Nathan and his group had returned to the capital to make some plans for their future and how to continue their travels, while Sophia and the girls talked about something rather similar, as she wanted to hurry up and get to the demon continent already. While doing so, she also told the others about Kel being an elder dragon, as well as the fact that there were more of his caliber, which made Steph incredibly excited and wholeheartedly supported her older sister’s plan to meet them as soon as possible.

  “What kind of mythical being is Sophia, by the way?” Nathan, Luca, Nina, and Vivi were having lunch with Menzor, Kira, and Ellie, as well as Daria and Stella, when the prince looked at his father for answers.

  "So…phia is the bestest!" Ellie was the one who answered him, and she didn't understand why he even asked.

  "Yes." He smiled at her. “That’s why I want to know more about her.”

  “Ohh!” The little princess was okay with that.

  “That’s an excellent question.” Menzor lightly shrugged while looking at his son. “If you ever find out, I’d love to hear it, too.”

  “I tried, but she only told me that she’s ‘your friendly neighborhood tiger’, which explains absolutely nothing!”

  “She’s a mysterious one.” Kira smiled at him. “The few things she told us only confused us more, so it’s definitely quite the question.”

  “Where did she even come from in the first place?” Nathan still wanted to know more. “I don’t remember ever having heard about her when we left.”

  “Another great question!” The king nodded a few times. "Sophia and Maya, together with the two wolves, just suddenly showed up in the capital last year. All we really know is that they’ve been traveling, and Sophia being so detached from things that she didn’t even know that being a tiger is something out of the norm.”

  “Wow.” The prince scratched his cheek. “From just the little while we spent together, I can definitely agree that she’s detached from things. Common sense has absolutely no meaning to her.”

  “Well said!” Menzor agreed with him. “Well, it’s clear that she means no harm and cares for the people on an amazing level, as any good tiger does, so her quirks are tolerable. I’m not a fan of the constant migraines she causes me, but the advancements our kingdom has made or is going to make because of that are more than worth the cost.”

  “Also, Ellie adores her, and Anna likes her enough that she decided to leave the capital and travel with her, and I trust my daughters' judgments," Kira added a little extra detail.

  "Well, for you to trust her enough to let Anna go to the monster country and demon continent, it definitely shows that she’s something special.” Nathan could follow her logic.

  “They’re going where now?!” Kira, as well as Daria and Stella, whose younger daughter was also with Sophia, stared right at him.

  "I might not have told them about that yet." Menzor sounded a little awkward.

  “You knew!?” The queen glared at her husband.

  "Sophia only told me about her plans yesterday, and I was in so many emergency meetings, caused by her, afterward that you were already asleep when we were done. Today also was rather hectic until earlier, so I just haven’t had the time yet.”

  “You haven’t had the time to tell me that our daughter is going to the most dangerous no-entry zone on the continent?! And I’m not even talking about the demon continent there yet at all!”

  “What she said!” Ari’s mothers agreed with her.

  “Yes, I didn’t have the time to tell you that Sophia, the strongest being all of us know, by far, accompanied by Fen and Aura, who beat our army generals without even lifting a paw on multiple occasions, as well as the daughter of Mira, the overseer of magic, together with her girlfriend and Sophia’s sister, is going to a, for us normal beings, dangerous place while taking Anna and Ari with her."

  “…” The three mothers had a hard time saying anything there.

  “I did a little exploring in the outskirts of the monster country, and while everything in there is more aggressive than Sophia, nothing felt stronger than her.” Vivi tried to reassure the parents. "Not even remotely."

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Why did you go there?!” Nina apparently didn’t know about that story yet.

  “I was a teen, and everyone around me repeatedly and strongly told me to not go there, so I naturally did go there.” The puma didn’t understand why anyone would be shocked about that. “Like, that’s the natural course of action, is it not?”

  "…" Nina decided against commenting on that.

  "Please don't spend too much time with Sophia…" Menzor already had a bad feeling about her personality.

  “Why? She’s great!”

  “That’s exactly the reason.”

  “It’s still the monster country, though.” Kira wasn’t entirely convinced. “What if there’s something dangerous deeper inside of it?”

  “Strong enough to harm the daughter of Mira, but without her stepping in?” Menzor looked at his wife. “Sophia said it herself that the overseer would never let her get hurt. Also, didn't Sophia mention back when we met her that she and Fen had been deep inside the monster country before?”

  “I guess so…” The queen was running out of arguments.

  “I don't think Mira’s even needed for that.” Vivi shook her head. “Like, what kind of monster could possibly be there that is stronger than Sophia? I mean, she nonchalantly told me that she literally one-punched a 300-meter-long dragon into submission. I’ve met said dragon, because Sophia befriended him, too, and there’s just no way there’s something similar in the monster country, completely ignoring the part where Sophia didn't have to be serious to beat him.”

  “…” The king went silent for a moment. “I had hoped it was just a figure of speech when she mentioned that during our meeting the other day. Did you really meet that dragon?”

  “In all his sparkly glory, yes!” The puma reacted with a big nod.

  “I saw him, too.” Luca looked in his direction. “It was a massive aquatic serpent-like dragon.”

  “Haa…” Menzor let out a sigh. “Every single time I think I’ve seen everything Sophia has to offer, something like this happens. Where did that even happen?”

  “In the place inside her portals!” Vivi smiled at him. “I met him on a beach next to an ocean there while he was chatting with Aura and Mira! They all, including Sophia, seemed super casual with each other, too."

  “Why is the overseer of magic inside Sohpia’s portals?!” Menzor got loud.

  "I don't know?" Vivi tilted her head. "It also seemed like she comes and goes as she pleases. Though, then again, if her daughter Chloe basically lives in there, I guess it makes sense that she’s there every now and then?”

  “That’s actually a good argument.” The king could follow her. “Not that I exactly understand the whole place inside her portals thing. Dear, you’ve been in there before, haven’t you?” He then looked at his wife.

  “Yes.” Kira nodded. “Ellie and I have been there before.”

  “It’s the bestest!” The little tiger confirmed it, too.

  "It's quite an interesting place.” Kira wasn’t sure how to put it into words. “It’s like an entirely different world in there.”

  “That’s true.” Nina agreed with her. “Sophia showed us a few places in there, and it was amazing! It was so fascinating how there are actually different biomes and all that.”

  “And you didn’t even see the massive cherry blossom forest and the actual ocean that she showed me yet!” Vivi smiled at her.

  "Yes, the cherry area is beautiful." The queen nodded a few times.

  “Ellie loves So…phia’s cherries!” The little tiger got extra giddy before looking at the puma-girl. “Did you see Ellie’s big cherry?”

  "I did! It was stunning!" Vivi gave her a thumbs-up. “You’re amazing that you made something this great!”

  “Ehehe~!”

  “That brings me back to my earlier question.” Nathan scratched his cheek. “Who and or what is Sophia?”

  “What do you mean?” Kira tilted her head.

  “She has unbelievably high magic powers and uses them in a way that makes no sense whatsoever and should be impossible from a normal point of view. Her portals literally break the fabric of reality, and inside of them, she has her very own world! If you ask me, no normal person should have their own world unless they're someone special! Anna and Ari aside, all of her friends are impossible strong, as well! I barely understood a third of the things she told me. She's apparently friends with a dragon, a species that wasn’t even confirmed to still exist on this continent, and I could go on with things even though I only just met her!”

  “I had the same questions and thought, but…” Menzor looked at his son. “As open and easygoing as Sophia seems, she can also be weirdly secretive and makes it more than clear that certain topics are off-limits to ask. As a result of that, we agreed to stop prying and simply treat her to the best of our efforts as she’s a dear friend and invaluable benefactor.”

  “That makes sense, but I’m still curious!”

  “Same!” Kira shared Nathan's feelings on the matter.

  “Maybe she’s actually secretly an overseer or at least related to them?” Vivi suddenly interrupted them with the driest matter-of-fact voice possible. “I mean, it would explain why she’s so strong and how her magic functions so differently from ours, as well as her odd knowledge and uncommon common sense. When I met Mira, she and Sophia also were completely on the same wavelength, and Mira trusting her with Chloe makes all the sense then, as well.” She paused for a second. “An overseer being able to use something like her portals, having their own world to play around in, or having the strength to punch a dragon into submission suddenly doesn’t sound so odd anymore, does it?”

  “…” Everyone went silent.

  After hearing this completely wild and out-of-pocket theory from the puma-girl that made an unsettling amount of sense to Menzor and Kira, especially, they needed a break to let it sink in and think about it.

  Discord to get a detailed breakdown of everything you get in return. Like advanced chapters and various NSFW goodies like art, animations, and side-stories.

  free NSFW illustration of (Nude) Chloe x Steph sleeping together, as well as an uncensored illustration of Maya taking a shower in the Discord to get a taste of what to expect!