Taking the Mafia to the Magic World

"Then I look forward to it," Nina said with a smile. "Once I become a High-level Mage, I hope to be able to join one of these cities to protect our domains."",

Vicente smiled at Nina when he heard this, imagining that she might be able to get there by the time these five metal cities were ready.

Nina had recently reached the middle level of the 3rd stage. With her powerful ability to steal vital energy and use it to her advantage, Nina had grown rapidly.

She was only 19 this year, but would probably become a High-level Mage before she was 20, and who knows, an Earth Sovereign before she was 22.

Lauren looked at Vicente and made a 'tsk' sound at him, seeing where he had led Nina by giving her hope that she could join the warriors fighting for the future of the community.

"Nina, stop talking nonsense." Lauren approached her sister and took her by the hand, pulling her out of the house. "Let's go to college. I'll take you this morning."

Nina accepted the situation with a smile, knowing that her older sister didn't like to put herself in danger.

"Sister, I'm already an adult. I'm getting married soon, so you can't force me to stay home any longer." Nina told Lauren as they walked through the family garden.

"Huh! You think you can say that just because you're an adult? I can easily stop you from doing the stupid things you're thinking of doing." Lauren said harshly. "I'm very nice to you, but don't think I wouldn't use my powers to stop you!"

Nina heard this but didn't take it personally. She smiled when she saw Lauren's attempt. "You can try all you want, sister. I won't be a nuisance in this family. You and the brother are already risking yourselves for the family, so why can't I do the same? Or do you think I'm incapable?"

"You are a fool! But that's not your fault. Vicente didn't know how to raise a sister and ended up raising you as a boy. You shouldn't put yourself in danger like this. That's his job and mine. You should just sit back and watch while we take care of everything." Lauren said as she let go of her sister's wrist and walked ahead of her.

"I will not do that. When I become a High-level Mage, I'm going to go to one of those metal cities and fight for the community, whether you like it or not, sister." Nina insisted.

"Then I'll be forced to lock you up at home," Lauren threatened.

"That will be the only way." Nina replied, not believing Lauren.

As much as Lauren knew how to talk coldly and threaten, she had never followed through on any of her threats in months. When it came to Nina, Lauren's icy heart seemed to melt, rendering her incapable of doing anything her mind said.

Nina knew that better than anyone, and wasn't afraid of Lauren's threats.

Lauren clenched her fists in frustration, feeling what it was like to deal with a rebellious teenager.

...

Meanwhile, Vicente had stayed behind with Eve and Benson, looking at them as he smiled at Lauren's improvements.

Lauren still hadn't improved her situation regarding her memories. She was still a Low-level Paragon, despite the improvements she had made in the past few months.

However, she was more in tune with Nina and the family than ever, having fully accepted her position as a member of House Fuller.

She took a more active part in decisions and acted for the good of the family, even when no one asked her to.

There was still a long way to go before she was fully functional and trustworthy enough for him to no longer need his approval. But Vicente was becoming more and more hopeful about her recovery because of the changes in Lauren's behavior.

"Sigh! Nina is growing up so quickly. Soon she won't be living with us anymore and will be out on the battlefield without our protection," Eve said to Vicente as she watched the two sisters walk and talk along the sidewalks of the city's main avenue.

Nina's wedding would be a few days before Vicente's. From then on, she would live with Killian in Metal City until she moved out of the area.

Vicente sighed at Eve's comment, but he wouldn't stop his sister from going ahead with her own plans.

"She has to face certain dangers on her own. Nina is an adult and a very strong magician. She will make her own successful journey without our constant help." He said confidently.

Benson agreed. "Nina is a mature girl. Don't worry about her. I honestly worry a lot more about the girl Lauren."

"Oddly enough, I feel the same way." Vicente agreed with his master. "Anyway, how's the family? Any progress while I was gone?"

"Several members of the family are improving their powers. But none are close to reaching the 5th stage, if that's what you mean.

Torne and Onyx might get to the middle of the 5th stage before Lauren, but it's not easy for either of them. So everyone is still in the same position they were in when you left."

Benson added to Eve's words. "Fortunately, we have the 5th stage robotic armor. With the current number of Sovereigns in our group and the armor, we have enough men to take on a small battalion of 5th stage monsters."

"That's good. I don't think any 6th stage monsters would come to the southern region, so our biggest concern is the 5th stage creatures." Vicente commented to the two of them, feeling that things were going very well, but without losing his sense of fear. "We will keep a close eye on them in the coming months. We're getting stronger, but don't rely too much on that feeling.

The moment we lose our fear of monsters, that's the moment we'll be close to a catastrophe that's deadly dangerous for the family.

I believe that within a year at the most, we'll be faced with more 5th stage monsters. So be prepared."

The two agreed, understanding Vicente's concerns and the caution they should take.

Everyone was afraid of doing things that had a high chance of going wrong. But when those actions went well, people naturally became confident, which could make them lose some of their fear, or respect for the dangers, which could make them lose some of their caution.

None of them wanted to falter after so much preparation, so the three of them split up while thinking the same thing and preparing for the worst!