Chapter 12 – Plans for meeting the first humans

Still relaxing in the makeshift bath she made with magic, Sophia finished admiring the sky while letting out another comfortable sigh. Feeling very relaxed, thoughts about her new situation slowly crept up on her again.

"Haa… This whole situation is so ridiculous that it's almost funny. Being transported to another world… traveling together with an oversized… not to mention, overpowered wolf. And now I'm taking a bath that I made myself with magic of all things in the middle of nowhere …" It sounded even more unbelievable, saying out loud. "Not exactly the future I had in mind for me… Well, the life I had on earth was even less what I wanted it to be, though… This world definitely is more fun. Magic's awesome! Not having to care about anything? Great! Having an, uuh, interesting companion? Can't complain. Exploring nature, marveling at the exotic sights, and occasionally running into monsters? Surprisingly not scary. Having strong personality shifts that made all that possible? Unsurprisingly, very scary!" Sophia came back to the topic that caused her great worry over the last few days.

"I know there's not much I can do, but is it really fine that I'm accepting these changes so easily…? I mean, I've basically become someone else entirely… Fen said I became more like the person I wanted to be, and that's true… I want to be how I am right now. Open, outgoing, and genuinely having fun… simply enjoying my time. But at the same time. It feels like I'm denying my entire life until now, no matter how little I liked it… Is that actually okay? It somehow happened way too sudden to deal with it… Ah, one thing's the same, though, I still get super philosophical when taking a shower or bath…" Sophia got distracted in the middle of her monologue.

"Well, maybe the, in my opinion, better personality will help me talk to girls again? I think I'm more sociable now… Maybe… I'll even be able to find a girlfriend…? Haa, one can dream, right?" There was little hope in her voice. "One slight problem before all that, though… I have yet to meet any human in the first place!" It was more than a bit of a problem, actually. "Also, according to Fen, humans in this world don't seem like anything desirable to have a relationship with… Although, I think his opinion about them might be biased… I hope…" Her eyes started to nervously swim around at the possibility of him being right.

"Imagine me coming to another world and getting my personality, well… fixed. Now, being able to talk with people again, maybe even having the possibility to find someone special, only for the entire human race to be too annoying to stand…? Ahaha…" Her laugh didn't sound happy, but nervous. "That god wouldn't do something that cruel, would he? Surely… not?" Sophia was second-guessing the motivation of the overseer she met once more. "Yeah, no… there has to be at least one decent girl out there! I only have to find her!" Pushing away from the negative thoughts, she motivated herself and energetically jumped out of the bath. "A-Ah!" Only to fall over because she soaked in too long and got dizzy.

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Once she had recovered, dried herself up, and got dressed again, Sophia eventually reunited with Fen.

"Ah, you're back, Sophia. You sure took your time."

"Ahaha, yeah, I got a little distracted… Hey Fen, you said you'd come with me to the human city, right?" She sat down next to him, in front of the fire at their camp. "I'm really happy about that, but… I still can't imagine how… Like I said before, you're the absolute opposite of being inconspicuous in any possible way after all." She couldn't see how the wolf could walk through a human place without causing an uproar.

"Like always, magic's the answer, girl."

"Even if you say so, I can't see how that's going to help… Ah, don't tell me you can make yourself invisible?!" She suddenly got excited at the thought.

"Unfortunately, I can't."

"Aww…" She looked disappointed. "Then, how's your magic going to solve the issue?"

"How about I give you a little demonstration?" Fen stood up, and black smoke began to form around his body. Once he was fully engulfed by it, a pop-like sound could be heard, blowing the smoke away.

"Eh?" Sophia thought for a moment he was gone but then noticed something when she looked closer to the ground. The gigantic wolf had transformed into an ordinary-looking wolf cub, barely reaching her knees in size.

"So, what do you think? Pretty cool, right?"

"…" Sophia, unable to process the situation, needed some time to react.

"With this, I should be able to enter a human town without attracting attention."

"…"

"Is something the matter, Sophia?"

"You're so-, so… cute!" Not knowing what to say, she simply blurted out the first thing that went through her head when seeing the cub.

"That's not the point here!"

"It's not? Aww, it's true, though… Wait, is that really going to help? Sure, you're not that… eye-catching anymore, but cub or not, you're still a wolf."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I saw humans using beasts to improve their puny attack power in the past. I have no idea how they did that, though… If I pose as your tamed beast, we should be allowed to enter the city."

"You're basically my pet, then?" Sophia had her very own interpretation.

"Don't get ahead of yourself now, girl."

"Hehe~. I hope that really works because I want to continue traveling with you."

"Yes." He felt the same way.

"Still…" Sophia looked at the tiny cub version of Fen with a dangerous expression.

"What do you…"

"You're way too adorable after all!" Sophia had lost it, grabbed the wolf, and placed him on top of her lap, where she started to pet him. "Haa~, such fluffy fur!"

"…" Feeling humiliated to a degree he never was before, Fen was too surprised and shocked to react and let Sophia do as she pleased.

"That was great~!" A good while later, far longer than he's ever going to admit, Sophia finally let go of the wolf with a very refreshed look on her face. "You should stay in this size the entire time."

"Not… going to… happen. Ever." His opinion on the topic differed greatly.

"Aww…"

"Haa… transforming into a cub was not a good idea…" Regretting his decision, Fen reverted to his old size. "Now that I think about it, a regular-sized wolf would make more sense anyway! Not even these stupid humans would let a cub fight… probably."

"Ehh, I want cub Fen!"

"Alright, regular size, it is!" He completely ignored her pleas.

"Well, Fen's cute no matter the size, I'll survive."

"Hmm… maybe I'll make myself even bigger instead?"

"Yeah, no…" Sophia wasn't a fan of that idea.

"It wouldn't make sense anyway."

"How far was the human city again?" The topic was over.

"About two, no, rather three days, I guess. We might meet some of them earlier, though."

"Hmm…? Ah, you mean like the humans outside the town? Like gathering food or resources?"

"Yes. Few of them leave the cities for some reason, but we could see some the evening before reaching the city. Maybe sooner if we come across some particularly stupid, err, adventurous ones. A day for us could easily mean a week away from home for them, after all.

"Oh~, I'm getting excited." Sophia hadn't thought she might be able to see her kin, visually speaking, so soon already.

"I don't think there's any reason to be…" The wolf didn't share her feelings about seeing humans.

"Put yourself in my shoes, Fenny. Wouldn't you be looking forward to finding one of your own after coming to an unknown world?"

"That's exactly the reason why I want to keep your expectations low, Sophia. I already know more about this world's humans than I want to."

"I'm glad about your concern, but I want to get my own impression of them."

"Yes, this is why I'm not trying to force you to stop going, just saying you should keep your expectations low." Fen didn't want her to get too disappointed.

"Hmm… I don't think I can not get excited… Sorry Fen, I'm the kind of person that only learns the hard way."

"Just don't say I didn't warn you afterward." He gave up on persuading the girl.

"Thanks."

"Sure…" Even so, he wasn't happy about it and did not look forwards to Sophia's reaction.

The rest of the evening had a slightly awkward atmosphere to it. Because of that and how she wanted to get a head-start the next day, Sophia decided to go to bed early.

"Well, good night, Fen."

"Yes, good night." He decided to stay up a little longer and thought about their next steps. "I mean, she could be right and somehow meets a nice human or two. She is exceptionally lucky, after all. Still, I really don't think that's going to happen. I feel that our stop in the human city will be a very short one. What to do after that? Beastfolk? Yes, that might not be a bad idea. Most of them do, again, visually speaking, resemble humans in a way. From what I've seen so far, these guys are good people. Maybe a bit on the wilder side, though. Ah, but so is Sophia." She glanced at the sleeping girl. "Aside from when she's thinking about her previous life, that girl's unable to sit still for even five minutes. I feel like she would be super compatible with the beastpeople… And, to be honest, I would prefer them so much more than humans, too. No matter how nice of a person could be out there. Still, that's going to be Sophia's decision, not mine. Let's suggest the beastfolk city to her once we're done with the human one."

Having a backup plan ready, Fen also called it a day.