The small jungle in Sophia’s domain had gotten a new main attraction. After having let loose for a bit, Maya and Ari used their magic to create a massive tree that easily overshadowed everything else in the area. Literally, as well, as it had turned out so big that the entire clearing they were on before had been replaced by the trunk, and almost no light was able to reach the group any longer, either.

“Satisfied?” While everyone was staring at the massive tree the duo had created, Fen got closer to Maya.

“I am not unsatisfied.” She smiled at him.

“I wonder if you still are in about ten seconds.” Sounding slightly smug, he gestured at Sophia, who had possibly the biggest grin ever on her face.

"A-Ah.” Maya suddenly got a bad feeling about this. “How does your face look the way it does?”

“How terribly rude!”

“I mean your expression, idiot.”

“Not much less rude!” The blonde started pouting nonetheless.

“Well, that looks better.” The cat-girl preferred that over the previous grin.

“I’m just sooo happy that the dynamic in the group has been forever changed now!” Sophia returned to her uber-smug expression.

“W-What’s that supposed to mean?” Her bad feeling got worse.

“Do you think I’ll ever accept any complaints from you or Ari about overdoing something again? After this?” The tiger pointed at the massive trunk. “Even I think a frigging five-kilometer-tall tree is overkill!”

"…” They didn’t know what to say at first. “W-Wait, there’s no way that thing is that tall! It’s impossible to tell from here, too!” The two unionized immediately.

“Hmm…” Mira walked closer to it and touched the trunk with her hand. “Five thousand and 69 meters. Quite a nice specimen you have created here. I’m impressed.”

“See? I just rounded the number a little!”

“How do you two even know?!” Ari and the cat-girl raised their voices.

“Magic~.” Sophia and the teal overseer smiled at them.

“Why and how is that your answer to everything?!” The two got loud.

“Have you forgotten my title?” Mira answered them first. “I can feel the concentrated magic inside the tree and how far it spreads.”

“This is literally my domain,” The blonde continued. “I can feel every particle of magic that is in here.”

“Seriously?” Chloe got interested in that part.

“Yeah,” She nodded. “It’s actually gotten a little overwhelming ever since Mira’s jungle and some of her magic arrived here… I need to find out how to fade out some of that.”

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it." Mira looked at her. “Soon enough, you won’t even notice it anymore.”

“That’s very good to hear.”

“Why are those two so overpowered?!” Maya and Ari still were quite loud. “Is our tree really that tall?”

“Yup~.” Sophia nodded.

“Wow!”

“Why do you sound proud now?” Steph noticed a slight change in their voice. “I mean, I would 100% be proud as heck, but…”

“That is indeed quite curious!” The pink fox agreed with the dog-girl.

“Actually,” Sophia tilted her head. “Maya did love to go crazy with magic before she became my babysitter, so I can see why she would be proud.”

“And my poor Ari has been steadily corrupted by this group, so…” Anna added her own part.

"You're the one who corrupted me the most!" The jaguar glared at the princess.

“I’m your girlfriend, not babysitter!” Maya also glared at her blonde.

“Hehe~.” Anna seemed strangely happy about it.

“You’re definitely both.” Sophia smiled at the cat-girl.

“Tigers are the worst…” Maya and Ari hung their heads.

“Wait, what is it now?" Steph looked at them. "Are you seriously proud about having completely overdone it, which would be super fun, and I'd love it, or are you just slightly smug about having shown Sophia? Which is, well… also a completely viable reason.”

“Hey!” The blonde didn’t like the last part.

“Yes.” Maya and Ari replied at the same time.

“Fair enough.” The dog-girl couldn’t blame them for that sort of answer. “That’s great, though! I look forward to seeing more ridiculousness from the two of you!”

“…”

“Even so, you two still have to think about my domain when you overdo it so much!" Sophia tried her best to sound upset. "Do you have any idea what my beautiful jungle will now seem like when you look at it from further away?! With that massive tree, everything else will now look beyond puny!”

“We should’ve made it bigger.” Ari and Maya just looked at each other.

“You don’t have to worry about their tree standing out too much.” Mira then smiled at the blonde.

“Why?” Sophia tilted her head. “Because everyone else in this group except maybe Fey is itching to create their own oversized tree? Myself included, of course.”

“I’m totally going to top their tree!” Steph, Chloe, Fen, and Aura had the same reaction.

“I’ll try my worst, too!” Anna knew that she wasn’t on the level of the others, but that wouldn’t stop her from having fun.

“Well, that’s one part, but it’s not what I meant.” The teal fox shook her head. “With such a massive master tree inside the jungle, the entire flora will literally explode in size. You won’t even recognize this place in a week anymore. Their creation will still tower over everything else, but it won’t nearly stick out as much anymore. You must also think about what to do with your cottage now.” She turned a little more serious. “The additional highly concentrated magic inside that tree not only makes it possible for such a massive specimen to support itself and exist in the first place, but it will also cause the jungle to expand significantly. It will quickly reach about 100 kilometers in diameter. Your new holiday home will end up being surrounded by it.”

"A cozy place in the middle of a massively overgrown jungle?!”

“Sounds great!” Some type of instinct in Sophia, Anna, and Ari flared up. The tigers and the jaguar seemed to like the idea a lot.

“Wait a moment!” The blonde then focused on Mira again. “Just one tree is capable of doing that much?! Yes, it’s an impressive tree, but if all of us create something similar once a week, won’t my domain grow at an unbelievable rate?”

“In the beginning, yes.” Mira nodded. “That’s why I told you it’s the perfect start to get your domain started. The more it expands, the more magic is needed, though. It will greatly slow down over time.”

“Aww, too bad.” She sounded rather disappointed. “Well, it’s still amazing that I can get so much area in so little time in the beginning!"

“You’re welcome~.” Maya and Ari decided to take all the credit.

“You two smug little…” Sophia opted against finishing her sentence. "I can't wait to be a nuisance for both of you in the regular world again!”

“Whatever you do there, we’ll be wreaking at least twice as much havoc in your domain from now on!”

“I prefer the idea of three times a little better.” Ari didn’t completely agree with Maya.

“Oh, I like that suggestion more!”

“Sounds like a win-win to me.” Steph whispered these words as she leaned closer to Chloe.

"Ah, so I wasn't the only one thinking that." She nodded a few times.

“Mhmm…” Sophia pondered over it for a moment. “Wait a moment… How does this three times payback work? If I create a one-kilometer-tall tree, will you make a three-kilometer-high one? Or three, with each being one?"

“I will make one that is three kilometers tall, and Ari will make three one-kilometer ones.” The cat-girl showed her a sassy smile.

“Exactly.” The jaguar’s expression was the same.

“It’s for each of you?!”

“Of course~.”

“Wait!” Sophia suddenly raised her voice. “What happens if I accidentally burn down a forest or something like that?”

“That will be a sad day for your domain.” Maya’s voice turned a little sinister.

“It will be most unfortunate, yes.”

"I hadn't thought about that!" Steph leaned over to Chloe again.

"They're good!" The pink fox nodded a few times.

“Wow, I am thoroughly impressed!" Fey looked at the duo. "That's a tactic even I hadn't come up with yet! Good job!”

“D-Does that mean I actually have to behave now…? To save my domain?” The blonde sounded devastated.

“Actually,” Mira smiled at Sophia. “An occasional, let’s call it… natural disasters can be quite beneficial. Even something as destructive as a forest fire has positive effects, as it changes the nutrient composition, which can lead to more flora variety if used correctly. Flooding can help to create rivers and lakes, for example. Storms can carry the seed of plants further than normal, and so on. A disaster isn’t necessarily always a disaster.”

“Ohh!” Hearing that explanation, the blonde immediately cheered up again.

“She can’t keep getting away with it!” Fey did not agree with this turn of events. “She’s never going to learn to take responsibility this way!” She looked at the overseer during the last bit.

“Oh, w-well… uh…” Mira needed a moment to come up with an excuse. "Okay! As I said, an occasional disaster can be good. Constant ones will surely make this domain a desolate place no one wants to be in. As usual, everything is best done in moderation.”

“Ah, I’m bad with that.” Moderation wasn’t one of Sophia’s specialties.

“True.” Everyone agreed with that.

“What do we do now?” Maya tilted her head while she looked at Ari next to her. “It seems like our plan is more of a reward for our favorite blonde idiot.”

“Indeed.” The jaguar nodded. “Unless we overdo it, that is.”

“By the way,” The teal overseer interrupted them. “Together with the jungle we transported from my domain, many animals have also been brought over. Mostly birds for the time being. I'm certain Sophia plans to add many more wildlife, as well. Those would be affected by those disasters, as well.”

“Ah.” The two naturally had no intention to engage in a mass killing of animals just to mess with Sophia's domain. "We first need to form a better plan!”

“Phew, saved!”

“We’re still going to mess with this place a lot!” The cat and jaguar immediately looked at her again. “The tree was fun! We wanna do more!”

“I think I’m okay with that!”

“We’re totally going to join in on that!” Steph, Chloe, and Anna had no intention of leaving the fun to them alone.

“Yes.” Fen and Aura were looking forward to it, too.

Once almost everyone had agreed that Sophia's domain shall be turned into a playground for them, they decided to head back to the cottage because it had been a rather long day, and they were getting hungry. Returning had become a slight challenge, though, as the jungle had already become much denser and overgrown in the short time since Ari and Maya made their gigantic tree.

 

 

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