"I believe Asgard's artistic achievements today owed most to your system. Your astonishing spirit of exploration brought you enough experience and material to support your national culture..."
Loki thought about it and felt that he was not entirely wrong. Odin's conquests had indeed completed Asgard's primitive accumulation. The All-Father's immense strength was what ensured Asgard could live in peace.
So he nodded and said, "Every Asgardian worships the All-Father. He is both our ruler and our father. Under his protection, Asgard has progressed in every respect..."
"No, no, no. I'm not talking about Odin... not the All-Father. I mean your system is excellent."
"The system? You mean monarchy?" Loki was a little confused, unable to understand what Dario meant.
"No. I mean this system of yours—constantly exploring outward, plundering resources, and enriching yourselves."
Loki looked a little embarrassed, because although Asgard no longer discussed this issue, most people knew it had been unavoidable.
On one hand, the prophecy of Ragnarok hung over their heads. If they did not grow stronger, they would die. On the other hand, Odin had a terrible temper. His style of fighting year after year and sustaining war through war was also Odin's personal hobby—or rather, the personal hobby of that bunch of brutes in Asgard.
They were born warlike and loved fighting, so naturally, once they started, there was no end to it. But now that they had calmed down and thought about it, continuing like that truly was not a solution.
Therefore, after they stopped their foreign conquests, although quite a few people had complaints, most accepted reality after some time. Thor's rule also became increasingly stable.
Now that Dario had brought this up, if not for his excessively sincere tone, Loki would have thought he was mocking him.
After all, there were always