NOVEL NEXT Chapter 396 – Vacation days
Maya had returned from her shopping trip with the wolves and the loud couple and was a little upset with Sophia after she found out about the hectic state the castle was in after their meeting with the king earlier that day. Once she was finished trying, and failing, to get some sense into her girlfriend, everyone just relaxed and waited for Fey's and Steph's return from their dinner.
A few hours later, after Maya calmed down, Steph and Fey returned to the mansion, just as the two wolves had a few minutes prior, as well. It seemed like those two had also gone for a quick dinner after the shopping trip before.
“Oho, nice, I still have a sister!” Sophia smiled at the dog-girl after she entered the living room together with Fey.
“Of course!” She smiled back at her. “It was a bit of a clutch every now and then, though.”
“That is not a nice thing to say.” Fey glanced at Steph. “You were at no point in real danger.”
“What’s the extra pronunciation on the real about, then?”
“What are you talking about?” The full fox kept looking at her. “I pronounced it the same way I did with every other word.”
“I see. Must’ve been my imagination, then.”
“Yes.”
“Uhh…” Chloe looked confused. “Are you two getting along now…?”
“Yup!” Steph’s mood seemed excellent.
“I wouldn’t necessarily go that far.” Fey sounded a little more reserved.
“Your pronunciation changed again!” The little sister smiled at her.
“It has not. Is there something up with your ears?”
“Not at all! In fact, they’re better than ever after I became a dog!”
“Are you certain about that?”
“I positively am!”
“Mhmm…” Fey turned her head away.
“So you two are?!” Chloe’s smile got even brighter. “That’s so great!”
“Are you still going to disagree and disappoint her?” The dog’s smile turned ever so slightly smug.
“Don’t get too cocky now, my dear.”
“I always try to push my limits, so being a bit cocky is part of the menu~.”
“I know that much…” Fey let out a small sigh. "You definitely made that more than clear during our conversation and dinner."
“Hehe~.”
“Could I get an answer already?!” The pink fox was getting impatient. “I mean, I have eyes and ears, but I want to hear the right words!” It was obviously clear that their dynamic had changed.
“…” The full fox paused for a moment. “I respect her as an individual, and her personality, albeit too excitable, is most fascinating, as well. She has many traits I think very highly of in a person. Well, some others are debatable, but… overall, it’s a net positive.”
“Yay~.” Steph could live with a net positive.
“Yay~.” Chloe had the same reaction. “Then, does that mean you support the fact the two of us have started dating without reservation on your part?"
“Oh, no, that’s a totally different topic.” Fey’s voice turned dry.
“Ah.”
“I’m still working on that part…” Steph scratched her cheek. “One dinner wasn’t enough for that.”
“We’ll need a lot more dinners for that.” It was hard to see and more of a guess, thanks to Fey being a full fox, but she definitely smirked at the dog while giving her reply.
“I can live with that!” Her smile got bigger.
“I love this!” Chloe also looked really happy. “Not the dynamic I had expected between you two, but it’s lovely!”
“…” Fey turned her head away yet again.
“You really are something else.” Mira seemed to be impressed by Steph. “To win over our stoic Fey so quick.”
“Ehehe~.”
“Steph’s the best, after all!” The pink fox also sounded proud.
“I hate it here…” The full fox started to second-guess the group. “Haa…” She then took a deep breath before facing Chloe and Mira again. “I heard that you two had a conversation about various things, too. How… How is the situation?”
“I’m still pretty angry.” Even so, Chloe smiled at her. “At you, too.”
“I’m sorry…” Apologizing was still the best Fey could do right now.
“I really understand you two now, though. I understand your reasoning and how you wanted my best only. I still disagree, but I understand it. I don't know if I would've been able to come up with a better solution in that situation, either, though. It was quite a challenging one, after all.”
“Not that challenging.” Sophia slowly shook her head. “That being said, destroying a world or two because you chose your daughter over them might be more of a big deal when you’re an important overseer, so…”
“Nonono!" Maya got loud again. "Overseer or not, destroying a world will always be a big deal!"
“Meh.” The blonde just shrugged.
“Is the possibility of having kids with you really a good idea…?” The cat-girl’s emotions on the topic were very complicated.
“Absolutely~.” Sophia's feelings on the matter were the exact opposite of complicated.
“I think I’ll take my vacation days when that happens…” Fen sounded done already.
“Are you against me having children?” The blonde faced the wolf.
“Not at all.” That didn’t seem to be his issue. “The time between you making one and you getting it, is what concerns me. Hybrids of your stature take around nine months, right? Yeah, extended vacation days. I’m okay with unpaid vacation, too.”
“Ah, I see…” She nodded a few times. “Yeah, no, I’ll be a complete menace during that time. That’s pretty much guaranteed.”
“Do I also get vacation days…?” Maya started to like Fen’s plan.
“Not during that time, my dear.” Mira, out of everyone, answered her. “After all, as of right now, there’s a considerable chance of you being just as responsible for it. I’ll personally make you responsible for ensuring the world will not be destroyed in the process, too."
“T-This world or any world… S-Sophia, what do you think about having a child in your old world…?”
“Not a chance!” The blonde didn’t like the idea.
“Very understandable.” Steph nodded a few times.
“Urgh…” The cat hung her head. “T-Then, if you task me with such an impossible task, Mira!” She faced the overseer. “I need to borrow all of your magic authority during those nine months to even have a chance!”
“As if that would be enough~.” Sophia looked extra cheeky during her reply.
“I’m sorry to inform you that that’s not going to work.” Mira looked back at Maya. “There’s a significant influence of Canir’s authority mixed into your own. Probably because you play a lot with Sophia.” She smirked at the cat. “Feel free to replace the word play with whatever else you think is more fitting.”
“Urgh…”
“Yup, you have to ask Canir for help on that matter. “You borrowing his powers should work.”
“As if he would ever do that~.” The blonde also smirked at her cat. “I'm sure he wouldn't want to miss out on me being an unhinged menace.”
“That’s a very valid point.” The teal fox nodded a few times.
“I hate it here…” Maya gave up.
“Oh, so that is a common feeling in this group?” Looking strangely sympathetic for a full, Fey glanced at her while tilting her head.
“It happens every now and then…” Fen was the one to answer her. “You’ll get used to it, though. Vacation days help a lot, too.”
“How many of them do we get each year?” The full humored him.
“It really depends on how many of them you can afford.”
“Ah, I see. Well, the vacation policy around here seems quite nice, so that's a definite plus.”
“By the way,” Listening to them, Sophia faced Maya. “Since when do we have vacation days? I want some, too!”
"There were like ten days total this year that haven't been a vacation for you!" She instantly got loud.
“…” The blonde paused for a moment while scratching her cheek. “N-Next year, I want 15 more of them!”
“Of course you do.” Maya wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
“Okay, all of that aside for the time being…" Fey had had enough of that topic and faced her daughter again. “If you now understand the reasoning behind Mira's and mine… admittedly questionable decision, even though we had the best intentions only, what does that mean for the three of us?”
“709 points for Mira and 421 for you.” Chloe smiled at her. “I decided to give Mira some extra points because, well… reasons. Many of them.”
“Yes!” The overseer raised her hand. “Not in the negatives anymore!”
“I won’t try to make sense out of your point system because I'm pretty sure it's based purely on your mood when giving them out, but…”
“Minus 17.23 points for you, Feyfey!” Chloe didn’t like her deduction.
“Am I wrong?”
“No.” The pink fox shook her head. “Another minus 21 and a half points for mentioning it, though.”
"Well, I can't say I didn't see that one coming." The full didn't sound surprised. “But no, I was not asking about our points. I want to know what your conversation with Mira means for us as a… family.”
“Ahh…” Chloe paused for a moment. "Still angry, and I need more time for that to change, but I have given Mira a chance to become a part of my life again."
“And I will use that chance!” Mira looked determined. “Let’s have a more detailed conversation about that with just the three of us later.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Chloe smiled at her. “Oh, speaking of which, I need to have a conversation with Canir, too. I’m angry at him, too, after all.”
“Mhhm?” Sophia’s ears perked up. “What does he have to do with any of that? Did he do anything?”
“He was being himself,” Mira answered her.
“Ah, I see.” It made perfect sense to the blonde.
“When we were thinking about whether it was a good idea to live together with Chloe in public, he told us with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on his face that we should definitely do it.”
“See?” The pink fox looked at the tiger. “He definitely was the tipping point for them to turn stupid!”
“Oi, CANIR!” Sophia got loud. "Get down here right now!" She looked angry while she faced the ceiling.
“…” Nothing happened for around ten seconds before a small piece of paper landed in the tiger’s hand that appeared out of nowhere. “No.” It was all that was written on it.
“You coward! Get down here! Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything!"
“…” Another ten seconds passed before a second piece of paper appeared. “I'd rather be called a coward than being kicked by you!" This time, his reply was a little longer.
“Okay!” Sophia jumped off the sofa. “Let’s go to his shrine, Chloe.”
“I’m afraid that won’t work.” Mira interrupted her. “You won’t be able to enter his domain even from there if he doesn’t want you to.”
“Haaaaa…” She reacted with a long sigh. “This guy…”
“It’s not that important. I can be upset at him another time, too.” Chloe smiled at her.
“Okay~.” She smiled back. “And once you’re done, I’m going to be angry at him. I planned to only get upset, too, but after that just now," She held up the pieces of paper, "I think being angry is more appropriate.”
“I think I like Sophia.” Fey enjoyed what she was hearing.
“Yup, I also am a big fan.” Mira felt the same. “I can’t wait~.”
“Hehe.”
The conversation went on for a little bit longer, but they ultimately dropped it after some time because else Sophia would've really gone for the shrine, and she most likely would’ve found a way around the restriction. Everyone wanted to have a relaxing afternoon, after all.
