Villain Retirement

"Uh-huh. I was the Universal Champ then."

"Almost, you were almost the Universal Champ. But since you suddenly quit all of my earnings are gone!"

"Blame Grandma Aerith… or Mommy Aerith? Wait, Dad… which is it!? Aerith adopted Aunt Silvie, but you and Aerith are lovers. But then mommy is mommy, but what about Auntie Paige—Wait, why do you have so many women in your life!? You're a womanizer!"

A few days after the sudden and unexpected meeting with the primordial god Navi, Riley was now on New Theran, having another meeting, but with less important people like the Secretary of Defense of the entire planet, Empress.

And to keep the culture of Theran alive, the infrastructures that were made and built on New Theran were still completely reminiscent of their old world—castles, and the advanced technology was hidden within the walls and almost invisible.

Even now, with the meeting of the most important people on Earth, they were sitting around a wooden table with only the rays of the sun as their light.

"Enough about arguing the obvious! A womanizer's son will also be a womanizer and that's that!" Empress stomped her palm on her desk as she looked at all the people present in her office.

Aerith was there, making sure Riley won't do anything—since he usually does something ridiculous whenever there's a gathering. And as a matter of course, Diana was also there to… mitigate things if Riley actually does something. The two were somewhat lax, however, as the Alice from the other universe was still clinging to Riley like a koala.

With the three of them here, it was possible to stop Riley.

Butcher was by Empress's side.

Of course, Katherine, Karina, Silvie, and Diana's android, Anna, are also there, because their knowledge will be the most valuable input to the topic of their meeting—the Tournament.

"I thought the Common Council was going to cease with the operations of the Tournament for now?" And although Aerith was just some sort of chaperone, she still raised her hand to join the meeting—with Empress quickly focusing all of her attention on her.

It might not seem like it lately, but for anyone other than Riley, Aerith was still Megawoman in their eyes. The respect they have for her transcends almost anything, and Empress's unwavering eyes represented that.

"I wanted that to be the case, Megawoman," Empress tried her best not to sigh, "But the Common Council, especially Elder S'adar, is completely adamant in continuing the tournament."

"Even with all the things that are going on right now? The multiverse? The primordials suddenly making themselves known?" Aerith blinked in disbelief, "I don't believe it's time for games."

"That's what I said to them, Megawoman," Empress nodded as she could no longer prevent herself from sighing, "I countered to them that we have more important things to do, but all of them shut me down saying that it's… tradition. And as I am the newest member of the Common Council, my words sadly hold less meaning."

"That—"

"If I may?" Riley's other chaperone, Diana, also raised her hand, "It's not that your words hold less meaning, the Tournament really is something that holds great importance for everyone that is living in the Known Universe—it's not just a game or entertainment, it's a way to show that… we're alright. In short, it's crowd control."

"..." Empress only glanced at Diana, before crossing her arms and finally turning her attention back to the Tournament veterans,

"The four of you were there in the last Tournament, is there anything we need to know about it?"

"It was hella fun," Karina nodded, seemingly satisfied to be the first to answer.

"It was nice to see different races coming together without malice," Katherine stated as she looked at Aerith for some reason, "I believe Diana is right, the Tournament is a shared place. He—It doesn't belong to anyone, but at the same time, it belongs to everyone."

"...Are you still talking about the Tournament?" Diana looked back and forth between Aerith and Katherine.

"It's a great place to earn money," Anna proudly stood up with her head held up high, causing Diana to almost look away.

"You know, I programmed her to be as autonomous as possible…" Diana whispered to Aerith and Riley almost as if to defend herself even though no one was asking, "...I even entered some of my personality traits in the end. But I don't remember being this greedy with money at the time of her creation, or ever."

"You packed some of our furniture on your ship because you did not want to buy new furniture, Mother."

"But they were on sale, it was a pretty good deal and other planets don't have that."

"...Aren't you the richest themarian of your time, Diana?" Aerith raised an eyebrow.

"Let's not delve into the past," Diana just looked away as she shut her mouth.

"And you, Silvie? You came late to the party, correct?" Empress turned to Silvie as she had been keeping quiet from the start, "It was made known to me that you also participated in the fights, is that true?"

"Oh, uh… Yes?" Silvie quickly looked at Karina, only for her to very slowly look away, "I only wanted to join to ensure Karina's safety, but I forfeited the matches when I realized… the others were weak."

"Of course, you're a themarian! Everyone is weak compared to you!" Anna once again stood up, "But do you know how much I lost when you forfeited!? We could have scam—I mean, we could have won a lot of money if you continued since no one realized you were a themarian!"

"That's one of the reasons I quit," Silvie let out an awkward chuckle, "I… don't really like promoting gambling."

"Then pay me back what you owe me!"

"Everyone, calm down."

And before Anna could start rambling again, Empress raised her hand, "It's time to address the most crucial aspect of this meeting."

"..." Anna seemed to want to say more, but just shook her head as everyone focused their attention on Empress.

"I was told that to make people forget about all the incidents that have happened the past decade, the Tournament that is going to be held in a month's time will be… grander than the previous tournament—civilizations that previously had no interest in taking part in the Tournament would each be sending a group of champions, that is including those from the Higher Races, and other species with… special physical abilities."

"And I assume we are included in that…?" Aerith sighed.

"Yes," Empress nodded, "The Common Council decided that in order for the people of the Known Universe to truly forget the tragedies and incidents, all of the most powerful species will be competing. They have already contacted and met with the other races, and all of them said yes…

…including your people, Megawoman."

"...Mother and the others?"

"What…!?" Anna once again stood up from her seat, "Evaniels and Themarians are joining!? Isn't that unfair!? What are you going to say next, that the peaceful Norinlads also entered the Tournament!?"

"..." Empress kept quiet.

"What!? They're joining!? But those fuckers are literally not mentally capable of violence!"

"They joined when they found out that Earth is part of the Tournament, or more specifically…

…Riley Ross."

"...Oh," Anna quickly sat down as her mind of codes and numbers started calculating the odds of earning more money with the added competition,

"Who else…

…is joining?"