Tabitha hands Miss Charlotte the party registration form. It's a stack of a few pieces of paper, with spaces for party member names, ranks, and places of birth. On the final sheet of paper, there's only two sections. One for the party's name, and the other for the party's purpose.
As we all fill in our personal information in our respective sections of the form, the Kenji, Miss Charlotte, and Meeka all look at me. It's time to decide on the party's name and purpose.
The purpose is simple. I'll fill that in after I come up with a good name.
Inspiration strikes.
Everything in the world seems to flow away, and I feel like I'm standing in a grassy field looking towards an infinite expanse of sky.
This is the true meaning of being an adventurer. Venturing to places that you could only dream of. The types of places you could only see in a storybook.
The truth of being an adventurer is to gather the strength and resolve to make one's way towards the infinite expanse. The ultimate goal of mankind.
Crossing the horizon. That which never gets any closer or any farther. Infinitely close and infinitely far. That will be our name.
"Horizon" I say confidently, looking at the awe-filled eyes of my companions.
I write those 7 letters onto the paper under Party Name.
I quickly scribble down the party purpose and hand it to the Guild Master.
With a deep sigh, "Congratulations on the formation of your party, S Ranked Party Horizon!" He says with an awkward smile. Sorry for threatening you, I don't have a choice in the matter. Our discovery is most likely a death sentence for all four of us, and potentially all the residents of Turmeric Village. Yeah, if you tell the king I won't hesitate to tear this guild hall to shreds along with your family.
There's defensive magic on this building, but I'll just circumvent it. My [Mana Sense] isn't just for show.
Don't fuck with Kenji Togata.
The guild hall erupts into cheers at the brand new formation of an S Ranked Party, especially as it's formed of a former C-rank celebrity and three complete rookies. A lot of them run out, probably to go tell their friends and contacts.
"Let's take a mission then, shall we?" I say to my new party. With eyes filled with excitement they nod.
Our life as adventurers has just begun. The first quest we decided on taking was one that Meeka chose. It was a quest to subdue a group of red ogres that had been spotted nearby. It's an A level quest, so it shouldn't be that difficult for our party.
Red Ogres are a little stronger than blue ogres, but only by around 15% on average. I suppose Meeka wants to get revenge on a similar type of monster to the one that nearly killed her and Charlotte not too long ago.
Our journey was a short one, as was the battle. With me using my [Pseudo Possession] on Kenji and the rest of our party in top fighting form, it didn't take very long to defeat the red ogres.
Apparently, Meeka had been a Magic Archer the entire time, and she was getting better at using magic arrows in combat. She fired off volleys of fire, water, wind, and ice magic.
What the fuck is Turmeric Village. A peaceful village of normal citizens my ass. There's no way a peaceful village of normal villagers could produce multiple people with zero training that can effortlessly stand atop the Adventurers Guild.
Kenji's bought a new sword in Romero, it's made out of some sort of magic iron, amplifying the effects of his already absurdly powerful magic sword strikes.
Miss Charlotte's debuting a whole new line of drones. More powerful fire and wind drones, as well as a brand new Lightning drone.
Wait… Holy shit, Miss Charlotte, did you make hover boots? That's so cool…
It's simple to say that our first ever mission as Horizon was a rousing success. If you wanted to have more fun with it, you'd say it was a shit stomp.
We return to Romero, waltzing through the gates after showing our brand new adventurer licenses.
That guard Evan who we met earlier greeted us, and told us good job on becoming members of our very own S Rank Party.
As we reach the guild, Kenji pushes open the door gently, trying not to damage what Miss Charlotte had already almost broken.
He walks up to greet Tabitha with Meeka, and Miss Charlotte hugs me tight, trying to protect me from the prying eyes of the other adventurers.
It seems as though it failed, as they're still staring at us. As I'm shrinking into myself, I notice that their gazes aren't judgemental or lustful, but rather the look of somebody looking at their child. Oh my god, they're shippers.
Kenji walks back to us with a large bag of what I can only assume is money. This is our first paycheck. I may have worked at the bike shop, but that doesn't count anymore. We're in a new world. I want to spend this money, but I shouldn't. I should be past the impulse to spend all my money in an instant.
Kenji and Meeka have no such disposition.
"Meeka, do you wanna go around and buy stuff?" Kenji says, eyes shining with a feeling I can't put my finger on. It's like a mix of pride, excitement, and greed. Meeka's ears and tail twitch, I can tell she's excited.
She's practically just been asked out on a date by the boy she likes. I am sorry, Kenji is a moron who will not see it this way. I'll pray for you little one.
Woah, why do I feel so woozy? Ah, I'm fatigued. It makes sense. I did a lot today in my tangible form. I pull on Miss Charlotte's sleeve and look at her with my tired eyes.
"Miss Charlotte, I'm really sleepy, can we sleep together?" I plead. My inhibition is gone. I can only focus on one thing, and that's sleeping.
Miss Charlotte lifts me into her arms, holding me like a princess again. This feels nice…
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you all to excuse me. My cute wife needs her rest." She says with a saintly smile. You're my hero, Miss Charlotte. Now be a… good hero… and bring me to a… bed…
I drift off to sleep.
===
Charlotte's POV:
Aria's done so much today, I'm proud of her.
My cute little angel always surprises me. What happened at lunch today was amazing. She can eat so much so quickly, and it's apparently not because of her current body. She would have been able to eat faster even when she was still completely human, incredible! She had to deal with a lot of stress from that. Those mongrels won't stop looking at my Aria with their dirty looks. I know she's beautiful, but they say women get more beautiful when they fall in love, so that's my doing!
We then had to register at the Adventurer's Guild. It must have been hard on that shy girl to be the center of attention like that. Especially when the Guild Master found out her true identity by using his [Appraisal] Skill. And then there was the trouble with Kenji's appraisal.
Aria standing up to the guild master was stunning! Her [Telekinesis] is so cool every time I see it, and now she can use it to accelerate her weapons to a deadly speed. Mister Guild Master was so scared, I had to suppress my giggles.
I'm honestly surprised how long she was able to go before she became exhausted. It's fine though, I love the exhausted Aria that entrusts herself completely to me.
I picked her up like a princess and excused myself. I started slowly walking towards the inn we would be staying in hoping this moment would last forever.
In the following weeks, we went on more quests, dominated more restaurants, went shopping for new clothes, and became incredibly popular it seems.
===
Guild Master's POV:
I'm scared out of my mind.
Every guild master in this country got a mandated request to help search for the summoned hero Kenji Togata and his sister, name unknown.
I never thought they would come to me, who's just the Guild Master of Romero. Those twins are terrifying. I'm a mid class S-Rank Adventurer myself, so I drastically underestimated the sister, Aria. I thought I held all the power due to the fact that I knew her secret identity as a poltergeist.
I thought it was, well, cute. A small girl who happens to be a ghost becoming a low class S-Rank Adventurer right off the bat. How could I be so naïve. I saw her full name. Aria Togata. I should have put it together right then and there. I should have gotten away at that very moment, but what scares me is that she would know.
That monster with her S+ [Perception] stat. It's demonic. You can't hide anything from her. She'll figure it out immediately.
When I saw Kenji's status, I thought it was too good to be true, and neglected to realize the obvious. If the king was looking for them, they probably didn't want to be found.
My talents lay in my incredibly strong magic barriers. I'm often hired by nobles to cast wards on their mansions. I'm confident in my barriers, if nothing else.
When I said that I'd tell the king, I found an ogre bone club at my throat in a split second.
That [Mana Sense] Monster completely eviscerated every single one of my barriers and stopped her attack right before it hit my neck.
I felt my life flash before my eyes. That would have killed me, but how? Her [Strength] is only supposed to be D- level. Is this the power of [Telekinesis]?
I've done something very bad. I can't report this to the king. They'll kill me and probably wipe out my family line. I've angered people I never should have.
===
Robby's POV:
"Hey Ernesto, did you hear about that new S Rank Party, Horizon?" I say, barely able to contain my joy. The newest S-ranked party was the one that rescued me and my family!
"Yeah I did, what's up with them? Aren't three of them rookies? I heard the first thing they did was flawlessly decimate a horde of ogres," My best friend Ernesto says. He's a big adventurer nerd just like me, so I have to brag.
"My family was actually the ones who drove them into town. They saved us by wiping out the entire Rocky Road Bandit group in one go!"
"No way, I don't believe you Robby." Sad, you should believe me.
Suddenly Miss Meeka from Horizon walks by.
"Miss Meeka! It's me, Robby!" I shout out to her. She notices me and walks over.
"Yo Robby, what's up? Are you still in love with my party leader? Too bad she's taken ahaha!" She says, nudging me.
Ernesto's jaw hits the floor. "You're, you're Meeka of Horizon! Wow! So Robby was telling the truth, wow! And what did she say about you being in love with the party leader?" He says, sending a burning gaze my way.
"Heh, gotta run!" I say.
===
Hungry Adventurer's POV:
I'm a C-ranked adventurer. My name is Chase. I love to frequent the restaurants in Romero.
Recently, a new party joined the guild. They're an S-ranked party with not one but two S-rankers. They're called Horizon, and their leader, Aria, is really interesting.
She's such a small girl, but she can eat so damn much. I don't understand where it goes at all.
She calls herself 'The Sin of Gluttony' but she's not very sinful. She's more like a 'Princess of Gluttony' in my opinion. My buddies and I started to call her this, and it caught on at the guild. It's now her more or less official nickname in the guild.
Horizon's Princess of Gluttony is a shy girl it seems. She's really cute, but she's married to the Fox Eared Machinist it seems. What a cute relationship.
Every fan of the Horizon party is part of the same agreement. Protect their marriage. It doesn't matter what it takes, but protect the smiles on their faces from those who would wish to interfere.
I've been able to get a good rapport going with her as a fellow food enthusiast. Our relationship doesn't go much deeper than that, which is good. I've been appointed the head of her fan club because of my connection. I'm one of the four divine generals of Horizon's fan club.
I was eating at 'Romero Restaurant,' the simply named place where the Princess of Gluttony destroyed the eating challenge. Aria and Charlotte were there today on a date. It's nice. They're very cute together.
Suddenly, while Aria and Charlotte are enjoying their meal, a gross looking man walks up to them. Oh god, it's the son of Baron Velks, Garrett.
Garrett Velks is a B-rank adventurer who graduated from the Royal Academy. He's a twerp who acts like a big shot. He harasses young women constantly, and abuses his position without punishment.
This monster is approaching the Princess of Gluttony? I need to prepare to deal with this situation. The other members of the Horizon fan club lock eyes around the restaurant and the mood turns sour in the room.
Aria must have noticed Garrett now, as she looks a bit scared. You're a monster for scaring our shy Princess of Gluttony.
"Hello young lady. I hear you're a new adventurer, so you should join my party. I could show you a good time." He says with a disgusting smile on his face. Aria retreats backwards into her seat, obviously disgusted.
"I'm sorry, I'm already in a party with my friends, so I can't join you." She says sheepishly.
"I'm definitely better than them. You might not know it, but I'm a B-ranked adventurer who graduated from the Royal Academy. I'll let you join my party if you become my woman!" He laughs.
Oh god, Charlotte's got a murderous aura around her. It's getting hard to breathe in here. The dumbass hasn't seemed to notice yet.
"I'm sorry, I can't join your party, I don't think it will be helpful for me. Also I-I-I a-am al-r-ready m-m-m-married so I don't want to be your woman." Aria says, tears forming in her eyes. You bastard. Every single person in the establishment is furious right now. The darling of the establishment, Princess of Gluttony Aria of Horizon, is being harassed by a notorious noble.
"You wench, do you know who I am? I'm a noble, the son of Baron Velks. You don't get to ignore me. You're just a rookie adventurer. I don't care about your stupid and disgusting husb-"
"[Possession]." Aria says, vanishing. She's just used one of her secret and mysterious skills. Garrett picks up a knife and cuts into the back of his hand.
What's going on? Is this her skill? He carves the letters 'DCDA' into the back of his hand.
Aria suddenly reappears.
"I don't care, and didn't ask if you're a noble. When I was reading the guild rules, it said that nobody under the rank of Marquis had the authority to boss around S-ranked adventurers. So where do you get off trying to make me your woman?" She says with completely dead eyes.
If Garrett says another word here, he'll probably be in serious danger.
"You bitch, what did you do? You're an S-ranked adventurer? Don't joke with me kid, who are you? Aria of Horizon?" He asks. So it seems like he knows who she is. She points to her portrait on the wall. The placard says her name clearly.
Aria.
Garrett's face becomes incredibly pale, and he runs out screaming while covering his bleeding hand.
Aria hugs Charlotte and cries a little.
I swear that we'll protect these girls in their love. Mark my words.