Chapter 81: Traitor

"...That’s it?"

"What? Did you expect me to write you an examination paper?"

"No, but—"

"You’re my son, Lorenzo. If you want to establish an organization, then establish one. If you fail, you’ll learn something. If you succeed, you’ll have something to be proud of."

He leaned back against the sofa, taking another puff of his cigar.

"Just don’t use the Riina Family’s name to clean up your messes. If you want to prove yourself, then take responsibility for your own decisions."

I couldn’t help smiling.

"Understood, Boss."

"Good."

And with that, my business with Don Aldric Riina was concluded.

Now that our formal discussion was over, I moved from the sofa opposite him and sat down beside him.

"Hmm? What’s this now?"

"Father."

"...?"

Aldric turned to look at me.

A moment ago, I had been addressing him as Boss, discussing organizational affiliations and the future of the Riina Family.

Now, I was sitting beside him and calling him Father.

The sudden change seemed to have caught him off guard.

I ignored his expression and got straight to the point.

"Did you obtain any information from the man I captured last night? The one who participated in the assassination attempt?"

Ah, yes.

This was no longer a discussion about business.

This was personal.

Someone had tried to kill me.

They had blown up my car, injured Enzo, and forced Sofia to fight for her life.

I had already ordered Enzo to investigate everyone who knew about my dinner plans, but there was only so much he could discover through background checks and questioning witnesses.

The captured assassin, Nex, was a different matter.

He was an A-rank Master powerful enough to fight Enzo, and someone had clearly organized the attack with considerable preparation.

There was no way I would let this matter end with a few vague statements about retaliation.

My father took another puff of his cigar.

His expression gradually changed.

The relaxed man who had been entertaining his son’s ambitions disappeared, replaced by the Don who ruled over the Riina Family.

"Yes," he answered.

"And?"

My father turned his head toward me.

"Before you get too excited, understand something, Lorenzo. We haven’t uncovered everything yet."

He tapped the ash from his cigar into the ashtray.

"But we’ve learned enough to know that the people behind this attack made a serious mistake."

His eyes narrowed.

"The terrorist attack at the Appetite of Heaven and the assassination attempt you faced last night were both connected to Dreamers, a relatively new villain organization. There isn’t much information available about them yet."

He paused, taking another puff of his cigar before continuing.

"Most of their members are low-ranked Awakeners with little talent. Even their strongest members appear to be no more than Masters at present."

His gaze sharpened.

"Like this Nex fellow."

As soon as Aldric Riina finished speaking, his shadow stretched across the floor.

The lights in the living room flickered for a moment.

Then, within the darkness beneath his feet, a figure slowly emerged.

It was as though the shadow itself had opened its mouth and swallowed a human being, only to spit him back out a moment later.

I stared at the figure kneeling before us.

It had a vaguely human shape, with two arms, two legs, and a head. However, its entire body was composed of darkness, and its features were indistinguishable.

Even more unsettling was the fact that it remained perfectly still despite having no visible restraints.

"This is... Nex?"

"That’s right."

My father took another puff of his cigar.

"After extracting every piece of information he possessed, I killed him. Now, he’s part of my Death Domain. He’s nothing more than a shadow that follows my commands."

"..."

I stared at the shadow again.

So this was the power of an Overlord.

Even an A-rank Master who could fight Enzo had become nothing more than a servant after dying at my father’s hands.

And judging by how casually Aldric spoke about it, this wasn’t even worth mentioning to him.

How convenient.

I had been planning to interrogate Nex myself, but my father had already taken care of everything.

More importantly, he had somehow turned the dead assassin into a source of information that could continue serving him.

I wondered whether there was anything my father couldn’t do.

"Can he still speak?" I asked.

"Of course not, son. He’s just a shadow, and shadows can’t speak."

My father chuckled at my question before recalling the shadow into his own shadow.

’...I wish I’d inherited the Shadow God’s lineage, too.’

If I had inherited that kind of power, I could only imagine the possibilities.

Unfortunately, my bloodline remained a mystery.

And speaking of mysteries, there was something else my father needed to tell me.

His expression turned cold.

"We have someone who betrayed the family."

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the living room changed.

I straightened my back.

A traitor?

Within the Riina Family?

Now that was interesting.

"Who is it?"

"Zomboto Hiroshi."

"...Huh?"

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

Zomboto Hiroshi?

Who the hell was that?

"...He’s a descendant of a Japanese family. There’s nothing particularly special about him, but he was loyal to me, so I entrusted him with control over Berlin."

My father took another puff of his cigar.

"Unfortunately, it seems that power has made him greedy."

"Father, are you saying Hiroshi was behind the assassination attempt?"

"No."

My father answered without hesitation.

"At least, I haven’t found any direct evidence proving that he was responsible for it. However, before I killed Nex, I learned that Zomboto Hiroshi had been in contact with Dreamers."

He placed the cigar between his fingers and looked at me.

"When the terrorist attack happened, I initially asked him to investigate the people responsible for the attempt on your life."

"And what did he do?"

"Nothing useful so far."

My father’s smile disappeared.

"Aside from that, he’s been using the Riina Family’s name as cover to expand his own low-level businesses, none of which have anything to do with our organization."

I narrowed my eyes.

So, this Hiroshi fellow had been entrusted with control over Berlin, yet he was using the family’s influence for his own benefit.

Worse, he had connections to a villain organization that might have been involved in an attempt on my life.

There wasn’t enough evidence to condemn him for the assassination, but there was certainly enough to warrant an investigation.

Then my father looked directly into my eyes.

"...The reason I decided to return to Earth from the Spirit Realm was to put an end to him myself."

I see.

So that’s why he’d returned.

My father hadn’t come back merely to check on the family. He had unfinished business with a traitor who had abused the authority entrusted to him.

And considering Aldric Riina’s personality, I doubted Hiroshi would enjoy their reunion.

At that moment, an interesting idea occurred to me.

"Father, let me handle him. I’ll bring you his head, and that’s my promise."

My father raised an eyebrow.

I continued before he could respond.

"Someone dared to attempt an assassination against me. I’m not going to sit around and wait for someone else to settle the score."

That was the truth.

I wanted revenge.

But there was more to it than that.

My father had just told me to take responsibility for my own decisions. He wanted me to establish my own organization and prove that I could succeed without relying on the Riina Family’s name.

Now, I had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that I could handle a dangerous situation myself.

Hiroshi had forgotten whose name he was using.

The Riina Family wasn’t an organization that tolerated betrayal.

"Let me handle Hiroshi, Father."

I met his gaze without flinching.

"I’ll find out what he’s been doing in Berlin, uncover his connections to Dreamers, and bring him to you."

I paused, allowing a faint smile to spread across my face.

"Alive or dead, I’ll make sure he answers for what he’s done."