Aurora wipes her tears. "You are right… We have to grow strong and save them!" She then looks up at me sheepishly, "as for your question, no, I don't want you to replace my father. I… it's very embarrassing to admit… promise you won't laugh?"
"Sure." I reply seriously.
She takes a deep breath, collecting her thoughts- and bravery- and begins.
"When I was 8 years old, I unlocked the Alchemist class, which was a great achievement for a child that young, maybe even a record, and my parents thought so too.
They started taking away my toys, refused to play with me at all, and basically treated me like an adult, or a prodigious apprentice working under them, not their small child.
My mother who read me tales or sang lullabies to lull me to sleep instead started reciting elixir recipes to me at night. When I asked her to sing me a song she just started singing about safety protocols… And they weren't even rhyming at all.
My father who used to hug me all the time, calling me his beautiful flower, refused to do so, saying it was unbecoming for the next face of the alchemic world.
When I first met you, and felt your kind heart, I just remembered my happy childhood, and how good it felt to be embraced by a strong body, which is why I keep jumping into your arms at any and every opportunity I can find.
Your broad, firm, muscular body is especially a deadly threat to me, since you are a stark reminder of how the little child me felt while hugging my father, as your giant size dwarfs my adult body, just like how my father's average size did for my small body back during my happiest memories.
All that is to say… Even if nothing happened to my parents, I would likely still act just like this…"
I examine her features for a few seconds without uttering a word. "So that was your long winded way of saying that you were a pampered child who wishes to be spoiled as an adult too? I expected more to be here, to be honest."
Not that I don't understand her, as what her parents did would count as severe negligence or something on modern day Earth, it's just a lot less dramatic than I expected. Ayame was betrayed by her own kin and sold to slavery, Blossom was captured, taken from her family, and sold to the fat fuck, and now here's this girl. The victim of parents not knowing how to parent.
Well, to be fair, she also did lose her family in the end.
Her delicate cheeks redden and Aurora quickly dismisses what she'd just said. "I know… It's very embarrassing. I will stop it, sorry for forcing you to entertain this unsightly side of me, Quinlan."
"Don't you dare hold back your desires in my presence. I also have my fair share of kinks that I hope you will entertain, and I will gladly spoil my beautiful platinum haired alchemist to her heart's content as well. When you are in a private room with me, you better forget the meaning of 'shame', throw away your inhibitions and enjoy your time to the fullest. Understood?"
After receiving my chiding Aurora gazes at me for a few moments before brightening like the morning sun. "Yes… daddy!!!" She yells cutely and begins hugging me once again as if her life depended on it.
I can't help but chuckle inwardly. Seems like I keep falling for the weird ones. A complete airhead assassin, a bipolar samurai, and now a plump alchemist who wants to be pampered like there's no tomorrow.
Well, life would be boring if they were normal, so I'm not complaining at all. In fact, there's definitely something wrong with my head too, so we might as well be a match made in heaven.
"Then, Quinlan's Beautiful Little Princess, can you tell me about your new class?" I ask playfully.
She replies in a cutesy, energetic voice. "Yes! It says that Enchanters are the primary supporters of their party, boosting their allies' speed, strength, survivability among other things. Sadly I don't have any free points to spend on my spells so I only have my Innate Spell, which is a protective shield I can summon on any ally in my vision." ṝá₦ồ฿Ё𝓢
That's a bit problematic. I hope she isn't too high leveled…
"What's your level?" I ask to make sure.
"I'm level 5, and a level 20 Alchemist."
Great, that means she will level up relatively quickly and be able to invest into her new class. Alchemist should already have the abilities unlocked she needs, since it was her only class for like 15 years, so she can now focus on Enchanter. Furthermore, civilian classes tend to have less unlockable abilities in general. They rely more on talent.
For example, a good alchemist doesn't have a higher success rate in potion concoction because they unlocked some Anti Failure ability, but simply because they are better. More precise, more experienced, more focused etc.
"Aurora, how do you feel about becoming our active party member who joins us in combat? With your new class, you would quickly become invaluable. Furthermore, as a combatant, you will level up your Normal Level much quicker than as a civilian, so you will get a lot of free points to spend.
But, if I'm completely honest with you, I also want you to do so because I don't want you to grow old and die before I even look like a thirty year old. As you should know, each time one completes their Rank Up Mission, their life expectancy drastically increases, so if you remain a civilian we will have to say goodbye sooner or later… Which would absolutely break my heart."
She gasps endearingly and gazes into my eyes with uncertainty. "I don't know… I never fought before in my entire life. Will you protect me?"
"Of course, I would rather die than let my women be killed or taken from me."
She gazes up at me sheepishly with clear worry in her eyes. "Will you not be angry at me and start shouting if I make rookie mistakes?"
"Of course not… We aren't peerless professionals either. Blossom almost got herself killed yesterday because she got so horny an entire werewolf pack went into heat and started chasing her strong feminine dog-kin scent."
Hearing this Aurora started giggling adorably. "Can you tell me more about your adventures? It's been such a long time since someone told me stories, and this time they would be true ones to boot…!"
Why are you looking at me with those beautiful, big pleading amber eyes of yours? How could a man possibly say no? "Of course, my gorgeous princess. So here's how it went…"
I detailed a lot of our adventures, how I met both Ayame and Blossom, our great fights, Blossom's illegal and forced change of ownership, how I met Eric Winterwood, the noble first in line to inherit the county, who is still waiting for me to visit him at his mansion as promised, and many other tales.
She listened in muted silence with bated breath, only to react by giggling when something amusing happened, tightening her grip around me when something dangerous was happening, and gasping cutely when we did something badass.