Chapter 99: Gwen Curfew is lifted

Chapter 99: Gwen Lifts Curfew!

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**11 p.m.**

A family of three... well, not quite.

One man and two women... that works too.

Anyway, Lorien sat at the table with Gwen and little Hela, enjoying dinner together. Little Hela was eating with a pout, as if she were venting her frustration on the rice.

Gwen and Lorien chatted happily while eating, but in the midst of the conversation, Lorien noticed some rice had spilled beside Hela's bowl.

"Hela, you're on dish duty tonight. If you make a mess, you'll be the one cleaning it up."

For a moment, Hela's body stiffened, and then her eating became more careful. Gwen observed Hela's change in behavior with a smile on her lips.

I could die laughing, Gwen thought to herself. Hela really does her best to entertain everyone.

Lorien glanced at Gwen and suddenly remembered something from when he left the house that day, so he asked, "Gwen, how did you manage to get back home that day?"

"If you didn't run away from home, you shouldn't have been in trouble, right?"

As soon as Lorien mentioned it, Gwen's face lit up with excitement as she recounted the event.

"Lorien, it was really close when I got home that day!"

"Dad was waiting for me at the door, but luckily, I didn't go through the window!"

"He was about to chew my ear off when I walked in."

"But I told him exactly what you said, and everything was fine!"

"He didn't even scold me; he just told me to stay safe and focus on my studies!"

That was exactly what Lorien had predicted. Thanks to his reputation, George had let Gwen off the hook.

But that wasn't all.

Gwen had another card up her sleeve.

"But the best part!"

"He lifted my curfew!"

"As long as I'm not hanging out with certain people, he's giving me more freedom!"

"And he even said that if I get into a good university, he'll let me move out!"

It was clear that Gwen was thrilled by this development.

And who could blame her? With the curfew lifted, Gwen had much more freedom. Plus, the prospect of living on her own after getting into a good university was even more liberating.

"Congratulations, Gwen," Lorien said with a smile, raising his glass to clink with hers.

"I want to join in too!" Little Hela chimed in, raising her own glass.

After clinking glasses, they all took a sip of their drinks.

Gwen looked at little Hela, who seemed slightly tipsy, and laughed. "Every time I see you drinking, I feel a little guilty. You're still too young, hehe~"

But Hela waved Gwen off, saying dismissively, "Little girl, I was drinking before you were even born, hmph~!"

Lorien smiled as he watched the two of them. It was genuinely fun being around them.

Indeed, little Hela was much more amusing than her older counterpart.

The three of them continued to chat and laugh, but Gwen suddenly looked around and asked curiously, "Where's Wanda?"

"Wanda went to Kamar-Taj to study magic," Lorien replied, taking a bite of his food. "She'll be gone for a while."

Gwen's eyes lit up. "When did she leave?"

"This morning."

"Aww~ Aww~ Aw~" Gwen began making exaggerated noises.

Lorien looked up, puzzled, and saw Gwen showing off her empty plate.

"What's up with you?" Lorien asked, bewildered.

But Gwen remained silent, feigning mystery.

Lorien shrugged and continued eating.

After a while, Gwen finished her meal, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and stood up.

"I'm going to take a bath."

!!!???

Suddenly, Lorien's expression turned interesting.

Oh~~~~ Now I get it.

If that's the case, I better finish my meal quickly.

Under little Hela's watchful eyes, Lorien began to eat faster.

He finished his meal in record time, didn't even bother wiping his mouth, and looked at Hela, saying, "You can wash the dishes later, whenever you feel like it."

With that, Lorien began unbuttoning his shirt as he walked toward the bathroom.

"Hmph~, Demon" Hela muttered, her face flushed.

A little later...

"Ah! Why are you here? Hela is outside; why not go to the bedroom?"

"It's fine, we can teleport there."

"But the bathroom isn't soundproof~"

"It's okay, I can cast a sound barrier."

For the next few days, it was Lorien and Gwen... or rather, the three of them—Lorien, Gwen, and Hela—spending time together.

There was no choice in the matter.

Gwen had to go to school, and Lorien had to keep up his pretense of being busy. They could only really relax on the weekends.

Coincidentally, their schedules aligned perfectly. They were busy together, and they rested together.

It was a good arrangement.

Meanwhile, Wanda was immersed in her studies at Kamar-Taj.

Even though Lorien had free time, he didn't visit Wanda. He knew that once Wanda got into her zone, it was better to leave her be. Brief visits were okay, but anything longer could disrupt her focus.

So, Lorien resorted to writing letters to Wanda, asking how she was, whether she was happy, and if she had made any friends.

Wanda would eagerly reply to Lorien's letters as well, and their exchange felt like something out of a bygone era.

The Ancient One fully approved of Lorien's approach. Every letter Lorien sent seemed to rejuvenate Wanda without breaking her concentration, allowing her to learn at an accelerated pace.

The Ancient One noticed the difference.

As for Lorien, his days were filled with running his shop and "fishing" for opportunities.

Sometimes he had customers; other times, he didn't. But as always, there was nothing to stress about.

His main job was to keep himself occupied; the side job was to handle whatever came his way when he had nothing else to do.

A laid-back attitude toward life. Just having a good time.

"Knock, knock~~"

Someone knocked at the door. At that moment, the door to Lorien's office opened, revealing a new guest who had arrived not long ago.

Natasha Romanoff.

Today, she looked extra cool in her leather jacket, her hair adorned with accessories, giving off a rocker vibe.

But as she walked in, her expression, which had been neutral, shifted to one of frustration and resignation.

Lorien gestured for Natasha to sit down and asked Hela to bring her a bottle of milk tea. Natasha took the milk tea and gulped it down in one go, letting out a final sigh.

Now Lorien didn't even need to guess. He shook his head and said, "Let me guess, bad news from the Avengers, right?"

Natasha nodded, clearly disappointed.

As one of the original members of the Avengers, it was only natural for her to be upset with the current state of the team, especially with everything that was going on.

"Go ahead, tell me," Lorien urged, gesturing for her to speak.

Natasha didn't waste any time and got straight to the point.

"Tony found out what Captain America and the Winter Soldier were up to yesterday."

"They uncovered a conspiracy within the United Nations."

"But when they met up, they ended up fighting again and eventually split."

"I'm not sure what went wrong, but the Avengers... they're truly divided now."