Villain Retirement

892 Chapter 892: Information

"Good evening, traveling gods. Might I bother you with some questions?"

There was a certain weight surrounding Edmund; imposing, but gentle quite the same. Perhaps it was because of the dancing flame being reflected in all of his eyes, but it was almost as if he was not asking at all, but demanding for his questions to be answered.

"Well, that depends," Miss Pepondosovich shrugged as she looked at Riley and Esme, "Can the man bother us with some questions?"

"No," Riley quickly shook his head, "He looks disgusting. But if he stays a few meters away, maybe."

"I agree with Master," Miss Esme nodded her head, "If he could aid us in our search for a cosmic piece, then maybe I could entertain a few questions."

"The two of you could have just said yes," Miss Pepondosovich could really only sigh. For some reason, she was starting to get used to the two; whether that was a good thing, however, was yet to be known, "Come on down then, winged god. Join us in our rest."

"I do appreciate all of you being welcoming to a demanding stranger," Edmund said. His wings, quickly retracted into his back as he started to fall straight down, gracefully landing just a few meters away from Riley and the others. His head that was one large eye, closing and revealing his immaculate and smiling face as he approached the group,

"This will not take long, there has been an accident in a nearby city — and we believe it was done by a god."

"Nearby city?" Miss Pepondosovich raised an eyebrow.

"In an orphanage, to be exact," Edmund nodded as he made sure to stop a few meters away from Riley, "It was… an incredible tragedy."

"Wait, don't tell me it's the orphanage in Luz?" Miss Pepondosovich blinked a couple of times as she glanced at Esme and Riley, "We were there just a few days ago."

"Yes," Edmund nodded, "That is exactly why I am here. I saw you spending some time in the orphanage, dining and conversing with the mortals there."

"What happened exactly, Mister…" Esme tilted her head as she looked at Edmund from head to toe.

"Father Edmund," Edmund let out a small gasp as he bowed his head at Esme, "But please, feel free to call me Edmund. Forgive me for not introducing myself first — I am on a very… time-

sensitive mission."

"That is fine, Edmund," Esme raised her hand and gestured to Edmund to raise his head, "What happened in the orphanage?"

"Everyone was massacred."

"...Massacred?" Miss Pepondosovich squinted her eyes, "And you think a god might have done it?"

"Only a god would have done it," Edmund nodded, "And so, I was wondering if any of you three might have decided to play with the life of some mortals?"

"It was probably Miss Pepondosovich," Riley, who had been quiet the entire time, raised his hand before pointing at Miss Pepondosovich, "She had been saying how much she liked the carrot cake, and she told us it was to die for."

"That is true," Esme nodded her head, "She did repeatedly say that."

"Wh—Why would I even do that!?" Miss Pepondosovich also started pointing at Esme and Riley, "Maybe the two of you did it!?"

"That would be impossible," Esme shook her head, "Master and I have never left your side — but I remember you leaving to relieve yourself."

"Wait, why am I even the prime suspect here!? Riley literally introduced himself as the God of Nothing!"

"The God of Nothing?" Father Edmund quickly turned his attention to Riley, "What a peculiar title. But I digress, none of you are actually prime suspects for the crime — as all of you have said, none of you left each other's side throughout your journey from Luz."

"How would you know that…?" Miss Pepondosovich once again squinted her eyes, "Were you stalking us?"

"No, please…" Edmund raised his palm and laughed, "...refrain from calling my abilities that. It hurts my feelings — but it is true that my eyes could see the past of every place I have been to, that is how I was able to track you here in your resting camp."

"That is a very interesting ability, Edmund," Riley placed his hand on his chin as he looked at Edmund from head to toe, "But doesn't that mean you should have seen who committed the crime back in the orphanage?"

"Yes and no," Edmund sighed, "The god remains elusive for some reason, all we saw was its silhouette. Well, if that is all the three of you know, then I best be going — truly, thank you for even bothering with my request."

"No," Esme shook her head, "We answered your question, now you will answer ours."

"...Very well," Edmund nodded, "I suppose your question involves a cosmic piece? Why else would three gods be traveling across the infinite lands of Mariposa, after all."

"Yes," Esme nodded, "We are trying to find a cosmic piece for Master."

"Hm…" Edmund squinted his eyes as he looked at Riley, "...Well, as much as I want to give you the clue I have regarding a cosmic piece — I believe the information I will be giving outweighs much more than the information you have given me, it is not a fair trade at all."

"...Are you telling us you have solid information about a cosmic piece?" Miss Pepondosovich sat straight up as she looked Edmund in the eyes.

"Even better…" Edmund smiled, "...I have a witness."

"...And you're not using this information for yourself?" Miss Pepondosovich once again raised an eyebrow as she continued to stare at Edmund.

"I am not interested in a cosmic piece," Edmund shook his head, "I have already spent my entire existence being worshiped and treated as a god of an entire universe, it is not something I wish to repeat."

"It is me."

"Hm?" And as Riley suddenly raised his hand again, everyone could not help but just turn their heads at him.

"I did it," Riley calmly said as he looked Edmund in the eyes, "I killed everyone in the orphanage, I also forced Ray to commit suicide. I told him I would kill everyone in the village if he didn't do it."

"..." Edmund could really only stare at Riley for a few seconds, before just letting out a small sigh and shaking his head, "A good try. But as I said, the three of you did not really separate throughout your journey — and we have actually already traced where the god first showed itself, it was when the three of you abandoned the child called Ray in the forest near the city."

"Oh, that…" Miss Pepondosovich sighed, "...We do not really want to risk showing our abilities to mortals, I have already been warned once, you see."

"Hm, a good choice," Edmund nodded, "I also would not be bothering with these mortals if it was not my duty to do so."

"Can I give you another piece of information that might be worth the information about the cosmic piece then, Edmund?" Riley once again raised his hand.

"...Very well."

"The god you are looking for…" Riley closed his eyes, "...is still currently in the city."

"We have already searched the city," Edmund sighed and shook his head.

"Search again. You could see everything with your eyes, correct?" A small smile started to crawl on Riley's face, "He should be resting in one of the taverns near the brothel where they used to sell Miss Pepondosovich's favorite carrot cake."

"That's… highly specific," Edmund let out a small hum, "But I know where that is."

"!!!"

Riley could not help but almost lower his eyebrows as Edmund's face suddenly opened up, revealing the gigantic eye that served as his head.

"That is disgusting, Edmund," Riley said as he looked away, "Very interesting ability, but it's disgusting."

More eyes started to appear as Edmund's wings protruded from his back. All of the eyes, moving without pause as they reflected the city of Luz — and soon, the images reflected on all of them became the same… a strange man with black hair.

"This silhouette," all of Edmund's eyes blinked several times at the same time, "It is the same as the one in the orphanage."

And with those words, the six wings behind Edmund flapped, instantly bringing him up into the air and almost causing Miss Pepondosovich to be blown away.

"O… Oi!" Miss Pepondosovich raised her fist, "What about the information about the cosmic piece!?"

"Go to the city of Rosa," Edmund waved his hand, "There you will find a librarian that might have records of witnesses of a cosmic piece."

"What the—That's not what we talked about!" Miss Pepondosovich raised her voice, "You told us you had an actual witness!"

"Yes," Edmund nodded, "But that was thousands of years ago, they are probably dead now."

"That…" Miss Pepondosovich could really only look at Riley and Esme as Edmund flew away,

"...That actually makes a lot of sense."