Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 5976 - 4995: Forward Yueke Forward (13)

Later in the evening, the hotel sent up dinner. As usual, Natasha conducted her pre-bedtime safety check. Seeing her arrive, Peter called out to her, "Join us for a bite, won’t you, ma’am? I know you’ll say it’s unprofessional, but you know with us here, nothing will go wrong."

Natasha seemed like she was going to refuse at first, but then she remembered something, so she came over to take a look at the food. The hotel’s meal standards were high, the white sauce pasta and Argentine chimichurri grilled beef were still steaming hot, and the Maillard reaction was just right. The Italian grilled vegetables looked a bit dry, but topping them with olive oil made them perfect, filling the room with the aroma of food.

Natasha sat down but didn’t seem to have much of an appetite; she just picked a few pieces of vegetables and opened a can of cold beer. Peter was already accustomed to this kind of minimal diet, but Shiller frowned deeply. Health notwithstanding, even a cyborg would have trouble accepting that one can sustain themselves on a few pieces of vegetables after a high-intensity day.

Natasha wasn’t here to eat; after a few bites, she watched Peter tear into his steak and asked, "What do you think of the position as the head of the Strategic Security Department?"

Peter paused, his mouth still full of steak, thought for a moment, and said, "To be honest, I’m quite content with my current life, but if they really invite me, I’d go. We all have responsibilities to bear."

"They’re sure to invite you; Carter has probably already reported it up." Natasha sighed lightly, "The Strategic Security Department is the toughest department to manage. The duties are unclear, and it’s always at odds with the Logistics Department. It’s because Iron Man seems too suspicious that they let him lead this department."

"Was this department set up for him?" Peter touched on the key point.

"Not exactly," Natasha shook her head. "It definitely has its purpose, but I’m afraid what I say might be contentious; you can find out for yourself later."

"What’s your advice, ma’am? To advise against accepting this hot potato?"

"I’m just here to remind you that Iron Man won’t easily relinquish his power. It’s still directly under the Rebirth Alliance, and you had a decent relationship with him before."

"I got along with the old Iron Man," Peter lowered his head and said, "but he can’t easily sway me, especially not on this matter. Moreover, the current Iron Man is not the same as before, and I’m wary of him."

"He will definitely try to manipulate you," Natasha said. "Don’t believe all the stuff about paranoia or mental illness; it’s just a ploy to get your sympathy."

"I won’t be fooled," Peter stated.

"Not being fooled is not enough," Natasha skewered another piece of vegetable and continued, "The moment you take that position, you and Iron Man are adversaries, and you’ll get caught up in their affairs. Today, although you managed to control both of them, Tony clearly didn’t go full tilt, and you know he has lots of treacherous tricks."

"I’m not scared." Peter glanced at Shiller, appearing remarkably confident. Natasha obviously knew why but her expression was basically saying, "You’re choosing between a bear and an animal trap."

However, Peter was quite mature, so Natasha was only there to remind him, not to make decisions for him. With no appetite, she ate a few pieces of vegetables, drank some beer, and left. Langstone soon departed as well, and Shiller and Peter each went off to rest.

Early the next morning, Shiller got up and opened the curtains, squinting against the sunlight. Forward York City had New York’s sunlight, which was slightly different from Gotham’s.

Gotham’s early hours would have fog, the sunlight wouldn’t be particularly strong, the morning light would diffuse through the mist, making shadows of trees blurry, and mountain silhouettes hazy. Whereas New York was bathed in bright sunshine from morning, large clouds stacked on the horizon, and the sky was always awash with colors, from orange to red to purple, gradually seeping upward.

Yet Forward York City and New York City still had some differences. For instance, looking down from the hotel’s upper floors, the trees below were lush and verdant. The fusion city effectively improved the lackluster street greenery of both Gotham and New York. In the distance, one could still faintly see the outline of Central Park, a New York landmark that they retained, but besides that, the streetscape gained a lot more greenery.

It wasn’t long before Peter got up. He looked particularly disheveled in the morning, his hair a mess, stubble lining his chin. He tried to rub his face awake before going to the communal bathroom to wash up.

After washing up and changing, Shiller and similarly dressed Peter met in the living room, neither sure of what to say.

"Is that what you’re wearing?" Shiller asked.

Peter wore a cartoon T-shirt featuring a chibi Spider Man, had on black-rimmed glasses, and even wore crocs, while Shiller was still in his three-piece black suit.

"Come on," Peter sighed helplessly, "Professor, today’s tour will likely involve at least two hours of city walking and beach strolling. The outdoor temperature today probably doesn’t suit that attire."

"I thought today was a formal event, you know, everyone sitting in air-conditioned rooms discussing multiverse matters."

"That depends on who’s organizing. If it were Batman, it might be like that, but this time it’s probably the Foreign Affairs Department fray; they oppose dull, rigid diplomatic vibes, aiming to project a younger, more vibrant image."

"You can see it from their promotional videos," Shiller thought for a moment and said, "I’ll go change into something more casual then."

Shiller didn’t insist on wearing a suit, but his professional image demanded no bizarre attire, requiring a suit at work. Changing clothes at home before going out after work usually wasn’t feasible, resulting in him wearing suits for both on and off-duty hours.

However, on vacation, he’d change his clothes, especially going to the beach, where wearing a suit would be asking for trouble. He changed into casual wear similar to Peter’s, and when he came out, Peter approved with a nod and said, "Just missing sunglasses."

"I’m not used to those," Shiller shook his head. Peter didn’t say much more, he just put on his own sunglasses.

They both went downstairs for breakfast and found that most people were not in formal attire. Shiller seemed puzzled because the dress code style in New York and Gotham is similar, with formal attire practically welded onto their bodies. This relaxed style seemed more like the West Coast, where people everywhere in California were wearing shorts and flip-flops.

The difference in climate between the two places is not really a factor, because summers on the East Coast are also very hot. However, the elites in large cities on the East Coast would rather have their shirts soaked through than not wear a suit, maintaining the appearance of financial elites.

The hotel’s buffet breakfast was average in taste. Halfway through their meal, Carter rushed in and abruptly stopped in front of them. Shiller looked at him, dressed in a full suit, looking a bit hesitant, while Carter appeared somewhat surprised, sizing up Shiller.

"Oh, great, Professor, I wanted to come over early to remind you not to wear a suit. We have beach walks and sea fishing activities, which aren’t suitable for formal attire..."

"I already reminded him." Peter glanced at his watch and said, "There’s still an hour left until the set time. Would you like to eat something first?"

"No, I still need to go upstairs and inform the other guests." Carter hurried off again.

"Besides us, who else is there?" Shiller asked. He hadn’t encountered any other multiverse visitors, and since they came down quite early, there was no one else in the breakfast room.

"Earlier, when I was in the elevator, I ran into Thor. He seemed a bit serious, possibly from the Central Universe. I also saw Eddie in the downstairs parking lot, and he seemed to be wrestling with Venom again..."

Just as he finished speaking, a couple walked hand-in-hand into the breakfast room. Shiller observed them and determined that they were likely the Divine King and Queen of the Central Universe. Thor was smiling as he spoke with Sif.

When Thor saw people in the breakfast room, they both paused for a moment, then approached to greet them: "Good morning, I thought we were the earliest to arrive."

"We all got up early." Peter smiled and said, "Would you like to join us for some breakfast?"

Thor nodded and also nodded to Shiller in greeting. The couple went to choose their food, and soon returned. Thor helped Sif assemble a sandwich, whispering, "The chicken breast looks a bit dry, so I got you some duck breast. I was going to grab a piece of pizza, but it had oregano on it..."

"I really don’t like eating human chicken breast," Sif whispered, "If a piece of meat doesn’t even have the basic juices, what’s the point of eating it?"

"Just think of it as a human taste quirk," Thor looked around and said, "After all, their protein requirements are so high. If they don’t get enough protein, they have to take supplements..."

"Ahem," Peter coughed twice.

Sif chuckled and whispered something in Thor’s ear again, and Thor frowned repeatedly as he listened. Now, it was Peter’s turn to be curious, but after all, they were a couple sharing a private conversation, so it wasn’t really appropriate to ask outright, even if it seemed a bit like gossip.

"Oh, my God, I mean, Odin!" Carter’s exclamation came again from behind, "I saw you ticked off having a pregnant guest on the registration?"

She rushed in again, and the two looked up at her as Thor nodded and said, "Yes, Sif is pregnant."

Carter looked as if the sky had fallen: "Why didn’t you say so earlier?! The hotel hasn’t even prepared food for pregnant guests, and the activity itinerary didn’t even take this into account..."

Thor looked expressionless: "We are the Aesir, pregnancy doesn’t require dietary restrictions. And even if Sif were late-term, she wouldn’t have any trouble walking..."

"Uh, how many weeks along is she?" Carter asked.

"Weeks?" Thor seemed to be calculating, "It should be over 100 weeks?"

Carter replied with a perplexed expression. Thor shook his head and said, "You clearly don’t understand the Aesir; our pregnancy cycle is much longer than humans, and pregnant women are not that frail, they don’t lack various nutrients, and it doesn’t affect their mobility."

"Your constitution is your constitution, and our preparations are our preparations," Carter sighed heavily, then turned her head and said, "Thor, why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

"How would I know?" Thor appeared beside her, saying, "I’m not even married, let alone with children. How would I know the specifics?"

"Wasn’t your brother..." Carter stopped herself midway, recalling that Loki was not his biological brother, so Thor wouldn’t have seen his mother during pregnancy.

However, Thor curiously looked at the other Thor and said, "I heard you’ve taken over, and Asgard is having a new heir?"

"There’s already a Crown Princess," Thor seated at the table said, "Anyway, rest assured, if there were any danger, neither of us would come here."

"No need for special meal provisions," Sif also shook her head, "just hold the events as planned, nothing will go wrong."