"Mr. Cloud, please wait."
Ash's voice came from behind.
Cloud turned to see Ash approach him.
"Thank you."
Ash gave Cloud a deep bow—one from the heart.
"No need for thanks," Cloud waved dismissively. "Consider it back pay from me, the director, for your role."
"So what's next? What are your plans?" Cloud asked. "Will you stay with this big family, watching Kyo and Iori fight every day, or do you have other ideas?"
"I want to return to France." Ash's tone was filled with peace and serenity. "Open a small flower shop, or maybe a pastry shop. Bask in the sun every day, grow some flowers, live an ordinary life."
After experiencing exile through time and trials of life and death, this former "Son of Emerald Flames" had finally set down all fate and burden, wanting only to return to the simplest happiness.
"An excellent choice." Cloud nodded approvingly. "Though you, as a former KOF protagonist, won't find complete retirement that easy."
He handed Ash a pin engraved with the Guardian Alliance emblem.
"Take this. From now on, you're the honorary consultant for the Guardian Alliance's European branch. You won't need to do any actual work, but if any fool dares cause trouble at your flower shop..."
A glint of amusement flashed in Cloud's eyes.
"...show them what Emerald Flame gardening pruning looks like."
Ash accepted the pin.
"My pleasure."
A tragedy had finally reached its most perfect conclusion.
...
After seeing off Ash and Elisabeth, Cloud's "retirement life" officially got on track.
It was nothing more than waking up in the morning to Mai and Kula's "ice and fire extremes";
Spending mornings helping the Kagura sisters handle trivial reports from the Guardian Alliance (such as Kyo and Iori demolishing half the training grounds fighting over a chicken leg);
At noon, sampling the "love lunches" jointly prepared by Athena and Yuri—creations rivaling biochemical weapons—and under their expectant gazes, eating them without changing expression while praising the "creative flavoring";
Afternoons by the pool, enjoying Shermie, Mature, and Vice's "queen-tier" massage services while watching K', Haohmaru, and Akuma—three "battle maniacs" from different worlds—spar (bet on who destroys the dojo roof first).
His "retirement life" seemed to have become... more lively, and more "dangerous."
...
After the KOF world fully entered the "post-Otoma=Raga era" of peace, the entire world overflowed with a celebratory atmosphere of having survived disaster.
And in this global celebration, one name was mentioned even more frequently than "Cloud" for a time.
She was—the psychic idol, Athena Asamiya.
Her sweet singing voice was hailed as "the sacred sound that heals wounds."
Her beautiful figure was called "the flower of hope blooming in despair."
Athena's global fanbase grew at physics-defying exponential rates.
Her old albums were bid up to astronomical prices; her concert tickets became harder to get than tickets for Noah's Ark.
Facing this sudden tsunami of popularity, Athena, after a brief moment of pleasant surprise, made a decision.
She would hold an unprecedented global gratitude concert tour called "Thank You for the Past."
She would use her singing to comfort every heart wounded by disaster, to thank every hero who fought to protect the world, to celebrate this hard-won peace.
When she shared this idea with Cloud, the recently "retired" Dimensional Sovereign was lounging on the sofa, enjoying Leona's "emotionless but precisely pressured" leg massage service.
"A concert? Sounds good." Cloud said lazily. "Want me to use divine power for holographic projection, broadcasting simultaneously worldwide? Or just use the moon as your backdrop?"
"No, no need!" Athena waved her hands frantically, blushing. "I... I want to use the most sincere approach, walking across this world step by step."
She paused, then looked at Cloud with sparkling, expectant eyes, asking softly:
"Um... Cloud, would you... would you come with me?"
"Hm?"
"It's just... my concert needs a bodyguard. I'm so popular now, what if I encounter some crazy fans..." Athena made up a flimsy excuse, her voice growing smaller. "You're... the strongest in the world, so... so..."
Seeing her shy yet expectant expression, Cloud smiled.
He knew this girl didn't need any bodyguard. She just wanted to go on a world tour with him—a publicly acknowledged "date."
"Alright," Cloud sat up, speaking seriously. "Since this is a personal invitation from our family's big star, I, as her number-one fan and family member, naturally must oblige."
"However, my appearance fee is quite steep." He teased deliberately.
"Eh?" Athena was startled.
"My compensation..." Cloud leaned to her ear, speaking softly so only they could hear. "How about paying with exclusive goodnight kisses while wearing each of your performance outfits?"
"Kyaa—!"
Athena's face instantly turned red as a ripe apple.
...
And so, a peculiar and utterly "luxurious" global concert tour began.
No massive security team, no entourage of assistants.
Athena's team consisted of only two people.
Herself.
And her seemingly ordinary "personal bodyguard" who occasionally displayed "miracles"—Cloud.
At the Paris venue, concert equipment couldn't arrive due to a strike.
Cloud merely snapped his fingers, and the entire Eiffel Tower transformed into a dreamlike stage of light and shadow with holographic sound—more spectacular than any top-tier equipment in the world.
At the Egypt venue, a sandstorm struck the concert.
Cloud simply blew toward the sky, and the swirling yellow sand instantly froze, then coalesced mid-air into a massive pyramid-shaped audience seating area, letting everyone experience the wonderful feeling of "listening to music like a pharaoh."
At the Venice venue, Athena wanted to perform on water.
Cloud used divine power to crystallize all of Venice's waterways, while gondolas became "ice sleds" gliding across the crystal surface.
...
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