"What is it now, big brother?"
Having just rested for less than two days, Artoria was making full preparations to 'leave the planet.' After all, a powerful cosmic storm was coming—this was an opportunity, and she needed to go try her luck. But her older brother clearly had no intention of letting Artoria live in peace, as he had come directly to the small castle where she lived.
"Sister, if you run into that guy who says he's from S.H.I.E.L.D. and invites you to join some crappy alliance, you tell me. See if I don't beat him to death."
The still-exhausted Artoria immediately perked up upon hearing Tony's words. She looked at Tony strangely. What was going on? Did he have a falling out with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or had the 'Civil War' broken out early? Why was he so angry?
"While I'm not really considering joining the organization you mentioned, you still have to give me a reason! Brother."
Artoria looked at Tony curiously. She was very curious about what exactly had made Tony fly into such a rage.
"That bastard actually asked me to convince you to join that Avengers. How could I possibly agree to such a thing?"
Mentioning this made Tony very angry, especially that 'Old Timer' Captain America. He actually helped Nick to convince him, and Tony had flipped out on the spot. He hadn't expected the Captain to be that kind of person. It was one thing for a spy chief to have professional habits, but for a hero praised for over half a century to actually let someone drag their family into danger—the old man must have been blind to admire you so much.
"I understand. I don't plan on joining this alliance for the time being."
Seeing Tony like this, Artoria rolled her eyes. She pouted at Pepper, hoping this caring sister-in-law could properly comfort the angry Tony. In the end, Pepper spread her hands, indicating she was powerless and he should handle it himself! Sighing and feeling like she had met the wrong people, Artoria could only offer comfort by stating her own plans.
"Don't comfort me, Artoria."
"If you could just stop getting involved in dangerous things, I'd thank God."
Knowing what his sister was like, Tony helplessly rolled his eyes at Artoria. Did you really think your big brother didn't know anything? You girl, you're bolder than anyone.
"I heard your suit has been upgraded again? But it seems like its capabilities are still not that great."
Recalling the Mark series suit that had been smashed in the New York battle, Artoria spoke to change the subject. Speaking of which, what number was the Mark series at now? Had the Mark'Stray' appeared yet? If the Mark'Stray' appeared, then the time for the Ten Rings Gang to show up shouldn't be far off.
"..."
How does this kid talk? What do you mean 'not that great' again? Do you look down on my comrade-in-arms that much? Sister! You're really stabbing your brother in the heart, aren't you! That's too much. At this moment, Tony's heart was full of bitterness. The baby feels bitter, but the baby doesn't dare to speak, fearing he'll be provoked by his sister again. What to do? Waiting online, urgent.
"You, do you like roasting your brother that much?"
Looking at Tony's aggrieved expression of being unable to speak after being stabbed in the heart, Pepper said to Artoria with a mix of anger and amusement. She also didn't agree with the siblings doing such dangerous things. Last time, Tony actually flew into space and almost didn't make it back; luckily, Artoria pulled him back. This showed that her sister-in-law was actually quite reliable. Pepper could only helplessly complain to Artoria.
"You two, still showing off your love here. Ptooey!"
Utterly disdainful of the two showing off their affection, Artoria rolled her eyes at them and quickly ran out of the living room. She didn't want to eat any more cold dog food. she still had to eat a proper meal and didn't like eating dog food.
"Hello! Susan, is something the matter?"
"Tonight? I'm free, don't worry! Have a drink together? No problem."
Just as she walked out of the living room and up to her room on the second floor, Artoria received a call from Susan, inviting her for a drink. After thinking about it, Artoria accepted Susan's invitation, but this time seemed a bit different.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Susan, who was originally very happy, had a very joyful smile on her face, but if one could ignore the veins about to pop on her forehead, she was still a perfect goddess. However, facing the three sitting here, her original good mood was completely ruined. Did you three plan this? To actually come and disturb my date with Artoria at such an important time—don't you guys feel any guilt? Thinking of this, Susan glared at the three oblivious people. Even her own internal traitor (younger brother) had his ulterior motives discouraged by her; who knew she had so many rivals?
"To attend someone's 'wine banquet,' of course."
Hope shot back at Susan without hesitation. This little girl who hadn't been around long actually dared to be so presumptuous as to ask her Artoria out. You're going a bit too far. Seeing the big sister Hope take the lead, Maya also glared at Susan together. Only Helen Cho sat quietly to the side, indicating she was just dragged along and please don't look at her, she knew nothing.
"Come on everyone, you've all worked hard lately. Let's have a drink!"
Seeing the situation, Artoria, who had originally wanted to order a few hundred steaks to line her stomach, felt that today's meal and drinks might not be very pleasant. The atmosphere between them was like ignited gunpowder. The gaze between Susan and Hope seemed to spark with lightning. Feeling the atmosphere was a bit off, Artoria quickly raised her glass to ease the mood.
The four of them gave Artoria some face and picked up their wine glasses to take a sip, but Hope and Susan's eyes were still fixed on each other. The atmosphere was still not very harmonious, though it had relaxed slightly.
"Honey, when I invited you, did you tell anyone else?"
"No."
Artoria, who was taking the menu and preparing to order, instinctively answered Susan's question upon hearing it.
"Then Miss Hope, surely you... sorry, perhaps I'm overthinking. How could Miss Hope be that kind of person?"
Although she said that, Susan's gaze toward Hope looked entirely like she was calling her a'stalker.' As for the weaker Maya, she was directly ignored, as was Helen Cho, who was pretending to be invisible. Hearing Susan call Artoria so affectionately, Hope's expression turned a bit dark, and the wine glass in her hand made a 'crack' sound, appearing to have been crushed.
The waiter nearby was very observant and replaced Hope's glass with a new one. This table was a big spender; they had booked the whole place, so the service had to be perfect, otherwise the boss would definitely skin him.
"It's just a coincidence that we came here to eat. Miss Susan is being a bit over-dramatic. But our Artoria is too nice; she receives everyone with a kind face regardless of who they are, including some questionable women. This makes me a bit worried."
Compared to Susan's veiled insults, Hope was more direct, calling Susan a questionable woman. Now it was Susan's turn to look displeased. The struggle between the two women made Artoria very troubled. She looked at Hope and then at Susan, and could only remain silent. This dinner was really not very easy to eat!
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.