Steph and Chloe had ended up on their own as the other girls had to attend the academy, and the wolves also had other plans. Because of that, the dog-girl decided that she wanted to go on a date with her favorite fox-girl. At first, Chloe was quite embarrassed about it because she wasn't used to even the idea of going on a date, but she quickly got into it. While walking through the capital, and holding hands, the duo also had a pleasant conversation about themselves and how they're rather taken by the other. More comfortable with each other than ever afterward, the two continued their date by having brunch together.

“Welcome~!” Entering the restaurant Chloe had decided on, they were immediately greeted by an energetic-sounding, white-haired bunny-girl in a very cute waitress uniform.

“I can see why you like this place!” Steph’s eyes wandered between the bunny and the fox next to her.

"T-This and that are completely unrelated!"

“Is it?”

“Yes!”

“I see~.”

"A table for two?" Seemingly used to it, the waitress continued smiling at them in a gentle yet professional manner.

“Please.” The duo nodded in return.

“Please let me guide you.” Saying so, the bunny-girl brought them to a small table just big enough to seat two. "Shall I bring you the menu, or can I get the fluffiest couple in the capital interested in the lover’s course?”

“E-Eh?!” Chloe had a strong reaction to that.

“Oh?” Steph was a lot cooler about it. "What do we get with that?”

“It’s a best of selection from our brunch menu with the portions having the ideal size for them to be shared with each other. The way it's arranged also is extra romantic to increase the mood~. Also comes with a fancy drink."

“I like the sound of that! What do you think?” She then looked at the fox-girl.

“H-Huh…? Ah, sure…”

“Certainly, I’ll bring it to you as soon as possible!”

“Thanks!” Steph waved after the disappearing bunny-girl before looking at Chloe again. “Err, sorry about that… I’m weak to anything that’s marked as special.”

“It’s alright.” There suddenly was the slightest hint of disappointment in her expression.

"Even so, it's amazing that she just assumed that we were... uhh, a couple like it's nothing! That never happened when I was out with friends in the… other place!”

“…” Chloe's disappointment was instantly gone again. "Well, Sophia did mention everyone’s sexuality is much more evenly distributed here, right…? Two girls walking in here that are dating aren't any less likely than a girl and a boy duo. In fact, it might be even more likely because the restaurant’s quite cute-looking.”

“She did say that, but…” Steph paused for a moment. “Coming from there, it’s hard to believe, is it not?”

“Is it still that intolerant over there? I mean, I left when I was young and only realized who I am when I already was pretty sick and barely went outside, but… I watched a lot of TV…”

“It has gotten a lot better, especially lately. Well, depending on the place, I guess... Some regions actually managed to get worse." The dog-girl then scratched her cheek and looked a little more awkward. "Still, you continue to get a lot of curious and or other glances when just being close to the same sex in public. Boys way more so than girls. Many people don't understand it, or don't want to… It’s also much rarer there, so…”

“That’s no excuse, though.”

“You don’t need to tell me.”

“Fair…”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Humans, huh?” She only whispered those words.

“Ahaha.” Chloe let out a chuckle over the girl who had been a human for the longest time and only just stopped being one. “It’s a great place, isn’t it?”

"The best!" Her mood instantly brightened up. "I'll never forgive Sophia for hiding it from me for almost a year!"

“I don’t think she did that on purpose. I‘m sure she would’ve loved to show you everything much earlier. I’m still amazed she managed to end up back there at all… She definitely thought it was impossible, too. Not to mention that you had your own life you’ve given up now. She had her fair share of troubles, as well.”

“I know!” Steph started pouting. “Just let me complain here! I’ve earned that right!”

“You two sure are similar.”

“We’re sisters, after all~.” Her pouting stopped immediately. “Though, that sure is weird to hear from others. I saw this personality of hers relatively often when we were under us, but her being so cheery, fun-loving, and full of life all the time is sooo different. It’s great!”

“Well, I only know the tiger variant of her, but she’s indeed great. I’m happy for her that she got over her past.”

“Absolutely!”

“Thank you for waiting!” The moment the duo finished talking about the blonde, the waitress returned with their food and placed it on the table.

“Ohhh!” Seeing all the neatly decorated and tasty-looking food in front of her, Steph got excited again. “It looks so tasty!”

“It really does!” Chloe agreed with her. "The way it's presented is super cute, as well!"

“Enjoy~.” Smiling at them, the bunny-girl then left them alone.

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“They sure didn’t hold back on making it romantic, huh?” Once the two were on their own, Steph took a better look at the food. It came with two croissants, a small heart-shaped bowl with strawberry jam, and another sweet kind of pastry, which seemed to be filled with chocolate. A few slices of heart-shaped toast with slices of ham and cheese on the side were next to them. Lots of berries, a sliced apple, and a small bowl of cereals were available, as well. The individual portions weren’t big, but the duo definitely wouldn’t leave hungry. The waitress had also scattered a few rose petals and put a freshly cut one in a small vase between the girls. “How do you even get roses around here at this time of the year. Well, who cares as long as it looks nice~.”

“Yeah…” After Chloe took it all in, as well, her eyes fell on their drinks. Both got a cup of coffee each, which was fine, but there was also a big glass of what looked like orange juice, which was lovingly decorated with a few extra slices of the fruit itself. It only had one straw in it. One that was shaped like a Y, at that.

“We can take turns, don’t worry.” The dog-girl noticed her gaze. “There’s no need to share the food or even feed each other. As long as we enjoy the food, that’s all that matters.”

“Ah, r-right…” The hint of slight disappointment returned to her expression.

“Or we can do that." Steph focused all her attention on the fox-girl right in front of her and stared right into her eyes. "I’m getting some mixed signals here.”

“…” Her cheeks turned a little red. “W-Well…”

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“That was soo delicious!" Roughly an hour later, the girls were back on the capital's streets, and Steph seemed quite happy after they left the restaurant.

“It really was!”

“Quite eventful, too~.” Her mood got even better.

“T-There’s no need to mention that!”

“Hehe~.” She enjoyed her reaction a lot. “Alrighty, let’s continue our date!” Saying so, the dog-girl grabbed Chloe’s hand again. “Let’s go!”

“S-So smooth…” Mumbling these words, she briefly glanced at their joined hands before looking into Steph’s eyes. “Gladly!”

“Sure, I’m the smooth one here…” She also got the urge to mumble something to herself. "A-Anyway, where should we go next?"

“You were the one who wanted to go exploring, no?”

“Right!” The dog-girl had forgotten about that for a moment. “So, what do you want to show me next?”

“That’s not how that works.”

“It was worth a try!” It didn’t dampen her mood in the slightest. “Let’s, uhh… go that way!” In the end, Steph simply pointed down the road on her left.

“Okay!” She liked the plan. Or the lack of it. “I love being carefree~.”

“You found the right girl, then!” Steph puffed out her chest a little. “I’m really talented at that! Especially because I have a lot catching up to do on that front after having been… busy with Sophia’s disappearance for the past year…”

“I look forward to seeing more of your talent~.”

“You better be prepared!”

“I should be fine! I'm a little overwhelmed by many things right now, but I’m usually second to none when it comes to that!”

“We’re going to have sooo much fun together!”

“Hehe.”

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Once the duo had found yet another thing they shared and loved, they continued to walk around in the capital for a bit while obviously continuing to hold hands, as well. Roughly an hour of exploring later, Steph ran into something that caught her interest more than most she had seen so far.

“Shrine of Mira…?” The dog-girl had stopped walking once she saw the sign together with an arrow pointing towards a side street. “She has a shrine?”

“She is the goddess of magic, you know?” Chloe stared at her. “She obviously has some shrines dedicated to her. Canir also has a lot, for that matter."

“I see! Yeah, if you put it like that, it does make a lot of sense. She’s an important one, huh? The one who made me able to use magic.”

“I guess that’s putting it rather lightly.”

“Ahaha…” It was still a little hard to wrap her head around all that. “Can we go to the shrine? I want to see how it looks. It’s probably also a great place to properly thank her!”

“Uhh… I guess so?”

“Yay!” Highly motivated about getting a little closer to the person who gifted her magic and made this new life possible, Steph gave Chloe’s hand a little squeeze and then dragged her towards the shrine.