Villain Retirement

[It is I, Tedi.]

"...Oh."

[...]

"..."

[...]

"Gru, cut the connection from the internet, or whatever it is called here."

[You can't cut me off, Riley Ross. I have already taken control of this ship.]

"Please leave before Aerith comes back."

[So, you're with the Hel Princess?]

"...No."

Riley's eyes were squinted to the point that his eyes were almost closed. He had been trying to find a button inside the cockpit that would shut down the hologram, but there were barely any buttons here—whoever designed this definitely did not listen to Bernard.

Bernard has always told Riley that whatever it is that you create, you should always have a big red button to shut it down because you don't know when it will start disobeying you.

[I have been trying to find you ever since our encounter near the Cherbi, Riley Ross,] and while Riley's head was looking all over the place, Tedi tried to approach him; but alas, the hologram could really only go so fast before the image starts to cut off,

[And since you're on Steam 4587, I can surmise you just came from Theran? It makes sense that I was unable to find any trace of you. But then, all of a sudden, certain keywords that I set up to detect were triggered—and then there is you.]

"I believe that is a breach of privacy, Elder Tedi," Riley sighed and shook his head in disappointment, "And you did not have to do so, I am on my way to the Common Council."

[You have requested a meeting with the Elders in person?] Tedi's monotonous voice slightly wavered, [I… have already given up my position as an Elder. But if you are meeting with them, then I suppose I will be seeing you there.]

"Hm," Riley tilted his head to the side, "Why were you trying to find me, Tedi?"

[Because I have seen you before, Riley Ross.]

"Yes, that tends to happen when we've met in person, Tedi."

[No, that was not the first time we've met,] Tedi shook her head, [I have seen you before… from the Void.]

"The Void?" Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Is this about the device you've helped create, Tedi? The portal to another dimension that is to be used to imprison rogue Norinlads?"

[...I knew it! That was you!] Tedi's monotonous voice slightly showed excitement as she almost crouched down on the floor, [How else would you know that!?]

"I overheard Princess Vera and Aerith's conversation, Tedi," Riley shook his head, "The first time I met you was the first time I met you. The one you saw was probably Nothing."

[Nothing? No. My species have Perfect Memory—I saw you inside the Void, Riley Ross.]

"No, I meant that was Nothing."

[It's not nothing, Riley Ross. Please stop undermining my ability to recall events!]

"The one you saw is a being called Nothing, Tedi," Riley closed his eyes as he let out a long and deep breath.

[A being called… Nothing?]

"Hm. But it is weird, it is supposed to be carrying the same face as whoever is looking at it. Perhaps because you caught it off-guard?"

[Wait, you know who it is?]

"What it is, Tedi—and no, not exactly," Riley Ross shook his head, "But it has told me that it is a being that predates anything. It is before the Universe, before existence itself."

[It's a god?]

"It said it wasn't, Tedi. But it is a being that exists before the gods."

[This… then wouldn't it be a being that knows everything?] Tedi's monotonous voice started to tremble, [The knowledge it holds must be as infinite as the Universe itself.]

"Universes, Tedi."

[Ho!?] Although the hologram was slightly translucent, the shaking of Tedi's head was obvious for Riley to see, [How… how do I make contact with this Supreme Being, Riley Ross? How do you make contact with it? I have tried again and again, I repeated the calculations; but it has not shown itself since then.]

"I—"

[Wait, do not tell me,] Tedi then stretched her palm toward Riley, [This is something that must be heard face to face.]

"Hm."

[But there is still something that we have not addressed… why does it carry your face, Riley Ross?]

"I'm its favorite person, I suppose."

[Favorite per—We will talk soon.]

And all of a sudden, Tedi's hologram suddenly disappeared; replaced once again by Riley's silhouette. And before Riley could wonder why just abruptly vanished, Aerith and Vera returned.

"..."

"..."

Aerith and Vera quickly started looking back and forth between Riley and his hologram; their eyes, very slowly squinting with each tilt of the head. And finally, after a few more seconds of this, Aerith opened her mouth.

"Why… are you searching yourself?"

"I wanted to see what they know of me, Aerith," Riley just answered without any hesitation.

"..." Aerith squinted her eyes as she started looking around the ship, trying to see if Riley was up to something. He did promise that he wouldn't go out and cause trouble, but knowing Riley's personality, he would still somewhat manage to find himself in a mess—or the mess finds him.

"Gru, show me footage inside the cockpit for the last 30 minutes."

And while Aerith proceeded to review the surveillance cameras, Vera just made her way to her seat; loudly scoffing as she passed by Riley and subtle whispering, "See? Princess Aerith doesn't even trust you."

"I wouldn't trust myself either, Princess Vera," Riley shrugged, "Look at what happened to your brother. He died a gruesome and sudden death right when he started liking me."

"You…" Vera sucked in a deep and sharp breath as her steps wavered. But after a few breaths to calm herself down, she just walked away and sat down; her fists, however, were trembling and showing the rage that has been building up inside her for a long time now.

"..." Riley noticed this, of course—but he didn't mind. He was used to people hating him; Gary, V… the entire world has always shown him disdain. And of course, he deserved even more. Riley then turned to look at the surveillance footage, but the hologram was just showing him sitting on the chair—until at the very end when he started searching for things.

His entire interaction with Tedi was nowhere to be seen; as expected of a race that is practically one with computers—Riley thought.

"I didn't see anything wrong amiss…" Aerith then let out a sigh as she waved her hand, closing the holograms and surveillance footage, "But why do you look like a kid who got away with something?"

"Because I did, Aerith," a small smile crawled on Riley's face, "I have been getting away with everything."

"...Right," Aerith squinted as she slowly made her way to the pilot's seat, "Gru, set course for Ahor Zai. It's time to meet the governm—"

[Negative, M'lady. Energy and power levels are insufficient for travel to the designated course.]

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Gru, check again," Aerith, who was about to sit down, could not help but look at Riley and Vera.

[Energy and power levels are at 3%, M'lady.]

"But we just filled this up," Vera said as she stood up, before turning her attention to Riley, "You… you did something, didn't you!? You're not letting me go ho—"

[Raceship Gru, prepare for boarding.]

And before Vera could put her blame on Riley, a loud mechanical voice seeped from the outside. Aerith and Vera quickly looked over the window, only to see several different humanoids approaching their ship, being led by… a chubby cephalopoid.

"Broken femur…" Vera cursed, "...Are those guards? What do they want? You said no one would recognize us!"

"No… guards wouldn't be that diverse," Aerith let out a sigh,

"...They're pirates."