Five Musketeers

The five imposing figures wore distinct remarkable appearances, as they say on each side of the table:

Galilei, a middle-aged man with a long scar on his eye. He had a ferocious face, in contrast to his calm personality.

Junior, a stoic man with an intimidating presence. He was a man of few words, and more action.

Tauros, a man with narrow and big eyes that emphasised the irritant and mean air surrounding him.

Donato, a bald man in his fifties with a piercing look that seems to be looking right straight into one's soul.

Alexus, a man with a mature face wearing a cold expression, resembling that of utter detachment.

After seeing Elias arrive, they stood up and

suddenly bowed deeply.

"We greet the Don's successor."

Elia tersely nodded in acknowledgement.

With his father being dead, the Don position of the family was now vacant.

By bloodline, he should've succeeded the Don position after his father's sudden demise in the war.

However, his position was still just the young master of the family. 

It was because he still hasn't fulfilled the necessary requirements yet.

From his memories, the Godfather wanted him to be worthy of the position before succeeding it.

By his words, those that do not deserve their power often misuse it.

Thus, to prove his worth as the Don to the family, Elias needed to show them that he had both the strength and smarts for business.

Although the Castellano Family had more or less collapsed, those requirements were still up in the air.

The Five Musketeers wouldn't dismiss it casually because it was part of the last wishes of the Godfather.

Thus, although the Don position was vacant, Elias couldn't succeed in it yet and was still confisdered a successor by name.

Under their surprised gaze, he sat down at the seat reserved for him, slightly clashing his body with Donato on the right.

Elias looked at the plates, tapping his fingers on the table. He didn't know what to say and asked a question instead. 

"... How is Uncle Swain?"

Galilei grimaced. He shook his head in disappointment and sighed, as though in a struggle.

"... He's still blaming himself for the Godfather's death, unable to move on. We hoped to talk to him, but unfortunately he didn't accept any visitors at all."

"... I understand. I'll talk to him if I have the chance." 

Elias nodded slowly, grabbing the spoon and fork on his plate. His purpose for coming to the cafeteria today was to check on his subordinates.

Although the memory did say they were just fine and trustworthy, Elias never trusted anyone with full certainty.

Even now, he preferred to not engage in small talk, as they might realize that he's no longer the old Elias.

But regardless, it was far too suspicious if he were to just remain quiet while eating. 

Hearing his words, the five of them wore an expression of surprise and nodded.

At that moment, Alexus wore a hesitant expression. He opened his mouth and suddenly asked.

"... Young Master, are you alright now?"

Elias paused. After a few seconds, he nodded slowly and simply replied.

"Don't worry about it."

Hearing that, the five of them heavily sighed in relief. Elias was the only proper successor left of the Castellano blood, and the eldest child of their godfather, Andolinio Castellano.

If something were to happen to the child of their godfather, not even killing themselves would remove the stain of their sin.

They were concerned about him as the young Don showed signs of defeat and resignation yesterday, worried about his state.

After his father died, Elias understandably became depressed and angry as he imprisoned himself in his jail cell, stuck in his own world, with a defeated and lifeless gaze.

Originally, they planned to wait at least two more days before visiting Elias. Grief, recovery and acceptance… they required time. And they hoped the young Don would rise up to it.

While they were thinking, Elias took some food on the table and asked off-handedly to his subordinates,

"How about you guys? Have you heard of any interesting news lately?"

The rest looked at each other before Galilei took it upon himself to report something.

"We're fine, young Don. As for intel… Donato is still gathering some from others, but he found that there's a rumoured seller in this prison."

"A seller? Pray tell."

Donato took it upon himself to explain. He tapped the table in slight curiosity.

"He calls himself Goblin, and everyone seems to agree with that name. Based on his own words, he can sell anything you want for a decent price."

"Ah, Goblin?"

Elias suddenly said, inwardly stunned.

'Goblin… it couldn't be that existence, right?'

If it was true, then escaping this prison might be easier than he thought. No, it would be a breeze!

Donato nodded amicably and added.

"That's what he called himself, yes."

"... I'd like to meet that seller. Good job."

Elias nodded. He'll meet Swain first before checking if the aforementioned Goblin was really that existence.

After the report, a wave of silence took over the table—Elias focusing on his food as he ate silently. Another reason of him coming here was to eat.

He was practically starving in that cell.

His predecessor, similar to the aforementioned Swain, also couldn't move on from his father's death and became depressed.

It went to the point where his predecessor didn't eat in almost a week, causing his body to weaken and be frail.

As Elias ate, he suddenly paused in the air while his eye caught a glimpse of Donato on his right. There was nothing wrong other than the fact there was a… screen—a literal blue status screen beside the baldheaded man.

[Name: Donato Gueneva]

[Race: Human]

[Talent: Eagle Eye]

[Rank: C+ (Suppressed to C-)]

[Level: 44]

[STR: B- (C)]

[AGI: C+ (C-)]

[STA: C+ (C-)]

[CONS: C+ (C-]

[INT: D (D)]

[WIS: C- (C-)]

[MAG: F (F)]

[GROWTH: D+]

[SKILLS: [Advanced Marksmanship Mastery (Passive)] [Way of Castellano], [Piercing Bullet], [Long Range Killer], [Elemental Bullets], [Precise Death]...]

Perhaps thanks to his past life experiences or the fusion between the souls, he could control his emotions more precisely to the point he managed to immediately recover from his daze.

'I can also view others' status…?' Elias thought in silence. That added to the list of useful abilities, but other than that, the [Appraisal] seems to be only faintly grasping the surface of the person.

He noted that compared to his own status screen that displayed an in-depth examination of his progression, his [Appraisal] only viewed the surface abilities of a person.

'Nonetheless, it was another useful ability. I'll try checking the others...'

Elias nodded secretly before focusing again on his food, occasionally touching his subordinates "accidentally".

After a while, he finished looking at each of their status screens and found out about their abilities.

That brief event was something no one noticed.

***

TNG—! TNG—!

The cafeteria bell rang loudly, taking everyone's attention away. 

Elias looked up calmly.

"The bell is ringing. It's time to go back."

Donato and the rest added as they all simultaneously stood up.

"You're free to find us in the cafeteria every time you need us, young master."

"That's right. Young master."

Elias looked at them and slowly nodded before standing up. He waved his hand and plainly spoke.

"Relax, we'll have more time to be together in the future."

Without waiting for their response, Elias unhurriedly walked to his own jail cell while silently looking above, his gaze piercing through the ceiling.

The five subordinates of his were all Rank C+, which could be considered an elite force in this world.

He wasn't certain if he could trust them, even if the memory showed he could. It was an intrinsic difference of values and personality.

However, he would operate under the assumption that they wouldn't betray him….

Right now, the most important thing is to rest and check all of his cards before formulating his plan. 

Preparation was the key to a prison escape.

Speaking of preparations, he remembered a unique and convenient skill that has a relatively easy requirement to fulfill.

Skills were classified into two types; active and passive. The former of which is more seen in techniques and abilities, while the latter of which was more innate.

Another difference is that active skills are techniques that people can learn through enlightenment, being personally taught, or learning from technique manuals.

On the other hand, passive skills are something a person is naturally born with, acquired through repetitive actions, or granted by the will of the world through fulfilling a requirement.

At another angle, one could consider active skills as self-created or man created skills, while passive skills are the natural skills already there since the beginning of time.

As for the passive skill that he was eyeing for, it was called…

Sleight of Hand.