Letica POV:
The next day…
I was greeted with Aria's angelic sleeping face, while I was trying to wake her up. Who would have thought that such a cute little girl had me trembling from embarrassment, just a night ago?
Aria POV:
I heard a gentle voice trying to wake me up.
"Good Morning, Aria"
"Morning, Letty… hum. I like the name 'Letty'. From now onwards, how about I call you Letty? Do you like it?"
She took a moment and smiled widely,
"Yes! I like it a lot"
"fumu… I am glad"
"Aria, I got some new quests. Mind having a look?"
"Let's see"
I opened the system and clicked on Letty's quest page.
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Quests –
Take care of Mistress's morning routine
A slave should take care of her mistress's every need. From bathing to make-up.
Clear Criteria –
Help your mistress get prepared before breakfast.
Reward –
1 EXP
Failure penalty –
None
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Mistress can use a hug pillow
Your mistress would love her very own hug pillow.
Clear Criteria –
Exactly what it says.
Reward –
3 EXP
Failure penalty –
Your mistress would be lonely at night. uwu
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Hmm, her system seems to see through my desires. It's so weird, it feels like someone's invading my privacy.
'Moreover, what's with this 'uwu'. Nobody says such things in this world. Something's amiss in all of this'
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It's earlier than anticipated, but hello, mistress. I am Letica's system.
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'Okay… what the f*ck?'
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Easy there mistress. I just wanted to let you know, you don't need to think too much about me. And I am most definitely not reading your mind.
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'Then, what are you? Don't give me the bullsh*t about systems, because you are not. You are clearly someone from Earth. Tell me the truth, who the f*ck are you and what do you want from my Letty?'
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Hah… you are too stubborn for your own good, alright I'll tell you, so listen carefully.
When you accidentally crossed worlds after your death. Your soul, being from a different universe, failed to meet the criteria for talent allocation. And so, you were born talentless.
As a compensation for God's failure. He copied a fragment of your soul, which is me, by the way, and gave me the role of a system assistant.
As you can't receive it directly. He chose to do the next best thing, which was to give me Letica's system's authority.
Are you with me?
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'hmm, yeah carry on'
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So due to us sharing the same soul fragment. I can kind of understand what you feel or desire.
Thus, I personalize Letica's quest to facilitate both of you. I never made any attempt to make her choose you. She did so on her own accord.
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'Wow… I feel kinda relieved knowing that it's just a part of me in there'
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Yes, I knew you would understand. Moreover, I am just a fragment, so I don't really have feelings. And my firewall is top-notch, not even god can interfere. So just ignore me, and carry on with your life, okay?
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'hmm'
Well, that was a lot of information.
While I spent so long staring at my system, Letty got the wrong idea.
"Do you dislike the quests? I know you don't let any maids help you with such things. We don't have to do it if you don't like it"
"No, I wasn't staring at the quests. I don't have any problems with them. If anything, those are my inner desires. Fumumu…"
"If you say so. So can I help you take a bath as well? You've never allowed anyone else before"
"Oh Letty, my sweet little maid. I didn't let anyone close because I felt uncomfortable around them. Whereas in your case, I don't mind at all."
"You are my slave, after all"
Her face brightened up,
"I've already prepared the water. Let's head in"
Letica's POV:
I followed Aria to the bath. It is a huge bath, by the way, you could literally swim inside the bath. I helped her out of her clothes and started washing her hair.
"Aria, your hair is stunning, I love it"
"fumu… I'm glad you like it. I take quite good care of my hair, after all. Your hair looks good as well. You should use this shampoo too, it will do wonders for your hair"
"I don't think it's a good idea, the maids warned me to never use any of your accessories or beauty products. The head maid will scold me if someone complains"
"I am your mistress, you don't need to fear anyone. Use whatever you want. I will handle the rest"
I reluctantly gave in. At this point, I know that arguing is not gonna work. She has her way with words. It's better to just agree with her.
So I used the shampoo, and she sat me down beside her, enjoying the warmth of being submerged in the lukewarm bath.
"So, Aria, did you have such baths in your previous life?"
Oh no, I realized my mistake just as the words slipped by. Aah… I am such an idiot. I know how much she missed her old family. And I went ahead and reminded her of the past.
This was the reason I never pried about her past life, even though curiosity was killing me. Whaaaa… how could I let that slip?
I totally expected her expression to turn grim, but that didn't happen.
"Yes, we had baths, though not quite as grand as this one"
She seemed to have read my mind as I stared at her with a dumbfounded look in my eyes.
"I know what you are thinking. Did you forget I am not an 8-year-old on the inside? I won't break down just from being reminded of my late family. hahah"
"I miss them a lot. But I've grown to love this new family equally as well. You are now a part of my family too, so don't be so reserved and speak your mind"
I felt warmth inside my chest after hearing her say that. Ever since I remember, nobody has ever seen me as anything but a pitiful orphan. And now Aria just said that she considered me her family. I can't describe my emotions anymore, my chest is in a frenzy, with my heartbeats increasing by the second.
"I feel the same way as Aria does. You are my family"
Before I knew it, my eyes started leaking, and Aria pulled me into her embrace.
After settling my thoughts, I realized something… we were both naked. My face reddened as I said,
"Aria…uhm… can you let go? It's embarrassing"
She chuckled while letting go of her arms.
+ 200 SP
I helped her with the rest of the routine. Thankfully, she made it in time for breakfast.