Chapter 272 – Dealing with jealousy

While Ari and Sophia had decided to take on a side job as tourist guides by helping a married couple find their way back to their inn, Anna, Maya, and Chloe had stayed behind at the mansion and spent the time chatting instead.

“They’re taking too long!” Anna’s complaint echoed through the living room while the other two just stared at her in response.

“Grocery shopping takes some time, you know?” Maya shook her head.

"Pizza also has a lot of ingredients, and some of them might be hard to get.” Chloe also tried to calm her down.

“But still!” There was more than just a hint of jealousy in her voice. “Those two together always make me nervous!”

“Shut up, princess.” The cat-girl rolled her eyes. “Especially now that Ari’s actually yours, you need to learn to trust her more. Yes, the ambiguity of those two can be a little much, but putting them under general suspicion isn't the way to go.”

“Urgh… It stings twice as much when you say that…” The tiger didn't like being told off by the cat, who was just as jealous when it came to Sophia when they first met. “You are right… How did you do that? How did you get over… get better with your jealousy?" She slightly corrected herself towards the end. While Maya had undoubtedly gotten much better, having gotten over it was still a bit of a stretch.

“Well…” Maya scratched her cheek. “I do still get jealous whenever someone new shows up…” She stole a quick glance at the fox-girl. “It doesn’t help that Sophia gets so excited over absolutely everything, either… Still, whenever I get uneasy, Sophia lets out a comment or makes a gesture that makes it clear that she is not interested in them. That usually calms me down. Ambiguous events aside… Also, it’s more than clear that Ari only has eyes for a certain princess we all know and love. She won't be doing anything that would make any or all of us sad."

“Ehehe~.” Anna liked her explanation a lot. For various reasons.

“Also… I had my first time with Sophia after I met you… Once that happened, I knew that Sophia was mine and that I was hers for real. That instantly took a ton of my jealousy, and I went easier on you, too. That, and how Sophia had turned you down shortly before that.”

“Wait, is that why you changed so much after you two returned from the war in Talaga?!" The princess finally got an explanation on why the cat-girl had gotten so much more relaxed after that.

“Ahh, yes…” She reacted with a slight nod. “It happened during the time when we stayed behind there for a couple of days…” Maya got ever so slightly embarrassed while thinking about it.

“I see! That explains a lot! Wait, does it…?” Anna paused for a moment. “If anything, I almost feel more jealous today after what happened with Ari and me during the last night…"

“Because you two perverts didn’t take your time and rushed past every milestone instantly! Give it some time to settle.”

“Urgh…” The princess had nothing to say in her defense.

“Isn’t it fine to be a little jealous, though?” Chloe decided to join the conversation. “I don’t have any experience, but I think I would be happy if someone gets jealous because they want to keep me for themselves.”

“Well…” Maya tilted her head. “I don’t disagree, but I know that I caused Sophia to feel uneasy because of the extreme jealousy I had in the past. She wants to make friends as often as possible because she didn't have any when growing up, but she's a bit clumsy at it, and her actions are a little ambiguous as a result. She has no ill will, but I tended to lash out at the other party and such… A bit of jealousy means that you care, but just like everything else, it has to happen in moderation.”

"Ari and I grew up together, and I always had her all to my own because she used to be super shy and self-conscious. Thanks to that, I got extremely possessive about her to the point where I get miffed when I see her talking to others. That’s not what I want…”

“I see…” The fox-girl grumbled over it a couple of moments. “I guess that makes sense. If it negatively impacts the relationship, it should be toned down a notch, huh?”

“Exactly.” The duo gave her a big nod.

"I'll keep that in mind for a future where I might be lucky enough to find my own-, Wait, you and Ari are childhood friends?!" Chloe suddenly got sidetracked.

“Yup.” Anna gave her a cheerful reply. “Didn't you already know…? Anyway, Ari and I were born only a few days behind each other, and we’ve been together ever since~.”

“That is sooo cool!” Her eyes started sparkling. “I didn’t know it’s possible for childhood friends to actually win… err, get together!”

“It absolutely is possible!” Anna sounded incredibly happy and proud.

“What are you smiling for here…?” Maya just stared at her. “Neither you nor Ari are the reason that it became possible."

“E-Even without you and Sophia, it would've worked out eventually…"

“…” The cat-girl just continued to stare at her.

“I-I am very sorry…” The princess immediately apologized. “Thank you so much that you kept kicking my butt…”

“You are very welcome.” Maya started smiling again.

“I guess it isn’t that easy to become lovers if you grew up together…?”

"It doesn't help if you're dense beyond belief." The cat-girl just had to make a comment.

“Urgh… It also always seemed like Ari was treating me like a younger sister… I needed my, uhhh… crush on Sophia to realize that Ari and I weren’t like that. Apparently, she’d been in l-love with me for a long time already… and I hadn't even noticed that my feelings were stronger before Maya bashed it into my thick skull…”

“Aww~.” Chloe liked what she was hearing. “That’s sooo adorable!”

“T-Thank you…” Anna got a little bashful.

“Still… Fenfen and Aura, Sophia and Maya, and now you and Ari… Everyone around me is in a relationship, huh…? I’m envious…”

“Eh?!” The princess looked at her with big eyes. “You’re single…?”

“Yes… Why do you sound so surprised…?” The fox-girl wasn’t sure how she should feel about the tiger’s reaction.

“No, it’s just that you're so cute! You’re also super friendly and approachable, not to mention cheerful and happy-go-lucky! If you don't want to be single, I am sure you'd have an easy time changing that!”

“Ehehe~.” Chloe liked her explanation before she then looked at Maya. “Tigers are smooth, aren’t they?”

“They have their moments, yes.”

“No…” The fox-girl then shook her head while she answered the princess. “I actually never gave it a try… Thanks to how I grew up and all that, I never had the time or opportunity for any sort of romance so far…”

"I see…" Anna sounded a little awkward for a moment. "Wait?! Do you also have some sort of tragic and or complicated past?! You already are way too similar to Sophia, so please don’t be the same in that regard, as well!”

“No, don’t worry." Chloe shook her head. "I've had the best life I could’ve wished for the past 19 years.”

“T-Thank goodness…” She looked honestly relieved. “It’s already bad enough that Sophia had to suffer… Wait, how old are you?!”

“The past 19 years were great because that's how old I am now...?"

“Ahh, makes sense. Wait, really?” The princess tilted her head. “I could’ve sworn that you're maybe a year or two younger than Ari and I are.”

“Nope.”

“Not bad. So, why was there no romance for you so far?”

“I’ve been raised and grew up together with some who’s quite similar to Sophia’s Fenfen. Most of the time, it was just the two of us. I also love traveling and exploring very much, so we were always going from one place to another, and I never had the time to get to know someone I might would’ve gotten interested in. Exploring is amazing, so I never cared either, but having spent some time with Sophia and Maya now… I got a little envious…”

“I see… Yeah, those two can be quite flirty.” Anna nodded a few times.

“You and Ari made that feeling even worse, though.” Chloe didn’t let her off the hook, either.

"A-Ah…” The princess only averted her face in response. “S-So, what’s your type… Thanks to me being the princess of this nation, I know quite a few people. Both girls and boys. I’m sure I could help~.”

"It's pretty much Sophia..." Maya let out a sigh while answering for the fox-girl.

“Really?” The tiger glanced at Chloe again.

“Someone like her…" She replied with a slight nod. "The original one is taken after all, and I have no intention to be a homewrecker.”

“Our blondie sure is popular, huh?” Anna almost sounded impressed before she stole a glance at the cat-girl. “No, you don’t have to make a comment here.”

“I’m glad you noticed it yourself, miss who had a crush on her.”

“…” She paused for a moment before concentrating on Chloe again. “Someone like Sophia might be quite the challenge… I don’t think I know anyone quite as easygoing, adventurous, and generally unhinged as her…"

“Ahaha… Sophia also said the only solution to that problem would be for her to clone… hmm?” She suddenly paused for a moment. “I mean, for her to double herself in some way or another so that there are two Sophias.”

“How would that solve anything?” Maya looked confused. “I would definitely take both of them.”

“Ahh…” Chloe scratched her chin. “Out tiger also said that it was no solution because it would end up in a, well… a threesome with a certain white-haired cat…”

"I'm not entirely sure if I would do it, but it does sound very intriguing~. Wait, would it count as cheating if they're the same person…?" Her expression suddenly turned complicated. “If so, that would be hard no, after all.”

“And you seriously called me a pervert?!” Anna got loud.

“My dear princess, could you try and imagine something for me?” Maya looked back at her.

“W-What…?”

“What you did yesterday and this morning, but with two Aris working on you at the same time."

"…" The tiger turned silent in an instant, and her entire face turned crimson a moment later.

“I-I’m so sorry that I mentioned anything!” Chloe had no idea what she should do now.

Afterward, the princess needed a little time to live out and let go of the fantasy inside her head and come back to reality, not that Maya was much different. Thanks to that, the group had to take a small break before they could focus again.

Teanam

A MASSIVE thank you to

- CHoobler -

for supporting the story on Patreon again and even going all out with a yearly pledge to make more art possible! Enjoy the extra stuff there! Feel more than free to suggest an illustration to be commissioned~.