Chapter 171: Chapter 171: A New Path! The Man Behind the Goddess Alliance
Wanda wanted to make their relationship public, and Lorien had no objections. In fact, he secretly enjoyed the thought of everyone finding out about the man behind the two women.
"Your goddess... my wife. Yeah, that works. I’m good with that."
Lorien nodded, glancing around at the crowd before waving his hand. In an instant, they vanished from sight.
"Huh? Where did Scarlet Witch and Spider-Woman go?"
"Gone? They’ve already left!"
"What a shame, I wanted to ask who that man was!"
"My Goddess Alliance, nooo!"
While the crowd wailed, Lorien and the others were actually still nearby, hearing everything crystal clear. Gwen, having released her Symbiote suit, laughed.
"Wanda, after what you just said, who knows how many people will cry themselves to sleep tonight."
Wanda just shrugged. It wasn’t her problem anyway.
"I only wanted everyone to know that the Scarlet Witch already belongs to someone."
As she said this, her eyes stayed locked on Lorien’s. He reached out and brushed her cheek, and the two leaned closer together.
"Stop~! Stop! Stop!"
Gwen immediately jumped between them, blocking the moment.
"No kissing in front of me unless you bring me in too!"
Lorien couldn’t help but laugh.
"Alright, Gwen. That’s fair. Tonight, I’ll bring you all along."
"!!!"
"???"
Gwen froze, then collapsed weakly to the ground.
Beep beep beep~~~!
Just then, the police who’d been called by the shop owner’s 911 report finally arrived. Uniformed and armed, they pushed through the crowd.
"Back up! Hands where I can see them! Who made the call? What happened here?"
The crowd immediately scattered, falling silent. No one dared to make a scene—because what if someone went crazy? And what if those officers decided to empty their magazines?
Meanwhile, the shop owner came forward, pointing at the old woman on the ground as he explained the situation.
As for Lorien, he was already leading the four women away, heading home.
...
On the way back, Gwen skipped ahead, humming as she led the way. Watching her lively figure, Wanda suddenly spoke up.
"Wait, Lorien. After we’re exposed... what if Gwen’s parents see it?"
Oh, right. Earlier they’d said she was just his sister. If that changed, wouldn’t it be a disaster?
But Lorien just waved it off.
"It’s fine. Don’t forget your psychic effect is still active. Unless something major triggers them, they’ll keep believing you’re my sister.
And with our presence modification, even if they see it online, they’ll still interpret it as that."
In simple terms—it was hypnosis.
Not that it caused much trouble. If Spider-Man had hypnosis, he’d definitely use it on Aunt May.
Ahem—Lorien meant, to ease her worries about him. Not what you’re thinking.
"That’s a relief." Wanda let out a long breath.
It was basically the same, but if things slipped, she could end up being called a mistress. That would be a real loss.
Lorien squeezed her hand.
"Those photos are going to blow up tonight. By morning, the whole world will know. How do you plan to go public?"
Good question. Hold a press conference? Broadcast on TV? Have the Avengers announce it?
All of that was troublesome—and it would drag her back into the spotlight again.
Wanda frowned in thought. Lorien tried too, but came up empty.
Just then—
"Come on, baby! Let’s go!"
Lorien and Wanda: ???
They turned to see little Hela, scrolling on her phone. A video was playing—on TikTok.
TikTok? A short-video app.
In his past life, it had already overtaken Facebook and Twitter in market share. And right now, it was at the height of its explosive growth.
Seeing this, Lorien’s eyes lit up. He turned his head—and met Wanda’s gaze, which was just as sharp.
No need to say it aloud. They both had the same idea.
"Make a personal account?" Wanda suggested.
Lorien nodded. "Sounds good to me."
She could just record vlogs—no need to step into the public eye, but still able to share her story. Perfect.
When Hela noticed them both staring at her, she suddenly looked guilty.
"W-what? What’s wrong?"
"Nothing, keep scrolling." they both said.
They turned back and continued walking. The five of them strolled down the road toward home.
Wanda pulled out her phone, switched on the camera, and lifted her hand—the one interlocked with Lorien’s. She started recording.
The video showed only the street ahead, and two hands—Lorien’s above, hers below, their fingers tightly intertwined as they walked together down the cheerful road home.
Up ahead, Gwen was still humming a tune. That too was caught on video.
After filming a bit, Wanda stopped, satisfied. No one knew what she was thinking, but suddenly, her smile bloomed—radiant and dazzling.
"Hm?" Lorien glanced at her curiously.
Wanda smiled and explained.
"It’s just a short clip, but somehow, the thought of our love vlog being posted online for everyone to see...
The idea that people might envy, feel jealous, praise, or send their blessings—it makes me so happy and excited."
Oh~~~
Hearing Wanda’s words, Lorien nodded in understanding.
"That feeling you have is called showing off your love."
"Showing off my love?"
"It’s when you want to share your happy life with others and watch their reactions. That’s what showing off love is—a twisted urge to share."
"Huh? You’re the twisted one!"
Gwen turned her head and cut in.
"Exactly. Lorien’s the perv. He just likes watching you roll your eyes."
"Gwen!" Wanda flushed in embarrassment and anger.
"Mm-hmm, got it." Lorien laughed. "There’s even more perverted stuff tonight. Be ready."
"Ah?!" (x2)
...
Not long after, the five of them returned home. Devourer Girl said goodbye to Hela at the entrance of the building.
As soon as Hela got home, she immediately jumped onto her games. If she waited any longer, she’d probably start showing withdrawal symptoms.
After Gwen and Wanda changed their shoes, the three of them—as usual—headed into the Little Universe.
Compared to the floor-to-ceiling windows and night views of the other apartment, everyone clearly preferred the Little Universe’s vast natural scenery and glittering starry sky.
Once Lorien lay down, Wanda and Gwen naturally nestled into his arms. Gwen softly hummed a song she had been practicing with her band, while Wanda followed along with a gentle accompaniment.
Lorien closed his eyes, leaning back in the recliner, listening to the beautiful voices harmonizing around him...
Two words: pure bliss.
Meanwhile, Wanda pulled out her phone, recording short clips of them holding hands and cuddling. She also captured the starry sky, the grass, the garden, and other scenery.
Of course, Wanda knew exactly what could and couldn’t be filmed. She only recorded Lorien’s hands, feet, or back. Gwen never appeared in the footage at all.
Even when Wanda filmed herself, it was only a shot of her leaning against Lorien’s shoulder—nothing else.
The sense of mystery was perfectly kept.
While doing this, Lorien could clearly see that Wanda was genuinely happy. She had a real knack for showing off affection, and she absolutely loved doing it.
But then—
"Beep~~"
Gwen’s phone vibrated. She raised an eyebrow, took it out, and glanced at the screen.
"Mom?"
Yes, it was Gwen’s mother calling.
Gwen hesitated a moment before answering.
"Hello, Mom."
"Gwen, do you remember that school starts this week?"
"Huh!? School already?"
"Gwen, college has three semesters. You don’t get that much time off."
"Alright, I got it. Anything else, Mom?"
"Nothing else. But are you at Lorien’s place? Is his sister Wanda home? Are you two getting along well?"
Soon, beyond reminding her about the new semester, Gwen’s mother began asking about her well-being.
How was it, staying at Lorien’s home?
As Gwen stayed on the call, Wanda glanced at Lorien and smirked. Then she grabbed his hand and pressed it against Gwen’s chest.
"!..."
Gwen’s body trembled. She turned her head, only to see it was Wanda holding Lorien’s hand.
Gwen glared at her, but Wanda just smiled mischievously and doubled down, even mimicking a twisting trick from before.
Lorien, being dragged along, happily went with it—assisting even.
"..."
Gwen had no choice but to push away their hands with one hand each, cheeks burning as she continued talking to her mother on the phone.
Fortunately, her willpower was strong. Otherwise, she would have had to hang up right then.
Not long after, when Gwen finally finished her call, she pocketed her phone. Then, spinning around, she pounced at Wanda.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed, Wanda?!"
Poor Wanda was powerless. Her wrists were quickly seized, and she was pinned so tightly beneath Gwen that she couldn’t move an inch.
Then Gwen turned to Lorien.
"Lorien, what was that technique you mentioned? Use it on her now."
"!?"
Lorien raised an eyebrow.
"This one of mine... you’ll need oil to help with the first try."
"???"
Wanda froze. Gwen froze too.
They looked at each other, and at once, both recalled scenes they’d read in certain comics.
Wanda immediately shook her head in panic.
"Gwen, let me go! If I’m the first to try it, you’ll be next!"
Gwen had been hesitating, but after hearing that, she thought it over.
Fine. As long as you embarrass yourself first, I can take my turn later.
Gritting her teeth, she stomped down, flipped Wanda over, and sat firmly on her back, pinning her wrists.
"Lorien, we’re on the same team. I’ll help you. But you better be gentle with me later—and rough with Wanda!"
Lorien felt quite pleased at that. He conjured oil on the spot and dripped it onto Wanda.
"No, no, Lorien—you’re too big, this will really kill me!"
But her protests didn’t matter.
As Wanda babbled on, Gwen grabbed both her hands with one grip, then clamped her other hand over Wanda’s mouth.
That left Wanda nothing more than a lamb waiting for slaughter.
Lorien and Gwen worked in perfect sync.
He rode his white dragon steed, spear in hand, finding a winding path before lowering his waist, reining in his horse, and breaking through by another route!
And under Gwen’s stunned gaze as she looked back—
Wanda’s eyes rolled white.
...
The next day, Lorien woke up, washed up, ordered breakfast, and went to work as usual.
Only this time, Gwen and Wanda were still sound asleep.
After all, last night’s little "backyard fire" was another matter entirely.
When Lorien arrived at the office, he slumped back in his chair and let out a long sigh.
"Whew~~~~~ what a joy!"
Bella handed him a milk tea. Lorien took it and drank a few sips.
See, if those moves and techniques could be turned into a card-collecting game, he would’ve racked up quite a few cards last night.
Who would’ve thought? Turns out even textbooks get things wrong sometimes. That bit about only men being capable, and women not feeling anything—wrong!
Some things, Lorien had fully tested out himself. They worked. But they were difficult, and they came with a completely different kind of sensation.
After trying out that particular technique, Lorien could only conclude—it’s extremely hard to master. The only reason he could pull it off was because he learned fast.
That’s why, last night, he left the two of them utterly defeated. Literally.
Proof? They both slept on their stomachs the whole night. Not once on their backs.
That was the "battle record."
Next, Aria brought over his breakfast. Lorien ate as he checked the morning news.
The moment he opened the feed, he scanned the headlines and couldn’t help but grin.
Just look at what filled the page:
"The Man Behind the Goddess Alliance? Counting His Appearances and Motives!"
"Shocking Paparazzi Shot! Scarlet Witch and Spider-Woman Both in Love with the Same Man?"
"Who Is He? What’s His Connection to Them? What on Earth Is Happening—Superheroes Go Public with Romance?!"
"In Just One Night, Hundreds of Thousands of Men Across America Wept. The Rest Wept After Waking Up!"
...
No doubt about it—if there were ten news stories, at least six or seven were about last night.
That man. Scarlet Witch. Spider-Woman.
These three names had been searched an uncountable number of times overnight!
Google’s backend servers almost thought someone was flooding them with fake traffic, until they realized—no, this was real. Something huge had happened.
They quickly compiled information, even creating a special results page for the searches.
They built a timeline, charting every time "that man" had appeared.
They even set up an online chatroom so everyone could discuss it.
Lorien found it and clicked in.
Good lord. Early in the morning, and there were already over a hundred thousand people online? That was more than most Twitch streamers pulled in!
He scrolled through the comments, chuckling as he ate. Breakfast had never tasted better.
[(knife knife knife knife·emoji) Where is that man? I’m gonna kill him!!!]
[One-on-one! Who is that guy? If you’re a real man, come fight us!]
[Oh my god, this is a chatroom, not a place for tantrums. Scarlet Witch found true love—we should be celebrating.]
[Yeah, that guy’s hot. He totally deserves Scarlet Witch. If I were her, I’d like him too.]
[What? Is being a man just about looks? It’s about strength! Who is he? Does he even measure up to a superhero?]
[Yes! Exactly! Sure, he’s handsome and fit, but a real strong man should be judged by ability, not just his face or body!]
Lorien nearly burst out laughing at the arguments flying back and forth.
He lurked silently, eating breakfast as he scrolled.
Mmm. Today’s breakfast tasted especially good.
By noon, if Wanda uploaded that edited video online...
What would happen then?
Lorien was the type who lived for the chaos.
So his thought was simple: The sooner, the better. Post it quick.
He wanted to watch people break down.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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