The crowd bustled around her, yet she stood still, like an outsider set apart from the flow.
One hand tugged her hood lower, wrapping herself fully in its cover. In the other, she held a compass. Its needle pointed straight at the Northern Tower. On a deeper, instinctive level, she could also sense the target's presence there.
Once she understood this, the feeling struck her as odd.
"The most influential being in the universe… living here? In human society? In a skyscraper?"
She couldn't make sense of it, but it didn't matter. Meeting him was all that mattered. Once she did, she would present a plan so enticing that even a god would be moved.
She started to tuck away the compass, pulling her cloak tighter as she prepared to enter the Northern Tower.
But in the next instant, the compass needle whipped around, spinning 180 degrees and locking on a completely different direction.
"Discovered?" That was her first thought.
"No… no, that's not it. I'm tracking the most powerful being in this universe. He wouldn't run from me. Which means… he stepped out?"
Stepped out.
What a coincidence.
So what now? Wait here? But the TVA was already on the move. If she kept waiting, she'd miss her chance to find an ally.
She had to act first.
"Follow!"
She immediately decided to pursue him. Every moment wasted only added to the danger.
She could not—must not—end up in the TVA's Time Prison. Otherwise her life, Loki's life, would never change.
And since the TVA had ruined her existence, she would destroy them in return. At any cost.
...
With a snap of his fingers, Lorien had already brought Wanda, Gwen, and the temporarily added Hela to Provence.
But the moment they arrived, Lorien's eyebrow twitched. He glanced back in the direction of the Northern Tower. Just before leaving, he had sensed someone searching for him.
No hostility. Just business.
And the moment he thought of "business," Lorien lost all interest. Business meant trouble. Trouble meant work.
Forget it. Let it wait. Play first.
Wanda noticed his expression right away.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Just someone I don't know came looking for me after we left."
"A mental patient?" Wanda guessed.
"Definitely not," Gwen said, shaking her head. "It's the weekend. Everyone knows Lorien doesn't work weekends. If you didn't even get weekends off, who wouldn't go crazy?"
That made Lorien laugh. There were plenty of such "slaves" in Asia.
"Alright, whatever. If I don't know them, then I didn't see them. Let's just have fun first."
He waved his hand, leading them deeper into Provence's iconic scenery.
"When it's time to play, just play. Don't overthink it."
What you don't know can't hurt you. Don't know? Not my business.
Together, the four of them teleported into the heart of Provence.
"The land of lavender, the Côte d'Azur."
"Wow~~~"
They arrived just before noon. Sunlight spilled across the endless lavender fields, a vast blue ocean swaying under the breeze. The blossoms rippled like waves of violet and indigo. Windmills, castles, and cottages dotted the horizon, scattered across the rolling fields.
The flower sea stretched on without end.
"So beautiful," Wanda breathed. "Maybe our Little Universe could have scenery like this too?"
"I wouldn't recommend it," Gwen said, shaking her head. "It's gorgeous, sure, but only the first time. If it's this monotonous, we'll get bored quickly. I'd say our Little Universe should be more diverse, with every kind of ecosystem."
Wanda considered it, then nodded in agreement. She glanced at Hela, curious if her years in Asgard gave her a different perspective.
But when she and Gwen turned, Hela was glued to her game console. Without even looking up, she muttered, already anticipating the question,
"I don't go to the Little Universe much anyway. If you two think it looks good, fine. If not, just haul in landscapes from the Nine Realms—new scenery every day."
"....."
Forget it.
Considering how she'd spent her youth, drenched in battle and bloodshed, what would Hela know about scenery? All she cared about was whether the killing was satisfying—preferably with rivers of blood.
...
Lorien led the three of them strolling through the lavender sea. Tourists swarmed the area, arriving from all over the country. Some posed by stone markers, others by windmills or castles. Most, of course, stood before the flower fields for pictures.
After they finished with the lavender, the four headed to another city to visit a medieval castle. Inside a museum, they found its history preserved.
Just as now, Lorien guided them through halls displaying medieval knights' swords and cavalry lances.
The introduction also read:
"Provence, City of Knights—Birthplace of Medieval Knightly Lyric Poetry."
Here, Lorien and the others examined medieval armor—plate, chainmail, and more.
Gwen looked at the displays.
"It's beautiful, but not nearly as cool as our battle suits."
Wanda shot her a look.
"Do you really need to compare something from centuries ago?"
The armor was indeed impressive, but in the present day it had long been obsolete. The stronger people became, the quicker wars tended to end. Whoever struck first, whoever went all in first, usually gained the upper hand—or wiped out the enemy in a single strike.
Weapons had only grown more devastating, from swords and spears to destroying stars and even universes. If that wasn't finishing things in one blow, what was?
...
After the museum, Lorien led the three women through the old town.
They strolled along ancient streets where most buildings were built from stone and wood. The oldest structures were entirely stone.
As he took in the scenery, Lorien found himself reflecting.
"Europe's Age of Exploration left behind far more than other continents. Their invasions came with no price. Instead, they've been cashing in on the dividends of that era straight into the 21st century. From the Age of Exploration all the way until now—they've had centuries of head start."
Wanda, too, felt something stir within her.
"People say invasion is wrong, that it's evil. But only the defeated invaders ever face punishment. And some—even after losing—never face justice at all."
At this, Hela finally put away her game console and glanced at them.
"When Odin expanded Asgard's dominion, I invaded countless races across the Nine Realms. Yet even now, no one dares challenge Asgard."
She wasn't wrong. It was always the losers who got punished. And even then, not all of them.
Did Japan's imperial war criminals ever truly face justice? Not really—shrines were even built to honor them.
Did Europe's colonial powers ever pay a real price? Hardly. Few even dare to ask.
In the end, strength remains the real foundation.
...
By afternoon, the four reached the seaside. Offshore, a few kilometers away, sat a modest island. But that wasn't the surprising part.
Nearby stood a community named Heliopolis—City of the Sun. The name wasn't the real issue, though. What shocked them was its description.
After reading it, not just Wanda and Gwen, but even Lorien was taken aback.
Why?
Because the island was called "Shangri-La." And it was… a nudist paradise.
Yes. Everyone there lived unclothed.
The description went further: Shangri-La had a permanent population of several hundred, and every year at least 6,000 to 25,000 people stayed there for a time.
Twenty-five thousand people!
That many nudists, all gathering on one island. Wasn't this just nudism as a cover for something else?
Reading further, Lorien realized they didn't even bother to hide it. They openly admitted another reason visitors flocked there each summer: sex. Many first-timers came brimming with curiosity.
The four were stunned.
"Let's get out of here," Gwen insisted, tugging at Lorien's arm. "This place feels filthy now."
"Let's head to Iceland and catch the Northern Lights tonight," Wanda suggested, holding on to Lorien.
Clearly, the place had become too revolting to linger.
And it wasn't even a community you could just join. The island had no electricity, no electronic devices allowed. Everything was primitive. On top of that, you needed proof of assets to get in. Ordinary people weren't welcome.
This amused Lorien. Someone had once said that the higher-class a place seemed, the more depraved it could be. Looks like they were right.
"Come on, let's go."
He didn't want to stick around either. If he accidentally caught sight of a naked body, he'd be disgusted.
With a snap of his fingers, the four vanished, reappearing in Iceland.
...
After they left, a figure appeared by magic in the lavender fields they had visited earlier.
She checked her compass.
The target had run off again!
"???" The woman froze, then cursed in frustration.
"Damn it."
But what else could she do?
Of course, she set off after them again.