Liberi Reader

Grr... We ended up letting him go.

He stopped wanting to fight us halfway through.

You felt it too, didn't you? If he really wanted to kill us, he could've gotten it done.

He just didn't want to take the time.

We can't underestimate any of the Siracusan famiglie.

You got one thing wrong.

I've never underestimated any of them.

Every famiglia is my enemy.

Including the Bellones.

Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit there?

You don't seem surprised.

You betrayed your own boss. You expect me to believe you'd really go in with us?

But let me point out, now isn't a good time.

What's going on in the city?

Nothing good.

The famiglie know the secondary core separation sequence started.

People are all pretty mad at us and the Saluzzos.

Wise guys from the other famiglie are hitting us now too.

What about the thing I asked you to handle?

You were right on the money...

The eyes and ears we planted in the other famiglie tell us even though the people are angry at the Bellones and Saluzzos, we aren't their main deal here.

All the chaos is down there is exactly what all the famiglie were looking for.

Everything Signora Sicilia kept down is bubbling right up to the surface now.

There's already fighting over how to divvy up Bellone and Saluzzo assets. And we've got some old grudges out there getting settled.

Everyone's hopping in, directly or indirectly.

(*mutters*) This is exactly what you wanted, huh, Boss?

(*mutters*) So, you betrayed us after all.

......

Wallach, you're not an idiot. You get that there's no point to us fighting right now.

Isn't it better to solve the big problems first?

Is this how the Rossatis handled everything back in Columbia?

You really think you can swallow up Siracusa all on your own?

Pick your friends wisely, Wallach.

Grr.

Don't feel too bad.

Not like I'm jumping for joy to team up with somebody like you.

Where's Leon?

......

What? He didn't go back home?

Nope. No trace of him anywhere. He's avoiding us, obviously.

......

Leon, don't tell me...

......

Now that the famiglie are starting to bite one another, this is the best chance we'll have to take the secondary core area.

If we're gonna have a future, we'll have to take hold of it first.

Don Alberto.

What's the situation?

It's mayhem out there.

Wise guys from multiple famiglie are taking advantage of the confusion to attack us, and our soldiers have started to fight back.

Things have spiraled out of control.

That's funny. This can't possibly be what that Leontuzzo kid meant.

Now that I think of it, Bernardo, even though Lappland showed up on a whim, you included us in your calculations, didn't you?

The ironclad law laid down by Sicilia is crumbling. You've set fire to everything that took decades to make Siracusa what she is.

Is this what you wanted? Why?

Where's Lappland?

We haven't been able to reach her since yesterday morning.

Forget it.

Boss, it's a madhouse out there now. You want us to wait and see if anything changes?

Hmph. Even if I wanted to keep Famiglia Saluzzo out of this, it's no longer possible.

Bernardo, that old runt. Can't believe he even accounted for all this.

Tell our people out there to come back.

Then, send some of our heavies to the command tower in the secondary core area. The Bellones and Rossatis aren't going to let it go.

Do you mean—

I have no interest in that new city, but I'm not about to let it fall into the hands of those who've betrayed me either.

Padre!

Leon... I never expected you to find this place.

I happened to recall it from memory.

Since you're here, come take a seat.

I know what you're trying to do here.

Do you?

Since the very beginning, you've wanted to see Siracusa to return to the dark times of sixty years ago.

You want the famiglie all tearing into each other. If Signora Sicilia didn't step in, Siracusa's famiglie may well have mortally wounded each other.

But this time, you want them to break free of Signora Sicilia's chains, and to fight each other until nothing is left.

Hmm... So you understand after all.

But you didn't come here to confirm your conjecture with me, did you?

What I want to know is, what exactly made you think this way?

......

When I was twenty years old, I was just an ordinary Bellone wise guy.

They wanted me to rub somebody out, I couldn't pull it off, so I had to flee into a nearby village. I took a new identity and went into hiding.

I lived there for almost six months.

Nothing particularly notable happened during that time.

But those six months gave me an entirely new perspective on the country I lived in.

There is no corner of Siracusa completely free from the influence of the famiglie, but in places like the villages outside the city, the famiglie are just your run-of-the-mill thuggish bullies.

I found a job as a cobbler, and for that summer, I plied my trade by the side of the road and watched them go about their business.

In the end, nothing they did impressed me at all. But I will never forget that summer when sweat flowed from my brow like rain.

Leon, whether it's you, me, or any other wise guy, we've all been branded from birth.

But it was during that summer that I realized—

Life in Siracusa will continue, even with no famiglie.

So that's why you helped Lavinia, and didn't mind that the two of us were growing closer...

You genuinely want to support her cause. Don't you?

In all honestly, I did want to see the kind of justice she envisions.

Which is why you didn't have insurance for this plan.

You don't need me, Lavinia, or anyone else assuming any of the risk.

You think that when you tear down the famiglie holding down the people, their lives won't be negatively impacted at all.

Absolutely.

But that doesn't go far enough, padre mio.

It doesn't?

No. It's far from enough.

......

Looks like my son's all grown up.

I thought you came here for a good, old-fashioned father-son argument.

I didn't expect you to teach me something.

Padre mio...

So, what are you going to do?

I'll go find Lavinia, organize a coalition of non-famiglia forces, and seize control of the secondary core's command tower.

As long as the new city is under my control, I'll have the advantage.

As for whether I'll be able to negotiate with Signora Sicilia, or if I'll have to confront her directly, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

But no matter what happens, we'll be betraying Demetri, and our whole famiglia.

Do it your way then, Leon.

You were the one who started this whole mess. Don't even think about sitting on the sidelines and leaving everything to me.

Don't worry, I'll catch up with you.

Good.

......

Don Agenir, I hear you never set foot in church.

Siracusa doesn't need churches. If we accept the teachings of Laterano, we're doomed to be influenced by their culture.

In the end, all I can do is choose to distance myself.

But it's worth making an exception, for a man like you.

Your Honor, everyone's all here. I've counted over fifty.

That's a lot less than before.

The people planted in here by the famiglie have all gone back home, haven't they?

That's right.

Hah. Ironic as that may be, it does save me some effort.

Listen up.

The courts occupy an awkward position in Siracusa.

We represent the will of Signora Sicilia, to some extent, and in return, gain a certain amount of power.

But this power is not enough for us to fulfill our obligations.

Quite the contrary. In many cases, the power we hold only makes us more aware of how powerless we are in the face of the entities known as famiglie.

We can neither lower our heads and accept it as most ordinary people can, nor can we truly integrate into these famiglie.

Throughout this process, many of our colleagues have been ostracized, pushed out, or even killed because they could not bear the situation any longer.

In fact, even if they ended up betraying the law, I would not be in a position to blame them.

The truth is, I'm only where I am today because of my connection to Famiglia Bellone.

You all know what happened, and what is happening out there.

At first I assumed all I could do is what I always did before.

Pray that the famiglia struggles don't chew through too many common folk, and that Signora Sicilia would come to 'mete out justice' for us in the end.

However, a brave man told us that he thinks the famiglia system is evil, and that all of this is unjust.

He wanted to change everything, and so he pinned his hopes on me.

All of you, just like me, come from outside the famiglia system.

You've all worked with me for so many years, and I believe that among you, there are those who harbor even greater grievances against the famiglie than I, and those who understand the status quo more deeply than I.

Therefore, I would like to ask all of you to help me.

What can we even do?

The separation sequence of the new city's core area started not long ago.

This confirms the conspiracy conjured by the Bellones and Saluzzos, as revealed by Ministro Rubio.

For the famiglie, this was the spark that ignited new conflict. And for us, it is an opportunity.

The new nomadic city will be our bargaining chip amidst the chaos, whether negotiating with Signora Sicilia, or jockeying for power with the famiglie.

......

Even with all of us together, we don't have enough people.

I have two reliable friends.

......

Hello, everyone!

Cellinia?! Why are you—

And how come I never heard of another Sankta in Volsinii...?

All you need to know is that Cellinia and her friend are on our side.

Also, Ministro Rubio left some resources to help me, and I managed to get in touch with them.

They will assist us.

......

But, I must be honest with you all.

This is a perilous road, and I can't guarantee that everyone will survive.

Those who don't want to put their lives on the line are free to leave.

......

Even if we succeed, will it really accomplish anything?

I can't promise you it will.

The only thing I can promise... is that I'm willing to give my life for this.

......

I should be thanking you for giving me this opportunity, Your Honor.

I would've gone crazy without you here at the courthouse.

I heard the radio broadcast, I knew right away what happened.

And honestly, I can't take this anymore.

Maybe we won't actually be able to do anything in the end, but I at least want those wise guys to know that we're not lumps of finmeat for them to butcher.

Thank you, all of you.

Signorina Lavinia, ready on our end.

So soon?

Haha, the famiglie are all stirred up now.

They don't usually give the common folk a second look. Even now, they probably don't think we can get in their way at all.

But we have to let them know that they've never really had a hand in running the city.

This town belongs to us.

Take your people and go to the control tower.

We'll use everything at our disposal to hold back the wise guys as best as we can.

Thank you. Do your best.

We're the ones who should be thanking you.

We never took the famiglie head on, and now we're leaving the most dangerous work to you.

I'm ready and willing.

In bocca al lupo.

Crepi.

You used Carracci as bait, got your own son involved, and even tricked your own associates under the righteous pretense of handling Sicilia, all to muddy the waters of this city.

You didn't even waver in the face of Saluzzo's lone wolf. Instead, you took that opportunity to drag Saluzzo into the mud with you.

The high-profile assassination of the Rossati girl was, on one hand, to convince Alberto that he had an ally in you, while on the other hand, serving as an example to the other famiglie.

You've made full use of Texas as your final card. In Giovanna's hands, the Rossatis were a deadly but hidden saber.

But in Wallach's hands, they are a savage and ostentatious knife.

You saw Rubio's connection with Carracci, and even took advantage of his anger. He thought no one knew his self-restraint, he never expected that you had already uncovered him.

I knew you'd be in town, but I didn't expect you to see through all my plans so easily.

It is always easier to trace back the steps in retrospect.

And your plan has already been set in motion. Even if I was able to deduce all this, there is nothing more I can do.

Even if Sicilia were to pop up right here, right now, even she would be hard-pressed to resolve everything.

Who would have imagined that the don of the most powerful famiglia would use his own people as bait to bring all the others down with him?

You don't seem particularly upset about it.

Sicilia never asked me for a Siracusa that would flourish forever.

And I was never after wealth or power.

What you've done undoubtedly breaks the rules that Sicilia established, and so, I really did come to end you.

But your father-son talk there surprised me.

Oh?

Sicilia has never tolerated any disruptions to her order because no one came with an answer that could satisfy her.

But you, Bernardo, have an excellent son.

You won't be able to shake apart this society Sicilia built with her own two hands. Not by yourself.

But, if your son came along with you, then maybe...

It wouldn't be completely impossible.

Hahahaha!

Life is full of surprises.

I thought I realized my lifelong dream and could die happy today.

Who knew that I'd change my mind, that I'd want to live to see what Leon can do.

It's too bad.

I see, I've heard of this. Is it also a part of your plan?

It's something that has to be done. That's all.

Please go, Don Agenir.

This is the price I have to pay.

So be it.

......

Just a moment, Reverend.

Hmm?

Don Agenir, or rather, Padre, I've never prayed to anyone, in my entire life.

And I don't think I'll find closure with anyone else.

The Lord can't answer me.

But right here, I do have some questions only you can answer.

By all means.

How did Signora Sicilia feel, when she came back from Laterano?

......

Conflicted.

She was distressed about the challenges she was to face.

She was looking forward to the society she was about to create.

More or less the same as you're feeling right now.

Alright, okay. I know. You be careful too.

How're Texas n' Exusiai doin'?

Uh, they're with Lavinia right now. Said they were doing her a favor.

The judge lady, huh? Least she's a bit more put together'n the Bellone family fellers from before.

Hope nothin' bad happens to 'em.

Yeah.

Ugh... Nngh...

Miss Giovanna! Y-You're awake?!

I'm... not dead?

The assassin missed your heart by a couple centimeters, and you pulled through.

I gotta say, though, it's a good thing you're in such excellent shape. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't have made it.

Wallach...

How long was I unconscious for?

A day.

I'm guessing a lot has happened over the course of that day.

Tell me what's going on.

Alright...

You're finally here, Don... Or should I say, Zaaro.

Bernardo.

What are you scheming?

Don't play dumb. I can tell you're in denial about the conclusions you've drawn.

You dare—

Why wouldn't I dare?

You've pushed into me a lifetime of power and betrayal. You're so prideful and arrogant, you never imagined that one day, I could betray you too.

Don't forget, Bernardo, I'm the one who made you everything you are!

You can already see the buildings of the new city from here?

That's right. Spectacular, isn't it?

Hah, if you ask me, the edges and corners are a bit too sharp for my liking.

That just means your tastes are behind the times, Sicilia.

How could yours be any better?

So, have you made up your mind?

Not yet.

Let's send out warnings to the noisiest famiglie.

Then, I'd like to go see an old friend.

Is my opinion alone not sufficient?

It's always better to get a second opinion, and a third.

So you are here.

Agenir told you that, didn't he?

Sure enough.

I love the food here. It's great stuff.

It's been a while, Ben.

It certainly has, Sicilia.

What brings you here, I wonder?

Any guesses?

If you just wanted to get the city back under control, you probably wouldn't come to me.

Bernardo understands the wolfpack, and his plans ultimately boil down to four words: don't rock the boat.

He's gotten the Dodici Famiglie all bloodthirsty, and that bloodlust doesn't quench easy.

But it's not too hard either.

But, I heard some other things from Agenir, and would like a little input from an old friend.

I don't have anything in particular to say. This is a legitimate dining establishment, and it needs a new head chef. That's about it.

I thought you'd have some feelings about the current state of Siracusa.

Nostalgia is also a feeling.

You're fickle, aren't you?

Do you really need my opinion?

Not really.

But I am interested in hearing the thoughts of a man born to civilization who's removed himself from it.

In every era, people are bound by the chains of the times into which they were born.

You don't escape from that.

Bernardo's ideals were an obsession born from your era.

He was stuck with using violence to tear it down. He couldn't get past that.

What about his son?

Who can say? It's not like I can predict the future.

But you see it too, don't you?

We're watching the birth of a new era here.