I Become a Mafia in the Academy - Chapter 228

“By the way, I really didn’t think there would be pagans sneaking around like Junior said.”

“I was surprised, too, because you told me to tell Pen to bite the pagan if I thought there was going to be an explosion. How the hell did you know?”

After the banquet, we gathered in my room and began the aftermath.

“Well, Etna Volcano is one of the dungeons the pagans hold sacred, and since we made it official, we figured they’d show up here with all the raiders.”

As it turns out, bringing Michaela was a stroke of luck.

Without her, I’d have had to use my Ascalon chopsticks……and poke people one by one.

“By the way, were there any scouting offers for you guys? I mean, you’re my colleagues, so there must have been some approach.”

“Oh, right!” she exclaimed.

“I had about three people come to me, and they said they would sponsor me properly, so I asked them how much they could do, and they gave me an amount of sponsorship that was nothing, and then they got all smug and cocky.”

“I declined, too. I told them I was from the Vatican, and they ran away.”

The two of them look smug and cocky, as if to say, ‘We did a good job.’

Well, maybe they did.

It’s unlikely that anyone of their caliber would keep quiet about their true worth.

At best, Elena would be considered a prospect, and even if she did well under the circumstances, she wouldn’t be worth the price of the Aventador I bought her.

As for Michaela……well, they deserved it.

“By the way, we’re actually going on a raid tomorrow, and I’m still dying of nerves.”

Elena crosses her hands over her chest and looks stern but Michaela pats her shoulder as if it’s nothing.

“In the end, they’re just pagans against the will of the Lord. Don’t be so nervous, sister, I’ll protect you.”

“Hehe, thank you, Sister.”

“Of course you should, so let’s get back to enjoying ourselves.”

With that, she slipped her hand into her wide sleeves and pulled out a familiar bottle of wine.

Wait a minute……isn’t that the wine I bought you at the department store for tens of millions of credits?

“Shouldn’t we drink something proper on such an occasion? Please, let’s enjoy it with a short prayer for tomorrow’s victory.”

As she says this, my jaw drops as she pulls out the wine opener she always carries with her and pops the top.

I didn’t realize that the nun’s outfit she’s wearing is enchanted with subspace magic, but she has her own opener. She’s serious when it comes to wine.

Still, I’m a sucker for this kind of atmosphere, so I smirk as I hold out my empty glass to her.

“Amen. Sister.”

And just like that, the day of reckoning had arrived.

* * *

“The best work of my life gets another update.”

~Early morning before the raid~

Arriving at the workshop, I stare blankly at the shoes in Ludvio’s hands.

“Why don’t you give me an appraisal as well?”

“I have the Appraise skill, so that’s fine. Wait, can I check it out?”

“Of course. It was originally yours.”

I take the newly transformed Black Mist from him, as if I was receiving a newborn child.

Whereas before I first entrusted it to him, it was nothing more than a beautiful shoe, now it literally looks like a black mist.

The black aura that seems to scatter around itself seems to radiate its own ‘specialness’.

“Here, take it.”

Black Mist was finally placed in my hand. At the same time, a window filled up in front of me with information that was completely different from the information I knew about it.

[Name: Black Mist]]

[Class: Artifact]

[Type: Shoe]

[Description: These shoes are made from the shoes used by Iljimae, a man who was called the legendary thief in the past.

It has been enhanced once by Ludvio Marco, an Italian Maestro.

When worn, it completely blocks footsteps and greatly reduces the user’s presence.

You can stomp through the air 6 times and your Agility is increased by 40%.]

【Skills】

[1. Maestro’s Work: There are no gaps in the Maestro’s work. Greatly reduces the amount of shock from external impacts, including waterproof, bulletproof, and swordproof.]

[2. Shadow Walk: Having absorbed the essence of the power of an advanced dark spirit, these shoes can assimilate into the shadows around them, allowing them to move at high speeds. When blending into the shadows, external damage is reduced by 50%.

Can be used a total of 10 times per day.]

[3. Thunderbolt: The stone of the Thunder God and the essence of the Dark Spirit combine to form a powerful synergy.

Can be used 3 times per day to bestow the electricity attribute on Black Mist.

You can charge at enemies with lightning-like speed. All your enemies will hear is the sound of thunder after you’re gone.]

[4. Storage: You can store electricity in Black Mist as well as absorb electricity from your surroundings.

The stored current can also be released at once, and can be used to release lightning when attacking.]

[5. Dragonkin: These shoes are made from the scales of an evil dragon. Magic below a certain level will disintegrate just by touching it, and it has a high resistance to magic.]

[6. Black Thunder Sea: It scatters a fog with darkness properties around it, engulfing everything in its vicinity. The interior of the mist is filled with endless black lightning that strikes the opponent.]

“Ha.”

It’s an item with specifications that can’t help but make me laugh.

Seeing my expression, Ludvio looked at me expectantly and asked,

“What do you think?”

“Seriously. It’s crazy.”

“Isn’t it?”

A shoe with six skills.

Each and every one of them goes beyond the practical to the ridiculous.

Each skill was created by using the best materials in their respective fields.

And the synergy of each material doubles the effectiveness.

The painstaking collection of materials is worth it.

“This is an artifact. It’s worthy of the highest ranking among national treasures.”

“It’s all thanks to the good materials, and all I did was to orchestrate them so that they would be harmonious. I hope these shoes will be of great help to you on your journey.”

“Yes. They will certainly help, Maestro. Thank you very much.”

There were very few shoes in the game with these specifications.

“Oh, I almost forgot, there is one problem with these shoes.”

I was about to grab the shoes and leave the workshop when I heard his voice behind me.

A problem? With such a perfect spec?

“Lightning is an unknown and unpredictable force, and it will take some time to get it right. So please use it carefully.”

Oh, I see.

“If that’s the case, you don’t need to worry.”

“Hmm?”

I’ve already controlled all that stuff. I know how to do it.

-Bam-bam-bam!

Just then, I heard a claxon outside.

-Eugene, hurry up or we’ll be late!

Elena’s voice came from outside. Ludvio chuckled and looked out the window.

“I see. Come on, let’s go. We have to make history, don’t we?”

“Yes. Let’s go, then.”

I bowed at 90 degrees to him and waved goodbye. Then I hear Ludvio’s voice above my head.

“Please, take care of Elena.”

“Don’t worry, have you forgotten who I am?”

“Haha, of course, I forgot.”

I walked out of the workshop to find Elena waiting for me in the driver’s seat of the Aventador with her sunglasses on, the engine roaring away.

“Get in,” she said, “we’re going to be diligent.”

“Where’s Sister?”

“I’m here. Corleone Jr.”

Michaela, whom I hadn’t seen properly due to her short stature, poked her head out the window.

I left Michaela, who got out of the car first, making a ‘tsk!’ sound, and sat down in the passenger seat, and then she naturally sat on top of me.

“You said you were going somewhere early in the morning, so I guessed you came to the workshop.”

She glances out the window, looking toward Ludvio’s workshop.

“Oh, yes. I had quite a few things to pick up.”

“Did you get your things?”

“Yes. I’m sure sister will be pleasantly surprised.”

Because the things I got were beyond my wildest imagination.

“Then we’ll head straight for the Etna volcano. The meeting point is definitely at the beginning of the Etna volcano, right?”

“The path is clear, so make sure you step on it.”

“Yes!”

Boom, boom, boom─────!!!

Elena’s Aventador takes off with a huge explosive sound.

“Kaboom!”

Michaela’s head snaps back just in time for the sharp braking, and I get smacked right in the uvula by her head.

“Sorry!”

She smiles too brightly to be an apology for braking, and steps on the accelerator.

It was quite painful to have a sore throat, but──

“It’s a beautiful day, the Lord will surely bless our raid if it’s this clear.”

The cloudless blue sky, the wide expanse of orchards, and the blue coastline in the distance.

Michaela was right, it was a beautiful, sunny day.

“Yeah, although soon we’ll be inside the volcano and won’t be able to see it.”

But…….nights like this can be just as beautiful.

* * *

Mornings in Vatican City start earlier than most.

The Vatican was waking up to an unusually noisy morning.

“Isn’t this all because of the Medici’s plan to attack the Etna volcano?”

“How can it be a sin to go to exterminate the infidels?”

“Don’t you realize that provoking them in the wrong way will only lead to a repeat of the disaster of a few decades ago?”

The Vatican’s conclave in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The cardinals present yelled and screamed at each other, referring to Michaela’s report, which they had just received.

“Didn’t you say that the pagans have already begun to move?”

“Well, no. They would have stayed still if they hadn’t been touched!”

“Proof! Do you have proof?!”

“There’s no proof, man, anyone can see it!”

Then

Kuung──

A dull sound reverberated throughout the cathedral, causing everyone to close their mouths.

“Everyone, calm down.”

A shabby chair carved out of wood.

On it sat a man with his jaw set, a shoulder cloak called Pellegrina draped over his pure white robes.

His attire is so unassuming, except for the Pellegrina, that he could pass for a simple priest.

Yet, the overwhelming aura and holiness that radiated from him was a far cry from the cardinals gathered here.

“It is, after all, something that happened on the mainland, so it is inevitable that we, the Vatican, will have to intervene. No, rather, I see the current state of affairs as a kind of opportunity from the Lord.”

The red-capped cardinal raises his hand cautiously at the pope’s words.

“What does He mean by opportunity……?”

“──An opportunity to oust a disturbing heretic from the Holy Vatican Empire.”

With that, he stood up from his seat and addressed the many who stood beneath him.

“Prepare yourselves. If what Templar Michaela says is true, something big is going to happen today.”

At the Pope’s words of preparation, everyone has only one word in their heads.

Crusade.

“Prepare for the crusade. That is the command of me, Benedict.”

Everyone in the chapel responds in unison.

“””A-men.”””

For to contradict his words would never be possible on this earth.