Maya successfully learned the first steps of the earth magic category yesterday and spent the day refining her technique. Sophia played around some more, healing all kinds of plants she damaged before. Once she was fully confident, the girl decided to try her luck on a nearby kow. Not wanting to hurt it too much, as it seemed rather cruel to her, ignoring the irony, she only scratched its skin a bit and effortlessly healed it afterward.

Feeling happy about her success, Sophia helped herself to an extra big portion of grilled kow during their lunch. It might or might not have been the same animal.

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"I did it!" The sound of a happy cat-girl echoed through the area in the afternoon.

"Congratulations..." Sophia sounded way less enthusiastic while looking at the perfectly shaped cube made out of soil right next to the example one she had created the day before.

"Once you get the hang of it, it suddenly becomes really easy!" Saying so, Maya let yet another flawless cube appear. "That's so awesome!"

"You sure are in a good mood..."

"Of course I am! Blocks, cubes, walls, all the same now! Give me another hour, and I'll be able to build the bath for us!"

"Yay..." She didn't sound overly happy. "Ah, b-but we already have a bath here, and we don't plan on moving today."

"Two bathrooms are all the rage nowadays." The cat-girl wasn't letting her have any of that.

"You can be quite a pain sometimes... "

"I know. That's why we work so well together."

"When was I ever- Okay, no, scratch that. I didn't say anything." Sophia wanted to complain, but she knew better than anyone just how much of a pain she could be.

"Though, I like that part about you as well."

"W-What?!" Her face instantly turned red.

"That side's also great." The cat-girl was aggressive today.

"P-Please... Stop that!" Getting even more embarrassed, Sophia hoped she would calm down soon. She didn't want to misunderstand something, thanks to Maya's usual ambiguity.

"I'll stop if I can take care of the bath today."

"I don't really have a choice, do I? There's no winning with you, is there?"

"Not really, no." Maya had perfected the way to handle the other girl.

"Urgh, fine."

"Yay! See you later, then!" Seemingly very motivated, she immediately left to begin the preparations.

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"Stupid boosts..." Left behind, Sophia complained to no one in particular. "Where are you when I need you? I would very much like to back-sass that cat... I don't know why, but I'm at her complete mercy lately... Not fun at all! Okay, maybe a tiny bit? Urgh, what's wrong with me? I want to get back at her! Whatever boost of mine is responsible for that, please do your work already!" While complaining to herself for a while, Sophia eventually went back to Fen for the time being.

"You look tired." The wolf was looking at her. "What happened to you?"

"Maya."

"Ah, I see." He didn't need more of an explanation. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Building a bath for us."

"Why?"

"If only I would know..." Sophia sounded exhausted just thinking about it.

"Seems like she's having fun, huh?"

"Sure is... Haa..." She sighed. "I-, I do think she's c-cute... being so excited, but it's bad for my heart. I don't know why, but I've somehow become unable to get back at her."

"Weren't you pretty soft on her since the very beginning?"

"W-Well..." There was little she could say. "It getting worse, though."

"Now that you mention it, you do seem more tame towards her lately." Fen seemed to have noticed as well.

"Ugh," It wasn't the word she wanted to hear. "So it's that obvious, huh? What's going on? It feels like I lost my boosts..."

"Do you really think so?"

"I don't have a better explanation. Why else would I be unable to get back at Maya, letting her do whatever she wants with me?"

"Yeah, I'm not going down that rabbit hole." The wolf didn't want to get involved.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Like I said, not participating in that. Let me just ask the following; If you've really lost your boosts, why are you still talking like normal with me?"

"That's... hmm?" She had no answer.

"Also, while the cat got the upper hand on you, you're still having perfectly fine conversations with her as well. You're also obviously enjoying her company. From what you told me, that would've been impossible for the pre-boost you, wouldn't it?"

"Huh? You're... right... Why? What's going on? I don't get it at all... Just what changed?"

"Well, have fun with that." Fen turned his head around. "Oh, and with that."

"Hmm?" Sophia followed his line of sight. "Ah." She spotted a brightly smiling cat-girl approaching.

"Okay, I'm feeling generous." The wolf pitied her. "Try not to simply bear with her teasing; embrace it. Throw your restraints overboard."

"Restraints? E-Embrace?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah." Before she could get any more information out of Fen, Maya arrived at their position. "N-Nothing, just chatting about nothing particularly. A-Anyway, given up on the bath already?" She was hopeful after seeing her so soon again.

"Nope, I'm done~."

"R-Really? That was fast..."

"Yeah, it was easy once I had the right image."

"Great..." Sophia wasn't happy at all about the cat-girl's learning speed.

"Look forward to our after-dinner bath."

"Hmm," Closing her eyes, she thought over Fen's words about ignoring any restraints she has and embracing it. "Sure." Something happened, and her voice changed for a second.

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After dinner time ended way sooner than Sophia wanted it to, the excited cat-girl grabbed her hand and guided the girl towards the bath she had made during the afternoon. Pushing her inside, Maya proudly presented her creation.

"And, how do you like it?"

"Nope, not going to happen. Absolutely not. Forget it. Never. Don't even think about it. No." She instantly and strongly rejected it. The tub Sophia was looking at slightly reminded her of the one she had in the apartment of her old world. A tub with formed in a way to comfortably accommodates one person.

"Ehh?" She sounded honestly shocked. "I think I did a pretty good job building it, though."

"You did... but that's not the problem here! It's way too small for two people!"

"It's just a little snug, nothing more." Maya didn't see the problem.

"T-That might be true, but that's exactly what I don't like about it! I-It's way too embarrassing for me... and you know that!"

"Maybe that's the reason why I'm doing that? To help you get over it?"

"Maya..." She was touched for a moment, but then the fog inside her head suddenly cleared up, and her expression changed. "What's the real reason?"

"A-Ah." The cat-girl was caught red-handed. "O-Okay... as you know, I'm a big fan of physical contact."

"I-I am very well aware of that." This really was no news to Sophia whatsoever.

"With you, that is… To this extent..." Her mumbling was barely audible. "T-That's why I really wanted to do this... there's no better form of skinship than this. None that I can think of right now."

"Fine." Replying in a quiet voice, she gave her an unexpected answer.

"S-Seriously?!"

"Second thoughts now?" Sophia had become strangely calm for some reason. Fen's words of embracing it apparently triggered something inside the girl. Something about her changed.

"N-No, let's go!" Maya was naturally surprised but also happy.

Undressing while facing away from each other as usual, on the demand of Sophia, the two moved over to the tub and stopped again.

"So, what's the plan, anyway?" Sophia looked straight ahead at the way-too-small tub while she addressed the equally naked cat-girl right next to her, trying not to steal a glance.

"Uhh," Maya sounded troubled. "To be... perfectly honest, I didn't think I would come this far. I-I was sure you wouldn't play along..."

"Are you for real?"

"S-Sorry..." She looked embarrassed about her mischief.

"That can't be... I've finally managed to pull through with it and then this." Sophia had taken a wrong turn in her way of thinking somewhere along and failed to see that it was actually a good thing for her. "Facing each other? One at each end? Hmm?" She imagined the situation in her head. "N-No... I wouldn't know where to look. Also, no place for our legs. Moreover, they even could end up in a dangerous pla-, situation." Her imagination was apparently pretty vivid.

"S-Sophia...?" Maya had learned by now that when the girl starts to incoherently mumble about something, nothing good would ever follow.

"Back to back?" Sophia was in her own world. "No, while not... dangerous anymore, there's even less place for our legs. Are there any other options?"

"Y-You don't have to think so hard about it. W-We can even change to your bath, Sophia..." The cat-girl was getting cold feet thanks to the other’s sudden seriousness. Being on the receiving end was new to her, and she had no idea how to deal with that.

"What else could we do?" She still wasn't listening. "What about... could that work? It would be... embarrassing, but we have done something similar before. I can bear the feeling? Maybe. I also wouldn't have to look at her. That would be reassuring... Yes, I think that could work. Maya, I have a plan!"

"Uh-oh..." She wasn't sure how to interpret this situation.

"Okay, get in the tub first." Sophia pointed at the right end of it. "I'll follow you afterward."

"E-Eh, are-, are you sure about that?" Maya couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Well... before you change your mind..." Though she was confused and a bit embarrassed, the cat-girl still was curious and interested, looking forward to it in a way with a slightly flushed face. "So, just getting in... and leaning against the side as one normally would do?"

"Exactly, yes." She waited for Maya to enter before following after her.

"H-Huh?" The cat-girl wondered what she was planning when Sophia got in the hub with one leg while showing her back to her. Afterward, Sophia gently moved Maya's legs before sitting down between them and using her body as back support.

"Hmm... Still a bit cramped, but it works." Sophia looked at her own slightly cocked legs while being sandwiched between those of the other girl. "Are you feeling okay, Maya?"

"Ah, uhh, yes... I-I'm fine..." The cat-girl needed a moment to react and snap back to reality. After cooling down a bit, Maya gingerly wrapped her arms around the girl's waist. She pulled her even closer before she rested her head on her shoulder. She had no idea what was going on, and she was really embarrassed, but she didn't want to miss such an opportunity.

"You sure are warm." Sophia could feel the body warmth of the girl behind her spreading all over her back.

"S-So are you..." Maya gave her a gentle squeeze to further prove her reply.

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Once the two had gotten comfortable with their position, they finally had the chance to calm down. Relatively speaking. The girls spent many minutes in absolute silence while simply soaking in the hot water. A couple of moments later, Sophia suddenly started to shift around while looking all over the place, though. Eventually, after turning her head to the right, she came in close contact with the cat-girl, who was still resting her own head on Sophia's shoulder there.

"M-Maya...?" She seemed very confused about something.

"Yes?"

"What-, What's going on... here?"

"E-Eh? What do you mean?"

"W-Why are we... t-together in this tiny b-bath? N-Not to mention this position..." She sounded incredibly embarrassed all of a sudden.

"H-Huh?!" Maya, too, was confused by this unexpected turn of events. Experiencing a quirk of Sophia she never witnessed before, the cat-girl was at a loss for words and had no idea how to react, let alone what to do.