a word.

To be frank, speaking itself triggered pain.

Explaining my condition to the infirmary staff was sufficient with the help of Veronica and Kambara.

The best treatment for bruises is typically massage, but something more crucial came first.

Diagnosing my body’s condition beyond the visible bruises.

While the infirmary staff examined me, someone came to the Union Office of Academy staff.

“…Felicita?”

Felicita Marinelli. My beloved wife.

“Yeah, I came to check on you because I was worried.”

What she was holding was a massive silkworm moth, Hebili.

Yeah, in some ways, Hebili might be even more effective than the infirmary staff.

I had Veronica and Kambara tell the infirmary staff to leave. According to them, it looked like a few of my ribs were broken.

No wonder they kept pressing my waist, checking for reactions.