Sophia had shown off her invention of the hair straightening iron to the beauty and care store the group frequented. The girls there were very interested in the idea and decided that they wanted to experiment with it. If it’s usable, they even plan to license it. On the way back to their home, Ellie, together with Queen Kira, were already waiting at the gate to their mansion.

“So… phia! Maya!” Ellie let go of Kira’s hand and ran over to the approaching couple.

“Ellie~.” The two squatted down and waited for her to catch up to them.

“Yay!” The little princess jumped into their arms and hugged both of them at the same time.

“Ehehe.” Maya and Sophia happily returned the hug with a smile.

Once the three were done with their hearty greeting that included a lot of cuddles, the duo, with Ellie walking in the middle of them while holding their hands, walked over to the queen, who was still standing at the gate.

“My, isn’t that a lovely picture?” Kira looked at the trio.

“What brings you here?” Sophia tried to feign ignorance.

“I wonder.” The queen concentrated on the blonde’s head. “Why don’t you answer me, my dear tiger, with the perfectly smooth and straight hair?”

“I wouldn’t call it perfectly smooth, and nothing about me is straight, strictly speaking, but… I’m glad you like it~.”

“It’s true, you look great, especially the light color you’re getting, but that’s NOT the issue here!” She raised her voice.

“Ahaha…” Sophia awkwardly scratched her cheek. “It was worth a try... How about we head inside first? It’s quite cold and uncomfortable outside.”

“Yay!” Ellie was already looking forward to the heated floors.

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Once inside, the group went to the living room and got comfy on the sofas as they always do. Ellie also, once more, cuddled herself between the couple while the queen had a sofa all on her own.

“Mom gets lonely if you prefer those two so openly, you know?”

“Ellie’s okay with that.” The little princess rubbed her head against Maya’s arm while saying so.

“…” The couple didn’t know how to react, and the cat-girl’s eyes grew wide while Sophia had placed her hands over her mouth to keep herself from saying anything.

"A-Anyway…” Kira tried her best to ignore her daughter’s growing rebellious phase. “Why is your hair so much smoother, and why had my daughter also straight hair when she came home with her jaguar yesterday?”

“I knew there was no chance that Anna would be able to hide it…” The blonde hung her head.

“It was more of a coincidence. I ran into the two as they were loudly chatting while playing with each other’s hair. Their obvious fli-, I mean, those two are hard to overhear, after all.”

“I see… What did our princess tell you?”

“Hmm?” Ellie tilted her head.

“Not you, the big one.”

“Ohh!”

“Only that a crazy girl with the all-new and super blonde hair managed to best the wintery tiger curse of fluffy hair with yet another weird invention.”

“That doesn’t sound overly nice, does it?” Sophia looked at her cat.

“Not really, no.” Maya nodded.

“Ellie thinks so, too.” The little tiger nodded in the same rhythm. “Anna’s a bad girl.”

“Pfft!” The blonde was starting to become a fan of the rebellious princess. “She sure is~.”

“I won’t deny it, but can you really say that my oldest daughter’s wrong?”

“That’s a different topic entirely.” She decided not to answer.

“Alright, my dear crazy tiger, make my hair straight!” The playfulness in Kira’s voice was gone. It seemed to be a very serious topic for her.

“Just because I am crazy, it doesn’t mean that I have to hear it all the time!” Sophia got loud.

“And?” Kira ignored her complaints.

“It’s not complete yet. I’m okay with experimenting on Anna, but the queen is a different story.”

“Don’t worry, I am absolutely okay with that!”

“Well then…” Luckily, the blonde already had a plan B for this possibility. “I’ve left my invention with the beauty and care store that also makes our shampoo for tigers. They’re very interested in the product and want to experiment with it while making some improvements. You’ll have to go to them to see how it’s going.”

“Is that so? That’s great!” Kira started smiling.

“Why…?”

“Because you’re a tough nut to crack. The girls from the store, though, they’re much easier to deal with.”

“I see… Please don’t be too harsh on them. I don’t really know them yet, but Sarah and… and… uhh…”

“Debby.” Maya helped her out.

“Sarah and Debby, yeah.” As usual, the blonde was useless when it came to any sort of names. “The two seem really nice…”

“You’re the one who pushed the queen onto them, though.” The cat-girl was only helpful for a limited amount of time each day.

“Shush!”

“Hehe.” She grinned at her.

“Don’t worry, I like them, too.” Kira reassured her. “I owe them a lot for all the shampoos and conditioners and all the other care products they’re making for us. I’ll gently talk them into helping me.”

“Maya, can we bring some sweets with us the next time we visit the two? I feel a little bad now for pushing it all to them.” Sophia had her doubts about the queen being gentle with them.

“Let’s bake some of these chocolate-chip cookies you made with Ari the other day.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that!”

“Ellie wants some, too!” The little tiger managed to stay out of their conversation until now, but she couldn’t remain silent on this topic.

“Of course, we’ll make some extra just for you.” The cat-girl patted her head while saying so.

“Yay!” The princess liked the sound of that. “Ellie wants to help!”

“Sure, but there’s a condition for that.” Sophia looked at her.

“Eh?” She didn’t like that, though.

“Once you get home again, you have to play with your mom for the rest of the day.” The blonde enjoyed her being rebellious earlier, but she wanted to help out Kira, too.

“Really…?” The little tiger wasn’t sure how to feel about this idea. “Why?”

“Because she loves you and wants to play with you.”

“But Ellie wants to play with So… phia and Maya!”

“And we’re happy about that.” The blonde petted her head. “But my cat and I would be sad if you don’t spend time with your mom because of us. Your mother has to be your number one, you know? It’s fun to play with her, isn’t it?”

“Yes!” The princess nodded. “Playing cards was very fun!”

“Good.”

“Does Ellie have to play with daddy, too…?”

“Nah, that’s fine.”

“Yay!”

“Pfft!” Sophia wasn’t planning to stop being a source of trouble and headaches for the king anytime soon.

“Ahaha…” Kira wasn’t sure what she should say here. The queen was pretty happy that she was on her side, though.

“Does So… phia play with her mama, too…?”

“Uhh…” The blonde froze up. “That’s… I’d like to… I really would, but… Unfortunately, I don’t have a mom to play with anymore…”

“…” Maya and the queen didn’t know what to say and just looked concerned.

“Oh.” The princess looked down. “Ellie will take the place of your mama, then! Ellie will play lots with you instead!”

“…” Everyone turned silent, and the two taller girls looked at Sophia with a worried expression.

“Thank you…” The blonde needed a moment and eventually tightly hugged the little tiger. “That’s really sweet of you… and I’ll definitely play a ton with you, but that’s unfortunately not how it works, you know? I could, at best, your mom… You still have many years ahead of you before that might become relevant for you. Also, while I’m happy, would you like for someone else to take the place of your mom…?”

“No!” The little tiger rapidly shook her head. "A-Ah! Ellie’s very sorry!”

“There’s no need to apologize, don’t worry. You’re the cutest, and I’m sooo happy you like me this much!” She hugged her even tighter while saying so.

“Ehehe.”

“…” Kira and Maya only looked at each other before the cat-girl also gave the duo a little squeeze.

The royal tigers stayed with the couple for a little longer but eventually decided to head out again. Kira had no plans to go back to the castle, though. Grabbing her daughter's hand, the two went straight to the beauty and care store.

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“Poor Debby and… and… uhh…” Sophia waved after them at the gate while watching them walk towards the shopping district.

“Sarah.”

“Right…”

“You knew her name earlier…” Maya shook her head. “Should we get you checked?”

“I’m just not good with names! Never have been, never will be.”

“Why didn’t your memory for names get boosted, as well?”

“I actually think it got worse since coming here~.”

“Did he boost you in the wrong direction?”

“Probably.”

“You’re just using Canir as an excuse right now, aren’t you?”

“Maybe~.” Sophia was feeling playful. “I always had a bad memory for names, though.”

“Such a dork~.” Maya looked at her with a warm expression.

“Hehe.”

The two went back inside afterward and promptly ran into the wolves on the way. Deciding to relax in the warm living room together for a while, the four felt like catching up a bit because they hadn’t seen each other that much lately. Sophia and Maya were busy with the inhabitants of the castle and inventing things lately, while the wolves were doing wolf things. Building a maze, for example, among other things.