Chapter 30: The Successor’s Ring [2]

"I don’t know what made you change your mind about taking the Successor Training, but I won’t stop you."

My father took another puff of his cigar.

"However, I hope you understand what you’re getting yourself into."

I knew exactly what he meant.

The previous Lorenzo Riina had always been someone who enjoyed the benefits of his family’s power without wanting to shoulder the responsibilities that came with it.

He had the protection of one of the most powerful families in the world, the wealth to satisfy nearly any desire, and the status to make countless people bow their heads before him.

Yet he had never shown much interest in becoming the person who would eventually inherit everything.

He wanted the privileges without the burden.

But I was different.

To survive and become stronger in this damn world, I needed the Riina family’s support, no matter what it took.

The terrorist attack had made that painfully clear.

Even with the Riina name protecting me, even with my father’s influence looming over the entire underworld, I had still found myself in a situation where I could have lost everything.

If I hadn’t possessed the abilities and resolve to fight back, the outcome might have been very different.

And if Sofia had died because I was too weak to protect her...

I clenched my fists beneath the table.

No.

I didn’t want to think about it.

The world was far more dangerous than I had initially imagined. Powerful enemies could emerge from anywhere, and the people I cared about could become targets simply because of their connection to me.

I couldn’t afford to remain weak.

I needed strength.

I needed influence.

And, most importantly, I needed to understand the organization that had protected the Riina family for generations.

If I wanted to survive in this world, merely being Aldric Riina’s son wouldn’t be enough.

I had to become his successor.

My father exhaled, and the smoke from his cigar briefly obscured his face.

Through the haze, I could still see his red eyes watching me.

"Once you begin the Successor Training, there’s no turning back. You understand that, right?"

"...Yes."

"Good."

He leaned back in his chair, studying me for another moment.

"Then let me ask you something, Lorenzo."

"What is it?"

"Why now?"

His question was simple, but I knew he wasn’t asking out of idle curiosity.

"You’ve had plenty of opportunities to begin this training before. You could have asked me years ago, yet you never showed any interest."

He paused, tapping the cigar against the ashtray.

"So what changed?"

I hesitated.

I couldn’t exactly tell him that I was a different person from the Lorenzo Riina he had raised.

Nor could I explain everything that had happened since I had awakened in this world.

Instead, I gave him the answer I believed he would understand.

"I realized that I can’t keep relying on you forever."

My father said nothing.

"I’ve spent my entire life benefiting from the Riina family’s power. But if I want to protect what belongs to me, I need the ability to do it myself."

I met his gaze.

"I don’t want to be someone who can only hide behind the family name."

For a moment, the room fell silent.

My father continued looking at me, his expression impossible to read.

Then, slowly, the corner of his mouth lifted.

"...You’ve grown up."

I wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment or an observation.

Either way, I didn’t respond.

My father reached down and removed a ring from his left little finger.

He rolled it across the table toward me.

I carefully caught it before it could fall off the edge.

The ring was black, with a silver letter R engraved on its surface.

The same letter adorned the Riina family’s crest.

I turned it over in my palm, examining its design.

It was simple, but I could tell at a glance that it wasn’t an ordinary piece of jewelry.

"That ring was made specifically for the family’s successor," my father explained.

I looked up.

"Originally, I planned to give it to you when you became stronger. I thought you needed more time before taking on such responsibilities."

He paused, then chuckled softly.

"But I suppose you’ve decided to surprise me."

I stared at the ring.

The successor’s ring.

A symbol of the position I had just chosen to pursue.

It was a small object, yet I could feel the weight of what it represented.

The Riina family wasn’t merely a wealthy household with a few powerful Awakeners.

It was an organization that had survived countless conflicts, built its influence across the world, and maintained its position in the underworld despite the existence of the World Government.

Inheriting it would mean gaining access to enormous resources.

But it would also mean inheriting its enemies, obligations, and countless secrets.

I was about to put the ring on my finger when my father spoke again.

"Lorenzo."

I stopped.

"Once you put that on, there’s no turning back."

His voice was cold.

There was no trace of the playful father who had just been arguing with Sara over who was smarter.

This was Don Aldric Riina.

The man who stood at the pinnacle of the world’s power.

He wasn’t simply warning me about the difficulty of the training.

He was reminding me that becoming the successor meant accepting everything that came with the Riina name.

But I had already made my decision.

I slipped the ring onto my finger.

It fit perfectly.

Then I raised my head and looked directly at my father.

"I won’t regret it."

For a brief moment, my father simply stared at me.

Then he smiled faintly.

"Alright. I trust you."

He took another puff of his cigar before continuing.

"There’s about a week left until school starts, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. We’ll use that time to cover the basics."

"The basics?"

"Your body movements, situational awareness, decision-making, and management. You’ll need to understand how to control your body efficiently, how to assess a situation, and how to make decisions without wasting time."

He held up a finger.

"And that’s only the beginning. Once school starts, you’ll receive lessons whenever you have time between classes."

I nodded.

That sounded reasonable.

Although I had combat experience, my abilities were still far from sufficient.

I knew how to fight, but fighting and leading an organization were two entirely different matters.

I was my mafia boss myself in privious life but the people who follow me didn’t have any special powers, they were ordinary people without any power and so was I.

That’s why I had to learn this from scratch.