"With great power comes great responsibility! Should Master take action earlier, if so, my father…" Benjamin muttered in a low voice.
"Hah…" Ye Zhun gave a long sigh. Benjamin looked up and only to see Ye Zhun with a disappointed expression on the surface.
"Second Prince of the Regal Kingdom! Are you sure about that?" Ye Zhun's expression turned serious. He looked at Benjamin to the eyes directly.
"Are you just being naive or you just want to blame someone over your father's death?"
"With great power comes great responsibility? Hah…" Ye Zhun closed the live speech and opened a browser on the smartwatch.
He typed a few words and gave his friend his search "Slum in the Regal Kingdom".
The result showed many slums in the kingdom. News about the people who starved to death in the slum until the high crimes that happened in the slum.
"What about this? Did the Royal Family of the Regal Kingdom do something about this? I do believe the Royal Family could do something about this but what does your family do? it's the kingdom's responsibility for its people's welfare!" Ye Zhun openly criticized the kingdom.
"Huh!? It's not the royal family's responsibility as this happened in other noble's territory! Don't you know the kingdom is managed not only by the Royal Family but many noble families?" Benjamin frowned as he tried to explain it was not the royal family's fault but the noble that managed that territory.
Ye Zhun smirked and said sarcastically, "But didn't you just say with great power comes great responsibility? Does the royal family have the power to help?"
Benjamin instantly silenced by those words. Did the royal family have the power to help? However, did the royal family help them, they did not!
"Benjamin! I am saying this not to criticize the Royal Family or the Regal Kingdom. Each person has their own responsibility and it's not Master's responsibility for your father's death! That was your knight, the Kingdom's knight! Don't blame Master for the knight's incompetence to protect the King!" Ye Zhun spoke out his mind.
"In the first place, even if Master ran away from the battlefield with his family, you could not blame him for that! It was not his duty or responsibility to protect the kingdom!"
"Oi! It's too much!" Kim Hyun-Su nudged Ye Zhun to stop.
However, Ye Zhun shook his head, "Benjamin! You are my friend and Master is the person I admire the most in my life! Without him, we are not a friend, without him, you won't ever look at me. My words are not to contradict you or the Regal Kingdom. I just want you to realize Master is not someone you should blame or even hate!"
"Thanks to him, the Capital City is saved from the specters. Countless knights and people are saved as well! If we are looking at the contribution, Master is the Regal Kingdom's benefactor, "
"If you want to look someone to blame! You should blame the specters who killed your father and attacked the Regal Kingdom. If you want to look someone to blame! You should blame yourself, unable to protect your own Kingdom!"
"So, instead of blaming Master, you should train yourself to get stronger. Instead of hating Master, you should take that unfortunate event as your motivation to get stronger and protect your kingdom! Don't hate him because he did not live up to your expectation! Master lives not to fulfill your expectation and he has his own responsibility. Protecting you from harm is one of his responsibilities, protecting the Regal Kingdom and the King, it's your responsibility, not him!"
Ye Zhun spoke those words without pause. He stood from his seat while Benjamin was in a daze. He stared into the table blankly.
"Once again, I speak like this not to contradict you! I just want you to realize that Master is not someone you should blame or even hate!" Ye Zhun tapped his friend's shoulder and left the room.
This left Kim Hyun-Su in an awkward situation. He looked at the blank Benjamin before looking at Ye Zhun's back.
What Ye Zhun said was a harsh and bitter reality Benjamin should face. He agreed with those words.
Kim Hyun-Su tapped Benjamin's shoulder twice, "Benjamin, this time I have to agree with Ye Zhun! Maybe there's a reason why Master did not go all out from the start! I know that I have no right to say but without Master, the Regal Kingdom should have fallen or your brother and your father were replaced by the specters, "
"It certainly would be worse than the one you experienced now! Master might not save your father but he saved your brother! Just like Ye Zhun said, Master, is not someone who should be blamed for your father's death! Get well soon and catch up with us or you will be left behind by us!"
After that, Kim Hyun-Su left Benjamin alone in his room. He knew that Benjamin needed some time to calm his heart. Time was the one who could heal him.
*** ***
Heero was certainly oblivious to Benjamin's thoughts. He was currently busy with his workload.
In his room, he was holding an official letter from the White Household. Another powerhouse of Star City. However, as someone who was reluctant to mingle with people with high status. This was Heero's first time hearing this White Household.
After giving his speech to the masses that incurring a big controversy, Heero immediately went to work.
In his office at the Hero League HQ, he was holding an envelope while sitting behind his table.
"White Household?" Heero muttered in a low voice as he read the envelope.
"You don't know? No, how could you don't know about this household!? Oh my, Dear~, you truly have a big issue here, " Kang Seo-Yeon just could not believe her husband knew nothing about the White Household.
"Melvin White, the current head of the White Household and also the current Mayor of Star City. Ryan White, you should know about him, right?" Bai Xin Yue tried to explain someone in power in the White Household. Her lips formed a gentle smile she always showed at home.
"Ah!? Those two names are pretty familiar, " Heero nodded as he tried to recall where he heard Ryan White.
Seeing their husbands' reaction, Bai Xin Yue and Kang Seo-Yeon were left speechless. From his reaction, they could tell Heero did not know Ryan White.
"You… truly…" Kang Seo-Yeon did not know how to speak. In the end, she unlocked her smartwatch and opened the list of the Emperor Class Hero.
On the topmost was a picture of a man with the face of a young man in his early twenties while in fact, he was in his late thirties. A pointy nose, blue eyes, sharp chin, and white hair; a handsome young man. Next to the picture was the name, Ryan White.
Kang Seo-Yeon showed the list to her husband, "Here you are!"
While looking at the smartwatch, Heero muttered in a sudden realization, "So he's the number one…"
"Is he really that strong? How strong is he compared to Father Bai?" Heero asked Bai Xin Yue. He was surprised by Bai Xin Yue's expression.
She was shaking her head with a bitter smile, "Father lost badly against him, "
Even Kang Seo-Yeon was surprised as she did not know about this.
"Mnn… Interesting, I want to meet this Ryan White, where is he?" Heero was intrigued by Ryan White.
The reason Heero easily forgot Ryan White despite being number one on the list was that he never met this guy even once.
"Ugh, we don't know. His whereabouts are mysterious and we can't contact him either!" Bai Xin Yue shook her head.
"The rumor says he's roaming around, exploring the untamed territory!" Kang Seo-Yeon chimed in.
"Quite irresponsible for Emperor Class Hero - Rank 1. If the guy could not be contacted, should I fire him?" Heero casually commented.
Kang Seo-Yeon rolled her eyes at her husband's casual remark, "You will receive a big opposition if you try to fire him. He has a big fan base whether it's a hero or the citizens, "
"Nah, whatever, if he does not take the revaluation test, he will lose his status as a Hero anyway, " Heero waved his hand and tore the envelope, "Let's what the White Household wants to say through the official letter, "
Heero skimmed through the letter and found out the letter was sent under the Central Government's stamp. It was not a letter under the name of White Household but sent from the White Household, an official letter that showed the Central Government over the reform of the Hero League.
"What nonsense is this? From what I know, the Hero League does not have the right to meddle in the Internal Management of the Central Government and likewise, they also can't meddle in the Hero League's internal management!"
It was Kang Seo-Yeon who said those, not Heero.
"So it doesn't matter whether we have the Central Government's agreement or not, right?" Heero asked Bai Xin Yue to make sure. While Kang Seo-Yeon knew more compared to Heero, Bai Xin Yue was the one who was the most familiar with the Hero League's affairs.
"It does not matter! The Hero League manages the heroes and the Central Government manages the citizens and the city!" Bai Xin Yue confirmed with a nod.
"Then there's no need to send our response…"
Bwoosh!
The fire lit up and engulfed the letter.
*** ***
Three days later, the north gate of the Star City
A white-haired young man with a thin beard entered the city with a backpack on his back.
As soon as the young man entered the city, he yelled excitedly, "Home Sweet Home!"
This young man was Ryan White. He came back after his father called him to go back.