Chapter 73 – Shopping

Sophia had found out that her transformation into a tiger-girl had way bigger consequences than she thought it would have. Visiting the first beastfolk city since she became one, the group learned that tigers are actually a royal race. Once she had recovered from the initial shock, the girls decided to focus on what they actually visited the city for, though. Not only to get a distraction.

"Okay, what do you want to shop for first, Sophia?" Dragging her by the hand, Maya was walking through the streets with the girl.

"Hmm, good question... Wait, where's Fen?" Looking around, she noticed that the two girls were alone.

"Weren't you listening?"

"Huh? Guess I was too busy with the whole tiger and royal thing..."

"Fair excuse. He said he's feeling under-challenged lately and that he's going for a walk... No idea what he was implying, but…"

"Should-, Should I be scared?" Sophia had a bad feeling about this walk of his.

"I want to say no, but it's Fen, so-"

"Yes." The couple answered at the same time.

"Okay, back to shopping." They ditched the topic of the wolf. Neither of them wanted to know.

"A good idea." Sophia felt the same. "Ah, look, a store for kitchen utensils. Let's go there first!" She pointed at a place with many pans, pots, cutlery, plates, and the likes on display.

"Oh, I'm getting excited!" The cook of the group was looking forward to it. The two entered and were immediately greeted by the owner.

"Welco- Eh?" The slightly elderly-looking male half-bear beastman looked at Sophia and froze up. "A-A tiger!?"

"Shhh..." Maya put a finger on her lips, urging the owner not to mention it. "We're traveling incognito because we're on a mission. Please don't raise a fuss." She already found a way to use the new situation.

"Y-Yes, this won't be a problem for this old me." He had gotten formal all of a sudden. "H-How could this humble store and I be of use for you?"

"Err..." The cat-girl sounded a little awkward. "We need some basic equipment for preparing, cooking, and eating."

"O-Of course! Are there any preferences?"

"Nothing too fancy. Just sturdy and reliable with a good value." Maya already had an idea of what she wanted.

"Yes, I have a lot in stock that fits these requirements." Afterward, the store owner showed the girls all sorts of pans, pots, cutlery, and many other things that could be interesting. Using the money the group had earned by doing basically nothing, they bought about anything that could be remotely of use during their camping.

"Ahaha~." Once they left the store, Maya couldn't hold her laughter any longer. "That was fun. How easy it was to deceive him."

"We're on a secret mission now, huh?" Sophia rolled her eyes before she let the bought goods disappear in her extra space when nobody was nearby.

"I think that was a good excuse. Way better than explaining to him how you are not royalty and all that."

"That's actually... a really good point."

"Okay, let's continue our secret mission! Shopping, that is!" The cat-girl was in a good mood.

"Sure."

"Alright, let's get this date going!" She grabbed Sophia's hand and started walking again. She didn't make it far, though. After just a step, Maya had to stop because the tiger-girl hadn't moved an inch.

"D-Date...?" It had caught her off-guard.

"Yeah. A couple, walking hand in hand, shopping together. That's a date. An actual one."

"O-Oh, okay..." A slight blush appeared on her cheeks. The tiger-girl had gotten a lot better with the situation, but she still wasn't used to any of this.

"Embarrassed?"

"A-A bit... but also really happy. It's a complicated feeling."

"Ehehe~. Let's work hard to only leave the happy part." Maya squeezed her hand and gave walking another try.

"Y-Yes..." Glancing at their hands for a moment, Sophia then followed her with a smile on her lips. The two held hands basically constantly lately, but doing so on a date somehow felt different.

"Oh, a grocery store." After walking next to each other for a couple of minutes, Maya spotted another place of use for them. "Let's get some spices and non-perishable food like pasta or rice."

"I'm going to love our new camp meals!" Sophia was a big fan of the idea.

The couple went inside, and after telling the surprised owner about their secret mission, they went on. The two got pasta, rice, and all sorts of other grains in vast amounts. Dried fruits were on sale, and so Sophia got them as well. All of them. She also bought a ton of nuts and seeds for snacking. After getting various spices, especially the staple sugar, salt, and pepper, together with some dried herbs, the two left the store again.

"What a haul!" Maya looked at the bags of food before handing them over to Sophia, who stored them away.

"I expect big things during our next outdoor meal. We spent a lot of money, after all! I think...? Uh, did we spent a lot? I have no idea how money works here..."

"It was not a little. Ignoring the tons of nuts and dried fruits, especially the cooking equipment was pretty costly."

"Well, we're using money we got from a couple of minutes of work. All we did was killing some golems and using a bit of earth magic... It's hard for me to see the value of money now." The tiger questioningly tilted her head.

"Uhh, I want to retort something, but I can actually understand. My poor common sense is getting corrupted."

"Haha. I mean, killing a golem, and you can live for a month or two. It's half a year for the bridge... Let's fight some allegedly strong monster, collect whatever's valuable from them, and buy a house in the capital after a couple of hours of work."

"I don't think it's that easy... Wait a moment, it actually is, isn't it?" Maya didn't know what was normal anymore and what wasn't.

"Well, I'm not planning to buy a house, but... Alright, what's left for our shopping spree?"

"Didn't you want to get some clothes?"

"Right, long pants!"

"No." The cat-girl immediately shot her down once more.

"Ehh... didn't we agree on that? It was okay when I get some clothes to your liking when we sleep."

"Hmmn," She was conflicted. "W-Well, let's see how you look in one before I decide."

"Don't you mean before I, as in me, decide?" Sophia pointed at herself while saying so.

"No."

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Having agreed to disagree, the couple walked around some more while ignoring the stares Sophia was getting until they finally found a clothing store.

"Welcome~." A cheerful greeting reached them the moment they entered. A tall blue-haired girl with long bunny ears and some other large assets smiled at the two. Agewise, she seemed to be in her early twenties, visually a couple of years older than the couple. "My, some interesting customers have arrived. How can I be of help~?"

"Not raising a fuss, huh?" Maya was relieved that the store clerk didn't flinch at Sophia's presence.

"Do you wish me to? I could do that. It's not every day that such important customers visit this place." She was a professional.

"No, we prefer it that way."

"So, what can I do for this adorable couple?

"Ehehe." The cat-girl was happy about how they were addressed.

"It's still fresh, huh? Congratulations~." The clerk giggled at Maya's shy laugh. "You managed to catch quite the big fish there. Ignoring the obvious, even without talking, this girl's oozing with charisma. I'm getting quite charmed here, and I'm not even really into girls~. More importantly, I'm not interested in stealing others, either. Still, you should be careful, cat."

"Tell me about it..." Maya immediately bonded with her as it seemed the girl was no rival and simply understood and sympathized with her.

"H-Huh...? Oozing with charisma...? M-Me?"

"Yes!" The cat and bunny had the same reaction to Sophia bashfully tilting her head while pointing at herself.

"Ehh...?" Her cheeks turned even redder.

"What a cutie. Okay, enough of that." The bunny-girl tried to get back on track. "Looking for clothes, I take it?"

"Yeah."

"Y-Yes, I wanted to get some actual, long pants... "

"Why would you want that?" The clerk looked confused. "You shouldn't hide such beautiful legs."

"Thank you!" Maya liked her even more.

"Uuh, s-so unfair!" Sophia had no allies.

"Let's start with the stuff we actually want."

"We, huh?" She lightly glared at Maya.

"Alright." She ignored the tiger-girl. "Well, it's not clothing in the truest context, but do you also have pajamas and swimsuits?"

"Of course. We even have some cute couple-look pajamas."

"Sold!" The cat-girl instantly bought them unseen.

"Thank you very much. As for bikinis, you're in luck. We Just got the new arrivals of cute two-piece ones from the current collections."

"And just like that, things have gotten really interesting." Maya certainly wasn't holding back.

"Urgh, this world's too advanced in the weirdest things..." Sophia was quietly complaining to herself. "No cars or other quality of life things of a modern civilization... but freaking two-piece bikinis... Just because you have magic to take care of everything, don't focus all your ingenuity on weird stuff!"

"Did you say something?"

"No... Ah, but you're getting one, too, Maya!" In the end, she just wanted to complain about something because her thoughts weren't the purest ones, either.

"As long as you choose a good one for me, I don't mind."

"I-, for you...?"

"Of course! And I'll get one for you in return!"

"N-Nothing too s-skimpy, okay?" She reluctantly accepted with conditions.

"A-Ah..." She awkwardly pulled her eyes away from a model on display that was notably missing in fabric.

"Y-You…"

"Ehehe~."

"Also, if you plan on getting me one with a frilly top only to mask something, I won't talk to you for at least a week!"

"I-I wouldn't dream of it."

"Oh?" The bunny-girl glanced at Sophia's chest. "Self-conscious?"

"It's, uhh, complicated..." Her current looks were a decision she made, in which she prioritized function over form, but that didn't mean there was still a little regret left. Especially when Maya was missing them more than anyone else.

"I don't think you need to be. They're not that small. They also perfectly fit your sporty figure."

"Doesn't sound that credible, coming from you..." Sophia looked at the clerk's massive assets in return.

"Ah." She had no reply in store.

"Okay, bikinis!" The cat-girl had enough.

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The couple browsed around in the swimsuit section for a while until both had found an interesting one for their partner. Sophia was the first one who had to enter the fitting room with the bikini Maya had chosen for her.

"S-So embarrassing..." After changing, she reluctantly stepped outside again to present herself. As she likes to move around, the cat-girl had chosen a sporty bikini with a little more fabric for her. Its base color was a dark blue, almost black, but it also had two pink stripes on the left cup and the bottom part for added cuteness. "Even the fabric feels modern... I don't get the priorities of this place..."

"*clap clap clap*" Instead of a spoken answer, Maya and the clerk were simply applauding her.

"Uuh, this was a bad idea..." She bashfully squirmed around so much that even the tiger-girl's tail seemed to be nervous.

"Sold!" Maya, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. "You look great!" She was excitedly moving around her to get a good look from every angle.

"I have to agree." The clerk knew how to sell their stock. "There's absolutely no reason to worry about your chest, either. If anything, I would advise you to get some shirts that better accentuate your figure."

"..." Maya seemed like she wanted to make a comment as well when she followed the clerks' line of sight, which ended on Sophia's breasts but decided against it. She also looked a bit confused for some reason, but she still felt that staying silent was the best, the healthiest, option.

"W-Well, the bikini itself isn't bad..." Her main problem was being stared at with such vigor. "O-Okay, it's your time now, Maya!"

"Sure~." Grabbing her swimsuit, she disappeared into the fitting room. A couple of minutes and lots of rustling later, the transformed cat-girl stepped out again. Her bikini had not quite as much fabric, highlighting her curves, and especially her chest, much more. Held together by thin strings at its sides, the bikini was primarily white, while one of her cups was filled with red polka dots, perfectly matching her usual clothes. "My, how bold~." She didn't fail to notice the difference in skin exposure between the two of them.

"W-Well, you like the color... right? T-Though, I, uhh, might... wanted to see you... wearing a bikini like that..."

"I-Isn't she the cutest?!" Maya faced the bunny-girl and boasted to her.

"I have to agree."

"W-Why am I always the embarrassed one, in the end, either way?!" Sophia had utterly lost.

"Hehe~. Well, I like the bikini. We'll be getting both."

"Thank you very much." The clerk was happy about the sale. "Anything else you two want?"

"To go home..." Sophia had enough embarrassment for a day.

"Let's see~," Maya didn't, though. "Oh, I want to get some spare underwear, but other than that..."

Sophia joined in with that request, and both got a couple of extras. Thankfully, for the tiger-girl, she wasn't urged to show them off before buying. Suspiciously enough, while she was browsing through them, Maya and the bunny-girl had disappeared for a while. Afterward, the bag the cat-girl was carrying when they left the store, was much bigger than Sophia's for some reason, even though they had supposedly bought the same. The cat-girl also forbade her to look inside when she handed it over to Sophia, so she could store it away in her extra space. In short, the tiger-girl had a very bad feeling.

After the couple said goodbye to the overly cheery bunny-girl clerk, whose smile was even bigger when she parted from Maya while looking at Sophia for some reason, they went to look for Fen, wondering if he's done with his walk already.