Maya and Sophia finally went to the academy that Anna and Ari attend to check it out and help Eluna introduce the new way of using magic to the public. While all this was going on, Fen and Aura stayed at their home because they obviously had no intention to join them.

“I still don’t get why our cats are attending school now…” During the morning hours, while the couple was gone, the wolves were relaxing on the sheepskin rug in the warm living room of the group’s mansion when Fen wondered about this.

“They plan to assist in teaching the updated ways of using magic where elements are of no actual importance, right?” Aura tried to answer his question.

“Yes…” He paused for a moment. “Is there a need for them to actually attend the academy, though? Can’t they just go and visit the place together with… Eluna, was it? They’re not teaching magic all day, every day there, do they?”

“Hah… Good point.” The female wolf didn’t know what to say. “Well, our cats rarely go for the easy solution, do they?”

“True.” This was an answer Fen could easily accept.

“Well, they’re also all basically the same age, so I guess our girls wanted to have some relaxing fun, too.”

“Yes. From what I heard, Sophia’s experiences with school in her previous life weren’t the best ones, either. This time, she should end up with some better memories. She grew a lot since coming to this world.”

“Daddy Fenny~.” Aura liked how much he cared about her. “I wonder if it’ll be good memories for Maya, too. Our blondie’s quite popular, after all.”

“S-Shut up…” He didn’t like being treated like that, though. “Also, if anything, I fear for the school memories of everyone else attending the academy in that regard.”

“Ah.” The female wolf paused for a moment while thinking about Maya’s personality. “Good point. Alright, enough of our ferocious girl, and her tiger. Anything you want to do today?”

“Hmm…” Fen gave it some thought. “I kinda want to visit the foxes again, but do I want to run all the way there? It’s two hours away, after all…” He sounded a little tired.

“Sophia really needs to teach us how her portals work already!”

“Yeah…” He nodded. “That would require for her to know what she’s doing, though.”

“Why is she so like… her?”

“Questions that will forever remain unanswered.”

“What else could we do?” Aura also tried to come up with something. “The maze?”

“Hmm…” He didn’t sound overly convinced.

“Yeah, I don’t feel like doing that today, either…”

“We’re having a lazy day, huh?” Fen placed his head on his paws to relax while shifting his body around on the sheepskin rug a bit.

“Seems like it.” Aura did the same while also cuddling closer to him. “The heated floors are dangerous, aren’t they?”

“Yes.” The male wolf didn’t even feel like playing indifferent about it anymore.

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A few hours had passed since the wolves had their little conversation. Afterward, the two fell asleep on the sheepskin rug together, and it had become noon before they even noticed.

“Haa…” While letting out a sigh, Aura got up from the floor while stretching her body in the process.

“Yes...” Fen copied her movement by raising his hind legs first while also stretching his back before doing the same with his front legs.

“Were we always this homely…?” She still sounded a bit sleepy as she looked around.

“I blame Sophia.” The male wolf had a handy excuse ready.

“Poor girl. Always being blamed for everything.”

“What?” He eyed her. “You’ve met her much later than I did, and yet you also became much more relaxed already.”

“Damn you, Sophia!” She played along.

“Hehe.” Fen chuckled before continuing. “I know that I said that we’re having a lazy day, but I feel like moving after our nap earlier, after all…”

“I agree.” The female wolf felt the same. “Any suggestions?”

“It seems like the sun’s having a good day. It’s much warmer compared to this morning, where it was almost freezing.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe our cats actually left the house in this cold.”

“Anyway, I could do with lunch right about now.”

“I like that idea.”

“Great!” Fen sounded happy about getting some food. “After that, how about we use the good weather and travel to the foxes, after all? We should reach them somewhere in the afternoon.”

“Right on time to get ready for a drink, huh?” Aura saw right through his motivation.

“Well, if that’s what you want to do, I’ll gladly accompany you~.”

“What a dork.”

“You can blame Sophia for that.”

“Sure~.” It didn’t sound like she believed him. “There are a ton of bars in the capital, though. It would be much easier to get a drink here.”

“I like the atmosphere in the elven village, though. The foxes are a great company, too.”

“Fair point.” She agreed. “It was a lot of fun the last time. Alright, let’s get something to eat, and then we get moving.”

“I like that idea.”

After the duo agreed on a plan for the rest of their day, they got ready and left the mansion. Once they had lunch together, the two left the capital and made their way towards the elven village that a group of fox beastpeople took over. The same place that the wolves found a little while ago when they were exploring the lands around the capital.

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Two hours had passed since the duo left the capital and had just arrived at the outskirts of a vast and overgrown forest.

“They really need a better entrance to the village…” Aura looked at the sea of trees while trying to remember which path they took the last time.

“I think we entered the place more south from here.”

“Right, we didn’t come straight from the capital back then, didn’t we?” She remembered that the two were just walking around when they found the village, rather than going in the exact direction of it.

“Alright, let’s head south.”

“We could also make out own path.” The female wolf glanced at the trees again. “Five minutes, and we’re there. If we take our time, that is.”

“Hmm…” He paused for a moment. “No, it’s not our home, so we shouldn’t mess with it. Also, it’s not like the detour would take us longer than those five minutes, either. If we take our time, that is.”

“Hehe.” Aura liked his answer.

Walking around and navigating through the forest for a few minutes, the wolves reduced their sizes again and eventually arrived at the former elven village. It was carved right into the dense forest and absolutely impossible to spot at a glance without actually searching for it. Every building was made entirely of wood, and some houses were even built into or on top of the trees in the area, making them completely blend in with the vicinity.

“Fen, Aura!” A middle-aged man with dark-brown hair, longer and pointy, fox-like ears on his head, and a relatively bushy tail coming out his rear, noticed the wolves and greeted them.

“Alex!” Fen looked at him. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Hey.” Aura also greeted the fox-man.

“What brings the two of you here again? You said you’re from the capital, right? Isn’t our place a bit far for a date?”

“T-That’s…” The male wolf wasn’t sure what to say.

“The atmosphere here’s much better for it, though.” Aura, on the other hand, had a reply ready.

“Hehe.” Alex liked her answer.

“Your alcohol’s great, too.” Fen tried to change the topic.

“Ahh~.” The fox started smiling. “Yep, we’re quite proud of our homebrew.”

“It’s one of the best!”

“Happy to hear. Still, it’s a bit early for getting drunk, is it not? The bar isn’t even open yet.”

“Not what I wanted to hear.” The male wolf hung his head in response.

“How about we explore a bit for the time being? I’ve always been a fan of the elven design. The one-with-the-nature aspect is so homely, after all. Something I like even more lately.”

“Ah, we went full circle today, huh?” Fen noticed that this topic came up the second time already.

“Stupid Sophia!”

“Ahaha.”

“Anyway, once you’re done with your flirting, feel free to explore the village. I don’t find it that exciting anymore because I have lived here for a long time already. Still, it is indeed interesting to look at.”

“We weren’t-“

“By the way,” Aura interrupted her wolf. “The nice fox-girl from the other time we visited… uhh… Chloe, was it? Is she around?”

“Chloe, huh?” Alex tilted his head. “I think she left the village around noon. She should be back in the evening, though.”

“Aww, that’s too bad.” The female wolf sounded disappointed. “She had such a soothing personality and feeling around her. I bet it would’ve been great to have her as a guide.”

“Hmm…” The fox-man tilted his head. “Chloe’s usually traveling a lot with her companion and isn’t here all that often. I doubt she would be that good of a guide.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Her companion’s currently on a mission or something like that. I don’t really know what is going on… Anyway, she’s only recently started staying here for longer than a week at a time.”

“A partner on a mission, huh?” Fen’s interest was piqued.

“Let’s have a drink with her in the evening and see what’s going on~.” Aura, too, looked forward to hearing a story. “Anyway, thanks, Alex.” She looked at the fox-man. “We’ll have a look around.”

“We’ll see you in the bar tonight, yes?” Fen also faced him.

“Of course! Well, have fun on your date for the time being, you two.” He waved at the duo before leaving.

“Thanks!” Aura gave him a cheerful reply.

“…” Fen didn’t.

A little while later, the wolves started wandering around in the former elven village together to look for anything interesting to kill time until the bar opened.