Aroma

[Code Name] Aroma

[Gender] Female

[Combat Experience] None

[Place of Birth] Siracusa

[Date of Birth] Aug 1

[Race]Lupo

[Height] 157cm

[Infection Status]

Originium crystals distributed across surface of body, confirmed Infected by medical examination.

[Physical Strength] Normal

[Mobility] Standard

[Physical Resilience] Normal

[Tactical Acumen] Standard

[Combat Skill] Standard

[Originium Arts Assimilation] Standard

Aroma Rinaldi is from a Columbian family that runs a workshop making and selling pristine fragrances. She currently receives Oripathy treatment at Rhodes Island, and has signed a cooperation agreement with our Logistics Department. At present, she is in charge of daily cleaning duties aboard the landship, as well as logistical support for field operations such as resupplying and disaster relief.

Imaging tests show the indistinct outlines of internal organs, obscured by abnormal shadows. Originium granules detected in the circulatory system. The subject is confirmed to be infected with Oripathy.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 4.5%

Mild Originium crystal distributions are visible on Operator Aroma's arm.

'Okay, I just need to know if detergent will agitate the crystals.

'In that case, I'm not going to bother getting any extra-long rubber gloves; they're such a pain!'

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.21u/L

Operator Aroma rarely comes into contact with Originium. According to her, she became infected with Oripathy due to an unforeseen accident.

The patient's condition is currently stable, but she should be kept under close observation.

'A quiet, gentle girl who's careful and composed, and always smells nice.' This is the first impression that Aroma has left on her fellow operators.

Although she may seem young, inexperienced, and not up to the task, once she agrees to take on a cleaning task, be it a messy dorm room or a weathered landship, she will get everything sparkling clean in no time. As such, once onboard, it wasn't long before she was assigned as Logistics's new cleaner.

She has her own set of standards in determining whether the environment is considered clean enough. Her minimum requirements are that there are no lingering stenches or any chance for insects to breed. As such, she will always take care of any rotting waste on the same day, work with Engineering to deal with any waterway odors as soon as possible, and even clean an entire room simply because a rug inside was left untreated after being stained by milk.

Find the source of the odor, clean up the stains, let the area dry and ventilate, and finally spray it with a suitably aromatic fragrance. Even operators who've never taken cleaning seriously have Aroma's workflow completely memorized. After all, every time she helps them clean their room, they are greeted with a pleasant smell as they reenter.

[Rhodes Island Logistics Supply List]

Item Name: Rinaldi Family Workshop Handmade Soap

Net Weight: 100g

Fragrances available: Pure Rainfall/Fresh Lemon/Sunshine Orange/Rich Lavender

Produced in: Columbia

Use: Cleaning (Especially in removing stubborn stains such as oil and blood)

Unverified uses: Painkiller, sleep aid, tension relief

Supplier: Aroma

Amount in stock: 300 boxes

'Remember to wash your hands before a handshake!' This is recurring advice in the health handbook Aroma designed for the sickbay's juvenile patients.

It was her first job after she was formally appointed as cleaner. She personally volunteered to create this easy-to-understand yet detailed handbook with illustrations showing how to correctly wash hands. In her eyes, 'cleaning,' 'sanitization,' and 'health' form a direct causal chain. The smallest cleaning tasks each of us are responsible for are meant to create a sanitary environment that will ensure our health.

Our understanding is that the reason she holds cleaning and sanitization in such high regard has to do with her childhood. According to Aroma, her grandmother—the matriarch of the family—has always stressed the importance of cleanliness. Due to how much rain Siracusa gets, mud and wastewater tend to accumulate on the roads, and her grandmother always personally enforced the rule that they must not bring such dirty things into the home. So every time she returned home, her grandmother would wipe down her shoes and place them on the veranda along with the umbrellas to dry. She would also spray the door with fragrance, leaving it all with a faint lemon scent.

'I was really playful when I was a child. I often got home completely covered in dirt and mud... Hehe. So I always got scolded by my nonna.' Aroma sometimes speaks of her childhood, and from what little we know, it is rather hard to believe that the mischievous mud-covered girl from her stories and the quiet girl in front of us have anything to do with one another. These days, she is also particularly strict with her appearance: her collar must be clean and tidy, her sleeves must have no stains whatsoever, and the fragrance she uses must be relaxing to others. She is calm, gentle, attentive, kind, and unostentatious. She treats her tasks like a mature adult, and makes an effort to show her ideal self to those around her.

That said, an operator who helps in the kitchen once told us about something he witnessed. He had just gotten off his shift and returned to the rear kitchen for his clothes, only to hear singing from the kitchen, which should have been closed for cleaning. He snuck a peek through the door and found all the pots and dishes lifted up by bubbles and hovering midair. In the center of this secret stage was Aroma, who was humming and playing with the bubbles she made with her bubbling tool.

It pleases us to see that she gives herself these moments to unwind, despite how strict she is with herself when it comes to keeping a tidy appearance.

If you thought the folks at Logistics were all a useless bunch who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, you'd be dead wrong. Fine, maybe some aren't very good at Arts, but Aroma is definitely not one of them.

Unlike the powerful casters able to freely wield fire and lightning or shoot bright beams of energy, Aroma's Arts require the use of a special detergent and a bubbling device with a built-in Arts Unit to create and control those seemingly light, fluffy, and harmless bubbles. But while her Arts may seem gentle by comparison, they nonetheless pack a powerful punch in their own right. These bubbles have excellent plasticity, and do not easily pop when used with her Arts. Of them, the smallest suds can wash away the most stubborn stains hiding in corners, while the larger, malleable bubbles are used to cleanse any 'unwelcome guests' threatening to bring dirt and chaos.

Order Number: 1200428

Order Details: Cleaning of bugs for plant pollination

Order Unit: Convalescent Garden

Handler: Aroma

Remarks: Are you SURE there aren't any live bugs that can still fly in there?

—A cleaning service order stored on the Rhodes Island Logistics Department's terminal

You gotta be more careful, Chiave. If you ever see a sign saying 'Cleaning in progress' in the hallway like this, take another route to the repair workshop.

Why...? You want to be trapped in Aroma's bubbles for an entire day again?

No, not even if you've got an idea for a retrofit that'll go poof in your brain if you don't do it right away... You say you're inspired now?

...Let's go, Broca. We'll drag that asshole back if we need to. Remember to wipe your shoes first.

—Aosta

On rainy days, you can sometimes find Aroma sitting next to a porthole, looking out the window at the rain.

'Can you describe what rain tastes like?' An operator once jokingly asked her, upon seeing how engrossed she was with it.

'The rain that falls here on Rhodes Island has no taste. In Columbia, it has the taste of the wasteland sand, and the aroma of grass when the plants are sprouting. In Siracusa, it has a faint lemon scent, the smell of tobacco, and the sour odor of sweat. And then...' Aroma stopped there. After some time, she kept gazing out the window at the intermittent rain.

In Siracusa, each family has their own dirty business they need dealt with, and once that's done, they are left with a mess they need a professional cleaner to get rid of. So thoroughly it will be as if it was all washed away by the rain. We understand Aroma's grandmother to have been one such famous cleaner. According to rumor, no matter how terrible the scene, she was able to make the place look spotless.

As a child, Aroma was energetic and mischievous, and she often followed her grandmother everywhere. Yet when she followed her to a cleaning job one time and broke her promise to remain outside the house—instead chasing a bubble that flew far, far away into a small alley—she witnessed a crime. Ever since, her personality shifted from lively and energetic to quiet and cautious, and she became less and less able to tolerate dirty environments. This experience also prompted her family to make the decision to move away from Siracusa and restart their business in Columbia.

Aroma tells us that, aside from that one experience, her impression during childhood was that she belonged to a normal Siracusan family who ran a laundromat as well as a workshop producing fragrances and detergents. Her strict grandmother always took charge of both family and business matters down to the last detail, and everyone else needed only follow her instructions and 'work for the family' as per Siracusan tradition.

For example, on holidays her grandmother would wake everyone up early to prepare. Once they were finished with the all-important house cleaning, they would follow her orders and divide up the house chores. Some would go out shopping, others would be in charge of food prep, and yet others would put up decorations in every corner of the house. Even after leaving Siracusa, this tradition remained with them year after year.

'For as long as I can remember, it's always been pretty noisy back home, and it got even noisier during family gatherings. We could probably tear the house down just from the noise. But whenever that happened, Nonna would clap her hands, and everyone would quiet down to listen to our matriarch's orders.

'But really, my nonna isn't as strict or scary as you'd think. She's such a kind old lady, cute even. One time when I was a kid, it rained really hard. The water in the yard almost reached up to my knees. I was so excited I rushed out to dance around and stomp on the water.

'...Not only did she not scold me, she came out and started singing and dancing along with me. She even yelled at the others to come join us!

'Forgiveness, trust, intimacy, and loyalty... I think that's what my family has always stood for.'

Dear Nonna:

How have you been?

The summer in Columbia must be getting hotter and hotter. I hope the heat hasn't been too hard on you. I'm sure you must have been yelling at everybody as always, ordering them around.

I got Mamma's letter as well as the package you sent. My friends on Rhodes Island love it. Right, I have some good news. I'm now formally an employee of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals! I can proudly say that I'm no longer a patient needing to be watched over, but a productive member of society!

I really miss you, Nonna. I'll be back home before my next birthday, but I was wondering if you could stop playing my childhood videos during birthday dinners? Also, I have another sudden request. Before I come home, I'd like to pay a visit to the city we lived in when I was a child, and see the lemon tree you planted in the yard to grow alongside me. Would you be okay with that?

Con affetto,

Aroma