Chapter 274 – Still waiting

Sophia and Ari had successfully found the inn Eve and Theo, the couple of the cat beastfolk, were staying in. It had taken a little while because the two had gotten properly lost, but all ended well once Ari got the right clue to find the place and guided them there. While the duo had finished their tourist guide duties, the mansion with the other three girls of their group was still rather lively.

"They're late!" The slightly agitated voice of the princess was echoing through the living room once again. Rather than jealous, she sounded somewhat more upset this time, though.

“Well, they really are taking their time…” Maya also didn’t seem entirely happy about it. “Chloe, earlier, it sounded like you also know the ingredients for pizza? Are they that complicated to get?”

“Hmm…” The fox-girl tilted her head. “The base ingredients should be pretty easy, especially for the dough. The sauce could be a little tricky, though. It uses a lot of uncommon spices and other things where you might need to visit multiple stores. The toppings are rather easy to get again, but depending on how much variety you want, it most likely involves some running around, as well."

“I see…” Maya nodded a few times. “As I do know my Sophia a little by now, her answer to how much variety she wants would most likely be…”

“Yes.” Chloe quickly finished her sentence. “That would be my reply, at least.”

“…” The cat-girl stared at her for a few seconds. “Their shopping trip could take a little longer…”

"I better hope this pizza thingy is delicious!" This time, Anna started pouting. “I want to spend more time with Ari!”

“Aww~.” The two enjoyed the pouty and cute princess a lot.

“S-Shut up!” Her cheeks quickly turned red in response.

“Why?” Chloe tilted her head. She wasn’t teasing her, after all. “I think it’s great that you can so readily admit that you’re missing her.”

“Uuh…” Anna’s face got even redder.

“What a nice reaction. You’re good, my dear fox.” Maya gave her a thumbs-up.

“I wasn’t teasing her!”

“Hehe.” She liked that reaction just as much. “Anyway, while I doubt anything concerning is going on, and their flirtiness aside, it’s still Sophia and Ari we’re talking about… They aren't our troublemaker duo without reason. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ran into something chaotic.”

“That’s true…” The princess nodded a few times. “Those two…”

“Eh…?” The fox-girl looked a little lost. “I mean, Sophia… sure. Everything I’ve seen so far clearly points in the direction of it being a fitting description for her. I love it, by the way, I want to add. Still, Ari, too? I don’t know why, but I had the feeling that she’d be rather grounded and reasonable?”

“She’s also very easily influenced…” Anna suddenly let out a sigh. "Okay, the bigger issue is that Sophia's really good at trapping others in her pace."

“Ari’s the one who flooded the training grounds all on her own, though.” While the cat-girl naturally agreed to her complaint because it was true, she still got the urge to defend her girl.

“And who’s the reason she’s even able to do that in the first place? Or had the idea to train with her in the academy when Ari hadn’t tested her new magic yet?”

“That round goes to you.” She quickly noticed that it was impossible to defend Sophia in that regard. “Ari usually tries to be the serious one, but once she gets talked into something by any tiger or feels playful, she can be quite the girl.”

“Ohh! That sounds fun!” Chloe happily clapped her hands. “It sounded a little like she wasn’t the biggest fan of experimenting when we talked about the portals, but I guess she just has to warm up first? I can’t wait!”

“Do I like this…?” With a slightly complicated expression, Anna then glanced at Maya.

“Debatable.” The cat-girl shrugged her shoulders. “She’s about as, if not even more unhinged as our crazy blondie. Ari’s serious side might kill itself for good after a while if she gets dragged into both of their ideas and whims.”

"Seriously, how can there be anyone else as weird as her…?" The princess focused her attention on the fox-girl now. “Sophia mentioned that she doesn’t have any family anymore, but she never went into detail, but did the two of you actually grow up together or something like that and just reunited…? Or maybe in the same place where being weird is normal?”

“H-Hey…” Chloe started pouting. “That’s quite mean…”

"A-Ah…” The princess got flustered. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way! I barely understand half of it, but I love how Sophia works! She does incredible things that are also a ton of fun! It's just that I've never met anyone who even remotely thinks like her, and as a princess, I met many people… Yet, here are you, and both of you could practically be twins in the way you think from the glimpses I got so far.”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry for calling you mean.” Chloe felt like apologizing for it.

“E-Eh…? Why are you apologizing…? It was totally my fault that I worded it so poor!”

“She has a talent for making you feel flustered, huh?” Maya smiled at the princess. “Her earnest and cute personality is something else.”

“For sure!” The tiger nodded a couple of times.

“Am I being bullied right now…?”

“It’s the exact opposite!” The two only shook their heads.

“Ehehe~.” She liked that reply. “Anyway, back to the question you asked. No, briefly seeing her in the capital before aside, I talked to this so-called weird tiger for the first time just a few days ago. I’ve also been on tour and never been in one place for too long ever since I was able to walk and stopped losing my balance over my oversized tail. We also don't really look like twins either, do we?”

“Not quite, no.” Anna shook her head. “It still is super fascinating, though!”

"Sophia and I seemed to have learned magic in a similar if not the same way, though. My teacher and mother even knows Sophia’s Fenfen, who taught her how to use magic. Both of us directly learned chantless magic first. Actually, we learned just that. Our magic teachers are incredibly powerful and quite creative with the use of their magic. Together with how fascinated we are by said magic, we easily come up with fun ideas~.”

“That actually makes sense.” The princess could get behind this explanation. "Does that mean that there could be even more of you around? There’s Fen and Aura, and then your teacher and or mother…? There have to be others of the same level of power who either had a child themselves or felt like raising one, right?"

“Probably?” Chloe just tilted her head. “Feyfey, my mom, hasn’t mentioned anyone else so far, but I’m sure there are more like her or Sophia’s wolves. Some of them surely have children as well, I’d imagine.”

“Now I wonder what those are up to~.” Anna seemed to like the idea. "I mean, you and Sophia are kind of crazy, but in a good way. Everyone, myself included, seemed to simply use magic without actually experimenting with it. I bet that if there are more creative people with the power to back it off, all kinds of useful and fun magic will result from that. Sophia’s inventions, like the heated floors or the hair-straightening iron she's working on, will already better the lives of everyone. So, if there are more creative people out there, it could lead to even more beneficial things for us and everyone else of the beastfolk. Well, other races are most likely included if they can use it…"

“…” Hearing that, Maya just stared at her for a few moments.

“W-What…?” Anna didn’t like it.

“No, it’s just that I forget that you’re actually a princess every now and then.”

“Tigers are sooo cool!” Chloe clapped her hands a few times while saying so.

“Uuh… S-So embarrassing…” The princess blushed even more after getting praised.

“Also, great…” The fox-girl suddenly hung her head. “Now that you mentioned the heated floors, I’m starting to feel hot again…”

“Really…?” Maya tilted her head. “We even turned the temperature down for you already?”

“Ah, is that why it doesn’t feel as cozy as usual here?!” Anna raised her voice. “Wait, do foxes not like the warmth…? I know that foxes are no cats, but I always thought we have quite a few characteristics in common?”

“There are also cats that like cold climates!” Chloe felt like complaining.

“Those are incredibly rare, though.”

“So are arctic foxes…”

“Ohh!” The tiger’s ears perked up after hearing Maya’s explanation. “Is that why you are so incredibly fluffy?!” She focused her attention on the big tail.

“Yup.” She nodded a few times. “Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

"I've been so jealous of it ever since I first met you earlier! I bet it feels soft and amazing, too!”

“You have no idea.” The cat-girl was the one who replied to her.

“I knew it! Wait, what…?” Anna then looked at Maya with a confused expression. “Why does it sound like you actually know how it feels?”

“Because I do.” She scratched her cheek. “I touched it. It is at least twice as fluffy as it looks. It's incredible."

“Ehehe~.” Chloe liked the compliment.

“What…? You touched her tail…?” The princess looked incredibly confused. “W-What about Sophia…? I doubt she liked that…”

“She had buried her face into it before I got to touch it.”

“H-Huh?!” Anna’s eyes shot open. "A-Are the three of you…?”

“No.” Maya shook her head.

“I accidentally made Sophia remember her sister and I couldn’t bear her looking so sad…” Chloe took over the explanation. "Before, she mentioned how much she likes my fluffy tail, and the only thing I could think of to cheer her up again, well… I shoved my tail into her face…”

“Afterward, I maybe got a tiny bit jealous, and our dear fox allowed me to lightly touch it, as well, to make it even. It was very nice. I got bonked by Sophia afterward, though…"

"I see…?" Anna wasn't sure how to feel about any of that. "Huh? She has a sister…? Like I said before, I though she..."

“Had.” The cat-girl slightly corrected her.

“Oh…” The princess hung her head.

Afterward, as the mood had turned awkward, the trio decided to drop the topic and went back to leisure chatting after taking a break while waiting for Sophia and Ari to finally return.

Teanam

A big thank you to

- Michael Arp -

- Jegger -

- Sani-sensei -

for supporting the story on Patreon to make more art possible! Enjoy the extra stuff there!