Chapter 397 – A message
Roughly two weeks had passed since Sophia, Fey, and Mira gave the kings and everyone else in the castle a massive headache, which was slowly starting to subside, as well. The time afterward was quite peaceful, as well. Mainly because the blonde refused to go near the castle, though. Only Anna and Ari were allowed to visit the mansion, too. It was too much of a bother for her else. It also helped the princess and her jaguar to get ever so slightly more used to the overseer that had appeared out of nowhere and became part of their group.
“...”
“...”
Things seemed to get about a little less peaceful, though. The sisters sat beside each other on the sofa while their eyes were peeled on Steph’s phone for some reason.
"What's wrong?" Sitting on the sofa opposite of them, Chloe and Maya looked at their partners while tilting their heads.
“...” They stayed silent for a moment longer before eventually lifting their heads. “We... We are going back to our old world.” They answered at the same time.
“E-EH?!” The two obviously didn’t like the sound of that. “W-WHY?!”
“Ah, no, just for a little bit.” The sisters noticed their slightly unfortunate wording.
“Haa...” The pink fox and the cat calmed down again and let out a sigh. “What is going on?”
“When Sophia and I went back to our apartment to get some supplies from there a few days ago, it seems like my phone received some messages...” Steph tried to explain the situation. "I barely use my phone anymore since coming here as I mostly only take pictures of Chloe with it nowadays, after all, so...”
“You constantly take pictures of me!” The girl in question raised her voice. “What do you mean by you barely use it anymore?! How addicted were you to it before?!"
"So, when I checked it earlier, I noticed some missed calls and unread messages.” She completely ignored her fox. "It seems like our mom has gotten my message about having found Sophia, and she tried to reach out to me last week.”
“O-Oh.” Chloe and Maya had the same reaction.
“She asked if we’re still around because she’d get home immediately if that’s the case. She wants to see us as soon as possible. Sophia especially.”
“I want to see her, too...” Sophia spoke up again.
“So... Long story short, you two plan to make a trip to your old world, visit your parents, and once everything is taken care of, it's back home?”
“Yup.” The blonde nodded.
“I’ll never leave paradise behind!” Steph also loved her new home, after all.
“I guess that’s fair.” The cat-girl saw no issues with that.
“You absolutely have to go and see your parents!” Chloe got loud. “Neither of you are allowed to return before that!” After everything that happened to her the last few weeks, she had a very strong opinion on the matter. “I’ll get upset if you don’t hurry now, too!”
“You better listen to her.” Out of nowhere, Mira’s voice suddenly joined the conversation. “I know from experience that you don’t want her to be angry at you.” A few moments later, the teal fox appeared on the empty sofa next to the four girls.”
“I have to admit that you sure know how to have the best entrances.” Sophia looked and sounded impressed while she looked at her.
“I can’t believe I’m getting used to stuff like that already...” Maya wasn’t sure how to react. “I didn’t even flinch...”
“You’re definitely the coolest!” Steph was a big fan. “Ah, you’re still the best, though, Chloe!”
“Ahaha...” The pink girl smiled at the dog. “It’s fine. I don’t really care about being cool. My preferred theme is something else.”
“Fluffy.” The sisters had the same reaction.
“Not exactly the word I would’ve used, but the general direction works~.” She was happy with their assessment.
“Happy you like my entrances~.” Mira glanced at the blonde before continuing. “Do you mind taking this with you during your trip to earth?” She held up a rather well-known plushy of a pink fox.”
“Oh, it’s plushy Chloe!” Sophia remembered having thought about that before once she met the actual pink fox after having had that very same plushy for a while already.
“It’s not plushy me!” The girl in question got loud.
"I mean, what were you expecting?" The overseer tilted her head. "Some sort of foreshadowing? I mean, the plushy is older than you, no?”
“Boring!” Steph hung her head. “So, there's no fun stuff like time traveling or future sight in this world...?”
“That’s what you were going for?!” Chloe couldn’t believe her.
“It sounds fun, does it not?!”
“W-Well...” The pink fox scratched her cheek.
“Anyway,” Mira ignored them and faced the tiger again. "Thank you very much for bringing one of my portals with you. I will make sure to repay you."
“Yay!” She was happy about that.
“I’m tired...” Maya wasn’t taking their whole conversation so well.
“Oh, speaking of being tired,” Sophia smiled at her cat. “Do you want to come with us? I already met your parents, so it's only fair to make it even."
“...” She paused for a moment. "I do want to meet them eventually, and I'm really happy that I actually seem to get the chance now, though also slightly nervous, but now is not the time for that. It’s all about you and Steph.”
“I guess that’s fair.”
“Also...” Maya glanced at the sisters. "We were talking about vacation days not too long ago, right? I love both of you and all, but a day or two without both of you sounds super relaxing!”
“Understandable.” Sophia and Steph could only nod.
“Oh, speaking of peaceful!” Mira suddenly looked at her daughter. “Do you want to do something with me while the two are visiting their parents?”
“Sounds fun!” Chloe was directly on board. “What are we going to do?”
"I never make it a secret when I walk down here in the world. I’m planning to visit my shrine and announce my arrival. Afterward, I want to meet all kinds of people in the capital so that everyone can see that I’m back. Fey will also be with us. The two of us have also decided that we’re going to introduce you to everyone as our daughter.”
“O-Oh!” She wasn’t sure what to say.
“Woah, the whole capital will be in a massive uproar!” Steph liked the sound of that.
“B-But my vacation days...” The cat-girl had a different opinion.
“Want to come with us, after all?” The blonde just smiled at her.
“...” Maya actually needed to think about it. “N-No, but I think I’ll visit my own parents instead. The whole business with those two,” She glanced at the foxes before continuing. “Made me want to see them, too.”
“Ahaha...” The two in question could only laugh.
“That’s nice.” Sophia liked her plan. “Oh, ask them again if they want to live in the mansion when you’re at it.”
"I'd like that, too, but do you really think they like the idea more now after the overseer of magic has decided to stick around...? The royal family had overwhelmed them already, after all.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway, before we go, should we make some sort of plan to tell mom, or...?” Steph came back to the main topic.
“...”
“Let’s go?”
“Let’s go!” The sisters knew that making any sort of plan was just a waste of time and effort.
And so, once they showed Steph how to change her looks without actually turning into something else, the now-human sisters returned to their old world to have a rather complicated conversation with their parents.