Chapter 94 Chapter 94 I forgot to ask, what do you do for a living...
Surprisingly, the "Tenth Vongola" proved much more approachable than Elio had initially imagined. After listening to Galahad's intentions, he readily agreed to assist Elio without much hesitation. However, due to the research needs of the scientific department, the Vongola invited Elio to stay in its castle for a few days while they prepared the appropriate venue.
Elio couldn't think of any reason to refuse the Vongola's generosity. His intuition told him there was something else behind it, but the Vongola's hospitality was truly refreshing. Galahad also seemed unfazed as he gracefully departed, leaving the assassin in this castle built centuries ago.
Yes, the castle.
This was Elio's first time living in a real castle. When he woke up in the morning, he'd see the turquoise river flowing gracefully through the warm yellow walls. During the day, golden sunlight would filter through the emerald green leaves, bright but not blinding, almost making Elio, book in hand, mistakenly believe he was on vacation in Italy. And in the evening, when Elio returned to the castle in the twilight, he'd see the lights on every floor and every room gradually illuminate, like a giant cake adorned with beautiful lights, set against a backdrop of a sky that gradually faded into deep blue, a gentle moon rising above.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?"
Before Elio could turn, the Vongola behind him stepped forward and gently placed its hand on his shoulder. The young, promising Mafia leader looked tired, likely having just finished work. He quietly waved to the group behind him, signaling them to go about their business. As if meeting the sea of Moses, the group dispersed, leaving only the Vongola and Elio in the shadow of the elegant castle.
"Yes," Elio said, "she's beautiful."
The assassin spoke slowly, with the awkwardness that comes with speaking a foreign language. The Vongola, perhaps aware of this, spoke slowly to him, and now, with a smile, gestured for Elio to walk slowly forward with him.
"As long as you like," Vongola said, "you can stay as long as you want."
Elio certainly understood the simple, deliberately slow Italian. But he quickly frowned, puzzled by the implications. The Vongola simply patted his shoulder with a smile and shoved Elio into the dining room.
"Please do me the honor of having dinner with me," the Vongola whispered. "I've let you stay here for so many days, and I haven't entertained you properly. It's really a dereliction of duty as your host."
The sentence was far too long. Elio understood, but couldn't muster a lengthy response. He walked in with a stern face, unsurprisingly seeing and hearing a small gasp from the restaurant. A Vongola emerged from behind him, beaming and greeting each of his starry-eyed subordinates. It was like a miniature idol meet-and-greet. Luckily, they had the tact and manners to not deliberately get up and chase after the Vongola, simply taking up his time. By the time the Vongola sat down across from him, Elio had already ordered his own portion.
“I want to eat today…”
The Vongola quickly ordered with the waiter, then looked at Elio, who had been staring at him for a long time. Elio waited until the waiter left before saying, "If you want me to do anything for you, just tell me."
At this, the Vongola raised an eyebrow, "Then I'll just say it straight?"
"Please."
"I hope you'll consider joining my family," the Vongola said bluntly. "I don't necessarily want you to do that, but I hope you'll consider it. Please enjoy your stay here and let me know your response."
For someone with the title of "Tenth Generation," his words of recruitment were quite straightforward. Perhaps because he was also very young, his gentle brown eyes gleamed with a beautiful sincerity under the light. Elio had no doubt that anyone else in his position would have agreed immediately.
This is the "Vongola Family", the uncrowned king of the Italian Mafia. In people's minds, their authority is probably higher than that of the Italian government (and they act much more openly than the Italian government).
But Elio was still puzzled. "Can you tell me why?"
It couldn't be because Elio had given him a cigarette that day and then promised to keep it a secret. Elio still hadn't figured out who he was keeping the secret from.
But at this point, Vongola suddenly stopped talking. He glanced at the waiter who was walking behind Elio and gracefully spread his hands, "Please enjoy your dinner."
Elio was genuinely hungry. He'd spent the day strolling along the beach, and while he'd neither killed anyone nor climbed any buildings, he'd still expended some energy. He'd also walked the long way back to the castle (he'd tried to take a taxi, but no one dared), and now he was unceremoniously feasting.
Elio only stopped when the Vongola dinner was served.
"Have you always had such a good appetite?" he asked.
Because it was obviously enough for two people. The Vongola also raised an eyebrow, but did not look surprised. Then, a very handsome man with long blue hair sat down at their table.
"I didn't find you upstairs," he complained directly to the Vongola without even glancing at Elio, "so you hid here."
The Vongola simply smiled and shared the food with him. There was another small commotion around them. Elio noticed this and calmly glanced at the blue-haired girl, guessing that he was the cause of the commotion. With just one glance, the blue-haired girl stared back sharply, then glanced at the Vongola girl with an inexplicable expression.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"This is Elliot Smith, my guest." The Vongola introduced them calmly, "This is Rokudo Mukuro, my important friend."
Elio, who had just finished a cramming session on Italian and Japanese culture, couldn't help but find it odd that this blue-haired man, who looked like a typical Italian, had a nonsensical Japanese name like "Zeus Jesus." Of course, he didn't voice his doubts, simply nodding politely at the blue-haired man. "Hello."
"Hello." The blue-haired man replied politely. He then turned his head again, and even Elio, a foreigner, could hear the sarcasm in his tone, "It seems you have made a new friend, 'Sawada Tsunayoshi'."
The Vongola, addressed by his full name, remained unmoved, a gesture Elio admired immensely. "Thank you for your kind words, Corpse."
Despite this, their conversation betrayed a familiarity that came from years of acquaintance. The blue-haired man even discerningly passed the cherry tomato garnish on his steak to the Vongola, who ate it without a single objection, leaving Elio feeling that he shouldn't be sitting there. But after a while, the blue-haired man spoke to him, "You're not a member of the Mafia, are you?"
"No," Elio said, but his face showed a look of doubt, "How did you know that?"
"That's what I was saying," the blue-haired girl suddenly realized, "No wonder you didn't seem to know me!"
Elio asked, "So you are?"
"Mukuro," Vongola coughed, "If you have nothing to do, do me a favor."
"You said the same thing a few days ago," the distracted blue-haired girl complained, "and last month, the month before that, and half a year ago. Can't you just give me a break, you damn mafia?"
Elio, standing by, almost thought he'd misheard. But the "Damn Mafia" Vongola X remained unmoved, even maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor. "Then, take a week off."
The blue-haired man suddenly fell into a strange silence, and with a strange expression, he poked at the steak on the plate. Elio looked at him, then at the Vongola, and couldn't help asking, "Should I step aside?"
"No," the Vongola replied good-naturedly, "We don't usually discuss work here. I'm sorry I ignored you earlier, Elio. I was just about to ask, if you're free these two days, would you allow me to show you around the area?"
"You in person?" Elio said. "I don't think I'd bother you. I see you're very busy every day."
"You're supposed to be entertaining a guest, but then you let him go and explore aimlessly on his own," the Vongola laughed. "That's extremely rude."
"Then I'll be honest with you. I'm not used to people looking at us wherever we go," Elio said. "I appreciate your kindness, but please rest assured that I won't wander into deserted places."
The Vongola was speechless for a moment, but the long blue-haired girl burst out laughing. "Oh, that's rare. When was the last time you were rejected?" But before Elio could say anything, he turned around and volunteered. "How about I take you out for a walk? As you heard, I just got a week of free time from our respected leader, and I promise you, as long as I'm by your side, no one will dare to look at you twice."
Is this true, Elio thought, so who is he?
"Besides," the long-haired man said deliberately, "I can use this opportunity of entertaining guests to get some of the meal expenses reimbursed. Please don't be stingy and provide me with this opportunity to eat and drink on public funds."
"Mukuro," the Vongola said helplessly, "I'm still here."
"So what?"
Since he'd said it so nicely, Elio didn't find any excuse to refuse. That evening, Rokudo Mukuro took him on a tour of the castle, diligently explaining each area and clearly stating where he could and shouldn't go. The next day, Rokudo Mukuro excitedly drove out the coolest royal blue Ferrari in the parking lot, and Elio headed to town, where they toured the Norman Palace, the Palatine Chapel, and other places.
If Elio hadn't remembered he was a wanted criminal, he'd have thought this trip was a real vacation. But then again, this bonafide Mafia guy beside him wasn't shy about showing his face, wearing only sunglasses to block the sun (Elio suspected it was just to look cool), and occasionally, in his Italian way, he'd offer sweet nothings to the women. Just then, the salesperson beamed as he handed over two ice cream cones, and Rokudo Mukuro's hands were piled high with two chocolate balls, looking as precarious as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
"Please." Rokudo Mukuro handed another vanilla ice cream to Elio, and with a smile, he took out two more banknotes and pressed them on the front desk of the ice cream shop.
"Okay, we've almost finished exploring Palermo." He studied Google Maps for a while, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, there's also the Capuchin Catacombs. I wonder if you're interested..."
"I'm very interested," Elio said immediately.
That's the Italian Catacombs!
Rokudo Mukuro was stunned for a moment, "There are only mummies there."
"I'm interested," Elio repeated.
"To be honest," Rokudo Mukuro said with a strange look on his face, "it might be a little scary there."
"If it's convenient, please take me to see it."
Rokudo Mukuro and Elio looked at each other for a moment. "I forgot to ask, what do you do for a living?"
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