The group had been walking for a couple of hours since leaving the capital, but as they were still relatively close to it, they had yet to find anything new and interesting to explore. It started getting dark before long, and because it was still just the middle of April, the temperature dropped quickly once the sun started setting. A fact that upset a big portion of them very much. The feline portion, that is.
“Alright, let's go and explore the cottage I stole this morning!" Sophia looked at the sunset, shuddered briefly, and then faced the rest of the group.
“Is the cat starting to get cold?” Steph rolled her eyes while she looked at her sister.
“Yep!”
“Are you really okay with the pride of a tiger being ridiculed to this level?” The dog-girl changed her attention to Anna. “You, as the tiger princess of this nation, should do something about this, should you not?”
“When we’re cold, we’re cold.” The tall tiger was not on her side.
“Haa…” She hung her head in response. “It’s really always the same with you all.”
"Just like Chloe, you are not fond of hot temperatures, right?” Fey looked at the dog.
“I hate it!” She had a strong opinion on it.
“You girls also plan to explore places like deserts or volcanic regions, right?”
“Absolutely!” Sophia and Anna immediately replied to her.
“Do you really think complaining about the felines’ dislike of the cold is a good course of action, my dear?” The voice of the full fox turned sarcastic when she glanced at Steph again.
“…” She went silent for a while before eventually scratching her cheek. “Soo… About that cottage you stole this morning… I really want to see how it looks inside!”
“Tell me they’re sisters without telling me they’re sisters.” Aura said out loud what everyone was thinking.
“I’m not okay with how we ended up on the topic, and I will remember this once we arrive in a desert or similar region, but for now, yeah, let's explore the cottage!" Saying so, Sophia raised her hand and used her magic to create a flurry of pink distortions in front of the group. Soon after, these distortions banded together before forming into something loosely resembling a door. A pink and sparkly door. “Let’s go!” She then immediately entered the portal while the others followed after her.
----------------
“This place is as weird as ever!” After going through the portal, they found themselves in a seemingly never-ending all-white space, and it fascinated Anna.
“No, I think the weirdness has improved since the last time we were here.” Ari tapped the shoulder of the tall tiger while indicating that she should turn around. There, a new attraction, in stark contrast to the all-white nothingness, could be found.
“That’s sooo cool!” Steph looked at the cottage that was outside the capital just this morning with sparkling eyes. The house wasn't there on its own, though. It was sitting on a few meters tall pile of dirt, covered in grass, and even a small range of trees behind it had been transported over to this place. “I’m so envious that you can do this, sis!”
“Hehe~.” The blonde got a little extra smug in response.
“I can’t wait until my overseer powers unlock!” The dog-girl started pouting. “I want to have my own place to play with, too!”
“Ehh?” Anna and Ari suddenly looked quite confused. “Overseer powers?”
“Good job...” Sophia rolled her eyes while she glanced at her sister.
"A-Ah.”
“What is this about?” Ari faced the shorter tiger and stared at her with big eyes.
“It’s quite easy to explain.” Mira took over and smiled at the blonde before facing the confused-looking royal couple. “As you already know, our Sophia has been gifted most of her extensive magic from Canir, while I gave a portion of mine to Steph. As he and I are overseers, our magic comes with special privileges. One of them is being able to create your own domain.” She tried to explain it to them. “You already saw mine when we went to the beach inside it the other day. Steph hasn’t unlocked hers, and Sophia’s is all this.” She gestured around in the white void. “She has it already, but it’s still barren.”
“Barren?!” Sophia sounded deeply upset. “Look at the cottage I stole! All the land around it, too!”
“Dear, the established part of my domain is about… Actually, I don't even know how big it is right now." Mira tilted her head. "It's much bigger than this world, though."
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“Fair.” There was nothing the blonde could say. “Let’s have this conversation in another year again!” She had big plans for her domain.
“I’m looking forward to it~.”
"Huh… W-Wait a moment!" Ari wasn't done with the previous topic. “D-Does that mean those overpowered sisters are effectively overseers, too?!”
“I wish!” Steph seemed to like that idea.
“DO I LOOK LIKE ONE?!” Sophia, on the other hand, did not.
“I don’t know, I’ve only met one so far, but you sure act like a being on a different plane of reasoning a lot of the times.”
“…” The blonde tiger went silent.
“Thanks to her having been blessed by the magic of an existing overseer, she’s cleared one of the most important prerequisites to become in the future.”
“N-No way!” The voices of Ari and Anna overlapped while they stared at Sophia with baffled expressions.
“By the way,” The teal fox smiled at the royal couple. "Did you know that Sophia used Canir's magic when she blessed the two of you with bigger powers? It’s a little different for the two of you because his power fused into yours, rather than you having become able to use the same kind as his, but…”
“EH?!”
“Hehe~.” Mira liked their shocked reaction. "Don't worry, though. There's more to becoming an overseer. Much more. Also, even Sophia needs to have around 1000 times the magic she currently has at her disposal to be considered an overseer in name.”
“Phew!” The jaguar looked visibly relieved. “I have no motivation to ever have that much magic! Also, that means Sophia and Steph will never become an overseer, either. That's very reassuring!"
“I mean, it will take a lot of time, but it’s not impossible.” Mira didn’t share her opinion.
“No, that’s not what I mean.” Ari shook her head. "If either of those would get even close to that much power, they would have long destroyed the world.”
“…” The group looked at the sisters for a little while. “Good point.”
“HEY!” The two didn’t like that accusation. “By accident, at best!”
“Same result!”
“…” Sophia and Steph went silent again.
“Soo…” Anna started looking around. “Is this place something you can only attain if you have pure overseer magic in you, or are traces of Canir's inside of yours enough? I want it, too!"
“It’s highly unlikely.” Mira scratched her cheek while facing the princess. “Everyone, myself included, was outright shocked when we learned that Sophia had unlocked this domain. No one thought it was possible. Especially not that easily and quickly. It’s definitely not what she wants to hear, but I highly doubt Steph will be able to have access to her own place any time soon, either. Having shared half of her magic with Chloe certainly didn’t get her closer to it, either.”
"I REGRET NOTHING!" The violet dog interrupted her. “One of the best decisions I made!”
“Aww, too bad!” Anna looked a little disappointed. “Why is it so different for the sisters, though? I mean, of course, Canir is the highest god, ah, I mean, overseer! I’m sorry about that… Still, you’re Mira! The overseer of magic! You’re responsible for the thing we all love! Shouldn’t our dog here be able to create a place like this even easier than Sophia?”
“She’s asking all the right questions!” Steph nodded a couple of times. “Answers, please!”
“It might be precisely because of the differences between Canir and me." Mira tilted her head because she wasn't entirely sure about it herself. “In regard to the planet you all live on now, you could say that I’m rather important. In fact, calling me an overseer is not even entirely correct. I do much more than watch over magic. I control it. Make sure everything around it is working alright. That there are no anomalies. Keeping the balance, and much more. In fact, it would not be wrong to call me the administrator of magic. Overseer has a better ring to it, so let's continue with that, okay~?"
“Are all overseers so easygoing…?" Ari wasn't sure how to feel about the explanation of her title.
“It’s one of the other main prerequisites to becoming one.”
"OH, NO!" The jaguar looked at the sisters in shock.
“Hehe~.” Steph smiled at her.
“Shut up!” Sophia did not.
“Canir’s different in that regard. He fits the theme of an overseer much better as he mostly watches and only intervenes in case of catastrophes.” Mira glances at the blonde towards the end.
“Why are you looking at me? Because he brought me over to this world, and I am a catastrophe, or because he had to intervene in some catastrophes I caused by accident?”
“Other than that, Canir's actually the biggest exception amongst overseers." The teal fox completely ignored her. “Normally, we’re only in charge of one world, and then we’re also grouped into different subjects, like me overseeing and managing magic in the world you all live in, for example. He has many worlds under him. Not only that, but he also oversees those places as a whole and not just a certain part or attribute of those places.”
“Am I the only one who’s missing the part where this explains why Sophia can use her extra dimension already while I can not…?” Steph got confused over the topic.
“Patience, my dear puppy.” Mira smiled at her. “I was getting to that just now. My magic is attuned to the specific magic of the world you live in. It is my magic, after all. Canir’s magic isn’t. It isn’t attuned to anything. It’s blank. It’s compatible with every world in existence and can be used there freely as long as magic exists. I can’t do that and only have access to the powers inside me if I'm not in my domain or the usual world.”
“Still confused!”
“It’s easier to establish a connection to a different dimension, which could also be described as a different world on a smaller scale, with magic that isn't attuned to a specific place. Canir’s, and thus Sophia’s, magic is just very compatible with stuff like that. It’s compatible with pretty much anything, after all.”
“Unfair!” Once she understood the reasoning, Steph directly didn’t like it.
“Hehe~.” Sophia was more of a fan, though.
“In exchange for that, you have a much easier time using magic in the normal world because no one’s more compatible with that than you and I are." Mira smiled at her. "Weird accidents are much more unlikely to happen for you, too, because magic better understands your intention."
“UNFAIR!” This time, the shorter tiger got loud.
“There’s no winning with those sisters, is there?” Fey had been listening to them until now and just had to ask.
“No.” Maya, Chloe, Ari, Anna, Fen, Aura, and even the girls in question replied simultaneously.
As the topic was somewhat exhausted afterward, the group put it on hold for the time being and decided that it was time to explore the cottage Sophia had stolen before.