Chapter 91 – Being popular

Maya somehow managed to teach princess Anna fire magic, or at least made her aware she can use it. While the two were training, Sophia was fawning all over Ellie, the three-year-old little sister of Anna. An attachment between the two formed, deep enough to cause her problems in the future, but she wasn't aware of that yet.

"Anything you want to do, Maya?" The two were walking through the capital together, taking a break from the royal family. Sophia was wearing her white hat again to gather a little bit less attention. Unfortunately, she was also wearing the floral sundress she got from the cat-girl. This caused her to get attention for a different reason.

"My, look at that girl in the white dress over there."

"Really, she's pretty cute!"

"I'm being healed~." The pedestrians the couple came across were very drawn to Sophia. Curiously enough, it was almost entirely female onlookers that paid attention to her.

"Yeah... Wait, that tail... isn't she..."

"Hmm...? She's from the tiger-family?! I've never seen her before, though..."

"Wait, wasn't there a rumor about a new tiger-girl arriving in the city? Guess it's true?"

"The royal family is something else. Everyone's so good-looking."

"Definitely, but she takes the candle there. I love the blonde hair and fur."

"Absolutely. Though, Princess Anna has a lot of things going on for her, too."

"A very fair point you have there. I've always been a fan of how tall the princess is and those legs that come with it~."

"I like your priorities!" The pedestrians were having a lot of fun. "Oh, but look at her partner? She's also stunning."

"The cat-girl? Yeah, I was wondering which one of the two was actually the lucky one there. Again, amazing legs~."

"You have a thing for tall girls, huh? Not that I can blame you. The short ones are really cute, too, though."

"A-Aren't you a popular one, Maya?" Sophia was listening in to the gossip around them.

"Really, Sophia? Really?" She didn't want to deal with this. "Anyway, let's go inside somewhere."

"Y-Yeah... While teasing's always fair game, all these stares are making me feel nervous. Ah, there's a café!"

"Oh, I would like some cake." Grabbing her arm, Maya dragged her into the café. There, the two ordered some delicious-sounding cake sets and chatted while waiting.

"So, are you getting better along with Princess Anna yet? I haven't watched most of your training, after all. "

"Well, you were busy with the other princess..."

"Ahaha."

"Hmm... That's a little complicated, actually. I think I could get along with her really well. I'm not sure if I want to, though... She's waaay too into you!"

"Is that really so bad? I haven't had any friends my age in way over a decade, let alone... more, so I'm kinda happy to be d-desired... I obviously won't answer her feelings, though."

"If you put it that way... I am glad for you in a way, but still... While I trust you, the others are the problem. Especially that thirsty princess! Who knows what she'd try if she's alone with you!"

"And I would never let that happen."

"Are you sure? You're so scatterbrained that one could easily trick or surprise you! I could kiss you before you'd even react."

"That's... My guard around you is way lower!" She stopped for a moment. "Okay… I-I'll be careful... I'll only let little girls get close to me."

"..." Maya stared at her with a complicated expression.

"Okay... that sounded wrong." Sophia noticed her mistake. "In a totally innocent way! Don't look at me like that!"

"You sure like Princess Ellie, huh?"

"She's adorable!"

"That was fast... You might have a point, though. She was rather cute. You two together were."

"Ehehe~."

"But what about our plan to leave? If you got that attached to her, will you be able to say goodbye?"

"A-Ah!" Sophia froze up. "Uuh... that's a dilemma..."

"Is she more important than your dream to travel?"

"Urgh, what a decision. Probably... not..." She wasn't fully convinced about it. "I wonder if there's a way to travel, but also return in an instant whenever I'm needed... or want to play with Ellie!"

"Your real intention leaked out there, idiot." Maya rolled her eyes once more. "Your idea sounds a bit like teleportation, but..."

"Yeah, I'm not going to try that, don't worry."

"Good."

"Maybe I'll give a couple of alternatives some thought."

"Princess Ellie really got you good..."

"She's adorable, after all!" Sophia repeated herself.

"I feel a bit left out..."

"Y-You're adorable, too! Adorable and much, much more~!"

"Good safe."

"You're the bestest!"

"Thanks... By the way, where have Fen and Aura been all this time?"

"Good question... I haven't seen them since we got our rooms..." Sophia closed her eyes for a second. "Oh, it seems like they're still on the castle grounds from what I can detect."

"I wonder if it's alright to leave them alone there..." Maya sounded a little concerned.

"They won't do anything stupid, like, for example, attacking a princess or something like that."

"I did that only once! Okay, maybe two or three times..." She corrected herself. "But it's alright, Anna's a tough one! But maybe not enough for our wolves..."

"This continent is not tough enough for them..."

"Not that this makes me feel any less concerned."

"It's fine~." Sophia trusted them enough.

"Yeah, you're probably right..."

"Oh, how about we pay the sorry excuse of an adventurer guild another visit and sell a few of the golem eyes?" The tiger-girl was still disappointed that the place was so easygoing compared to what she read in those fantasy books of her old world.

"From the group Fen had killed? Sure. Maybe not all of them at the same time, though... That would create quite the commotion. Then again, that's a given with you, anyway."

"Y-Yeah... but we shouldn't make it worse..."

"Might be fun?" Maya wanted to tease her a bit.

"Might not." Sophia didn't share her opinion. "How about we sell four eyes for starters? Basically, killed two of them?"

"Sounds like a plan. But what do you need the money for? Buying a house, after all?"

"Probably not? Still, money's way more useful than golem eyes."

"That's fair."

"Ah, maybe some more clothes?"

"Ohh~!" And just like that, Maya was suddenly very motivated.

"K-Keep it reasonable, okay...?" She had a bad feeling about the reason why she was looking so forward to it. "Actually, why do I care? We have enough money, and you can't be worse than I am when it comes to uselessly spending it, anyway."

"Sure~!"

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The couple finished their cake that had arrived while chatting and left the café again before long. Walking through the capital, Sophia was still catching many curious glances, but she was beginning to get used to it to some degree. The two eventually arrived at the adventure guild and entered the place. Luckily, it seemed to be a good time because the building was basically empty. Only a mature-looking female receptionist with black hair and cat-ears was present.

"Welcome. How can I help the two of you? Oh...?" She stopped after Sophia took off her hat inside the building. "Might you be here for an inspection of the guild?"

"Huh...? A-Ah, no... While I look like this... I'm not officially linked to the royal family right now."

"We're here on our own accord."

"Alright...? Oh, are you the rumored-"

"Yes, that's me." Sophia didn't need her to finish to understand.

"I see... Well then, again, how can I help you, stranger with a very interesting-sounding backstory?" The receptionist adapted fast.

"Ahaha..." A dry laugh escaped the tiger-girl's lips. "W-Well, when we were here before, I saw the request for golem eyes... Is that still up to date?"

"Of course! That's a permanent request. Crafters are always looking for them. Especially lately because the supply seemed to have declined a lot for some reason..."

"Yeah, because our Fenny has destroyed a nest of them or something..." She mumbled in a voice low enough for only Maya to hear.

"Y-Yeah..."

"Could it be... do you have some at hand? The two of you seem to be really powerful, so it would be possible."

"Ahhh... yes. We ran into two rock golems yesterday. We have four eyes right now..."

"Two even?! That's incredible! Please let us buy these eyes!"

"W-Well, that's why we're here..." Judging by her reaction, Sophia was glad she mentioned only two golems for now.

"Thank you very much!"

"Sure." Sophia grabbed into the backpack Maya was carrying and took the four out. She had put them in there before because her storage magic was deemed as way too flashy by the cat.

"Those are indeed rock golem eyes..." The guild worker confirmed the goods before handing over the reward. "Four eyes, that'll be 500 gold coins in total. Do you want it like that, or should I exchange them to five big gold coins?"

"Five big ones, please."

"Alright."

"Eh? Wait... Isn't that too much?" She was confused about the amount. "Well, not that I'm complaining, but-"

"They normally go for around 80 to 100 gold per eye, depending on the size. As these are high-quality items, combined with the current low supply and high demand, they're worth more."

"Oh, I see. So, it wouldn't be a bad idea to hunt some more of them, huh?"

"If you're up for the challenge and run into them, by all means, please do so! We'll happily buy them from you. Just take care and don't do anything too dangerous."

"Of course. Maya, we should scout the area where we found the two. There might be some more."

"S-Sure..." She played along with her act.

"Okay then, I hope you find some more golems. Assuring your safety, of course."

"We'll, uhh, manage..." Sophia looked a little awkward.

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A little later, the couple left the adventurer guild again but decided to save the clothes shopping for another time. As it was the late afternoon by, the streets began to become really lively, and the stares at Sophia multiplied, as well. Before, she had become able to somewhat deal with it, but this was too much. As a result of this, the two headed back to the castle for the time being.

"So... phia!" They had just entered through the main entrance when a familiar voice called out to the tiger-girl.

"Ellie?!"

"So... phia!" Trying her best to keep her balance, the little girl ran towards Sophia.

"Ahh... I know that feeling..." She felt nostalgic watching the slight unsteadiness in her steps while trying to balance with her tail. Waiting for Ellie, she squatted down and welcomed her with open arms.

"Yay!" Happy about the invitation, she jumped at Sophia before getting hugged by the bigger girl while they spun around on the spot.

"Ahaha."

"Ehehe~." The two were laughing while spinning through the entrance hall.

"Yeah, we're not going to leave, are we?" Maya quietly mumbled while she looked at the two playing around.

"So... What's going on here?" Once she put the little tiger-girl down again, Sophia finally questioned the situation.

"Well..." Watching from the sidelines until now, queen Kira finally joined the conversation. "She wanted to see you as soon as possible and decided to wait here... Immediately throwing a tantrum whenever I wanted to bring her to her room."

"Ahh... Ellie, you should listen to your mom."

"B-But So... phia was late!"

"Even so, you shouldn't do that. Mom only wants your best, okay?"

"Uuh... I know... Ellie will listen next time."

"You're a good girl." Sophia petted her head as a reward.

"Thanks." Kira was grateful. "Now let's go, Ellie, it's almost time for dinner."

"B-But..."

"Don't worry, we can play a little later." Sophia gave her another pat before gently pushing the girl towards her mother.

"Yay!" Ellie had a broad smile.

"Ahaha... Oh, Maya, Sophia, you might want to take a look at the training grounds..." Kira received her daughter before looking at the two. "Fen and Aura did a couple of, let's say, demonstrations for a few of our military personnel, and... things got a little out of hand."

"E-Eh?!"

"I knew it!" Maya already had the suspicion before that it was possible for the wolves to stay quiet all day long.