NOVEL NEXT Chapter 333 – Back to normal
Even though they had just met and had a somewhat rough start, Chloe and Steph were already getting along and bonded even more over the fact that both preferred colder weather over being hot.
Though there was much more to talk about, so the duo eventually got back on track after letting go of their shared likes.
“Again, I’m all for it… but I still don’t get why you have some fox characteristics, Chloe…" Steph was staring at her tail and ears again. “Also, Maya is hiding hers because of visiting my old world? Chloe, you came from the same world as me, right? Why aren't you a human now, too?! And Sophia’s supposed to be a tiger?!”
"Part tiger." The older sister corrected her. "Just ears and tail. Well, and some instincts and stuff..."
“Already weird enough! Why?! I mean, it sounds amazing, but why?!”
“Uhh…” The fox-girl scratched her cheek. "It's just that I was reborn as a member of the fox tribe in this world… I didn't choose it, but I definitely am happy about it. I like being a fox a lot! Also, it wouldn't have been fun at all to be a human here…"
“Same here… except the reborn part…” Maya nodded. “My parents are from the cat tribe, so I naturally ended up as one, as well. Thank everything that is holy that I'm not a human…"
“Yeah, you don’t want to be a human here…” Sophia also agreed. “Me ending up as a tiger, who are supposed to be royal, also had its own ups and downs, but it’s far preferable…”
“Uhh…" After hearing this, Steph, the human girl, had a slightly complicated expression. "W-What is wrong with being human…?"
“Well…” Her sister tried to come up with an explanation. “Humans here are probably the most infuriating race on the planet…”
“Mhmm…” She just nodded a few times.
"They like to fight and stir up trouble whenever they can."
“I see.”
“They have an overblown ego and a serious superiority complex."
“Is that so?”
“In their opinion, every other race or living being should bow down in front of them.”
"That's no good."
“Everyone should basically be their slave and work for them."
“Sophia…” Steph eventually stopped her. “I was asking about the humans of this world.”
“Ahh…” Her sister paused for a moment. “I mean, that world had some nice ones, so I wouldn't use that as a general description for our old place. I have yet to find them here, though... The biggest reason is that the humans here have barely any magic and no technology to put them at the top of the food chain. They are so weak that everything they do is all bark and no bite… Yeah, humanity on earth also is almost beyond saving already, but we at least made some sort of accomplishments… A lot of them, actually. Here, from what I've learned so far, they have exactly zero redeeming features."
“I see…” The shorter blonde needed to let that sink in first. “W-Wouldn’t that mean it’s pretty bad if I’m still a human in this world…?”
“If you decide to stay, it is far from ideal, yes.”
“So, it IS bad?!” She had already made her decision, after all.
“It’s not optimal…” Sophia had some experience with it, after all. “Well, there’s the demon race. Their females look just like humans. You could pretend to be one of them. Sounds pretty cool if you ask me…” She had just as much experience with that.
"As if someone would believe that." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Everyone would instantly look through someone pretending to be a demon…"
“…” Maya and Sophia suddenly looked quite awkward.
"You have to think of something better for this. Such a cheap excuse would never work! People aren't idiots, you know?!"
“…” Once Sophia finished taking damage from this, she tried to come up with something different. “You could do the opposite of what Maya and I are doing right now. You could pretend to be one of us beastfolk by adding some animal ears and a tail to yourself.”
“I could become fluffy?!” Steph’s face immediately lit up.
"You could at least look like it with magic." The taller blonde, for now, decided to keep the part where she could change for real to herself.
“That’s a start!” She wasn’t any less excited about that. “WAIT! I don’t have any magic…”
“I have one or two ideas to get around that… I’m not sure how I want to do it, but we’ll definitely get some magic into you.” If everything fails, Sophia could simply share some of hers, after all.
“Really?!” Her eyes started to sparkle even more. “You’re the best!”
“Ehehe~.” Every older sister likes to hear that. "I need a day or two for that, though, so you need to stay put until then."
“Okay!” She nodded a few times. “I want to see something else first, though!”
“Hmm?” Sophia tilted her head.
“Unleash the tiger! I want to see how you actually look in this world! Maya, too!”
“I want them back, too!” Chloe agreed with her. “You look great right now, but I prefer the fluffier version!”
“Alright...” The incognito tiger agreed to become a real one again. “I also miss my tail, so... Maya, do you want to start?”
“Gladly!” She seemed pretty eager to return herself. Afterward, she quickly got swallowed by a cloud of smoke, and the original cat-girl was back. "SOOO much better!" She immediately gave her tail a few pats to welcome it back.
“Definitely better.” The fox-girl nodded a few times.
“Woah...” Steph also seemed to agree. "I already thought you were beautiful, but now I know why it felt like something was missing! You are perfect with the cat attachments!”
“Thank you~.” She liked the compliment.
“She’s mine, you know?” Sophia found it a tad too much praise.
“I know, idiot!”
“Good...”
“Ehehe~.” Maya liked it even more that her blonde got jealous.
"A-Anyway,” Afterward, while looking slightly flustered, the tiger also returned to her former glory. Once the smoke was gone, she did the same as the cat-girl and gave her tail a loving pat or two. “I missed you~.”
“I know, right?!” Maya had felt the same, after all.
“Ahh...” Chloe also started smiling. “I missed this picture.”
“S-So cute...” Steph needed a moment. “W-Wait, you look way too different, Sophia! You seem much younger, too!”
"Ahh..." She scratched her cheek in return. "There was a little accident when I came to this world, and Canir made me a few years younger...”
“Eh? Does that mean I’m the older sister now...?” She got confused.
“I just look younger, don't worry."
“Aww...” She actually seemed disappointed.
“Hey!” Sophia didn’t like that reaction. “Also, I’m still taller!”
“Really?” Steph got up from the sofa. “Show me!”
“Sure!” While Sophia was older, she wasn’t any more mature. She also stood up, and the sisters got back-to-back to measure their height.
“Yup, Sophia is a centimeter or two taller.” Maya presented the result.
“Looks like Steph’s right between Sophia and me." Chloe came to the same conclusion.
“Hehe.” The tiger looked quite smug for some reason. Even her tail was happily swishing around.
“...” Steph looked a little pouty for a moment. However, the moment she noticed Sophia's tail moving around in front of her, as the two were still back-to-back, her focus immediately changed to this. "Sorry for what is about to happen..." Saying so, she instantly went for it and grabbed it with both hands.
“H-Hiya~!” Sophia immediately lost the strength in her legs and got down on her knees. "L-Let go of it..."
“...” Enjoying that reaction for a moment, the little sister touched it for a second or two longer before she eventually granted her wish. “You are way too adorable, sis...”
"A-And you are horrible!” Tears had appeared in the corners of her eyes. “T-Try to be at least more gentle...”
“Your tail is way too great not to go for it!”
“T-That doesn’t mean to have to grip it with all your strength! I don’t mind you coming in contact with it as you’re my sister and nothing else, but my tail is super sensitive! It's complete sensory overload! I-It even hurts because it’s too much!”
“Our tails really are delicate, Steph.” Maya also tried to explain it to her. "Chloe has a literal ton of fluff around her actual tail, and even she reacted so strongly earlier. Sophia and I only have a thin layer of fur on it... It’s a much more intense feeling when someone touches it...”
“I see...” She hung her head again. “Sorry for overdoing it once more... It is a very great tail, though.”
“Thanks... I mean, I get it. I go through pretty much the same when I see a good tail... As I have my own now, though... I know how it feels, and that's why I can hold back... Most of the time, at least...” She stole a quick glance at Chloe during the end.
“I’ll do my best to suppress my urges... Isn’t it quite dangerous that your tails are so sensitive...? I don’t mean any harm. I just want the fluff, but if someone wants to harm you, couldn't they completely put you all out of commission by simply grabbing your tails...?"
“If someone I don’t like would touch my tail like that, they would die.” Sophia’s expression changed.
“Die, yes.” Maya agreed.
“Indeed, that’s what would happen.” Chloe also had the same serious expression.
“O-Okay...” Steph took a step back from everyone. “G-Good thing you held back there earlier..." She glanced at the fox-girl with a sheepish expression while scratching her cheek. "T-Thank you for that..."
"Cute girls get the benefit of the doubt. Wow, that sounds pretty bad when said out loud... Also, because I couldn’t feel any magic from you, there’s little harm you could do. Not to mention that you seemed more like an excited kid when doing it rather than anything else.”
“I am sooo happy that I ended up looking cute!” The shorter blonde looked incredibly relieved.
“Ahaha..." It was hard to say anything in response to that, and so everyone just let out a chuckle instead.
Afterward, the sisters sat down on the sofas again. Steph wanted to sit next to Sophia this time for cuddling reasons, but as the tiger didn't like how she kept staring at her tail, the older blonde made her sit down next to Chloe again before getting comfortable with Maya. Once that was dealt with, they returned to chatting because there were still many things left to discuss.
