[R1999] Short Stories' Collection

A chaotic incident in Sicily (8)

"Good afternoon, Madam."

The orange-haired girl politely greeted the old lady.

"Good afternoon, child."

The old lady greeted her back.

When they were face-to-face, Sonetto and Vertin could clearly see the prominent scar that divided the right eyebrow into two parts on her face, as well as the familiar Foundation's pin on her jacket.

"Oh, it seems we are colleagues."

The old lady smiled as she pointed to the Foundation's symbol on Sonetto's clothes.

"How about giving this pitiful old lady a ride? After all, our destinations are the same."

And then, their trip to Palermo was joined by a new member.

The old lady introduced herself as Mozzoni, whose age was over 60, and was planning to bite the dust as soon as possible after meeting her stupid son one last time in Palermo.

"Because the longer I live, the more disappointed I feel in myself."

The old lady explained casually before Sonetto's puzzled expression.

"At my age, your strength, endurance and reflex will drastically drop until one day, you can't even walk on your legs anymore."

She lightly touched her head.

"The only things that remain are your wisdom and a not yet forgetful head."

"Therefore, I prefer an ending where my mind is still alert to an ending where I'm just an impotent old lady."

Although her speech may be a bit weird and negative to normal people, she still had a point there. After all, no arcanist was actually related to the word "normal" in the first place.

"Mrs. Mozzoni, can I ask if you are a member of the Sicily's Office?" Sonetto asked.

"I used to be, but I've already retired 3 years ago."

The old lady removed her sunglasses, revealing a yellowish-brown left eye and a cloudy right eye.

"Due to my old age and some injuries from the past."

The prominent scar above her right eye and the wrinkles on her face were the clearest evidence of her words.

"What do you know about the Chief of the Sicily's Office?" Vertin said.

"You mean the current Chief?"

The old lady's expression showed a little surprise when hearing Vertin's question.

"I still remember the day I first met him. It was also the day of my retirement. He was a promising young man who was appointed by the Foundation's Headquarter."

As she recalled that moment, her unique eyes seemed to be looking into a faraway place in the past. There was no clue which time she was looking at, but it was certainly further than the moment she met the current Sicily's Chief.

"His eyes were just like mine of the old days. Stubborn yet ambitious."

After a blink of nostalgia, the old lady returned to her friendly smile and looked at Vertin.

"Why do you want to know about him?" She asked.

"Let me guess. Did he do something suspicious that involved your mission?"

The moment Mozzoni said those words, an upside down head penetrated the car's roof. That head, which was sticking at the roof, said:

"There are 4 cars from two opposite directions approaching us. Two cars in front are 300 meters away from us, two cars behind are 350 meters away. The people inside are all armed and some of them are wearing the same kind of clothes from the previous wedding."