Sophia was giving Chloe a short tour of the castle and had promptly run into Menzor. Naturally, the fox-girl was a little overwhelmed from suddenly meeting the king, but everything went well. The blonde also got a short update on the situation around Anna and Ari. Happy with the result of that, she let him go to visit the couple before she continued her tour with Chloe. The two went to the royal bedroom because she wanted to equip the room with her underfloor heating as a birthday gift for Kira.

“Your storage magic is SOOO amazing!” The duo had just left the royal bedroom again, and the fox-girl was still looking at the tiger with sparkling eyes. "Being able to put an entire room in there like it's nothing! It looked really funny inside, too!”

“Ahaha…”

“You should totally buy a house and put it in there! I bet it would be super interesting to actually live in there! If you really want to, I'm sure you'd even be able to recreate nature inside and make a little garden around your house and all that! That would be so great! I'd also like a house there while we're at it!"

“Don’t make me fall for you now…” Even Sophia was surprised at how much they think alike at times.

“You already had this plan, didn’t you?”

“Of course!” She gave her a big nod. “After all, that’s the natural progression with such a storage thingy!”

“I know, right?!” Chloe reacted with a big smile. “I really want to be able to do that, too!”

“Hehe~.” The blonde liked her reply. "Alrighty, should we pay the person of honor, our dear queen, a visit now?"

“E-Eh?” The fox-girl looked surprised again. “The king already was enough for one day!”

“Don’t be like that. Kira’s amazing! You’ll get along great with her!”

“It’s quite the hurdle for a normal girl to meet such important people, you know?!”

“I’m also normal!”

“…” Chloe just stared at her.

“W-What…?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re at least as abnormal as I am, according to our friends!”

“T-That doesn’t matter with this specific topic!” Chloe also got a little flustered.

"Well, anyway, let's go!" In the end, Sophia didn't care about her reply, grabbed her hand again, and the two made their way toward the queen. As she could use her detection magic this time, the duo only got lost twice while wandering through the castle.

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

“Happy birthday!” Once they finally found the queen, Sophia congratulated her with a big smile on her face. “Wait, is that you congratulate a queen? Do you shake hands? Bow? Kneel? What’s the etiquette here?” She then looked at Chloe for help.

“H-How am I supposed to know?!” She just shook her head. "You're the quasi-royal here!"

“Come here, you dork!” Kira then grabbed the blonde and tightly hugged her. “That’s how you do it.”

“I see~.” She quickly returned the hug. “Again, happy birthday!”

“Thank you very much!” Kira also smiled at her once the two parted again.

“I left a present for you in the royal bedchambers~.”

“What a word.” The queen rolled her eyes. “You shouldn’t have. I’m more than happy with the thought alone.”

"Okay, I'll remove the underfloor heating again, then."

“Ah, I’m sorry! Thank you very much for the lovely present!”

“Cats…” Chloe unconsciously just had to make a remark.

"We're tigers, my dear." The queen faced her.

"A-Ah!” All the colors instantly left Chloe's face after noticing what she had just done. "I-I'm so sorry!"

“By the way,” Kira then looked back at Sophia with a playful expression. “Who’s this fluffy cutie of a fox?”

“Chloe!” The blonde had the same expression. “My newest friend! She’s adorable, isn’t she?!”

“Very.” She nodded a few times before smiling at the fox-girl once again. “You don’t have to worry. I am very well aware that our dislike of the cold is cat-like.”

“I-I see… Also, happy birthday. I mean, we don’t exactly know each other, but you are the queen of this country- It is an honor for me to be able to congratulate you. Not to mention that it is always a nice thing to celebrate someone!"

“Such a nice girl!” Kira was touched. “How come you are friends with Sophia?”

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“Hey!” The girl in question raised her voice. “That’s it for the heated floor privileges! They’re revoked!”

“I think Sophia is an extraordinarily nice girl!” Chloe had to stand up for her. “She’s always looking out for others and cares deeply for her friends!”

“You found a great friend there.” The queen gave her fellow tiger a thumbs up before focusing on the fox again. “I am very well aware of that. Teasing her is quite enjoyable, though.”

“Ohh!”

“Heating rights are still revoked!” She was still pouting.

"Well, as unfortunate as that is, I spent many days in Ellie's room, and there's just no way you're going to revoke her rights, as well. I'll just continue to sleep with her, then."

“Ah.” Sophia noticed that she had lost. “Speaking of, has she already…?”

"I cried for a solid ten minutes!" Kira's expression turned incredibly gentle. "The bowl she made for me was so adorable, but the plate with her handprint… It's the best gift I've ever received… I only regret that I don't have a version when she was a baby… Thank you so much for helping her with those gifts. Just as our dear fox said, you are an extraordinarily nice girl!"

"Ehehe~." She liked that a lot. "I knew you'd like that. Also, yes, I'm going to make one of my daughter's hands days after she's born!"

“Unfair!” The queen had to complain. “Wait, is there something you want to tell me?”

“I-I was just hypothetically speaking!” Sophia’s face turned red in response.

“Really?”

“R-Really!”

"Mhmm…" Kira continued to stare at her for a bit longer. "Anything else about the topic you want to talk about?"

“I-I do not!” Her blush just got stronger. “There are no plans for that to happen in the n-near future!”

"She's not only nice but also way too adorable, isn't she?" Happy with her reply, the queen then smiled at Chloe.

“Very!” She just smiled back.

"Urgh…" The blonde hung her head in defeat and wanted to change the topic. "A-Anyway, I heard you did a good job with getting the castle under control…"

“Yup!” Kira gave her a big nod. “Anna and Ari can safely return now. No one will bother them!”

“They’re actually here already.”

“Eh?”

“I made sure to bring them here unnoticed to avoid unnecessary risks. Both of them, together with Maya, are currently in Anna’s room.”

"Really?" She looked surprised. "Even I can't get in and out of the castle without anyone noticing!"

“I have my tricks~.” Sophia looked a little proud. “How about you go and visit them before things get too busy again?”

“That’s a great idea! Wait, what about you?”

“I’m going to visit my favorite princess instead.”

"Oh, I see. Well, she'll be happy to see you, too." Saying so, Kira decided to go ahead with the idea and went to Anna's room.

"Want to meet Ellie?" The remaining tiger then faced Chloe.

"Yes!" She seemed to like the plan. "I've only seen her from afar before, but she looked so adorable!"

“You’re in for a treat~.”

Afterward, the two left the current place and headed right for Ellie. Because it was of utmost importance, Sophia didn’t even get lost once on their way.

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

"So… phia!" Arriving in Ellie's room, the little princess immediately ran up to her, and the two went through their usual routine of tightly hugging each other. "Hmm…?" She only then noticed the fox-girl. "Fluffy!"

“I love her.” Chloe was immediately taken by her. “Also, yes, I am fluffy~.”

“So… phia…?” She got a little confused while she glanced at the older tiger. “Who is this fluffy?”

“This fluffy fox is Chloe. She is a very dear friend of mine.”

"Hmm…" Ellie stared at her for a while before looking at the blonde again. "Really…?"

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” The fox waved at her. “As Sophia mentioned, my name is Chloe. I became friends with her and Maya a little while ago.”

“…” The princess then faced the tiger again.

“Someone this fluffy and friends with Maya can’t be a bad person, can she? I like her a lot, too!”

“Okay!” Her expression suddenly changed a lot. “My name is Ellie! It’s nice to meet you, too! Ellie likes how fluffy Chloe is!”

"Sophia does, too!" The taller tiger just had to do it.

"Ahaha…" The fox-girl let out a little chuckle before squatting down to get on the same eye level as the princess. "I'm glad you like it. I'm very proud of my fluffiness."

“Can Ellie touch Chloe’s tail…? Ellie knows she shouldn’t do that to others, but… but… Ellie really wants to!”

“If you promise me to be careful, you can go ahead.” There was no way she could say no to her, so the fox-girl simply presented her tail to the little tiger.

“Yay! Thank you very much!” The little girl seemed to be overjoyed. Immediately after, she gingerly reached for her tail and squealed the moment her hands came in contact with it. "FLUFFY!"

“Thank you~.” It was a compliment to her.

“Hmm…” The princess seemed to be thinking about something again. “Ey!” A moment later, she actually dove headfirst into Chloe's, and her entire upper body disappeared into it. Only her legs were still sticking out of it.

“H-Huh?!” Naturally, the girl attached to the tail got surprised because she didn’t see this coming. As the little princess's actions had no deeper meaning besides becoming one with the fluff, the fox decided not to do anything about her, though.

"SO ENVIOUS!" Sophia, on the other hand, got loud upon seeing this.

“Of what…?” Chloe tilted her head. "Of me because Ellie likes my tail, or of Ellie because of what she's doing right now?" She knew how much the blonde loved the little tiger and everything fluffy, after all.

“YES!” It was both.

“Ahaha…”

“Fuah!” Roughly a minute later, Ellie’s upper body finally surfaced from her tail again. At the same time, she let out a happy sigh with the most satisfied expression one could possibly have. “Thank you very much! Ellie just decided that she likes Chloe’s tail a lot!”

“What about the rest of Chloe…?” The fox-girl pointed at herself.

“Ellie doesn’t know yet!” She seemed to be in a good mood.

“Pfft…” Sophia liked her reply a lot.

“H-Hey!” The fox started pouting while she glanced at the blonde.

“Ellie, remember that the girl attached to the tail allowed you to touch it.” The older tiger then decided to help her friend out.

"A-Ah!" The princess gasped after hearing this. "So… phia is right! Okay! Ellie likes both Chloes! The tail and the girl!”

“They’re one and the same, though…” The girl part of Chloe wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“I’d take it.” The blonde smiled at her. “After all, she loves you twice~.”

"Well…" She didn't dislike this way of thinking about it.

“Ah!” Ellie suddenly got louder again while she ran to her bed, where she picked up a stuffed animal. "Look!" She held up a violet plush dog with a big tail and ears, one of which was floppy. "It's not as fluffy, but Ellie also has something with a cute tail!”

“Oh! It’s very adorable!” The fox-girl gave the plushy a small pat on the head. “I also have a very similar one at home~.”

“Me, too!” Sophia also noticed that the plush dog looked familiar to the ones at her place.

“Ehehe, Ellie loves it!” She gave it another squeeze while holding it in her arms.

“I heard that your mother likes the presents, huh?” Sophia then decided to change the topic.

“YES! Mama loves it! She even cried because she was so happy!”

“That’s great, isn’t it?”

“Very!” She nodded a few times. “Ellie is also happy! Thank you very much for helping!"

“You are welcome~.”

Afterward, Ellie kept boasting about her present for a good bit while the duo listened to her with a big smile on their lips.