Villain Retirement

"I hope I didn't frighten you, Captain Nana."

"W… what?"

Captain Nana was more than frightened. This was the second time that Riley was sneaking up behind her and it was starting to make her nervous; why did he even have to breathe down to her neck and sit on the floor?

Of course, he might just be trying to make her feel comfortable since she was literally only half the size of Riley… but knowing what she knows about him, it only makes her even more scared for her life.

A genocidal terrorist capable of killing an Elder talking to her so casually? How was she even supposed to take that?

"I was only wondering if you require my assistance with the current predicament you are finding yourself in, Captain Nonoyo."

"..." Nana could really only look up as Riley stood and repeated his words. Although no matter how many times he repeated it, it almost as if it just passes through her large ears.

Soon, however, she forced herself to talk.

"What… what assistance?"

"The so-called pirate ship that is attacking you," Riley said as he glanced at the feed on Nana's table screen,

"I can get rid of it for you, Captain Nonoyo. In return, I would also like to get your assistance and help us where we need to go."

"T—"

"Mother! Accept it!" And before Nana could even say a single word, one of her crew that was responsible for the navigation turned around from his station,

"They're clearly from the Higher Races, they can help us! We can't divert our power from the shield faster than the pirates can shoot us down! We— ack!"

"Shut up! Let me think!" Nana threw the tin cup that was resting on her table, hitting her crew straight on the forehead. She then started looking back and forth between Riley and the status of her ship's dwindling shield.

And after a few breaths, she nodded.

"Okay," she breathed out as she placed her palms together and looked Riley in the eyes. She didn't really have that much of a choice. Between potentially being ransacked and killed by pirates that are currently attacking them, or asking the devil that still has not done anything to them for help, the latter was the only one she could take.

"We're going to open the airlock, you should—"

"There's no need for that, Captain Nonoyo."

And once again, Nana found herself being interrupted as Riley stepped away from her and walked back toward one of the windows.

"..." Nana really wanted to ask Riley what he was doing but opted not to. The fewer words she speaks to Riley, the less likely she could make a mistake and offend him.

"Boss!"

Very soon, however, the feed on her table screen started to turn red with all the warnings that endlessly popped out in front of it.

"What's happening!?"

"I… I don't know," the ship's navigator almost stumbled in his words, "We… we're detecting multiple objects on a collision course straight toward us!"

"Then maneuver aw–"

"We can't! They're moving too fast!"

"..." Nana tried her best to stay calm from all the bad things that were happening to her all at the same time. If there was only a visible representation of her stress, then it would probably fill the entire Known Universe right about now.

"There's no need to panic, everyone."

And almost like an arrow that pierced through her stress, Riley's words finally fully registered in her mind as she quickly turned her focus to him.

"I could not really pinpoint where this pirate ship is exactly, so I just pulled everything within the vicinity."

And as he finished his words, Captain Nana's eyes could really only turn wide as their view of the expanse was now blocked by all sorts of objects, circling and caging them in a sphere.

There were things that looked like space debris, asteroids, rocks, some dust clouds that almost looked like a blanket of aurora… as well as the large pirate ship that have been firing its missiles at them to deplete her ship's shield.

"I apologize for making a mess, Captain Nonoyo," Riley then let out a sigh as the large pirate ship started to move, only stopping as it hovered directly in front of them, "I suppose this is the pirate ship?"

"...Yes? T—"

And not even a second after Nana's confirmation, the ship that was probably ten times larger than theirs disappeared—no. It crumpled almost instantly into a ball… compressed to the point that it was smooth enough to reflect the things around it.

"Hm." And with that, Riley just shrugged as he made his way back to Nana; and at the same time, the other objects that Riley dragged near them also started to float away and return to where they were previously resting at. As for the pirate ship… he just left it there.

"This is a scavenger ship, correct?" Riley's voice was probably the only sound being made on the ship as Nana and her crew were left completely speechless by what they have just witnessed,

"I compressed the pirate ship for you so you could sell it. Consider it as a bonus for our deal, Captain Nana."

"S… sure?" Nana could really only look at the large shiny ball floating in front of her ship. She had never seen a Stellar-level threat in the flesh before, not even a Planetary one.

But now, a Galactic-level threat was inside her ship—just casually showing her why he was considered as such. Nana didn't even see Riley do anything, he just breathed and the universe moved to his will.

She had heard this many times before…

…but Galactic-level Threats are nearer to gods more than anything.

Still, even if Riley is a threat to the Universe, it doesn't change the fact that she and her children were alive because of him… and that was the only important fact right now.

"Where did you want to go?" Nana then said as she turned her head to look up at Riley, "We're just going to stop at the nearest planet to replace the fissions we lost. After that… we're going to take you wherever you need to go."

"Theran."

"Hm… Theran," Nana then nodded before looking at her helmsman, "Plot the course for the nearest planet so we could—did you just say Theran?"

And with her eyes blinking on their own several times, she once again turned to look at Riley.

"Yes, Captain Nana."

"Theran… as in the home planet of the Themarians?" A small smile crawled on Nana's face as her sanity very slowly left her body.

"I suppose so."

"We… we can't go there."

"...Are you not upholding your end of the deal, Captain Nonoyo?"

"This…" Nana turned to look at Hera, who had been quiet the entire time. Nana's eyes were asking—no. Her eyes were almost pleading for help. She doesn't know what Hera's role is in all of this, but Riley seems to listen to her. But alas, Hera only shrugged at her in response.

"I… No one other than the Themarians is allowed to fly within their stellar system. Please… please don't kill us."

"..."

"..."

"Why would I kill you, Captain Nonoyo?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he heard Nana's words, "As for not being allowed to Theran's stellar system, you do not have to worry about that, my mother is a Themarian."

"You… you're a Themarian?"

"I meant my adoptive mother."

"..."

"..."

He should have just killed them— is what Nana was thinking at the moment.