I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 44

So, after carrying the beaming Ji-yoon on my back for about five minutes,

I was able to reach Maestro's store [per l'Imperatore] in no time, even without matching my strides to Ji-yoon's.

"Wow... the building is so shiny..."

It seemed that the building, infused with Maestro's aesthetic sense, looked very beautiful to Ji-yoon.

After gently setting down Ji-yoon, who was sparkling with excitement, and holding her hand, we entered together. A neatly dressed woman bowed and greeted us.

"Thank you for visiting [per l'Imperatore]. Dear customer."

"Hello! Pretty lady. I'm Ji-yoon."

Ji-yoon bowed back at the employee who was bowing to us and did a belly greeting.

Once again, the earpiece started going wild because of that.

[The lady is so cute!]

[What should we do? Should I do the belly greeting when I meet the lady from now on?]

...I began to suspect if there might be a secret fan club for Ji-yoon within the Calione.

[The next agenda for the fan club will be a greeting that the lady would like.]

[I agree.]

[I also agree.]

...Did it really exist?

While I was distracted by the other members' conversations in the earpiece, something was tugging at my arm. Looking down, I saw Ji-yoon looking at me.

"Oppa?"

"Yes?"

"The pretty lady is following us."

"Oh, sorry."

It's really dizzying...

It made me wonder what these guys do when they're not working.

While pondering what Calione really is, we arrived at the 'room' before I knew it.

"The Maestro is inside. I hope you have a pleasant time."

The female employee who guided us to the Maestro's workshop, where we had been once before, greeted us again and disappeared down the hallway.

"Maestro? Stro is a straw!"

Ji-yoon confidently shouted out the meaning of 'stro'.

Seeing that, I couldn't help but smile.

"Stro does mean straw, but you shouldn't say that to the person inside. He's a friend of Papa's."

"Straw? Friend? Yes!"

After patting her head a few times, I lightly knocked on the door of Maestro's workshop and turned the doorknob.

As soon as we entered, Maestro's figure came into view.

"Welcome, Young Master. And the lady."

Seeing us, Maestro smiled brightly, and Ji-yoon, with a playful smile, shouted.

"Straw!"

At Ji-yoon's shout, I remembered a fact I had forgotten.

Ji-yoon is still only a seven-year-old child.

At that age, wouldn't they want to do something even if you tell them not to?

The only fortunate thing was...

"Yes~ It's the straw grandfather~ Hehehehe."

That Ji-yoon's attitude was too cute to be considered rude.

Maestro, smiling at the bright-faced Ji-yoon, smiled along with her.

"Kyak! Kyak!"

"Hahaha! The lady is full of energy. Come on, fly far, far away~"

"Straw grandfather is fun!"

Completely melted by Ji-yoon's smile, Maestro lifted her up and played with her.

Is this the craftsmanship of someone who has worked in one field for a long time?

Just looking at the muscles in his arms as he lifted Ji-yoon up, I could tell how well he maintained his physical condition.

"I heard from Don. You came to leave the lady's clothes today."

While still playing with Ji-yoon, Maestro spoke to me.

"Yes. Thanks to that, I saw you yesterday, and now again today."

"Haha! That's a good thing. It means esteemed guests appreciate my skills. Oof!"

Carefully setting Ji-yoon down, Maestro lowered himself to match her eye level and spoke with a very gentle smile.

"Nice to meet you, lady. My name is Roberto Haver. I am the grandfather that Don and the Young Master call Maestro."

"Yes! You're the straw grandfather!"

"Haha! Yes, to the lady, I am the straw grandfather."

Roberto laughed and accepted Ji-yoon's playful jest.

"Now, I am going to measure the lady's height and such. Would you allow me, Lady?"

"Lady...! Yes...!"

"Thank you."

After hearing Ji-yoon's response, Roberto stood up and used his ability.

Then, just like when he measured me, a blue measuring tape appeared out of thin air and started wriggling like a living snake, measuring Ji-yoon's dimensions.

"Kyak! Kyak! Oppa! This is fun!"

Ji-yoon couldn't stop laughing, seemingly amazed by the moving measuring tape.

At the same time, the measuring tape disappeared into the air, and Roberto clapped his hands with a smile.

"It's done. Thanks to the Lady's patience, we finished quickly."

...Maybe because she's small. It felt much quicker than when he measured me.

"Ji-yoon is patient?"

"Of course. I've never seen such a well-behaved lady."

"Hehehe! Straw grandfather is a good grandfather!"

"I am grateful for your praise."

While patting Ji-yoon's head, Maestro stood up and checked the calendar hanging on the wall.

"Since the lady is small, I can make the clothes quickly. Of course, I am currently working on the Young Master's clothes, so there will be no delays. I will contact you as soon as the clothes are ready."

Maestro smiled and bowed to me.

"Thank you for your consideration. Ji-yoon, shall we go somewhere else now?"

"Huh? Are we going somewhere else now?"

Ji-yoon, who had been playing in front of the full-length mirror, turned her head sharply to look at me.

"Since we finished Papa's errands, now we should have some fun, right?"

"Wow...!"

At the mention of having fun, Ji-yoon hugged me tightly with a bright smile.

"Oppa is the best!"

Seeing that, Maestro also smiled contentedly.

It's a bit embarrassing, but... it's not bad.

After leaving Maestro's tailor shop, [per l'Imperatore], we headed straight to our next destination.

[The Young Master and the lady have come out.]

[All team members, move to your positions. The Young Master's next destination is... a family restaurant.]

[A family restaurant? Do you mean the one operated by Calione?]

[No, a real family restaurant. Would a seven-year-old lady be suited to a restaurant operated by Calione?]

[Ah, yes.]

As the team leader mentioned over the earpiece, our next destination was an ordinary family restaurant.

Of course, there were restaurants operated by Calione nearby... but Calione's restaurants were more catered to adults' tastes rather than children, and most importantly, there was a lack of food for children.

Most were bars, pubs, or restaurants that paired well with wine.

So, the place we decided to go to was not ordinary... but a family restaurant classified as a hidden gem in the game setting.

"Oppa, oppa! Look at that!"

Ji-yoon, who had been walking quietly while holding my hand, pointed at the street and shouted.

"Bang bang gun!"

There was a store with a sign that read 'Survival', which operated mainly around a game where you shoot wooden blocks down with toy guns.

"Do you want to try it?"

"No... I want to watch Oppa do it...! And... dolls too!"

Ah, it seemed like she needed the doll that was hanging as the first prize for the shooting game.

However, there was a problem...

[Awakened Ones cannot use this facility.]

It was a notice posted on the sign.

"Uh... Oppa, you want to see Oppa shoot bang bang?"

"Yes!"

This, I needed help.

I immediately turned around and pressed the earpiece.

"This is Momma Bird. This is Momma Bird. Requesting support. Requesting support. We need to purchase the shooting game place ahead."

[Confirmed.]

At the same time, the confirmation call came through, and I immediately crouched down to meet Ji-yoon's gaze, ensuring she wouldn't look away.

"Ji-yoon, your hair is messed up here."

Naturally, I stroked her hair to make her close her eyes.

At the same time, voices from the security team and the owner came through the earpiece.

[Hey, mister. Let's borrow your store for a bit.]

[What do you mean──]

[5 million credits. Take this and let us use it for 30 minutes. Okay?]

[Of course, that's fine. Sure, use it comfortably~ Hahaha!]

[Purchase completed. Just come in comfortably.]

As expected, when it comes down to it, they handle things efficiently.

"Alright, shall we go shoot bang bang?"

"Yes!"

Once I confirmed that everything was settled, I stood up again and looked at the sign.

The phrase [Awakened Ones cannot use this facility.] had already disappeared.

As we walked together, a man with an awkward smile opened his mouth.

"Oh, my! What a beautiful lady and handsome student! Especially the lady is so pretty, so you can shoot for free."

"Wow! Thank you!"

Ji-yoon, who was thrilled by the compliment, gave a belly bow to the security team disguised as the owner.

At this, the earpiece got noisy again.

[Wow, that bastard is so lucky...]

[What to do with the lady! She's so cute!]

[I should have gone there...]

A belly bow exchanged for 5 million credits.

The security team in front certainly deserved Ji-yoon's gratitude.

Of course, I could claim it as an activity fee from the Family...

"Oppa! Bang bang!"

Ji-yoon looked at me with sparkling eyes.

With Ji-yoon expecting so much, I decided to give it my all.

"Okay, Oppa will get the biggest doll over there."

"Yes!!"

Upon hearing my declaration, Ji-yoon nodded her head in unconditional belief and clasped her hands as if praying.

Her eyes, which had been sparkling, were now burning with determination.

I smiled gently and loaded a cork-shaped bullet into the gun barrel.

"You have a total of three chances. Young Master── Student."

"Yes, understood."

I shouldered the stock, took a deep breath, and adjusted my breathing.

From the first shot, I had to knock them all down to impress Ji-yoon. I focused all my nerves, aimed at where all the wooden blocks would fall, and pulled the trigger.

──Thud!

The bullet flew weakly, just tapping the wooden block before falling to the ground.

"Oh, what a pity!"

"Oppa, you missed!"

At the same time, exclamations burst out from the security team and Ji-yoon.

Despite hitting the exact spot, the wooden block didn't budge, suggesting there might be adhesive on the bottom of the blocks.

Or... perhaps they had put stones or metal inside the blocks to increase their weight.

It was a common trick at game centers.

Given the situation... I had no choice but to use that method.

Naturally, I reloaded the bullet into the barrel, turned on the earpiece, and murmured quietly.

"An unexpected situation has occurred. It's suspected that adhesive has been applied to the wooden blocks. Requesting sniper support."

[Confirmed.]

A red dot appeared on the lowest wooden block.

The crucial thing was that the sniper had to fire the bullet the moment the cork bullet hit the wooden block.

Of course, as a sniper from the security team, they could time it just by watching the cork bullet fly.

I pulled the trigger.

The cork piece flew straight.

Whoosh─

Pfft──!

At the same time, a brass-colored bullet flew up and hit the wooden block.

Bang─!

And then, the wooden tower collapsed with a rumble.

"Wowww!!"

Ji-yoon raised both arms in amazement at the sight of the collapsing wooden tower.

"Oppa, you're so strong!"

I succeeded in knocking down all the wooden blocks, but... the first prize was only awarded if all were knocked down with one shot.

However, it didn't matter to me since I had already 'rented' the store.

"Congratulations! You won first place! We will give this giant doll to the lady!"

"Wow! Big Bear!"

I thought it was a character doll I had seen somewhere, but it was the Big Bear doll.

Ji-yoon, hugging the doll that was half her size with both hands, walked over to me and looked up.

"Oppa!"

"Yes?"

"Ji-yoon is so happy today!"

...In this world, while doing all sorts of training and work, had I ever seen Ji-yoon's smile like this?

Just seeing Ji-yoon's smile, which made me happy just by looking at it, I patted her head and said,

"Shall we come back to play next time?"

"Yes!!"

I had a lot of fun too.