Yesterday was really fun, I spent the whole day with Kenji reading up on this world. We're apparently in the Sagelith Kingdom on the continent of Sedimis. I overestimated my body's stamina and fell asleep immediately after eating some food.
In my dreams, I was gently carried by Miss Charlotte back to her room. When in her room, I hugged her tightly and wouldn't let go.
I feel something in my arms, and something soft on my face. I slowly open my eyes. W-was that really a dream? I… hugged her in my sleep. What does she think of me now… I ended up sleeping in her bed again just like she said and this time I was the person doing the hugging and not letting go, as she did the night before.
"Good morning my princess, did you sleep well?" the already awake Miss Charlotte asks, stroking my hair. I wish I could stay like this forever, but I need to tell my feelings to her at the festival! My resolve will not waver!
"Good morning Miss Charlotte, I'm sorry for hugging you last night, I must have done it when I was asleep." I apologize, letting go of her and getting up to stretch.
"Miss Aria, would you like to go on a date with me today? The town is preparing for the festival and I think it would be very fun for just the two of us to go out and have fun! You haven't gotten a great introduction to the village yet, so I'd like to be the one to escort you." She says smiling. Holy shit, she asked me on a date, what is this feeling in my chest. Is this pride? Pride that I've finally been invited on a date? Is it love? I wonder… either way, whatever I'm feeling feels nice.
"Ah alright! Let's go on a date Miss Charlotte! I don't have any other clothes, and I've been wearing this uniform for a while, so I might not be very cute, but I hope you'll still have fun with me!"
"Don't worry Miss Aria, I was going to bring you to a dress shop anyway. I plan on using you as a dress-up doll today."
Miss Charlotte smirks and my eyes light up. She's so kind.
She gets up to change and tells me to wait for her outside. She says we'll be going to a place to eat breakfast first thing in the morning, as Kenji told her I hadn't eaten much.
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"Miss Aria, should we hold hands on our date today. I think it would be dreadful if we got separated."
"Oh Okay Miss Charlotte, let's hold hands then!" I smile, and grab her hand in mine. Her face lights up and I can tell she's truly happy.
Miss Charlotte leads me by the hand, stepping off her porch, and we walk along the street.
Many of the villagers are looking at me, who is not a fox beast person, so I'm starting to feel self-conscious. I feel like I don't fit in here. Miss Charlotte seems to notice this and pats my head with her free hand. She crouches down a little and looks me in the eyes warmly.
"Miss Aria, they're not staring at you because you're a human, many humans come here to do trade every so often. In addition, Chief Varner told them about the two humans who saved us from the Blue Ogre. I think their gazes are ones of admiration and interest. They're not trying to judge you. In fact, some may even be wondering how I got a girl as cute as you to go on a date with me." Wow, Miss Charlotte's talent to feel no shame because of the sweet words she always says is incredible. I'm really thankful to her though. She always makes me feel at peace.
Because of what she said, I'm no longer as nervous about the onlookers. The two of us walk over to a medium sized building with the name 'Turmeric Village Restaurant' and we head in.
"Miss Aria, this is the only restaurant in Turmeric. It's right next to Auntie Cass's inn, where your brother is staying. At this restaurant, they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so it's a popular spot. In addition, travelling merchants and adventurers passing through the area will eat here, so the staff here are truly no strangers to humans."
"Oh, that's interesting. You mentioned adventurers, what are they?"
"Adventurers are workers who belong to the Adventurer's Guild. They complete tasks that people request such as gathering materials, escorts, and killing monsters. They're a rowdy bunch of people for the most part, but the majority of them are kind hearted people who just want to make money by helping others."
"Are you an adventurer Miss Charlotte? Your magic tools seem like they could be great helps on adventures."
"I am actually!" She says clapping her hands. "I'm a C-rank adventurer, which puts me a little above the average. I'm also apparently quite famous in the surrounding area, because of my fox beast person heritage and my unique weapons. They call me the Fox Eared Machinist, and I have a rather large fan club." I sigh at the thought of her having a fan club. Would this fan club really just let me near her? These types of fan clubs in the stories back home typically act to keep people away from their idols. "Don't fret Miss Aria, my fan club is meaningless as long as you remain my number one fan." She says, lifting my chin with her soft hand, tilting her head with a smile.
Relief washes over me as a waitress comes up to our table.
"Miss Fox Eared Machinist," she says, bonking Miss Charlotte on the head, "Don't go scaring the travelers, they can't handle your charms." Miss Charlotte rubs her head and lightly tears up.
"Tomoe, I'm not scaring her!"
"She looks pretty nervous to me." The waitress Tomoe says, looking at my fidgeting.
"Th-that's because we're on a proper date! Isn't that right Miss Aria?"
"Ah, y-yes, Miss Charlotte and I are on a date, that is the case absolutely yes." I say quickly, looking down and blushing. It feels strange to say that I'm on a date with such a pretty and kind woman. Because of that statement, it's getting easier to accept, which makes me happy.
"Oh ho ho, I see. So this is what 'Miss' Charlotte's like when she's actively trying to seduce somebody. You've always unintentionally corrupted pure souls with your large chest. I just wanted to protect the little miss ogre killer over here."
"Tomoe! Stop that! Miss Aria is a very kind girl who I think is very pretty. I don't want to corrupt her with my 'large chest,' I want to corrupt her with sweet and honest words and actions!" She looks at me and blushes. I see, she does feel shame. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that Miss Aria, Tomoe is one of my friends from childhood. Her father owns the restaurant so she works here as a waitress."
"Hello Miss Tomoe, my name is Aria Togata. Miss Charlotte has been taking very good care of me, so there's no need to worry!" I say with a bright smile.
"No need to call me Miss, just call me Tomoe. Honorifics like that just gross me out. Can I take your orders now?"
"Yes. Tomoe, Miss Aria and I would like the 'sunshine omelette' and a glass of orange juice. Trust me Miss Aria, it's wonderful. Your stomach will be full and your tongue satisfied."
"That sounds wonderful!" I say.
"Two sunshines with orange juice, coming up." Tomoe says while she walks towards the kitchen.
Miss Charlotte begins telling me about many other places in the village, and how they grow their crops, and where they keep the livestock. We talk about our plans for the rest of the day, and we decide to go to a clothing store next.
A few minutes later, Tomoe returns with our food and drinks, and it's wonderful! The omelette is to die for, even if I'm already dead.
"You've got some food on your cheek, let me wipe that off for you."
"Oh Miss Aria, how forward!" Miss Charlotte says as I get a rare opportunity to tease her. I take my napkin and wipe the small bit of egg off her cheek.
We pay our bill and thank Tomoe for the meal, and leave. Miss Charlotte is holding my hand again, and leading me to the dress shop that we talked about earlier, 'Turmeric Tailoring.' Everything in this village is so aptly named, so I laugh.
Inside the dress shop, I see tons of clothes of all different shapes, sizes, colors, and varieties.
"Miss Aria, I'm resolved to buy you a full wardrobe's worth of clothes. So you're going to try on everything in this store that's your size. There will be no arguments." Miss Charlotte says as she lovingly pats my head.
"Understood!" I say. I've never gone on a date, so it's obvious to say I've never tried on clothes for a girlfriend before, so I'm happy.
I'm becoming a bit concerned for Miss Charlotte's wallet as I'm made to try on over a dozen different pairs of pants with about twenty blouses and fifteen jackets all in different colors and styles. The one I liked the most was a set of blue trousers, a white blouse, and a burgundy colored jacket. I think it goes well with my hair color and eyes, and Miss Charlotte's blushing reaction makes it all the better.
Next we get to the dresses. Oh gosh, there are so many to choose from. Miss Charlotte is putting me in all of them, from green to white to black to red to blue. The manager of the dress shop is discussing quietly with Miss Charlotte how to bring out my charms. They decide on a light blue sundress with a small amount of white embroidery at the bottom.
"Miss Aria, this dress makes you look beautiful! It's wonderful, it fits your figure, your hair, and your eyes! Everything about it is perfect! You just must buy it and wear it." The manager says, giving me a thumbs up.
"Ah y-yes Miss Aria, you look wonderful," Miss Charlotte says, having a hard time looking me in the eyes and covering her face. Oh did I surpass your expectations with my charm? I'll have you know I'm related to Kenji, the most woman-attracting man in all the realms.
"I'll take it Miss Manager! I'm going to wear this out, is that okay?"
"Yes of course. Would you like bags for the rest?"
"Yes I would!" I say as Miss Charlotte takes coin after coin out from her bag, placing them on the table with a blissfully happy look. It seems as though she truly did want to buy me those clothes. It's a bit embarrassing, but I'm happy about it. She really cares for me, and I want to show her that I care about her too.
I walk out of the store with a large smile on my face, wearing my brand new blue dress, hand in hand with Miss Charlotte. It's getting a bit late, as we've certainly missed lunchtime.
"Miss Charlotte, I'm feeling quite tired. Can we take a break?" I say. I'm regrettably feeling exhausted due to spending so much time in my tangible form, and doing so many different things with Miss Charlotte.
She guides me to a bench, and gently places my head on her lap.
"Sleep tight Miss Aria." She says as I close my eyes to rest.
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Charlotte's POV:
Today was a wonderful day. I got the opportunity to go on a fantastic date with Aria. My sweet and precious Aria is now taking a nap on my lap. It's making me giddy. The sound of her small breaths as she sleeps is so cute to me. Her reactions to my teasing and eagerness to experience new things makes her seem so lively for a ghost.
It's truly cute. Aria Togata is an incredibly cute girl. I want to go with her wherever she goes. It may have only been a few days since I've known her, but every moment we've spent together has been one of the happiest in my life.
I'm sitting on the bench, stroking her head and humming a relaxing tune as the time passes by. Aria wakes up with a truly blessed look on her face.
"Miss Charlotte, I'm awake now," she says with a smile that makes my heart melt inside. "I think you should get some rest, I want to take tonight to practice my magic. I've been taking too much time off to achieve my goal. I liked sleeping with you but if I want to catch up to Kenji I need to work hard to. I can't get stronger by being spoiled all the time. I'm going to get stronger so I can protect you Miss Charlotte!"
I love how she calls me Miss Charlotte, it feels cute everytime. I love how she tries her best at whatever she does, be it studying or practicing. I love how she has a goal that she wants to achieve. I love her resolve. I love Aria Togata. I want her to be mine, every day of every week of every year.
"Miss Charlotte, I have something to tell you at the festival tomorrow, so after the ceremony can we look around together?"
"Yes, of course. I was planning to escort you anyway, as it would give me an opportunity to see you and your beautiful smile, and hold your soft hands." I say, teasing her lightly.
I wonder what she wants to talk to me about. I truly think that she's as infatuated with me as I am with her. I hope she wants to confess her feelings. That would make me incredibly happy. I want this shy and precious ghost girl to be able to speak her mind, and take action.
I bid her farewell with a kiss on her hand and go to sleep, anticipating the festival tomorrow.