"Yaaaaawn~" Mm… It's morning now. Something smells good. I turn around and see Miss Charlotte's sleeping face right next to me. Wow, that's cute. Eek! I forgot that she made me sleep in the same bed as her. This is weird right? We're not even dating but she made me sleep next to her. Oh god I want to get out of here as fast as I can. I'm so anxious that I fear the sound of my heartbeat will be enough to wake Miss Charlotte.
"Mmmmh… O-oh, good morning Aria. What's a cute little thing like you doing in my bed? I remember pulling in but you absolutely have the ability to escape. Does that mean you didn't mind it, eh?" She teases me, giggling softly.
This isn't fair, why is she able to be this good at teasing this early in the morning. I get up out of the bed. "Aria do you hate me for making you sleep in my bed?" She says, looking concerned. It seems as though she's taking my feelings into consideration, which makes me feel warm inside.
"No, of course not! I-If I'm b-being honest I would have to say that I didn't exactly mind it you know, it wasn't bad, it was sort of enjoyable. It was an um… pleasant experience! Yeah that's it, a pleasant experience, yep!" I say, trying to quickly reassure her that I don't hate her while fighting off my own sheepishness.
"Oh my oh my… would that mean you'd consider doing it again?" She asks seductively, raising her hand to gently stroke my cheek. I'm starting to get redder and redder due to her incessant teasing first thing in the morning.
"[Tangibility] deactivate! Uh haha, bye Miss Charlotte, see you later, I just remembered I was going to go to the library! I have to meet up with Kenji so we can learn about this area! Because we're not from here we don't know where we are or anything about this place so we really really need to learn about that kind of stuff which we can only learn about through studying so I'm just going to go, sorry for intruding, last night was fun, but I'm going to go and pretend I didn't hear your last question because I can't answer that right now so please, excuse me!" I say without breathing, turning into my ghost form and flying through the house's walls.
I reactivate my [Tangibility] and run both towards the library and away from her front door. I'm a moron. Every word that comes out of my mouth just makes me look like an immature little kid. If I keep acting like this and don't tell her how I really feel, she's just going to get bored of me. I need to build my resolve. I meet Kenji while I'm running down the street.
===
Kenji's POV
After I spent the night in the inn of Turmeric Village, I woke up and started walking over to the library. I already knew that Aria would be heading over here, because she'll definitely be focused on trying to learn as much as she can about the world we now live in.
I've recently done some learning of my own. Well rather than learning, I would call it an earth-shattering revelation.
My sister, Aria Togata, is actually interested in romance. At first I couldn't believe it, I'm still processing it. She seems to be attracted to one of the people we met yesterday, Charlotte. I think Charlotte's attractive and all, but her personality is atrocious. All she does is tease and teasingly praise Aria.
Wait. Wait a second. No, no, no, no, no. That couldn't be… that couldn't be what Aria likes could it? Didn't she say Emilia was attractive? Emilia had a similar type of teasing-big-sister personality to Charlotte. Aria also said that princess lady was her type because she seemed like somebody who would tease her sadistically.
What have I done. All this time I've been trying to stop boys from confessing to my sister. I've been completely wasting my time. My sister would have rejected every single one of them. She's attracted to girls. I should have been keeping girls away from her, not guys.
I'm in a serious dilemma. Do I support my sister in her liking Charlotte, or should I drive away that vixen who charmed my darling twin sister. That woman took my sister and brought her to her house without me. I don't know what happened to Aria last night.
While walking, I see her, and she calls out to me. "Kenji, good morning!" she says with a wide smile.
"So what happened last night?" I ask. She turns beet red and looks down and away from me, poking her fingers together.
"Well uh, so hm. How do I say this. We slept together, and it was really nice!"
What. Did this fox steal my sister's chastity? Am I going to have to have a word or two with her?
"Oh no! Ahhh! I didn't mean that we slept together slept together because ahh… that would be weird we just met even though she's super pretty and I really like her and I think she likes me which makes me really happy we just slept together in the same bed, Miss Charlotte was hugging me while I was sleeping but she didn't do anything naughty, it was really really nice Kenji please don't misunderstand!" She says quickly, waving her hands trying to calm me down.
It's good that 'Miss' Charlotte didn't do anything lewd with my sister. I don't think she could be forgiven if she did. Well, it seems as though my sister really genuinely likes Charlotte.
"Aria, if you can confess your feelings to Charlotte, I'll accept your relationship. I don't want her taking advantage of you, so you're going to have to confess to her."
"Hey! I was going to do that anyway Kenji! Stupid!" She says, storming off towards the library.
When we arrive and open the door, her eyes go wide with excitement and wonder.
===
Aria POV:
"Kenji! Let's get reading, let's read everything about history and the world that we can!"
"Yeah, let's do this!"
We start to read, picking out a book called 'The Twin Continents,' which seems to be by an elf named Alonzo Zenin.
The known world here is divided into two continents, roughly the same size as each other, separated by a small sea. They're called Ignis and Sedimis. Both continents are home to many races, such as beast people like Miss Charlotte and the others, elves who live a long time with strong magic, dwarves who live a while and have strong bodies, powerful dragons, giants of colossal size, as well as a large variety of non sentient races called monsters, for example ogres, goblins, and War Wolves. For the most part, the same species live on both continents with some differences in monster ecology. The primary difference between Ignis and Sedimis would be the dominant sentient species of each continent. The Ignis continent is populated by a civilization of the species known as 'demons'. These demons are typically in a state of disarray, forming small city states and warmongering tribes. It reminds me of the Warring States period in Chinese history. It seems as though, every so often after a period of disarray on the demon continent, one tribe or city state is able to either militarily or diplomatically take over the rest of the tribes and city states. When this happens, the ruler of that city state is called the Grand King of the Demons, or the Demon King in short. This is similar to how one would refer to an 'Elf King' or 'Human King' based on whether or not you are a member of that race. The continent of Ignis happens to be very wealthy in natural resources such as timber, crops, and even minerals.
It seems as though the races that exist on both continents have good diplomatic relationships with each other, frequently conducting intercontinental trade, as they're closer to the sea than the dominant species' kingdoms. It seems as though many of the wealthy demon city states frequently engage in trade with the other races, showing a sign of continental and intercontinental unity. The reason that there's so rarely a Grand King of Demons is that the city states have little incentive to unify under one leader unless one tribe or city state gains an economic or military advantage over others.
The continent of Sedimis is the continent that is primarily dominated by the human race. Unlike the dispersed nature of demon civilization, the human race is formed into one singular kingdom. We're currently located in that kingdom according to maps. Turmeric Village is part of the Heartwen County of the country of… Sagelith.
"Kenji… We ended up in Sagelith after all." I sigh.
"So that king ended up getting his wish regardless of how hard you tried. I'm pissed at him. That scummy King Joelion? Oriole? Orion. You better not still be interested in that princess Aria." Kenji says, looking at me with a look showing he hopes I'm not going to disappoint him. He had previously said he would acknowledge a relationship with Miss Charlotte, so is he worried that I'm attracted to the princess lady?
"Absolutely not Kenji! Don't say something like that… I really really like Miss Charlotte and I wouldn't be interested in some silly evil and haughty princess when somebody who treats me like a princess myself is right there. Miss Charlotte's really nice and pretty and she's very kind. She's concerned for my feelings and she likes me. I have to tell her how I feel. I think the festival would be a good time to do it." I say indignantly. He sighs in relief. "Let's get back to studying… This book looks interesting, it's called 'The Lands of Justice and Evil' by a human named Igor Heartwen. They must either be that Count or related to him somehow.
'The Lands of Justice and Evil' is a book that describes the human viewpoint on the world. According to the book, the religion of the humans, called Lithon, states that humans once used to rule Ignis, and that they were pushed to the continent of Sedimis by an invading Demon King. This is why they are entitled to the resources of the Ignis continent. According to the book, whenever a Demon King, who is the ultimate evil in all the world, is chosen, a hero from another world must be summoned. These heroes fight for the kingdom and church to kill the demon king. They're typically incredibly powerful, and have been able to kill many demon kings, resulting in all out war between the two continental powers. The demons are depicted as brutal savages who will kill any human on sight.
From my reading of the books written by authors such as Alonzo Zenin and other authors from neutral races, this depiction seems to be a pile of bullshit. According to neutral authors, demons are actually quite indifferent to humans during times of peace, generally just regarding them as another species they could trade with. They only seem to disagree with humans who are disagreeable towards them, that is to say, government officials. In fact, they seem to quite pity the heroes who have been stolen from their homes. Maybe they'd be sympathetic to us if we end up on Ignis at some point in time.
So human religion seems to exist for the purpose of, well, demonizing, demons and uplifting humans as the superior race in the known world. They're chosen by the god of the land to take back their rightful place as the masters of Ignis.
If I'm going to believe somebody I've never met or the King of Sagelith, I'm going to trust the people I've never met before. I don't think the Great King of Demons is a true threat to humanity, unless they mindlessly start another war.
It's getting dark out and Kenji's telling me to eat some food. It seems as though my stamina in this [Tangible] form is quite low, as I cannot stay awake after having been solid all day. I drift off into a pleasant sleep on top of a book.
===
Kenji's POV
Knock knock knock I hear on the door, and Charlotte walks in. She looks at the sleeping Aria warmly.
"Charlotte, we need to have a small chat."
"Of course Sir Kenji. I assume I know what this is about."
"You should. I heard you slept in the same bed as Aria last night. At first I was hesitant to accept you, but it seems as though my sister genuinely really likes you. If you're just stringing her along, or if you cause her to cry anything but tears of happiness, I will end you. If you hurt my sister, I will destroy you without mercy. This is the first time she's told me she's really interested in romance, and I don't want her to get hurt. You better be serious about her. She's just starting to gain confidence in herself after all these years. If you do anything to make her lose the bits and pieces of herself that she's gained, you will be ruined." I say. She looks at me head on, with a serious look in her eyes. I smile, as it seems as though she truly cares for my precious Aria. "There's going to be a festival right? Why don't you take her out on a date before the festival to show her around town. Just like you had Meeka do for me. Aria wants to go to the festival with you, so that's what you'll do. Get to know her a little better beforehand. I'll let you take her home with you tonight, so don't try anything on a sleeping woman."
"Thank you for the opportunity Sir Kenji, I will not disappoint you. I truly love your sister and want her to be happy. I won't hurt her and I won't let anyone else either." She says as she picks up Aria in a princess carry, walking towards the door of the library. "Good night Sir Kenji."
"Good night Charlotte."
===
Charlotte's POV:
It seems as though I've gotten Sir Kenji's approval to date his sister. This is wonderful.
I get back to my hands carrying my sweet and gentle Aria in my arms. I lay her down on the bed and stroke her hair. I change into my nightgown and get into bed with her. I'm surprised when she grabs onto me in her sleep. I'm truly touched.
"I love you Aria, sleep well." I say as I drift off to sleep alongside her, yearning for the date on the next day.