Villain Retirement

"Go."

"...Huh?"

"You can go now, Lord Jonas Reuben."

Back in the penthouse of the Majesty Hotel, Jonas was still completely perplexed by the sudden development of his… minacious situation. He truly thought he was going to die here—the plastic bags were even finely set up so that any blood that would come out of him wouldn't dirty the floor.

Jonas did not let himself be confused for long, however, as his hands and legs began to crawl away while his eyes were completely locked onto Riley, making sure he wouldn't do anything to him. But before he could actually creep and skitter away, the elevator door suddenly rang.

And as soon as a gap was formed from the doors, a small metallic object rolled on the floor, inching directly and expertly right beside Riley. And as soon as it made contact with his foot, it clicked and exploded; flashing a blinding white, followed by a literal cloud of blindness that fogged the entire penthouse.

And it wasn't done. A deafening throbbing siren also rang in the air, causing the cloud to vibrate and amplify the noise even more.

Jonas, who was sprawled on the ground, could not help but hug himself into a curl as he covered his ears. But soon, a feeling of relief covered his entire body as he felt someone pulling him away from all of this mess.

"Surround him, surround him!" Several streaks of lasers then started dancing within the fog as steps of the guards drummed in the air—their feet, obviously moving in a way to once again completely surround Riley.

And as for Riley, his eye only twitched due to the sudden noise the little bomb produced. His discomfort didn't last long, however, as he let out a sigh which completely blew away the fog into a ripple almost instantly.

"..."

Jonas's private guards, which were wearing full gear, could not help but just look at each other as they were suddenly exposed. The confusion in their eyes, visible even through the gas masks they were wearing. Their confusion, however, quickly turned into panic as soon as they saw Riley… or rather the person he was holding.

"W…what?"

Jonas wasn't pulled away by one of his guards, no—he was dragged back by Riley.

"L…Let go of him!"

"I was going to let him go, everyone," Riley let out a short but very deep sigh as he shook his head. His hands, once again grabbing Jonas, "And I am still going to let him go as soon as all of you clean up the mess you have made."

Riley then turned to look at the penthouse. He hasn't even explored it, and yet it was now covered in soot and dust from the bomb they set off.

"Clean…" Riley lifted Jonas into the air, "...Or I will kill all of you once you are out of Hannah's penthouse."

"We do not negotiate with terrorists!"

"I am not the one using bombs," Riley sighed, "Clean, or I will kill you and your family."

"Why did you include our families!?"

"Kevin, shut up!"

"...Guys, focus!" Jonas no longer tried to struggle, as doing so just might irritate Riley. He may be arrogant at times, but he wasn't a fool—he knew there were levels to being a super, and this weird white-haired guy was at a completely level than him,

"Just… just do what he says for now!"

***

"What… the fuck is even this?"

"H… Hannah!"

And after a few hours, in the dead of night, Hannah finally arrived home… only to be surprised that almost a dozen men wearing hazmat suits were busy running around her house, some even wearing aprons as they thoroughly brush, wipe, and clean every inch of her abode.

"...Jonas? The fuck?" Hannah was completely unaware of what had happened, as she was in a completely different universe discussing some things with her dad. The attendants below wanted to tell her something, but she just waved them off as she was tired and just wanted to relax and maybe chat with her new friend for a bit.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

"Save us, it's—"

"Welcome back, Si—Hannah."

Sadly for Jonas, before he could even plead his case, he found himself being pulled by an invisible force, straight back to the carpet he was brushing. His personal guards too, flinched as they hastened whatever it is they were doing as they heard Riley stepping down the stairs.

"These people suddenly trespassed into your home and made a mess of it," Riley then let out a sigh; his long white hair, flailing with every step he made, "I told them they couldn't leave before they clean all of it."

"They… trespassed?"

"Yes," Riley nodded before pointing at Jonas, "Except him, I brought him here since he was blocking the elevator and seemed adamant to meet you."

"...Out," Hannah's voice started to shake as she looked at Jonas, "Take all of your men and get the fuck out of my house, now!"

And without even waiting for anything else, Jonas and his guards quickly rushed into the elevator—not before, of course, neatly returning their cleaning supplies.

They couldn't really fit in that well since Jonas added to the weight, but still, they packed themselves like canned sardines as they waited for the door to close. And right as it was about to close, Jonas glared at Riley.

"You and I aren't done," Jonas glared, "Don't think you can just live peacefully after what you've done to me. You may be strong, but power isn't only in strength."

And with those words, the elevator doors finally closed.

Only for it to suddenly open again.

[Elevator has exceeded the weight limit.]

"..."

"..."

Jonas could really only awkwardly glance at Riley, absolutely not knowing what face to make as Riley also returned his glance at the same time.

"..."

"..."

The guards looked at each other one by one, before just forcefully pushing the unfortunate individual that was standing at the front.

"..."

And finally, the elevator closed once again, and this time, it stayed closed… leaving one of the guards inside the penthouse.

"..." The guard didn't know where to look, as he could feel Hannah's glare becoming more fiery by the second. And with what felt like an eternity, the elevator came back as he quickly went in and joined his peers who betrayed him.

"...Did that just happen?" Hannah pointed at the elevator as she looked at Riley, "What the fuck?"

"Hm," Riley nodded, "The Reuben family seems to be filled with people that have unattainable dreams."

"...You've met another one before?" Hannah just let out a long and deep sigh as she tried to push away everything she just saw away from her mind.

"Yes," Riley nodded, "We also got into a fight."

"Ugh…" Hannah rolled her eyes as she walked toward her living room, before just letting herself fall and sink into her sofa that might as well be a king-sized bed, "...Enough about the Reubens, I'm already tired of dealing with other shit. I'm sorry you got tangled with all of this, Riley. We've only just met like hours ago and you're already dealing with the annoying things in my life."

"I do not mind, Hannah," Riley sat opposite Hannah but did not let himself sink into the sofa but instead just sat upright, "I can deal with your… shit as long as you want me to. It is the least I could do."

"..." Hannah only glanced at Riley, before turning her eyes to the ceiling and letting out another sigh, "Stop saying things like that. I'll misunderstand, you know?"

"Misunderstand what, Hannah?"

"That… that you like me," Hannah slightly covered her face with her hair as she wanted to sink further into the sofa.

"There is nothing to misunderstand, Hannah."

"That… right, of… of course," Hannah let out an awkward chuckle.

"Because I do like you."

"Wh…what?" Hannah almost choked on her own saliva as she quickly sat up, "What… what are you saying?"

"You are the very first person that I liked," Riley said without any hint of hesitation or stutter, "And if I am truly capable of feeling love, then you are the only person I feel that to."

"What… we've only known each other for like hours," Hannah lifted up her legs and hugged them. Her eyes, looking to the side as she started fidgeting with her hair, "And I… I don't really know how to respond to that. As… as you may have already noticed, I… I'm not really one for relationships."

"Hm," Riley nodded his head in agreement, "That is true."

"H… Hey!" Hannah gasped. But after a few seconds, she once again giggled, "It's… hard to date when everyone is just after your money, or after your dad's influence. You already know who my dad is, right?"

"I suppose." Riley already knew, of course—but he did further research while going to the hotel. In this world, Bernard Ross's identity as Whiteking was still completely unknown.

"And you're not even intimidated?"

"There is no reason for me to be so, Hannah."

"...Huh. I guess that's a nomad's way of life, huh?" Hannah very slowly stood up from the sofa as she made her way closer to Riley, "You know…"

Hannah then sat beside Riley; her breath, almost visible as she shuddered, "I've always wanted to run away from all of this… but I can't. I can't rebel, because there's really no reason to."

"..."

"Dad always gave me the things that I want, and besides my duties, I am free to do whatever the fuck I want," Hannah pushed herself closer to Riley, "But…

…there's actually one thing I haven't done yet."

And with those words, she leaned closer.