The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 111 First Encounter with an Ancient Tall-Masted Wooden Ship

Leo didn't know many people in Marzamémi, but everyone had asked or contacted him before he went to Messina.

Aurelio, however... has not been seen since the harpoon test.

Leo was very happy that Aurelio could come and see him off.

His judgment proved correct—another name was added to Marzamemi's list of acquaintances.

"What are you doing waiting here?" Leo asked with a smile.

Aurelius blushed.

Other kids can be so open and honest, while he hesitated all day and had to find a secluded place before he dared to see him... What's wrong with him?

At this moment, he wanted to bravely tell the truth and say that he knew the truth about the harpoons.

That wasn't a blessing from God; it was a beautiful ending you carefully crafted.

Everyone calls me a master forger, but little do they know that the real hero is someone else;

What do you mean by "a salted fish turning over"? It's clearly you who's been backing me up.

Don't deny it, kid. I know everything!

But these words, once they reached my lips... I no longer had the courage to say them.

Aurelio recalled Madame Rosa's final words of advice to Bianchi in the church.

That person doesn't want to talk about it, perhaps because he cares about the matter itself, rather than your opinions of him.

Yesterday, Aurelio spent the entire day thinking about what Leo's purpose was in doing this.

What is "the thing Rossa was talking about"?

He probably figured it out by now, so he wanted to have a chat with Leo before he left.

"I wanted to speak with you alone, so I avoided them." Aurelio suddenly frowned, looking Leo up and down. "Why are you dressed like this?"

Leo sighed helplessly, "Enzo and Bianchi built it for me yesterday."

Aurelio was taken aback at first, but quickly figured out the reason.

"It must be those two people who were worried about Leo going to Messina alone, and they arranged for him to have the confidence to travel in Sicily."

Leo picked up the black box he was carrying and showed it to Aurelio: "Look, I made a box for the treasure you made."

Leo had some reservations about his outfit, but he was very confident in the fork box he had made himself, and naturally wanted to show it off to Aurelio.

Aurelio leaned over and nodded: "We definitely have to put it on, otherwise it will hurt people."

Five meters away from them.

The old farmer, who had just lit a cigarette, almost choked to death.

Coughing, he hid further away, afraid of accidentally seeing what was inside and bringing about his death.

"That box really did contain that thing!"

The old farmer's gaze towards Aurelio also turned to terror... Was this man also an accomplice of that young man?

"The contents of the box were made by him." How could such a big shot be hiding around here?

After showing off the harpoon case he had made to Aurelio, Leo patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of this harpoon."

Aurelio closed the box for Leo, then carefully adjusted the rows of clips on top: "Leo... I'll definitely try my best to forge you a real 'Trident'."

Leo looked at Aurelio and saw that he looked very serious. He joked, trying to make him less serious: "This is already a trident, Cyclops."

Aurelio didn't dare look Leo in the eye, keeping his head down as he repeatedly checked the clasps on the box: "I'm getting old, it's time to think about retirement. The knowledge I learned from you can't be wasted; I plan to study forging properly later..."

'

He chuckled awkwardly a few times: "The Cyclops is a character from mythology, he can't possibly exist in real life, but if I try my best, I might actually become a master blacksmith."

Aurelius guessed that what Leo cared about was probably encouraging him to become a master blacksmith.

Otherwise, he really couldn't understand why Leo would do that.

Aurelio kept his head down, fiddling with the fork box, avoiding eye contact with Leo.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leo shaking his head and couldn't help but look over. I noticed that Leo's expression had also become serious: "I support you studying forging after you retire. You can do whatever you want after retirement, but don't forget something else—your hobby of collecting old things. That's also very meaningful. I'll keep an eye out for you and bring back any suitable old things for you."

Aurelio was taken aback.

I never expected Leo to steer the conversation towards this hobby: "You said my hobby...is meaningful?"

Aurelio was so drunk he blacked out, not remembering talking to Leo about his hobbies, let alone explaining why he collected old things. Leo nodded affirmatively: "Of course."

Leorio gave a wry smile: "But they said I'm a scavenger..."

'

Leo interrupted him, saying firmly, "Don't talk nonsense. You're the Cyclops now; no one dares to talk about you behind your back."

Aurelio's smile became even more bitter.

Doesn't he know his own skill level?

The names of the master blacksmiths are all "given by Rio".

Those truths were on the tip of my tongue again, about to burst out.

But before Aurelio could speak, Leo spoke first.

Leo patted the harpoon box in Aurelius's hand several times, his tone firm: "As long as I am Poseidon, you are the Cyclops."

The trident itself cannot tell a story, but it came into Poseidon's hands and became a magical weapon with a tale to tell.

It doesn't matter what Aurelio's actual forging skill level is.

As long as Leo uses this harpoon he forged to write stories, Aurelio is a master blacksmith and can stand tall and do what he loves—that's what Leo cares about.

At this point, Aurelio finally had a complete epiphany!

The two could not talk for long because the minibus was about to arrive at its stop.

Leo offered Aurelio a few more words of encouragement, then bid him farewell and left.

Aurelio's emotions at this moment were so complex that words could not adequately express his feelings.

Then we have no choice but to take action.

"Be careful on the road."

He took off his Coppola hat, held the top of the hat, and leaned forward slightly.

The tacit understanding among the three cobblers continues to this day—all three know the truth, yet none of them reveal it.

This will be a precious secret shared by the three of them.

Leo had his back to Aurelio and did not see his hat etiquette.

However, the old farmer in front of Leo saw everything clearly.

This scene was even more shocking than seeing these two talking about guns!

Locals in Sicily are aware of the existence of hat etiquette. Aurelio's hat-removal gesture is only used when addressing superiors or people of utmost respect.

The old farmer doesn't even dare to smoke anymore.

Immediately urge the donkey onwards and set off with Leo.

The older man, who knows how to make guns, tipped his hat to the younger man, which means the younger man is a truly important person!

The old farmer drove the donkey cart very fast, afraid that the important person would not be able to catch up.

On the bumpy country road, Leo discovered something strange.

The system unexpectedly popped up a notification—

You have earned the respect of the Sicilians.

[Reputation +10]

Leo stroked his chin thoughtfully.

I haven't done any tasks yet, so where did this reward come from?

He opened the system panel.

[Host: Leo Volpe]

[Identity: Anonymous]

[Reputation: 114]

[Faction: 1]

[Skills: Weakness Exploit, Torture Interrogation, The Beginning of Control]

[Family Member: Mad Orange]

The [Reputation] experience has exceeded 100, and the [Faction] goal has also appeared, bringing me closer to unlocking the title.

Leo happily adjusted his hat.

He's about to change his identity and live in Sicily!

Leo spent two hours traveling by minibus to Syracuse.

Aside from the strange looks from the passengers on the bus, everything went smoothly.

With Enzo's carefully chosen attire, even if those people found it strange, they wouldn't give him a second glance; they were more afraid.

After arriving in Syracuse, Rio will have to take two more buses to reach his destination, Messina, and he will have to have lunch on the bus.

While waiting for the train to depart, Leo went to a snack stall next to the station to buy some dry food.

Syracuse truly lives up to its title as the capital city; finally, there's meat at the food stalls.

Leo, who hadn't tasted meat for over a month, bought three snacks called "beef offal buns".

"This bun" is a hamburger bun, not a steamed bun. It's a bread filled with marinated beef offal, made with buttered bread.

Perhaps because I haven't eaten meat in a long time, two of the dishes that were supposed to be my lunch were eaten by Leo before we even set off.

At this point, the wish list for going to Messina became two things: one was to learn about the sea.

Another thing is to eat more delicious food.

As for swordfish or not... Leo really didn't think it was that important.

At 8:00 a.m., Rio boarded the first bus, traveling from Syracuse to Catania.

Around 10 a.m., he boarded the second bus from Catania to Messina.

Leo woke up early and fell asleep as soon as he got in the car.

When I opened my eyes again, we had arrived in Messina, because the sea had reappeared outside the car window.

He stretched groggily, and the first thing that popped into his still-not-fully-activated brain was to get out of the car and get something to eat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a strange thing sitting on the sea, and I turned my head to take a look.

He then exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap, that pole is so long!"

There's an ancient tall-masted wooden ship at sea!

>