Chapter 122 – Interior shopping

The couple went over the things they needed for their new mansion. As it didn't seem to be much because the place was already fully furnished, the two decided to buy the rest the next day. Before that, Sophia had to take care of something of utmost importance, though.

"Anna!" The two spotted the princess in a hallway inside the castle, and the blonde immediately ran up to the other girl.

"Y-Yes...?"

"Say, do you use any special kind of shampoo? Wait, I think I actually asked you about it before, didn't I? On our way to Ta... Ta… Tanzania."

"Talaga."

"I'm pretty sure that's wrong... Well, whatever, it was so hectic afterward that I forgot about it. Anyway, have you?" As usual, she was all over the place.

"Ehh…?" She felt like missing a lot of context in this conversation.

"For the ears and tail!" She pointed at her tiger bits and moved them around a bit. "I've tried out whatever shampoo Maya recommended, but I didn't like any of it... No, I hated all of them!"

"Ah, I see..." Anna finally understood. "No wonder. Tiger fur is somewhat different from most felines. It's a little thicker and sleeker because it's more or less watertight. Normal shampoo just sticks to it without doing anything... It feels slimy, disgusting, and doesn't even really clean it."

"Exactly!" Sophia was delighted because this was precisely what she wanted to hear. "So, is there a place where I can get the good stuff?"

"Of course. Well, mother and I let the maids get it for us, but I can give you the address."

"Thank you very much!"

"Why is she so hyper…?" The princess looked at Maya for help.

"Ahh, let her be... She's happy that the shampoo's at fault for her suffering. She had a lot of problems with her tail and ears especially." She knew that the blonde was the happiest that her boost hadn't messed something up for once, but the cat-girl couldn't tell her that.

"I see... Wait, what have you been using until now, Sophia?!"

"The one that felt the less bad and willpower. Lots of it."

"W-Wow... poor you." Anna obviously didn't know that it only had been like two months. But even then, that was already plenty bad.

"Thanks... I'll immediately get it when Maya and I are going shopping together later."

"You're going shopping?"

"Yeah, we need a couple of things for the mansion."

"Oh, I see."

"Want to come with us?" Sophia invited her.

"Unfortunately, I can't... I still have some homework left and promised Ari to do it together with her later."

"No problem. Does that mean you two go to school together?"

"Yes. We're actually in the same class, too."

"Oh, that's cool."

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The trio chatted for a bit longer before they left for their shopping trip. The two also didn't want to hog the princess for too long when she already had another appointment planned. Before leaving the castle, Sophia also put on her hat again. It didn't do that much because her very noticeable tail was still out in the open but hiding the tiger ears made her stand out at least a little less. Going shopping while absolutely everyone took a glance at her made it a lot less fun and a lot more tiring.

The top priority was obviously the tiger shampoo, and so they first went to the store Anna told them about. The place had specialized sections for all sorts of beast people. It even had an adjacent salon where you could get treated with their products. For some reason, it seemed to be very popular with the wolf beastfolk. They all seemed very satisfied when exiting the saloon with their hair and fur all shiny and silky-smooth looking. Remembering how Fen and Aura also had become all fancy, Sophia was sure the two went to the same store, and she was more motivated than ever.

Inside, a cat-girl with brown hair noticed the blonde tiger and immediately knew what was up. After receiving a bit of advice on what's best for her hair and fur and how it's used, Sophia went for the so-called 'Royal package'. It was an assortment of care products crafted explicitly for the royal family, as they're the only tigers. Though, according to the clerk, it was also fairly popular with the female jaguars as their fur was relatively similar. Maya, seeing how happy her girlfriend was while also glancing at the fellow cat-girl clerk with incredibly smooth and silky-looking hair, couldn't leave the store without buying anything, either. Holding herself back with impulse buying wasn't off to a good start.

Afterward, the two went to the next best restaurant that seemed interesting to have lunch. While eating, the couple chatted about what to do next.

"I kinda just want to go to the mansion right now, hit the bath, and try out all the stuff I just bought..." Sophia was slightly impatient.

"Ahaha, let's save that for tonight." She urged her to wait. "Though, I'm looking forward to it, as well." Maya also had spent a lot of money on hair care products. Not to mention having gone all out on skin-related stuff, too.

"Fine... Okay, we also need curtains and towels, right?"

"Yes. Oh, we might get both in an interior decoration store. Wait, can you even get curtains for a mansion in a normal store?"

"Why not?" Sophia tilted her head. "Are they supposed to be any different than normal ones?"

"It's a fancy mansion... so fancy curtains?"

"Ehh...? Let's just get some that look nice and do their job." She didn't care about any of that.

"Right, good idea."

Once they finished their meal, the two looked for a store where they could get the mentioned curtains and towels. It didn't take them too long, and the two quickly got over with it.

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Afterward, the couple also got a few, a lot, ingredients to stock up their new kitchen and made their way towards the mansion. Getting lost only about seven times, the two arrived there in no time at all.

"Why are both of us useless with directions…?" Sophia looked a little exhausted.

"I'm not bad with directions, but navigating through the castle or those streets where everything looks the same... Nope."

"Let's get a map of the area when we're back in the castle."

"Good idea."

"Still," The tiger-girl stared at the oversized white mansion with the lovely garden all around it after opening the gate. "Really...?"

"It more and more appears to be so..." Maya had the same blank expression. Both still couldn't wrap their head around any of this.

"What a turn of events."

"My thoughts ever since meeting you." The cat-girl couldn't agree more.

"Let's go inside!" Having nothing to add to this, Sophia started walking forwards through the front garden. She unlocked the door of the mansion with the keys she received from the minister the day before.

"Ehehe." She followed her with a slight chuckle, and the two entered together. There, they went to the living room and sat down on one of the sofas to relax for a moment.

"So comfy~."

"Yes." While saying so, Maya leaned against Sophia and nuzzled her head into the other's shoulder. "Very."

"..." She enjoyed their closeness in silence for a while but eventually started looking around. "I don't think we bought enough curtains..." Her eyes stopped at one of the many windows.

"Yes. I somehow already forgot just how many windows there are."

"I like how much light they let in, though,"

"Absolutely, it makes the room feel really nice."

"How many curtains did we get again?" Sophia tried to recall what they bought.

"Ten. It never was enough for the whole place because we don't need all the rooms yet, but seeing now that the living room already needs six..."

"True. Especially those offices. Never going to happen. Still, we barely have enough for this and the bedroom, huh?"

"Seems like it." Maya agreed. "Well, depending on where Fen and Aura want to sleep, it might be enough. Not that I think Fen cares for curtains."

"Hmm...? Oh, how about we just ask our wolves?" While saying so, Sophia suddenly got up from the sofa. This action caused the cat-girl, who was still leaning against her, to fall to her side.

"Ehh?" Maya looked at her with a grumpy expression. She clearly wanted to cuddle for a while longer.

"Welcome back to our humble home... or whatever." The tiger-girl ignored her and went to the door instead. There, she welcomed the wolves who she had noticed approaching with her detection magic. "Bored?"

"A little." Aura gave her a light-hearted answer.

"Hello…" Still a little pouty, Maya also greeted them once they all were in the living room. She only stopped looking grumpy once Sophia sat down next to her again.

"Interrupted on something?" Aura glanced at the clingy cat-girl.

"No... Nothing of that sort. We were just talking about the room arrangements…"

"Speaking of which, where do the two of you want to sleep?" Sophia addressed the two newcomers. "For when we're staying the night here."

"I don't particularly care." Fen could sleep wherever. "Even the harse barns outside would be more than fine."

"Eh?! We have a barn?!" It was the first time the tiger-girl heard about that.

"Yes, it's in the back yard of this building, a little hidden behind the trees there."

"Seriously?! The five-old me had a heart attack just now. I always wanted a horse... harse when I was little. Can't say I care much now, though. What a waste. Anyway," She got back to the topic. "Letting you sleep there feels a little wrong. Ah, but you probably want to transform into your big selves when sleeping? That could be a little difficult inside."

"It doesn't bother me staying small." The female wolf had nothing against it.

"Me neither. After staying in the capital for a while, the discomfort about changing my appearance is basically gone."

"I see. So, do you want a room upstairs? Two? We have enough of them. Well, we'll mostly be here during the winter months only, or if the weather's bad, so..."

"Winter, huh...?" Aura's head slowly turned her head towards the fireplace.

"You want to sleep here, don't you?" Sophia then focused on Fen, who also stole a glance or two of the fireplace, as well. "And so do you?"

"L-Like I said... I don't particularly care."

"No need to be so stubborn, Fenny~. It's not embarrassing wanting to sleep here. I'll probably do the same a lot in the winter. Actually, once it gets cold, you most likely have to fight me to the death for the best spot in front of the fireplace."

"Never get between a cat and the warmest place in the house, eh?" Aura had her very own interpretation of Sophia's words.

"Exactly." She really had fully merged into her new role.

"Say," The female wolf stared at her. "The whole thing about you accidentally turning yourself into a tiger-girl was a joke, right? I don't think I ever met a hybrid feline beastperson that went so hard on the cat-like traits."

"No, I just always go all out with whatever I do, especially when I mess up."

"I see, but you sure like what you've become, huh?"

"Absolutely! Well, I could do without a couple of those instincts, but..."

"No, these are the best!" Maya, on the other hand, was very fond of the behavior Sophia shows when those instincts take over. First and foremost, things that involve her as well, like the marking, for example.

"Urgh..."

"That being said, you'll have to fight both of us for the fireplace." Maya, too, was a cat.

"There you have it, big guy." Sophia looked at Fen again. "If you aren't honest now, you'll be the only one without a spot in front of the fire."

"There are days where I really don't like you, girl…" He could only sigh.

"Ehehe." The tiger took it as a confirmation. "Aura, want to go and buy a big and fluffy rug to put in front of the fireplace? Only to relax on in the evening, of course. If someone falls asleep on it and stays for the night there, it's surely just an accident. No matter how often it happens." She fabricated a story the male wolf's pride could accept.

"Sounds like a plan." She was in.

"Fen, can you help to get the basement ready for the portal we're going to use to travel between places?"

"Basement?" Maya interrupted her. "I don't think this mansion has one."

"Eh?! That was the whole reason to get a place for our own! W-Well, we could also just use one of the empty rooms, but still..." She hadn't anticipated this turn of events. "O-Okay, Fen, can you make a basement?"

"No problem." It wasn't hard for him.

"Ah, but please take care that the mansion doesn't get destroyed. Oh, a secret entrance would be very cool, too."

"I'll strengthen the ground below the building before carving out the basement with magic."

"Perfect. Maya, should we get the curtains done and rearrange a couple of the furniture while we're at it?"

"Fine by me."

Once everyone got assigned a task, the group moved out to customize the newly acquired mansion to their tastes.