Chapter 272

Nana and her companions listened in for a while before leaving to help outside.

Despite considering it from the perspective of family organizational structure, Nana could understand the joy these families were experiencing at finally finding an opportunity to shake the rulers of the city-state... After all, opportunities to weaken the power of the Abria Family were few and far between.

For them, even if Corleone were to relinquish control over some of his insignificant positions within the court, it would be a major success for those families... As for how those positions would be distributed among their many families, that was a matter for later.

Compared to that, ninjas from the Higashi are something only the Abria Family... and even Lady Sicilia, need to consider.

Even if Nana doesn't understand it, this insect-like way of thinking is indeed the truth of Siracusa -style political struggles.

For them, the concept of 'nation' is even foreign.

In a family-run political system, whoever controls the most important court positions, whoever has more court personnel under their control, is closer to Lady Sicilia, and is more likely to rule the land. Compared to these factors, foreign invasion, national face, and even the country's commercial reputation may not be the primary concern for the family, or even things that need not be considered at all.

That ninja must have done considerable research on this, after all, Nana disregarded local customs, went against human nature, and even interfered in a way that was outrageous in the industry... Faced with his eventual exposure, the ninja chose to launch a sudden attack on a judge who could be won over by a family, rather than the high-ranking members of the families within the theater.

Ultimately, the purposes demonstrated by 'Valeria's way of killing a judge and her Firearms Arts squadron' and 'Valeria killing the high-ranking family members who conspired to unite' are completely opposite.

The former would leave Valeria with no place to stand in Siracusa, while the latter would simply plunge the city-state into chaos... and might even attract the attention of the even more unmanageable Lady Sicilia.

"So now it all makes sense. That ninja is essentially on Lisa's side. He'll ignore the rules of Siracusa and cooperate with you to wipe out all the masterminds behind that conspiracy, while at the same time he'll be targeting you too... If his plan goes smoothly, then you'll probably be forced to wander the wilderness with Lisa soon."

He can do whatever he wants with you then, and Lisa's fate will visibly descend into chaos.

Valeria, of course, understood Nana's implied meaning:

"... After all, no one could have imagined that the members of the treatment organization I asked Mr. Corleone to find would actually beat up all the family members and court officials just because of Little Lisa's request. Even if we know something about Rhodes Island's culture through Mr. Corleone, someone as extreme and explosive as Medic is just too illogical."

Speaking of which, Valeria, who had spent several hours helping Vittoria send the wounded to the doctors recruited by the Continental Hotel for treatment, chuckled as she waited for Corleone and the other family members to finish their meeting. She thought about Nana's outrageous actions.

"But in Siracusa... the so-called 'common sense' is that we are born into a family, live in a family, and die in a family... If Medic were just like a normal medical company, picking up Lisa in the city or even the wilderness, my best outcome would probably be sending that child to Rhodes Island with Mr. Corleone's tacit approval... Forget about innocence, I'm so afraid of death that I don't even know if I can keep my own life."

Listening to Valeria's sigh, Nana attitude remaining as calm as ever.

"These assumptions are meaningless. I felt I could help you, so I acted accordingly. If the mastermind behind this could fight me, then who knows what would happen next? Maybe I would be the one leading you all in a panicked escape... But right now, it's him who's in a panicked escape."

"And next, he'll be escaping from the clutches of a Grey Hall Family in Siracusa... While hypotheticals are meaningless, I think Valeria, you still need to be well-prepared."

"Prepare?"

Nodding, Nana glanced at the Shadow Annihilator, sent by some unknown family, who stood guard with a crossbow and whose gaze was Shadow Eliminator on her. Enduring the unpleasant look, she continued:

"Valeria, you're not planning to come to Rhodes Island with us, are you?"

"... After all, Mr. Corleone personally intervened to argue on my behalf with the other families, so I really have no reason to insist on leaving..."

"But that doesn't mean that ninja won't come looking for trouble again... Now that you won't be executed by your clan, Rhodes Island's top priority is bringing Lisa and Angelina back to Rhodes Island. If I'm not by your side, as an assassin whose identity has been exposed, if you don't live with Lisa on Rhodes Island, you'll have to deal with that ninja yourself. But what I'm more concerned about is, aside from the ninja issue, what will you do next?"

In response to Nana's question, the blonde Mrs. Vulpo unconsciously touched her wedding ring on her ring finger.

It was a simple silver metal ring with no fancy decorations, and Valeria had unconsciously been rubbing it a few hours earlier when the ninja said she was causing trouble for her husband and making him uneasy.

"Mr. Corleone said that I would be forced to deal with this 'extermination' incident for a long time to come... not only with the families in the city, but also with Lady Sicilia's direct judge after he arrives."

"After that, I'll reunite with my husband... After that, I can no longer continue with the Eradicator work, so I'll probably take on some peripheral family tasks from Mr. Corleone... I might be dispatched to other city-states as a branch manager or something?"

Seeing Valeria's seemingly uncertain statement, Nana turned to look at Lisa, whose hand was being held by Angelina's. Although she pursed her lips to try and appear calm, her little hand was constantly clutching the hem of her skirt, making her look nothing like Little Lisa who could leave without worry.

"Well? That's what your mother said..."

"... Even if you say that, Sister Medic, I... can't really say anything, can I?"

With a smile that seemed completely unlike that of a child, the golden-haired Little Fox with nine tails looked slightly aggrieved after meeting its mother's gaze, but the little guy still tried its best to straighten its back, as if to say, "Don't worry about me."

"My mom is the type who forces herself to do things she's not good at... For example, she can't cook but she insists on doing it anyway, and when she cracks eggs, she leaves eggshell fragments in the bowl. She's not good at taking care of people but she always likes to do things herself, and when she combs someone's hair, she always pulls their hair... But, she's the mom who insists on cooking for me every day, and she always takes the opportunity to braid Lisa's hair... Lisa loves her the most."

Perhaps understanding that Nana's question was a question about whether she had fulfilled her wish of 'not wanting her mother to be executed by the family,' the girl named Lisa gripped the hem of her dress, trying hard to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes before leaving her mother.

"So, I think Mom should live with Dad and be freer... Lisa won't insist on living with Mom anymore, but... after this matter is resolved, Mom should come to Rhodes Island to see me... right?"

Seeing that the little one still seemed to be bothered by Valeria's farewell words, and seeing that her daughter wasn't crying while her assassin mother was sobbing uncontrollably, and Valeria was speechless, Nana could only take the little nine-tailed Vulpo from Angelina's arms, who was wearing a helpless smile, and let her wipe away her mother's tears herself, then comfort both the big and small golden foxes:

"Don't worry, although given that ninja and the existence of the Shrine behind him, I probably won't bring Lisa to see you on my own initiative... If you see the little one in front of you in the future, you'd better verify who it is before you speak to them... However, if you and your husband want to come to Rhodes Island to see Lisa in person, I think it will definitely be easier than having Lisa come to see you. She will be very safe on Rhodes Island; the CEO of Rhodes Island is only a few years older than her, and my adopted daughter will take care of her."

"An adopted daughter?!"

"Well, my child's codename on Rhodes Island is 'Rosemary'... It's said to be a plant that can draw courage from one's memories... And since we're on the topic, Lisa, what codename would you like?"

Seeing that Nana was changing the subject of the mother-daughter separation, Folinic, who was watching from the sidelines, whispered a reminder:

"Senior, we also have colleagues who use their names as pseudonyms. We have several colleagues in logistics named Lisa..."

"... In that case, we really need a code name..."

Although Nana had tried her best to crack jokes, the girl in her arms smiled slightly and then looked back at her mother:

"Mom... you just said you're going to meet up with Dad... does that mean you're going to the Higashi?"

"... I brought you out from there, but left your father behind... Now the ninjas from our hometown are after us, and I think your father's condition might not be good... I have to go and help him."

As she spoke, Valeria gently rubbed her daughter's face. Looking around at the collapsed theater, she gazed wistfully into the distance... and at the edge of her vision, Valeria spotted a flower shop.

"That's... ah, Lisa, your code name..."

"Code name?"

"... How about calling it 'Suzuran'?"

Watching the mother and daughter's final interaction, Nana glanced at the flower shop in the distance with a puzzled look. There were no 'Suzuran' displayed in front of that shop.

However, seeing how much the little one in her arms liked it and nodded repeatedly, Nana guessed that this was probably some kind of symbol in their family.

"That sounds beautiful! Well then, I look forward to working with you from now on, Suzuran."

The little one nodded, then, as if trying to avoid his mother's gaze, said goodbye and snuggled into her arms... Nana looked at Valeria, who seemed satisfied:

"Then, we'll return to Rhodes Island as soon as possible to treat the little one's condition... Su Sulo, please give the results of the simple examination we did on the little one when we first met to Valeria for safekeeping."

"... Is that alright?"

"Yes, you can compare your daughter's condition progression then."

Seeing Valeria solemnly accept the handwritten document, Su Sulo understood that this was Nana's final farewell gesture to her mother. Typhon, unusually, also spoke up, asking:

"So, you mean we're not going to follow up on that ninja anymore?"

"... They just don't take the initiative to follow up."

Shaking her head, Nana bid farewell to Valeria, and the group boarded their own off-road vehicle, which had been resupplyed, at the entrance of the chaotic theater.

"Furthermore, separating from Valeria is also a strategy... after all, it's still difficult to ascertain who the ninjas are targeting."

"Originally, I insisted on keeping everyone together, mainly because the ninjas and local families were mixed together, and the other side had repeatedly used schemes to send Sicilians to their deaths here... Now that things have come to light, it has become that our Rhodes Island families and Siracusa families are mixed together."

"From his subsequent actions, we can roughly discern his target... If that person was indeed targeting Lisa from the beginning, then it's highly likely he followed. If we deal with him, we can simply notify the people of Siracusa to collect the body..."

Seeing Nana put him back in the safer back seat and instruct Folinic and Angelina to take care of him, the Little Fox looked at its mother's departing figure and said uneasily:

"Then... what if that person is still chasing after Mother..."

"No need to worry about that."

As Nana started the car, Vittoria, who had been waiting for a long time before finally speaking to Valeria, gestured for the little one to go see the Siracusa intern judge. She then approached and knocked on the driver's side window.

"Rhodes Island, you've turned my base upside down, and now you want to leave?"

"My objective has been achieved; the child's mother's situation is no longer so urgent... so there is naturally no reason for us to linger any longer."

Making similar remarks to Valeria's earlier statement, Nana rested her elbow on the car window, waiting for the engine to warm up, and then took a document from the gray-haired judge with a puzzled expression:

"... This is... a travel permit?"

"Although I know that with your strength you could probably face any family without any trouble... but, as a way of thanking you for coming to save me later, I'll spare you those troubles for now."

Seeing the gray-haired woman's seemingly smug hand-on-hips gesture, Nana blinked and handed the documents to Su Sulo in the passenger seat for safekeeping.

"Thank you very much... However, I thought you would try to stop us... for example, by insisting on continuing to cooperate with the investigation or something..."

"Generally speaking, doing something this outrageous wouldn't make you leave so easily, but you're an exception... After all, most people shudder at the mention of the Rhodes Island court these days. And it's not just the court; the family members deliberately avoid mentioning Rhodes Island in their meetings. They might even be secretly cheering when they see you packing your things to leave!"

As she said this, Vittoria, who had braided her smooth gray hair, leaned against Nana's car window, her face beaming with smiles.

"However, what you said does seem to have some inspiration for my student... She does seem to have a better understanding of so-called 'justice,' although I'm not sure if that's a good thing in Siracusa... Anyway, I'd like to visit you when I have some free time."

"Looking for me?"

"After all, as a legal professional, after hearing someone confidently declare, 'I am justice!'... I'll inevitably have some doubts. You'd better hold onto your sense of justice, or you'll be in big trouble if I later find out you were just saying nice things to me."

"... Justice is clearly a term describing a relative stance?"

"But every individual, every citizen, possesses a fundamental and simple sense of justice... Isn't that what you said?"

Just as Nana frowned slightly, wondering if she had said something similar to the other person, the gray-haired judge glanced at the back seat, her gaze always drifting towards her apprentice and her mother, and smiled as she gestured with her fingers:

"Don't worry~ Even if this righteous doctor and her friends leave, your mother will no longer be alone... Mr. Corleone is a person who values friendship very much, and for the sake of the stability of the city-state, I will try my best to make the people of the court see their own position clearly, instead of favoring those messy families... So rest assured, we will help her deal with that ninja villain!"

"But... this brown-haired girl... haven't we met somewhere before?"

Seeing Angelina stiffly avert her gaze, the gray-haired judge looked suspiciously at Nana, who had also slightly turned her gaze away, then sighed and said, "You..."

"I remember, when you Rhodes Island came here, wasn't this person not here? So..."

Before Vittoria could say anything more, Nana, with a serious expression, used Invisible Hand to make her leave the car.

Amidst cries of "We're running away!" and the girls' gasps, an off-road vehicle bearing the Rhodes Island logo, fully loaded with people and luggage, sped off towards Lungmen.

Vittoria some thought, understood why the powerful Angel cat had suddenly become so sweaty; after all, illegal immigration is strictly controlled by the authorities in any country... Part Three

For individuals with exceptional Originium Arts, or those with great potential, the possibility of being taken away in a car by a foreign country or a company located there is truly rare for traditional nations... especially for a 'seemingly modern' country like Siracusa.

Even if Vittoria only vaguely recognized the girl, for someone like Medic to value her, she must have something special about her.

If she handled the matter impartially, the other party's travel permit would definitely not be approved... Vittoria was quite aware of this.

However, for a Siracusa who diligently studied theoretical magic, graduated from Leithanien, and then went on to study law in Columbia, seeing a fellow citizen being treated so preciously by a corporation like Rhodes Island, even if it meant forcibly taking him away... Vittoria was surprisingly very much looking forward to that child's future.

"So... Lisa, and you, I wish you both happiness in the future... But Medic, you underestimated me like that, I'll remember that grudge..."

"Master?")

As the intern judge named Lavinia habitually reminded her supervising intern to stop her erratic behavior, the gray-haired woman toyed with the ends of her gray hair, and the two met eyes in front of the ruins where reconstruction had already begun:

"Rhodes Island... Lavinia, let's go find that lunatic named Medic sometime."

"... I don't think your mental state is much better than that person's."

"So verbose!"

Swallowing the matter of Angelina, the gray-haired judge chuckled and nudged his apprentice's waist with his elbow:

"Don't you want to know if that person is truly upholding justice or just pretending? ~ I feel like being with her would be a lot of fun."

"I think you just believe that having such exceptionally powerful teammates to help you solve any problem will skyrocket the case closure rate... Alright, please stop delaying, Mr. Corleone is calling you."

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSSS: Regarding the reason why this volume seems to have a somewhat rushed ending... it might not be everyone's imagination... because I suddenly saw a comment reminding me, and then I checked the silhouette on PV4... it seems to be Lisa's alternate self or even her mother.

So after much thought, I still felt I had to cut the subsequent original storyline... because my own arbitrary speculation about YJ could very well cause serious logical errors in this story due to the ever-evolving worldview.

So, the sequel to the ninja story, and the originally planned ninja killer duel with Nana, were decided to be cancelled... Let's just assume that the ninja saw he was outmatched and decided to run away.

After that, let Nana go to Lungmen to do some of Rhodes Island's regular work... and then, she can go see Skadi.

9th Lungmen Seafood: Ch'en Hui-chieh 308)

Great Yan... As one of the few countries that can make Nana let down most of her instinctive guard, its safety index is second to none among the core countries. Unlike Victoria, which has declined to this day due to political factors, you can feel the overwhelming atmosphere from the moment you enter the Great Yan's border shipping lanes.

Large, medium and small (I) Lin Yiqi, like dirty leek threads, leek leaves, Mobile City brushed past each other on their respective routes, while at this moment, the young city named Lungmen remained as still as a mountain.

In the distance, large Landship, often over 600 meters high, were propelled laterally to the outer edge of the city by high-powered return vehicles. Their massive walking mechanisms automatically balanced themselves with the help of hydraulic rods, and huge trestle bridges extended and stretched out. The vast city was constantly connecting with Landship from all over the world to complete or disconnect docking.

The vehicles carrying everyone converged in the traffic flow, entering in batches as signal lights carried by drones appeared. Armed soldiers stood on the duty platform, watching the bustling crowd below, carrying loads by hand and shoulder to shoulder... Nana believed that this busy scene before her should undoubtedly be called 'prosperity'.

"So many people... Despite being a large country, Ursus's territory is so... desolate."

Upon hearing Folinic's exclamation from behind, Nana instinctively wanted to stop her junior from carrying the child to the window and rolling down the window to let him experience the exotic atmosphere.

But considering that this wasn't Columbia, a place rife with selfish culture and gangs, but rather the Great Yan, known for its chivalrous spirit, and with a soldier standing guard every hundred meters or so to maintain order at the Lungmen Checkpoint... Nana didn't say much to Suzuran, who was peeking out the window, her mouth agape, her tail swaying from side to side like a fan.

But Suzuran is ten years old, Angelina, you're not ten! Why are you clinging to the window and swaying your tail like a little kid?

After a moment of silence, Nana began to think about how to introduce these children of Siracusa to a real modern country.

Perhaps the mere mention of explaining this land to children easily reminds Nana of the seemingly omniscient Kal'tsit. When explaining it to the children, Nana's tone and expression seemed to perfectly capture Kal'tsit's essence:

"The writers of Ursus lamented the emptiness of the land, but this emptiness was filled by their southern neighbors with an astonishing persistence. A full three hundred million people lived in the Mobile City and surface settlements of Yan... The farmland, urban waterways, and highways of three hundred million people transformed the landscape of the land."