Chapter 300: Thor In Midgard
On the other end of the line, Martha smiled softly.
Knowing Kaede and Penelope’s families well, and taking her responsibility as the household guardian seriously while her Master was away in the Sovereign Realm, Martha gave her immediate approval.
"That is completely fine, Lia dear," Martha replied warmly. "You work hard on your project, and I will drive over to Kaede’s estate in the evening to pick you up... Just make sure to leave your phone’s GPS location turned on so I can track your route."
"I will! Thank you, Martha! You’re the best!" Lia cheered sweetly.
Beside her, Kaede leaned her head right next to the phone mic, yelling out playfully.
"Thank you, Martha! You’re a sweetheart!"
Martha let out a merry chuckle over the speaker. "Have fun, girls! Stay safe!"
Lia cut the call, slipping her phone back into her pocket as the three girls walked out through the grand arched front gates of Valoria Academy.
Outside, the wide entrance plaza was packed with luxury hover-limousines, private security transports, and parents picking up their children from school.
Penelope held her leather bag, looking around the busy street.
"So... how are we getting to your house, Kaede? Did your guardian call a cab?"
Before Kaede could even answer—
VWOOSH!
A sleek midnight-black luxury sedan adorned with silver crests smoothly pulled up to the curb right in front of them!
The rear door opened, and a tall, impeccably dressed butler wearing white gloves stepped out, bowing deeply at a ninety-degree angle to the ten-year-old girl.
"Welcome back from classes, Lady Kaede," the butler greeted with absolute, flawless professional decorum. "I have prepared the vehicle for your companions."
Penelope blinked her violet eyes, looking at the blindingly expensive luxury vehicle, and deadpanned.
"You really have a lot of money, huh?"
Kaede giggled, leaning in close between Lia and Penelope, whispering in a dramatic conspiratorial tone.
"Well, I did tell you guys... I’m technically the princess of the Shogunate Isles!"
Lia and Penelope both looked at her with totally flat unamused deadpan expressions, nodding along blankly.
"Uh-huh... sure you are."
Kaede puffed out her cheeks in an instant, pouting furiously at them! "Hey! Why do you guys look at me like that?! You don’t believe me?!"
Of course they didn’t believe her!
Why on earth would the royal ruling family of the distant Shogunate Isles send their precious, legitimate royal princess to attend a standard middle-tier academy in Valoria City without a fifty-man royal guard escort?!
Besides, global media broadcasts frequently showed images of the Shogunate Isles’ royal family... and the Shogunate Lord’s young Daughter was legendary across the eastern continent as one of the most breathtaking and peerlessly beautiful young child in the entire world.
Kaede was undeniably adorable and cute, but there was no way this playful ten-year-old girl sitting in front of them could hold a candle to that legendary royal beauty’s natural, god-tier elegance.
"Get in, get in! You’ll see!" Kaede huffed playfully, ushering them into the plush leather back seats of the luxury sedan.
The butler carefully closed the heavy door behind them, stepping into the driver’s seat.
"Please secure your positions, young ladies," the butler instructed smoothly.
The moment he pressed the ignition button, automatic leather seatbelts glided smoothly across their shoulders, locking them securely into place.
Soft relaxing ambient classical music began playing through the high-end cabin speakers as the sedan glided effortlessly into the city traffic.
Lia bobbed her head to the gentle rhythm of the music, looking out the tinted window as they drove through the high-end residential districts of Valoria City.
After a fifteen-minute drive past manicured parks and private security gates, the sedan turned down a long, private driveway lined with high stone walls and armed security posts.
The vehicle came to a smooth stop in front of a beautiful, traditional two-story estate surrounded by cherry blossom trees and stone lanterns.
Kaede stepped out of the vehicle first, throwing her arms wide open with supreme pride.
"Welcome to my humble abode! This is where I’m staying!"
Penelope and Lia stepped out onto the gravel driveway, looking up at the sprawling, gorgeous estate... and then turned to look at Kaede with deeply strange, deadpan expressions.
Kaede noticed their looks and quickly added with a casual wave of her hand.
"I mean, it’s pretty tiny and cramped compared to my main family palace back in the Shogunate Isles, but it’s cozy enough for living in Valoria City!"
Penelope stared at the massive two-story estate, thinking in utter deadpan disbelief.
’Tiny?! Cramped?! This estate is three times bigger than me and my sister’s high-rise luxury apartment!’
Lia stared at the manicured gardens, thinking in deadpan amazement.
’This place is literally four times bigger than Big Brother’s entire apartment!’
And to make matters even more absurd... there was a full staff of househelp waiting.
A row of four polite maids in crisp black-and-white uniforms and two head butlers stood by the entrance, bowing respectfully as the three girls stepped onto the porch.
"Welcome home, Lady Kaede! Welcome, honored guests!" the maids greeted in unison.
The househelp stepped forward with gentle efficiency, assisting Lia and Penelope in removing their shoes, placing their backpacks into leather storage cubbies, and guiding them into a grand, sunlit living room.
The living room featured a massive plush leather sectional sofa, a pristine mahogany coffee table, and wide glass doors opening to a private garden koi pond.
Within two minutes of sitting down on the soft sofa, the maids brought out an elaborate silver tray laden with an overwhelming assortment of treats... fresh strawberry shortcakes, imported chocolate truffles, iced berry teas, and warm honey pastries.
Lia held a delicate porcelain cup, feeling completely, utterly babied by the service.
Kaede sank into the plush sofa cushion, letting out a boisterous laugh as she popped a chocolate truffle into her mouth.
"Hahaha! Don’t look so embarrassed, Lia! This isn’t even the full royal treatment! I’m not going to let you guys leave my house today until you’re both fat and happy!"
Kaede then turned her head toward the head butler standing near the doorway, waving her hand energetically.
"Sebastian! Turn on the main wall display!" Kaede ordered excitedly. "Put it directly on the Blessed Land Stream Channel!"
"Right away, Lady Kaede," the butler replied, bowing smoothly.
The butler picked up a sleek glass remote, tapping the screen.
HUMMM.
The entire far wall of the living room illuminated, transforming into a massive eighty-inch ultra-high-definition holographic television display.
The broadcast signal connected instantly to the global LordTube network, pulling up the official live stream channel for the Blessed Land Territory War!
The screen was currently displaying a sleek glowing purple standby window, featuring a countdown timer running against the backdrop of a dramatic animated banner of The Unmovable Wall facing off against the shadowy silhouette of Lord Vespera.
Right beneath the standby window, the live viewer counter flashed in brilliant gold numbers.
[250,000,000 CONCURRENT VIEWERS ON STANDBY!]
Two hundred and fifty million people were sitting in the virtual waiting room before the broadcast had even started.
Kaede pumped her fist in the air with delight.
"Alright! Perfect timing! We didn’t miss a single second! Let’s go, Blessed Land!"
Kaede leaned over the sofa armrest, looking at Lia and Penelope with wide, excited eyes: "So, guys... who are you supporting in this war?!"
Penelope adjusted her purple pigtails, holding her cup of tea as she spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
"I support The Unmovable Wall. Lord Sky is the underdog in this engagement, and I prefer supporting underdogs."
The exact second Penelope said she liked supporting underdogs... Lia and Kaede both turned their heads simultaneously, staring at Penelope with a single synchronized thought echoing in their minds.
’But... don’t you usually hate commoners and underdogs...?’
Lia quickly shook off the thought, smiling softly as she hugged her throw pillow.
"Well... I support the Blessed Land! Lord Vespera is just way too cool!"
Kaede instantly lunged across the sofa, throwing her arms around Lia in a tight ecstatic hug.
"YESSSS!" Kaede cheered out loud, rubbing her cheek against Lia’s.
"BLESSED LAND GIRLIES FOR THE WIN! LORD VESPERA IS GOING TO CRUSH THEM!"
And as the three girls sat together in the luxurious living room, enjoying their pastries and cheering for the broadcast, the countdown timer on the massive screen hit zero... and the greatest Lord War stream in history officially went live.
...
In an ultra-luxurious, six-star private dining pavilion suspended hundreds of feet above the sparkling neon-lit skyline of Rhyx City, Thor sat slumped in a massive gilded mahogany chair.
She was dressed in a simple, skin-tight white singlet and dark cargo trousers with her massive heavily muscled arms resting flat against the pristine marble tabletop.
Her long unkempt blonde hair fell in wild waves over her broad shoulders, and her sharp, storm-blue eyes stared intently at a floating golden holographic screen suspended in the center of the private dining suite.
GWWWRRRRLLLLL!
A sound like rolling thunder erupted from her stomach. The violent vibration was so loud that the crystal chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling subtly rattled.
"Bah!" Thor grumbled out loud, slamming her broad calloused fist flat against the armrest with enough force to crack the polished wood. "Where is the feast?! My gut is eating itself alive!"
Thor glared at the floating holographic screen in front of her.
The display was showing a glowing countdown timer ticking down to zero on the global LordTube network, set against the dramatic high-definition banner of The Unmovable Wall facing off against The Blessed Land.
The numbers on the digital clock flickered in real time:
00:03:42... 00:03:41... 00:03:40...
Thor squinted her storm-blue eyes at the timer, crossing her massive, corded arms over her broad chest.
Watching live broadcasts on floating magic mirrors was a thoroughly bizarre experience for a Norse deity.
Back in the golden hall of Valhalla in Asgard, if warriors wanted to watch a war, they didn’t sit in soft velvet chairs staring at glowing glass panels.
They grabbed their war hammers, mounted giant armored goats, tore through the clouds, and smashed their enemies’ skulls in person.
She couldn’t help but reflect on how peculiar streaming was in this world.
Why on Midgard didn’t they have this kind of magic back in Asgard?
It would have saved her thousands of leagues of flying across the realms just to watch Odin kick a frost giant king into a frozen ravine.
Seated directly beside Thor in an equally opulent velvet chair was a young woman radiating an aura of divine undeniable royalty.
She possessed long shimmering royal-blue hair that cascaded past her slender waist like a liquid sapphire waterfall, elegant porcelain features, and piercing azure eyes.
She wore an intricate, silk-embroidered gown adorned with gold imperial crests... the legitimate, high-ranking Princess of the Lord World.
Hearing Thor’s stomach roar like a starving dragon, the Princess let out a soft, elegant laugh, covering her smiling lips with a delicate silk-embroidered fan.
"Are you truly that ravenous, Lady Thor?" the Princess asked smoothly, her melodic voice carrying the refined voice of royalty. "I thought we were here primarily to observe the broadcast."
Thor turned her head, her storm-blue eyes flashing with blunt unyielding conviction.
"I am a God of Thunder!" Thor declared loudly, slamming her hand flat onto the marble table again. "I do not watch battles on an empty belly! Seeing flesh get torn and spells exploding makes a true warrior thirsty and hungry! I want to see this war while tearing through a mountain of meat!"
The royal-blue-haired Princess smiled warmly, waving her delicate, ringed hand toward the double oak doors of the private suite.
"At once, then..." the Princess commanded softly to the waiting staff.
CLICK.
The double doors swung open instantly!
A line of twelve high-tier imperial butlers clad in pristine black tailcoats and white gloves marched into the private suite in perfect synchronized precision.
Each butler carried a massive, silver-domed serving tray stacked three feet high with legendary culinary dishes prepared by Rhyx City’s top-tier master chefs.
CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!
The butlers set the heavy platters down onto the massive marble table, uncovering silver domes one after another in a rapid sequence.
The aroma that erupted into the air was intoxicating.
Roast hydra legs glazed in golden mana-honey, roasted wyvern ribs seasoned with crushed fire-peppers, giant kraken tentacles seared in spiced butter, steaming bowls of aromatic mana-rice, and entire roasted wild boars glistening with savory crackling juices.
Within ten seconds, a literal mountain of high-tier food stood piled before Thor.