After Sophia had successfully prevented the outbreak of a war when Ari had innocently asked about the possibility of putting fruit on a pizza, the two finally got every ingredient they needed after having bought some cheese and more traditional toppings. Whether or not anything else is a viable choice, as everyone in their group is particularly fond of meat, they went for the safe option.

“Alrighty, that should be it!” The duo had just exited a butcher store while Sophia looked at all the bags she and Ari were carrying with a big smile.

“I also doubt we have to go grocery shopping anytime soon again, either…” The jaguar, too, was looking at the many bags. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing, though.”

“I bet it’ll help Maya, too~.” She got even more cheerful while mentioning that. “Oh?” The tiger suddenly looked to the other side of the street, where she spotted an early middle-aged couple. A man and a woman seemingly from the cat-beastfolk, to be exact. Both seemed to be in their early fifties at best, and the woman had a normal to thin figure and medium-long, black and white streaked hair. The man had a bit of a belly without actually being fat, and his light-brown hair had started to recede ever so slightly.

“Is something wrong?” Ari looked in the same direction but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“Not really, no.” She shook her head. “I just have a soft spot for couples that already seem to be together for ages while still being all lovey-dovey~." She started smiling after noticing the couple holding hands while walking through the capital.

“You’re right, that really is nice…”

“Although…” Sophia then paid a little more attention to the faces of the couple and noticed that they seemed a little nervous while looking around in every direction with a confused expression. “Doesn’t it look like they’re lost or something like that?”

“It does appear so, yes.” The jaguar nodded a few times.

“Should we try and help them…?”

“Hard to say no now, isn’t it?” Ari rolled her eyes. “Any alleged shyness of your personality is long gone, isn’t it…?”

“It’s great, isn’t it?!” The tiger seemed incredibly happy about this observation. Saying so, she grabbed the jaguar’s hand and dragged her over to the couple while letting go of it again once she noticed that she had started following her on her own accord.

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"A-Ah!” Noticing the sudden arrival of the duo, the cat couple opened their eyes wide in shock, especially after paying closer attention to the blonde.

"A-A tiger!”

“W-Wow!”

“Oho, I haven’t had that reaction inside the capital yet.” She glanced at Ari while making the comment. “About me being blonde, constantly, but as a tiger in general, that’s a new one~.”

“Well, running into a tiger itself is nothing that out of the ordinary here, after all.” The jaguar looked back at her.

“Hmm…” Sophia then focused her attention on the couple again. “Oh, are you new to the capital?”

“Y-Yes…” The two nodded.

"I see. That would explain it." The tiger then started smiling. “There’s no need to pay much attention to who I am. Most of us tigers actually prefer that when we’re out and about. Even more so for me, I really don’t care about my royal side aside from being there for and helping other fellow members of the beastfolk. Please simply treat me like any other person. I would greatly appreciate that.”

"You're a better princess than Anna is…" Ari sounded impressed. "And, technically, you not fully even are one…"

“Shush…” Sophia didn't feel like that was helping anyone right now. "I'm going to tease her a lot about what you just said later, though~."

"A-Ah…”

“Is that really alright…?” The cat-woman glanced at the blonde with a somewhat complicated expression. “The two of us are just from a random faraway town, after all… For us to converse with a member of the tiger family…”

“Sure~.” She just showed them an even brighter smile. “So, what brings you to the capital?”

“Such a friendly and polite girl.” The cat-woman smiled back at her. “It really is true what they say about the tiger family, huh?”

“Ehehe~." Tiger aside, Sophia was happy that she got complimented. "I'm trying my best!"

“Such a stark difference to our daughter…” The male cat let out a small sigh.

“Hmm?” The blonde tilted her head.

“Ahaha,” The female cat just chuckled at her reaction. “Our daughter’s a bit of a muscle brain that loves magic a little too much and keeps challenging people to fights because she wants to become stronger.”

“She’s not lady-like at all!”

“Uhm…” Sophia awkwardly scratched her cheeks in response. “I’m slightly doubtful at my own ladylikeness, so…”

“Yeah.” Ari immediately reacted with a nod.

"H-Hey!" She glared at her before looking back at the couple. "I only know a little basic courtesy and how to behave myself when the situation calls for it.”

“Our daughter knows nothing about any of that!” The brown-haired cat complained some more. “She’s just rowdy!”

“It sounds like she’s a lot of fun, though.” Sophia liked this type of girl, after all.

“She’s still single, so feel free to take her~.” The woman smiled at the tiger. “She never was interested in romance because magic was more important to her, but it's more than time for her to change that! Mom wants to see some grandchildren already!"

"Well, she did say that she's going to travel with a girl she found interesting…" The male cat tried the cheer his partner up. "We might get lucky, and the whole wanting to learn from her was just a pretense… Nah, there's just no way… Forget I said anything…" He doubted his own words too much to believe it.

“Ahaha…” The blonde wasn’t sure how to react to that. “While she does sound interesting, I uhh, I’m already in a relationship that I have no plans of canceling, so…"

“Oh, I see…” The female cat then glanced at the jaguar. “Well, the two of you are a really nice couple. You fit each other really well!"

"Yes. It's a perfect match if you ask me!" Theo agreed. "It's rare for a couple to complement each other that well!"

"A-Ah…” The couple got even more awkward.

“Err, no…” Sophia shook her head. “While both of us are in a relationship, we are not dating each other. Actually, I am dating a cat-girl who’s a little on the rowdy side herself.”

"Even though you two look so great together?" The cat-man tilted his head.

"Well..." Sophia wasn't sure what to say. "Ari's an amazing girl, but she just isn't the one I love?"

"Same." The jaguar reacted with a big nod.

"I'm dedicated to the cat I already have~."

“Really…?” She looked ever so slightly disappointed. "Well, it should be quite the cat for her to get a tiger as a partner. I doubt our daughter would be able to pull that off, so I guess there's no reason to be envious of her.”

“As I said before, tigers aren’t that out of reach~.” The blonde was in a good mood. “I mean, our Ari here is dating the first princess.”

“S-Sophia!” She got flustered in an instant. “D-Don’t just blurt that out!”

“It helps you get used to it~. The whole capital will find out about it soon enough.”

“T-That doesn’t make it any better!”

“Tehe~.” The blonde stuck out her tongue in response.

“W-Wow…” The couple looked at the duo in admiration. "Are you two really not dating instead? Definitely seems like it's the case."

"NO!"

“Uhmm… Is there a reason why we got approached by such… important girls…?” The black-and-white-haired cat glanced at the two with a confused look on her face.

“Ah, right!” Sophia seemingly had almost forgotten about that already. “It somehow seemed like the two of you were lost, and I wanted to ask if you need any help…"

“Oh, my.”

“Really, such a nice girl. Our daughter could learn so much from you…” The couple was touched by her kindness.

“Actually, yes…” The cat-woman looked back at the tiger. “We just arrived at the capital two days ago and decided to explore it today… Unfortunately, we got a little too into it and completely forgot where our inn is because we didn’t pay enough attention while walking around.”

“There are a lot of distracting sights in the capital…” Her partner also hung his head.

“I knew it.” The blonde was glad she decided to go over to them. “Ari, we have enough time to help them, right?”

“Of course.” She nodded in response. “Even though dinner will be a little experimental tonight, we have more than enough time to spare before we need to start preparing for that.”

“Great!” Sophia then happily looked at the couple again. “By the way, I think we already mentioned our names, but I’m Sophia, and the jaguar with the amazing hair here is Ari.”

“It is indeed amazing.” The cat-woman looked at her for a moment. “I’m Eve, and my husband here is Theo.”

“Nice to meet you.” He nodded a couple of times after his wife had introduced them. “We don’t want to bother you, though. I’m sure we’ll find the way back eventually.”

“Yes.” Eve agreed with him.

“No.” The tiger didn’t, though. “The capital is massive, and some streets are extremely confusing. I get myself lost all the time! I doubt I'd find my way home without my dear friend and guide over here.” She smiled at Ari during the last part.

“You should look at least 50% less smug while admitting that.” The jaguar wasn't smiling as much.

"A-Ah…”

“Is it really alright for the two of you to help us…?” Theo didn’t want to bother them too much.

“Sure!” Sophia had already taken a liking to them, so there was no way she’d leave them on their own now. “Do you remember the name of the inn or some prominent places near it?”

"It's called the Sunflower Inn. I only truly remember that we followed the main street behind the central gate for a good while before eventually turning left.”

"Wow, the central gate is quite far away from here…” Even the tiger could tell that much. “We’re basically on the other side of the capital… Ari, have you heard of that place before?"

“I can’t say I have…” She shook her head. “I do know the tourist area near the central gate a little, though. There are several inns lined up right next to each other there. Chances are high that it’s one of them.

“Alright, let’s go!” The blonde was highly motivated. “You might remember another thing or two while we walk!”

“O-Okay…”

While the couple was still a little reluctant because they didn’t want to be a bother, the two eventually understood that there was no stopping the overly motivated tiger, and they decided to let her help them.

 

 

 

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