And since we have Erdrick to do all the creative thinking, we shouldn't cultivate it in Arlin?
No, we should cultivate it in both, because creative thinking can be applied to violence as well... just not by Rin.
I used Rin as a negative example of overspecialization that should not be followed. Erdrick's success rate is much higher, no matter if he is punching slimes or steals governors' daughters.
Are these guards being paid to forget who comes in and out of the gate? Particularly the ones that they have singled out for mockery and derision? Miss C-level Charisma with the pretty face and the blushing bumpkin in her tow? No.
The guards are nobodies. They are not the ones making decisions past the point of whether or not to allow you through. They are of no relevance and of no consequence.
How do you even imagine them interfering? Suppose we find Alexander or introduce ourselves via some other method. What do you expect them to say? "No, sire, you should chase this girl away, she is not an adventurer, but totally a peasant... uh, with a sword... because we assumed so, and because we are definitely not a pair of incompetents who underestimate people and let anyone with more than two braincells in! Please don't send us to clean the latrines again."
I think they'd hope no one remembers how she got there, because otherwise it's them failing their one job - sentry duty.
The problem is not that Aria will have problems getting attention for many other reasons after playing a peasant previously, but that she then has to explain why she didn't immediately announce herself and her true intentions at first, the way that every other honest visitor does.
It's her village, FFS. She is free to come and go whenever she wishes. Maybe her true intentions
were to help the poor tired villager boy, since it was along the way.
People who sneak, ipso facto, have something to hide. People who have something to hide are not accorded credibility.
You confuse this with option C, which is the sneaking option. You know, because it has the word 'sneak' in it.
D is not about hiding. It's about looking around first.
That said, I can also appreciate option D as it might force her to sand down her rougher edges to fit in with her mission. She's such an abrasive, harsh person that I think she'll cause trouble in the future if it's not headed off. Take the tussle over the fish, for instance. She allowed her distaste for the snooty authorities to totally override her mission and escalate into a fight, exhausting herself and forgetting that the point of her mission was to catch dinner. Now, it ended up okay because harvesting XP is always well and good, but imagine if she had been delegated a duty that we actually cared about as voters rather than the fish! While I think this option is better for Aria mentally, though, the fact is that the option A will make her stronger and do a better job of improving her credibility for our mission. I can't overlook that.
I know you are just joking (hopefully), but I honestly think that her handling of the slime affair was very good.
Our mission there was not to get dinner. It was to get the slimes. She just shown that she knows how to prioritize. Of course, that meant forgoing her Master's 'assignment' in favor of a greater goal... but isn't her fixation on Erdrick exactly the thing that you find creepy? How much worse it would be if she ignored our purpose there to comply with her Master's literal orders?
Erdrick chastising her was mostly because we are a dick. He still rewarded her with a personal training in the end.
In accordance with my thought, a tool should ideally be used in accordance with what it is designed to do best. I have no doubt that she can do the more diplomatic/sneak route, just as I think I would be quite capable of cutting up a steak with a spoon. The problem in both cases is that it takes more effort than it should and is messier than using the correct tool for the job.
You have heard of multitools, yes?
Aria is a fierce girl with a fiery temper and a harsh tongue. While she can certainly try to convince herself to suck it up and keep a cooler head while attempting to convince this group of arrogant nobles that she needs to lead them into the woods, the choice itself says she's not confident in this. What happens if they start calling her some jumped up peasant girl trying to lead them off on a wild goose chase? How well can she manage her temper? Charisma and good lucks won't override everything if she pisses them off in the heat of the moment, and even if she manages to repress herself that's taking energy away from devising a better story.
I think that she can do it in her Aria-esque way, without 'sucking it up' and other things that you associate with diplomacy. Remember that this is the mission they are interested in, and that Aria is supposedly the one who has the information they want. If someone starts giving her trouble, she'll tell them to fuck off and prompt more reasonable people - people who are not interested in losing soldiers because of someone else's stupid behavior - to take over.
Talking our way in does not specify the manner in which we do it. Fiery and harsh suits it just as well.
I don't think it's a good idea to rely on the squires to put the word forward that she beat them. It's one thing if she beats up two professional soldiers by herself (it's not so bad if folks that are supposed to be stronger than you were beaten by a Mystic Fighter, after all), it's another entirely if she appears as some peasant rube as she would in the other options. The squires would presumably not want to lose face by volunteering that fact to all of their professional contacts. Beyond that, we don't even know how seriously regarded they are.
I think the squires are minor nobles, so they would be regarded higher than regular soldiers at least. I also would not put much faith in 'professional soldiers', since in this hero-based setting it just means 'mooks that take slightly longer to kill'.
It is less about beating the squires, and more about helping them out and confirming that yes, Aria knows how to hold a sword. She saved Oliver, after all. Presumably, Eileen mentioned running into her in her report, because she intended to pick her up after calling in reinforcements.
It provides us a way to prove our worth as a fighter without actually fighting here, since we have demonstrated our abilities earlier... if that is the approach we are going for.
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Anyway, I guess it's time for me to vote. I've been a pretty vocal advocate for D, so I guess I'll stick to it. What I like about it most is that it provides a bit of a diversion from her usual routines and her Erdrick worship. I want the kids to start having ideas of their own, and the quality I appreciate in Arlin most is that he disagrees with us while still trying to get the job done. There is nothing worse than to have our junior officers follow our orders blindly and unquestionably. We have golems for that. From our charges, I will require no less than thinking for themselves.
D is Aria's idea, and by her own admission not planned by her master. I hope it helps to broaden her horizons a little, because God knows the girl needs it.
Talking is not half bad (except for the whole 'it's what would make my Master happy!' part, but that I can live with), provided that Aria tries to sell that knowledge to the adventurers. Mercantilism is a positive thing, and it would be more believable when she tells this valuable piece of intel to get something in return. Like a share of profits if she joins them and shows them the way. She can't take advantage of that information by herself, after all - the castle guards are too strong. If she is linked to Trider and there is a queston why she doesn't tell her master - why, he'd take everything for himself and won't even increase her allowance, that asshole!
As for the second option... why, is it a choice between spending an evening with a beautiful girl and going to sleep? Hah, how come that is even a question!?
Oh. Right.
DA
