Villain Retirement

"Why… are you here?"

"Princess Tifa requested my presence."

Kal'Hel, the tallest and most muscular out of Princess Tifa's sons. Unlike Lucien, Kal still had this youthful aura around him; a bounce in his step as he approached closer to Riley and his mother. His shoulders were broad, even broader than Gary's and he didn't seem to be humble about it.

His eyes as he stared at Riley from head to toe, clear and unrelenting. He then looked Riley straight in the eyes, not breaking contact even after numerous breaths. His glare was intense; even more amplified by his thick and sharp eyebrows that seemed to contour his already chiseled face.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hm…okay."

And after a few more seconds of Kal seemingly sizing up Riley, he just casually shrugged his shoulders and smiled,

"I have to say, you did really well in the trial. No wonder mother likes you, pft…" And it didn't take long for Zac's smile to turn into chuckles as he looked back and forth between Riley and Princess Tifa,

"You really—Wait. You're not thinking of like becoming my 10th stepfather, are you?"

"Oh, don't jest like that, Kal. Our guest might get some weird ideas," Princess Tifa giggled, before turning to look at Riley with squinted eyes, "...Do you?"

"No," Riley quickly answered.

"Hm," Kal shook his head and sighed, "Be careful, mother gets what she wants, when she wants it."

"She told me, Lord Kal. We had an extensive conversation including it."

"Y—"

"Stop bothering the professor, Kal," Princess Tifa tapped the desk to stop Kal from opening his mouth, "So, what did you want to show me?"

"It's a letter," Kal said as he swiftly stretched his hand to the side. And as he did so, an envelope suddenly appeared in his palm, "Some bald guy named James gave it to me."

"...James?" Princess Tifa's eyebrows raised in curiosity as she grabbed the letter from her son.

"I shall take my leave, Princess Tifa," and while Princess Tifa started reading the letter, Riley once again bowed and excused himself.

"Ah, wait for me! I want to get to know you!"

"..." Riley only glanced at Kal as he called for him. Riley, however, just bowed before continuing to walk away—he had an important matter to attend to, after all. But halfway through his hand reaching the doorknob, Princess Tifa's voice whispered into his ears.

"Wait, Professor," Princess Tifa breathed out as she placed the letter on the desk, "A certain Lord James from Varoif is hoping to request a meeting with you."

"Lord James?" Riley's hand that was reaching for the doorknob instead went on his chin as he tilted his head.

"James owns a lot of properties in Varoif. He used to, anyway—he's under the Order's watchlist as far as I know," Princess Tifa tapped the letter, "But even in Hel, he has influence in certain dubious properties. In short, he's a powerful man…

…Do you know him?"

"Oh, Lord James. I am afraid we have not yet met in person," Riley let out a short but very deep sigh as he finally remembered the name.

"Any idea why the baldy wants to meet you?" Kal joined in on the conversation, causing Princess Tifa to lightly hit him on the chest for intruding.

"Perhaps it is because I killed his son."

"..."

"..."

"...Right," Princess Tifa's words became slow as she once again read the letter, "The letter didn't mention anything about that—he's just asking if I can make it possible for him to meet you. He's staying at the Camel's inn, it's somewhere in the city, I believe."

"Why send you a letter specifically, Princess Tifa?"

"Oh, we were acquainted once," Princess Tifa covered her mouth as she let out another giggle, "You could say he could have been a father to one of my children."

"Mother, that's not just being acquainted," Kal could not help but take a step back and gag.

"Hush, Kal. This is the sort of topic you should be entertaining now—you're getting old."

"The only relationship I need is training and getting stronger," Kal let out a small scoff as he flexed his arms, showing the sharp lines of his muscles that almost sounded like steel threads being stretched as they contracted.

"Forget this brute," Princess Tifa sighed as she focused on Riley, "So, will you go and meet him?"

"If I gain the time to, Princess Tifa. I need to visit Aerith," Riley once again bowed as he was finally able to open the door, "I will take my leave, Princess Aerith."

And as soon as he stepped out of Princess Tifa's study, Star Sergeant Zac was already there waiting for him; his red lips, already parted.

"I heard a mention of a Lord James," Zac quickly approached and walked beside Riley, "I saw him back on the trial, I figured he came there solely for you."

"Hm, it would seem he wants to meet, Star Sergeant Zac."

"I would advise not to," Zac quickly shook his head, "Lord James has… a wide reach of connections. He's not afraid of causing trouble even in another nation—he might even profit from it."

"..."

"He…" Zac then leaned closer to Riley as his words became almost silent, "He is involved in a lot of illegal activities. He's a criminal."

"So am I, Star Sergeant Zac."

"W—"

"Wait, Riley!"

And before Riley and Zac could gain distance, Kal suddenly appeared behind them.

"You're visiting Aerith, right?" Kal breathed out, "Can I come with you?"

"You live here, Kal'Hel," Riley only sighed as he did not stop walking, "You do not need my permission to do anything."

"Sweet," Kal nodded and chuckled, "Well then…

…Don't mind me."

***

"..."

"..."

The three men were now walking across the dim hallway of the castle's underground area. Kal, whose stride was filled with excitement and confidence just moments ago, was now completely quiet. Perhaps the only thing that was making noise from him was his eyes.

Esme also tagged along, causing Kal's eyes to almost pop out from their sockets the first time he saw her. And this time, he could not help but just stare at her from head to toe.

Kal towered above both his older and younger siblings—even his chest was bigger than all of his sisters. But now, walking beside Esme, he could not help but feel… small.

"Are you… 3 meters?" Kal could no longer help himself as he asked Esme.

"I do not know, Lord Kal," Esme was slightly taken aback by Kal's sudden question, but still, she answered it casually, "I have a complex about my height, so I do not check it."

"Oh, cool… cool… sorry," Kal quickly removed his eyes from Esme as he heard her words; it didn't last long, however, as he once again looked at her from head to toe. And this time, he started walking on his toes.

"..." Esme could really only blink a couple of times as she looked down at Kal, "You are funny, Lord Kal."

"Why is everyone taller than me all of a sudden," Kal then frustratingly said as he let out a very long and deep breath, "Even that Gary guy is taller than me by a few inches."

"I believe you are fine the way you are, Lord Kal."

"You… you think so?" Kal immediately stopped walking on his toes as he heard Esme's words, "You… do you have a boyfriend or something?"

"A boyfriend?" Esme tilted her head to the side, "I am afraid I do not have friends, Lord Kal—whether they be boy or a girl."

"That… that's not what I meant," Kal gulped, "I meant, do you have any person that you would consider to be… a lover?"

"If it is that, then—"

But alas, before Princess Esme could answer, the group arrived at their destination. This time, however, the two guards that were previously guarding the door were nowhere to be found.

"..." Riley looked around the hallway for a few seconds, before knocking on the door, "Aerith, it's me, Riley. I came to visi—"

"Riley!?"

And all of a sudden, the door opened—with someone immediately leaping into Riley's arms and crying. If Riley did not recognize the voice, he would have probably immediately tried to dodge the oncoming projectile.

"...Miss Paige?"

"I… I miss you, Riley," Paige's muffled voice wailed in the air as she wrapped her arms around Riley, hitting his back with her fists several times. But after a few more heavy breaths, Paige immediately stopped crying and pushed Riley away,

"Megawoman…" Paige sniffled, "She…

…she left."