The group returned to the fox village to wait for Fey's return, and while they were at it, the girls also decided to visit the hot springs there. While getting ready for that, they also experimented with the trees there to make them look like it was fall again to give them their colorful leaves back. Once the group succeeded with that, Sophia and Steph went to collect Anna and Ari because the two should also be there.

“Woah, it looks amazing!” Anna was the first who finished undressing and entered the bathing area after having taken a quick shower. Her eyes started sparkling while looking at the big wooden tub, the fancy roof, and the waterfall-like faucet. The lush and fall-themed forest in the background had also caught her interest. "The view is amazing!"

"I couldn't agree more~." Maya appeared behind her while nodding a few times. She wasn't looking at the scenery, though.

"I couldn't agree more~." Steph followed immediately behind her while having the exact same reply. Just at the cat-girl, she was focusing her attention on the bare backside of the princess in front of them.

“Uhh… I-I know it was mostly my idea, but this is pretty embarrassing, isn’t it…?” Sophia was a little further behind them and squirmed a little while she was trying to hide her important bits with a white towel that was way too small for the job.

"Y-Yeah…" Chloe was right next to her and had a similar expression. Just like the blonde, she also tried her best to cover herself with a towel, but it was even more of a losing battle she was fighting.

"It do be a good view, though." Sophia's gaze alternated between Maya and Anna in front of them.

"T-True…" The fox-girl focused more on all three of them while paying extra good attention to the dog-girl. Afterward, she also stole a glance or two at the girl next to her.

“Wrong sister.” The blonde's expression changed into a slight grin when she looked back at her. She wasn't looking at Chloe’s face, though.

"A-Ah.” She got even more awkward. "A-Also, my eyes are up here!”

"W-Why is everyone in our group such a pervert…?" Ari was following behind the duo with a slight blush on her cheeks as she was fighting the same fight with her towel. Just like Sophia, it wasn't looking good, though. Or very good, depending on who to ask.

“Do you disagree, though?” Maya turned around to smile at her. “Especially when you’re at the very back where you have a good view of everyone."

“…” The jaguar’s blush only intensified before she looked away. “F-Forget I complai- Wait, why are there still leaves on the trees?! It's winter, and no other tree still has theirs. Also, why does there seem to be light in the forest?!" Luckily, she found a topic to get the attention away from her.

“Oh, you’re right.” Sophia focused on the forest for the first time since returning. There were more important things, after all. “What’s up with the light?”

“The lights were my idea~.” Chloe smiled at her. “I thought it would add to the mood, so I played around with light magic a little and created some orbs of light to illuminate the forest.”

“Love it!” The blonde was a big fan. “For the fall theme… Do you still remember the tree Anna created on the academy grounds?”

“Oi!” The princess didn’t like her pronunciation.

“What do you mean, remember?!” Ari raised her voice. “That was yesterday!”

“Right… It feels like a week because so much is going on…”

“Even a week is not enough time to forget about something like that!” The jaguar only got louder.

“Was it hard to explain everything to the king…?”

“YES!”

“Sorry…” Sophia looked a little awkward. "Anyway, we found out that with the right amount of magic, you can manipulate the growth of plants. For example, letting them grow leaves, or making them look like it’s fall.”

“Wow… That’s just… Wow.” She found no better words.

“Pretty much.” The blonde agreed. “For now, it’s just a novelty for a better backdrop on the hot springs, but I think there are some actual and very amazing things you could do with this plant modification.”

"Less chatting, more bathing!" Steph was getting impatient.

“Well, you’ve heard the boss.” Smiling at Ari, Sophia then started walking again while Chloe followed as well.

Soon after, everyone entered the water while the somewhat shy girls also got rid of their towels because they would only be in the way, not that they ever fulfilled the intended purpose in the first place. Covering some important areas, that is.

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

“Oh, the water’s great!” The moment Chloe had submerged herself, any hints of her being embarrassed about being naked were gone. “And no, I have no idea why hot water’s fine.” She immediately looked at Sophia because she could feel her stare.

“Ahaha…”

“Speaking of hot…” Maya joined the conversation while looking at every single girl around her.

“Come on, even for you being your usual horny self, that’s a too low-hanging fruit.” The blonde immediately shot her down.

“…” She went silent again.

“Everyone here is extremely hot, and the water is nothing in comparison!” It didn’t stop Steph from finishing her sentence while she was doing the exact same.

“Becoming more and more a fan of the little sister. Besides the headache-inducing common-sense issues, that is…"

“It’s good that the two are bonding, right…?” Slightly unsure about it, Sophia turned her head to look at Ari.

“Debatable.” She scratched her cheek. “Your girlfriend getting along with your sister is definitely a good thing. The topic they’re bonding over… Well, that’s a different topic."

“Come on, don’t try to play innocent now.” The cat-girl also changed her attention to the jaguar. “You were just as horny as everyone else when you stayed at our mansion not too long ago! Just as shameless when looking at the others, as well.”

"…" The jaguar went silent for a moment before facing Sophia again. “Can I…?”

“Can what?” She tilted her head. “Anyway, sure.”

“Are your breasts actually still growing? I mean, when we met, I was sure you were smaller than me. Then, my clothes were a perfect fit for you, and now…" Her eyes started wandering as she gave up on being embarrassed. "They do seem ever so slightly bigger than mine.”

“H-Hey!” Sophia covered her chest with her arms.

"True!" Anna had the same line of sight as her girlfriend. "You were 100% smaller than that when you arrived in the capital!"

“Why would you two even pay so much attention to my breasts to notice that in the first place?!”

“Why not?” Chloe answered for them. “You have a great figure.”

“Exactly!” The couple nodded a few times.

“T-Thanks…” The blonde started blushing. “I, uhh… don’t see where I’m supposed to be bigger than you, though.” She first glanced down at herself before her eyes wandered toward Ari. "Seems pretty much the same to me. If anything, the shape of yours makes it seem like…”

“I-I get it!” The jaguar didn’t like the reversal and also opted to cover her chest with her arms. “The shape is ever so slightly different, but our sizes match each other almost perfectly.”

“Not so much detailed staring!” Anna got loud. “I agree, same size, somewhat different shape, both very beautiful, but keep it easy!” When it came to the two, she always got mixed feelings.

“Both are very beautiful, huh?” It was time for Maya again. “Who’s doing the most detailed staring here?”

“A-Ah…” The princess went silent for a moment but immediately raised her voice again when she looked at Maya. “J-Judging by your line of sight, YOU! I’m not the first one saying it, but my eyes are up here!”

“I know.” The cat-girl had no intention of stopping looking where she was looking at, though. “Actually, this is also a very interesting battle!” She eventually stopped staring at her, after all, but only to change her attention to the fox-girl. “Anna vs. Chloe! Now, finally, without any guessing!"

“Chloe wins!” Steph’s reply was instantaneous.

"Unbiased reviews only!" Maya slowly shook her head.

"Ah, I understand…" The dog-girl calmed down a little. “Let’s see," Her eyes then started wandering between the two. “This is a difficult one…”

“I think so, too.” The white-haired girl nodded a few times.

“I guess we just have to look harder?”

"And longer!" The duo was on the same page. Afterward, the two continued their stares at the two most stacked girls in the group.

“U-Uuhh…” The princess was starting to get embarrassed.

"T-To answer your question from earlier," Chloe glanced at Sophia. “I-I have very mixed feelings about them bonding to this degree…”

“You, err… might have a point…”

"A-Also, how can Maya be this horny again after last night and how exhausted she was only a few hours ago?"

“Knowing Maya, it probably just made it worse… or better?" The blonde let out a short sigh. "She was just too tired to show it in the morning…”

“I see…”

"What happened?" Ari felt like she was missing some information.

“We got new toys!” The cat-girl briefly interrupted her current research. “Amazing toys! Unbelievable toys! Unbelievably amazing toys! One that will change your worldview forever!"

"I-I shouldn't have asked… Wait, they changed your world view…?" The jaguar suddenly sounded ever so slightly interested.

“It’s true.” The blonde gave her a slight nod.

“I-I see…”

"Don't worry. We have spares for everyone! Unused, I want to add!" Maya really wanted them to spread.

“…” Ari went completely silent.

“Alright, I think I came to a conclusion!” Ignoring their exchange, Steph eventually spoke up.

“Let me hear it!” The cat-girl was looking forward to it.

“In absolute terms, Anna pulls slightly ahead.” The dog-girl didn’t sound too happy about having to admit that. “When we factor in the body-to-breasts ratio, my Chloe definitely wins, though!”

“Mhmm…” Maya’s eyes started wandering again to confirm her claim. Even Sophia and Ari now joined in and compared them, as well. “Fair.” All three came to the same conclusion.

“H-Hey!” Anna and Chloe didn’t seem to appreciate the sudden unionization and decided to hide their breasts by covering them with their respective arms. Unfortunately, thanks to their size, they only ended up squeezing them, accentuating their chest even more by it.

“Nice.”

Afterward, everyone silently agreed to be horny for five more minutes, where they continued to stare. Still, the girls eventually got comfortable for good, and they calmed down a fair bit while simply enjoying the water, the background, and each other's company. Steph had some slight difficulties with the calm part, as that word didn't exist in her dictionary, but Chloe somehow managed to gather the brunt of her attention.