The rumor of a new tiger-girl, Sophia, arriving in the beastfolk capital had even reached the king, head of the royal tiger family. He invited her to the palace and offered her to join the family as a result. After all, that's supposed to be the role of every tiger.

"H-How am I supposed to join the family?"

"Well, my oldest son and daughter are still not enga-."

"No!" Maya instinctively interrupted the king without thinking. "A-Ah, I'm terribly sorry, but... NO!"

"Y-Yeah, I have to agree here. M-Marriage is not an option here."

"Could I ask wh-" The king couldn't finish his question because the enormous wooden doors suddenly flung open in the middle of his sentence.

"Father, I have returned home from school! I heard you wanted to see- Oh! I'm very sorry for interrupting! Hmm?" Another tiger-girl had appeared in the room.

She seemed to be around the same age as the couple, maybe one or at best two years older, at least judging by her face with her cat-like and cheeky-looking eyes that were a mix between yellow and orange with a hint of blue around the iris. For a moment, a certain girl became a bit envious because the growth spurt of the new tiger was in a league of its own, as she looked even more developed than the cat-girl in certain areas. Luckily, because Sophia had adjusted herself in a way she was happy with by now, it wasn't much of an issue, and she simply enjoyed the splendid view.

She was a good bit taller than Maya, too. These two things made for a big contrast between the two tiger-girls. Her animal features were the exact same as Sophia's, save for the base color of her fur and hair, which was of a darkish orange, just like her father. It was less faded out, more glossy, and overall looked very cared for, though. The length of her hair seemed to be rather long, but it was hard to guess the exact length as she had tied it up to a ponytail.

This tiger-girl was wearing something resembling a summer-themed school uniform. Dark-brown shoes and black socks, which covered half of her calves and featured a white line at the top. A tartan-styled, checkered with different hues of red and black, skirt accentuated with white stripes. Her white dress-shirt looked slightly similar to Maya's, but instead of red applications, it had a black stripe on the sleeves and a black collar. The style, too, looked less casual. It also had a golden badge on the chest area, which seemed to have some symbols resembling elements like water, fire, and the likes engraved on it. Rounding everything up, she was wearing a bowtie-like ribbon in the same pattern as her skirt.

Click on the spoiler for a picture of her.

"Anna," He stared at the girl. "Welcome back… How often did I tell you to knock?"

"Ahaha, sorry."

"Haaa..." Menzor let out a sigh. "Whatever, please introduce yourself now that you're here already."

"Of course! I'm the oldest daughter of King Menzor. I'm Anna, the first princess of this country. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintanceship." She did a little curtsy towards the end in stark contrast to her earlier roughness.

"Someone troublesome has appeared."

"Mm-hmm." Inaudible to everyone else, the couple came to the same conclusion.

"May I ask about the names of our guests?"

"Ah, right, I'm Maya."

"Sophia here, it's n-nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine. Oh? Ohh, so that's how it is!" Anna took a better look at Sophia. "You're the rumored lost family member, I take it? The fellow tiger-girl."

"Y-Yes, I'm that, uhh, rumored girl."

"Hoh~." The princess mustered her again. "You're pretty hot!" Her formal speech lasted for around four seconds in total.

Afterward, the room was wrapped in absolute silence for a good minute.

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

"Anna, behave yourself!"

"What? It's true!" She didn't seem apologetic whatsoever. "Seriously, can we keep her, father? I want this girl to be around all the time!"

"Anna!" The king rubbed his temples before continuing. "Wait, you never were so interested in others before, were you?"

"I've never met anyone as interesting as her before, after all."

"I-I see..."

"So, is she sticking around?!"

"We just started talking about his topic when a certain someone interrupted us, dear daughter of mine."

"A-Ah."

"I mentioned my children before, Sophia. Anna is one of them, and while she's a bit of work, I think she's still a good option."

"H-Hey!"

"Prove me wrong."

"..." She didn't reply for a moment. "Wait, option? Are you trying to use me to have Sophia marry into the family?!"

"Not without your consent, obviously. We aren't barbarians, after all."

"Hmm-" Anna looked at Sophia while thinking about it. "Jackpot!" Seemingly having warmed up to the idea in an instant, the princess inched closer to the tiger girl, but she didn't make it far.

"Aaand stop!" Maya literally appeared between the two girls and forcefully stopped Anna from doing whatever she planned to do to Sophia by holding her off with her hand. "I-I'm sorry for doing this to a princess, but I'm about to explode here!"

"Err, y-your Majesty... it's great that you ask your daughter for consent and all, but I sincerely hope that, well, my consent is as important in this." Sophia was hoping to debate the situation peacefully. As the cat-girl had gone down the path of emotion here, she had to be the voice of reason.

"Eh?!" King and princess looked equally dumbfounded.

"It's a very generous offer, and Princess Anna is certainly b-beautiful. I should be happy, I guess, but I have to respectfully decline."

"Aww, come on! Once we get to know each other better, I'm sure we'll be happy!"

"Bad princess, stop!" Maya noticed that she tried to get closer to Sophia again, but her defenses were impenetrable.

"Come on, help out a girl here. I just want to get closer to my future wife~."

"That's never going to happen!" The cat-girl was getting angry.

"Well," The king faced Sophia. "Naturally, I won't force you. That would never work out. Still, I might be biased, but you said it yourself that my Anna is beautiful. Again, yes, she's a bit of a handful, but I'm certain she'll calm down in the future."

"W-Why is my own father the one playing down my worth?!"

"That's your fault alone!" The king and his daughter seemed to be getting along great.

"Urgh."

"Princess Anna herself isn't the problem. I have a soft spot for girls that are high-maintenance, after all."

"Hey!" Two complainers raised their voices.

"May I ask for the reason then? Joining the royal family is a huge opportunity, is it not?'

"Exactly! The two of us would be so great together!" Anna hadn't given up yet. The blonde tiger really seemed to be her type.

"You two will never be a thing!" A vein was about to pop on the cat-girl's forehead.

"S-She's the reason." Sophia pointed at her Maya. "The girl who's about to attack your daughter is my partner. In the g-girlfriend kind of sense." Admitting it in front of others made her bashful.

"Hehe~." Full of smug, the cat-girl triumphantly flashed the princess a big grin.

"Won't you at least think about it? Considering that she's the first princess of a nation, she comes with a lot of benefits."

"No, I'm sorry." There wasn't even a shred of hesitation. "There's no need to give it any thought. I love Maya."

"Sophia..." The girl in question was deeply touched.

"Sharing wouldn't-"

"No!" Maya didn't let the king finish his sentence. "A-Ah, I'm sorry! I-I don't want to offend his Majesty, but-."

"It's alright, I fully understand. While it certainly is allowed and also practiced to have multiple lovers, I, too, wouldn't even dream of sharing my lovely wife with anyone." Menzor wasn't angry about her reaction.

"T-Thank you very much."

"Yes." Sophia also agreed. "I'm a one girl... girl. I'm dedicated to a single one, and that won't change. Also, I can barely handle Maya, another one on top? No, totally impossible."

"Yeah…" The king had an understanding expression for some reason.

"Also, why would you ever want to have more than one girl as your lover? Do you have any idea how much work we are? Dealing with multiple sounds more like a curse than anything else. Just a single girlfriend can be really exhausting." Sophia apparently preferred monogamous relationships. "I mean, I won't judge anyone, but no… it's sooo not for me."

"Why do I feel like there was a jab against me in there?" Maya didn't like everything about her explanation.

"Would you want multiple girls? A couple more of me? Maybe also a royal princess? Having to deal with everyone at the same time?"

"Uhh," The cat-girl stopped for a moment and then shuddered. "W-What Sophia said. Aside from not wanting to have anyone else in the first place, it does sound like a major pain."

"Eh, so it's over already?!" Anna didn't like this development.

"Sorry, too late~." The levels of her smugness were still increasing.

"Grr! Alright, let's have a match! The winner will get Sophia!"

"Anna, behave yourself already!"

"Maya, too, stop egging her on."

"You two stay out of this!" Aside from everything that was going on, the cat-girl and the princess were in total sync.

"Haa..." So were Sophia and the king as they shared a sigh.

"You have it rough, huh?"

"We both have."

"How about no?" The cat-girl turned her down in the end. "She already is my girlfriend. I won't lose, but there's nothing to gain for me here, is there?"

"A-Ah." Anna noticed her oversight. "Y-You can show off your strength in front of her, uhh, to make yourself look good!"

"We train together every day. There's no need for that."

"Seriously?! That sounds awesome! Wait, no! Stop making me jealous! A-Anyway, what do I have to give you to accept the match?!"

"There's noth-."

"Maya, entertain her a bit." Sophia saw no harm in them having a match. "You want to fight her, don't you? Ignore the part where the match is about me. After all, there's no way you'll lose."

"Well, of course. I just don't like the fact that I should fight for such a reason."

"Nah, it's fine, I don't mind, and I have faith in you."

"Uuh, now I have to." Maya was pretty easy to handle from time to time. "Alright, let's have that match, Princess Anna."

"Guh, after openly flirting so much!" She seemed a bit envious. "I'll make you regret accepting! Let's go to the training place in the backyard immediately!"

"Are you sure about this?" The king addressed Sophia as the two were following the duo with a tired expression.

"It's okay."

"She's a prodigy at the academy, though. She always scores first place in the practical magic exams."

"I'm sorry, but your Anna has no chance. My Maya has vastly superior magic powers, not to mention actual experience in fighting monsters. She's not going to lose to anyone." Both of them sounded like boasting parents. "Also, I love her. Even if the match's about me, I wouldn't suddenly accept Princess Anna. I'm sorry for raising any hopes in her. Maya also knows that."

"Are the two of you really the same age as my daughter?" The king felt like the two were much more mature than Anna. "The cat-girl of yours is also really skillful in egging her on."

"Ahaha." She had to laugh that he said that after Maya was being so immature. "The princess is around 17?" "Yeah, she turned 17 quite a while ago. Her next birthday isn't that far off, actually."

"Then no, Maya and I are a good bit older."

"Yeah, that makes sense-" Menzor agreed without thinking. "Wait, what?" He only wanted to make a joke.

"Both, Maya and I, are in our twenties. Ah, early twenties, I'll have you know!" She felt the need to correct herself.

"S-Seriously?! Okay, my wife will kill me when I tell her about this, and I didn't ask you… What are your secrets?"

"Ahaha. Uh, I'm not sure if it's okay to tell you, but whatever," She didn't feel like the info could harm her. "Actually, your life expectancy is directly related to your magic power."

"H-How do you know about that?!" He seemed visibly shocked. "This is supposed to be a top-secret!"

"Eh? Well, I know a really powerful individual who made the connection himself after growing really old."

"I see. Please don't spread this information. It's the reason why the tiger family is so long-lived compared to the rest of the beastfolk, too. We have the biggest magic power by far, so we grow up to 50 % older than most others. It would be hard to explain to the public. "

"Yes, I have nothing to gain by spreading it, anyway."

"So, what does that have to do with you being older than you look?"

"Maya's and mine magic power are at a level where our bodies more or less stop aging altogether when we reached this age."

"..." He needed a moment. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You didn't mishear."

"I-Is that even possible? I mean, we also age slower than most, but not to a point where we looked like 16 in our twenties. S-Sorry, early twenties." He corrected himself after seeing Sophia's expression.

"You know, the guy who told me about it also frequently tells me stories about when he roamed around with the demons on this continent."

"W-Wha-!? How old is that friend of yours?!"

"He refuses to tell me, but he's old."

"Hmm... Wait, I can sense that you're powerful, but just how big is your actual magic power?!"

"Let me put it that way," She tried to find an explanation that didn't sound too unbelievable. "Maya started traveling with me because she initially wanted to learn my magic. In order to do that, she first had to learn chantless magic because I have no idea how to use spells or activation words."

"You shouldn't mess with the king of a country, girl." He still didn't believe her.

"Hmm?" In response to that, Sophia opened her palm and created a miniature tornado on top of it. "I wasn't messing around, though."

"..." Menzor needed a moment to process it. "D-Does that mean your cat-girl can use it, too? Or are you still teaching her?"

"So far, she can use chantless magic of the air, water, fire, and earth category."

"F-Four types of magic?! H-Huh?! Does that mean you can use even more, Sophia?!"

"Of course. Every single one, including the category-less, original magic."

"Uhh," The king rubbed his temples again before his expression changed. "Sophia, you have to become a part of the royal family, after all. As the ruler, I can't afford to let go of such a valuable person."

"Your Majesty, if you can offer me a way that doesn't include m-marriage, or hurting Maya in any other conceivable way, I will at least listen. If not, don't waste your or my time trying. I'm sure the time of a king is a very valuable asset. I, too, have better things to do."

"You just became one of the most important topics on my agenda. The development of magic has been stagnant for a while already. I have the feeling that would change with your presence. I have to get you for my country!" Menzor seemed incredibly determined about his plan. "I'll find a way that won't hurt the relationship with your partner."

"Thank you." While Sophia still wasn't sure whether she even wants to become part of the royal family, now she didn't have to fear anything stupid or regrettable happening. "A-Ah, speaking of stupid and regrettable."

"What do you- Ah." He looked in the same direction as the tiger-girl and saw his daughter facing off the supposedly ridiculously powerful Maya with a smug look after they arrived at the training field behind the castle.

"Do your best, cat. I'll definitely make you regret accepting this match! Your Sophia will be mine very soon!"

"..." Her left eye was a little twitchy, but she managed to not react to the cheap provocation of the princess.

"I'll apologize in advance if anything happens to Princess Anna." Sophia felt that Maya was slightly angry. "Don't worry, I'll immediately heal her if something happens."

"She has no chance, has she?"

"It'll be a short fight. "

"Yeah... Wait, you can even use healing magic?!"

"Yup."

"Ehh?!" Using the dumbfounded cry of this country's king as a starting signal, his daughter faced off Maya in a match for Sophia's hand. Not that the girl in question had any intention of going along with it.