Sophia had cooked her first complex dish under the instruction of Ari, and it worked out rather well. She actually managed to cook up something edible. Not only that, but the jaguar also even liked it. It was a little too spicy for her, and the shrimps were ever so slightly overcooked, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a little more training.

While the two were finishing up, the tiger then suddenly noticed that Maya was coming home while bringing the princess along with her. This caused Sophia to panic, and the two quickly started cleaning up the kitchen to hide any evidence of what was going on. The cooking training was supposed to be a surprise, after all.

“Haa…” Sophia let out an exhausted sigh as she looked over the kitchen that seemed like new. Not a single hint of them having cooked was left. “We’ve made it~…”

“Technically speaking, sure…” Ari awkwardly scratched her cheek. “Though, I wouldn’t necessarily call throwing all the trash and everything in your storage cleaning up. Also, you need to teach me that magic you used to get rid of the smell in the air!”

“Hehe~. Also, the kitchen’s clean, right?”

“Well… yeah.” She couldn’t argue with the result.

“That’s all that counts for now. I’ll deal with the stuff in my storage later.”

“Will you?” The jaguar only looked at her.

“Probably.”

“It’s nice how honest you are. I love how Anna’s the same, but that’s not the right answer, you know?”

“Okay… I’ll properly clean up in there once I have the time…”

“Good.” She looked satisfied. “Although, I hope you’re not like Anna in that regard, too. She often says she’ll do what she promised but still, let’s say… forgets about it. With your storage, I can’t even check.”

“You can, though.” Sophia corrected her. “You can go inside the storage.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. When we installed the heated floors, I placed everything inside the mansion into the storage. It was a perfect copy, and I suggested to Maya to live in there. She didn’t seem to like the idea for some reason, though…”

“Imagine both of you would be so unhinged…” The jaguar shuddered while thinking about it.

“Ahaha…” The tiger couldn’t add anything to that. “A-Anyway, we still need to think about what to say when they ask us what we did all day…”

“How about you showed and explained to me how the heated floors work, and then we relaxed because the warmth’s so amazing? It’s true, we did do that. No need to mention that it only was for half an hour or so.” Ari came up with a handy excuse in an instant.

“To the living room we go!” Sophia liked the idea.

“Rid of the shoes we get, too!” The jaguar was looking forward to feeling the warmth directly again. “It feels way better that way!”

“Why do you think I’ve been running around barefoot all the time~?” She looked down at her feet.

“So envious… Still doing that in a different home is kinda…”

“There’s no reason for you to mind such things. Go wild~.”

“T-Thank you… Enticing, but I feel a little naked without my tights. Not to mention that the normal ones tear way too easily, so I should limit the amounts I put them on and off. The ticker ones are way more durable, and I might come back to the offer when I wear those.”

“Sure, makes sense. Wait, what about the feeling naked without them part?”

“If I have to strip for the greater good in your home, then so be it.” Ari liked the heated floors very much. “I actually really have to totally strip… My tights are quite high and even cover most of my stomach, so I have to take off my skirt and pull up my shirt…”

“I agree with your passion, but don’t ever say that again before Maya and Anna know the context behind it.”

“A-Ah…” She noticed the issue her words could bring.

The duo kept chatting for a little longer until the front door of the mansion finally opened, announcing the arrival of the other two girls.

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

“I’m home~.” Maya’s voice energetically echoed through the entrance hall.

“Hello!” It was directly followed by the equally loud voice of Princess Anna.

“Welcome back~!” Sophia greeted them. “We’re in the living room!”

Joining the duo in the living room, Maya sat down next to the blonde on the sofa while Anna got close to Ari instead.

“Did the two of you behave yourself?” The cat-girl glanced at the duo.

“Always!”

“We did.”

“Nothing flirty happened?!” The princess focused her attention on the jaguar. “Wait, why aren’t you wearing your shoes, Ari?”

“Ahh…” She wasn’t sure what to say.

“Take off yours, as well, Anna.” Sophia urged her to follow suit. “You’ll like it~.”

“Hmm? Well, sure, I guess.” She had no reason not to do it and slipped out of them. “Eh?!” The moment her feet touched the ground after she got rid of her shoes, her expression changed.

“Great, isn’t it?” Maya had done the same and looked at the princess with a comfy expression instead.

“W-Why is it warm…?” Anna also placed a hand on the ground to verify it. “It’s super toasty! Why?!”

“Amazing, right?” Ari also smiled at her. “The floors in this mansion are heated.”

“What?!” Anna got loud. “W-Why is this mansion better equipped than the royal castle?! Well, it’s a royal mansion, but still! Alright, forget about the castle! Maya, Sophia, do you have an empty room for me? I’m going to live here until at least spring!”

“Ahaha, someone likes it, huh?” The blonde liked her reaction.

“It’s the best thing in existence! Heated floors? Perfect warmth everywhere? Warm and cozy feet?! Heck, I would take a nap on a floor this comfy!”

“I totally understand how you feel…” Maya and Ari had the same reply.

“Glad you like it. No, the mansion didn’t come with those heated floors.” Sophia corrected her. “I invented and installed those here.”

“Huh?! Seriously?!” The princess got even louder. “Are you a genius?!”

“I have my moments, but overall, also according to others, I’m more of an idiot~.”

“Nonono! If you invented those floors, you’re the smartest genius in history!”

“Hear that, Maya?” She looked at her cat while trying to suppress a grin.

“Shut up… Also, when it comes to this invention, I 100% agree with the princess.”

“Me, too!” The jaguar also chimed in.

“Hehe, but wow, my heated floors sure are popular with cats, huh? Well, and wolves.”

“Can you blame us?!” All three girls retorted.

“Not at all. I’m often referred to as the most cat-, or feline-like, after all, so… Why do you think I came up with this~? There’s nothing that beats a cozy warm home.”

“Yes!” Everyone agreed.

“Sophia!” Anna suddenly stared straight at her.

“Yes?” She already had a feeling about what was coming next.

“I want that in my room, as well!”

“Your new room here or the one in the castle?” The blonde wanted to play a bit.

“I’ll gladly take the room, but I meant in the castle! Ari’s room should get it, too. No! The whole castle has to be equipped with it!”

“Ahaha…” She started laughing again. “You take a room here, huh? Sure, we have enough. Ari actually started negotiating with me about the heated floors, as well. She needs to have it, too.”

“Good going!” Anna liked the jaguar’s priorities.

“I talked about it with the king already, and Kira’s coming to visit us to evaluate my invention. If she likes it, there should be a high possibility of the heated floors finding their way into the castle.”

“Mother’s the one who’s going to decide on it?! Perfect! She complains about the cold even more than I do! We’ll be so comfy during the winter! Thank you so much, Sophia!”

“Yes, even I am looking forward to the cold months now.” Ari had the same smile as the princess.

“Are there even cold spots in the castle?” While Maya could understand, and even shared their passion for it, she still found it odd that they wanted it so much in the royal castle.

“The high ceiling in every room makes it a pain to heat anything because the warmth just vanishes as it goes up!”

“The floors are also made of stone and marble everywhere! Even if you manage to heat up the rooms, your feet are still freezing wherever you go!” The duo from the castle apparently had a lot to complain about their home.

“I-I see…” The cat-girl had nothing to reply to here.

“How does it even work?” Anna had left the sofa by now and was using both her hands to feel the ground. She also spotted the big and fluffy-looking sheepskin rug and audibly gulped before looking away again. “T-The warmth is amazing.”

“I saw you glancing at the rug. I can confidently say that it is even comfier than you could possibly imagine.” Sophia had to use this chance.

“D-Don’t tempt me like that!” Her face turned slightly red. “I-I’m not a little kid that would like to take a nap on something like t-that!”

“She’s right, though. It is extremely comfy.” Maya sided with her tiger.

“Even you?!”

“Anna…” Ari suddenly sighed. “How often did I catch you taking a nap on the rugs in front of various fireplaces in the castle during the winter months already?”

“A-Ah!” Her face turned even redder. “D-Don’t tell them that! A-Also, that was ages ago!”

“Yep, it’s almost been half a year since the last time in spring.”

“A-Ari!”

“Ehehe.”

“Don’t laugh! Also, how often did you join in when you found me?!”

“Ah.” The jaguar hadn’t thought about the possibility of a reversal. “You wanted to know how the heated floors work, right? Sophia, could you explain it again?” She decided to change the topic.

“Sure~.” Quietly hoping that Ari would eventually teach her the art of changing a topic so smoothly, Sophia then roughly explained how her invention works to the princess without going into detail. Afterward, the girls chatted for a while longer while relaxing in the living room while every single cat had a blissful expression on their face.