Chapter 121 – A new place to stay

Sophia and the others went to visit the mansion she received from the king for winning the war against the humans. It was way too big, but they still liked it a lot, and everyone already found their favorite spot. While not admitting, the wolves loved the fireplace in the living room above everything else. Maya was taken by the kitchen, and Sophia almost canceled her plans to travel the world because of the mansion's bedroom.

Once they finished exploring, the group went back to the castle. Moving in would take a while, after all. There, Sophia met up with King Menzor again while Maya also tagged along.

"Oh, you're already back?" He hadn't expected to see them so soon.

"Yeah, we only looked at the first mansion."

"Really? Was there an issue?"

"Not at all!" Sophia shook her head. "That one was already way too big, and the other one was supposed to be much bigger... I wasn't a fan of that. The first one also was really nice, and everyone liked it, so there wasn't much of a decision to be made."

"I see. I'm glad we could offer something to your liking."

"Much more than that." She would've been perfectly content with a simple house. "Well, now we have one more thing to look forward to when we come to the capital."

"Perfect." This might've been the king's real aim. "Right, I also wanted to tell you that I sent a group of envoys to the human capital. To inform them of our intention to meet with their king."

"Ahh, right... that waste of time..." The blonde respected the king most of the time, but she already knew this plan was sure to fail. "How long will it take before we get a reply?"

"The round trip with our fastest harses takes at half a year... Plus, how long we have to wait for their reply. They might even arrive before the defeated human army's back at their capital, which would increase the time of their response even more."

"Seriously?!" Coming from a place where one was able to make a round trip literally around the entire world in a day or two, Sophia really hated how slow everything here is. "I suppose I have to wait until they're back before I can try it my way with the humans?"

"I implore you."

"Urgh... Even though I already know it's going to be fruitless... The royal family of the humans is one of the biggest reasons why they're so deranged, after all, and we still have to wait for them... Well, it'll give me more than enough time to think about what I really want to do with the humans…"

"What do you mean?" Her words made Menzor curious.

"When Maya and I stayed behind in... uh, what was it called again... Erime?"

"Talaga."

"Right... Close enough." She still was terrible with names. "We met a human near the battlefield because these lowlifes left him behind after he broke his leg. I couldn't miss the opportunity to question him. After I broke his spirit with my darkness magic during the war, he was pretty talkative." Sophia then told him about how their higher-ups use propaganda against other races to brainwash the ordinary people. How soldiers aren't allowed to talk about their military campaigns or how everything that questions their superiority gets hushed over. Most humans simply don't know their standing in the world.

"Are you... serious?" He needed a moment.

"That's what I was told." The blonde naturally couldn't tell him that a part of this information came from Canir.

"Wow... Oh, this would explain why the common soldiers and adventurers we questioned never said anything useful. They really didn't know any better. But still... wow. I need to inform the commanders and see how we can use this information."

"Sorry..." Sophia noticed that she gave him even more work again.

"No, if anything, thank you." He wasn't upset in the slightest. "For now, I would like to continue with my diplomatic approach until we find a way to use this new intel."

"Fine..." She reluctantly agreed. "Though the moment I hear about them trying to do anything shady on us again, I'll be in their capital."

"Yes..." King or not, Menzor knew that entirely stopping Sophia was way above his powers.

----------------

Because he had to inform the military commanders about this new information asap, he cut the meeting short, and the couple was on their way again.

"What now?" Maya asked as the two were walking side by side through the castle.

"Good question... That Ari dragged off the princess the moment we came back, so... I guess that previously mentioned cooking contest isn't happening today?"

"Still hungry?"

"I could eat something."

"Want to get a snack?

"Now that's a plan!"

As the two had no idea how to get food on their own in the castle, the couple informed the maids they usually run into about wanting to eat something quick and simple. Afterward, they went back to the terrace in the castle's garden, which had quickly become their favorite place. Not even a couple of minutes later, two maids had already arrived and served them a plate with widely assorted canapé-like snacks, together with a pot of tea to satisfy their drinking needs.

"That's neither quick nor simple!" Maya retorted the moment they were alone again while glancing at the colorful and elaborately crafted food.

"I think it was pretty quick, though." Sophia didn't waste any time and immediately tried something that caught her fancy. "Delicious!"

"You know what I mean." Even so, she obviously still tried it. "You're right. It's good."

"Ehehe."

"So, we have a mansion now, huh...?" While the two were snacking away on the canapes, the cat-girl summed up their day.

"Can't say I saw that coming when I arrived here." Sophia still hadn't fully processed it. "Any of this." She pointed all around her, including at the cat-girl.

"I want to retort with an 'Imagine how I feel', but I would lose that contest..." While Maya's life had drastically changed, it was nothing compared to the tiger, who wasn't even a tiger not too long ago.

"Haha." She had to chuckle. "Well, I surprised you quite a lot, so I would say it's only fair."

"That's putting it lightly."

"We both didn't get what we signed up for, huh?"

"Eh…?" Maya seemed to disagree. "The other way around. I got way more than I signed up for. I wanted to travel with you and learn your magic. Instead, I got you. Though, getting you also included somehow ending up becoming part of the royal family."

"Oh, I like that way of thinking." The tiger-girl, from time to time, still tended to see the negative side of things first. "I wanted to have a slow life, without much action, but what I now have is surprisingly fun. Well, for the most part. Not even including you, Maya."

"And what is it with me included?" She got curious.

"A dream." Sophia spoke without thinking.

"W-Wow." Maya felt embarrassed just hearing the line.

"..." She turned silent while her face almost lit on fire.

"l, uhh... don't know how to react to that."

"T-Then just don't!" The blonde wanted to die while she covered her bright-red face with her hands

"I... I mean, I'm happy, but..."

"Just stop!" Sophia already had a talent for embarrassing herself, but she still managed to ascend even higher from time to time. "I didn't want to say that out loud! It was already out in the open before my stupid brain could stop me!"

"Were your corny lines boosted, as well?"

"Uuuh... " She put her head on the table and used her arms to shield her face, trying to run away from everything while she also stopped responding. A couple of groaning noises were all that came out of the girl for a while before Maya finally changed the topic.

"Soo... about that mansion,"

"Y-Yes...?" Hesitatingly, Sophia lifted her head again and gingerly glanced at the cat-girl. Her eyes were still wet from the tears caused by the massive self-loathing she went through. "What about it?"

"Gosh, you are adorable..." Maya was unable to react any differently after seeing the frail expression of the girl.

"..." Sophia needed another five minutes to recover.

"Anyway... Do we need anything for the mansion?"

"Hmm..." She was glad the topic was finally over for good. "L-Let's see... Oh, the windows were all bare, so maybe some curtains? At the very least, for the living room, our bedroom, and wherever Fen and Aura want to stay. Though, they might be happy with just a fluffy rug in front of the fireplace."

"Ahaha, you could be right there. Those two are pretty docile if there's nothing to do, huh?"

"Yeah, they're super cute."

"Well, curtains are a nice idea. Let's get some tomorrow."

"Yay, shopping trip!"

"A-Ah..." Maya stopped while she remembered saying something about reducing those trips after seeing how much junk had piled up in Sophia's storage dimension. "W-We need them, so it's fine..."

"Hehe." Sophia knew what she was talking about. "Anything else?"

"I need to take a better look at the kitchen, but with everything we're already hoarding, we should be mostly fine. Save for some ingredients."

"Yes, there's almost a whole kitchen in my storage."

"Sorry..." Maya, too, gets carried away when they go shopping.

"Don't be. It greatly enhanced my camping experience." She loved her cooking, after all. "Do we need anything for the bath?"

"Hmm, we more or less have any care products we need, right?"

"Or too much. When I cleaned the storage, I found like 50 bottles..."

"There's no such thing as too much!" Maya disagreed with her claim.

"Fair... Especially because your hair's such a piece of work." Sophia stared at the cat-girl's long, snow-white hair.

"It needs a lot of care!" She was very proud of her hair. "Ah, I might want to get some bigger towels. Quickly drying my hair with air magic tends to make it frizzy... Not to mention too puffed up when I don't pay attention."

"Suuuch a piece of work." She repeated herself.

"Oi, like you're one to talk!" She couldn't stay silent on her remark. "At least 30 bottles are from you alone! They're all special shampoos for feline hair, fur, ears, and tails you tried and hated."

"Guh..." She hadn't expected a reversal. "I-It can't be helped… Tail aside, which already is next to impossible, my ears are very sensitive, and every shampoo I tried out feels disgusting!"

"They're also very sensual~." She flashed her a cheeky grin.

"S-Shut up."

"Tehe~." She stuck out her tongue as a reply.

"Ah, now that I've remembered, I could ask Anna about that... Maybe she knows about some care products specially made for tigers. There might be a difference between different felines?"

"Or your boosts are bullying you again."

"..." This possibility felt way too real for Sophia. "I-l already was pretty fussy about those things before... especially shampoos and conditioners. If I combine that with my overly sensitive ears..."

"I just wanted to make a joke..." It had completely backfired.

"I-I'll ask the princess immediately when I see her again!"

"Good luck..."

"..." Sophia needed five minutes to recover. "A-Anyway, let's see, curtains, ingredients for cooking, towels, and care products tailor-made for tigers!" From the sounds of it, the last part was definitely the most important one to her.

"That should be it for the time being. We can always get more stuff once we live there and notice what's missing." Maya agreed.

"That's a good point."

"Wait a moment..." The cat-girl suddenly stopped and tilted her head.

"What's wrong?"

"It sounds more and more like we're actually moving in there for good. I thought we're only going to use it as a base where we can hide the portal to return to the capital with your magic?"

"Well, I wanted to stay here for a while regardless. The king said it would also take around half a year for the envoys to return from the human capital. That sounds like a good amount of time."

"Might as well make it as nice as possible for that, huh?"

"Exactly. Also, I really don't feel like camping outside when it's getting colder. Some people are into winter camping, and they have my utmost respect for that, but... Once it gets cold, I need a lot of willpower to go out at all. Getting warm and toasty in front of a fireplace sounds much more enticing."

"Is this Sophia speaking, or the cat, err… tiger in you."

"Yes." It was the same for her now.

"Ehh...?"

"I never liked the cold. Before, the only motivation I had was my daily running and work. Now, feline me seems to hate the cold even more."

"I see... So, are we going to hibernate in the capital during the winter months?" The tone of Maya's voice showed no indication that she disliked the idea.

"Hmm... I first have to see how the winters are like here... That being said, there's no need for us to camp anymore if the weather doesn't play along or we don't find a good spot. We can simply return to the mansion and sleep in the amazing bed, of which I'm pretty sure is made out of magic-infused clouds. Sure, I could probably use magic to keep the campsite warm, but that somehow also takes out the fun..."

"A-Ah." The cat-girl hadn't thought about that. "We travel during the day, come back for the night, and continue where we left off in the next morning?"

"Early noon." Sophia didn't like the word morning.

"Whatever." She was used to it. "Anyway, that's a brilliant idea!"

"Well, I do like our camping nights still. If the weather's good and we find a nice place, we'll still do it. Watching the campfire under the starry sky, preferably from your lap, has its very own charm."

"Ehehe, that's true. I also would miss that. Ah, but always remember that we're alternating positions every night!"

While the couple talked about all those topics, the rest of the day went by in a flash. In preparation for the next day, where they planned to go shopping and start getting the mansion ready, the two went to bed slightly early.