Why had things turned out like this...?
When had it all begun...?
The first time he had gone to Asgard, he had clearly been cautious, currying favor with all three sides and skillfully navigating between them. This could have been three times the happiness, so why had it become like this?
Cough! Evenson shook his head, barely suppressing that thought that could so easily get him beaten to death. But his mind was still a complete mess. What he feared most had come to pass. There was nowhere to hide!
Of course, he knew that trying to please all three sides usually meant pleasing none of them and offending everyone instead. But who could have predicted this beforehand? Back then, the blade had already been at his throat. Could he really have gone against what his heart told him?
When he met Odin, wasn't it perfectly normal to flatter someone of that status? And when he later ran into Hela, there was even less reason to stand firm! So what if you were a traitorous rebel of Asgard? What did that have to do with me? I'm not even Asgardian! Why should I pretend to be some loyal subject here? Forget not having that kind of resolve—I could have the resolve to sacrifice myself for my country, and it still wouldn't mean I had any reason to sacrifice myself for you or die for your national calamity! So, it was better to soften up and get through it.
Then Hela and Frigga had another conflict of interests, one where they were gazing at each other with affection and unwilling to tear things apart completely. Evenson had even less reason to wedge himself between them. Better fewer troubles than more—sweet-talk both sides, smooth things over, and call it done!
But according