Chapter 1111 Father and Son (Forty) (Patreon)

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Regardless of which Space, the nights of Asgard always seemed tranquil and profound. Loki carried Helen to the bathroom sink, letting her wash her face from the faucet, while he turned around and went to the dressing room to change into his pajamas.

While tying the waistband of his robe, laughter came from the bathroom direction. Loki quickly finished tying the waistband and walked out to find Helen with her face covered in foam, and she had even drawn a smiling face on the mirror with the foam.

Loki stood at the doorway with one hand on his waist. After Helen noticed him, instead of being frightened, she formed a circle with her hand and blew a series of bubbles towards Loki.

Loki hurriedly waved his hand in front of his face to keep the foam from getting on his freshly washed hair. Turning his head, he tried to find a towel in the bathroom, but found that the towel had also been knocked to the floor by Helen.

Loki sighed, turned around and just opened his own door, when he saw a hesitant expression on his face. He instinctively turned his head towards the window in the hallway, where the moonlight was scattered on the floor like shattered mirrors.

Outside was very quiet, even the glow from the training grounds had been extinguished, indicating that it was now deep into the night.

If it had been in the past, Loki would absolutely not have called out to the chamberlain or attendant, because he did not want these people to think he was someone who could not handle even the smallest matters and had to trouble others.

Standing at the doorway, Loki took a deep breath and then exhaled, clearing the memories in his mind. Then, he shouted towards the staircase in the hallway, "Somebody come!"

In about ten seconds, two armored attendants came running up. Loki cleared his throat and said to them, "Bring me two towels."

Although his tone was calm, the hand gripping the doorframe was tightening, the veins clearly visible. However, the two attendants didn't even raise their heads, lowering themselves in a bow and saying, "Please wait a moment, the chamberlain will be here shortly."

Loki frowned and said, "Where has he gone? Why is he not at his night watch post?"

The two attendants exchanged glances, both seeming a bit surprised, not understanding why Loki was so unfamiliar with Asgard's night watch staffing arrangement.

The Celestial Palace was a comprehensive facility that combined residence and office, similar to Buckingham Palace in the U.K. The royal family lived and worked here, and those allowed to stay overnight, such as generals, messengers, diplomats and stewards, also lived here.

Because there were so many residents, three attendants and one chamberlain were assigned to each floor to handle the various needs of the royal family and overnight guests. The attendants were mainly responsible for security, while the chamberlain was responsible for daily logistics and scheduling notifications.

Loki stood at the doorway for five or six minutes before the chamberlain finally arrived, tardily. Loki told him he needed two towels, and before Loki could even furrow his brow, the chamberlain frowned first.

Although he eventually went to take care of the request, Loki could clearly see the impatience in the chamberlain's attitude, as if to say "I still have to do this small task?"

After the attendants and chamberlain left, Loki's brow furrowed even deeper. These people had actually not recognized him as Loki, but rather thought he was a guest of Thor's.

Now, Loki was living on the 6th floor of the Celestial Palace, and according to his understanding of Asgard's guest etiquette, this was where the distinguished guests stayed. Yet even so, when he asked the chamberlain to fetch two towels, the other was unwilling.

Loki, who had lived on Earth, knew that not just the royal family's stewards, but even the night shift service staff at a five-star hotel in New York would have a better attitude, as the tips during that time period were higher.

The Celestial Palace did not emphasize tipping, but the chamberlains and attendants here were actually the children of fleet commanders or military officers. They came here with the intention of gaining a foothold in front of Odin or Thor, and some fortunate ones could even follow the God-King and learn how to lead troops.

But how could they have such an attitude? Even if night shifts were more tiring, the staffing at the Celestial Palace was quite abundant, with each person only needing to work night shifts about two days a month. Even with this, they were late and dismissive - wouldn't this offend Asgard?

Loki's heart sank deeper and deeper. Since Thor's ascension, Asgard had started to frequently engage in diplomatic activities.

In addition to summoning various land lords within the Nine Realms, other interstellar civilizations were also invited here to attend ceremonies. Afterwards, Thor might even hold a grand wedding - all of these were very important diplomatic activities.

But if the attendants and chamberlains of the Celestial Palace all had this kind of attitude, was this diplomacy? Wasn't this just offending people all over the universe?

Loki had closed the door, shaking his head as he turned back into the room.

Now, he had figured out that the abnormal one was not him, but Thor.

As a ruler, Thor was too tolerant, careless and unscrupulous. Those beneath him had learned to emulate this, and might even complain that other guests were too troublesome and had too many demands.

Or perhaps the unusual one was Asgard itself.

After all, there weren't many civilizations in Space whose fists were bigger than their brains. The majority of civilizations, without Asgard's god-like physique, had to rely on geopolitics and diplomatic relationships to develop. Therefore, they were particularly careful in this regard.

But the Asgardians were used to being carefree. They felt they had no need for diplomacy in the past, and would have no need for it in the future. To them, the other side was either a defeated foe, or a future defeated foe - why bother treating them courteously?

This reminded Loki of a saying he had seen in the human world: the most terrible thing is not weakness, but arrogance.

If Asgard was compared to a person, it must be extremely arrogant, always following its own set of rules and unwilling to change. If others did not act according to their style, it was the others who were being picky and troublesome.

The more Loki thought about it, the heavier a stone felt on his heart. He had to deal with it, but could not find a good way to do so, since Thor was just that kind of character.

But as he thought about this, a sudden flash of insight struck Loki - if Thor was this kind of character, then what about Odin? Would Odin be dissatisfied with this?

The moment this thought popped up, Loki was startled. Why would he think of Odin? Weren't Thor and Odin cast from the same mold?

But his reason was telling him that this was not the case.

When Thor was still a prince, his style was rather reckless, fond of reckless charges. It was only during the period of his ascension that he began to learn how to make prudent judgments and act rationally.

According to Loki's understanding of Odin, from beginning to end, this seemingly unrestrained All-Father was absolutely not an impulsive person. On the contrary, he was more cautious than anyone.

During the period since Thor's ascension, Odin was still at the Celestial Palace overseeing the handover of duties. Could he not have noticed the abnormal state of the attendants and chamberlains?

In Loki's heart, he arrived at an answer that surprised and alarmed him. He was unwilling to allow his logic to continue down this path of reasoning.

After a while, the chamberlain brought the towels. When Loki took them, he found that the towels were not neatly folded, and the two towels were of different sizes, looking a bit ridiculous, further worsening his mood.

Walking back into the room, Loki lifted Helen down from the sink and used the towel to wipe the foam off her face, but due to his irritation, his movements were rather rough, causing Helen to sneeze forcefully twice.

Loki looked at the towel he was using to wipe Helen's face - it was clearly over-dried and starting to shed fibers. Lightly shaking it, the airborne fuzz was clearly visible.

Enraged, Loki angrily threw the towel aside, then crouched on the floor, covering his face with his hands. Helen rubbed her nose and turned her head to look at him, asking, "What's wrong? You seem really angry..."

"Those damn idiots!" Loki gritted his teeth and cursed, "I'll go to the courier station and find two flying horses, they'll do a better job with their hooves than these fools!"

Helen didn't seem surprised at all. She shrugged and said, "This has been going on for days. Last time, the clothes they found for me still had the safety pins on the collar when Pepper took me back, and she complained for two or three days."

Loki looked up at her, realizing that the worst-case scenario he had imagined had come true - Asgard was indeed embarrassing itself.

But Helen just smiled and said, "I guess you must be worrying that they are so careless, offending so many people in the small details. But it's not as serious as you think..."

Looking up at Loki, Helen said, "Or maybe you understand Tony and Pepper, so you wonder why they are still willing to send me here even after discovering that the group doesn't really care about me?"

Loki was a bit stunned. He looked at Helen and asked, "Why?"

He was indeed a bit puzzled by Helen's meaning. Pepper had discovered this issue seemingly long ago, but after that, Helen still went back and forth between Asgard and Earth, and the relationship between the two sides was not affected.

When working at the Sanctum Sanctorum, Loki had also come to understand Pepper - the "Little Chili Pepper" nickname was not for nothing, as this housekeeper was resolute and strict, unwilling to tolerate even the slightest flaw.

So why, when she discovered that Asgard was not really taking good care of Helen, was she still willing to send her here?

Just as he was about to ask this question, Helen provided the answer: "Of course it's because she feels that what I can gain from Asgard is far more than what I would lose."

"I can learn how to use divine powers and hone my martial arts skills here. Besides, I'm very happy living here - Frigga and the other goddesses are willing to play with me, and the Celestial Palace warriors are also willing to take me out shopping."

"Compared to that, some minor issues in daily life don't matter much. If the clothes aren't handled well, I can just bring my own clothes. Pepper often says she shouldn't have expected an civilization with only muscles on their mind to take good care of children..."

Staring intently at Helen, she gently shook her head and said, "Asgard's style is known throughout the universe. And since you are strong enough, even if the other side is not satisfied, they don't dare to say anything, or they know it's useless to say anything, because that's just how you are."

Loki pressed his lips together, looking somewhat displeased. Helen grabbed his hand and shook it, saying, "Don't be upset. You have to acknowledge, having a big fist has its advantages - as long as you're strong enough, everyone will forgive you."

"But this can't continue. We're not incapable of doing a good job - the thing is, will it really kill them to be a bit more diligent at their work?"

As soon as Loki finished saying this, his expression became a bit hesitant. He said, "I want to change this, but I know seeking Thor is useless, he'll just tell me not to fuss over these things..."

Then he turned his gaze to the towel he had thrown away, saying, "This is no longer just a personality issue that can be explained. It's pure sloppiness and laziness."

"When there was constant warfare, these small details weren't that important, as long as your martial skills were strong. But now that Asgard has stopped its warfare, if they continue to indulge like this, internal cracks will inevitably form..."

"So what are you planning to do?" Helen asked.

Loki lightly bit his finger, then said, "I have a bold idea, bold to the point of being frightening."

"Oh my... How could I even think of going to the All-Father... No, that definitely won't work... He couldn't possibly..."

At that moment, a series of urgent knocks came from the door. Helen dashed over to open it, revealing Sylvie standing there with tear-stained cheeks and an anxious expression.

"We have to leave quickly! What if the Director of the Time Variance Authority finds this place... I can't bring more trouble to Thor!"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1112 Father and Son (Part Forty-One)