Villain Retirement

"The great-grandfather of your grand father…?"

Although the boy's presence was not really welcome as Miss Pepondosovich was not in a good mood from having searched for nothing, her penchant for drama has once again piqued and resurrected her curiosity; her ears almost popping out from her head and revealing herself as a god.

It wasn't only her, however, as Riley and Esme also turned to look at the boy.

"You're saying that the founder of the Academy is your ancestor?" Miss Pepondosovich squinted her eyes; her voice, revealing her disbelief as she slowly approached the boy, "But we were told by the doctor that you're from the slums."

"I am," the boy scoffed, before spitting on the floor that the three just cleaned, "And it is all because of that man. He put a curse on our family, and that curse still lives on until now."

"A curse…?" Miss Pepondosovich raised an eyebrow as she glanced back at the portrait.

"That book he is holding," the boy pointed at the painting, "It was said that a lot of people have searched for it, but he had put a lot of effort into hiding it — to the point that he used all of his wealth to ensure that no one could find it. He passed that responsibility to his child, and his child passed it on to his child and so on and so forth…

…until the only treasure we have left is that stupid fucking book."

"Does… that mean you have it?" Miss Pepondosovich subtly let out a gasp as she glanced at Esme and Riley.

"No," the boy scoffed before turning to look at Riley, "You're a god, aren't you?"

"What made you think that?" Miss Pepondosovich quickly blocked Riley from the boy's view.

"If you are going to pick a disguise, you should not have picked one that was so obvious," the boy shook his head, "All the people that search for that book are either gods, or someone with a god's boon — you are obviously the former… and these two woman you are with are the latter."

"I'm somewhat offended by that statement," Miss Pepondosovich's eye twitched, "What, is that also some secret thing passed down in your family or something?"

"It is," the boy shrugged.

"Does that mean you have the book, Bullied Student?" Riley stepped forward.

"No," the boy, however, once again just shook his head, "But since you saved my life, I think that means I owe you one — and you to be the one who saved me, it just means that it is fate."

"Does that mean you're going to tell us where the book is!?" Miss Pepondosovich excitedly approached the boy, "...And you're pretty eloquent for someone who grew up in the slums."

"No," the boy, however, once again just shook his head, "The book has been protected by my family for generations to the point we have lost all of our wealth — that means the book is more valuable than me. Our trade will not be equal."

"...Seriously?" Miss Pepondosovich looked at the boy from head to toe, "What do you want then?"

"A boon," the boy once again looked at Riley, "Grant me a boon, and I will tell you where the book is."

"I can't do that, Bullied Student." This time, it was Riley's turn to shake his head.

"Then I can't tell you where the book is," the boy scoffed, "And do not even try to torture me, the people of this college are already doing that and I'm used to it."

"I can't do it, because I do not know how," Riley glanced at Miss Pepondosovich, "If you want a boon, she would have to be the one to do it."

"...You're also a god?" The boy's eyes widened as he stared at Miss Pepondosovich, before also looking at Esme, "Does that mean that the three of you are gods?"

"Maybe," Miss Pepondosovich shrugged, "But don't go telling anyone about us, or you'll die."

"I know that much — gods can't expose themselves to the mortals."

"Correct; the other gods can't find out that we've exposed ourselves to mortals," Miss Pepondosovich raised a finger.

"..." The boy looked at Miss Pepondosovich from head to toe, before bowing his head and ultimately kneeling to the floor, "Please grant me a boon."

"...Oh?" Miss Pepondosovich blinked a couple of times, "Wait there for a couple of seconds."

Miss Pepondosovich gestured to Riley and Esme to follow him as she walked behind one of the shelves.

"What do you think, Riri? You're the leader here."

"I thought you were the leader, Miss Pepondosovich," Riley blinked.

"...No, I'm your guide," Miss Pepondosovich breathed out, "What do you think? Should we just give the mortal a boon or what?"

"I believe we should just torture him, Miss Pepondosovich," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "He thinks he is already numbed from pain. But trust me, he does not know what pain is just yet."

"Oh me, Riri!" Miss Pepondosovich started shaking her head and forming her arm into an 'X', "Please stop trying to kill mortals."

"Then it is up to you, Miss Pepondosovich."

"Do you lose anything from granting a boon to a mortal, Miss Pepondosovich?" Esme asked.

"I lose the portion I give him," Miss Pepondosovich shrugged.

"...Then is it really worth it just for information?" Esme squinted her eyes.

"I can always just take it back," Miss Pepondosovich once again just shrugged nonchalantly, "If I even remember giving it away, that is. They mostly just die in a few years or so and the power will return to me without me even noticing."

"That… is true," Esme placed her hand on her chin.

"Seriously, the two of you have no idea how powerful we are, do you?" Miss Pepondosovich could not help but sigh as she saw Esme and Riley nodding their heads, "Everyone that has been forcefully called to the Domain of the Gods are monsters — each capable of destroying their own universes. I might be the cutest person the two of you have ever seen but do not mistake my cuteness."

"You are not the cutest person I have ever seen, Miss Pepondosovich," Riley shook his head, "That belongs to a small humanoid called Nana."

"That's not even the point I am trying to make!" Miss Pepondosovich pointed at Riley, "Anyway, I'll just grant him a boon."

Miss Pepondosovich and the others were about to return to the boy, only to see he has company — or more specifically, the company is beating him black and blue.

"Take this! You fucking scum!"

"Just return to the box you live in! To think we treated you nicely! Just die!"

"Do you think you can get away from killing my cat!?"

"Return my money, bitch!"

"You think just because your magical abilities are better than my sister's, you could just burn her hands and call her useless!?"

"Oh wow, he really is scum," Miss Pepondosovich really only watched as the other students practically stepped on his head; one even burning him with a fireball, "This guy will become trouble — I don't think it's a good idea to give him my boon."

"Do it, Miss Pepondosovich," a small smile crawled on Riley's face.

"...Why do you suddenly sound so excited all of a sudden?" Miss Pepondosovich raised an eyebrow as she looked at Rhys. The three did not really intervene and just waited for the boy's beating to be over; making sure there was no one else before stepping out behind the shelf.

"You messed up the floor again, child," Miss Pepondosovich sighed, "Anyway, since you're on the brink of death — I will grant you a boon accordingly."

"Kh…" The boy still tried to nod his head even though his skull was already clearly shattered.

[Oh, mortal…] And soon, Miss Pepondosovich's voice echoed throughout the entire library, causing both Riley and Esme to look around,

[...I grant you the strength to defeat your enemies, to be as strong as a mountain; never be blown away by the wind. Your wounds, no matter how fatal, will heal in time. I will not grant you magic, as that you already have plenty.]

And with those words, a light started to emerge from Miss Pepondosovich's chest. This light then turned into an orb which very slowly floated toward the boy… ultimately landing on his back and being absorbed by his body.

And soon, albeit slowly, the bones that had cracked started to fix themselves. His face which was mangled beyond recognition also started to heal — and as soon as he was able to move his jaw, he whispered.

"The book… it's with my brother," the boy wheezed, "He… he is an adventurer."

The boy then weakly grabbed something from his pockets, "This… this is a letter he sent to me 30 days ago. I… I have not read it yet since we are not on good terms, but it… it should tell you where he is."

And with those words, the boy fainted. Of course, Miss Pepondosovich snatched the letter from his hand before it could fall to the floor.

"Finally, a real clue where we don't need to guess!" Miss Pepondosovich started opening the letter.

"I quite like moving around, Miss Pepondosovich," Riley shrugged, "It reminds me of the RPG games I used to play as a child when I was not killing people."

"I share the same sentiment," Esme nodded, "It is good to meet new people and learn their stories."

"Shh! I'm reading it!" Miss Pepondosovich raised a finger as she started reading the letter, "…If you are reading this, then I am probably already dead—Fuuuck!"