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Actually, even if Arthur *did* Disassemble Mjolnir, it wouldn't be too terrifying!
What's scary is that after doing it, he'd probably get beaten up by the entire family of four.
At this point, Arthur was nowhere near as "tough" as Hela, who could withstand the fury of Odin's family.
And even Hela only caused chaos after Odin passed away.
Arthur still had a long way to go before he could even consider such a move.
"Maybe when I'm even stronger… I can think about it then!" Arthur mused while stroking his chin. After all, if Mjolnir was just going to be crushed by Hela, it might be better if he kept it for Disassembly.
Who knows what cool stuff might come out if he Disassembled Mjolnir?
…
…
By the time Arthur found the small town from the movie, it was nearly dawn, fifty miles away from where he had been.
Under the morning light, the town was bathed in a golden hue.
It looked beautiful, but there wasn't a single person up and about…
This kind of sleepy little town probably wouldn't wake up until eight or nine in the morning when people would start their day.
Arthur wandered around for a while and finally found a 24-hour fast-food place. He ordered some food and sat down, continuing to scroll through his phone.
There were still a lot of unread messages, most of them from Lily.
Now that he was sitting down and going through them carefully, he noticed a couple of texts from Spider-Man mixed in.
The content was quite different— just asking when Arthur would have time. The most recent one was from three months ago.
At that time, Arthur had been out in space, so of course, he couldn't reply.
He thought about it but didn't reply yet. He decided he'd wait until the situation with Thor was settled, complete his agreement with Odin, and then head back to New York to deal with things.
It wasn't just Spider-Man. This unexpected trip to space had opened his eyes to the vastness of the universe.
He had even sat face-to-face with Odin for a strange and cryptic conversation.
Upon his unexpected return to Earth, Arthur suddenly felt like something in his heart was rattling.
When he saw the SHIELD agents, Arthur realized something.
It was the shackles on his heart!
Since arriving in this world, Arthur had always been bound by invisible chains.
During the World War II battlefields, it was the endless smoke and bloodshed, Colonel Phillips, Agent Carter, and even the man wrapped in the stars and stripes that restrained him!
Even in the 21st century, those chains had never left his heart— SHIELD, America, the looming crises…
These things had wrapped around him constantly.
They made him cautious, hesitant to cross any lines.
Odin had asked him what kind of person he wanted to be…
At the time, Arthur didn't have an answer, but now he was beginning to grasp the edge of it.
But he needed more time. He had to find some people, say some things that needed to be said, and do some things that needed to be done… only then could he welcome the new chapter of his life.
"Once I've completed my agreement with Odin, I'll go… and break the shackles on my heart!"
…
…
By noon, after finishing his lunch, Arthur stepped out of the fast-food restaurant.
He looked up at the blazing sun overhead and the people walking around, no longer surrounded by the "monsters" of other planets. He couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh.
"Banner doesn't have a phone, and Connors, being a fugitive, obviously doesn't either."
As Arthur searched for Thor, he mused, "It seems these things should be studied more when I get back to New York… By the way, where exactly is Thor?"
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw a burly, golden-haired man with a distinctive swagger walking past him and entering a pet store.
"I want a horse!" The man declared.
Arthur sighed deeply as he stood at the door. "Speaking of which, Odin's protection— did he specify if it was supposed to be covert or close protection?"
Scratching his head, Arthur noticed the shop owner's troubled expression and decided to step in. He grabbed Thor's arm and said to the owner, "Sorry, this is the silly son of my boss. Apologies for the trouble."
As the owner looked on in astonishment, Arthur pulled Thor out of the store.
Thor resisted, but when he saw Arthur's face, he was stunned and said, "It's you! Earthling!"
"…There are Earthlings everywhere."
Arthur emphasized.
"Of course, fortunately, they don't run around like you do. By the way, what were you doing in Jotunheim?" Thor asked seriously.
"If I said that I was there to hitchhike. Do you believe that?"
"I will!" Thor replied. "I think you wouldn't dare deceive a god!"
Where did this strange confidence come from?
"Alright, what are you planning to do now?" Arthur asked. "There are no horses in an Earth pet store!"
Just as he finished speaking, a car stopped in front of them. The window rolled down, revealing a woman's face. She looked at Thor and asked, "Is our previous arrangement still valid?"
…
…
In the car, the two people in the front seat glanced at each other.
The woman driving kept looking at the rearview mirror. After a while, she finally couldn't help but ask Thor, "Is he your friend?"
"Friend?" Thor thought for a moment and said, "I've met him. He's an Earthling."
"…I know."
The woman rolled her eyes and then said to Arthur, "Hi, I'm Jane Foster. Nice to meet you."
"Arthur."
Arthur introduced himself and, noticing her slightly awkward pronunciation, couldn't help but laugh. "I'm pleased to meet you as well."
"Um… do you know him?" Jane pointed at Thor.
"Of course, he's my current boss's idiot son."
After Arthur said this, he leaned back in the rear seat and added, "Alright, you two just ignore me and have your conversation… um, bond or whatever. I didn't sleep all night, so I'm going to rest for a bit."
The rear of the car was spacious, and Arthur didn't mind the dirty floor, so he just lay down and closed his eyes.
In fact, he was quite indifferent to the ensuing events.
For adults, developing feelings from strangers to a bit of ambiguous affection, and eventually to mutual affection, is quite normal.
Arthur didn't think it was worth observing. As he lay in the car, his phone buzzed again. He opened it to find another message from Lily.
The message read: "Have you eaten? The pizza was good for lunch today, but I'm craving pie now."
"I want some too," Arthur replied. "Add more meat, especially fine cuts!"
"No, pork belly is the best," Lily's message came with determination!
"…It's a miracle you can maintain that figure!" Arthur expressed his admiration.
*(End of Chapter)*