After Maya had successfully learned her new water blades attack magic, she felt the need to take a bath. Knowing what that would entail, Sophia began to panic about having to do that together with her again. Still, even though she was tricked into it by the crafty cat-girl, a promise was a promise. Complaining about it was fair game to her, but backing out of it was not an option.

"..." Walking past Fen, who was taking a nap in their camp without a care in the world, Sophia was becoming more and more nervous the closer the two girls got to the bath. "Uuh..." The fact that the two were still holding hands didn't help, either.

"Want to go in before me again?"

"Yes, p-please!"

"Okay, you have two minutes." Maya wasn't giving her much time to mentally prepare herself.

"..." She quickly disappeared into the bath and got herself ready by undressing and hiding in a corner in the water, just like the last time.

"Ah, that again, huh?" Maya had entered as well and was watching the cowering girl. She went into the water and got closer to Sophia but stopped before making actual contact. "Turning around is not an option?"

"N-Not yet."

"What about a hug, then?"

"I-Impossible!" Sophia immediately shot her down.

"Aww," Slightly disappointed, Maya turned around and sat down. Stretching herself a bit while being submerged, she then leaned backward and used Sophia's back as a support.

"A-Ah!" She tensed up for a moment when their backs came in contact but somehow managed to deal with the sensation. "I-Is that s-skinship as well?"

"Sure is!"

"I-I see..." Having no experience, she simply had to believe the cat-girl.

"Is it bad?" She tried to be less pushy today.

"N-No... Not exactly, I think? I-I just need more-, a lot more time to get u-used to it..." She spoke very slowly not to choke on her own words.

"Okay, great." Maya was happy that she made some sort of progress. Afterward, the two girls enjoyed each other's company while leaning their backs against each other. Resting while being wrapped in the warmth of not only the water but also the other girl.

"..." Sophia tried her best to stay calm, and conscious. While she did like the feeling and the company, the atmosphere made it impossible for her mind to be calm.

"Say, won't you tell me a little more about you?" The cat-girl spoke in a calm tone without turning to face the person in question.

"Uhh..." She didn't see that request coming.

"You don't want to?" Maya shifted around a bit, causing the other girl to squirm as their naked backs rubbed against each other in the bath.

"N-No, it's not that. D-Do you want to know anything s-specific?" She was already doing her best not to become overwhelmed by everything. Her brain was fully focused on the current situation while trying her best to get used to it. Having a deep conversation was a tough order. Then again, talking about something might divert her attention to something else.

"Anything is fine, really."

"Hmm, my background's, like, super c-complicated. I would prefer not to talk about it right now..."

"O-Of course!" The cat-girl had her own theory of her upbringing already, so that was fine for her.

"Same goes for the source or my magic, as they're related to each other..Some other things are going on with me, but honestly, I'm still trying to understand those myself... Explaining that is rather difficult." Sophia paused for a moment. "Sorry for being so secretive..."

"Nono, it's absolutely fine!" She really didn't want to push her. In that regard, at least. Being shy and actually uncomfortable with something was a noticeable difference.

"Oh, how about that?" It seems like she finally found something to talk about. "Maya, you told me that you're older than you look, right?"

"I-I did, yes."

"How old were you again?" Sophia forgot the exact number.

"I-l've turned... 22 a little while ago." She still seemed to be embarrassed about admitting her actual age.

"We're... rather similar in that aspect."

"Huh?"

"We not only look similar in age, we basically are." She paused for another moment. "Actually, I'm even a year older than you..."

"R-Really? So you are 23, then?"

"Yes... that's what I am." She, too, wasn't readily admitting so. It was still very young regardless, but it was a matter of principle.

"Is that so? Ehehe, I'm happy that I'm not alone!" She seemed truly glad. "Thank goodness my gut feeling was right!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it felt like you were older, and I was confident about it, but if you actually were only 15 in the end... That would be kinda-" She wasn't sure how to finish her sentence.

"Ah, I know what you mean. You being older than you look was the main reason I let you come with us back then. Traveling together with a girl much younger would've been way too much of a responsibility and didn't feel right to me."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Y-Yeah, that..."

"There's more about my age, though." Sophia took a deep breath before continuing. "Fen told me that only recently, but it seems that I age very... extremely slowly, if at all, and it has a reason... Fen himself doesn't age, either."

"W-What reason?" Maya didn't see this turn of events coming.

"Before that, it's most likely the same reason why your age doesn't match up, either. Do you really want to know?"

"Err," Feeling that the conversation had turned serious, the cat-girl felt awkward having this talk in a bath, naked, and with their bare backs touching. Even so, she got a bit concerned now, as this seemingly heavy topic suddenly involved her as well. Having someone, quite literally, support her back calmed the cat-girl a good bit. "G-Go on, please..."

"Okay. According to Fen, your life expectancy is directly related to your magic power, and you basically stop aging once you reach a certain age. As Fen and I have such a ridiculous amount of it, we might don't... die... Fen's actually very old."

"W-What?!" She was obviously shocked.

"And... your magic power, Maya, is off the charts, as well. Combined with how your looks differ from your actual age, there's a high chance that the same logic applies to you..."

"Me... immortal...?"

"I'm not entirely sure if it's to that extent for you, but there's the possibility..."

"T-That-" Unable to put her emotions into words, the cat-girl stopped after a single word.

"Maya?" She was concerned about her lack of reaction.

"..." No response came. It was too much for her.

"Are-, Are you alright?"

"*sniff*" A faint crying sound was the only thing that could be heard from the cat-girl after a while.

"W-Wha-?!" Sophia was unable to deal with many situations, but dealing with a crying girl topped everything. "Err, w-what do I do now?! Uuh..." Panicking, she stopped resting against Maya's back and turned around. Realizing that she was indeed quietly sobbing, something took over Sophia, and she reacted on instinct alone. Wrapping her arms around the cat-girl's waist, she pulled her close and tightly hugged her from behind. Sophia was sure she would, at best, last four seconds before she died from embarrassment. The feeling of their naked bodies pressed together, especially since she was the one who initiated it, was putting an extreme amount of strain on her mind. Still, she did her best to endure it because her embarrassment wasn't of importance right now. All that mattered was to calm down the crying girl in front of her.

"S-Sophia?" Even in her current state, this managed to surprise her.

"S-Sorry... I had no idea w-what else to do! You probably don't like it... right? Y-Yeah, I'll l-let go-"

"N-No." Maya quickly placed her arms on top of Sophia's, which wrapped around her waist, making her unable to let go of the girl. "Please-, Please stay like that just a little longer."

"O-Okay..." It was impossible to deny the request.

"Thank you." The cat-girl wiggled around a bit until she found a comfortable spot between Sophia's legs before gently pressing her body more against the other girl's chest.

"..." Sophia went silent, trying her best to stay conscious in this situation. She had fainted before for much less already, after all.

"Sorry... for losing my cool." She suddenly apologized. "I don't know, but being told that you're most likely immortal, that's... scary. Unbelievably scary... It seems like I couldn't help but... cry." It was too much for Maya to deal with.

"No, I can understand you. Well, I was too shocked to properly process it when Fen told me. Still, it is... a really scary and terrifying concept, immortality..." Sophia unconsciously gave Maya a slight squeeze.

"Yeah..." Noticing her restlessness, the cat-girl gently returned the squeeze.

"At least we're not alone. I had Fen with me before, and now I got another comrade. I would've gone insane if I were the only one!"

"Yes, that would be extremely lonely..." Maya felt herself agreeing. "Oh, does that mean we'll be together forever?"

"T-That's!" Sophia choked on her own words, thanks to the cat-girl's usual ambiguity. "W-Well, in a sense... that might be the case, I guess? Only if that's what you want, though, of course..." She wasn't even sure what she was talking about anymore. "I don't think anyone could bear with me for long… let alone eternity, though."

"Ehehe~." She sounded happy and playfully wiggled her body around, rubbing against Sophia. "I feel like I could."

"Y-You seem fine now, Maya... W-Would it be possible for me to let g-go of you now? It's extremely... embarrassing for me. My brain's starting to f-fail me..."

"A little longer, okay?" The cat-girl increased her grip around the other girl's arms, clearly not wanting her to let go. She was better, but it was still a lot to swallow.

"F-Fine, but only a... few more m-minutes, okay?"

"Thank you very much!" Maya seemed to be alright with it.

"..."

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

As agreed on, the two stayed in their embrace for a couple of minutes until Sophia was finally allowed to let go of the cat-girl. Soon after, the girls left the bath and reunited with Fen at the camp.

"Soo..." The wolf looked at them, Sophia seemingly exhausted, to the brink of fainting, while Maya looked oddly refreshed, shining even.

"It was soo much fun!' The cat-girl was in a good mood.

"I-I want to die!" Sophia wasn't, though. "W-Why did I do that?! Something so b-bold! Urgh, I want to die!" Even after leaving the bath, she was so remorseful about her embarrassing act that she couldn't calm down.

"What sort of thing did she do to be like that?" Fen looked at Maya.

"No idea. All she did was hug me. Well, we were naked, but... Okay, considering her personality, that might've been a little much. "

"She hugged you?" The wolf couldn't imagine the girl initiating something like that.

"Well, she first made me, well, cry... and then hugged me to calm me down. Hmm, looking at it in retrospect, Sophia, you're quite the crafty one."

"That's not what I did!" The girl in question was still aware enough of her surroundings to react to Maya's accusation. "Uuh, it's exactly what I did... B-But that wasn't my i-intention!"

"She made you cry?" Fen ignored her. "What happened?"

"She told me some heavy information... About how she most likely doesn't age because of her vast magic power. Fen, my actual age, too, differs from my looks... Is that really because of my own magic power? Am I actually immortal?" She wanted some more confirmation.

"Ah, I see... Yeah, that can make one emotional. Well, Sophia may have interpreted what I told her a little too literally. Only your aging is affected. You can still get killed or die from a severe disease. You can also end it yourself, so you're not immortal in the actual sense, but... Although your magic power isn't quite on par with Sophia's and mine, it's at a point where it most likely doesn't matter anymore. Yes, you and Sophia should have the same life expectancy, just like me." He mostly confirmed Sophia's story.

"I-Is that really so?" There was a hint of relief in her voice. It was still overwhelming, but not having to live forever was much less scary.

"Yes. It's a hard thing to swallow, I understand, but actual immortality would be much more-" He didn't finish his sentence. The wolf enjoyed his life, so there was no reason to go there.

"How old are you, Fen?" Maya was curious as it seemed like he was very knowledgeable and pretty wise most of the time.

"I don't like talking about my age. Though, I will say the following; I'd already been around a long time ago when the demons still lived on this continent."

"W-Wow..." She didn't know the exact date, but she was aware that they left this continent a very long time ago. "Did you ever get... lonely with such a long life? Or lost someone important?"

"..." He had a troubled expression and didn't answer the cat-girl’s question. "If you truly enjoy Sophia's company, you should cherish her."

"That was the plan regardless."

"H-How-, How can you say s-something so... e-embarrassing with ease?" While Sophia was busy dealing with herself and her remorse, she was still listening to the two, turning red just by hearing Maya's words.

"Do you have something against being cherished?"

"I-I'm sorry..." She was extremely weak against the cat-girl’s way of doing things.

"Good. You're forgiven."

The group continued to chat deep into the night about the topic. Mostly Fen and Maya, at least, because Sophia could not fully recover from the damage her mind had taken, causing her to go to sleep early.