Loki froze at those words, then the corner of his mouth twitched violently.
Wait, was that what he had meant?
He had asked Odin to keep an eye on Thor and stop them from acting rashly!
Why did Odin now seem even more impulsive than Thor and the others?
Loki was speechless.
Yet the curve of his lips showed just how happy he was inside, even though he no longer had a heart.
Wasn't this deep fatherly love exactly what he had always longed for?
Seeing Loki smile, Odin smiled too.
At his age, he was hardly as impulsive as he had just appeared. He had only said that deliberately to bring a little sweetness into Loki's already bitter life...
A rare tenderness filled Odin's single eye as he spoke softly to Frigga beside him. "Frigga, stay here and keep Loki company. The children and I will bring his heart back, whole and intact."
"Then our whole family will go home together!"
"All right. I'll take good care of Loki." Frigga nodded slightly without objecting.
After all, she wasn't a combat deity, but a witch who specialized in support. She wouldn't be much help even if she went.
So she might as well do as Odin suggested and stay with Loki, who had been alone for who knew how long.
Just as she had stayed by his side when he was little, when his pranks had made the other people of Asgard shun him and only his mother remained with him, she would keep her lonely son company...
"Wait, Father. I've prepared gifts for you and Thor. I originally wanted to give them to you myself once everything was over, but you should be able to use them now. Please take them to Thor and the others for me..."
Odin