Chapter 908: A Not-So-Subtle Proposal

The two left Piazza San Marco without any particular destination, walking slowly through the quieter streets as the night went on.

Hela remained clinging to Vergil’s arm, clearly more relaxed than when she had left Helheim. The small Venetian mask was now held between her fingers, turning occasionally as they passed closed storefronts, restaurants finishing service, and smaller groups of tourists returning to their hotels.

Vergil also seemed to be enjoying that rare period of peace. After so many problems one after another, simply walking beside someone without needing to think about war, politics, or some primordial entity felt almost strange.

Hela was the one who broke the silence.

"Let’s go to a hotel."

Vergil kept walking for another two steps before looking at her.

"Why?"

Hela stopped.

Vergil did too.

She watched his face for several seconds, apparently trying to figure out whether the question had been serious.

"You’re asking why I want to go to a hotel with you?"

"Yes."

Hela slowly tilted her head.

"After dinner."

"Yes."

"After the gondola ride."

"Yes."

"After the ice cream."

"You stole half of mine."

"Details."

"And after you practically forced me to dance in the middle of the square."

"You liked it."

"I didn’t deny it."

Hela put both hands on her hips and stared at him as if she were standing in front of the smartest and simultaneously slowest man she had ever met.

"Vergil."

"Hmm?"

"I want to have sex."

He went silent.

Hela opened her arms, as though she had finally been forced to explain something she considered completely obvious.

"I’m on fire."

Vergil blinked once.

Then he briefly looked around, making sure no one nearby understood Portuguese well enough to follow that perfectly casual declaration.

"You really don’t know subtlety."

"I warned you I don’t have time to pretend to be modest."

"That doesn’t mean you need to announce it in the middle of Venice."

"I didn’t announce it. I told you."

"At a very democratic volume."

Hela smiled and moved closer again, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You asked."

"I was expecting an answer like ’I’m tired.’"

"I’m not tired."

"I noticed."

"Or maybe ’I want to take a shower.’"

"I want that too."

"That isn’t helping your defense."

Vergil laughed and placed his hands on her waist, keeping her close without necessarily accepting the proposal immediately.

Hela noticed.

The playful expression remained, but her eyes became slightly more attentive.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Are you going to keep pretending you didn’t understand?"

"I understood perfectly."

"Good."

Hela brought her face closer.

"Hotel."

Vergil leaned his head back just enough to stop her from completely closing the distance.

"Wait."

Hela narrowed her eyes.

"Are you rejecting me?"

"No."

The answer came quickly.

She relaxed immediately.

"Then what’s the problem?"

"None."

Vergil ran one hand through her hair, brushing aside a strand that had fallen across her face.

"I just want to make sure of one thing."

Hela became serious, though she kept her arms around him.

"What?"

Vergil held her gaze.

"When I arrived in Helheim, you were interested because I had just humiliated Odin. You practically kissed me before we had a normal conversation."

"That was an excellent reason."

"For you."

"Especially for me."

He ignored the interruption.

"Now we’ve spent a few hours together. You’ve gotten to know a little more about me, and I’ve gotten to know a little more about you. So I’m asking whether this is still just the excitement of seeing someone you hate being humiliated, or whether you actually want to be with me."

Hela went quiet.

The question had clearly caught her off guard.

Vergil did not look like he was judging her. There was no moralism in his expression either.

He simply wanted a clear answer.

Hela released her arms from around his neck and took half a step back, looking toward the dark water of a nearby canal while she thought.

"When you first appeared in Helheim..." she began, "yes. It was almost entirely because of Odin."

Vergil nodded.

"I spent ages watching that old man control everything around him. Asgard, my brothers, Valkyries, other gods... and then some demon appears out of nowhere, steals half of what supported his power, takes Mjölnir from Thor, faces Odin, and leaves while insulting him."

Vergil smiled faintly.

"It was a good day."

"For me too."

She looked at him again.

"But now it’s different."

Vergil waited.

Hela took his arm again, this time without the exaggerated teasing from before.

"You brought me to Venice without turning it into a political negotiation. You didn’t treat me like the Queen of Helheim, didn’t try to impress me by talking about power, and didn’t keep asking me about the dead. You made me walk, eat, argue over ice cream, get into a ridiculous gondola, and dance in the middle of people who didn’t even know who I was."

"You’re still offended by the gondola?"

"Deeply."

"You liked it."

"That doesn’t erase the offense."

Vergil laughed.

Hela continued:

"So yes. I want you. Not because you humiliated Odin."

A small pause.

"Though that continues to be extremely attractive."

"I figured."

"And now I want to have sex with you because I spent the whole night close to you, you kept flirting with me, and you had your hand on my waist through half the city."

Vergil raised an eyebrow.

"You put my hand there during the dance."

"Don’t try to avoid responsibility."

"Naturally."

Hela finally smiled.

"Answer good enough?"

Vergil nodded.

"Good enough."

She immediately pointed toward a street farther ahead.

"Great. Hotel."

Vergil started laughing.

"You were just waiting for me to finish?"

"I’m patient when necessary."

"You’re literally dragging me."

Hela had already grabbed his hand and started pulling him down the street.

"You talk too much."

"Coming from you, that’s impressive."

"I’ve been waiting since Helheim."

"It’s been a few hours."

"An eternity."

Vergil let her pull him for several meters before finally stopping.

Hela was nearly yanked backward by the arm.

"What now?"

Vergil pulled his phone from his pocket.

"If we’re doing this, we might as well choose somewhere decent."

Hela’s eyes lit up.

"Do you have somewhere in mind?"

"No."

"So once again we’re using Google?"

"It worked for the restaurant."

She took the phone from his hand before he could unlock it.

"Give me that."

Vergil let her have it.

Hela opened the browser and began searching for nearby hotels.

He looked over her shoulder.

"You’re checking reviews again?"

"Of course."

"For a hotel."

"I’m not sleeping somewhere rated three stars."

"You’re not planning to sleep."

Hela stopped.

Slowly turned her face.

Vergil was smiling.

She remained silent for several seconds before starting to laugh.

"Finally."

"What?"

"You’re getting into the spirit."

"I never left it."

"Were you just pretending to be a gentleman?"

"No. I can be both."

"Arrogant."

"That too."

Hela returned to the screen, quickly dismissing several options.

"This one is ugly. This one looks too old. This room has terrible decor... why is there so much gold?"

"You live in a kingdom of corpses."

"Exactly. I have standards."

Vergil put one arm around her shoulders as they continued walking slowly.

"Pick any good one."

"You’re paying?"

"That was the idea."

She gave him a provocative look.

"Then I want the most expensive one."

Vergil shrugged.

"Pick it."

Hela stopped again.

"You need to react more when I try to exploit your wealth."

"It would be exploitation if the money made any difference."

"I hate when you answer like that."

"Doesn’t seem like it."

"Because I like it too."

She finally found a hotel she considered acceptable and showed the screen to Vergil.

"This one."

He looked quickly.

"Works."

"You didn’t even read it."

"You searched through twenty."

"Seventeen."

"I trust your selection."

Hela looked strangely pleased by the answer.

Purely to provoke him, she slipped his phone into her cleavage and started walking.

Vergil looked at where the device had disappeared.

Then at her.

"My phone."

"It’s safe."

"Hela."

"You can get it later."

"I can buy another one."

She immediately pulled the phone back out and returned it.

"Don’t ruin the joke."

Vergil started laughing as he put the phone back into his pocket.

"You’re very easy to provoke."

"I’m Loki’s daughter."

"That explains a lot."

"You still haven’t met my father."

"I already have enough problems."

"He’ll probably like you."

"That worries me even more."

Hela stopped in front of him and grabbed the collar of his clothes, bringing their faces closer.

"Vergil."

"Hmm?"

"Hotel."

He finally gave in, wrapping one arm around her waist.

"Fine."

Her smile immediately became victorious.

"Finally."

"But we’re walking."

Hela went completely still.

"You’re joking."

"It’s close."

"You own a sword that cuts dimensions."

"I promised to use it less."

"Vergil."

"Ten minutes."

She looked at the map.

Then at him.

"Seven."

"Even better."

Hela let out a deeply frustrated groan and started pulling him down the street again.

"I’m going to make you regret those seven minutes."

Vergil followed without any resistance.

"Now that sounds like a threat."

"Consider it a promise."

This time, Vergil could not hide his smile.

The night in Venice, apparently, was still far from over.