Hollywood Zenith

" Seriously but what's up with his long hair. It would make anyone confuse."

" You are worried about that, look at his face first. Have you seen anyone with such features?"

" Yeah, Why is God so unfair! If only I had some of it--"

" Hehehe, I don't think that would help. Don't take your nickname lightly, didn't the young ones call you oni uncle?"

" Y-you, Who? who said it? I am ruggedly Handsome."

" Shut your trap! Boos is glaring at us."

Abe's subordinates started gossiping among themselves due to the sudden revelation.

" I am sorry about them but you don't really look like a boy, kid." Abe asked.

" I cannot do anything about it right? I was born this way." Samuel said while smiling.

" Right, right. But I didn't expect you to be a royal guest. Your companions are also something else. Those were two of my best fighters."

" Well, everyone needs someone capable for a job like security. But you could easily beat them up right? " Samuel said as he looks at Abe straight in the eye.

Everyone around them also became tense because of the sudden provocation from Samuel.

" I like you Kid, It was great to meet you like this," Abe said while patting Samuel's back loudly, almost making him fall.

" Old man, what are you doing?"

" Don't mind, don't mind. You are pretty weak. You should eat meat."

Abe began pestering Samuel enjoying his reactions.

" Rothschid, Rothschid, Rothschid. I feel like I heard that name somewhere." while those two were bickering, Shira was lost in thought.

" What are you mulling over here?" the old man asked her.

" I heard that name somewhere, Samuel Rothschild." She asked her Uncle.

" Are you talking about Samuel-sama? I met him in Yu-Kei. There was a very big party. He also write books, I love his books-- " She began to tell her about Samuel. They were close as she would often visit the palace to look for her Uncle.

The old man stroked Princess's hair and said.

" Don't you remember Robert? Samuel is his child."

" What really, Rob-sama? " She rushed toward Samuel and shielded him from Abe, who was still teasing him.

" Are you really Rob-sama's son?" she practically began to interrogate Samuel.

" Rob? My father's name is Robert and mother's is Laura. Do you know them?"

" Right! Robert-sama, I know him. I can't believe it." She became excited to hear those names.

" Oye! Robert? You don't mean that sly bastard? This is his kid?" Abe also exclaimed.

" Robert-sama was so handsome and smart when I met him! He is my idol! I heard that he married that woman but I didn't know he had a son too."

" Honey. I am still here! How can you praise another man in front of me!" Abe said furiously, but Shira shut him down.

" What? Why can't I? Did you forget who pulled you out of your mess at that time? I still remember his meticulous planning and expansion ideas. People still call him ' the Legendary Tycoon'. Humph, don't insult him."

" Y-you, honey, you could speak a little quieter," Abe said, panicking.

" Robert-sama risked everything for Miss Laura, everyone envy their love story!"

" Honey! Didn't you remember what I gifted you when I proposed to you?" Abe said with a smile.

" Y-you, don't mention it here!"

" Now you are embarrassed? It was--" Shira covered his mouth to stop him from mentioning it.

" I get it, I get it! My husband is the best, alright?"

" I am right! I lov-" he was sent flying for the second time.

She began to tell Samuel about the Robert's past . It seems that father has led quite a life in his prime, and she had few run-ins with him; they were mainly on another side of the aisle. Shira manages the family business while her husband, Abe, looks after the day-to-day activity of their business.

Aika also woke, but Samuel decided to join his group; they had been gone for quite a while now. Others would have begun to wonder about his whereabouts.

Everyone walked for a while and met up with Adele and Iblis, who were waiting for them.

" What happened? You were gone for like an hour now!" Adele said, but Iblis noticed Hannah limping slightly. Jenny and Tina were also impatient about being left behind. But seeing everyone return safely made them take a sigh of relief.

" Adele, Leave it for now! I think Hannah is hurt." Iblis said while motioning toward Hannah.

Most of the people who came for the rescue disappeared after the situation; the same happened with Abe's group. They left with the two injured people; Aika was not hurt badly because of Samuel's clean hits, so she accompanied her parent. The old man also stayed along side the Princess.

Tina acted fast and arranged extra seats for the new group while Jenny called on-duty medical staff to disinfect Hannah's wound.

Aika also made a formal apology for the earlier incident. She stood up and made her way toward Hannah, and bowed lightly.

" I sorry for how I acted earlier. I shouldn't have pushed you."

Samuel translated for Hannah. She stood up and also apologized; although she did nothing wrong, she said---

" I am sorry brother beat you up, usually he is very caring person."

" Wait a minute! I was careless, we have to decide with a best of three." Aika exclaimed when she heard Samuel translate for Hannah.

" I don't think so. But you have already  fulfilled the price of the bet so, no hard feeling ok?" Samuel said.

" but I want a rematch! I will find you tomorrow!" Aika said and left without hearing Samuel's reply.

" Wait, I have not agree--" Samuel was left hanging while others started laughing seeing their exchange.

Both parties made small talk before Abe left with his wife and child. Shira made Samuel promise that he would visit her place in the future, to which he had to agree. She was very passionate about it.

Aika ignored Samuel the whole time and talked with other girls; it was surprising how quickly they made up. The Princess and Hannah became the focus as they iterated the entire scene in detail. Adele and Iblis criticized Samuel for his rashness as he became some kind of demon of the whole ordeal.

Samuel smiled, seeing them enjoy themselves, he could also see Aika fidgeting for a while, seemly blaming herself, but the girls didn't treat her any differently.

After Aika and her parents left, Samuel decided to ask the Old man about the earlier incident.

" Mr. Enmei, Why didn't you intervene earlier? I accidently saw few of the ghost guards while I was arriving Hannah and Princess's location. You could have easily solved the issue before it blew up." Samuel asked.

" You saw the guards? Hmm," the Old man said while looking shocked; he stared at Samuel for a few seconds before explaining.

" I just wanted to see how the 'era defining genius' handle the situation."

" Era defining genius?"

" Everyone at the imperial palace has been talking about you, I even heard the Emperor mention you few times. It was shocking he never talks about younger generation but he mentioned you. So, I wanted to see for myself."

" So? your verdict?"

" You are average but have potential. I don't know about your mind but your body needs a lot of training. It looked like you won because of your luck as both your posture and techniques were average. Also, you lost your focus seeing your close one hurt which is a big mistake during combat."

The old man stated various reasons to which I wholeheartedly agree.

" I get all that but shouldn't you be protecting the Princess? What if she got hurt?" Samuel asked. Something could have gone wrong.

" What do you think about my position? Don't you think it is wasteful for an old man to accompany the Princess?" He asked a question in return.

" Well, wait you don't mean--"

" I guess you have a good head on your shoulder, it is like a test and I am an observer. Being old comes with the perks of having a sea of knowledge."

" But she is so young, don't you think it is too early for her to focus on these things?" Samuel asked.

" Girls mature faster than boys beside being a female member of royal family comes with extra baggage. They have to prove themselves more while having no power or say inside the house. Princess behaved much better in the situation, she didn't panicked and protected her friend. Those are commendable values for such a young child."

" So that's why Princess why so relaxed during the incident. It was all coming together. There are several moving parts even during a small excursion." Samuel thought.

" That's why I find it a hassle." Samuel sighed.

" Oh, and about my niece, don't mind her too much. She get excited hearing about your family."

" I noticed, but I am also interested about my father's stories from the past. It would be good to maintain a good connection with Lady Shira. Is Kiyama family some kind of business family? they never mentioned it."

" What do you think?" The old man said mysteriously. He smiled a little, which made me suspicious.

" Why are you asking me?" The old man didn't answer, just stared at Samuel, to which he sighed.

" Alright fine, she mentioned she took care of business but looking at her husband and child they were battle oriented. The guards also looked less professional, but that could be attributed to the this country. They were wearing expensive attire that means money. My guess is something related to private security business which is a lucrative business if you have connections." Samuel gave the result of his evaluation.

" Good, good but you are wrong! My family is the third largest Yakuza organization. We are relatively new and modern. Abe is the son of the the current oyabun of the organization." The old man said, gloating.

" So, basically a private security? right?"

" What! no, we have rules and such. You have to do extensive research to understand the structure of the organization."

" I don't think so, you protect people, control crimes and get paid for it right? that is the basic job of a private firm."

" Che, if you put it that way." The old man grumbled.

" Yakuza? I met another troublesome character." Samuel thought and sighed.

Today's trip was cut short as they decided to went home early. It was a very eventful day, and everyone was tired.

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