Chapter 138 Chapter 138 He is Italian, and I...
Humphrey was seldom so embarrassed.
Of course, he tried his best to maintain a neat appearance and elegant demeanor, just as Bernard once said: wearing a bow tie, medals, and attending various important occasions in a well-dressed manner...
But this time was a little different. Although Humphrey was still dressed like this, he couldn't help but feel panic and worry in his heart.
That was his minister! If his minister made a mistake, everyone would know it was the minister's fault (even if it wasn't), but it would definitely affect Humphrey's career. Just like when the Executive Department was on the verge of disbanding, sometimes Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary who was committed to taming the minister, would firmly stand on the same front with the minister, not allowing him to make any irreparable mistakes.
Humphrey was certainly relieved when he learned that Huck had left the reception drunkenly with Bernard and was heading for the lounge. But when he brushed past the Duke of Caserta—who even nodded politely—Humphrey's nerves began to lift again.
After all, that's the mafia! That's a terrorist! Even though he looks well-dressed and elegant, who knows what he might do!
And he even dared to declare, "'In the fight against terrorists, we always stand on a united front!'"
Even for Sir Humphrey, this was unheard of. Fortunately, Bernard cleverly replied with a formal, official response. But even the mere mention of terrorists filled Humphrey with deep concern. He exchanged glances with Bernard, who stood at the doorway, and quickly entered the lounge, each finding a seat.
Everything was just like in the Minister's office of the Executive Department. The three of them sat in three different positions, ready to face the topic of "terrorists".
"I do not believe this is a safe place, Minister," Humphrey said, cutting to the chase. "But I must take no further risks. I must tell you this information immediately, lest you make any uninformed decisions or actions. Just in case, may I ask, have you done so?"
Huck asked dazedly, "What?"
Humphrey sighed deeply and looked at Bernard. Bernard hesitated, "Yes... and no."
"What?" Huck asked.
"Let me tell you this clearly, Minister!" Humphrey told him succinctly, "Your friend - whether you still consider him your friend or not, after all, this is your personal choice. I have no right to interfere or comment. But for your safety and the safety of our entire administration, I must tell you this - Elio Vongola is a Vongola!"
"What are you talking about, Humphrey?" Huck was even more confused. He turned to Bernard. "Bernard, could you get me some lemonade or something? I'm really feeling a little dizzy now."
"Oh, of course."
But just as Bernard was about to stand up and leave the lounge, Humphrey finally dropped the bombshell, "The Vongola is an Italian mafia family, Minister! I really don't understand why you don't understand! They are the biggest terrorists in Italy!"
"What?!"
Bernard and Huck lost their voices almost simultaneously. Humphrey was initially pleased that Huck had finally understood his point, but soon realized that something was wrong.
"Why are you so surprised, Bernard?" said Humphrey.
Bernard hesitated, "Uh..."
"After all, the Duke is a friend of the Minister, so I'm not surprised that the Minister is surprised by this," Humphrey pointed out. "But you probably don't even know the Duke, let alone have any friendship with him. Why are you so surprised?"
Huck was still holding his head, trying to process the news. He felt genuinely drunk. Bernard was left alone to face Humphrey's pointed questions. "Well! I don't know, maybe because he looks... he sounds like a man with a conscience?"
"Come on, you conscientious mafia!" Humphrey sneered. "Why don't you say our minister is a conscientious minister?"
Bernard pointed out doubtfully, "But he is indeed a minister with a conscience."
"That's a damning accusation, Bernard," said Humphrey.
"I suppose he meant it as a compliment, Humphrey," said Huck, recovering himself at last. "But let us set aside our consciences for the moment."
Humphrey said, "Great, that's exactly what I wanted you to do."
Huck gave him a look of disapproval. This was the strictest and most severe communication between politicians and civil servants. How respectable! Humphrey couldn't help but feel a sense of relief at this and smiled, motioning Huck to continue.
"Are you sure Elio's a gangster?" Huck asked seriously. "That's a damning accusation!"
"As sharp as he has a conscience?" said Bernard, who could not help laughing, and then, receiving disapproving looks from both Huck and Humphrey, bit his lip and became serious.
"Thank you, Bernard," Humphrey said, "but please believe me, Minister, this is absolutely true. Otherwise, think about it, why would an Italian duke have a surname like 'Vongola'?"
"'Vongola'?" Huck asked in confusion.
"Oh, 'Vongola' is the Italian term for any of a variety of small, edible clams," Bernard said. "It usually refers to common bivalve shellfish, such as Manila clams, Marmoset clams, and..."
This time no one interrupted him. But Bernard stopped talking.
"I'm sorry, I'm pretty sure the Vongola Sir Humphrey was talking about wasn't that Vongola," Bernard said awkwardly.
"That's the Vongola, Bernard. Thank you." But to his surprise, Humphrey nodded. "That's a mafia family that started out as a vigilante group. Before that, they weren't even commoners with surnames. Can you imagine that?"
Hake, a "commoner" who graduated from the London School of Economics, looked at him speechlessly.
"I'm sorry, Minister," Humphrey continued tactfully. "You're probably aware of Italy's unique national conditions. Therefore, the Mafia thrived there more than the king and his army, and they performed their role as 'managers of order' more effectively. They also played a crucial and irreplaceable role in Italy's War of Independence. That's why King Victor Emmanuel II awarded Giotto Vongola and Elio Vongola the Order of the Annunciation, and conferred the titles of 'Duke of Volturno' and 'Duke of Caserta' on them, respectively."
"You're saying," Harker said, distilling the key point, "that they're the official Italian Mafia?"
"I'm afraid so."
This was a rather unseemly thing to do, in Humphrey's view. But the true politician, James Harker, always grasped certain points that the civil servants missed.
"Then they're not terrorists," Hake pointed out.
Humphrey was shocked. "What?"
Huck smiled. He turned to Bernard, who had been listening. "Bernard, tell him the definition of a terrorist!"
"Uh, terrorists are," Bernard explained subconsciously, "illegal... armed individuals who use violence against civilians to spread fear in order to achieve political or ideological goals... Oh!" As he spoke, he suddenly realized it.
"Look, Humphrey," Huck said calmly, "the Vongola are already an officially recognized armed group in Italy, if that's the right word! What political or ideological goals do they have to achieve? The King even awarded them the Order of the Annunciation and made them Dukes. If they have any political agenda, wouldn't they just tell the King directly?"
Humphrey was shocked. "You mean... through political means..."
"To tame the Vongola, yes." Huck nodded.
For a moment, the lounge was completely silent. Humphrey and Bernard were both caught in a moment of realization and shock. Harker was pleased with the situation; it meant he had regained his authority as a minister. He adjusted his tie—a dark gray striped tie that matched his dark gray suit with a solemnity that didn't conjure up bad news like mourning—cleared his throat, smiled, and asked Humphrey, "Now, are you okay with my going out with him?"
"How dare I have a problem with who you associate with, Minister!" Humphrey replied with a smile, recovering himself. "I'm just a..."
Huck predicted, "A lowly civil servant?"
Humphrey smiled, "Yes, Minister!"
They laughed amiably. Huck rose from the sofa, thinking he was sober enough now and it was time to return to the reception. But just then Bernard remembered something.
"Well, Minister," Bernard told Huck, "his Excellency the Duke asked me to tell you something."
Humphrey immediately gave him a look of shock and confusion. What was Bernard still talking about at this hour? But to their surprise, Huck, who had already walked to the door and was about to turn the doorknob, waved his hand without turning his head. "I already know."
"Did you hear that?" Bernard asked in surprise.
"Of course you don't think I was so drunk I couldn't hear what was going on at the door," said Huck.
"So you..."
Huck was lost in thought for a moment. Humphrey and Bernard waited behind him, breathless. The words about "conscience" and "comrades" lingered in Huck's mind for a moment, then dissolved into a sigh.
"What a pity," said Huck, "he's an Italian, and I'm an Englishman!"
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Author's Note: Oreo, who doesn't appear but is present in every conversation in this chapter: Who? An Italian? Me?
But if the DAA knew that Oreo is American: Oh my god, that would be even worse!
As for the modern issues that everyone seems to be more concerned about, I will secretly adjust the speed of time flow (…) In short, not too much time has passed in the modern era, and Oreo will not look particularly different (although he must have changed mentally due to what he has experienced), but after all, he is wearing the Lord of the Rings, so although his actual age is over 40, he still looks like a young man in his twenties or thirties. It is a slight change that will not make people around him think "weird, how come he hasn't aged at all", but at the same time, when he returns to the modern era, people will not think "weird, he has aged a lot". It is probably within the normal range of "oh, time travel has changed him a little."
When I find a chance to talk about the Vongola + Simons getting the ring, Oreo's immortality buff will be even less obvious... Everyone will have the ring buff...
I really didn't expect that this first generation of the tutor would be so long (scratching my head), but since it's here, I got excited and added all kinds of things to the tutor's plot, like the unification of Italy + heroes + ministers and so on... It turned out to be even longer. I can only say that I am grateful for your support (sliding on my knees). The plot of the expansion of the Vongola and internal discord is being laid out. After the internal discord is "dealt with", everyone should go back to their own homes.
Then there's the modern-day reactions. Oreo wasn't actually gone for that long, according to their timeline. So, for example, Leopold was completely unaware (he had no way of knowing Oreo's whereabouts, haha, except for the news, internal communications between the Templars and the Cricket Assassins, and Oreo directly). And then there's Willow, who was kept in the dark by Alvin (who told her Oreo was on a mission and couldn't be contacted for the time being). Alvin told her that Oreo was on a mission and couldn't be contacted for the time being, and Willow half-believed it, not realizing what was going on. Finally, when Oreo disappeared from the modern-day Vongola, Vongola X and the Guardians were horrified, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, they learned that Oreo wasn't dead, but had returned to the past...
I might write about this special reason in the sequel, so I won't spoil it for now (scratching my head). Those who have watched "Hot-Man: Inspiration" can guess who it is that knew that Oreo had been looking forward to it in the first generation and was able to communicate with the Tenth Generation (excluding Talpo for now)... After all, the miracle of the Vongola Ring is the past time.jpg
So although the Vongola Ten and the others were shocked at the time, they were relieved to know that Oreo was not dead. They quickly contacted Galahad and told him awkwardly that Oreo was gone. Galahad told Alvin, and Alvin rushed over.
I don’t know if it will be written, but when Alvin, who has been squatting with the Vongola people, sees Oreo coming back, he will probably say: You kid still remember to come back!
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