In Asgard, after Elina accepted Asgard's offer and officially allowed Odin to become her adoptive father, Odin found himself standing before Forn in an extremely awkward situation. For the first time in a very long while, he did not know what to say. He simply could not find the right words to tell his wife that the girl who had once tried to kill her had now officially become his daughter.
Forn looked at Odin curiously. She knew him well... or at least she thought she did. From the hesitation on his face, she could tell that he was hiding something important.
So she calmly asked:
"Are you embarrassed, Odin? You know you can tell me anything, don't you?"
Odin let out a small sigh when he realized she had understood what he was feeling. Then he spoke in a low, cautious tone:
"I have... adopted Elina as my daughter."
The moment he said those words, he glanced at Forn from the corner of his eye, waiting for her reaction. He expected anger, annoyance, or perhaps even shock.
And indeed, surprise appeared on her face for a few moments.
But what truly shocked Odin was that she smiled calmly and said:
"So... you adopted her."
A strange feeling suddenly washed over Odin.
He had known Forn for many years, and because of that, he immediately recognized that calm smile.
It was the kind of smile that often hid very dangerous thoughts.
So he quickly said:
"Don't forget, Forn, Elina is still just a little girl. Any anger you hold toward her may fade with time."
Forn looked at her husband with genuine confusion and replied in a strange tone:
"What is wrong with you, Odin? That girl is my relative now. Her father was my cousin. Why would I bear any ill will toward her? Don't think in such a strange way."
Then she turned around and began walking away while saying:
"I need to find her now. She must have suffered greatly from the loss of her father and grandfather. I should be there for her."
But as she walked, she suddenly remembered something unusual she had noticed a long time ago.
She stopped abruptly.
Elina was still a small child.
Her appearance had barely changed.
In fact, she had not seemed to age even a single year despite all the years that had passed.
Forn turned toward Odin and asked in surprise:
"Wait... why is Elina still like this? Why hasn't she grown older after all these years?"
Before Odin could answer, Forn remembered something else.
She remembered that Elina's father and grandfather had spent a very long time searching for the Dark Heart.
Suddenly, everything began to make sense.
A cold smile appeared on her face as she muttered:
"So... that child merged with the Dark Heart."
The moment she said those words, she did not wait to hear Odin's answer or see his expression.
She quickly turned around and continued searching for Elina.
Regardless of the truth, the girl had lost both her father and grandfather, and she was probably going through one of the most difficult periods of her life.
Forn did not want her to face it alone.
As for Odin, he remained standing where he was, watching his wife walk away.
Then he let out a long sigh.
He had already realized that his peaceful days were over.
And even worse, he was beginning to feel that he might need to protect Elina from his wife's anger more than from any other threat.
But after a few moments, a different thought crossed his mind.
Wasn't he the ruler of Asgard?
And wasn't it supposed to be other people's job to solve at least some of his problems?
When that thought occurred to him, a calm smile appeared on his face.
He closed his eyes and sent a spiritual message directly to Athena, ordering her to deal with this problem herself.
As soon as he sent the message, he chuckled softly.
Then he began walking toward the shore.
Poseidon had previously told him that he had prepared a wonderful surprise for him.
So Odin decided to leave the matter of Elina, Athena, and Forn alone for a while...
And go see that surprise for himself.
Odin had serious doubts about the "surprise" Poseidon had mentioned, but he did not show it on his face. At the appointed time, he headed toward the shore as they had agreed.
As soon as he arrived, he found Poseidon standing near the coastline, waving enthusiastically while wearing a proud and eager smile.
Odin approached him and asked:
"What is it, Poseidon? And where is this surprise you were talking about?"
But before he could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed.
He sensed a powerful aura coming from the depths of the sea.
He quickly turned toward the ocean and said in a strange tone:
"So... this is the surprise?"
In the next instant, the sea exploded violently.
Massive columns of water shot toward the sky, and several enormous sea creatures emerged from within them.
Their sizes were so immense that some of them appeared as large as small castles.
Gigantic sea monsters.
Sea monsters whose identities Odin recognized at first glance.
They were creatures that lived in the deepest parts of the ocean and rarely appeared near any shoreline.
Odin looked at the enormous beasts gathering near Asgard's coast before turning toward his brother with an annoyed expression.
Meanwhile, Poseidon stood proudly with his head held high, clearly waiting for praise.
Then he said with a broad grin:
"What do you think of Asgard's naval power? Isn't it magnificent?"
But before he could finish speaking, Odin vanished from in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared high in the sky.
From there, he looked down at the gigantic sea monsters spread across the shoreline.
He remained silent for several moments as he observed them carefully.
Then he said quietly:
"This isn't bad."
Poseidon's smile froze for a moment.
Odin continued:
"It's true that these creatures are not especially powerful compared to the greatest warriors of the realms, but they are certainly stronger than most ordinary soldiers. And their numbers are respectable as well."
He continued while observing them:
"It is a good collection of sea beasts."
Poseidon listened to the evaluation while standing on the shore, then muttered under his breath:
"Hah... he has no idea how much effort I put into making these monsters obey me."
But the moment he finished speaking, he felt a burning glare settle on his back.
He froze.
Then he slowly turned around.
And there...
He found his close friend, the giant octopus, staring at him with intense fury.
Its eyes practically burned with anger.
The instant their gazes met, a voice echoed inside Poseidon's mind through spiritual power:
"How?!"
Poseidon shuddered.
The giant octopus continued even more angrily:
"How dare you take credit for our hard work, you scoundrel?!"
Then it pointed one of its massive tentacles toward the sea monsters.
"Do you have any idea how much time and effort it took us to convince those creatures to cooperate?"
It continued furiously:
"And now you're standing here claiming all the credit for yourself?!"
Poseidon opened his mouth, trying to defend himself.
But no suitable words came to mind.
Before he could even attempt an explanation, he heard Odin's voice from the sky.
It was obvious that the King of Asgard had heard everything.
Odin spoke calmly:
"There is no need to explain, brother."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Then he added:
"Isn't it obvious that you were trying to steal his credit?"
Poseidon froze in place.
Then he looked up toward the sky in shock and said:
"You... you..."
He stammered for a few moments before continuing:
"You can understand what he's saying?"
On the other side, the giant octopus looked equally shocked.
It had not expected Odin to understand it either.
Odin looked at both of them as though they had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.
Then he replied in an annoyed tone:
"So what if I can?"
He pointed toward the giant octopus.
"It is an intelligent creature that uses spiritual power to communicate."
Then he continued:
"So naturally, I can understand it and speak with it."
He folded his arms across his chest and added:
"In fact, your other siblings can do the same."
Then he gestured toward the sea monsters scattered across the ocean.
"And most powerful warriors can understand spiritual creatures once they reach a sufficient level of intelligence."
Silence filled the area for several seconds.
Then Odin looked at them again and said with a face full of irritation:
"Are you two idiots or something?"
At that moment...
Both Poseidon and the giant octopus felt extremely embarrassed.
The funny part, however, was that each of them was convinced that the real idiot was the other one.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]