"Don't look at me like that. I just casually mentioned it to Odin over tea. He's the one who decided to send his two sons," the Ancient One explained, seeing Josh's suspicious gaze.

Excuses, clearly. Who believes Odin just casually invites someone for tea?

Josh didn't buy it one bit.

"Aren't you afraid they'll scare the visiting guests?" Josh sighed.

"I think you've already trained their nerves enough," the Ancient One said with a knowing smile. "And I trust you'll handle everything properly, won't you?"

"When will they arrive?" Josh asked, knowing he had no way of stopping her anyway.

He couldn't help but think: Loki really needs more discipline. How could he not give a heads-up about something this big?

But Josh forgot—Loki may have joined him, but he had actually pledged loyalty to the now-famous and mysterious "King of Destruction" roaming the galaxy.

What Loki knew was only what Josh had shown him on Starfall, including most of Josh's subordinates. (TL/N: Changing Planet name from Starfarer to Starfall)

He also knew that Josh and Margaret were from Earth.

But Josh had never told him anything about their status on Earth.

So Loki had no idea that the human kingdom they were about to visit—the one they were attending the ceremony for—was ruled by Josh's daughter.

Right now, he was standing at the Bifrost with Thor, complaining about how Odin had clearly lost his mind by sending them to celebrate a mortal kingdom's ceremony.

As always, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif were with them.

"You're right. Father really is confused. Gods shouldn't be congratulating mortals," Thor agreed.

The Warriors Three just nodded along with Thor. Only Sif seemed to think their attitude wasn't quite right.

At this point in time, Thor was still extremely proud and full of himself. After he became an adult, Odin had mostly stopped leading battles himself. Thor had been the one leading the army to settle almost all conflicts across the Nine Realms—and he had never lost.

This made him believe he was unbeatable.

What he didn't know was that Odin had already wiped out most of Asgard's real threats long ago. What was left were mostly weak enemies with peace treaties in place.

The fights Thor led were really just cleanup jobs—not even worth Odin's time.

Odin had hoped these battles would train his son.

But it didn't work. Thor, with his natural strength, didn't learn much—instead, he grew more arrogant.

At this point, though, Odin hadn't noticed.

"Thor, don't forget what your father told you—stay humble," Heimdall reminded him as he prepared to open the Bifrost to send them to Earth.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," Thor replied.

He respected Heimdall like an older brother, so he answered politely. But the careless smile on his face made it clear to everyone that he wasn't taking Heimdall's advice seriously.

Sometimes that was a good thing—Thor wasn't the type to hold grudges.

But sometimes, that was definitely a problem.

Heimdall couldn't say much—after all, Thor was a prince, and he was just a gatekeeper, even if a highly respected one in Asgard.

With a flash of the Bifrost, Thor and his group appeared in the garden plaza in front of Schönbrunn Palace.

Thanks to the Ancient One's early warning, Josh had already cleared the area and arranged a formal welcoming lineup.

Even though Austria and Asgard didn't have much contact, guests were still guests—respect had to be shown.

And there was no need to worry about Asgardians causing trouble. Schönbrunn, being a royal garden, was naturally private, and Josh had palace mages place protective wards around it.

To people in Vienna, the only thing they noticed was the sky dimming slightly for a second or two—nothing unusual.

The government had also been informed in advance by Josh, so there was no risk of problems.

"It looks like this mortal kingdom knows proper manners. Is that the queen? She's just a child," Thor said with a pleased nod, looking at the welcoming formation and then at Carol, dressed in full royal attire.

The others were also curious, watching Carol from a distance to see what was so special about this queen that Odin had sent them to witness her coronation.

Loki, scanning the area, instantly spotted Josh and Margaret standing beside Carol. His expression changed—but only for a moment. He quickly pulled himself together like nothing had happened.

"Welcome, noble sons of Odin. I am Carol Kahn, Queen of Austria!" Carol stepped forward, holding up her skirt slightly and offering a graceful royal greeting, just as Josh had coached her.

"I am Loki, son of Odin. It is a great honor to witness Your Majesty's coronation," Loki said, stepping ahead of Thor and suddenly kneeling down on one knee to perform a respectful bow.

His action stunned almost everyone present—except Josh, Margaret, the Ancient One, and Peggy Carter, who had just quietly arrived through a portal.

Even though everyone present at the palace was one of Josh's well-trained Ouroboros agents and had seen magical and supernatural things before, Asgardians were still "gods" in their minds.

And now they were seeing the famous god of lies and tricks kneeling before their queen.

The entire honor guard instinctively stood up straighter.

Who else but their queen could make a god kneel?

Even Carol was momentarily thrown off by Loki's gesture.

But thanks to the strict education she received since childhood, the young girl had a strong heart. She calmly extended her hand so Loki could complete a formal kiss-on-the-hand.

Now all eyes turned to Thor's group—who suddenly felt a lot of pressure.

They had planned to just place their hands on their chests and maybe give a slight bow.

But they never expected that Loki—the same Loki who had just been ranting about mortals at the Bifrost—would kneel like this.

It put them in a very awkward position.

Thor, thankfully, was the official head of the delegation and Loki's older brother, so it wasn't too strange for him not to kneel. A respectful hand-on-heart salute would still be fine.

But if the others didn't kneel, it would look like they were openly disrespecting Prince Loki.

Sure, they didn't like Loki much—but outside of Asgard, he was still a prince and a representative of their realm. If he knelt and they didn't, that would be seen as insubordination.

The first to react was Sif.

Among Thor's team, she was always the most serious about rules and formalities. That's also why Odin and Frigga had long seen her as a good match for Thor. They believed she could keep him grounded.

So when Sif knelt, the three Warriors had no choice but to follow—reluctantly performing a half-kneel.

Still, they were quietly glad the queen was just a teenage girl. In that case, even if Loki and they knelt, it wouldn't really damage Asgard's pride.

After that little incident, everything followed a more normal diplomatic routine: exchanging gifts and official letters, holding a formal meeting, and so on.

Surprisingly, Asgard's gifts were thoughtful. There weren't many, and they weren't outrageously valuable, but each was carefully chosen.

One set of jewelry made by the elves of Alfheim.

A golden wool cloak—not the Greek myth version, but a real cloak made from the soft golden wool of special sheep raised in Alfheim. It shimmered in sunlight and instantly caught the attention of every woman present.

A full set of ceremonial armor and weapons made from Asgard's uru metal.

And finally, a Gjallarhorn—a version of Heimdall's famous horn. It wasn't the real one, of course, just a mass-produced version used to summon the Bifrost and contact Asgard.

Thanks to Loki's earlier move, Thor—who had originally looked down on Austria—was much more respectful now. Though he kept casting strange glances at his brother, clearly wanting to ask something, he held back for the time being.

With the parade time approaching, the group used magic to change into Earth-style formal clothing and boarded the royal motorcade headed for the Hofburg Palace in central Vienna.

Unlike Schönbrunn, which was mainly a hunting and summer palace, the Hofburg had been the real imperial palace of the old Habsburg dynasty. After the empire's fall, it became the seat of Austria's government.

Right outside was the famous Heroes' Square.

Carol's coronation would be held inside Hofburg Palace, and the military parade would take place in the square.

In the car, before Thor could even speak, Loki looked over and asked, "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Thor replied, his face full of confusion. "You were acting really weird today."

"You mean the bow?" Loki answered smoothly. "Did you forget what Father said before we left? Be humble."

"Is that so? Brother, tell me—are you serious right now? I checked—she's only thirteen. And humans don't live very long. I doubt Father would ever approve of... whatever you're thinking," Thor said as he threw an arm around Loki's shoulder, staring at him intently.

Thor's question completely caught Loki off guard. He was speechless.

What the hell was Thor even talking about?

Loki had simply seen Josh and Margaret and instantly guessed who the young queen of the Austrian United Kingdom really was. That's why he had shown such extra respect.

And it turned out he was right—the girl's last name was indeed Kahn.

Loki didn't know why Josh had made his own daughter a queen, but that didn't matter. Showing a little respect costs nothing and might earn rewards.

After all, the equipment and artifacts Josh had given him over the past year had improved his strength more than the last thousand years of training ever had. He felt like he had wasted a millennium until now.

So his plan was simple: stay loyal to Josh, earn more favors, and collect more powerful treasures.

That's all.

But what nonsense was Thor talking about?

"Huh? Didn't you fall for that mortal queen?" Thor asked bluntly when he saw Loki looking confused. "I mean, I'll admit she's pretty—maybe even prettier than Sif—so it makes sense you'd like her. But in the end, she's still just a mortal…"

Thor didn't get to finish his sentence—Loki quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Are you insane? What nonsense are you spouting?" Loki hissed, panicked. If Josh overheard this, his life might actually be in danger.

"Ohhh, my dear little brother is shy!" Thor grinned, completely ignoring Loki's alarm. He was convinced Loki was just embarrassed from being caught.

"Shut up, damn it. One more word, and I'll kill you," Loki growled, ready to lose it. If Josh and his family weren't in the front car, he might have already drawn Frostmourne and stabbed Thor on the spot.

Who said a "filial blade" could only stab fathers—not annoying big brothers?

"Alright, alright! I won't say another word!" Thor said quickly, seeing Loki was genuinely mad.

But deep down, the gossip fire in Thor's heart was blazing stronger than ever.

"So… you really don't have a thing for her?" he asked again after holding back for a while.

Loki replied with a polite, elegant smile—and a sharp pain in Thor's side.

Loki had stabbed him. With an actual dagger.

"Ahh—damn it, you were serious!" Thor grimaced as he pulled the blade out, now genuinely annoyed—even if the wound was nothing to him.

"So, you wanna fight me right here?" Loki asked with a friendly smile as he conjured two more daggers into his hands.

"…Forget it," Thor muttered after staring at Loki for a long moment. He turned his head and ignored his annoying little brother.

Fighting was obviously out of the question. Getting into a brawl on someone else's coronation day would not only offend their host, but it would also disgrace Asgard.

Thor wasn't the sharpest mind in Asgard, but even he wasn't that clueless.

Hmph, he thought. Loki stabbed me again. That's it. I'm telling Mother that he's in love with a mortal!

Loki, seeing that this big oaf had finally quieted down, let out a silent sigh of relief. If Thor had kept going, he honestly felt like he wouldn't survive until tomorrow.

Though if Loki knew what Thor was actually planning to tell their mother… he probably would've gone for the kill right there.

--

Join patreon.com/AHumanMadeMOFO to read ahead!