When Soldier Boy carried Sage into the hallway, he happened to see Homelander standing at the doorway, grinning foolishly.
He looked like a mischievous child who had received a new toy, excited from the bottom of his heart.
Soldier Boy followed his gaze.
Seeing Soldier Boy arrive, Homelander grinned even wider, too occupied to reply. With his Super Hearing, he could clearly hear Pete's heartbeat.
That rhythm was rare, signaling anger suppressed to the limit but not daring to erupt, along with profound shame.
A governor who had once wielded power and decided the fates of countless people could now only guard someone else's door like a dog on a leash.
That contrast... was far too entertaining.
Ryan waved. "Good evening, Grandpa."
Soldier Boy ruffled his hair. "Good evening, little guy."
Homelander struggled to hold back his laughter, his voice trembling slightly. "Did you do this?"
"Yeah." Soldier Boy looked as though it were perfectly natural. "Frenchie and Kimiko steal my booze, so I had Pete guard my door."
Hearing that absurd reason, Homelander burst into laughter again just after managing to contain himself.
"Fuck, the news said Pete killed himself out of guilt. I thought you'd killed him."
Soldier Boy shrugged. "That would've been too unoriginal."
Homelander froze for a moment.
"So that's how it is," he murmured.
Soldier Boy gave him a puzzled look. "How what is?"
Homelander didn't explain. He had discovered a whole new world.
In the past, whenever he encountered people he thought deserved to die, he had always killed them swiftly and without mercy. Now, it seemed there were other ways to deal with them.
Beside them, Ryan blinked. Although he couldn't make much sense of what they were saying, he could vaguely feel that his father and grandfather got along very well.
While