Infinity Stones from parallel universes?
Odin's frown deepened considerably. As the All-Father and a powerful god-king of Asgard, he knew parallel universes truly existed. However, he'd never personally traveled to alternate realities.
After more than ten seconds of contemplative silence, Odin spoke slowly. "It's not impossible to give you the Reality Stone, but there's no such thing as a free lunch. What do you plan to offer in exchange?"
Richard had already considered how to negotiate for the Reality Stone. As soon as Odin finished speaking, he replied deliberately, "The Casket of Ancient Winters and Eternal Flame were exchanged for my promise to help stop the Goddess of Death, Hela."
"The Reality Stone is far more precious than the Casket and Eternal Flame, so I propose exchanging it for three promises. As long as the requests fall within my capabilities, I'll perform three services for you or Asgard without compensation."
While Richard had acquired many valuable items in the Naruto world, those possessions held no value for Odin, who had already achieved god-king status. After consideration, he'd decided to offer three personal commitments for the Reality Stone.
On the surface, exchanging a Reality Stone for three promises might seem overly generous to Richard. However, he didn't consider his proposal excessive.
Like the Casket of Ancient Winters and Eternal Flame, the Reality Stone had also been seized by Asgard—specifically, by Odin's father, the previous All-Father Bor, who had taken it from the Dark Elves.
Furthermore, after obtaining the Reality Stone, neither Bor nor Odin had brought it back to Asgard, instead sealing it in an unknown location.
In the movies, Thor's girlfriend Jane Foster had accidentally discovered the Reality Stone's seal, causing it to enter her body and triggering subsequent events where Dark Elves attempted to reclaim their ancient weapon.
After hearing Richard's proposal, Odin didn't provide an immediate response but fell into contemplative silence.
After more than ten seconds, he continued, "I need time to consider this. I'll give you an answer later."
"No problem," Richard replied agreeably.
Odin said nothing more, summoning a guard from outside and instructing him to escort Richard to guest quarters for rest.
As Richard emerged from the royal study, he encountered Thor, who hadn't yet departed.
"What did you discuss with Father?" Thor asked immediately.
"Nothing significant—just casual conversation," Richard replied diplomatically.
Though Thor wasn't malicious, Richard had no intention of revealing his negotiation for the Reality Stone. At this point, Thor remained unaware of the gem's existence.
While Thor had heard of the Dark Elves' artifact called the "Aether," he didn't know the Aether was actually the Reality Stone. Additionally, according to official Asgardian records, the Dark Elves and their Aether had been destroyed by the previous All-Father Bor.
Seeing Richard's reluctance to share details, Thor didn't press further and asked casually, "How long do you plan to stay in Asgard this time?"
"That's not certain yet—it depends on His Majesty's arrangements," Richard replied slowly.
He definitely wouldn't leave before obtaining the Reality Stone. As for when Odin would reveal the stone's sealed location, that remained unpredictable.
Though Odin had said he'd provide an answer "later," Asgardian time concepts differed significantly from human ones. Average Asgardian lifespans reached 5,000 years, while those with god-king bloodlines—like Odin and Thor—lived far longer still.
Odin's "later" could mean two or three days, two or three months, or even several years if he remained undecided.
After brief casual conversation with Richard, Thor departed without accompanying the Golden Palace guards who escorted Richard to his accommodations.
Following more than ten minutes of walking with spear-carrying guards in golden armor, Richard reached quarters located on the Golden Palace's upper level.
After examining the room, Richard nodded with satisfaction. While not quite matching his Silver City palace residence, the accommodations were excellent.
The area and layout were impressive, but more importantly, the room's location on the Golden Palace's upper floor provided balcony views overlooking both Asgard City and the vast cosmos beyond.
In Earth real estate terms, this represented an absolute "cosmic view room."
Once the escorting guards departed, Richard used telepathy to locate Kaguya and Nancy in the main reception hall and established mental contact with them.
After transmitting the room's location, he ended telepathy and settled onto an outdoor sofa on the room's balcony.
Soon after, Kaguya and Nancy arrived at the quarters. The room contained several bedrooms, providing adequate space for all three occupants.
Evening
Thor prepared a small welcoming banquet for Richard's arrival. Besides Thor, attendees included Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three of Asgard. Richard brought both Nancy and Kaguya as his companions.
After Richard introduced Nancy and Kaguya, Loki and the others' attention unconsciously focused on Kaguya. Though they'd encountered numerous alien intelligent races, none recognized Kaguya's planetary origin.
Throughout the universe, many humanoid intelligent races possessed head horns or forehead eyes, but no known species combined both characteristics simultaneously.
Additionally, they all keenly sensed that the seemingly delicate Kaguya wasn't as simple as surface appearances suggested—she possessed considerable hidden strength.
Compared to Kaguya, they paid significantly less attention to Nancy. While Nancy now had authority to draw divine energy from the Divine Realm, her physical limitations restricted the amount she could absorb.
Even if Nancy absorbed equal divine energy to Kaguya, a vast gap would remain between them due to Kaguya's additional chakra and Blood Succession Ensnaring abilities, plus her vastly superior combat experience.
After brief introductory exchanges, Thor's reception banquet predictably transformed into a drinking contest between Richard and Thor.
In Asgard, regardless of the banquet type, gatherings eventually became drinking competitions among men. For Asgardian males, defeating opponents at the drinking table equaled defeating them in battle.
Though Richard rarely engaged in heavy drinking, his alcohol tolerance was formidable. Even alone, he didn't expect Thor and the others could defeat him in drinking contests.
As anticipated, Loki and Fandral from the Warriors Three were first to succumb. Once those two fell, Volstagg and Hogun followed suit.
When the Warriors Three and Loki had collapsed, Thor realized he was unlikely to triumph against Richard tonight. His instincts proved correct.
While Thor's drinking capacity far exceeded Loki's, compared to Richard—who possessed Superboy-Prime template enhancements—his tolerance remained significantly inferior.
After drinking Thor under the table, Richard set down his glass and shook his head with amusement.
He then stood up, approached Sif, and said, "Please arrange for someone to escort them back. We'll return to our quarters now."
"Certainly," Sif replied promptly, having been chatting with Nancy and Kaguya throughout the evening.
Rather than walking back, Richard moved between Kaguya and Nancy, embracing their slender waists.
Teleportation.
The next second, they vanished from Sif's sight, appearing in their room instead of the banquet hall.
After returning to their quarters, Richard led Nancy toward his bedroom.
Watching them depart, Kaguya immediately rolled her eyes in exasperation.
The Following Noon
Richard gently moved Nancy's arms and legs away from himself, rose, and dressed. After washing up, he entered the living room to find Kaguya sitting on the sofa drinking tea.
Noticing Kaguya holding a book with an unusual title, Richard asked, "Where did that book come from?"
"I borrowed it from a maid during my morning walk," Kaguya replied calmly.
Borrowed from a maid?
Hearing Kaguya's response, Richard displayed a knowing expression. The book Kaguya was reading bore the title "I Married an Elf Knight"—obviously an Asgardian romance novel.
"Have you had lunch?" Richard continued inquiring.
"Of course I ate. Don't interrupt my reading. If you want food, ask a maid to bring some or visit the restaurant yourself."
Kaguya then ignored Richard entirely, continuing to browse her romance novel.
Richard sighed, turned, and left the room. Rather than heading to the restaurant, he asked directions from a Golden Palace guard and walked directly toward the royal library within the Golden Palace.
Though Richard wasn't an Asgardian royal family member, the royal library wasn't restricted to royalty alone.
Seeing Kaguya reading romance novels had sparked his curiosity about what books the royal library contained.
While unlikely to house particularly rare texts, he didn't seek precious volumes anyway.
Perhaps few Asgardians enjoyed reading, or maybe hidden conditions existed for library access. Upon reaching the royal library, Richard encountered only four people—two men and two women who weren't visitors but rather maids and administrators responsible for daily library operations.
Upon seeing Richard, they first displayed surprised expressions. Then a blonde man in white robes approached Richard and said respectfully, "Are you here to borrow books, Lord Richard?"
"Yes," Richard confirmed.
"What books would you like to borrow?" the blonde man continued.
"Let me start with books on basic magic principles," Richard replied slowly.
While he didn't need to study magic for strength enhancement, understanding Asgardian magical fundamentals wouldn't hurt. Knowledge was power—additional learning was never disadvantageous.
"Certainly, Lord Richard. Please have a seat while I retrieve the basic magic texts," the blonde man replied.
"Thank you," Richard nodded, sitting at a nearby table.
Soon, the blonde man returned with a blonde woman in robes, pushing a cart resembling a dining trolley. The golden cart held dozens of basic magic books.
After transferring books from cart to desk, the blonde man and woman bid farewell and departed.
Richard randomly selected a book and rapidly scanned its contents. Thanks to superhuman mental processing from his Superboy-Prime template, his reading speed was extraordinary.
A brick-thick book on magical theory fundamentals was completed in less than one minute. Setting it aside, he picked up the second volume.
Time passed steadily. Within thirty minutes, Richard had finished all basic magic books on the table.
Though these weren't particularly advanced magical texts, browsing them provided clear understanding of Asgardian magical principles.
After brief consideration, he stood and approached the blonde man at the library entrance workstation, saying slowly, "I've finished those books—you may return them to their shelves. Next, I'll find books myself, so I won't trouble you further."
"Certainly. If you need anything else, please inform us immediately," the blonde man replied.
Richard nodded and turned toward the magical text collection area.
Time flew by—night arrived before he realized it.
After spending most of the day in the royal library, Richard finally concluded his reading and returned to his room via teleportation.
Over the following days, he alternated between reading in the royal library and sparring with Thor and others.
Five days passed this way before Odin finally summoned him to the royal study again.
"I heard you've been frequenting the royal library, staying for hours at a time," Odin observed.
"I had nothing else to do, so I read books to pass time," Richard replied.
Hearing his response, Odin continued, "I've given serious thought to our discussion. I can give you the Reality Stone. However, I don't want your promises—I want you to perform a specific task."
"What task do you want me to perform?" Richard asked calmly.
"I want you to go to Hel," Odin stated directly.
Hel?
Richard immediately frowned, saying slowly, "You don't want me to go to Hel to kill Hela, do you?"
While the movies hadn't explained in detail what Hela's sealed prison was called, Richard knew Odin had most likely imprisoned her in Hel—the Asgardian realm of the dead.
As for why Hela appeared on Earth when she escaped, the explanation was simple: Odin had also died on Earth. After Odin's death, his seal immediately developed vulnerabilities, allowing Hela to follow those weaknesses to Odin's death location.
"No, I don't want you to go to Hel to kill Hela," Odin replied quickly, shaking his head. "Regardless of everything else, she remains my daughter."