Villain Retirement

"Why does this place seem so quiet all of a sudden? Where are all the vendors…?"

"Perhaps they all left after the murder in the orphanage, Miss Pepondosovich?"

Riley, Miss Pepondosovich, and Esme were now back to one of the first cities they passed in the endless land of Manirosa. And while Esme and Miss Pepondosovich were looking around and wondering where all the people were, Riley was just walking behind them carrying a wide smile on his face; chuckling from time to time as he nodded to himself.

After all, he was like a father proud of his son's accomplishment; his son being his clone. None of these buildings was an illusion, Darkday built everything from scratch and from memory.

"Kukuku, impressive."

"...What's wrong with Riri?" Miss Pepondosovich's hair could not help but stand up on its ends as she heard Riley giggling to himself. She wanted to glance back, but she was afraid of what she was going to see.

"I do not know, Miss Pepondosovich," Esme shook her head as glanced at Riley, "But there are a lot of things wrong about and with him."

"Pft, you're right about that," Miss Pepondosovich let out a cheeky chuckle, "The man is a menace by all the definitions of the word. Anyway… where are all the people!? Even the brothel's empty. But I do sense that 6-winged god somewhere. So, that's good. But…"

"I also sense the presence of other very powerful individuals," Esme nodded as she looked around the seemingly empty building, "Not as strong as Father Edmund, but they are everywhere, Miss Pepondosovich."

"...Right," Miss Pepo squinted her eyes as she also started looking at some of the houses; the energy they were giving out, incredibly sinister—no; extremely morbid,

"Just what… happened here? Could it be the god who committed the murder at the orphanage did something…? Wait, what if it wasn't alone!?"

And almost instantly, Miss Pepondosovich's height decreased; her bunny ears, protruding from the top of her head as her legs almost seemed like they bloated as her muscles returned; the ground beneath her feet, very slightly cracking.

And as Riley saw the webs of cracks forming from beneath her feet, he could not help but be impressed.

One of the reasons that Riley found why the people of this world have not really evolved in terms of technology is because of their physical environment — everything was incredibly hard. Much like Theran, and maybe even more durable.

And yet Miss Pepo was able to crack it with just a simple gesture. Truthfully, Riley was not actually expecting that — even though Miss Pepo had told them that each god here was capable of destroying their own respective universes, it was still hard to imagine for Riley, since… Darkday was able to manhandle Father Edmund and the other gods that were now staying in the city.

Miss Pepondosovich, however… would probably not be too easy. In fact…

…is it possible she was physically stronger than Esme?

"...Interesting," Riley worded out as he looked at the now tiny Miss Pepondosovich.

"What do you mean interesting!?" Miss Pepondosovich snarled as she continued to scan the area, "Be on your feet, this might be an ambush!"

"Not at all, Miss Pepe."

"!!!"

Miss Pepondosovich's bunny ears rose up as she quickly turned her head to where the voice was coming from, only to see someone in a full black suit and a black helmet casually walking out of one of the houses.

"Is it you!?" Miss Pepondosovich raised her voice, "Are you the one who killed the only woman who can cook my favorite carrot cake!?"

"That depends, Miss Pepe," Darkday turned his head at Riley.

"Stop calling me Miss Pepe, only the closest of my kind can call me that!" Miss Pepondosovich growled; the veins around her legs and thighs, now throbbing as the ground beneath her feet cracked even further, "And what do you mean by it depends!?"

"It depends on whether or not she was truly the only one who can cook your favorite carrot cake," Darkday then stepped to the side, gesturing to Miss Pepondosovich and the others to enter the house, "Please, I have actually prepared you some variety of carrot dishes that I hope you will love."

"You think you can lure us—Riri!?"

Miss Pepondosovich could not help but look back and forth between Riley and Darkday as Riley just casually walked to the house.

"We don't know if it's a trap!"

"I do," Riley nodded, "This gentleman in black here is… a friend of mine."

"...What?" Miss Pepondosovich raised an eyebrow, "What do you even mean by that? And even if he is, we have no time for this, we still need to find that winged god."

"If you are looking for Father Edmund, then please," Darkday stretched his hand as he once again invited Miss Pepondosovich in the house, "He is actually already waiting for you inside — I told him that you were coming. Please, I baked a cake for everyone."

"What…?" Miss Pepondosovich was still incredibly confused as to what was going on. But as Esme also started walking to the house, the only thing she could really do was follow them. Her eyes, however, did not leave Darkday even for a single second; her body on full alert as she passed by him,

All her aggression, however, almost instantly

faded away as soon as she entered the house; the scent veiling the air, sweet but not too overpowering — the fresh smell of the carrots, somewhat enticing even though it should not be.

"That's…"

"Your favorite, as I said.."

"Don't come near me," Miss Pepondosovich squinted her eyes and stepped to the side as Darkday also entered the house, "...And you baked that thing I'm smelling?"

"To as perfect as I can make it be," Darkday nodded as she gestured to Miss Pepondosovich to follow Riley and Esme to the dining area.

Miss Pepondosovich was slightly hesitant, but she just ultimately shook her head and followed the two. And as soon as she reached the dining room, she almost gasped as she saw Edmund there… wearing an apron instead of a sash.

"What is going on here?"

"Has Riley not told you anything yet?" Darkday tilted his head to the side.

"...No."

"Then it is up to you to discover everything in due time," Darkday chuckled, "Please, Father Edmund will serve you your favorite — choose a seat, any seat and make yourself comfortable."

"W—"

"Father Edmund!"

Miss Pepondosovich almost jumped in place as Darkday suddenly yelled. But before she could even wonder what was going on, Edmund quickly approached them.

"Yes, Darkday?" Edmund bowed his head.

"Cut Miss Pepondosovich and our other guests a slice of our carrot cake," Darkday casually said.

"Wait, no…" Miss Pepondosovich slightly gasped, "...You don't really need to—"

"Of course, Darkday." And before Miss Pepondsovich could finish her words, Edmund smiled at her before just turning around and moving to the counter.

And true enough, he retrieved a freshly baked cake from one of the refrigerators there and started slicing it expertly — even using his large eye to get the finest slice as possible.

"What in the…" Miss Pepondosovich could really only blink as her legs just subconsciously took her to the table where Riley and Esme were already sitting, "...Are you not going to tell me what's going on here, Riri?"

"Half the fun is the mystery, Miss Pepondosovich," Riley let out a small chuckle as he looked at Miss Pepondosovich, "Try the cake, it should be incredibly up to your taste — Darkday made it accordingly."

"Something very weird is going on here," Miss Pepondosovich squinted her eyes. But as soon as the scent of the cake moved passed her nose when Edmund placed it in front of her, any other thoughts she had quickly withered away,

"...But we should eat first. We can't think on an empty stomach."

***

"Ugh… I can't eat anymore," Miss Pepondosovich groaned as she ate another spoonful of cake; her stomach, already bulging as she finished most of the cake herself.

It had already been an hour, and Miss Pepondosovich was on the verge of forgetting why they were there in the first place.

"That is a shame, Miss Pepe," Darkday could not help but sigh as he took another food from one of the food closets, "We have kept this soup in temperature — I had hoped it would somewhat contrast the sweetness of the cake."

"What… what is that?" Miss Pepondosovich's nose started to twitch.

"Just a simple carrot soup…

…made from a carrot monster I saw the other day."

"A… carrot monster!?" Miss Pepondosovich stood up from her chair, pushing away the table with her already bulging stomach. But as soon as she saw Edmund quickly arranging everything on the table and making sure nothing spilled, she instantly threw her fork away and pointed at Edmund,

"Wait! We are here for you!"

"Yes, I was told you were," Edmund only nodded as he did not stop fixing the table, "In fact…

…Darkday had already shown me the portrait of who you are looking for — and I have already found him."