The sleepover with Ellie at the couple’s mansion had unfortunately ended, and the two safely delivered the princess back to the castle. Everyone was really sad that it was over, but there was nothing they could do about that. Sophia and Maya chatted with Kira about the events for a while, but the duo eventually decided to leave the royal family on their own for the time being. Before they headed home, though, the blonde decided to go back to the heating ore manufacturers again. After she, through the king, had sold her heated floor invention to them, she still had to sign the contract and teach them how to build it.

“Welcom- Oh, the blondie from the other day.” The couple was back in the place where they had bought the heating ore, and the owner with the large wolf-like ears greeted them before noticing Sophia. “Fluffy season has started, huh?” He was staring at her hair.

“Ahh…” She turned her head away.

“That’s always quite the event for everyone because they get to see the tigers in a new look.”

“I could do without it, though…”

“Not fun for girls if their hair suddenly becomes unruly, huh?”

“Exactly!” The blonde nodded to his evaluation.

“Well, there’s nothing you can do about that.”

“Shearing it all off!”

“Quite the drastic decision.” He stifled a laugh. “Isn’t that even worse than a bit of extra volume?”

“Please don’t approach me with reasonable arguments. I just want to vent a bit!”

“Sure~.” Understanding that the girl in front of her simply likes to complain, the wolf-man changed the topic. “What brings you here today? Don’t tell me you need even more of the heating ore?”

“Nope, I still have some left of that.”

“Okay? Wait, with everything that you bought lately… You’re the one that invented the heated floors, aren’t you?”

“Yep.” She responded with a slight nod.

“Ohhh!” He started smiling. “You’re here for the contract and the sample, then?”

“I am.”

“Great!”

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

Afterward, he went through the contract with the couple and more or less confirmed the terms and conditions the king had already told them before. Once this was taken care of, the wolf-man handed over the upfront payment and then guided them into the back of the building, where some workers were currently producing something that looked like big radiator-like space heaters from Sophia’s old world.

“Oi, come over here, idiots!” The wolf-man raised his voice, and the workers swiftly gathered around the group, seven in total. Most of them also had wolf-, or dog-like ears. It most likely was some sort of family business they were running.

“Ohh, the blonde tiger. My first time seeing her up close. What is she doing here?” One of the workers said what everyone seemed to be thinking.

“She’s the inventor of the heated floors I told you about after meeting the royal family the other day.”

“Ohhh!”

“H-Hey…” Not entirely sure how to react, Sophia just awkwardly waved her hand.

“Should we hop right into the instructions, or do you have any questions?” The wolf-man looked at the blonde.

“Hmm…” She glanced at the radiator-like heaters. “Do they work with water?”

“Yes. That’s the only way the heating ore works, after all. Even the ovens have a couple of chambers filled with a liquid-based solution of it, just much more concentrated for higher heat. It’s more of a gel there, actually.”

“Really…?” The tiger tilted her head. “The heated floors use a solid material, though.”

“Seriously?!” He got loud. “The heating ore usually works spotty at best when coated on a solid material, or it becomes way too unstable to use.”

“The secret lies in the mixture~.” The blonde sounded quite smug. “A mixture I found after my cat exploded half of our garden.”

“Hey!” Even though it was true, Maya didn’t like this accusation.

“Is this true?!” The wolf-man’s eyes grew wide.

“Yep. Should we renegotiate the contract? I feel like using a solid material for the ovens would make them much easier to build and maintain.” Sophia noticed that her idea was suddenly worth much more.

“You are right.” He nodded. “If there really is a way to use the heating ore in a solid way, it would make things incomparably easier for us. I think we can keep the contract, though. The royalties you receive aren’t based on the heated floors themselves, but whatever we make with your invention. If it finds applications in different products, you’ll get a share of those sales, as well. Next year, the licensing costs of your method would increase, too, because of the much higher revenue with multiple products.”

“I see. Well, okay then.” The tiger didn’t see an issue with his words. He didn’t seem to be lying either.

“Alright, thank you very much for letting us use it.” He seemed grateful. “Okay, how do you turn the heating ore into a solid mass for later use?”

“Sand.”

“S-Sand?” He tilted his head while looking rather shocked for some reason.

“It’s a ten to one ratio of finely ground sand and the ore. You mix those together and add water. Stirring it for a while, it eventually turns into a smooth, almost mud-like homogenous mass. You can form that into whatever structure you want. Afterward, once you pour your magic into it for the first time, it becomes solid.”

“A-And that is safe…?”

“Totally.”

“Oi, Greg, organize some sand! Steve, bring me a kilogram of the heating! John, a bucket of water!”

“Yes!” Three of the workers immediately dashed away.

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

Roughly 20 minutes later, the workers had gathered the materials, and Sophia, who didn’t feel like mentioning that she also would’ve had everything on hand inside her storage, finished mixing the heating mixture she used for the floors in their mansion.

“That’s about it.” Once she finished washing her hands with water magic, the blonde gestured at the bucket filled with a brownish-golden mixture that had the same consistency as fresh mud.

“It actually turned into something that can be used for literally everything…” The wolf-man held his head. “So easy, but so genius, as well. You’re amazing, blondie.”

“Hehe.” Looking smug again, she nudged Maya’s side. “Heard that?”

“Sure…”

“Though…” Sophia looked at the wolf-man again. “I don’t want to be rude, but as you said, it’s quite a simple mixture… Why did no one before me come up with that?”

“Well…” He scratched his cheek. “We did try mixing it with sand… We lost a warehouse thanks to that. It reacted way too violently, and it became an unwritten rule to never use the ore in combination with sand or other finely ground materials. The coarser or bigger the material gets, though, the spottier the heating qualities become. In the end, water or other liquids were the only viable way. The ore combined with water alone is also really good in terms of the heating output, so there was little reason to experiment more with such a highly dangerous and unstable combination. Making sure the water chambers and maintenance is quite the pain, though… If it really becomes solid and stable if you add water, it’ll be amazing!”

“I see… We’re lucky that Maya didn’t blow up our entire house, huh?” The tiger smirked at her.

“Hey!” She got loud. “Also, y-yes…”

“So, it hardens after you activate it with magic for the first time?” The wolf-man wanted to stay on the topic.

“Pretty much, yes.”

“Let me give it a try…” Saying so, he dumped the bucket onto a table and spread it into a three-centimeter-thick plate. Afterward, he activated it by pouring some of his magic into it. “Wow, it instantly becomes perfectly solid…”

“Quite handy, isn’t it?”

“Handy!?” He got loud. “We’ll have to change our entire production! This will make the ovens so much easier to build, and even the heaters can be designed entirely different now!”

“Ah… Sorry about that…” The blonde awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“Sorry!?” He got even louder. “That’s a good thing! This will improve the use of those items by a lot!”

“Oh, that’s great. Anyway, the rest of the heated floors is pretty self-explanatory after this. It’s not necessary, but you should add some insulation as the bottom layer because you want to heat the floor, not the ground below it. After that, you add the heating mixture in a snake-like pattern on top of it before flooring the room again. A tiled wooden floor would probably be the easiest way.” Sophia paused for a moment. “Ah, I just thought about a cheap alternative. It won’t be nearly as cozy or warm, but a thin plate of it below a carpet or rug could work, too. I doubt you could heat an entire room like that, but it could be a nice addition right in front of a sofa in the living room or under your bed.”

“Yes.” The wolf-man nodded. “A whole floor solution would be the best way and will probably be the most sought-after, too. Still, the principle of it could be used for a whole variety of products like those you mentioned and many more.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Sure does.” He agreed with the tiger’s comment.

They kept discussing some other products for a while longer, but as Sophia didn’t want to disturb their work for even longer, not to mention that she started to get bored, the couple eventually left again.

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

“What now?” The couple was walking through the capital, and Maya glanced at her tiger.

“Shopping?” Sophia voiced the first thing that came to her mind. “We’ve got some money earlier~.”

“Some, she says…” The cat-girl rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s not like the money has some sort of practical use right now… Is there anything you want?”

"Let's see... You know, ever since I installed the underfloor heating, it's gotten kinda warm when we sleep. Last night, with Ellie on top, it was almost too warm..."

"Yeah, that's true." Maya nodded. "We're overdoing it with the warmth a little, huh?"

"Yep."

"I guess we should turn down the heated floor a bit?"

"Eh?" Sophia stared at her with big eyes. "I was more thinking about buying some lighter pajamas with less or thinner fabric." She had no plans to make their bedroom colder.

"Ah, I like that plan better. Way better!" The cat-girl, too, loved the warmth too much. "Any preferences? Maybe something silken? That's pretty light."

"I don't really like silk... It looks nice, but I don't like the sleek feeling it has... It's too slippery, too."

"Aww..." She looked disappointed. "I actually kinda like it."

"You just wanted me to get some lingerie type of nightwear, huh?"

"Yep." Maya had no intention to hide it.

"You..." The tiger looked at her for a while before rolling her eyes. "Maybe something for before we go to sleep."

"Yay!" She liked the sound of that. "You could also always just sleep in your underwear."

"..." Sophia stared at her again. "Are you going to do the same, or do you just want something to look at?"

"Yes." She just nodded. "Well, if you're offering it already, naked would be an option, too." Maya showed her a slight smirk. "It would be quicker for other things, too."

"I'm trying to find something to make sleeping more comfortable!" She got loud. "Those are all valid options for bed activities, and I like them a lot, but the bed's also for sleeping! SLEEPING!" The blonde started pouting. "Why's everyone around me such a pervert?!"

"Are you really saying that after you just admitted that my ideas are all valid and how you like them?"

"A-Ah..." She hadn't thought her complaint through. "That's just because you're having a bad influence on me!"

"Is that so?"

"YES!"

"You're welcome." Maya was happy that she had such an influence on the blonde. "I don't believe a word you're saying, though."

"Anyway, pajamas!" Sophia decided that the topic was over.

"Okay, what kind of pajamas does the pervert want?"

"..." She started pouting again but eventually managed to ignore her teasing. "Maybe just something like a camisole or a crop top combined with shorts? Or some type of sleeveless one-piece nightwear, maybe a negligee, even. Actually, that's what I did back at home most of the time. Shorts and camisoles that. Before you, I only wore actual pajamas when I was cold or Steph wanted to cuddle... I used to sleep in way skimpier outfits because it's so much comfier."

"And why did we start with pajamas, then?!" Maya got loud. "You used to run around in skimpier clothes at home?! I'm so jealous! Also, yes, a camisole and shorts or a one-piece are sooo much comfier! Also, way nicer to look at, too! Much more bare skin, after all!"

"Aaaand there's your reason." The tiger lightly glared at her. "We started sleeping in pajamas together before we started dating, and there was no way I could've slept together with you lightly dressed. That, and how we used pajamas to sleep outside, as well, it just became a habit, I guess."

"Time to go shopping!" Maya got extremely motivated and energetically raised her hand. "Oh, camisoles are even better when you have a bigger chest! Would it be possible to get some service in that department?" She looked at the tiger's chest.

"You want me to increase my size with magic so that you can have some fun...?"

"Yes."

"Seriously, again, why are you such a pervert?"

"Because you let me be one."

"It's my fault!?"

"Yes." The cat-girl nodded again.

"Wow... So, I enable you, huh? Well, isn't that something?" She tilted her head in return. "Okay, I don't really mind. If you have fun, I do get some fun soon after, too, so..."

"It's great that we enable each other, huh?"

"Haha..." She showed her a little smile. "Well, being bigger at home shouldn't be an issue, I guess. I mean, there's no need to move around too much and I do like to be big every now and then, after all~. Smaller breasts are comfier to sleep on, but there's no need to wear a bra while sleeping that makes everything restrictive because there's no risk of future sag thanks to my best friend healing magic that keeps everything nice and firm while resisting gravity..." The tiger got a little lost in her own world.

"Does that mean that I'll get some service in the new nightwear?"

"That's a solid maybe." She tried to play hard to get. Not that her monologue before was anything but obvious.

"Good enough for now!" Maya seemed fairly convinced that the maybe would become a definitely soon enough and decided to put the topic on halt until the time was ready. "So, anything else to shop for while we're at it?"

“Hmm…” She thought about it for a moment and then touched her hair. “Let’s go to the usual beauty store, too. There are some shampoos and conditioners I need to buy.”

“I thought you liked the current tiger ones you got?”

“Yeah, those are great! No, I want some stuff to experiment.”

“Experiment…?”

“I think I want to try making the heating iron for my hair. I need some moisturizing conditioner or straightening shampoo to prepare my hair for it. Ideally, you also use some stuff to protect your hair from the heat, but I doubt something like this exists yet. There’s no use for it, after all.”

“True, I never heard of such a product.”

“I think I can try it without it if I’m careful enough.”

“I see…” Maya paused for a moment. “Can’t just think of some sort of ridiculous magic that changes the properties of your hair? You’ve done much crazier things already.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Cheesing everything was too boring for the tiger. “Inventing stuff is fun!”

“Well, I can’t say you’re wrong.” She agreed that it sounded more interesting that way.

“I also don’t want the others to find out that I can change my appearance at will. I’m a tiger, and that’s all that counts now. I don’t want them to get suspicious about me.”

“True, that could get really bothersome.”

“Yeah… Even so, magical hair adjustment might still be plan B now, though.”

“Ahaha… What about cutting it all down?”

“Err… let’s make that plan… Z for the time being.” Sophia didn’t actually want to do that, after all.

After having decided on that plan, the couple visited the store where they supplied all of their care products since coming to the capital. The clerks there looked at Sophia with sympathetic eyes after asking for moisturizing and straightening products while telling her that tiger hair, unfortunately, doesn’t care about those shampoos and conditioners, but the blonde bought them regardless. The clerks looking even sadder afterward made her feel pretty awkward, though, and the couple headed straight home after they made a quick stop at the lingerie boutique on their way back to find some alternative sleepwear. That had to happen right away, after all.