Chapter 89: Hela Hits The Game Furiously! [1399]
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After Wanda and little Hela finished cleaning the dishes, Lorien took them out to play, which essentially meant going shopping. Lorien walked down the middle of the street, holding Wanda's hand with his right hand and little Hela's with his left.
He couldn't quite figure out what had happened. Wanda used to have a lot of hostility towards Hela, but little Hela never showed any hostility in return. And now, even when Lorien kissed little Hela on the cheek, Wanda didn't seem to mind. It was puzzling, but Lorien knew there was no point in asking; relationships often had no clear answers, only feelings.
Thus, their wonderful Sunday passed in joy. But then, Lorien remembered that he had to go to work tomorrow. Work, for him, meant mostly fishing, so it didn't bother him too much. The three of them wandered around until nightfall, and then Lorien returned home with Wanda in one hand and Hela in the other, like a little family of three.
Lorien's house was massive, taking up the entire top floor and the floor beneath of the northern building. He had purchased both floors, though only the top one had been fully renovated. The space was so large that it could have easily been converted into dozens of bedrooms or living rooms, but Lorien had only decorated five rooms, leaving the rest of the space blank. But even with such a large home, little Hela had no trouble finding her own room. As for the master bedroom, that was where Lorien and Wanda now slept.
By eight o'clock in the evening, little Hela was completely engrossed in playing on the PS5. "Hoohoo~~~ This is so much fun~! Lorien!" she exclaimed, sitting on the thick carpet. Lorien was also playing a hack-and-slash game beside her. Watching him, Hela's blood boiled with excitement. "I want to play too! I want to play too!" she yelled. Reluctantly, Lorien handed her a controller.
Little Hela was eager to learn. "How do I play? Teach me!" she asked, wide-eyed.
"Look at the settings," Lorien instructed. "This button is for attacking, this one is for dodging, this one is for skills, and this one controls movement." Little Hela listened intently, absorbing every word. Wanda, watching from the side, smiled warmly.
Before long, little Hela was deeply immersed in the game, playing with a fierce intensity. "Kill you! Kill you! Kill him too!" she screamed at the screen. In the game, Hela was far more ruthless than in real life—where she might kill a few aliens, in the game, she even chased after chickens to slaughter them. Lorien and Wanda exchanged glances. This baby was a little too bloodthirsty.
"Hoohoo~~~ This is great! I'm going to kill them all!!!" Hela continued, wildly swinging the controller around, her whole body twisting and turning with the game's characters. If they jumped, she jumped too.
Lorien shrugged at Wanda. "She's the goddess of death. She just likes killing."
"Still, we should go back to sleep," Wanda said, concerned. "But... if we leave her alone, she might stay up all night."
Lorien looked at the excited Hela. If they tried to pull her away now, she definitely wouldn't sleep. "Don't worry about her. She's a god, not a human. She won't die from staying up."
"Is that so..." Wanda seemed to realize something.
So, Lorien patted little Hela on the head. "Wanda and I are going to bed. If you get tired, go sleep in another room."
"I know~~~" Little Hela dragged out the words. "But I don't know how you two can sleep so early. You're so weak..."
Before she could finish, Lorien grabbed her face and pulled her up. "What did you say?"
"It hurts, it hurts~~~!" Little Hela immediately begged for mercy. "I was wrong, I was wrong. I won't do it again."
Satisfied, Lorien released her and let her continue playing. Wanda couldn't stop laughing as they headed to their room. It was now 10 PM, and little Hela was still playing in the living room while Lorien and Wanda lay in bed, chatting under the covers. Wanda snuggled into Lorien's chest, tracing patterns with her fingers.
"I'm going to start studying at Kamar-Taj tomorrow morning," she said.
"So soon?" Lorien was a bit surprised. "I thought you'd stay for a few more days."
Wanda shook her head. "No, you have your own things to do tomorrow, and I should get started on mine too. The sooner I go to Kamar-Taj, the sooner I can finish my studies. Once I've learned a lot of spells, we'll have plenty of time together."
She was right. It was better to get things done sooner rather than later. The quicker she learned magic, the stronger she'd become. Wanda's thinking was absolutely correct. But as Lorien looked at Wanda's increasingly rosy cheeks, he whispered in her ear, "Are you really eager to learn magic, or can't you stand my torment?"
Wanda's face turned bright red. She lifted her head to glare at Lorien before playfully hitting his chest. "Last night, I thought I was going to die from exhaustion, but you just kept going. I passed out in the morning, and you woke me up again. I don't even know if I fainted or fell asleep in the end. You're so bad!"
Despite her words, Lorien could see her softening again. He smiled knowingly, leaning closer to her ear. "Hmm?"
Wanda responded weakly. "Don't..."
Lorien was ready to continue, but Wanda placed her hands on his chest, pleading, "Take it easy. I have to go to Kamar-Taj tomorrow... and maybe let Gwen help you out..."
With that, she buried her head under the blanket. Lorien smiled, like a hungry wolf ready to pounce.
Outside the door, little Hela continued playing, but her face grew redder. For thousands of years, she had never experienced anything like this. If she were to be harsh about it, she was an old virgin. Now, hearing all this, she couldn't hold back. It felt like something was tickling her insides, but she had no outlet. Frustrated, she turned her itching into anger, furiously slaughtering monsters in the game. Chickens were no longer enough—if she could cut an earthworm in half, she would.
The next morning, when Lorien woke up, he snapped his fingers to clean up the room as usual. He glanced at Wanda, who was still sound asleep. It was just after seven in the morning—not too early, but not late either. He got up and opened the bedroom door, only to find Hela curled up on the thick carpet, fast asleep. She had propped herself up with pillows from the sofa and pulled a quilt from who knows where, wrapping herself in it. Lorien shook his head helplessly.
"There's something wrong with this child," he muttered to himself.