Inside the Fuller family's residence in Martell Village, the sounds of people's laughter and congratulations wafted from the surroundings, while the smell of snacks was so much that it reached much of the second floor of the house.
There, several friends of the Fuller family were celebrating the birth of Nina, Vice and Lauren's newborn younger sister.
While the adults were chatting and laughing, and the women were intently watching the newest member of this family, Vice and his friends sat together in his room.
"Now you're going to have a new sister... What a headache. If Nina actually were a boy, it would be so much easier for all of us," Ian commented, impeccably dressed in a suit, just as people with money in this society usually dressed on festive occasions.
There were even some who adopted the style permanently, looking very much like people who came straight out of the storybooks about Earth's 19th and 20th centuries.
Vice appreciated such a style since he followed a similar style as a mobster before being reborn into this world.
In fact, right now, he was also dressed in a similar way, albeit dressed in a set of black clothes, his favorite color.
On the other hand, Rory was sporting more colorful clothes than his mother had chosen.
Rory slapped one of Ian's arms and said. "Don't be an idiot. Whether she is a girl or a boy, she is Vice's sister, and we should be happy."
"Tsk! You say that because you have no siblings. If you knew the pain of sharing your stuff with sisters, you'd understand the misery of what I'm talking about." Ian commented, closing his eyes as if in deep misery and suffering.
"I wish I had siblings, you bastard!"
Vice smiled at his friends, understanding both sides. "Nina was born healthy, and my mother is also well. That's all that matters...
But thanks for the words. Anyway, what are you guys planning? Tomorrow, we start a new year at the academy."
The two boys in Vice's room, one sitting on a wooden chair in this young Fuller's study place and the other on his bed, looked at their friend and grinned cheekily.
"Let's get revenge on those damned students of class 2!" This was something that the two agreed upon.
Throughout their first year at the Academy of Stars, they interacted with their class 1 classmates and also with those from the older classes.
While such interactions had been rare, they still suffered at the hands of their older academy students.
Aside from a few fights in which they had become losers, they had suffered fisticuffs and losses over the past year against some older students.
Luckily, Vice was well-versed in his fighting skills, and their defeats were not overly humiliating.
But even though Vice had put his Earth combat experience to good use, his body size and weight disadvantage compared to that of his opponents was hard to overcome. So, even he had suffered a little.
Because of these experiences, the three had trained diligently during their vacation, with Vice occasionally fighting with them.
In the last few days, they hadn't been able to see each other due to a brief trip that was taken by two of their families. However, upon reuniting again, they were all committed to their training and getting their revenge.
Vice then said. "Very well, let's not look for trouble with them for the moment. But we'll put them in their place when they bother us again!"
Vicente had not yet adopted his family with the mafia's customs. He was too young and needed to develop his physical skills and his friendship with Ian and Rory.
At the same time, he knew not just any friendship could endure life in the old mafia ways, so he was still observing Ian and Rory.
However, Vice had been gradually introducing to them the concepts of honor, loyalty, and brotherhood– the values he had learned in the Mazzanti family.
A mafia member had to be reliable, loyal to the Don and the family's rules, act with honor, and be willing to stand up for their comrades!
Unlike common criminals, mafia members followed a code!
The two friends agreed. Just then, Lauren stopped at her brother's bedroom door, getting his attention. "Vice, bring your friends downstairs. Dad and Mom are waiting for us."
"Hmm, we'll be right there, big sister!"
Vice then led the way, returning to the lower level of the house, where besides them, the only children were Lauren and two of her friends who were the same age as her, 9.
...
The next day...
While Nina was at home under Kate's care, all the other residents of the Fuller estate had left.
Andrew went to settle his local business affairs, something he routinely maintained, which included managing his warehouse and dealing with the farmers who supplied him the produce he traded out of this village.
While he spent most of his time locally, he would have to embark on brief trips around the province every few weeks. During these journeys, he would sell local things and then buy others to resale in their village.
But even in the midst of his bustling business activities, this man found time to take care of his family, impart his profession to Vice, and watch Lauren as she grew up.
With the addition of Nina, now he had another precious child to watch over and educate!
As such, he went on with his local routine, wearing a contented smile on his face, fueled mainly by the recent birth of his daughter and also because he genuinely loved his profession.
Meanwhile, Lauren was already on her way to the academy with her friends, albeit not as eager as her brother for the start of another academic year.
She was already 9, and hence, this would be her final year at the academy. However, as someone who would be studying there for her 5th year, she was not as excited about going to school for another day.
She quietly made her way to the academy while her brother had already arrived, with his friends soon joining him, smiling.
"Another year together!" Ian patted Vice and Rory's hands, looking forward to this new year of their study.
During the previous year, they had learned numerous things other than simply having suffered a little from some of the older students. Nonetheless, there was still much for them to explore about their world, magic, and even the intricacies of their language.
However, as they were still children who were still in the process of discovering many things, they were filled with excitement!
Filled with excitement, the three rushed to class 2, where they would be studying from now on.
But halfway there, they passed in front of a group of students from class 3, these were precisely the ones they had had issues with during the previous year.
"Well, well, well, look if it isn't the three stooges!" One of the young boys in the group, slightly taller than the other three and a few pounds over his ideal weight, jeered while he pointed in the direction of Vice and his friends.
"Last year, they claimed that they would beat us this year... So what? Have you prepared well, goofballs?" Another tall and blond young boy, stated, looking at Vice and his friends with an air of superiority as he assessed the trio.
Two more boys who were part of this group joined as they stood up from where they were, adding their support to their leaders.
Vice then stepped forward and cautioned, "Derek, it's in your best interest not to provoke us... As strong as you were last year, don't even think that the situation is the same even now."
Darek, the leader of that little group, brushed off Vice's words, Vice was someone against whom he already suffered a bit, despite his size and age advantage.
"Rory, you better watch out... You don't want everyone to find out your secret." After uttering that, he turned his back and led his group away, leaving Ian and Vice looking at Rory, who had turned pale after those words from Darek.
"Rory?" Ian inquired, but even before they could get an answer, their friend abruptly ran away without saying a word, leaving the two of them utterly confused.