After the dinner with Queen Kira and her daughters, Sophia promised Princess Ellie to tell her a story after she'd taken her bath and gotten ready for bed. In the meanwhile, the couple got back to their room and prepared for their own bath.

"Soo..." The two had entered the attached bathroom, and Maya addressed the tiger-girl while they were undressing. "You've fallen quite badly for the little one, huh?"

"Ahh... Maybe a bit... She's just so adorable!"

"You know, while I don't fully, uhh, support you loving her so much, I don't particularly mind either." While saying so, she got into the water of the big tub and gestured to the place right next to her. "You still have your priorities right after all."

"Haha, I want to take my baths with you, too, after all." Sophia knew what she was implying.

"Good." The cat-girl looked satisfied. "Still... don't you think it's maybe a bit much?"

"Huh?" She sat down next to her in the water and relaxed for a moment before tilting her head. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you want to turn down the king? We wanted to leave eventually and continue traveling, right? How are you going to tell Ellie about that? Now that she's so attached to you."

"T-That's... But it's not like I could've distanced myself, either!"

"The heartbreak's going to be brutal."

"Yes."

"Ellie will be sad, as well."

"Yeah..." Sophia didn't talk back about whose heart's going to be broken here.

"She might cry, even." The cat-girl rubbed salt into the wound.

"Urgh... which side are you on here?!"

"I have yet to decide."

"Ehh...?"

"While I enjoy watching you with the little one. It gives me a nice fuzzy kind of feeling seeing your interactions... most of the time. At the same time, I enjoyed traveling with you. I don't want to give up on that just yet." Maya also wanted to continue exploring the world.

"Y-Yes, I'll find a way... "

"Will you really?" Maya placed her head on Sophia's shoulder while stretching out her limbs in the water, seemingly being pretty comfortable. "Well, the alternative isn't the worst, but still..." If push comes to shove, she could get used to this lifestyle.

"Haha." The tiger-girl, too, relaxed by stretching and gently rubbed her head against the cat's.

"The view from here is also nice."

"There's no window in the bath, though?"

"I know." She stared right at Sophia.

"Pervert." Sophia playfully whacked the cat-girl's head. "I do agree, though. It is a nice view."

"So, we're both perverts, huh?"

"Huh? I was talking about the bath tiles. I really like the floral pattern on them."

"Oh, shut up already~." She didn't believe her for a second.

"Ehehe~."

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Enjoying their intimate togetherness for a while longer and comfortably soaking in the hot water, the couple eventually had to get out again. Sophia didn't want to faint again, after all.

"Say," While they were drying themselves and getting dressed, Maya seemed to be interested in something.

"Hmm...? Ah!" Sophia had just put her head through her shirt when she looked at the cat-girl and stopped. She wasn't quite as dressed yet, and the tiger needed a moment after getting a point-blank view of her. "...Y-Yes?"

"Enjoying the beautiful tiles again?"

"I-I might..." The tiger nodded. "I can't get enough of them and will always react like that when I get a look at them." Her intonation on the last word was slightly different for some reason.

"Really now..." She only rolled her eyes, but Maya also seemed glad that Sophia likes the tiles so much and has such a strong reaction to them. "Anyway, what story are you going to tell Ellie later?"

"Eh? Ah, uhh... That's actually a good question."

"You haven't thought that far, huh? Can't say I'm surprised."

"Let's see... Oh, I think I'll go with a fairy tale from my old world. I know a lot of them."

"Really? That sounds kinda fun."

"It's mostly cheesy make-believe stuff."

"Less fun..." Maya had lost interest. "Well, have fun with her. Ah, maybe I'll go and visit Anna in the meanwhile."

"H-Huh?!" She didn't see that one coming. "You're going to visit the princess...? During the evening...? A-Alone?" Sophia's ears and tail perked up upon hearing this.

"Are... Are you jealous?!"

"A-Are you the only one allowed to?" The tiger thought she had a right for it, too.

"Urgh!"

"I, uhh, don't know if it's exactly that... I can't picture either of you falling for the other after all, but... concerned might be fitting?"

"Good enough." Maya felt slightly happy. "No, of course not. If you're not there, I might actually be able to teach her something because she won't be getting distracted by you."

"T-That's true. She's so aggressive..."

"Yes. I hate that, but I also can't blame her... I won't give her any room or chances, but I sympathize with her... I think I would do exactly the same in her position. One cannot not fall for you, after all."

"Well, you were… are quite aggressive, too."

"Y-Yes… You weren't in a relationship with anyone when I went for it, though. I think it was mostly justified to get it into your thick skull."

"Fair enough. Still, your evaluation of me is way too high... But thank you."

"It's not!"

"l-I see. Anyway, it sounds like we should find a girlfriend for her."

"Haha, that would be perfect. Do you happen to know any teenage girls that would be willing to date the first princess of this nation?" Maya had her doubts. "Also, a girl that could hold a candle to you! Spoiler alert; Not going to happen."

"Uuh..." The tiger-girl wasn't sure if she should feel happy or embarrassed about her last claim, so she opted for both at the same time as her face turned red, but with a smile on her lips.

"I mean, look at you!"

"T-Thanks... Though I think you look much better..."

"Ehehe~."

Before the two were able to fully lose themselves in their own little world, the tiger-girl remembered her date with the little princess and decided to leave before they got too flirty.

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"Ah, there she is." Kira stood in the hallway and greeted her once she saw Sophia. "She's waiting already."

"Ahaha... I got a little lost on the way... Should've asked a maid..." It was the second or third time already, so she most likely won't learn.

"It's alright. She can still stay up a little longer. Not that she'd ever fall asleep without you arriving."

"I promised her, so I'll obviously show up. I like that adorable little girl, after all."

"Thanks. For the dinner, as well, it's awesome how you can get through her. Ellie totally loves you."

"I'm really happy to hear that... I don't know what it is, but there's something about Ellie that makes me want to spoil her. I've always been a fan of kids, but something about her is different."

"She's the first small child you met from your own race, is she not? Maybe some sort of instincts are kicking in? You did mention something about having strong ones, right?"

"A-Ah..."

"It would explain why you're so drawn to her. We from the tiger family are extremely protective of our children."

"Uhh... It actually makes sense..." Sophia had no doubts that any motherly instincts of a tiger would go wild inside her, as well.

"I wonder what's going to happen if you ever have your own child." Kira was a little interested in the idea.

"I-, I haven't thought about that before..." Until a little while ago, she never imagined it would be relevant. Even in her dreams, blessing magic wasn't something she could've imagined, but her answer to the idea was still clear. "Yep, I'll become completely useless if that ever happens."

"I look forward to it. Show them to me, then. I want to spoil them, too."

"S-Sure... But... n-no, it's not going to happen any time soon... W-We are not at this point yet, like, at all..." Just thinking about it made her nervous.

"No, don't worry. It's just a personal interest, not a prompt."

"T-Thanks... Anyway, Ellie's waiting, so I better get going."

"That's a good idea. Ah, would it be possible to ask you to watch over her until she falls asleep? Menzor's meeting with the commanders is taking longer than anticipated, and he asked me to join."

"Of course. Wait, that sounds serious. Did something happen?"

"Nah, it wouldn't be the first time that they're planning to get dead-drunk and invited me to join, so... Probably no need to worry."

"Hehe, have fun with that."

"Thanks~."

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The two split up, and the blonde tiger-girl was finally able to enter Ellie's room, who already eagerly awaited her.

"So... phia!" The little girl was sitting on her bed, wearing some red pajamas, and was kicking her feet in the air while happily smiling at her.

"Uuh..." Her heart took a lot of damage from this adorable display. "Sorry, I'm late. I got held up a little."

"So...phia's here now, it's okay."

"You're such a good girl." She sat down next to Ellie on the bed and gently patted her head.

"Ehehe~."

"Do you want to hear a story now?"

"Yes!"

"Well then, how about you lay down first?"

"Alright!" Agreeing, Ellie placed her head on the pillow before Sophia covered her with a blanket.

"Everything nice and comfy?"

"So... phia! Here!" She patted down on the place next to her on the bed.

"You want me to lie down, as well?"

"Yes!"

"Geez~, can't be helped." Unable to turn her down, not that she tried to, Sophia lay down next to her, and the little tiger-girl immediately snuggled against her side.

"Ehehe~, So... phia's warm."

"..." The hugged girl wondered whether it's possible to overdose on adorableness because it felt like it would be to her. "O-Okay, storytime!"

"Okay!"

"Let's see..." She had still to decide on a story. "Once upon a time, a cute little princess, just like you, Ellie, was playing in the garden of her castle. There, she met a lovely hummingbird that sung her a beautiful song..." Not knowing what to tell, Sophia simply mashed together some of the classic fairy tales she remembered from her old world. While avoiding stories that would obviously not work here, like the beauty and the beast as this is most likely, in some way or another, a common occurrence now, she told the little tiger-girl a wonderful tale about a foreign world with a beautiful and sweet princess over the next half hour. "... and they lived happily ever after."

"Yay!" It seemed like Ellie liked the story.

"Was it good?"

"Very!"

"Great."

"So... phia, another one!"

"Only one per evening." She needed time to think of another one first, after all.

"Aww... okay..." While sad, Ellie still accepted it.

"Besides, it's gotten late, and good kids need their sleep."

"Is So... phia going to stay?"

"Yes, I'll be here for a while." Technically speaking, storytime had somehow turned into babysitting, not that she minded it even a bit.

"Yay!" Obviously feeling happy, Ellie snuggled even closer to the bigger tiger-girl in response.

"All right, it's time to sleep. Need some water? Toilet?"

"No!"

"Perfect. Then, good night, Ellie!"

"So... phia, night!" Increasing her hug even more, she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep in no time.

"Soo... what now?" Sophia was trapped in the bed and had little room to move. "Well, I might as take a nap, too, huh?" Saying so, she also closed her eyes and did just that. Being able to fall asleep everywhere, at any giving time, in any situation, was one of her biggest strengths.

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Quietly napping together, time passed in the blink of an eye, and two hours had already gone by. The peacefulness was soon interrupted, though. Noticing the presence of someone entering the room, Sophia woke up and opened her eyes.

"Shh..." She put a finger on her lips after seeing it was Kira.

"Don't worry... I once dropped a plate, it shattered into a thousand pieces, and she still didn't wake up. "

"Oh, so she's a good sleeper, just like me."

"You woke up pretty easily, though." The queen had her doubts about her claim. "I'm pretty sure I made next to no sound."

"I'm using something called detection magic. I simply knew that someone was coming"

"My, aren't your defenses something else?"

"Well, I have to make sure nothing happens to the little one here." Sophia pat Ellie's head before gently freeing herself from her grip.

"Impressive dedication. Care to become a full-time babysitter?"

"Enticing, but I'll have to decline."

"Aww."

"So, why are we having this conversation?" Sophia knew that something else entirely was going on.

"Ahaha, well... a messenger arrived during the meeting with the commanders."

"I don't like where this is going..." She already had a bad feeling.

"Yeah... let's say we've run into a bit of a situation, and Menzor wants you to attend, as well."

"As I said, I really don't like where this is going!" Unfortunately, her complaints fell on deaf ears as Kira escorted her out of the room.