Chapter 128: Gave the God of Thunder a Trauma Response
My name is Thor... in short, I've been having an exceptionally bad run of luck lately.
Thor sat in the car, holding his slightly swimming head, looking at Matthew in the driver's seat.
"Hey. Aren't you going to say anything?"
"Hmm? About what?"
"I was driving normally. You're the one who came running out of nowhere."
"But you still hit me!" Thor rose from his seat and turned on Matthew with a furious look.
Matthew didn't glance back. "I hit you, yes. Though I haven't even brought up the fact that you could be staging an insurance scam."
"Look at the state of my front end."
He gestured toward the visibly dented hood.
"Besides. I already paid your hospital bill. Technically, you owe me a thank-you."
"Me. Thank you."
"Naturally~~" Matthew said it like it was the obvious conclusion.
"I'm not holding you responsible for the damage to my vehicle, and I'm willing to put you up for the time being."
"Put me... up?" Thor blinked.
Had this man just said he was going to put up the mighty Thor?
Had he heard that correctly?
"You said you're taking me in?" Thor got to his feet with an expression that communicated exactly what he thought about being taken in.
Darcy, who was sitting directly behind Thor, observed his expression, which bore a strong resemblance to a predator evaluating a meal, and quietly reached into her bag for the electric baton she'd bought the night before.
She'd never used one before. She pressed the button experimentally. Twice.
Zzzt.
The sound of the current hit Thor's ears and every muscle in his body locked up at once. He spun around.
He'd been conditioned.
"You're trying to tase me again?!"
Darcy: "???"
What did he mean, again?
She'd literally just had the idea two seconds ago.
Then it clicked. "...Hold on. You're not going to blame the first two times on me too, are you."
"What do you mean blame?! It was clearly you!" Thor's eyes were on Darcy with absolute certainty.
Insufferable mortal.
Three separate attempts on him with this low-grade weapon.
He clenched his fist.
A few seconds passed. He looked at the electric sparks flickering at the end of the baton.
He unclenched his fist.
A wise man didn't take preventable losses.
He was fairly confident he could physically overpower the woman. He was less confident about the baton.
Damn it. Who could have imagined that the great Thor, God of Thunder, would one day find himself wary of a human's handheld electrical device?
Thor sat back down.
Time passed.
The car pulled up smoothly in front of a villa.
Darcy stepped out and looked at what was in front of her.
"Hssss—"
"Mr. Lawrence. You're this wealthy?!"
"There's a huge pool in the courtyard!"
"Oh my god. This is literally my dream home."
Darcy moved through the villa issuing commentary on every room, poking at things and peering around corners.
Jane, seeing Matthew's residence for the first time, wasn't quite as vocal about it as Darcy, but she wasn't hiding the surprise in her expression either.
Neither was Erik.
The only one who didn't react at all was Thor.
The villa and everything about it produced no visible response in him.
Which made sense, when you thought about it.
Prince of Asgard. He was hardly going to be impressed by a house.
"So this is where you live." He picked up a nearby vase and turned it over in his hands. "It's... fairly ordinary~~"
"Yeah, I think so too." Matthew pointed toward the hallway. "There's a shower through there. Get cleaned up first. Whatever you want to say can wait until you're not covered in whatever that is."
"Hmph. Ignorant mortal."
"The great Thor is always clean."
"...So are you going to shower or not."
Silence.
Thor could tell the difference between bravado and reality.
After two tasings and being hit by a car, he had, at least temporarily, come to terms with his circumstances.
Without his divine power, he was essentially no different from an ordinary person. Somewhat stronger than average, but that was the extent of it.
Before long.
Thor came out of the bathroom bare-chested.
Darcy and Jane both went completely still.
"Not going to pretend otherwise: vagrant and presumed alcoholic, but the build is genuinely exceptional." Darcy had both hands on the table and her eyes hadn't moved from Thor's chest and abdominals since he'd walked in. She was not particularly trying to be subtle about it.
Jane was considerably more composed. She looked at him once, registered the relevant information, and turned back to what she'd been doing.
Thor caught the clothes Matthew threw at him and pulled them on.
He was aware of the emptiness where his power had been. He was also aware of a more immediate problem, which was making itself known with increasing urgency.
He looked at Matthew. "I need food."
"Is there anything to eat here?"
"Of course."
"Do you want me to take you somewhere?"
"Take me."
A fast food restaurant nearby with a decent local reputation.
Matthew sat across from Thor and surveyed the mountain of empty trays already stacked up, plus Thor still actively working through what was in front of him, and turned to the server.
"Can we get five more chicken burritos, two bacon pizzas, four burgers, four orders of chicken wings, and four Cokes."
The restaurant owner stared at Matthew for several seconds.
He looked at Thor's empty trays. He looked back at Matthew.
"Sir, are you sure about all of that?"
It wasn't a question of payment. The Bentley at the door could buy his restaurant outright. What he was actually worried about was that this was enough food to put someone in a hospital.
If that happened and either of them came back to make it his problem, that would be a much worse outcome than simply not serving them.
Matthew seemed to read this. "My friend is a competitive eater. He's in training for an upcoming event, so the portions are larger than usual. Nothing to worry about."
The owner digested this. "All right then... just don't push through it if you're full, okay..."
"Can't eat? I feel like I could eat an entire cow right now." Thor finished the burrito in his hands in three bites, picked up a drumstick, and disposed of it in one.
The food here was nothing like Asgard's. Whatever the difference was, it seemed to be agreeing with him. His mood had improved noticeably.
He looked at Matthew. There was slightly less hostility in it than before.
"You did hit me earlier. But given that you've bought me a meal, I'll consider the matter forgiven."
Matthew's mouth twitched. "Ah. Yes. Exactly. I am truly grateful for your forgiveness."
"No need to thank me."
"A god must have not only extraordinary physical ability, but also a magnanimous spirit." He took the burger the owner had just brought and pushed it into his mouth.
Matthew watched this and allowed himself a quiet smile.
Indeed. But a god must also, apparently, have a stomach with no discernible limits.
He studied Thor eating his way through the table in front of them.
He finally understood why Thor would later become known for his eating habits.
Turned out the tendency had been there all along.
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