The powerful being that was following the group for a while already turned out to be Fen's old companion, Aura. A female wolf who he was sure of that she died in an accident 200 years ago. This unexpected reunion shocked him quite a bit and was the cause for many questions.

"So..." Fen and Aura were currently alone, and he wanted to know what happened to her after she disappeared.

"So..." She wasn't sure where to start. "Yeah, completely out of magic after my messed up teleportation, I hit the ground after falling from the sky. Hard. I have no idea how I survived that... It felt like basically every bone in my limbs was broken, and I was lying in a puddle of my own blood... I couldn't move a single muscle, either. I doubt any of them were intact anymore, actually..."

"W-Wow..." He was shocked. "How high-, how long were you falling?"

"I'm not sure anymore. Some minutes."

"Y-You actually survived that?!"

"Barely, yes. It was a miracle."

"Definitely. Wait, weren't there any predators around? It sounds like you were completely defenseless."

"I don't know how long I was unconscious after my crash, but when I came to me again, a pack of common wolves was protecting me."

"Oh, yeah, we have that kind of effect on them." Fen remembered that wherever they went, the two ended up being the alphas of every more normal wolf around them.

"Yes. They were the reason I wasn't attacked. The pack also brought me water and food while I was recovering."

"You're almost as lucky as Sophia..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"A long story; let's finish yours first."

"Sure. Anyway, after I regained consciousness, enough time had passed to recover some of my magic power, and I started healing myself. The next days and weeks continued like that. I ate and rested while the pack protected me, and I poured every bit of my power into healing. As you know, healing magic was never my forte... Combined with the severity of my injuries, it took me a really long time to be able to walk and protect myself again."

"Have you ever found out what went wrong with your teleportation?"

"No." Aura shook her head. "In the first place, while I remembered my fall, I had no idea why... I only found out it was the result of my teleportation two years ago when my memories came back."

"Wow, that must've been confusing."

"You have no idea. I gave it some thought while I was traveling back here. I think it happened because my image of the destination was rather half-hearted, and I messed up... big time."

"You're going to be best friends with Sophia."

"Huh? Why?"

"She's the queen of half-assed magic. If she doesn't mess up catastrophically at least once a week, something's wrong. Or Maya got too angry with her."

"Oho, she's an interesting one, huh?"

"She sure is." Fen agreed with her.

"You two are quite close, aren't you?" She was still hung up on it.

"Hmm, the last... dozens of years were really dull for me. Since I met Sophia, these slow days became a thing of the past. Though, lately... I've become a bit of a third wheel. "

"What happened?"

"Maya happened. These two fell in love at first sight, and since they confessed their love, they can't let go of each other anymore. Not that they could before."

"Yeah, that sounds like it could get annoying."

"Well, I'm happy for Sophia... them. Really happy, so I don't particularly mind. She deserves this happiness."

"Has something happened to her?" Aura seemed interested.

"Yeah... a lot. Ask her yourself if you're curious."

"Will do."

"Alright, back to you... So, you've healed yourself and left the forest? What happened then?"

"Well, I was confused and disoriented. I wandered around for a long time, beat a couple of strong enemies, and eventually ended up in a demon village."

"It's been a long time since I met any of them. Are they still those easygoing, magic-loving, and fighting-enthusiastic idiots they used to be?"

"Ever the same."

"Man, I miss them."

"I recommend a visit. It's great there."

"Sounds fun, indeed." Fen was always a fan of the demon race.

"I lived with the demons there for a while, trained with them... Maybe ended up forming a fighting squad there. They learned really fast and were super into it. A couple, maybe ten or 15 years later, I left to explore the continent. I stayed here and there, but ultimately, I was just wandering around, finding a place for me... I was lost."

"Understandable."

"I've ended up spending most of my time fighting all sorts of strong monsters. Even without any memory, old habits die hard. They're really on an entirely different level there. Eventually, I ended up in the capital of the demon race. An incredible place. Huge, unlike anything else, and full of curious things and sights. I took it easy there for a good while, but they were slowly developing a bit of a dragon problem. It was awesome! Well, a big one of them managed to land a good hit on me, causing my memories to return. After that, once I gave that dragon a good smacking, I immediately headed back."

"What a story..." There was a slight hint of jealousy in his voice. Aside from the tragedy, he thought it sounded fun.

"Hehe. What about you, Fen? What did you do in all those years?"

"I have nothing of interest to tell. I've spent a couple of years in the area where you disappeared and-"

"You waited for me?" Aura sounded a tiny bit happy.

"Yeah, that, too... I wanted to make sure, after all. After that, I eventually left and studied magic as usual, but most of the time, I was simply bored. Also, occasionally pretty annoyed when those humans pestered me once again."

"Ahaha, you and your humans. Are they still such a pain?"

"Believe it or not, they're getting worse with each passing year."

"Seriously?!" Aura was shocked. "That you still haven't eradicated them..."

"Well, Sophia was about to do that not too long ago, but I still don't think they're worth the effort."

"Fair point. Sophia hates them, too, huh?"

"They have a bit of a history... and she has, uhh, anger issues from time to time."

"Really? She doesn't seem the type, though."

"She has a complex, very complex personality."

"Hmm? How did the two of you meet, anyway? It's quite an unusual paring, the two of you."

"That irregular powerhouse of a girl simply suddenly appeared right in front of me, and I decided to travel with her because I found her interesting. Her extraordinary powers really caught my curiosity. And I was right, Sophia's magic is unlike anything I ever witnessed before."

"Is she really that much of an exception? Sure, her raw power is slightly above yours, but... current me aside, there were some others that were stronger than you, right?"

"Sure... The ideas she has for magic are just surreal, though. I mean, she can effortlessly stop time! Ask her to show you a little of her original magics. You'll understand what I mean, then."

"Now I'm interested." Aura had gotten even more curious about the tiger-girl.

"Also, Sophia's magic power recovery is insane. She has no need to be reserved about her magic. Her maximum power is basically irrelevant."

"What do you mean?"

"My detection magic... How long can you use it before your power gets to a concerning level?"

"I've been using it a lot lately to search for you, Fen... The consumption got a lot better. I guess two hours of constant use before I feel uncomfortable about the remaining amount? Normally, I use it for a moment, run for a while, and start over."

"Two hours, huh? Not bad."

"Thanks. It sure is a costly magic. I usually only use the danger detection variant as a passive because that uses next to nothing. I mean there aren't many things dangerous to me or us, but it's a good feeling to be protected."

"Yeah, me too."

"So, what about the detection magic?"

"Sophia learned it from me a couple of months ago."

"Mh-hmm?"

"She hasn't turned it off since then."

"WHAT?!" Aura loudly cried out. "How's that possible?!"

"Her magic power recovery is so fast that she doesn't even notice the cost of the detection magic."

"N-No way..."

"One day, she had emptied out her entire power for some large-scale magic... It took her maybe two hours before it was full again."

"S-Seriously, how's that even possible?"

"She's a gifted one."

"It sure sounds like it."

"Yeah..."

The wolves chatted for a while longer, but Aura was bothered about something for some time already and just had to address it now.

"Say, Fen..."

"Hmm?"

"My memories might still be a little foggy, but were you always trying to look cute?"

"Eh, what do you mean?"

"The fur on your head. The pigtails and the beautiful flowers. It looks adorable, but I don't remember you wearing something like that ever before."

"What are you even talking about?" He was confused.

"Here." Aura created something similar to a mirror with magic and showed him his own reflection.

"Hmm...? W-What is that?!" For the first time since it happened, Fen noticed that the fur on his head was styled-up and decorated with many colorful flowers.

"You weren't the one who did it?"

"Of course not! Sophia! Where are you?! I'm going to kill you for sure now!" He got angry.

"I think I'll like that girl."

----------------

The two reunited with the couple, and Fen had a rather scary expression.

"Sophia!"

"Yes?" The tiger-girl faced him. "Welcome back."

"What did you do to my fur?!"

"Ah, you finally noticed? It's adorable, isn't it?"

"Absolutely." Aura agreed.

"It's not!"

"Even though I put so much effort into it..." Sophia started to pout.

"That's not the issue! I look like a fool!"

"You don't."

"I agree." The female wolf nodded her head.

"Me, too..." Even Maya had the same opinion.

"Uuh... You girls, stop screwing with me!"

"Ahaha!"

Fen and Sophia bickered some more, and the other two barely stopped them from using magic to bring their standpoint across at one point. Once everyone had calmed down, the group got together again. Aura wanted to get to know the couple better, especially after the male wolf talked so much about the ridiculous tiger-girl.