Chapter 221
Chapter 221
"It's getting late, do you have a place to stay?"
I ask, looking at Michaela, who is now fully awake.
Since she said she came to be my escortdid she get a room downstairs?
"No. I don't."
"What?"
But she shamelessly declares that she has no place to stay and sits down across from the couch I'm sitting on.
"Well, this is the suite that Corleone Jr. got anyway, so why don't you let me have the spare room?"
"Are you not too impudent?"
Not only did she barge in, but now she wants me to give her a bed because she has no place to stay. It seems shes really trying to keep a close eye on me.
"Do you know how much it costs to rent this place for a night?"
"Brother, do you intend to throw this little lamb out into the cold, dark outside with no place to stay, please have mercy on me."
And now an appeal to emotion.
Even the use of religious language suggests a willingness to sleep here somehow.
Yeahthere's room anyway and shes religious.
"There's an empty room over there by the kitchen, you can use it."
She stands up and bows her head.
"Thank you for your mercy brother."
"Yes, but what should I call you, Sister or Knight?"
She thinks for a moment.
"I'm not a nun, but I'm called Sister by most people, so I suppose you can call me Sister. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get to bed and get some sleep, I've had a long day."
A good night's sleep.
With that, having said all she had to say, she disappeared into the room I had assigned her.
"This is crazy."
I've only been in Italy for a day and I've already gotten involved with so many people.
I realized that I had already had a long day.
Yeah, let's get some sleep.
* * *
"Ah, Eugene. Over here!"
~The next day~
As we walked out of the hotel, a red pickup truck that looked like it had been there for a while was waiting for us.
"Thanks for picking me up."
"I'm the only one with a driver's license, although I'm not a very good driver. Come on, let's get inBy the way, Eugene. What about her?"
"Oh, her?"
She asks and I finally realized that shes been wondering about the identity of the pure white creature trotting along behind me.
"My escort, sent by the Vatican."
"Oh..is that her?"
"Yeah, she's pretty high up. Oh, you can ride with me, I'll tell you the details as we go."
"Oh, sure."
And with that, I climb into the front seat, and Michaela crawls into the back.
"Well, you've done me a favor, Sister. I'm Michaela from the Vatican."
"Oh, yes! I'm Elena. Sister."
"Elena, that's a nice name, Sister, so where are we going now?"
"Uh I think we're going to the workshop street."
"I see, you don't need to worry too much, as long as I'm in this car, I'll be in charge of your safety."
Michaela taps her chest, looking confident.
"You heard her, she's in charge of our safety. We're going to enjoy Italy."
I open the window and glance out at the scenery outside of downtown Palermo.
The green grasses surrounding us and the blue waters of the Mediterranean in the distance. And the faint scent of the sea in the air.
It was the first taste of relaxation I'd had in a long time.
"Mr. Corleone, I have a question for you."
Michaelas voice came from behind me.
"What is it?"
"I was wondering how you and Sister Elena next to you met."
She's slowly gathering information.
"By accident."
"What?"
"I just happened to know her."
Still, it's no fun giving information away.
Give it a try, you Vatican spy.
"More than that, Sister. Didn't you tell me a moment ago to trust only Sister?"
"I did, didn't I?"
"Then I'll trust only Sister this time, too."
"Eh?"
And at the same time.
Kaaaaaah!!!
A huge explosion erupted from the side of the pickup truck, causing the car to shake violently.
"What?!"
She gripped the steering wheel tightly and looked back through the side view mirror.
"What, what are those people?"
There, a khaki jeep was following us, its engine roaring.
"From the looks of the vehicle, it's a neighborhood gangDoesn't the Medici family take care of their property?"
It was true that where we were running now was out of the Medici's territory, but I thought they would at least clean up the neighborhood.
-Yikes!
Wands pointed at us from the jeep, no, RPGs.
"Now, wait a minute. If I break this car, my mother will kill me."
"You heard her, Sister. Be good."
It's time for the living, breathing active defense system.
Or should I say, Active Defense Sister?
"I can't help it, I'm an escort after all."
With a sigh, she opens the window and moves to the luggage compartment.
Her movements were so natural that she must have been trained to use her body.
She stood on top of the truck's bed, looking at the other side in her all-white outfit.
-Giggle, giggle, giggle!
At the same time, I heard a roar from behind and saw RPGs flying towards us.
Well, let's see what our Templar leader can do, shall we?
"Indeed."
Her voice, tiny, coming from behind.
The shells getting closer.
And then.
-Thud.
With a flick of her hand, as if she were swatting away a fly in front of her, she knocked the warhead away, and in an instant it changed trajectory, flying sideways and exploding.
The gangs look bewildered at the ridiculous sight.
-Those clothes! The Vatican! They're from the Vatican!
-The Vatican?! Get those guys from the back to catch up!
For some reason, that seemed to provoke them even more.
"Why do they seem to hate the Vatican so much?"
"Well, the island of Sicily has always been on bad terms with mainland Italy, for the same reason."
"Is that so?"
For something like that, the reactions were more heated than I expected.
Then
"I didn't want to see blood if I could help it, but I can't help it."
With that, she suddenly jumps into a spurt.
Wait, no way.
"I'll be right back."
With that, she jumps out of the truck and clings to the front of the Jeep with her arms outstretched.
-She's flying!
-Shoot! Shoot her!
The gang members in the Jeep panic and point their guns at her, but there's one thing they're wrong about.
Her true title was Knight, not Nun.
Michaela slammed her fist into the driver's seat, and the windshield shattered as if it were made of sugar.
-Specially treated bulletproof glass!
"What's going on in the back now?"
"Uh, Sister just grabbed the driver by the throat and threw him out like she was pulling a radish."
The Jeep begins to shake violently with the driver gone, and she manages to keep her center of gravity, using her incredible motor skills, and crawls inside through the hole the driver came out of.
-You damn nun!
-Lord, forgive me my sins again today
-Vermin! I will avenge my companion's death! Ah! It hurts! It hurts!
-I send to thy side the Lamb of God, who sinned against thee
-Save me! Save me!
What follows is a punch from the ruthless Knight Templar.
"Elena. I think we can stop."
"Uh-huh."
Satisfied that the situation behind us was completely over, we turned the car around to face the jeep, which had come to a complete stop.
Ding. The passenger door of the Jeep opened with a sound.
From there, Michaela gets out with a light motion and walks towards us.
"You're certainly a talent."
"Yeah. I thought you were an escort at the Vatican, and I was like, You're so small. But you're pretty tough."
"No, not that, look at the clothes."
"Clothes?"
Despite the fact that she was clearly wearing a pure white nun's habit, there was no soot or blood on her clothes.
"They really sent someone funny, didn't they?"
Fighting without blood on my body would be pretty tough even for me, but I guess being a Templar isn't all it's cracked up to be.
"I'm back. Are you two in good shape?"
Her breathing is surprisingly calm for someone who's been moving around so much. It was as if she'd just gotten back from a really uneventful day.
"Yes, thanks to you, Sister. Thank you, Sister."
Elena bows her head in gratitude.
"I did what I had to do, of course. From what I heard from the gang over there, they've called for backup, so I think we'd better get out of here quickly before the others show up."
With that, Michaela pulls out her notebook and begins to furiously scribble something down.
Hearing her, Elena presses the accelerator again and starts to move the car.
"Sister. I have a question."
She closes her notebook for a moment at my question and looks at me.
"Yes, what is it, Corleone Jr."
"I was wondering, after all that punching, you don't seem to have a drop of blood on you. Did you wash it off with holy power or something?"
Thinking there had to be a trick, I decided to ask her why.
After all, it was a bit odd that there was no blood after all that pounding.
"Oh, it's actually just a little trick. If I use holy power on them at the same time I punch, the pain is still there, but there's no wound. It doesn't give the blood vessels a chance to burst, which is why they don't bleed out."
"Oh."
That's a technique I used to use when I was a magical girl.
I guess people think alike after all.
Then Elena asked her cautiously.
"That's just a torture technique, Sister.You're not a heresy inquisitor or something, are you?"
"I have been an Inquisitor in the past, but not now."
"Oh, I see you were."
Well, she's certainly someone they'd like to keep.
First of all, I don't think I should rush her.
The car sped down the road, arriving at a small village with a street of workshops.
"Sicily seems to have so many beautiful places."
"Is this your first time in Sicily, Sister?"
"Yes. I've been in the Vatican most of my life, only leaving on missions."
Maybe that's why she kept looking around.
"It's my town, but I think it's beautiful, too. By the way, later I'll show you the cathedral in my town."
"A church? You're a true believer, Sister Elena, so let's do that."
She seems to have gotten to know Elena a bit, even though she was a little socially awkward but for some reason, I can still feel the slightest hint of wariness in her gaze.
I haven't really done anything.
"Now all we need is Grandpa, and we'll all be together. Grandpa's new workshop. I can't wait to see what it's like."
"Better than yesterday, I guess. Ah, there he is."
In the distance, Ludvio could be seen approaching, looking more excited than usual.
Light footsteps and a nodding head.
I wonder what he thinks of the new look of the workshop.
Is it because he feels like hes about to roll up his sleeves? I began to look forward to his reaction.
* * *
[Recorded observation of Corleone Jr. today]
[He watched from the sidelines while the battle raged in front of him. I also saw him smiling as if he was having fun. I realized that he may be crueler than I thought. Caution advised.]