Charlotte's POV:
My precious Aria's abilities are incredible. She found a group of bandits attacking some merchants over a kilometer away. She used her [Telekinesis] to disable one of the bandits from that distance too. It's incredible how strong her magic and perception are.
When we were running towards the bandits, she used an ability called [Pseudo Possession] which allowed her to control Kenji's actions to a degree and communicate telepathically. That seems like it has some fun and enjoyable uses out of combat. I need to ask her if she'll use it on me.
Apparently the group of bandits was the Rocky Road Bandits, which is a notorious group in this area. They often attack merchant caravans, and disappear without a trace if the guards seem too strong. Their leader is a known scumbag, who kidnaps women to have 'fun' with and then discards them. It's horrible…
He had set his sights on Meeka and I, when suddenly, a bloody rock floated upwards and flew clean through his skull. It seems as though my lover doesn't want to let somebody do something naughty with me before she gets the chance.
The fight against the bandits was simple. Aria acted as our leader, giving orders through Kenji, which helped us significantly in staying out of each other's ways. Kenji's powers as the summoned hero are incredible, he's able to take out five bandits at once with his skill called [Golden Draw]. Meeka and I are used to fighting together in the woods, so we find our rhythm quickly.
Before we knew it, the fight was already over and Aria floats out of Kenji. She's in her [Tangible] form, which is smart, as most races are incredibly biased against ghosts. I must have gone to heaven because I've just been patted on the head by this small and precious girl I love.
She introduces herself to the guards and merchants as the fourth member of our group. A teenage boy who's probably the son of the carriage owner looks at Aria with a familiar look.
Hey! That's the look that Aria looks at me with! No, you don't get to look at her like that, she's mine!
Kenji, Meeka, and I all give that lad a death stare. 'Back Off' we tell him with our eyes and auras. He seems to have gotten the memo, so he looks away.
One of the people we've saved, a sword-wielding adventurer acting as a guard for the presumed merchants, has the audacity to chastise Aria for her perceived lack of participation.
"If you're part of this crew, then why didn't you participate in the fight. Hiding while your comrades risk their lives is incredibly cowardly." He says. Too much is wrong with this! She did participate, if she didn't hide you'd call her a demon! You sho-
"I did participate. I'm the one who threw the rock. I also acted as a shot caller and I was the one who found your sorry asses." Aria says. This indignant side of her is cute. It's such a gap from her usual timid personality.
He keeps trying to disparage her, so Kenji and I release a small amount of killing intent. If you keep this up, maybe you'll end up critically injured like some of those bandits. He's gotten the message for now and slinks back. If you couldn't even fight those bandits, you're a thousand years too early to even challenge Aria.
The merchant man introduces his family to us. He's Lonnie, a merchant from Romero, and his wife and son are Alicia and Robby respectively.
"Oh great, another Robby in love with a lesbian." Meeka mutters under her breath. I see, I see, the boy who fell in love with my Aria without permission has the same name as the misogynist who said he loved me back in Turmeric Village.
They offer to let us travel with them, which will reduce our travel time to Romero significantly. Aria takes their deal, acting as our representative.
The four of us step into the carriage, as the three escort adventurers get on horses and ride next to us.
We start to have a conversation with Lonnie and his family.
"Where are the four of you youngsters from?"
"We're from Turmeric Village." I say.
"Turmeric Village, I've been there before. There's an adventurer from there who uses weapons just like you miss. Wait, could you be Charlotte the Fox Eared Machinist?" He says. It seems he's figured out who I am.
"Yes, that would be me. I'm Charlotte of Turmeric. These are my friends Kenji and Meeka, and my lover Aria." I say, glaring at the teenage boy Robby. He shrinks away in the face of the might of my love.
Aria blushes and covers her face. The cute timid Aria that I just want to spoil, tease, and protect is back. She's not used to being teased in front of people she's just met. How cute.
"I know that the beast-people are okay with stuff like that, but missy, you're a human. Are you sure it's okay to date a woman instead of a man? You won't be able to have kids that way." The wife Alicia says.
Aria's shivering. This seems to be a rough topic for her, she must have something bad that happened to her to make her like this. I don't want to see her like this. She looks scared, and she can't lift up her head.
"It is perfectly fine. It's Aria's preference to begin with. She cannot choose who she falls in love with any less than others. And on the topic of children, Aria wouldn't be able to have them no matter what." I snipe at her. Alicia seems to have realized that she touched upon a topic that she shouldn't have and she apologizes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was such a sensitive topic. I hope you can forgive me Miss Aria."
"I-I f-forgive you Miss Alicia, it's alright. You didn't mean any real harm by it, so it's okay." Aria says sheepishly. I prompt Meeka to change seats so I'm next to her. I put her on my lap and hugged her tightly. The small girl that I love calms down in my arms.
Something bad must have happened to her when she was younger. I want to be here for her to help her in any and every way I can.
"Miss Machinist, you're a pretty famous adventurer in these parts aren't you?" Alicia asks, thankfully abandoning the previous topic.
"Yes, it seems as though I am. Apparently I even have a fan club, which is strange. I don't know why one has formed, but it has."
"It's because your weapons are really cool, and you're always doing quests on your own, and the adults think you're attractive." Robby says happily. "Me and my friends are really big fans of the local adventurers in Romero, so could I get your autograph?"
Oh, so he's an adventurer nerd. He must be excited that he got saved by the famous 'Fox Eared Machinist' and her soon to be new party members. He hands me a picture of me that could be provided by the guild and a pen. I sign my name 'Charlotte of Turmeric' on the picture.
"So, can I ask about your other party members? They seem like they're going to be big deals when they're paired with you. I want to get the jump on the other adventurer nerds and my friends. What can you guys do?"
"Well the man here's name is Kenji, he's an incredibly powerful magic swordsman. The young fox folk girl's name is Meeka, and she's an archer who's incredibly accurate. She's also very strong for her age. Miss Aria here is a mage who has already killed a blue ogre in a single hit." I say, bragging about my companions. Robby's eyes open up wide as I mention the blue ogre.
"Wait, Miss Aria, you can kill a blue ogre in a single hit? That's so cool! What spell did you use? Did you use [Firestorm]? [Lighting Cannon]?"
Miss Aria's flustered due to the sudden attention on her, and she starts squirming a little in my lap. Please keep doing that, it's so cute.
"No, I can only use one spell. It's called [Telekinesis], and it allows me to move objects." Aria says with a hint of shame in her voice. She must be sad that she can't use any of those flashy spells. Her magic is cool enough for me though.
"I've never heard of [Telekinesis], but how do you kill an ogre with that? It must be a super strong spell!"
"My beautiful Aria here used her magic to pick up a tree that must have weighed 70 kilograms, and threw it into the ogre's head at a blinding speed. It was truly wonderful!" I say, answering for my darling.
"Wow! That's so cool! Your skill must be really high leveled! Like C+ maybe? Your [Magic] stat must be strong too!" Robby says, more stars filling his eyes. I'm not really sure what level Aria's [Magic] stat and [Telekinesis] skills are either.
"My [Magic] stat is A-, and my [Telekinesis] skill is currently also at A-." She says. Wait what? Her magic stat is A-? Does she not realize that only about 1% of adventurers will ever get a stat to an A- level? And her [Telekinesis] skill is at the level of A-? Having an A ranked combat skill is one of the requirements for one to be an S ranked adventurer.
And Aria's significantly weaker than Kenji? How powerful are these two siblings from another world. Robby's face goes pale, as do Lonnie's, Alicia's, Meeka's, and mine. Kenji treats this as normal, as he doesn't have a good grasp on the levels of strength in this world.
"Aria dear, what, pray tell, is your [Perception] stat right now?" I ask, fearing the answer will be something ludicrous like A+.
Robby and the rest of everybody look on in anticipation.
"My [Perception] stat is S+ rank." She says. Aria's just like Kenji, naïve to the absolute lunacy of their power levels. These two are going to become S-ranked adventurers the second they sign up, aren't they?
"Aria, that's as far from normal as you can get. Please don't tell people that your stats and skills are that powerful." I whisper into her ear. She's flushed, probably from a combination of the stimulation and embarrassment coming from my criticism. "Robby. Refrain from telling your friends about Aria's [Perception] stat. She wants to avoid any unnecessary attention on her."
"Oh… okay… I guess I won't tell anyone about that stat then." Robby says, dejected.
===
Time passed with light conversation about the state of Romero and Lonnie's business.
It's now night time and time for us to camp. We've set up our three tents, Kenji in one, Meeka in another, and Aria and I in the final tent. We're now sitting around the campfire with the other three adventurers.
"Hey, you're the Fox Eared Machinist aren't you," one of the swordsmen, the one who wasn't rude, asked. I seem to be getting recognized quite often today.
"Yes, I am."
"Aren't you supposed to be a C-rank adventurer? Why are you so strong? We're a high level C-rank party, the Ironblood Trio, and your level of power is in no way C-rank."
I haven't checked my status in forever, did something happen with it?
[Status]
[Charlotte]
Level: 40
Race: Fox Folk
Class: Magic Puppeteer
Age: 20
Gender: F
Guild Level: C
Strength: B+
Defense: B+
Speed: B+
Magic: B+
Perception: B+
Overall: B+
==
HP: 400
Mana: 1200
==
Race and Class Skills: Fox Senses [Max], Magic Enchantment [B+], Golem Manipulation [B+], Mana Sense [B+], Fire Magic [B+], Wind Magic [B+], Lightning Magic [B+]
Personal Skills: Swordsmanship [B+], Seduction [B+]
===
Oh lord, I've become quite powerful without noticing it.
"Haha, I hadn't checked my status in a couple of years, so I didn't see my growth." I am naïve, good lord. Every single one of my stats is at a B+ level, which is miles above average. The same is true for my stats. I have so many combat skills that are so close to being within the A grade. So could I become an S-rank adventurer soon too? Being a top class A rank adventurer with these stats and skills would be incredibly easy.
Oh my, I could have defeated that Blue Ogre on my own, couldn't I have?
"Looking at my stats now, I could probably become a top class A rank now. I never tried to update my rating, so I guess this is where I'm left." I say with a sigh.
"Miss Charlotte, you're incredible!" Aria says to me with upturned eyes. I want to pet you all over as soon as I can.
"I'm surprised you've been able to stay awake this long Aria," I say while stroking her head. Her eyes are fluttering. I must have jinxed it. Today's been a big day for her.
"Yaaaaawn~, good night Miss Charlotte, I love you." She says, losing her inhibitions due to sleepiness. Oh gosh, this forward Aria is the cutest, isn't she. She lays down in my lap, grabbing my hand and putting it on her head. She's asleep within less than a minute with my stroking her head.
"That girl seems so weak. Why is she with people like you?" The rude swordsman says.
I glare daggers at him. "Due to certain circumstances, her vitality is drastically reduced when compared to most other humans. Despite this, she's incredibly powerful, with multiple stats that are A class or better, and an A class offensive skill."
"Is one of those crazy stats [Perception]? She spotted a fight that hadn't even started from over a kilometer away. It must be something absurd like S+, but that couldn't be the case right? S+ stats don't really exist, do they?" The mage girl, who introduced herself as Leah asked.
"That is the case, yes." Kenji answers. "My sister's [Perception] Stat is S+." The eyes of the three members of the Ironblood Trio turn to globes. "However, her [HP] and [Defense] stats are super low, so she could even die if she got punched too hard. That's why she doesn't fight as either a vanguard or a rear guard, instead using a skill to avoid harm." Explaining Aria's situation in vague terms.
"That kid said she could defeat all of those bandits without any difficulty, so is she talking out of her ass?" The rude swordsman asks.
"That wasn't an exaggeration. Aria wanted us to get used to fighting, in case we're in a situation where she is under some form of threat. If we get too reliant on her, it'll drag us down." Meeka says, eating some bread Kenji brought from Turmeric Village. "You better not disrespect her. I've never seen somebody with a more overloaded skill than her."
Meeka's right, Aria's [Telekinesis] skill is incredibly strong. With it being able to move living things, I don't know what the limit of how far she can push it would be.
"Alright, I'm going to go to sleep with Aria now! Have a nice evening Kenji, Meeka, Ironblood Trio." I say, picking up my beloved and walking to our lovenest, I mean, tent. As I lay her down and lay next to her, she immediately grabs me and pulls herself into my chest. I drift off to sleep patting the back of her head.
Tomorrow we'll reach Romero!