The garden of the Fairy Palace is always vibrant regardless of the season. When winter arrives on this beautiful piece of land, evergreen trees replace the previously lush broad-leaved forest, adding a hint of primitive and wild atmosphere.
Pushing aside the branches of bushes covered with bright red fruits, crossing the stone-paved path, a spacious square and a fountain transformed into an ice sculpture come into view.
On the surface of the thick snow covering the edge of the fountain, a small dent suddenly formed, and a butterfly folded with yellowed paper flapped its wings twice. It shook off the snow covering itself and spiraled into the air.
It flew over the water column of the fountain, skimmed over the moist soil, gently touched the gurgling stream formed by melting snow, and then brought the cold moisture to a pair of pale and slender hands.
The distinct knuckles gently closed the heavy book. After smoothing the black hair, she turned her head to look at the blonde man approaching her.
"Frigga knew you were reading here, she let me bring you this cloak to prevent you from getting cold," Thor handed the cloak in his hand to Loki.
Loki took the cloak but didn't put it on, instead holding the cloak and looking at Thor, tore a page from the notebook under the book and handed it to him, saying, "Kamar-Taj's Christmas gift to Asgard; if everything's fine, notify Sif, let her prepare to lead the team to welcome it."
Thor frowned, took the paper and looked at the many unique terms of the human magic realm written on it. Putting down the paper, he looked at Loki and said, "Christmas gift? For so many years, I have never heard of Asgard receiving Kamar-Taj's Christmas gift. The Father of All Gods shouldn't have kept it from me...
"They sent it for the first time this year," Loki tilted his head and said, "But you should know why. Didn't you compensate the Holy Sanctuary's Time Gem damage some time ago? This is part of what I got."
Thor stood still, completely not understanding the logic in Loki's words. Therefore, he walked over to the other side of the pavilion's table, played with the paper butterfly on the table, and asked, "What does it have to do with my compensation to the Holy Sanctuary? Wasn't it you who swapped the Time Gem, which led to their loss and our compensation?"
Loki pursed her lips helplessly, looking at Thor with an expression of "why don't you get it."
Then, she angrily slapped the notebook on the table, and said, "I swear, this is the last time I explain such principles to you. In the future, don't think about hearing anything similar from me again, Thor Odinson! You fool!"
Thor was not angry, only showed a smile, and looked at Loki and said, "Isn't this very good? I don't understand these things, but you are very good at them. Our abilities complement each other; we are a golden team…"
Hearing Thor's final comment, Loki's eyes dimmed a little, but soon she cleared her throat and said:
"I ask you, if the Supreme Magician lost the Eye of Agomoto, wouldn't he need to find it back?"
Thor nodded and said, "Of course! ...Wait, you stole the Eye of Agomoto. He knew this, wouldn't he come to you to ask for it?"
"What if I don't give it back to him?"
"Can you beat him?"
Loki gave him a scornful look and said, "Even if I can't beat the Ancient One, I can't beat Steven either? You're really underestimating the value of me being the first wizard of the Nine Realms."
"Enough with the suspense," Thor shook his head and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it. Don't ask me any more, I can't guess anything."
Loki sighed as if she was helpless, and said, "The Supreme Magician belongs to The Sanctum. And now, The Sanctum needs to operate in the human world, so the majority of field departments are managed by S.H.I.E.L.D."
"The Time Gem of the Supreme Magician is lost. Naturally, The Sanctum should look for it. But the mages of The Sanctum need to enter the human world to search, they need to get the consent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"So, shouldn't the diligent S.H.I.E.L.D, in order not to let these mages disturb the order of the human world, launch a series of training programs in advance and popularize the rules of the human world for them?"
"Wait!" Thor interrupted Loki and said, "Aren't those operators of The Sanctum all people whom Nick pulled from jail…"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Loki raised her voice, interrupting him, and said, "What do you mean 'pulled from jail'? That's the Human Special Talent Reserve Management Center, and besides, those people are diplomats specifically assigned to The Sanctum to facilitate communication between S.H.I.E.L.D and Kamar-Taj…"
Thor spread his hands and said, "Alright, whatever you say."
"If they want to carry out the training of mages, they naturally need training bases and personnel. Of course, it's not a big deal. However, when they come to the human world to search, they naturally need some assistants and security personnel. Isn't it reasonable for a mage team of 30 people to be matched with 30,000 security personnel?"
Thor stared blankly at Loki, and Loki began to calculate with her fingers again, "The Eye of Agomoto, as a long-standing divine artifact of the Supreme Magician, was lost unexpectedly due to irresistible forces and should be classified as a major loss…"
"Stop!" Thor reached out again and said, "Didn't it not get lost? At that time, didn't Steven already find out that the Time Gem was with you?"