The second after-war debriefing ended, and Sophia didn't like how it turned out. She could live with how the king decided to wait and see how the humans will react to their total defeat instead of directly going on the offensive, but another decision was hard on her. Menzor wants to introduce her to the public because all her achievements would only fan the already ongoing rumors around the blonde tiger-girl even more. Being left with the choice of how she wants to be introduced, Sophia was lost in thoughts after the meeting.

"Are you alright?" The couple went back to their room, and Maya was slightly concerned about Sophia being unusually quiet.

"Hmnn..." She only replied with grumbling noises because she was mumbling into a big pillow the tiger had pressed against herself as she was hugging her knees while sitting on an armchair in their room.

"I see." Not that she actually did, though.

"I'm... a little surprised that I got so aggressive so fast again. I thought I would be calmer for a little longer after my boosts ran out once the battle ended."

"Err... compared to that, you were a lot calmer today. You were mostly reasonable during the conference if you ask me. Are you even sure the anger boost stopped working in the first place after the battle was over?"

"What do you mean?"

"To me, it feels more like you were overcompensating in both directions and got hit by the rebound. Maybe you didn't feel sick from getting too angry, but you rather tried to suppress it too much after calming down. The difference might've been too much for your stomach. I mean, you were too angry and then calmed down too much...?" Maya obviously was just guessing, but she tried her best to help. "Today, you seemed better in tune with it... Not sure if I'm making any sense... Sorry."

"You think so? I went from one extreme to another too fast...?"

"Probably? I'm not really sure how your boosts work, but..."

"Neither do I, though."

"W-Well... Anyway, I think it's your usual problem of getting used to it and finding the middle ground. I do like that you get angry for the sake of other people, but it's too much if you lose yourself. Do you regret anything you said during the debriefing earlier?"

"Hmm... Not exactly what I said, but I did, at some point, wanted to turn the human king into a mist of blood."

"Yeah, while I feel you, this might be the line you should try not to cross. Or not too often, and only when it's appropriate."

"And how do I know how much is appropriate...?" Sophia's common sense won't help her here.

"I would say it's a matter of experience. Until then, please rely on me. I'm more than happy to help you with that!"

"Thank you, Maya. I really appreciate it."

"Ehehe, I'll try my best to forever be there for you, after all." The cat-girl really enjoys taking care of Sophia. "So, how about we get to the thing that's really bothering you?"

"I definitely need to get a better poker face..."

"No, you don't." Maya liked that about her. "The king wanting to introduce you to be public is making you feel uneasy, isn't it?"

"Uneasy is a way too light wording... It sounds like a major pain, and I totally don't want to!"

"Then don't. The king said you don't have to."

"But I still want to help them..."

"I know."

"I thought you want to help me?" Sophia couldn't do anything with her reply.

"You already know what you want to do. There's nothing for me to help. The question is how you want to do it."

"Urgh... you are right. Okay, being treated like royalty sounds like it could be fun in some ways, but..."

"You don't want to permanently stay in the capital."

"Exactly." The tiger-girl nodded. "I like all of them, especially Ellie. Just... playing royal or exploring the whole world, one I'm not even from, that's just…"

"Not even a competition?"

"Get out of my head!" She was spot on.

"Well, I am from this world, and it still sounds like more fun."

"Hrmn...." Sophia went back to grumbling noises as she pressed her head into the pillow once more for a moment. "I wonder if there's a way for both."

"Both?"

"Exploring the world while still being able to help out the royal family... and play with Ellie." The intonation on the last part made it sound like it was the most crucial part to her.

"I'm not sure how that could work out without something like teleportation, and we agreed not to try that."

"Absolutely!" Sophia shivered just thinking about it. Especially after Aura already did it and ended up on a different continent with no easy means to return and almost dying in the process.

"Good girl. Then, isn't it impossible to do both?"

"I actually have an idea... but I'm not sure if it even works, and it might also be dangerous, too. I kinda doubt you'll allow me to try it."

"I'm listening... Concerned, but listening." Maya wasn't sure what to make out of it yet.

"Well, you know my storage space thingy... I take stuff out and put in things through something that looks like a door, right?"

"Yes? Not sure if I'd call it a door myself, but I get what you mean."

"Okay, I had the stupid idea to use my storage space as some actual sort of portal..."

"Come again?" The cat-girl was more than just a little confused.

"Hmm... I don't even know how to describe it. I put my hands inside the door thingy to get out what I want."

"Uh-huh?"

"I was thinking of making a permanent door, big enough to step inside..."

"I'm starting to dislike the idea."

"Then, at a different place, I'll make another door. It should connect to the same storage space, and we could travel from one place to another almost instantaneously..."

"And that... works?" Maya sounded dubious.

"Maybe?" So did Sophia.

"I like how confident you are."

"Well, I couldn't test it yet."

"How do you want to test it? If you planned to simply step in there, without making sure it works or that you can get out again, I'm going to get angry."

"O-Of course not! I already put my head inside and saw what was going on, which led me to add air and light to it, but going inside for real might be a little too dangerous. The quick idea I had was... I make two doors and shove an animal or monster inside. If it manages to get out again, I feel like my plan could work. After that, I might ask good old Fenny for a favor. Even if some problems pop up inside the storage, I'm sure he'd figure something out." Sophia had actually planned it out for once.

"Hmm, I actually am interested..."

"E-Eh?!" She didn't see that coming.

"Don't be that surprised! I do really like magic, after all. You just tend to overdo things, and I have to be the voice of reason to keep you in check. That's why I want another member for our party! To push all that responsibility to them and fool around with everyone!"

"That does make me very motivated to look for someone for us. So, does that mean I can experiment with my portal idea?"

"If you promise not to do anything stupid and only when I'm with you."

"I can live with that! Ah, the king wanted to leave soon... That'll be two wasted days in that stupid carriage. The only thing that actually managed to hurt me in this world so far..."

"I, uhh, I saw you getting turned into a bloody mess by a griphon, though..."

"Those were just some shallow cuts... Nothing compared to what the rocky carriage did to my butt!"

"I don't know if I agree to that extent, but it wasn't nice, yeah."

"Hey, Mayaaa~." From her sweet voice, it was clear she wanted something. "Say, can we ditch the king for the time being? They don't need our protection, and I kinda don't want to face him right now. I really want to experiment instead. Not to mention, even if we leave a day later, we might still arrive before them... "

"Sure, we can ditch them. It's not like we have any obligation. I also rather spend my time with you alone instead of half an army getting in our way~. Want me to tell him for you?"

"Really?! You are the best!"

"I know~." Maya looked smug. "Alright, I'll get over with it immediately."

"Thanks. Okay, then, I'll pack the stuff we have lying around in the room here and, let's see… how about we explore the city some more? We should get some decent choice of food now."

"Sounds like a plan to me." The cat-girl got up and decided to pay the king a visit while Sophia tidied up their room.

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

"Oh, how can I help you?" Menzor noticed Maya and was a little surprised about the unexpected visitor.

"W-Well..." Now that she was alone in front of the king, she wasn't quite as confident anymore but still managed to get it out. "Sophia and I aren't coming with you and your men..."

"H-Huh?!" This was too sudden for him.

"A-Ah... I mean, we'll go back to the capital eventually, just not today. Sophia, uhh, isn't feeling well, and I don't want to burden her with a two-day long ride in a carriage now."

"I-I see... Is it something serious?"

"No... Uh, it just came pretty unexpectedly…" She stopped for a moment. "Oh, let's just say it's a sort of cramps... You have a wife, so-"

"Ah... I get it... No need for details... Tell her to get well soon from me."

"No, I won't."

"... Good idea." The king reconsidered after giving it some thought.

"But, Sophia and I are much faster on our own. Depending on how long she needs to get… better, we'll arrive at the capital not that much later."

"That's reassuring. Alright, take it easy and let her relax."

"Thank you, I will." Maya was glad that he's a good-natured ruler. "Well, I guess we'll see all of you in the capital in a couple of days."

"Yes. I'II inform Anna once we're on the go so she won't make a fuss."

"Good thinking."

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Once she finished her business, the cat-girl went back to their room, where Sophia had already finished packing and was waiting for her.

"Welcome back. Did it go well?"

"Err... l-let's go with yes... He doesn't mind us not coming with them..."

"Okay...?" She felt that something wasn't right.

"I'm very sorry!" Maya apologized out of the blue.

"What did you do...?"

"I didn't know what to say and improvised... very badly... I might've used you feeling unwell because of sudden period cramps as an excuse to stay..."

"The heck?! Why?! Why would you tell the king, of all people, something like that?!"

"I don't know... it was the first thing that came to my mind, and I just blurted it out. I-I only actually mentioned cramps in an ambiguous way, though..."

"That doesn't matter! It means exactly the same, anyway!"

"Yeah, I know... Sorry!" Maya looked really apologetic.

"Even though I'm fortunate and rarely have problems with it... In the first place, it was you who begged me to use healing magic on her to ease the pain two weeks ago because she felt like dying from never-ending cramps where even standing was a tall order."

"I am very sorry! Also, again, thank you very much for the healing magic and the massage back then! It felt very nice and helped a lot! I decided to never let you go because of the warm water bottle thingy alone that you made for me. That was the best!"

"You're welcome, anytime you need it. Whatever, no use crying over spilled milk... I'll try to bear with my cramps in the meanwhile. So, let's go explore the city!" Sophia couldn't help but tease her a little.

"Do your best!" The cat-girl played along.

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Going with the plan, the couple went back to the city, and it was much more lively. Almost all the stores were open again, and the streets were bustling with people once more. Compared to yesterday, where they were having a hard time finding a place to eat, today, having too much choice was the main issue. Then, while walking on a less busy side road, Sophia found something else that caught her interest.

"Now, I might actually get some cramps." She said while pointing at a waypoint sign. "A different kind, though..."

"Let's see..." Maya took a look at it. "Old shrine of Canir, huh?"

"That's..." Not having expected that, Sophia needed a moment to react. "Oh, wow, speaking of cramps. Imagine he ended up boosting my period, too…"

"Oh my gosh!" Maya didn't even want to think about it.

"The highest god of this world… gone. Turned into a pile of censored flesh…" She looked terrifying for a moment.

"I wouldn't even blame you."

"He sure is lucky~."

"If anything, it seems like he boosted you by being less affected by it..." Maya sounded envious.

"Nah, safe for some exceptions every now and then, it's always been pretty light for me."

"I hate you." She was very envious.

"Ahaha..."

"Anyway, weird transition and everything, but do you want to go? You said you can meet him inside those shrines, right?"

"I can, yes... Hmm, might as well, I guess? I should take the chance when I have one. I wanted to tell him a thing or two anyway."

"So, because he didn't mess you up in that regard, please don't punch someone a lot of people worship... again."

"I promise nothing! Then again, they were mostly positive things I wanted to share."

"Good."

And so, in a change of plans, the couple made their way towards the shrine of the overseer for Sophia to meet the person who's responsible for bringing her to this world once again.