"This is truly... unexpected for me."
Odin had lived for countless years, and his knowledge far surpassed what ordinary people could imagine. After observing for a while, he already understood Loki's current situation.
"This is much better than the best-case scenario I had initially envisioned."
Loki had actually become a full-fledged Asgardian. Although there was still a trace of the Frost Giants' cold aura within him, Odin could sense that this coldness was different from the Frost Giants' energy. It was more like a frosty variation of the lightning potential within Thor.
He remembered Loki taking the Casket of Ancient Winters when he left, and now immediately understood the path Loki had chosen—arguably the most suitable one for him. However, in the past, Loki had been so obsessed with tricks and petty schemes that Odin thought he would never embark on this road.
Unexpectedly, after training with Ethan for a while, Loki not only eliminated his Frost Giant "bloodline," transforming it into an innate talent that allowed him to better control ice power, but he also began trying to master the power of ice, which was most compatible with him.
Judging by this stance, Loki must feel his strength has grown significantly and now wants to return to show off.
Odin had no dissatisfaction with this. In fact, he was somewhat happy, feeling that Loki had finally matured.
Regardless, a son's significant increase in strength and abandonment of childish ideas were things to be proud of. As for Ethan, who had orchestrated all of this, his status in Odin's heart had risen sharply.
If Odin was polite to Ethan before, it had mostly been out of respect for the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme. But now, he genuinely treated Ethan as a guest with whom he could converse as an equal.
After chatting briefly, Odin had Thor entertain Ethan while he went back to rest.
He was very polite and warm toward Ethan, but the difference in age made it inappropriate for him to host Ethan directly.
Compared to being with Thor, Odin and Ethan didn't have much to talk about anyway.
So after thanking Ethan, he had Thor show him around, saying that Asgard would always welcome Ethan's visits.
This might have sounded like ordinary politeness, but in reality, it meant that Asgard would no longer be guarded against Ethan. He could now enter and leave Asgard freely.
This was not a privilege just anyone could enjoy. Just because Ethan held the Tesseract and could teleport freely didn't mean he could go wherever he pleased.
At least in Asgard, with Odin in charge, if someone trespassed without permission, they would be met with the Allfather's power as a deterrent.
Now that he had Odin's explicit approval, as long as Ethan didn't teleport directly into the Allfather and Allmother's bedroom or the council hall where political affairs were conducted, he could freely roam other parts of Asgard. In terms of privileges, he was only slightly below Thor and Loki, Odin's two biological sons.
Leaving the great hall, Ethan was unaware that Odin had gone to discuss matters with his wife, Frigga. Thor, on the other hand, was enthusiastically entertaining him, hoping he could stay in Asgard for a few more days.
"That might not be possible. I promised Tony a few things earlier, so I have to return to Earth immediately."
"Earth, huh..."
Due to the damage caused by Loki earlier, the Bifrost still hadn't been repaired. What was more troublesome was that several major realms under Asgard's rule had fallen into conflict. Thor had been traveling around recently to quell the rebellions.
He had only rushed back this time upon hearing that Loki had returned.
"You want to go?"
Thor never hid his emotions. When Ethan asked, he immediately nodded.
"I want to see Jane."
Without the Bifrost, Thor would need to ask his father Odin to use magic to send him to Earth. But that placed a heavy burden on Odin, who was aging and weakening.
Thor didn't want to trouble his father over something so minor, so he'd been waiting for the Bifrost to be repaired. In fact, it wouldn't take much longer. The Bifrost was nearly complete, only missing a few final adjustments.
After that, he'd be able to travel freely to Earth and reunite with his beloved.
Speaking of which, Thor and Jane Foster were a typical case of "distance makes the heart grow fonder." When they were apart and unable to see each other, they constantly thought of one another, only remembering each other's good qualities.
Later, when Thor gave up the throne of Asgard and went to Earth to live with Jane Foster, no longer concerning himself with Asgardian affairs, the two quickly broke up.
This time, Ethan didn't plan to "interfere" in their future. Romantic relationships were inherently full of uncertainties. Perhaps because of his presence, they wouldn't break up?
After all, in the original movie, the character was written out due to disagreements between the actor and the production team, and a breakup was used to give closure to the audience.
In this real world, there wouldn't be issues like actors quitting, so no one knew how the two would develop in the future.
"If you want to go to Earth, I can help you."
"There are still some things that need to be dealt with here."
The rebellions hadn't been completely suppressed yet. A few relatively remote locations remained. Traveling by spaceship would take too long. Thor had returned this time to wait for the Bifrost to be repaired, so he could quickly travel to these places and put down the uprisings.
Only after that would he have time for his own matters.
"Seems like being the heir to the throne isn't easy."
With Loki's intelligence, he naturally understood that the current level of rebellion, even without Thor, couldn't threaten Asgard's rule. Thor's constant presence on the frontlines was simply because Odin hoped he could build up enough prestige to prepare for inheriting the throne.
"If you'd like, I can go quell the rebellions for you so you can go be with that Earth woman."
Having traveled with Ethan for several years and heard many ideas from him that he previously hadn't considered, Loki's interest in the throne had significantly waned.
Now, he was more focused on proving his own strength than seizing the throne of Asgard.
However, if Thor voluntarily gave it up, there was no reason for him to be modest. He didn't think he would be any worse than Thor.
If Thor had even a little bit of cunning, he would find an excuse to reject Loki's offer, because anyone with a normal brain would realize that letting Loki do this would be a massive obstacle to his future succession.
Did Thor lack cunning? Future events proved that Thor was actually quite smart, but he never used schemes on friends he trusted or on his own brother.
Faced with Loki's suggestion, Thor directly expressed his gratitude and even proactively offered to propose it to their father.
His reason also left Loki speechless: he felt Loki should contribute to Asgard and earn the merits and recognition that were rightfully his, since he was also a prince of Asgard.
"I already have enough merits. I can afford a good rest now."
"Truly... foolish."
Loki really wanted to mock him a few times like he used to, but in the end, he swallowed his words and just stood there silently, pretending to be mute.
"What's wrong with him?"
Thor said a few words to Loki, but his brother ignored him. So he turned to Ethan, wondering if Loki had contracted some strange illness recently?
"Nothing, just a tsundere flare-up."
Ethan's blunt explanation made Loki's face even darker, but in the end, he didn't react. He couldn't exactly start a fight with Ethan here, could he?
More importantly, he wasn't confident he could beat Ethan anymore—especially since that guy had the Tesseract.
In the end, he chose to endure it and wait for a chance to scheme against Ethan later.
He suddenly realized that ever since he boarded Ethan's ship, he hadn't tricked this guy even once. This was completely out of character. Where had it gone wrong?
Looking back, Ethan had drawn a big picture for him from the very beginning. Whenever he was about to hit a bottleneck in his training, Ethan would decisively give him a potion to help him continue advancing, forcing him to focus on his training. And after setting a more important goal in his heart, he unconsciously ignored the small things.
Like stirring up trouble or playing tricks—he simply hadn't had time for that. He had been single-mindedly focused on improving his strength, anticipating the moment he would shock Thor upon returning home.
And just when his strength reached a certain level and he finally had time to consider all these trivial matters, Ethan decisively sent him back.
The timing was incredibly precise. If Loki had stayed on the ship even a bit longer, there would've been no peace for Ethan in the near future. He'd be constantly dealing with the God of Mischief's antics every day.
Now that he had sent off this living headache, Ethan could finally breathe a little easier.
After chatting with Thor for a while longer, Ethan ultimately declined the invitation to stay for dinner.
An Asgardian banquet wasn't just a simple meal. If he stayed, with Thor's personality, he'd definitely call friends and throw a huge feast. By then, there'd be no telling when it would end.
They agreed that once Ethan handled his own matters, he'd come back to visit, or Thor could come to Earth to find him after finishing his tasks.
"It's a deal, then."
After a fist bump and shoulder pat with Thor, Ethan waved goodbye to the still-unhappy Loki and also thanked him for his help during this time—though there were a few times Loki had tricked him into stepping in.
As the Tesseract activated, Ethan returned directly to Earth.
He appeared in the new room Tony had given him. He remembered Tony saying earlier that there would be a barbecue party in the backyard to entertain Logan, Laura, and the others—in Tony's eyes, everyone else was just background.
When Ethan arrived and saw them barbecuing and drinking, Tony seemed to be getting along just fine with O'Connell and the others.
But after standing outside and listening for a while, he realized Tony spent most of his time bragging, while O'Connell, Jonathan, and the others were busy acting amazed.
(To be continued.)