Quoted By:
You weren’t a genius like your brother or his kid, but you knew your way around cars. While he was hitting the books, you were learning how to circumvent modern central computer systems. It wasn’t a skill that you needed very often anymore, considering how easily you could get around, but it came in handy every now and again.
The rate at which technology improved on this planet was almost staggering, so everyone else had to struggle to keep up as well. For that reason, curriculums were constantly changing, security systems were always being updated, and the methods through which to circumvent said systems had to be updated just as frequently. That’s why hi-tech gadgets were more valued than practical skills in your line of work. They were typically seen as being faster and more reliable.
While she waited, Van tested a few of her famous quotes on you, as well as a few that she’d had rattling around in her brain. Some of them had potential, you thought, while others were just too loaded with culturally exclusive context for it to appeal to anyone without alien sensibilities. You just had no frame of reference for them, so you couldn’t give her any sort of effective feedback.
When she got bored of that, she just decided to inspect the Nega Bands you’d brought along. There was very little small-talk aside from that, and you just let your mind go blank as you drove through the field of flowers. The vehicle you’d accidentally stolen had some decent off-roading capabilities, but you still took it slow. The terrain wasn’t terribly uneven, but you were mindful of the fact that you were on an island. A wrong turn could lead to the two of you hurtling off a cliff. And although the two of you were entirely capable of surviving such a thing(for entirely different reasons), you weren’t in the mood to total this car that you just spent all this time trying to hijack.
Besides, you were just trying to relax. Your impending demon hunt would be more than enough to get your blood pumping, so you weren’t worried about a lack of excitement or entertainment.
<span class="mu-b">“I can’t find any obvious flaws in these that would result in your immediate displacement. They should be safe to wear.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“Oh, yeah? And do I have your word that you’ll come and get me if you happen to be wrong and I end up halfway across the galaxy?”</span>
She gave you a flat look.
<span class="mu-b">“I wouldn’t be able to do so immediately. The strain of teleporting across such a large distance all at once would be unmistakably fatal.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“So your power has limits?”</span>
<span class="mu-b">“Of course. Everything has limits.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“Yeah, like this car. Whoever owned it did not bother to gas this thing up.”</span>
You plucked at the gas meter, ignoring Van as she offered the gauntlets to you. She dumped them into your lap when she realized that you weren’t going to take them.
(Cont.)
