Ryan White - Part 1

"With great power comes great responsibility! Should Master act sooner, if so, my father..." Benjamin murmured in a low voice.

"Hah..." Ye Zhun let out a long sigh. Benjamin looked up, only to see Ye Zhun with a disappointed expression on his face.

"Second Prince of the Regal Kingdom! Are you sure?" Ye Zhun's expression became serious. He looked directly into Benjamin's eyes.

"Are you just being naive, or do you just want to blame someone for 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 the search "Slum in the Regal Kingdom."

The result showed many slums in the kingdom. News about people starving to death in the slum, to the high crimes that happened in the slum.

"What about this? Did the royal family of the Regal Kingdom do anything about it? I believe the royal family could do something about it, but what is your family doing? It's the kingdom's responsibility to take care of its people!" Ye Zhun openly criticized the kingdom.

"Huh? It's not the royal family's responsibility because this happened in the territory of other nobles! Don't you know that the kingdom is not only run by the royal family, but also by many noble families?" 

Benjamin's brow furrowed as he tried to explain that it was not the royal family's fault, but the nobles who managed this territory.

Ye Zhun smiled and said sarcastically, "But didn't you just say that with great power comes great responsibility? Does the royal family have the power to help?"

Benjamin was instantly silenced by these words. Did the royal family have the power to help? yes they have but did the royal family help them, they did not!

"Benjamin! I am not saying this to criticize the royal family or the regal kingdom. Everyone has their own responsibility, and it's not Master's responsibility for your father's death! That was the fault of your knight, the knight of the kingdom! Don't blame Master for the knight's inability to protect the king!" Ye Zhun spoke his mind.

"In the first place, even if Master ran away from the battlefield with his family, you cannot blame him for that! It was not his duty or responsibility to protect the kingdom!"

"Oi! That'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 wouldn't be friends, and without him, you wouldn't even look at me." 

"My words are not to contradict you or the Regal Kingdom. I just want you to realize that 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 also saved! If we look at the contribution, Master is the benefactor of the Regal Kingdom."

"If you want to look for someone to blame! You should blame the specters that killed your father and attacked the Royal Kingdom. 

If you want to find someone to blame! You should blame yourself for not being able to protect your own kingdom!"

"So instead of blaming Master, you should train yourself to become stronger. Instead of hating Master, you should take this unfortunate event as your motivation to become stronger and protect your kingdom!" 

"Don't hate him because he didn't fulfill your expectation! Master lives not to fulfill your expectation, and He has His own responsibilities." 

"Protecting you from harm is one of his responsibilities, but protecting the regal kingdom and the king is your responsibility, not his!"

Ye Zhun spoke these words without pausing. He stood up from his seat while Benjamin remained dazed. He stared blankly at the table.

"Once again, I am not saying this to disagree with you! I just want you to realize that Master is not someone you should blame or even hate!" Ye Zhun patted his friend on the 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 that Benjamin should face. He agreed with these 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 didn't go all the way from the beginning!"

"I know I have no right to say this, but without Master, the Regal Kingdom would have fallen, or your brother and father would have been replaced by the specters."

"It would certainly be worse than what you just experienced! Master may not have saved your father, but he did save your brother!" 

"Just like Ye Zhun said, Master is not someone to blame for your father's death! Get well soon and join us, or we will leave you behind!"

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 that could heal him.

*** ***

Heero was certainly not aware of Benjamin's thoughts. He was busy with his work.

In his room he held an official letter from the White House. Another powerhouse of Star City. 

However, as someone who was reluctant to mingle with people of high status. This was the first time Heero had heard of this White Household.

After his speech to the masses, which caused much controversy, Heero immediately went to work.

In his office at the Hero League headquarters, he held an envelope in his hand while sitting behind his desk.

"White household?" Heero murmured in a low voice as he read the envelope.

"You don't know? No, how could you not know about this household? Oh my dear~, you really have a big problem here," Kang Seo-Yeon simply could not believe that 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, her lips forming a gentle smile she always showed at home.

"Ah!? Those two names are quite familiar," Heero nodded as he tried to remember where he had heard of Ryan White.

Bai Xin Yue and Kang Seo-Yeon were speechless when they saw their husband's reaction. From his reaction, they could tell that Heero did not know Ryan White.

"You... really..." Kang Seo-Yeon did not know how to speak. Finally, she unlocked her smartwatch and opened the list of the Emperor Class Hero.

At the top was a picture of a man with the face of a young man in his early twenties, though he was actually in his late thirties. A pointy nose, blue eyes, a 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 go!"

While looking at the smartwatch, Heero muttered in a sudden realization, "So he's 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 shook her head with a bitter smile, "Father lost badly to 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 fascinated by Ryan White.

The reason why Heero forgot Ryan White so easily, even though he was number one on the list, was because he had never met this guy.

"Ugh, we don't know. His whereabouts are mysterious and we can't contact him either!" Bai Xin Yue shook her head.

"Rumor has it that he's roaming around, exploring the untamed territory!" Kang Seo-Yeon interjected.

"Pretty irresponsible for an Emperor Class Hero - Rank 1. If this guy could not be contacted, should I fire him?" Heero commented casually.

Kang Seo-Yeon rolled her eyes at her husband's casual remark, "You will get a lot of resistance if you try to fire him. He has a big fan base, whether it's heroes or the citizens," she said.

"Hmm, whatever, if he doesn't take the reevaluation test, he will lose his hero status anyway," Heero waved his hand and tore open the envelope, "Let's see what the White House wants to say through the official letter."

Heero skimmed through the letter and found out that the letter was sent under the stamp of the central government.

 It was not a letter under the name of the White Household, but sent by the White Household, an official letter that showed the Central Government's position on the reform of the Hero League.

"What kind of nonsense is this? As far as I know, the Hero League doesn't have the right to interfere in the central government's internal management, and they can't interfere in the Hero League's internal management either!"

It was Kang Seo-Yeon who said this, not Heero.

"So it doesn't matter if we have the approval of the central government or not, right?" Heero asked Bai Xin Yue to be sure. While Kang Seo-Yeon knew more than Heero, Bai Xin Yue was the one who was most familiar with the affairs of the Hero League.

"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 reply..."

The fire lit up and engulfed the letter.

*** ***

Three Days Later, Star City's North Gate

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 excitedly shouted, "Home Sweet Home!

That young man was Ryan White. He returned after his father told him to come back.