The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

After seeing off tobacco shop owner Saville, Leo returned to the shipyard and fell asleep immediately.

But I didn't sleep soundly.

One dream I was penniless and had to survive by fighting with stray cats for food, and I was beaten until I was covered in blood.

One night I dreamt that I went out to sea with Natale, and got into an argument with old Paul on the boat. Paul punched me and sent me into the sea. Hundreds of Atlantic blue crabs surrounded me, blowing bubbles and saying, "You little rascal, you've finally met your match."

In one dream, Aesop knocked on the shipyard door, saying there was a problem with the crabs that had made several customers sick, and that Leo had to pay him compensation. The medical bill in his hand had so many zeros after the numbers that he couldn't count them all.

Then he dreamed that Salvatore and his two companions were making things difficult for him at the fish market, while villagers all around him laughed and watched the spectacle.

Leo woke up groggily, staring at the severely peeling paint on the ceiling and sighing.

"The other nightmares are unlikely to happen, but Salvatore and his two companions might actually bully me."

I glanced at the time; it was only a little past 3 p.m., so I hadn't slept much at all.

But Leo had no intention of sleeping any longer and got up to get dressed.

"I'm not sleeping anymore, I'm going out to do a mission."

With more family members, there is more confidence to fight back.

You can also upgrade by completing another mission, "Precision Strike".

Leo wouldn't mind using it on creatures other than crabs and fish.

......

After lunch, Marco was all smiles again, completely forgetting what had happened that morning.

The old men had had enough of the history lesson today and left one after another, worried that Andrei would capture him and take him away for labor, so they came outdoors to avoid him.

Seeing Longo running and playing wildly on the road, Marco disciplined his son:

"Can you be quiet for a while? Like Monica, you can draw for a bit."

Longo dashed over in a flash:

Will drawing pictures make my cat respect me?

"Cat, cat, cat, you've been talking about cats since noon, what's gotten into you?" Marco asked.

Longo stopped in front of Marco, looking on with envy, and said:

"That's the new guy; all the cats in the village respect him. He's so cool!"

Marco's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be... that new guy?

Longo kept chattering "Papa, Papa" around Marco.

Fearing that his father wouldn't know who the newcomer was, he made a point of describing in detail key information such as "living in the shipyard," "killing a tuna at the fish market," and "having come here several times."

Why did this remind me of this again?!

Marco turned and fled into the coffee shop, only to bump into Andrei in the arms at the door.

"Why didn't the little fox come today?" Andrei asked, grabbing Marco.

Marco let out a painful howl!

"What's wrong with you?" Andrei, who had already taken a step, came back.

Andrei is different from Nicholas and the others.

The retired old man had nothing better to do, and he wouldn't give up until he found out what was going on.

Marco was driven to the brink of collapse by him, and on top of that, he was genuinely preoccupied... He didn't say anything, he could only listen to Andrei's rant, so he simply told him everything that had happened that morning.

But just as Salvatore was about to bully Leo, before the protagonist, old Paul, from his perspective even had a chance to make his grand entrance... the old man opposite him suddenly slammed his fist on the table.

Andrei was the person Marzamemi disliked Salvatore the most, without exception.

Without saying a word, he left the coffee shop, leaving behind the following words:

"Leave this to me."

awesome!

Finally, I have something to do!!

......

People are iron rice and steel, and if they don't eat a meal, they will be very hungry.

Leo only ate one loaf of bread for lunch, and he was hungry again soon after waking up.

He went to the lighthouse for a big meal as planned, but hesitated at the door.

The reason for the lavish meal was to celebrate the opening of the fish market.

But subscribing to newspapers has drained all the money I earned, and I even lost several thousand dollars... Is there any point in celebrating?

Aesop also said that today's situation is special.

The future remains uncertain.

After hesitating for a while, I ultimately decided not to go in.

"Never mind, maybe next time."

Leaving the lighthouse, Leo's next destination was a café.

If asked who is most likely to become a member of his "family", Marzamemi would say...

The answer is none other than Marco.

Marco was the person Leo knew best in Marzamemi, and after several interactions, Leo felt that they were already friends.

In addition to his "brave act" that morning, Leo decided to make him the mission target!

......

"A cup of coffee." The sound of the door opening and the order being placed came at the same time.

Marco, who was sorting goods, paused for a moment when he saw Leo, then pointed inside with his chin:

"Please sit wherever you like."

Leo didn't find a place to sit, but instead asked Marco while holding onto the table:

"What kind of crabs do you like to eat? I'll go catch some for you in a bit."

If you want to take someone as your subordinate, you must first show sincerity—Leo plans to use the Crab Sea to win over Marco.

The reason is simple—the crabs are free.

Marco continued with his work, not even looking up as he replied:

"I don't want to eat anymore."

After venting his frustrations to Andre, Marco was in much better spirits.

It turns out that people shouldn't bottle up their emotions; they should express them appropriately.

Seeing that Leo was completely unharmed, the whole matter could be put on hold.

"If you don't want to eat, why don't you go buy some in the morning?" Leo pressed.

"It's normal to want to eat one minute and not want to eat the next. Haven't you ever done that?" Marco retorted.

"What if you want to eat some more later..." Leo said with a smile, "The tide is going out soon, I'll go catch some and bring them to you later."

Marco's refusal was firm and forceful.

"I told you, I'll go to the fish market to buy it if you want to eat it, so you don't need to go."

Marco spoke very firmly, and there were signs that he was about to "turn his back" again.

Leo quickly changed the subject to chat with him casually, while waiting for his coffee:

"I've been going to the fish market these past few days and I've noticed that some fishermen always show up on their own."

He watched Marco's retreating figure and asked:

"One of them is named Rosalia. Why aren't her family with her?"

Gathering intelligence at the fish market is Leo's daily task.

During his time stationed in Salberto, he will investigate the possibility of going to sea alone.

After several days of observation, he identified several "suspicious individuals".

Rosalia was one of them; she was the woman who took Monica home in the abandoned housing area, and she had met Leo once before.

But the other party was a woman, so it definitely wasn't her. Leo guessed that it was possible that they were a couple or family members with a clear division of labor, with one person specifically responsible for catching the fish and the other for selling it.

Leo couldn't recall the names of the other suspects, so he could only start his "investigation" with Rosalia.

After Marco finished sorting the goods, he washed his hands and made coffee for Leo.

"How would I know? Go ask her yourself!"

Leo rubbed his forehead, looking exasperated.

He was upset when he heard those words.

The moment this sentence appears, it means Marco's friendship status has dropped to CD again.

But he didn't give up and continued to ask:

"I haven't seen anyone help her move the goods, nor have I seen anyone help her sell them. She's always alone. I don't think this is as simple as it seems... What does her husband do?"

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds... Leo silently calculated the time in his mind, waiting for the [Torture and Interrogation] skill to take effect.

But instead of the answer he wanted, he only received Marco's impatient complaints:

"I run a coffee shop, not a detective agency. How could I possibly know everything? Did you pay for the coffee?"

The skill failed...

Leo stopped talking, took out 1200 lira and put it on the table, feeling a mix of emotions.

The task released by the system this time only asked to recruit a family member, without giving a more detailed task method and objective like other tasks. Leo needs to figure it out and find a solution on his own.

Although he was completely baffled by the method of judgment, he knew very well that if he wanted to recruit someone as a "family member," it was at least based on mutual trust.

Marco did have some connection with him, but his wariness hadn't completely disappeared; otherwise, he should have been able to get some information out of him even without using torture.

The fact that he can still fail even after using the skill shows that Marco is still some distance away from completely trusting him.

If there's no trust involved, how can you even talk about "recruiting"?

He was too naive.

How could the genes ingrained in the bones of Sicilians for thousands of years be changed in just a few days?

But Marco was already the person Rio knew best in Malzamemi.

If even he can't do it... Leo really can't think of a second answer.

"The money is on the table."

Leo replied dejectedly, temporarily abandoning the idea of ​​taking Marco as his underling, and accepting the fact that "adding a chair" couldn't be accomplished anytime soon.

At the same time, try to be optimistic and comfort yourself—you've only been in Marzamemi for a little over a week, and things are already going very well. Sooner or later, you'll be able to make real friends here.

Just as I was thinking about these things, a familiar figure appeared in my line of sight.

Leo sat up straight with a 'whoosh'.

It was the woman who sat at the intersection of light and shadow that day!

Yes, it's her!

But this time she didn't sit by the sea; instead, she walked along the street.

He hadn't seen her face clearly last time, so this time when she passed by the coffee shop... Leo looked at her very carefully.

Her skin tone was a warm olive color, a shade lighter than those around her, with a gentle glow from the sunlight.

Her dark brown, almost black curly hair was naturally pulled back, with a few wisps of hair falling beside her cheeks, making her face look exceptionally small.

The eyes are round and large, with thick, long eyelashes, and the pupil color is hazelnut brown, which is unique to Italians.

The bridge of his nose is high but not sharp, and the tip of his nose is slightly upturned, adding a touch of playfulness.

Mouth......

Hey, hey, hey, I didn't even see clearly yet, why did you leave?

"Who is that person?" Leo asked, staring outside.

Marco turned his head and glanced at her, intending to continue using the excuse, "How would I know? Go ask her yourself."

But seeing Leo practically stretching his head a meter out, I almost laughed, but still kindly told him:

"Lucia Moretti, the one who supplies Malzamemi to the town."

"Oh, the supplier..." Leo muttered.

After Marco finished making the coffee and turned to put it on the bar, he found that the place was empty.

He put down his coffee cup and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud:

"You're still too young. Why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished speaking yet... She's just like you; she came to Sicily from out of town."