Charlotte's POV
===
Hello, My name is Charlotte of Turmeric, or simply Charlotte Turmeric.
I come from a small village in the woods called Turmeric Village. It's called such because the turmeric plant grows around here. We're a village of fox beast-people. It's a relatively calm village, as we hunt the rabbits around here and harvest edible plants. Very few powerful monsters reside in this area of the forest, because there is no prey for them to eat.
Recently, there was a giant burst of magical energy from a remote part of the forest, a place where very few monsters besides a few goblins reside.
I work as a hunter in my village as well as an engineer. I make machines to improve the daily lives of people in my village, and I also sell them to the larger towns. One of my devices uses magic stones to dry clothes, which has been a great help to our village. I became a hunter due to the lack of young men in my village, along with a younger girl named Meeka.
Meeka is very adorable, and I see her as a little sister. She's very attached to me, and when I was sent to investigate the source of the large magic discharge, Meeka insisted on coming with me. I agreed to this because I didn't think it would be a big deal.
We were heading south, and quickly lost any hope we had of succeeding on our mission. We came across a blue ogre migrating from one side of the forest to the other.
Blue Ogres are incredibly powerful monsters that can normally only be taken down by B ranked adventurers or strong knights. They have incredibly thick skin and superhuman strength. Their only weaknesses are attacking speed and low intelligence.
I implored Meeka to try and run away, but she refused saying she wanted to run away together. I knew this wasn't an option. I was flustered. I was scared. I was angry at Meeka, because she wanted to live but wouldn't take the initiative to do so.
Suddenly I hear a man's voice yelling, "Let them go monster!" The man jumped out of the bushes with some tattered clothes and a club.
I berated him for his idiocy. That's a blue ogre for crying out loud. 'You kid with your club has no chance of beating such a powerful monster' I thought to myself. To my surprise he was actually able to damage the ogre with the club, even if it immediately broke. His only chance for survival went down the drain with a loud snap.
I'd decided to sacrifice him and run away when I met the eye of a girl who I could only describe as an ethereal beauty. She looked a bit younger than me, and the same age as the boy. Her skin seemed so pristine that she could be transparent. She had come from the same place the boy came from. I noticed her flying(?) around towards a small tree that had been knocked over by the ogre.
Time seemed to stop for me when she chanted the name of a spell. [Telekinesis] it was. The tree lifted up and floated behind her, spinning slowly. This beautiful girl had magic, and it seemed to be quite powerful, able to lift up a fallen tree that must weigh over 70 kilograms.
It felt impossible for me to take my eyes off of her in the short period of time between her taking a stance that looked as if she was about to throw something, and the time where she threw that tree with her magic, spinning rapidly. In a moment, the monster that had caused me to fear for my life had been eradicated by the woman who had captivated me. She yelled 'Timber' when throwing the tree, which is what lumberjacks say when they cut one down. I thought that she was very cool saying that.
She finally noticed my gaze, and my expression relaxed into a smile. Her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red I had never seen before. It seemed as though me watching her had been a great source of embarrassment. How could this angelic girl be so cute? I had to make her mine, as a punishment for stealing my heart. She ducked behind a tree and peeked her head out at me.
I tilt my head and widen my smile in an attempt to tease her. I felt like I could see the steam of embarrassment coming out of her, it was simply too cute. She ducked her head back behind the tree and I frowned.
The boy walked up to me and said, "Hello my name is Kenji Togata. I'm travelling with my sister Aria Togata." They seem to have last names, I wonder if they're nobles? "My sister is incredibly shy around people she doesn't know. I think she got too into it and ended up regretting shouting 'Timber!' so please don't fault her for that. I'm trying to help her gain confidence, and I think that this was a good experience for her."
So she's weak to teasing eh? I wonder if she's weak to praise as well. "Oh no, I thought she was incredibly cool in fact! I'd love to talk with her!" I say with a smile. Mister Kenji, what is that look on your face, and why does the temperature seem to be dropping?
He walks over to the tree with his sister and says something to her, and they come out.
The beautiful girl that had stolen my heart came floating out from that tree and I was awestruck, she was a ghost. I don't mind it though, she seems to be a truly sentient being capable of feeling embarrassed, and hopefully, falling in love. I don't care if she is a ghost, I'm going to make her fall madly in love with me. She looks at me and her face is immediately reddened. She's a shade of pink that reminds me of the beautiful cherry blossoms.
I go to pick up the magic stone and see an opportunity to show her that I don't see her as a ghost, but as the beautiful and talented mage she is.
"Beautiful young lady, what might your name be?" I ask.
"I-I-I'm Aria, Miss Charlotte, it's really nice to meet you. I'll be in your care." She says bowing repeatedly. How is this woman so unbearably adorable? I want to be the only one who gets to see this incredibly precious side of her.
I call her cute to see her reaction, and she turns that same very red color.
I hand the magic stone to her, dropping it through her hands and showing a slight look of concern. She starts to cry, oh no, have I gone too far? If I've gone too far and lost any opportunity of making her fall for me that would be the worst thing I can imagine now. This immeasurably cute ghost girl Aria Togata is now the most important person in my life.
"Now, now there's no need to worry, my lovely Aria, it's my mistake." I say, trying to soothe her tears. She seems embarrassed, but she isn't crying anymore.
Her brother seems to have a look of concealed rage towards me. I think I've figured him out. He's the type who obsessively looks out for his sister, trying to stop anyone from approaching her romantically. Truly lowly.
Either I'm going to have to stop flirting with the beautiful Miss Aria, or he's going to have to change his attitude. That is to say, he's going to have to change his attitude.
Sir Kenji picks up Meeka, who passed out during the fight with the ogre, poor thing. I tell the two to follow me towards our village and shoot Aria a wink. Her face is flushed with that beautiful cherry blossom pink again, and I squeal in my heart.
===
Aria's POV
===
"M-miss Charlotte, do you live in these woods?"
"Yes Miss Aria, I do, and I'd love it if you lived in them with me." She says with a straight face. That's not fair! You're not allowed to just say something that sounds like a confession like that! I blush and pout, looking away. I see some concern in her eyes, but I'm not sure why.
"Miss Charlotte, could I ask you to refrain from teasing my sister so much? I can't imagine that it's pleasant for her." Kenji says as the temperature around us shoots up rapidly.
"Oh but Sir Kenji, is it not normal to tease the ones you like?" she says. Kenji's face scrunches up, he looks mad.
Is it really possible that she likes me? She likes me and not Kenji? That doesn't make any sense. Why would anyone like the person who threw a stick and hid behind a tree and cried instead of the hero who jumped in to save you. Nobody's ever said they like me before, not even one boy said I was pretty ever. Girls never did either. Apparently she thinks I'm cool. Does she think I'm cooler than Kenji?
I'm a ghost so it really shouldn't be possible for her to find me cute or pretty, I'm disgusting right? She must be teasing me because I'm so different from her. I don't want to get my hopes up but my gut is telling me she's being honest. I hope it's not just because I want her to be honest in saying she likes me.
She's been calling me 'pretty' and 'cute' and 'beautiful' so maybe she really thinks so? I sure hope so. I may be more embarrassed than I've ever been in my entire life but I really don't want her to stop teasing me.
"Kenji, it's okay, I'm fine with the teasing."
"Are you really? She seems like she has an ulterior motive" he whispers to me.
"It's fine I have one too, I think she's really really pretty and beautiful. I think I like her Kenji!" I whisper back with a glowing smile.
Kenji, why do you look like you've been hit by a ton of bricks? He walks ahead and whispers something to Charlotte, and I get nervous. She whispers something back to him. Please no.
Charlotte turns around, walking backwards and asks us, "Where do the two of you come from?"
"U-um, we're f-from a place that's really far from here. We suddenly appeared in the woods and I was a ghost when we woke up."
"Oh my oh my, poor thing. It may seem like a cruel turn of fate, but I couldn't lie to you and say that it was not a fortunate one for me. Because of your sudden teleportation, I was able to meet the beautiful Miss Aria Togata."
My face is red. Redder than red even. I feel steam coming out of the top of my head. How can she say these things without any shame! She's so different from me, but I can't help but feel drawn to her. She doesn't seem like Kenji, who gets girls to fall for him by accident. Miss Charlotte seems to be doing it very much on purpose!
"U-waahh. Where am I? Who are you? Where is the ogre? EEEEEEK! A GHOST, CHARLOTTE HELP ME IT'S A GHOST!" The little fox girl Meeka wakes up in Kenji's arms, and points right at me, screaming. I'm hurt. I don't like the fact that I'm a ghost either. Kenji puts her down slowly.
"MEEKA! Don't say something so rude to her! She is the one who killed that ogre, and she is a beautiful and charming lady! Assuming that all ghosts are evil is just like what those humans who hate all other species do. Some of them are incredibly pretty and cute and make you want to eat them u…" Charlotte says, blushing for the first time I've known her. She meets my gaze and we both blush deeply.
What does this mean? Does she like me? Is this real? Somebody likes me? And it's such a beautiful woman? A beautiful woman who loves to tease me? Did I die and go to heaven? Well I suppose part of that's true.
"O-oh… I'm sorry Miss. I didn't know you saved us from the ogre, all I remember is this big brother jumping in and saving Charlotte. Um, can I ask what your names are?"
"M-my name is Aria Togata, and this is my brother Kenji Togata. We come from a far away place, and we were suddenly pulled here, and I woke up as a ghost."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Wait, you have last names, are you nobles?" Meeka asked with glints in her eyes.
"I was wondering that too, in this country, only nobles have last names." Charlotte asks, tilting her head in a manner that's absolutely going to make me fall helplessly in love with her incredibly quickly.
"Where we're from, everybody has last names, and there aren't any nobles." Kenji answers.
"No nobles? How is that even possible?" Meeka asked, the glint in her eyes getting even brighter looking at Kenji. I think she's already fallen in love with him. I can't really blame her. He jumped in heroically to save her life from a seemingly unkillable monster and then carefully carried her in his arms. The suspension bridge effect sure is powerful.
"We have a government that has a leader that rotates, so there aren't any nobles or a king! Also, anybody's able to try to become the leader." He says while smiling. That smile is dangerous. Please don't go showing that to women who aren't mentally prepared yet.
"WOW! THAT'S SO COOL!"
"That is quite interesting, but Miss Aria, we've arrived at my home, the Village of Turmeric." Charlotte says, looking at me with a warm gaze.
"A-ah, thank you! Kenji I'm going to use my [Tangibility] skill so that I seem normal to them." I say as I activate the skill, my wispy lower body turning into two legs covered by my uniform's skirt and my long socks.
"Miss Aria, could it be that you've entered this form just so that we may be able to touch and hold hands?" Charlotte says as she strokes my cheek with her hand. I've never been more flushed or more happy in my entire life.
"M-maybe I did." I say under my breath.
Kenji seems to be fuming, but Charlotte doesn't seem to care. Meeka seems confused looking back and forth between the three of us.
"Welcome to Turmeric Village, siblings Togata, I'll introduce you to the chief of our village so please come with me!" Charlotte says with a smile that has completely just won over my heart. I want to be with her, and I want her to be with me. The four of us walk into town, and head toward a large building.