Of all the things in the world, Elio had never imagined he would ever miss chicken wings from McLonald's.
But here he was, craving them.
It was kinda understandable though.
Being a teen and a writer at that, without a mom or a girlfriend who could cook for him, fast food has always been his go to for lunch, dinner and even breakfast sometimes when he was too lazy to cook an omelet.
There were days when he would wake up feeling energetic and he would cook a feast for himself, but fast food was a huge part of his life from when the civil war started and forced him and his big brother to flee their city.
That's why now he was sitting in his chamber, a McLonald's bucket on the table in front of him and a bottle of the legendary blood-colored soda.
His maids, the 4 favorite ones, were sitting across the table, McLonald's buckets in front of them, eating the wings like they were about to die.
"It's so delicious, My King! Thank you so much for letting us taste the food of the gods," said the thin one.
They had thanked him almost a hundred times since they started eating, the very reason Elio just ignored them. He didn't have breath to keep wasting on, "You're welcome!"
Besides, what kind of King acknowledges his subordinates' praises? Isn't that what subordinates are supposed to do? To praise their masters?
He instead turned his attention to what the knights beside him were saying. "Niemoth strikes the chickens with his thunder baton," whispered the one on the right.
"Oh, now I get it, mate! That's why they're so crispy and... Gosh! Why didn't Elio be our king years ago? I could be a giant by now if I have feasted on these delicacies for even a month."
Like the maids, they also held McLonald's buckets in their hands, along with the bloody bottles.
"Don't say Elio!" warned the one on the right. They were both tall, black haired and Elio was surprised since most of the other knights had fair hair.
"I know it's punishable by death. But he did not hear me saying…"
The man froze in fear when he noticed that Elio had been watching him all this while.
"Don't worry!" said Elio, reassuring him. "I'm King Elio Stardret. There's nothing wrong in calling me just Elio so long as there's no bad intent."
"I would never dream of it, Your Grace!"
Elio let out a chuckle, then turned back to the maids.
"Ask him," the thin one was saying to the golden eyed one.
He had forgotten their names. No. Not forgotten. One was Melania and the other Maliza. But who was who?
Better leave it than mix it.
They straightened up when they saw him turning.
He laughed. "Go on! Ask! Jeez! Why do you have to treat me like a monster? Do I terrify you?"
"In a way, Your Grace!" said the golden-eyed one. The one with enormous mounds and a large ass.
Elio was intrigued.
"Which way?"
"A good one, Your Grace. The one that sends shivers down our spine in a sweet way."
"Oh! Is that so?"
They nodded. "Uh-huh!"
"Then if it's that, you should ask me whatever you want. Go on!"
"We saw Lalyta giving her little sister a strange cream. It was sweet. She told us it's called ice-cream. That it's you who..."
The maid trailed off, unsure if continuing would not offend Elio.
"...me who gave it to her," he completed the sentence for her. She nodded.
"Oh, yes! I did. Do you want one?"
Their smiles were the answer.
Shimmering mists sparkled around his hands, then 2 ice-creams appeared as the sparkles disappeared.
"Here you go! 2 for each!"
One purchase was 6 ice-creams if he used 2 Purchasing Power Points, but now he used 4 and purchased 13 ice-creams.
Six for the maids, 4 for the knights, 3 for him.
That's when General Maldor entered and 2 became his, leaving Elio with just one.
'I wouldn't eat all that sugar, anyway!' he thought, making up an excuse to help him fight the urge to make another purchase.
'I can't keep wasting my points.'
You might be wondering why General Maldor had returned when Elio had left him with clear instructions that he were to remain with the officials and brainstorm ideas about the battle against the Blue Monsters.
Well, he had come with a letter.
"It's from Lady Laura Moldova, Your Grace!"
The mention of Laura's name awoke something within Elio, something he still couldn't explain. But it was close to joy because his face brightened with a smile as he reached for the letter, curious to know what was written in it.
He had read her first letter this morning and even gave her a reply, but looking back, it felt like it had been days.
He had banged the maids afterwards, comforted Princess Mareen after she killed Queen Liza, deflowered her and made her his Queen and…
It was a lot.
That's why he read the letter with so much enthusiasm.
My King, it was only this morning that I wrote to you and I'm glad you responded.
Like you instructed, my hand is now between my legs while I write this and I know you understand what I'm doing. Hehe!
Now that the Crescent is already yours, are you planning to come back home? Is it tomorrow? I would be happy if it was today.
Enjoy your lunch! If you've already eaten, then it's dinner. Enjoy!
Yours, Laura.
He put it aside grinning to himself and everyone could see he was happy.
"Should I bring a quill and a paper, Your Grace?"
"After I finish eating, yes! You can bring those! So, what have you and the officials came up with?"
This question was obviously aimed at General Maldor. He quickly swallowed what he was chewing, a chicken wing he had fished out of one of the maids' bucket, so that he could answer.
"Your Grace, those monsters never kill people or animals here. They take them. We thought we could go near the ocean, use animals as bait to capture the first team, spend the day fortifying some of the abandoned forts near the coast, then prepare to battle another group after nightfall."
This idea was vague, but Elio was pretty sure they had more details.
"Such a good plan. What else?"
General Maldor looked troubled, but held his breath and said, "Lord Ahtred has a daughter, Your Grace!"
"And?"
"And the officials proposed it would be better if your highness married her as a symbol that you are really here for the interests of the Crescent people as you claim."