The couple had spent the day napping and cuddling with Ellie on the sheepskin rug in their living room. The two enjoyed this cozy pastime very much because they loved to stick to the little princess for some reason that, according to Aura, might be more than simply being enamored by her cuteness. Ellie loved the comfy atmosphere just as much, though, and finally got her sleepover at the couple’s mansion after talking her mother into agreeing to it.
On the following day, once the blonde was awake and the couple ate breakfast, or had brunch, depending on how you interpret the time, the two went to the royal castle again. King Menzor wanted to talk with Sophia about the heated floors she invented again, and, most importantly, they wanted to pick up Princess Ellie for their sleepover. An event all three of them were looking forward to very much.
“Hmm~.” On the way to the castle, Maya kept staring at Sophia’s head for some reason.
“C-Could you stop…?” She didn’t like it. “I’ve noticed it myself, okay?”
“Hehe.” The cat-girl let out a chuckle. “The queen was right, huh? You’re getting fluffy already.” She continued to look at the tiger’s hair, which had gained a lot more volume than the day before.
“Urgh… Stupid tigers… Do I really have to go with short hair again? I kinda liked having it a little longer…”
“What’s the problem with fluffy hair? I think it looks great.”
“It’s a pain to deal with, though. It’s not like I had straight hair before, but…”
“Nothing about you is straight, after all.”
“Exactly.” The blonde liked her comment. “My sister had naturally wavy and super fluffy hair all year round, and she did nothing but complain about it. Even using a hair iron on it had next to no effect. It was always all over the place, and styling it was next to impossible.”
“I see… Wait, what’s a hair iron?” She heard a new term.
“It doesn’t exist here? It is a device that applies heat to your hair to straighten it out. You basically iron your hair by pressing it between two hot plates while gliding over it.”
“You can iron your hair?” Maya tilted her head. “I know the ones for clothes, but using those bulky irons on your hair doesn’t seem like a good idea…”
“No, the principle’s the same, but the device for your hair’s much more delicate and smaller.”
“Ahh… Still, it sounds like it could hurt your hair?”
“Well, you have to take care to not apply too much heat on the same spot, but other than that, it’s quite easy to use once you get the hang of it.”
“Is that so? It definitely sounds handy, though. Straightening out bed hair can be quite a pain, after all.”
“Or fighting against your tiger genes.”
“Or that.” Maya tried to hold in another chuckle.
“Do we still have some of the heating ore left?” Sophia tilted her head. “Yeah… I bought way too much for the heated floors.”
“Are you trying to make this hair flattening iron thingy?”
“It’s worth a try. From what I heard from Kira and Anna, this level of fluffiness is only the beginning. I am also 100% sure that the fluffiness of my hair will be boosted, too.”
“Ahh… Well, good luck with that.”
“With what? Boosted hair volume or inventing the flattening iron?”
“Yes.” The cat-girl had taken a liking to this kind of answer.
“I thought as much.”
“Fluff aside, judging by the tips of your hair, you’re also saying goodbye to any hint of orange in your hair, huh?”
“Yeah, I noticed that, too!” Sophia nodded. “Forget becoming lighter. It looks like I’m becoming a super light blonde. When comparing to the royal family, it looks actually closer to you…”
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“I like it.” The cat-girl stared at the ends of her hair for a bit. “Compared to all the blonde types you had, this might already be my favorite type. I look forward to the finished version.”
“I agree. I’ve never had such a soft color before, but I already like it, too. I wonder how it’s going to mix with my stripes.”
While chatting about Sophia’s hair, the duo eventually arrived at the castle, and the maids directly guided them to Menzor’s office.
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“Welcome.” The king greeted the two.
“My, look who’s getting fluffy~.” Kira was also present.
“Urgh…” Sophia hung her head. “I bet it only happened because you mentioned it yesterday!”
“Don’t be unreasonable. It’s the destiny of every tiger~.”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Shared pain is half the pain.”
“I don’t think so.” Sophia disagreed. “We’re two here, so it’s double the pain right now.”
“Fair point.”
“Should we get started?” Menzor’s hair seemed like it had gained a bit of volume, as well, but he didn’t seem to mind it even the slightest bit. “Kira told me about the heated floors in your mansion in great detail. In fact, my wife, Ellie, Anna, and even her Arianne wouldn’t stop talking about it ever since visiting your place.”
“Ahaha…” The blonde awkwardly scratched her cheek. “It’s very popular with ca-, the feline type. Not that it’s any less popular with do-, err, wolves.
“It appears to be so.” He decided not to retort on anything she almost said. “Kira said that it’s a lovely invention that’ll improve the living standards of everyone. The folk, and the royal castle, as well.” He glanced at his wife during the last part.
“I think so, too.” Sophia agreed with the king’s evaluation of her invention. “I’ll gladly share it with everyone if I get some sort of compensation. Though it would probably be better to have this conversation with the manufacturers of the other heaters, I guess?”
“Yes, but as the handling of the raw material, the heating ore, has to be approved from the respective ministers or us, it’s not wrong to have this talk with me.”
“I see.”
“I had the manufacturers come over in the morning, too. Kira explained what was going on, and long story short, they were very interested, to say the least.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“They want to buy the use rights of your idea for 2.000 gold with a 20% share of every sale involving it. This will be for the first year. Once there are some actual numbers for the sales, the yearly payment, and the shares will be renegotiated.”
“Alright, sounds good.” Sophia instantly agreed to it.
“You don’t want to negotiate the terms…?” Menzor was a little surprised.
“Do I have to?”
“N-No. We, Kira especially, made sure to get a fair deal for everyone.”
“Perfect. Do I have to sign anything, or…?”
“The manufacturers are currently writing up a contract. The best would be for you to meet them soon. Once you sign the contract and receive the initial payment, you’re going to show them how it works.”
“Sounds like a plan.” The blonde nodded. “Not today, though. I have something muuuch more important planned, after all.”
“Tomorrow or the day after is perfectly fine.” The king had no reason to rush her. “Kira told me about your important plans today. You do know what responsibilities come with having our Ellie not staying the night in the castle?”
“Of course.” Sophia’s expression changed. “I’ll destroy the world before anything could bring her harm.”
“Good.” He looked straight back at her with a satisfied expression. “Make sure my daughter enjoys this experience.”
“That’s all that counts.”
“Anyway…” Kira wasn’t sure what to say. “Now that the discussion about the heated floors is over, how about I guide the two of you to Ellie? She’s waiting already because she’s looking forward to it so much.”
“Gladly!” Sophia immediately sprang up. “Let’s go!” The little princess wasn’t the only one waiting for it.
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Leaving the king behind in his office, Kira led the couple towards Ellie’s room, where she was already waiting for them.
“So… phia! Maya!” Her face lit up the moment the door opened.
“Ellie~.” The duo lightly waved at her.
“Let’s go! Sleep over!” She energetically jumped off the bed she was sitting on.
“Why is she so adorable…?” Sophia glanced at the queen.
“It almost hurts, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, my heart aches.” It didn’t look like she was complaining, though.
“I know that feeling.”
“Wow…” Maya ignored the duo and went over to Ellie. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes!” She gave her a big nod. “Mama and Ellie packed a few clothes for sleep and tomorrow! Ellie also has her toothbrush and favorite toothpaste!”
“Great.”
“Does she need a special kind of shampoo?” Sophia finished gushing over her cuteness with Kira and got a little more serious. “Kids often don’t like the normal one because it can burn in the eyes.”
“No, she’s surprisingly okay with the normal kind. She uses the same as Anna and I do.”
“Great, I have that, too. Ellie, do you need anything else? Maybe a favorite plushy or a pillow you can’t sleep without?”
“No! Ellie can sleep everywhere!” She sounded strangely proud about it.
“Fair point.” The blonde should’ve known better. “Is there anything we need to know?” She faced the queen again. “Food she shouldn’t eat or anything we should watch out for?”
“Not really. For the most part, she’s the most low-maintenance little girl in existence.”
“Good to know, thanks.” She was glad that she didn’t have to watch out for any allergies or the likes. “Alrighty, Ellie, are you ready?”
“YES!” She was very ready.
Once the little princess was good to go and managed to peel herself away from her mother, who didn’t seem to want to stop hugging her, the trio left the castle and went back to their mansion.
While walking, Ellie once again grabbed the hands of both while being sandwiched by the couple. On the way, they also did a little grocery shopping for dinner and gathered a lot of warm gazes. Sophia already secretly was quite the attraction in the capital, and Ellie was naturally well-known as the royal princess. All in all, they caught a lot of attention. Still, no one dared to approach them because they didn’t dare to ruin the scene of the couple, together with the little one, peacefully buying groceries.