Elio told the system to purchase a bottle of water that he handed to Mareen.
"Here! Drink this. It should quench your thirst."
She struggled to open it, and he laughed at himself at assuming she knew how to.
"Give it to me!"
He opened it and handed it back. "There you go!"
He then ordered the maids to bath him. He was surprised that they were yet to finish their ice-creams, and more surprised when, instead of finishing them so they could bathe him, they plucked leaves from a flower that was strange to Elio then laid the ice-creams on them as if saving them for later.
"They will melt!" he warned them.
The maids hesitated a little, then grabbed the ice-creams and ate them.
He was amused. "Who were you keeping them for, anyway?" he asked while they were bathing him.
"I have a little sister," said the maid with blue eyes.
"And I have a little brother," added the emerald-eyed one.
This reminded Elio of his childhood right after the civil started and forced them to flee the country, him and his big brother, who was also a little boy at the time.
During those days, his big brother would do anything for him. There were even days where he wouldn't eat just so Elio could eat.
But as they grew and Elio started earning more than his big brother who had now joined a gang, things changed.
He would ask him for money for his drugs and whores.
"Give me everything," he would say. "You wouldn't have it if I hadn't protected you when you were little."
Elio would agree, but he was soon tired of street life. He wanted to have a home. To settle. To build a family with Leila. To save for future.
And that's when he started fighting with his big brother. We all know how it ended.
"Don't worry!" he said, staring at the maids as they bathed him. "I'll give you some to take to your little siblings."
Their faces lit up with joy.
"Thank you, Your Grace!"
"Is this the language of the gods?" asked Mareen, who was now staring curiously at the placket on the bottle after draining it of water.
"Yeah! It's the language of the gods!" replied Elio, bemused.
Of course it wasn't. Just English. But this world had a unique language.
Elio had not paid attention to it because he was able to understand it, as he should have since he was in a body of a native, but now that Mareen had brought the matter to his attention, he found himself trying to analyze it.
'It sounds like Russian,' he concluded.
Mareen was investigating the bottle, her face leant so close to it as if getting her eyes so close to the letters would make her understand them.
"What does it say?" she asked.
"Give it to me!"
"The big letters mean, Spring. The smaller ones say who made the bottle, where, and more of that kind of info."
Mareen snatched it back.
"Spring as in Spring of Life?" she asked.
Spring was just a trademark, but Elio doubted Mareen would understand it so he just nodded his head.
"Really?"
"Of course!"
She was excited.
"Does it mean I will never die?" she asked.
Elio raised his eyebrows, then it dawned on him.
The scriptures in this world said gods drank the water from the Spring of Life, a well on Mouth Moth where the gods resided, and people who did good deeds would receive a droplet after their death before being transported into heaven.
'Oh shit! Now she things she is immortal.'
Elio stared at her, unable to find what to tell her.
She mistook his silence for a yes, then jumped at him, kissing him on the left cheek, the right one then the lips.
She then bombarded him with questions. "You're are also immortal, right? Will I be your queen forever? Are we..."
Elio cupped her cheeks and said while staring into her eyes. He had found a lie. "You're right. The water is from the Spring of Life. But remember the war between goddess Paliamoth and her Niemoth. No human can get the blessing of the Spring of Life unless dead. You're not immortal. I am not immortal. We justify have to be dead for it to work."
Despite this, the smile on her face didn't fade away. "Oh! How stupid of me to forget that! I'm still grateful that you made me taste it though."
Elio pinched her cheeks as he said, "I know!"
The gods in this world were complex, their deeds and legends rich and at some point convincing, and the people have genuine faith in them.
What if they were real? What would do to Elio if they found out he was lying to people in their name?
'I hope they're just myths!'
"Your Grace, we're done," said the maids. "Can you please get out of the pool so we can dry you?"
He obeyed them.
Mareen just sat in the pool as the maids dried Elio. She was staring at him with admiration, especially his lower part.
"You should be getting ready," Elio said to her, also staring at her lower body.
She smiled at him when she realized where he was staring, then spread her legs so he could get a better look.
"Ready for what?" Her voice was soft, alluring, sexy.
"To join in the City Center so I can announce you as my queen, remember? People need to know their queen."
She traced her body with her fingers from her chest, down between her tiny pale but pointy breasts, then onto her pussy.
"I am still a princess. Only a wedding can make me a queen. I would be no different from a whore if you just announce me."
"I shall announce a wedding then," he said, stepped toward her and kissed her on the lips, then walked toward the exit where he turned around and added, "Not before I get rid of those abominations though."
"Of course you will get rid of them, my love. And I'll be waiting your return."
She licked her fingers and added, "Can you give me one of those sweet sticky things from the gods? What are they called anyway?"
"It's called ice-cream!" replied Elio as he made a purchase.
She had asked for one, but when they emerged on Elio's hands, she grabbed them both and she seemed like she was waiting for the others to emerge.
'Damn! What should I do if she gets addicted?'