The Retired Hero is an Extra

—Tap!

—Tap!

—Tap!

The slow yet paced steps brought immense discomfort and anxiety to Aoife as she waited for her adversary to show himself.

"It's been a while, Miss Aoife," he said as he finally showed himself.

"Who?" Aoife blurted out, unable to recognize the man.

Aoife took in his dark attire and calculating hazel eyes as he approached, smiling sinisterly.

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't remember," the man smiled maniacally.

Looking at him, Aoife felt uneasy as she failed to understand if he was even the same man who had threatened her openly on the phone.

"You must be curious, no?" He asked tentatively, maintaining his smile.

"Luc' come out," he called out to no one in particular before a woman with golden hair appeared.

Her beauty seemed on par with Aoife, surprising her, yet what shocked her was the man's nonchalance towards her.

'Why did I not notice it? He doesn't even seem interested in me,' she thought, perplexed by the man's motives.

However, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

How could she accept a woman as beautiful as her appearing out of the blue with a man being entirely indifferent to not just one, but two top-tier beauties?

It seemed impossible to her, but the truth was quite apparent right in front of her.

"You don't even remember her?" the man asked, bringing her out of her reverie.

"...No." She shook her head after giving it another second of thought.

"Hoo? It seems people in high positions really hold no regard for people like you and me, Luc'."

"Yes, boss. It's better to just finish her than try to reason with a self-righteous wench like her!" Luc' spat venomously.

Her words startled Aoife but she didn't let it show despite the ominous premonition in her heart.

'Just what's with these people?' she thought and decided to get this charade over with.

"You...! I don't care what your motives are; just tell me what you want!" Aoife demanded..

"Haa... Are you perchance stupid? Can't you understand from our conversation?"

The man looked at her as if he were looking at some inferior idiot, and not even someone deemed equal.

The look infuriated her as she told herself, 'Control! Control! I have to get them out of here!'

"Looks like she won't understand like this, boss! Let's bring them over," Luc' implored the man politely.

Despite her obvious hatred towards Aoife, she maintained a polite and respectful demeanor regarding the man.

"You're right," the man nodded, approving her line of thought and ordered, "No need to hide. Everyone, bring them out!"

—Rustle! Rustle!

His loud order was followed by several men coming out of the various bushes in the distance.

The sight of so many mercenary-like men made Aoife panic inwardly before her eyes landed on the two familiar figures.

"Aron! Julius!" she called out subconsciously the moment her eyes landed on the figure of her brother and husband.

While Aron didn't really resemble her features, he was truly her brother and Julius... Well, he looked too plain to be her husband.

Meanwhile, the man just enjoyed the sight of different emotions flashed on Aoife's face, ignoring everything else.

'This is... fun? No. Satisfying?' he thought, perplexed by his own emotions.

He naturally felt no sympathy for the trio, ignoring her horrified look as she finally noticed that Aron and Julius were unconscious.

"What did you do to them? How dare you touch them!" Aoife hissed through gritted teeth.

"Whoa! Chill out, missy! It's just some anesthesia at play," the man clarified, more so in a teasing manner than placating.

He really seemed to be enjoying it as his subordinates grinned like hungry hyena, awaiting the orders to devour the prey.

Unlike him, all of them were indeed interested in the red-haired woman opposite them, each wanting a piece of her.

Yet none of them even spared a glance at Luc', already associating her as the boss's woman.

Although none had ever seen the two act affectionately, none of them wanted to risk it, especially when another equally enticing beauty stood before them.

"State. Your. Price." Aoife said each word clearly as her face turned red from anger.

"Again? Did you get Alzheimer's or some other memory loss?" the man sneered at her attempts to negotiate.

It seemed he was hell-bent on wanting to destroy her instead of any peaceful and civil solution.

"Well, if you want to hear it, then listen," he suddenly said, confusing everyone present except for Luc'.

"You might not remember, but you advised your grandfather to ignore normal citizens' complaints and move on with the project 14 years back."

'14? Who would remember something so back into the past?' Aoife thought, frowning.

"At that time, I used to live happily yet my life turned upside down because of your advice."

"Do you know what they did? They brutalized and killed everyone after torturing them in multiple ways."

"It was an ugly sight."

The man's voice cracked with emotion as he continued, "I...I escaped alive that day... but I had already lost everything."

"And it was your fault."

"However, I didn't blame you or anyone else, ever. That's how I was raised, after all."

The man's eyes turned bloodshot as if he was forcing his tears to not fall.

"You know what's your fault and why you are here? It's because you didn't change. No, you did change."

"For the worse."

"The number of displaced people and death tolls due to government negligence is at an all-time high, even higher than the nations without any government."

"Unfortunately, it never ended."

"Every single person inside your government is trash. They are scum, beyond reproach."

While his words and emotions were raw and could be felt, Aoife felt nothing in her heart at his story.

She appeared rather... bored.

It was true that she never cared about the low rung of society, and why should she?

People who accepted their destiny without even putting in any effort to change it were irredeemable trash in her eyes.

So what if she had to sacrifice a few good humans to get rid of them?

It was well worth the sacrifice.

And as if he could see through her thoughts, the man's voice returned to normal, yet it was just too eerily calm.

"Anyways, my reasons don't matter. Just like you, I want to end you, destroy you, and make you lose everything."

With that being said, the man took a sharp turn and walked to the town unconscious men and held them by their necks.

"Stop! Release them!" she shouted in anger and fear, unable to keep her facade when it came to her brother and husband.

"Yeah, that's the type of emotion I want to see on your face," the man grinned sadistically.

"So, tell me, who do you want to say goodbye to first? Your husband or your brother?"

As he said so, his hands wrapped around their necks, ready to twist them and finish them off mercilessly.

In his eyes, it was an act of mercy, given his hatred for this woman.

"Boss, calm yourself," Luc' said, patting his hands, interrupting the sequence.

The boss just glared at her, not releasing his hold as he continued to choke them

Looking at their faces paling and their necks reddening, Aoife finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Wait! Just tell me what you want! I'll do anything!" she shouted in exasperation, too worried about her brother and husband.