Angelina truly lived up to her reputation as a special messenger.
Though she had only been in the job for a year, she knew a fair number of inside stories and half-true rumors. Moreover, the transport fees for a special messenger were nothing to scoff at. Generally, they were far more expensive than ordinary couriers. After all, these messengers typically transported earth-shattering secrets and shouldered considerable risks themselves.
Angelina had heard many of these stories from her peers.
For example, Siracusa might just be unified in a few years.
Lady Sicily of the [Sicily] family was far too dominant. Even now, the other four Mafia families combined could only barely suppress the Sicily family; they were far from being able to completely eliminate this threat.
It seemed balanced on the surface.
In reality.
The undercurrents in Siracusa were turbulent.
The Sicily family had chosen to take a step back to bide their time and build their strength. They had already secretly amassed considerable power. Perhaps in a few years, these once-powerful Mafia families would either be annihilated or become vassals of the Sicily family.
As for the [Famiglia Venezia] Mafia, which Lisa's mother belonged to.
Angelina had heard a rumor that Christian, the candidate for the head of [Famiglia Venezia], was not one person, but two. However, because the two looked nearly identical, the outside world only knew of one. Angelina had only recently learned of this and was originally considering whether to tell Miss Vulpisfoglia, who had, after all, saved her life.
But as a special messenger.
The most important thing was to maintain one's credibility. A special messenger who lost their credibility would become a target for a joint manhunt by all the major Mafia families. After all, such a person knew far, far too much.
If what Angelina said was true.
Then.
Christian, the one Lisa's mother served, was the one who was truly hiding the deepest.
However.
Since Lisa's mother was still unconscious and her injuries were severe, the group decided not to tell her this news. Telling her too early would only make her anxious. It was better to say nothing. For Lisa, it was enough that her mother was safe. As for Siracusa and the families she served, Lisa didn't care. The only reason she wanted to become stronger was to help her mother fulfill her dreams and share her burdens.
Still, it was no wonder that members of [Wolf Fang] had appeared in [Famiglia Venezia]'s territory. It turned out that several of the Mafia families had secretly joined forces to counter [Sicily].
"Oh, right, I have two more rumors from about a month ago..."
Angelina suddenly said in a low voice, "I heard that a vassal family under the Sicily family was developing a new secret weapon in the wilderness outside Siracusa. Something went wrong, though, and the laboratory exploded. They then commissioned mercenaries from Blacksteel Worldwide. At the same time, the Sicily family's manpower was tied up by the other three families, so [Wolf Fang] sent several hundred men and dozens of secretly trained 'Wolf Pack' assassins to wipe out this vassal family of the Sicilies."
"Afterward, it seems they attacked the Blacksteel Worldwide mercenaries and seized the secret weapon the Sicily family had developed."
Lucas Reeve paused, a look of realization dawning on him.
Oh~
He was familiar with this plot. He'd even had a starring role in it.
"But..."
Angelina continued in a whisper.
"That's the story circulating outside. However, I heard that the secret weapon never fell into the hands of [Wolf Fang]. Although it's unclear what exactly happened, some say that the hundreds of elite Mafia members and dozens of secret assassins sent to pursue the Blacksteel Worldwide mercenaries all died in the wilderness. Their deaths were incredibly gruesome; some of them couldn't even be found in one piece. Nobody knows what kind of weapon it was..."
Angelina spoke cautiously, as if the matter was a great secret.
And as the perpetrator.
Lucas Reeve just smiled silently the entire time.
What kind of weapon could it be? Just a cannon firing 5,000 rounds a minute plus some small Originium missiles.
In fact.
The High Priest had casually let loose a few bursts, using up more than half of Lucas Reeve's ammunition stockpile from Sargon in one go. It stung a little.
"There's one more thing. I heard that the reason the Sicily family was able to suddenly gain an edge over the other major families is that they accidentally discovered several incredibly rich Originium ore veins. Because of this, they made a ton of money and were then able to buy a large number of advanced weapons from Raythean Industries. It's said they're now preparing for a deep-dive collaboration with Columbia's Raythean Industries to procure even more advanced weaponry at a favorable price."
Raythean Industries?
Lucas Reeve wasn't surprised.
After all, Raythean Industries was from Columbia.
And Columbia, frankly, was a country that everyone who knew anything understood. Although it hadn't been founded long and was the nation on Terra with the least history—bar none, even neighboring Higashi's history was much longer—many history students loved to study Columbian history precisely because Columbia had no history.
The history of Yan from ancient times to the present could fill two books totaling several thousand pages.
As for Columbia...
A thin workbook would be more than enough.
It hadn't been founded long, but it had seized the momentum of the times and was the fastest-developing nation. It went from nothing to one of Terra's most powerful countries in just a few decades.
And what Columbia did best was sell all sorts of weapons to other countries.
Even major cities in Ursus had Raythean Industries branch offices, or at the very least, retail custom shops. It showed just how extensive Raythean Industries' coverage was across Terra.
Angelina knew a lot.
Although most of it was unverified hearsay, much of it touched upon confidential matters of the Siracusa Mafia. Of course, if Angelina knew these things, the other Mafia families had likely heard whispers as well. It was just that ordinary people were kept in the dark. The real core secrets were something these Mafia families would never let a special messenger know.
Angelina didn't plan on leaving. Instead, she asked Lucas Reeve for information about the medicine from before.
The reason she had become a special messenger was purely to find some meaning in her remaining life, rather than spending her last few years living an ordinary, unremarkable life like everyone else. And from what she knew, once you contracted Oripathy, you wouldn't live more than three years...
Three years...
Angelina was sixteen when she became Infected. That meant she would only live to be nineteen... To die so wretchedly before even getting through her prime, a girl's most beautiful years—no one could accept that.
"Three years?"
Lucas Reeve looked at Angelina and said slowly.
"Who told you that an Infected person can live for three years?"
Lucas Reeve's single sentence made Angelina's beautiful face turn pale in an instant.
"Mr. Reeve, does that mean I don't even have three years?"
"No... there's no standard time of death for Oripathy. It mainly depends on the individual's constitution. Someone with a poor constitution might die a month after getting sick."
Angelina's face grew even paler.
"I know an 'old man' who has lived for a very long time. He's had Oripathy for ages, but he's still living it up right now."
Lucas Reeve's comforting words finally brought some color back to Angelina's deathly white face, and she breathed a sigh of relief....
If an old man's constitution could allow him to live that long, then she, a young person... should be able to as well.
Angelina consoled herself with this thought.
"Generally speaking, when young people get Oripathy, their survival time starts at three years, depending on their constitution. The longest... the longest is dying of old age normally."
"Besides, we already have a specific medicine that can slow the progression of Oripathy. Although it's not on the market yet, negotiations are underway with the market regulatory and health departments of several countries. I believe it won't be long before these drugs are available in some countries."
As Lucas Reeve continued to speak, Angelina's fair cheeks flushed with excitement.
It was like a terminally ill person happening upon the release of a cure for their disease right before their life was about to end.
The shock of it all made it hard for Angelina to believe for a moment. She was just too excited.
"So, does this mean Oripathy will become like a chronic illness in the future? As long as I keep taking the medicine, I'll be fine?"
"I can't guarantee that."
Lucas Reeve shook his head.
"With the current efficacy of the drug, it will probably extend your lifespan by about 50 percent. For example, if you originally had five years to live, with consistent injections, you could live for eight or even ten years. Someone who originally had ten years might live for more than a decade, or even twenty years, with continued use of the medicine."
Although Angelina was a little disappointed, but... being able to live a few more years was already a huge win for her now.
Ten years, huh...
She contracted Oripathy at sixteen. Taking an average of ten years, she could probably live until twenty-six, right through the best years of a girl's life!
Not bad...
Her lifespan could possibly be extended.
Angelina was already planning to quit her job as a special messenger. She had saved up some money over the past year, enough to buy medicine and enjoy the rest of her life.
Seeing Angelina fall silent.
Lucas Reeve thought she was upset.
He patted her on the shoulder and comforted her.
"Don't lose heart. This is just the first batch of drugs. There will be more optimized versions with better effects later on. Who knows, maybe one day Oripathy will be curable or just become a chronic disease, the kind where you can live to a ripe old age as long as you take your medicine every day."
"Mmm!"
Angelina suddenly looked up, her eyes shining brightly, as if filled with hope for the future.
She was also incredibly thankful.
She was so lucky to have met Mr. Reeve.
Otherwise, she might never have known about this medicine and would have ended her life in a state of deep regret.
Over the next few days.
Even after her injuries had recovered somewhat, Angelina didn't leave. Instead, she spent all day asking Lucas Reeve questions. In her eyes, Lucas Reeve was omnipotent. However, there were times when, for some reason, Angelina suspected she might be seeing things. When she got up in the middle of the night for a drink of water, she would see...
Lucas Reeve...
Floating in the air!!
His body was semi-transparent, just like the ghosts she had seen in movies.
How could a person float in the air?
Mr. Reeve was a person, not a ghost.
Thinking of this,
Angelina concluded that her eyes must be playing tricks on her.
When her body had almost fully recovered.
Angelina chose to leave for the time being. Although she had grown somewhat attached to Lucas Reeve during their time together, after some thought and exchanging contact information, she decided to first return to the home she had been away from for a year to see her parents.
In the past.
Angelina believed she only had two or three years left to live... and chose to quietly leave her familiar surroundings. But now, her life could be extended by many years, and she could do many meaningful things in that time.
Just after Angelina left.
Lisa's mother finally recovered a little and woke up.
The severe blood loss and mental exhaustion had caused her to sleep for many days.
After a month of recovery, her injuries healed faster than expected, and she was completely cured.
After having one last dinner with her daughter, she quietly left Lisa's side in the early hours of the next morning. As an assassin, she had her own path, her own dreams, and things she had to accomplish. If she had simply wanted to enjoy a peaceful life as a family of three.
Lisa's mother would never have returned to Siracusa after giving birth to Lisa, but would have lived with her husband in Higashi.
If it were before.
Lisa's mother might have had reservations. With her daughter by her side, she would probably have sent Lisa to a safe place before returning to Siracusa alone.
But now.
Her daughter was under Lucas Reeve's care.
Having witnessed Lucas Reeve's strength, Lisa's mother entrusted her daughter to him with complete confidence.
The next morning when she woke up.
Lisa didn't cry or throw a tantrum as one might expect. Instead, she preciously put on the necklace her mother had left for her, letting it rest on her snow-white neck.
Smart as she was, Lisa seemed to have long anticipated this day would come.
She didn't want to be a burden to her mother. From now on, she would grow as fast as she could, to become a pillar of support her mother could rely on as soon as possible.
Carrying her sniper rifle, a pistol tucked away, and her body laden with Originium Rounds.
Lisa trained as usual under Lucas Reeve's supervision, only this time, her gaze was even more resolute.