I Didn’t Expect Him to Actually Lend It

Loki heard these heartfelt words from Father and knew that Father and Mother had always been watching over him.

The recognition Loki had sought had finally received some affirmation. Though it still did not completely satisfy him, the knot in his heart had loosened considerably.

"Alright. If I can, I’ll find a way to help Thor."

Loki looked at Father, who stood so close before him, his temples already white and his face aged. In the end, he nodded.

He felt that Father had deliberately told him all this less to teach him than to entrust something to him.

Logically speaking, even if the throne were passed to Thor, Father and Mother could retire behind the scenes and rest.

Then, even without Loki’s help, as long as Thor still had Father and Mother supporting him, Asgard would remain strong.

Yet Father had specifically told him these things, making it seem more like an ominous sign.

However, Loki knew this was only his speculation, so he did not say it aloud.

After all, the thought that God King Odin, whose power was unimaginably great, might die was simply too horrifying to contemplate.

"Mm. As long as you brothers work together, I can rest easy."

Seeing Loki agree, Odin revealed a gratified smile.

Thor possessed the strength to be king, while Loki possessed the wisdom to be king. If the two could work together—

Then after his death, even if Asgard were destroyed, as long as the two of them remained, Asgard would rise again somewhere else.

For a faction to endure through the ages, it relied less on manpower than on belief.

As long as that belief did not die and continued to be passed down, Asgard would endure forever.

Meanwhile, Thor found Tony and Banner in a corridor after they had thoroughly enjoyed the luncheon and eaten their fill.

"My father said he can lend you the Aether."

Thor spoke directly when he saw them.

"He can really lend it to us?"

Banner asked with a shocked expression.

"I didn’t expect God King Odin to be so generous."

Tony was also somewhat surprised as he spoke.

"Tony, don’t you two really want to study the Aether?"

Seeing their reactions, Thor’s gaze flickered as he asked.

"We did want to borrow it, but we discussed it. To be honest, we didn’t think there was much chance."

"Because Loki also said that the Aether and the Tesseract were treasures of roughly the same level, each representing some miraculous power."

"Normally, even if someone had no use for such a treasure, they still would not lend it to outsiders."

"So even if you asked Father and ultimately failed to get permission to lend it to us, we would understand."

Banner looked at Thor as he spoke.

"I just considered it from my own perspective."

"The Aether’s importance should be roughly comparable to the technology for making my Arc Reactor."

"If someone else wanted the core method for making an Arc Reactor from me, I wouldn’t casually lend it to an outsider."

"Even if they had done me a huge favor, at most I would give them some armor. There’s no way I’d hand over the core."

"I really didn’t expect God King Odin to be this generous."

Tony added.

"Then is it possible—"

"That, in God King Odin’s eyes, the Aether simply isn’t as important as the Arc Reactor core is to you?"

Banner asked.

"I know my Arc Reactor can’t compare to the Aether, but if you don’t know how to talk, you can keep quiet."

Tony rolled his eyes at Banner’s question, which was really a jab.

"I also find it strange that Father is being so generous this time."

Seeing Tony and Banner’s reactions and hearing their conversation, Thor confirmed that his guarantee had not been wrong. A smile appeared on his face.

"By the way, how long did Father agree to lend us the Aether for?"

Seeing Thor smile, Banner asked.

"I didn’t ask about that."

Thor froze for a moment before answering.

"The entire Nine Realms are God King Odin’s territory. Lending it to us merely means changing where the Aether is kept to Blue Star."

"He can take it back whenever he wants."

Tony spoke after hearing Banner and Thor.

Harvey had actually told him those words, but when Tony said them now, Banner and Thor immediately understood. "So that’s how it is."

"Then I’ll leave the Aether in your care for now."

"Don’t lose it."

Only then did Thor realize that Father had likely considered this as well. He took out the ruby condensed from the Aether from his pocket and handed it to Tony.

"Don’t worry. Even if I lose everything else, I won’t lose the Aether."

"After all, if we can properly study this thing, Blue Star will gain unique technology that puts it ahead of other civilizations in the universe."

Tony took the ruby with a smile.

"But can we really figure it out?"

"The ability represented by the Aether is a little outrageous."

Now that he knew they could study it, Banner also had some concerns.

After all, he did not want to spend a huge amount of time researching the Aether only to get no results in the end.

Malekith might have been trash in terms of strength, but his control and mastery over the Aether were clearly quite profound.

"We just need to keep it safe for now. Our most important objective at the moment is still researching the propulsion system."

"First, we need to develop a Cosmic Battleship that belongs to Blue Star. Once we have time on our hands, we’ll have plenty of time to study the Aether."

"Don’t forget, we no longer only have a few decades to live."

Tony was not worried at all. The Aether represented enormous possibilities and might produce some special technological breakthroughs.

However, his primary research direction was still bringing Blue Star into the interstellar age.

As long as humanity entered the interstellar age, connected with the universe, and gained at least some ability to defend itself—

Their long lifespan after joining the Void would allow him to study the Aether slowly. As long as he did not lose it, that was enough.

"That does make sense."

Banner immediately came to his senses after hearing that.

"Thor, send us back to Blue Star."

"We thought this would take a long time, but Malekith showed up right away."

"Now that everything is done, it’s time for us to return to Blue Star."

Seeing Banner’s foolish look, Tony turned to Thor and spoke first.

"You’re leaving already?"

"Loki and I haven’t even properly entertained you yet."

Hearing that Tony planned to leave, Thor said somewhat apologetically.

"Asgard has just gone through a major battle and has plenty of troublesome matters to deal with."

"If we stay here, we’ll only distract you and keep you from handling those matters more quickly."

"Once you’ve taken care of everything, just come to Blue Star and visit us when you have time."

Tony replied.

"Alright. I’ll have Heimdall send you back."

After hearing this, Thor did not continue trying to persuade them to stay.

The second update, four thousand words delivered.