NOVEL NEXT Chapter 368 – No time wasted
Steph and Chloe had returned home after a rather eventful day and reunited with Maya and Sophia, who were quarreling a little over a slight mishap in the academy. The new couple soon became the focus of the conversation, though. The cat-girl and the tiger naturally were slightly confused when they learned about everything that just happened. Afterward, the fox and dog-girl needed about an hour to make them understand everything. Or, at least enough for them to stop asking one question after another.
“Huh…”
“That happened, huh?” After they heard the whole story, Sophia and Maya needed a moment to let it all sink in.
“Alright, there are many, MANY things I need to address, but the most important part has to come first…”
“Mira has nine tails?!” Maya was the one who finished Sophia’s sentence.
“Exactly!” The tiger nodded a few times.
“T-That’s the most important part?!” Chloe instantly retorted the couple. “Okay, I get Sophia, but you, too, Maya…?”
“Ah, no, I’m kinda curious about that part, as well, but there are more pressing matters for me here. It’s just that I know my Sophia, and she won’t be able to calm down before discussing her fluffiness in great detail.”
“Isn’t she the best?!” The blonde looked quite smug while she smiled at her sister.
“You definitely got yourself a keeper there!” Steph was happy for her.
“Anyway! Nine tails!” Her excitement rose. “Wait, nine tails…? Does that mean she’s a… Well, not that it matters at this point anymore… With Fen and all…” The tiger’s eyes seemed to have lost focus for a moment before she continued. “She has to be the most fluffiest person in existence, right?! No offense, Chloe…”
“None taken.”
“Chloe’s fluffier!” The dog-girl disagreed.
“Why do I feel like that’s biased?”
“It’s not!” She raised her voice. “Yes, in total fluff levels, Mira might win, BUT!” She paused for a moment. “Many very fluffy tails don’t beat the fluffy tail!” Saying so, she rubbed the back of her head against the fox-girl’s tail as she was using it as a pillow once more.
“Quality beats quantity, huh?” Sophia nodded in understanding. “How fluffy is one of her tails?”
“About the same as mine, I would say.” The dog-girl gestured at her own tail. “They were a little longer, though.”
“That’s plenty quality, though! Your tail is quite glorious, after all!”
“Ehehe~.” Steph liked her response. “Even so, it’s not even one-third of Chloe’s singular tail, making them an inferior pillow! One big is better than many mediums!”
“A very compelling argument!” She could follow her logic. “BUT!”
“But?” The dog tilted her head.
“Nine individually movable tails!” Sophia raised her arms in excitement. “They could wrap all around you and cover every inch of you because they’re more maneuverable!”
“!” Her eyes grew wide. “I-I hadn’t thought about that part! You’re a genius, sis!”
“Is she now…?” Chloe, for some reason, didn’t seem to be too much of a fan of her reaction.
“I-I already made clear that I prefer your tail, did I not?! Not to mention the rest of you, the much more important part, too! Mira doesn’t hold a candle to you! I mean, she is really nice, and I felt quite comfy around her, but the first place is long taken!”
“I still think that my idea would be quite glorious.” Sophia looked at Maya. “No matter that I definitely, without even knowing her, would prefer you, as well.”
“Understandable.” The cat-girl reacted with a nod. “I mean, it’s hard to put the implications aside, but as an enjoyer of fluff myself, I can see the appeal and support it.”
“It looks like I still have a lot to learn if that already made me slightly jealous, huh?” The fox-girl felt a little awkward while looking at Maya.
“It will take a while. I’m speaking from experience there…” She couldn’t fault her for the way she reacted.
“She really does.” Sophia tried her best to stifle a laugh. “A goood while.”
“S-Shush!” Maya didn’t need that jab and focused on the pink fox again. “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact you’re dating already…”
“I-It’s pretty unbelievable, isn’t it?” Chloe agreed with her. “Steph had some very compelling arguments about time not being important in the slightest, and so, as I l-liked her since the moment we met, well…”
“Those sisters are way too smooth, aren’t they?”
“Yes!”
“You’re the last one I want to hear that from!” Sophia and Steph didn’t seem to agree with them.
“Anyway,” Maya ignored them. “The hard-to-believe part really is the already here. Sophia and I had started to argue about how long we were going to leave you alone because of all the obliviousness that was going on. Turns out you two were the exact opposite of being oblivious… Good for you because I was only giving you a few more days before I would’ve started my teasing. This time, after having gone through Anna and Ari, I was going to show no mercy, too.”
“P-Phew…” The fox-girl looked honestly relieved. “T-Thanks for not wanting to waste any time, Steph…”
“Any time~.”
“You can’t feel too safe now, though.” Sophia glanced at her girlfriend. “She’ll now probably be twice as motivated to find something else to tease you with.”
“As if I need a reason for that!” Naturally, she sounded extra smug while making that claim.
“W-Well, it can’t be worse than you teasing us about, uhh... us.” Chloe tried to look on the bright side.
“That is indeed true.” Maya nodded. “Teasing you about would’ve been because I got annoyed by it. I can’t deal with that anymore after having had to go through two dense tigers already... Now that that’s taken care of already, I’m just going to tease you because I like you. Big difference~.”
“Fair.” Steph agreed with her. “Teasing’s great! As long as it isn’t hurtful, I’m a big fan! Chloe and I also want to figure out things ourselves going forward, though. No excessive teasing in that regard for a while, please.”
“T-That would be great!”
“I can respect that. That being said,” Maya then faced her tiger. “Why is the little sister the one who has her act together?”
“Hey!” Sophia didn’t like this accusation. “I have my moments where I am serious and responsible, as well! Just as much as Steph has her moments where she doesn’t!”
“Really?” She didn’t buy it.
“I think I have to side with Sophia here.” Chloe awkwardly scratched her cheek while glancing at her girlfriend.
“Huh?” Steph didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m the embodiment of having your act together!”
“I guess that depends on how you define that, huh?” The fox-girl smiled at her. “You definitely were amazing during our dinner, but you also came up with the idea to find a way to stop time to go on training arc to be ready to meet my mother, so…”
“I-I did say that…”
“Unbelievable, right?” The fox-girl looked at Maya. “No one who has her act completely together would be able to come up with something that out of the norm, not to mention impossible. It would be amazing, though!”
“E-Err…” She got incredibly awkward in an instant.
“What do you think, sis?!” Steph faced her. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but do you think it’s impossible? It can’t be, right?! Magic can do anything, after all! I bet you love the idea, too, right?!”
“E-Err…” Sophia had the exact same reaction as her cat.
“Do you think Canir would know more about it?” Chloe tilted her head. “Mira aside, if anyone would know if it’s possible, it would be him, right?”
“…” The blonde needed a moment. “I-I’m sure he would know more, y-yeah…”
“Sophia.” The dog-girl started right at her.
“Y-Yes?”
“You already know more about this, don’t you?” It wasn’t hard for her to understand her reaction.
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“Well, how will you get out of that one?” A moment later, Maya turned to look at the blonde next to her once she noticed that everything around them, including the couple on the other sofa, had frozen in time.
“D-Do you think I need to get out of that?”
“You planning to tell them?”
“I never ever want to have any big secrets from Steph again, and now that she’s dating Chloe… The heck, she’s dating Chloe?!”
“They move fast, huh?”
“No kidding!” The tiger raised her voice. “I mean, it was obvious that the two are super compatible, but that much?!”
“If you know, you know, huh? At least if you aren’t a dense idiot.”
“I feel called out!” She started pouting.
“That includes me…” Maya scratched her cheek. “I tried to sit it out with you, too, after all…”
“That’s a bit of a relief because I do feel called out, still…”
“Are we the prude ones in our group…?” The cat-girl’s expression changed. “Anna and Ari so amazing sex the moment they became a couple that the whole castle heard them, and those two decided to start dating a few days after meeting. Heck, it’s their first time after really being alone together…”
“I just can’t… I’m physically incapable of calling you prude…” Sophia stared back at her. “You’re way too much of a pervert for that.”
“That’s a compliment for me!” She smirked at her. “I’m in good company, as well!”
“Yeah, I’m surrounded by perverts…”
“Yourself included! I would know, after all!”
“I’m not prude, I’ll admit to that much.”
“Sure~.”
“If anything, I guess we’re a little slow, huh?”
“Not sure if I like that…” The cat-girl had mixed feelings about that. “So much wasted time!”
“Does that really matter, though…? We’re basically ageless, after all.”
“T-That…”
“Also, all of those little things led to where and who we are right now. Don’t you think it’s great what we have going on at this very moment?”
“I take back what I said earlier.” Her expression changed once again. This time, it turned gentle, though.
“Hmm?” Sophia tilted her head.
“When it counts, you really have your act together.”
“Ehehe~.” She liked that a lot. “Anyway, Anna and Ari, as well as Steph and Chloe, might have a slightly more interesting-sounding story, but we have our own thing!”
“Yeah! Also, if we include all the things we can’t tell others so readily, we definitely have the most interesting story, as well!”
“True! Well, those two might be able to slightly compete, though.” She gestured at the other couple.
“Wait… they’re both from a different world… and just came back from visiting a goddess… T-That’s at least as…”
“Not everything is a competition! Got your act together, idiot!” Sophia raised her voice.
“A-Ah… I hadn’t expected for you to be able to turn this on me…”
“You should know by now that I’m the best!” Sophia was in a good mood.
“I see… So, how does the best think about dealing with this situation?” She waved her hand around before pointing at Steph and Chloe. “Are you going to show them?”
“Hmm…” The tiger paused for another moment. “Again, I don’t want to keep any big secrets from Steph, and Chloe… Well, she’s, uhh… family, I guess?”
“It’s also funny how you were already advertising Steph to her before she even ended up here.”
“I kinda did that a lot, huh? I mean, as I had rightfully predicted, they work together amazingly!”
“When you’re right, you’re right.” Maya had nothing to say against her claim.
“Anyway, let’s get over with it.”
Afterward, Sophia got up from the sofa and walked behind the other couple. There, she placed her hands on their shoulders and concentrated for a moment. Stopping time for herself is easy, but if she selectively wants to unstop it for others, she still has to touch them while pouring some of her magic into them.
