Villain Retirement

"How did you do with the activity?"

"...I spent most of the time just mingling with people. You know how long it has been since we actually got to spend time outside?"

"Same… I watched the new Lobsterman movie."

"...The one with Tom Holsea?"

"Yeah…"

"What about you guys, how…"

"Have you seen the incident in Miami? Class 1-V was on the news again."

"They're always in the news. It actually almost feels like we're just an extra most of the days."

With the students now back from their week-long excursion, the Academy was once again filled with their whispers and chatters; some loud, and some just that– whispers.

Some had bright smiles on their faces, but most looked like they just participated in some kind of death march, as their steps were extremely lazy– some even dragging their feet as they still didn't want to come back to class.

But with all the different rhythms of their steps, the students did have one thing all in common; they were all talking about Class 1-V as they once again manage to be the center of the news.

It would have been alright if it was just one time, but they were able to grab the people's attention twice in one week. One was in Miami, and the second time was in Hawaii.

What were they even doing there in the first place anyway?

And why was Riley Ross involved again? From the reveal that he was actually Whiteking's son, to the Shomari incident– for one of perhaps the most mysterious and quietest students in the entire Academy, he seems to have the knack for attracting attention.

They even encountered an enemy that Mega Woman had faced half a century ago. But with Hawaii, however, he was not the one who garnered the attention of the press, but the previous Mega Student, Silvie.

Lifting more than 300,000 tonnes and managing to push it to space was a feat that no ordinary Strength-type Super could do. Match that with her ability to fly at high speeds, her laser eyes… …she really was the closest thing to Mega Woman– she earned the superhero name she got for herself.

There was also the fact that during the moment– she almost resembled Megawoman, add the fact that they have the same hair color, most of the students had this thought in their minds;

Maybe Silvie, aka Megagirl… was Megawoman's daughter?

First, it was only Riley who had thought as such in the entire world, but now almost everyone in the Academy was thinking it. Of course, there were still a lot of Supers that had the same power– it was, after all, one of the most common powers in the world.

But with the sheer power that Silvie showed… they truly could not help but compare her to Megawoman.

And of course, the one that was discussing it most... was actually the person in question itself and the group she belonged to– The Baby Crew.

"Have you talked to your father?" Leaned her chair closer to Silvie, ignoring the whispers of the other students in Class 1-V.

"N… not yet," Silvie answered with a sigh, "I already messaged him last night and this morning, but he seems to be busy with his work."

"...I see. I already spoke to my dad… and his tone seemed quite serious when I told him I wanted to speak to him."

"...What? You think he already knows about what we're going to ask?"

"That's probably the case with their father," Gary joined the conversation.

"Hm, who knows," Hannah slightly nodded, "Let's meet at our hideout after class."

"You guys… will be there as well, right?" Silvie turned to look at Gary and Tomoe.

"Should we?" Gary squinted his eyes, "Feels like a family members-only event."

"You guys are my friends… and you've always been there whenever I start to lose my mind," Silvie muttered, "I feel like I would be more confident with all of you there."

"Hm."

And with those words, Tomoe and Gary nodded their heads. Silvie then turned to look towards Riley, who had been keeping quiet as usual. But as soon as he noticed Silvie's gaze on him, he also nodded and smiled.

"I will be there for you, Silvie."

"That's…" Silvie almost stuttered; her face, turning into cherry as she quickly moved her head to the side– letting out a small and quiet thank you to everyone as she did so.

Of course, Riley will be there. After all, this could be the ticket for him to once again finally know more about Mega Woman. The whispers and chatters around the classroom persisted for a few more minutes until finally, the door slid open.

They all closed their mouths as Scarlet Mage slowly made her way to the teacher's podium. Katherine, on the other hand, was looking at Riley– nodding to each other as if signaling something.

"I'll make it brief," Katherine then breathed out as she looked at each of her students, "Although our time together was short and even shorter for the foreign students… I hope that my stay with you has been fruitful and learning."

"Hm?"

The students, who heard the somewhat somber and concise tone in Katherine's voice, could not help but look at each other in confusion. Why was she talking like…

…she was going to leave?

"But from today… I will no longer be the advisor for this class."

"!!!"

And just like that, the thoughts of the students materialized; their whispers, becoming even louder.

"Why are you quitting!?"

"Is it because of your relationship with Riley Ross!?"

"...No," Katherine breathed out, "The Academy assigned a new advisor for Class 1-V."

"New… advisor?"

"But why? Aren't we graduating in 7 months? Why change advisors now?"

"Settle down," Katherine then raised her hand to calm the students down, "You don't need to worry about anything. The one that will be replacing me is… objectively a better teacher. Even briefly fighting alongside Megawoman more than a hundred years ago."

"...What?"

"Sir," Katherine then said no more as she turned her head towards the door; the students, instinctively doing the same. And as they did so, they could not help but squint their eyes as a golden glimmer almost blinded their eyes.

"Greetings, children."

"Bulwark!?"

Some of the students almost stood up from their seats as they saw Bulwark entering the class, his glowing golden hair, smoothly flowing in the air even without wind blowing it.

"Thank you for the exaggerated introduction, Scarlet Mage," Bulwark then slightly chuckled; his voice, as androgynously feminine as his face, "But I am definitely not better than you. What I achieved, I achieved through time– you're still young and have already garnered feats…

…if anything, you should already be classified as a Class-S Superhero."

"You… are too kind, Sir Bulwark."

"Would you like to join the Hope Guild and replace the spot I left there?"

"..." Katherine blinked a couple of times; a small smile appearing on her face ever so momentarily. But as her eyes landed on Riley, the only thing she could do was sigh and shake her head,

"I… would have loved to, sir Bulwark," Katherine breathed out, "But I actually already belong to a group."

"I see. That's too bad."

"But truly, thank you for the offer," Katherine then said before facing the students of Class 1-V, "Alright. All of you behave, don't embarrass me to your new advisor."

"Y… yes, ma'am!" Most of the students then stood up as they paid their respects to Katherine, "Thank you for everything, Miss Scarlet Mage!"

"Hm…"

"I'll take care of your students, you don't have to worry, Scarlet Mage," Bulwark then said.

"I know you will, sir Bulwark."

"Please, let me find you if I have any questions," Bulwark then said as he stretched his hand towards Katherine.

"..." Katherine looked at his hand for a second, before the two shook hands and smiled at each other. And after once again saying goodbye to her class, Katherine left; leaving a silent and slightly awkward atmosphere in the room.

But after a few seconds, Bulwark faced the class.

"I know most of you children are tired from your week-long adventure," he said, "So let's just introduce ourselves today and all of you can go rest for the day…

…I'll start. My name is Bulwark. That is the name given to me by the modern people of Europa– but that was not always my name. I have never told this to the masses before, but since we will be spending months learning from each other, I feel like you should know who I am."

Bulwark once again smiled; the tone of his voice, slightly somber.

"I am actually much older than most believe me to be. I–"

"Are you Jesus!?"

"...No," Bulwak blinked a couple of times as he looked at Gary, "But I am older than him."

"W… what?"

"I was born in a time when war was prevalent. I fought with many, not necessarily heroes, but definitely many warriors," Bulwark breathed out, "Some of you may even know them in history books– Achilles, Odysseus, Hercules, and many others; I was there to witness them grow. But as I have witnessed greatness, so have most of you. Even amongst the hundreds of warriors I fought alongside with…

…Megawoman stands above all of them."

Bulwark's eyes started to glisten as they turned to the floor; as if reminiscing a time long past,

"Forgive my sudden burst of nostalgia, children," Bulwark then cleared his throat as he once again faced the students, "The people of the past have called me many names, but perhaps the most popular one…

…is Apollo."