"Aria, wake up, it's time to get back on the carriage." I open my eyes and see Miss Charlotte poking my cheek. I smile and she blushes faintly. "Don't go showing that smile to others, they might fall in love with you, and I can't deal with competition."
What are you talking about Miss Charlotte? "Why would I care if they fall in love with me? I have you Miss Charlotte." It seems the first thing I'm doing when waking up is getting back at her for teasing me.
Bliss.
I get up and brush off my clothes. Miss Charlotte and I pack up our sleeping bags and the tent. As we've finished packing, I see Kenji coming out of his tent. I smile and wave to my brother. He comes up to Miss Charlotte and I.
"Aria, today's the day we arrive in Romero! We're going to be adventurers!" He says, excited.
"You seem a lot more interested in being an adventurer than you were just the other day Kenji." I say. His sudden enthusiasm is surprising to me.
"I was talking with that kid Robby and the Ironblood Trio about adventurers last night after Charlotte went to sleep with you. You really looked like a baby sloth when you were clinging to her you know?"
Bam. A bucket suddenly goes flying at Kenji's head. Hmm… I wonder how that could have happened. He rubs his head and laughs.
"Let's go, we don't want to keep them waiting." He says as the three of us walk towards the carriage. As we step inside, we see Meeka, whose eyes light up after seeing Kenji, and the merchant family.
"I'm sorry we're late, it took me a while to get up." I say with a bow.
Lonnie tells the coachman to depart, and the horses start to trot.
As we're discussing our plans for when we get into town, Lonnie recommends that we visit his shop. He's apparently a rather large merchant who deals in metals. He's a wholesale distributor to a lot of the blacksmith shops in Romero. I guess he's a really big deal. Surprising.
It's just past noon when we see it. Over the hill, I see giant gray walls of stone. These walls of stone are protecting the great town of Romero.
It's like the city's been built on a hill. What I presume to be the Count's mansion sits at the top, with hundreds of homes and buildings littering the hillside. It's incredible.
It's grand. It's huge. It's enormous. It's titanic. I can't think straight. I'm just a kid from the Tokyo suburbs who's been living in the woods. My mind can't handle my sense of scale being torn apart so fundamentally.
"Big." Kenji says, clearly feeling the same as me. Meeka's eyes are as wide as saucers too.
"Yeah, big." I say with an empty voice. The carriage rolls up towards a gate manned by at least a dozen guards.
One of the guards greets the three adventurers Lonnie hired, and another walks up to the carriage.
"Welcome back Mister Lonnie and family. How was your trip?" He asks jovially.
"It was good, but we ran into the Rocky Road Bandits." Lonnie replied.
"Are you all okay? Were they scared off by the Ironblood Trio?" The guard asks, concerned for Lonnie, who seems to be his friend.
"They weren't but we were rescued by this group of people from Turmeric Village, including the Fox Eared Machinist. They're coming to Romero for the first time ever to register as adventurers. They're super strong. A couple of them might even become S-ranked right away, so get on their good sides Evan! Ahaha!" Lonnie laughs to the guard.
"Wow, S Rankers right off the bat, that's certainly not something you see every day."
"Ah, Mister Lonnie, I think I'm going to get out of the carriage now. I'm fine walking from here." I say, opening the door.
"Well I hope I see you later little Miss Aria! Ahaha! Come visit my shop if you ever need anything."
Kenji, Miss Charlotte, and Meeka thank Lonnie and his family in turn and exit the vehicle with me. Miss Charlotte grabs onto my hand, and I decide to hug her arm. I am lacking Vitamin Charlotte after that carriage ride. She pats my head with her free hand as we walk down the street.
I wonder what food tastes like here.
Grrrowl
"..." Everyone looks at me quietly.
"Hey Aria, exactly how much have you eaten since coming here?" Kenji asks with a sour look on his face. What did I do?
"I had breakfast on the day of the date, and I ate a bit at the festival. Why?" Why are you all looking at me like that? I don't need to eat, so what's the problem?
Kenji and Miss Charlotte nod at each other and grab onto me securely. Miss Charlotte starts leading us down twists and turns until we arrive at a beautiful looking restaurant.
The waitress comes up to our party, covering her mouth. "Oh miss Machinist! Welcome back to Romero Cuisine. What can I get for you today?" She says with a smile.
Miss Charlotte thrusts me in front of her and I sheepishly look down. This is embarrassing.
"This foolish wife of mine has forgotten to eat for the past few days. We need a table for four as soon as possible."
"Guuu…" I whimper. Yeah, this really is embarrassing. At least Miss Charlotte called me her wife. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I can't suppress my smile.
"Yes ma'am! I'll get this forgetful little muffin of yours some food right quick!" The waitress says, saluting to Miss Charlotte and leading the four of us to a table. We sit down and I look at the menu.
It's so diverse! There's seafood, steak, pork, lamb, salad, bread, soup, and even pasta? There's food I've never even heard of too. What the hell? Is the food culture in this world so advanced?
"Fu fu fu, Aria, you're drooling a little bit." Huh? What? I am? While I'm thinking this, Miss Charlotte takes her napkin and wipes my mouth with it, laughing cutely.
Wait a second! I'm not a child! Why are you wiping my mouth like that? Just because of a little drool… What is this world coming to?
I huff in indignation. "I don't need you to wipe my mouth with a napkin Miss Charlotte, I'm not a child."
"Oh, would you prefer I use my lips instead?" Miss Charlotte says as she lifts my chin gently. Gah, this isn't fair. Curse the power of your great looks and fantastic personality.
"Would there be a problem with that Miss Charlotte?" I ask teasingly. She keeps her calm face with a devilish smile. How are you able to do that. I just used my trump card in flirting, and no reaction. Damn.
"Miss Machinist, is there something you'd like to order?" The waitress asks. Has she been here the whole time?
"I'll take the Vescatani Ales and a glass of wine." Miss Charlotte says with a smile.
I didn't know Miss Charlotte drank. I wonder what she's like drunk. I really want to know what she's like drunk now. I hope her personality changes, that would be really funny.
My new mission is to get my lover intoxicated at some point in the near future. My resolve is strong. I will accomplish this task.
The waitress leaves for some reason. What? No! Come back! Isn't the whole reason we're here so I can eat because I've been neglecting it?
"Don't worry Aria. I ordered you something while you were off in your own world. You'll have to wait and see what it is, it's a surprise," Kenji says as he winks at me. It better be good Kenji.
A few minutes later, the waitress comes back with the most delicious looking food I've ever seen. I'm going to start drooling again. One of the plates is covered.
The waitress starts placing down everyone's food.
"And for this young miss here, we've brought out our restaurant's challenge item!" She says with a smile. Challenge Item? What did Kenji get me into? "If you can eat the whole thing in under an hour, everybody in your party will get their meal free. In addition, you'll be put on our wall of fame!" She gestures towards a wall with a few pictures of people and nameplates underneath.
The waitress uncovers the challenge meal. "The Challenge meal for you is this Five Kilogram Steak!"
Wait that's it? That's only 140 ounces though. That's just a little over two large steaks.
One of the things I was proud of in my previous life was my ability to eat. I was damn good at eating. I was called one of the seven deadly sins in middle school. Kenji was called Pride for obvious reasons. I was Gluttony. I earned this nickname after dominating an eating competition at lunch, and then proceeding to cleanly finish both Kenji's and my bentos.
Eating a five kilogram steak is a challenge, but definitely not one I can't complete. Plus, this new body doesn't need to breathe, so I don't see any way I could possibly fail. The only way I can get too full is if my entire digestive tract gets stuffed. That's not going to happen with a measly five kilogram steak. That weight will disappear once I return to my [Intangible] form anyway, absorbed instantly as nutrients to increase my mana.
"Aria, is it really possible for you to eat that whole thing in an hour?" Meeka says, looking confused.
"Yeah, will you be okay, I don't want you to overexert yourself just so we'd get a free meal. We have money you know." Miss Charlotte says, putting her hand on mine.
Stop it, I'm trying to focus. I take a deep breath and look seriously at my food.
"Don't worry you two. A Blue Moon Middle School's Seven Deadly Sins member is on the case." Kenji says proudly. You understand me perfectly brother. "The Sin of Gluttony is on the case. This steak will be gone in under twenty minutes."
We shake hands and I pick up my fork to begin the second slaughter of this cow.
The other customers in the restaurant are looking at me with something akin to fear in their eyes. 'How can this tiny girl eat so much so quickly?' Worry not fellow man, my stomach's like a magic bag. Kenji's just watching the clock, Meeka's eating her meal, trying to match my pace and failing miserably at it. Miss Charlotte just looks at me in awe.
Yes, your true love, Aria Togata, eats like a beast, is there a problem. I'm hungry here!
It's done.
I place down my fork. "Time." I say deadpan, looking at Kenji.
"Fifteen and Forty-six." He says. "Last year you would've gone faster."
"Last year I wouldn't have been savoring my food, Kenji. The only reason I ate this slowly was because it was so good."
"I understand." Kenji says nodding as he calls over a waitress.
"Kenji, what about this do you understand? How is she able to eat that much that quickly, even with her body?" Miss Charlotte asks. Ho ho ho, how foolish of you. What do you take me for, a weakling?
"It's only natural that I eat that much that quickly Miss Charlotte. That food was given to me along with a challenge. I had to put them in their place." I say triumphantly.
"Sorry, my sister's personality does a 180 when it comes to speed eating. It's her ultimate skill.
The waitress finally arrives with a dead look in her eyes.
"How fast exactly did you finish that steak, miss?" She asks.
"Fifteen minutes and forty-six seconds on the dot. I could have gone faster, but I had to savor it. It was quite delicious you know!" I say.
"What the hell, the previous record was forty-two minutes. Wait, did you not drink any water at all?" She proclaims, stunned at the power of the Sin of Gluttony. I might not have had any friends, but I had pride in my title.
"With my current physiology, drinking water would have been a waste of time."
The waitress starts to stutter. "Wa- waste of-"
"Waste of time." I say coldly.
Miss Waitress sighs in resignation and gets a magic tool to record my picture. She puts it on the wall with a placard that says 'Aria of Turmeric, Time of Completion: 15:46'
"I'm not hungry anymore, let's go to the guild!" I say, smiling. Meeka and Miss Charlotte seem to be traumatized by my instantaneous shift in personality. I already explained it, I'm not hungry anymore. Let's just go…
We're cheered on as we leave the restaurant. I hear a 'We love you, Sin of Gluttony!' as I leave. I'm skipping along hand in hand with a gaunt Miss Charlotte.
"Don't worry, I only get like that when I'm eating!" I say, patting Miss Charlotte on the back. Some life returns to her eyes. I suppose that seeing me eat and act like that threw her off.
She smiles and opens her mouth. "If you're truly the legendary Sin of Gluttony, maybe I'll just have to have you eat me sometime."
NO! WHY DID YOU MAKE IT LEWD? I turn as red as the blood from the steak as I look away.
"We're here, the Romero Adventurer's Guild. Let's take a step in, and a step forward in the story of your lives, why don't we?" Miss Aria says, opening the door to the next chapter of the three of our lives.