"Lothar."
"Wake up."
"I am Shafrin."
Disordered thoughts created a chaotic dream. Lothar, who should have been dreaming of the final battle on Asgard, for some reason dreamed of Shafrin, whom he had once defeated on Planet U40.
On the soft mattress, Lothar opened his eyes from sleep. The haphazard pile of books at the head and foot of the bed clearly indicated how diligently he had studied last night.
"Woz."
"According to this world's time, it is currently two o'clock in the afternoon, Your Highness Lothar."
A clear blue light screen appeared before Lothar without warning, and a small measure of calm settled within him.
"This is how to use the shower equipment, Your Highness Lothar." As the lifeform in this world that best understood Lothar, Woz thoughtfully provided instructions for the showerhead.
While Lothar was diligently studying in bed last night, Woz hadn't been idle. It had thoroughly researched all sorts of rules and the usage of various tools it had gathered through the library's server.
Left for hot, right for cold, showerhead above, bathtub below.
After shedding the clothes he hadn't had time to take off before falling asleep last night, Lothar began his first shower on Earth.
Oh, right, and things like shampoo and body wash.
He'd never used such things in the Black Quadrant; after washing, he was simply clean. Unlike this so-called Earth, with its endless array of flashy things.
"Woz, why is it so slippery after washing?"
After rinsing several times, his skin, after using body wash, still felt slippery. Lothar, suspecting he hadn't washed properly, scrubbed harder, but nothing changed.
"This is normal, Your Highness Lothar."
"It's the moisturizing effect of this product called body wash..." After summarizing the properties of body wash, Woz educated Lothar. This included the subsequent use of toothbrushes and toothpaste.
These washing methods, long phased out in the Black Quadrant, made Lothar, experiencing them for the first time, appear somewhat clumsy.
"You've never used these things before?" Mera leaned against the bathroom doorframe, watching the fumbling Lothar as if she'd discovered a new world.
Lothar, who operated entirely according to the instruction panel displayed by Woz, didn't even glance at her. He simply pushed her into the bathroom and closed the door. Out of sight, out of mind.
"Lothar, you—" Mera, pushing open the door, was about to say something when she came face to face with the man, his back to her, shedding his bath robe and leisurely changing into a new black, loose-fitting combat suit.
"What do you want?" After stowing all the books on Norse mythology into his bracelet space, Lothar finally turned his gaze to Mera.
"Nothing, just wanted to see if you were awake." Mera shrugged and turned to leave.
"Oh, right, I don't know if you have a habit of eating in your original world. But if not, would you like to have afternoon tea together?"
"On the beach. Although I don't know if you're familiar with the concept of a beach." A few seconds later, Mera's figure reappeared at the doorway, asking.
"Afternoon tea?"
"Afternoon tea originated from a country in this world called England..."
Woz's instruction panel promptly resolved Lothar's confusion.
"If you're going, you'll need to change clothes." Mera raised the sunglasses, which had appeared in her hand at some point, and said with a smile.
Thirty minutes later, Lothar, transformed by Mera, sat on the hotel's observation balcony, wearing an open Hawaiian shirt and matching beach shorts. He also had sunglasses on. Directly opposite him sat Mera, in a purple bikini.
"Can you tell me now, what do you want?" Lothar put down his glass, gazing at the beach scene nearby, and asked.
Mera had found this hotel last night when she got tired. Lothar stayed because of Mera's words: "You need a quiet environment to learn about the Norse mythology you're interested in."
"How did you know I had something to say?" Mera ate pastries she'd always wanted to try, enjoying the sun from her chair.
For her, who spent most of her life submerged, this was a luxury. It was also a novel experience. This was also one of the reasons why Orm, the new King of Atlantis, always wanted to conquer the surface.
"Father once said to be wary of any stranger who's overly solicitous without cause." Lothar gazed at the distant ocean. Through his sunglasses, his eyes seemed to see his adoptive father from another world lecturing him.
He once said he wanted to become the strongest warrior in the universe to help his adoptive father achieve his ideals, but now he was trapped in another universe, unable to find his way home.
The Reality Stone, which had detached from his body, still lay quietly in his bracelet space, but Lothar couldn't awaken its power.
Woz's answer last night was that, having left its original universe, it had lost its infinite power supply and was currently in a state of self-sealing and self-regulation.
Due to the mysterious nature of the Infinity Stones, even Woz couldn't predict when it would awaken.
"Well, did your father ever say that sometimes, when someone invites you to eat, they just want to be friends?"
"I don't need friends," Lothar replied bluntly.
Mera nodded, saying nothing more. Her father had also taught her that to befriend someone, one shouldn't be too aggressive in showing kindness, as an overly forceful approach could backfire. Leaving a good impression was enough.
Lothar's power was immense, definitely worth cultivating a good relationship with.
King Orm of Atlantis had already begun to rally the other six kings of the seven underwater kingdoms. Her father Nereus's willingness to arrange her engagement to King Orm said it all.
Atlantis needed a new king, one who could better lead the seven underwater kingdoms to peaceful coexistence with humanity. Considering all factors, Mera believed the ideal candidate for that new king was Arthur Curry, Queen Atlanna's eldest son.
But Mera hadn't had much contact with Arthur Curry after all. Especially after witnessing Arthur Curry being effortlessly thrashed by Lothar last night, Mera felt that this theoretical first-in-line successor to Atlantis might not be very reliable in terms of strength.
She needed a backup plan.
And Lothar, whom she had just met, could very well be that backup.
A rootless wanderer who got lost from another universe, with a clean background and immense power.
How could Mera, having received a royal education, let such a valuable asset slip away? Not choosing to befriend Lothar would be a disservice to her royal upbringing.
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