Having reached her friend’s residence, Maya was now in front of a large house that was bigger than the surrounding buildings which were built away from it. The walls were covered in green ivy, several trees grew around it and the backyard was a needlessly huge field of grass.

Standing in front of the opened door, she was greeted by a light green-eyed woman of similar age. Her long reddish brown hair was wavy and frizzy at the ends from lack of maintenance. Wearing something akin to black shorts and a black tank top that exposed her navel, her well-trained figure was shown.

Just like Maya, it was the body of an athlete that didn’t have an excess of muscles, but exuded vitality. Furthermore, it was covered in reddish orange fur with black stripes and the part from her stomach to her neck as well as the area around her eyes were white. There were also horizontal stripes on her cheeks which accentuated her wild look. Two tiger ears twitched on top of her head and her slim reddish orange tail that was black at the tip waved about slightly.

“Suky-augh!” [Maya]

When Maya said her friend’s name and raised her hand to greet her, she got punched in the stomach. It was a wonderful right straight that came out of nowhere. The moment she felt the pain, a wave of nostalgia attacked her.

“Where have you been?!” [Suky]

Suky retracted her fist, grabbed her back and pulled her in a tight embrace. Maya could tell that she had greatly worried her and returned her hug. This violent woman often resorted to her fists, but still had a good heart. She was the only friend she had in this city.

The two of them moved into the house to continue their conversation. Inside, there were very few furniture in the rooms to give space to the residents since it wasn’t just Suky living here. However, her roommates weren’t beastmen, but animals.

Birds, dogs, cats, rabbits and more were either sleeping in a corner or running around. There was even a tiger that was lazily taking a nap by the window to bask in the sun. A pack of grey and white puppies ran between Maya’s legs before disappearing in the next room. Trailing behind the group was a red and white puppy that was chasing after its siblings.

“You’re still housing so many pets.” [Maya]

“Yeah, well, I don’t have a man around the house. These guys can keep me company.” [Suky]

“Who takes care of them when you’re away?” [Maya]

Maya asked as she sat down at a table while Suky went to get drinks.

“These guys are smart. I just need to leave food for them. I had some trouble training them to not do their business anywhere they wanted though.” [Suky]

Suky said as she brought back two glasses of water and sat across the former Catallard.

“You haven’t found anyone yet?” [Maya]

“There’s just no good man around here. Every year, mating season keeps letting me down.” [Suky]

The woman whose skin was covered with fur sighed exasperatedly. She couldn’t find anyone that fancied her taste and those she got together with quickly became boring later on. As such, she resorted to the company of animals to soothe her lonely heart.

“But enough about me. That’s not what’s important here.” [Suky]

Suky stared at the friend that she made during one of her adventures. Although she mellowed with age, she was wild and bold during her youth. So, unable to resist her youthful temptation, she trespassed into the Catallard’s property and saw Maya training by herself in their backyard. That was how they met and how their unlikely friendship started.

“When your folks formally kicked you out, I thought you would go to the next city and start a new life there. But instead, you told me you were going to go on a journey by yourself.” [Suky]

By the way, Suky ended up getting caught and was prohibited from coming near their home ever again. But, she still continued to sneak in without anyone noticing to pay visits to Maya. Her skills couldn’t be underestimated. However, there was no way no one in that family of warriors noticed her presence.

“The king already said it yesterday when the Elkinds returned, but I want to hear it from you. Where did you go that you even had to keep it a secret from me?” [Suky]

Suky asked as she stared straight into Maya’s eyes.

“I went to human territory.” [Maya]

“… That so?” [Suky]

Hearing her answer, the tiger girl slowly closed her eyes. It was just as she expected since the whole city was told that Myra and Snow came back from human territory. Even so, her eyebrow twitched and her expression was morphing from calmness to anger.

“You went… All the way… To HUMAN LANDS?!” [Suky]

She yelled with her tail standing straight up.

“You were exiled from this city only! You could have lived anywhere else, so why the hell did you go there! We’re not even near their borders, damn it! You said you’d send me words when you settled down, but when would that be?! How the hell was I supposed to go visit you?! And that collar!” [Suky]

She leaned over the table and glared at the black collar made of carbon fiber around Maya’s neck.

“The whole city’s talking about how you came back as a slave! Did you get the slave curse applied on you too?! Who the hell got you?!” [Suky]

Suky reeled back her shaking fist and sent it flying at the dark blue-haired woman’s shoulder. However, instead of hitting it, her hand was caught and held in place. She stared at Maya with surprise visibly on her face.

“It’s alright now, Suky.” [Maya]

The slave said with a gentle expression.

“I’m alright now.” [Maya]

This friend of hers that used to think about nothing except getting stronger and that she forced to at least learn the humankin language stopped her attack. This friend that would become meek around her family and always had a shadow cast over eyes was showing her such a carefree smile.

“Maya…? What happened?” [Suky]

This friend never tried to stop her punches and would take them with a troubled smile.

“I lied when I said I would go on a journey. I just wanted to get as far away from here as possible… I was running away.” [Maya]

Maya let go of Suky’s hand and grabbed her glass of water.

“Things didn’t always go well, but I somehow got by since I listened to you and learned humankin language. It… Also went really bad one time, but it was then that I met him.” [Maya]

She raised her glass as if she wanted to propose a toast and with her free hand, she pointed at her collar.

“I met my master. I met a man ‘good enough for me’ like you would say~.” [Maya]

Maya said teasingly and grinned at the reddish brown-haired woman. From hearing her voice and seeing her expression, Suky finally noticed how much her friend had changed over the months she hadn’t seen her. In the end, once she calmed down, the former Catallard told her everything that happened to her.

She told her how her journey went, how she was assaulted by bandits, how a man called Ryner saved her and how she gave her heart and body to him. Of course, she kept some facts secrets to not cause her master any inconvenience. But, other than that, she informed her only friend of all the events that led her back to Ofauvra.

“Sounds like you had quite the trip.” [Suky]

Suky said as she drank from her glass. Halfway through, the two had switched their water for alcohol. This was another part of Maya that was new to her: she was a heavy drinker. The young woman with a nice coat of fur showed various emotions. Sometimes she would be enraged, sometimes she would be shocked and sometimes she would be happy as she listened to Maya’s story.

“But you were too soft. Instead of butchering those bandits with a dagger, you should have used your bare hands to rip their flesh apart and-.” [Suky]

“It’s fine now~. You don’t need to keep minding it.” [Maya]

Maya interrupted the tiger woman who was seething with rage in her easygoing manner.

“How is that fine? They deserved ten thousand deaths.” [Suky]

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have killed them so quickly, but it’s the day I met Master… And I had him take care of me during mating season…” [Maya]

“Oh yeah. How was it? Did he treat you properly?” [Suky]

“Imagine being twenty five years old and spending your mating season with someone incredible.” [Maya]

“Was he that amazing?” [Suky]

“There was one time that I lost consciousness~.” [Maya]

“Seriously? What did he do?” [Suky]

Before anyone knew it, the conversation rapidly derailed and turned into one about adultery. The two’s moving and happy reunion was over. The serious topic on Maya’s adventure was done with and they moved on to talk about her lustful nights with Ryner.

“What was it like?” [Suky]

“Mhh, not really big, but not really small either. It’s just right~.” [Maya]

“Personally, bigger is better when it comes to the tool.” [Suky]

“That’s just because you haven’t seen how Master uses it.” [Maya]

In this house filled with animals, Maya was happily describing what she did or what was done to her while Suky listened to her with great interest. If the animals that were present actually cared, they would see these two as nothing more than perverts.

“Looks like you bagged yourself a good one.” [Suky]

“I know~.” [Maya]

“Are you ok with sharing him? What was that other woman’s name? Evelyn?” [Suky]

“It’s alright. Evelyn’s completely head over heels for Master, but she knows how to share~.” [Maya]

“Damn, this Ryner’s a lucky guy.” [Suky]

Eventually, once Maya was done boasting, the two spent some time talking about anything and sipped on their liquor. When she was exiled, Maya was given one day to prepare her things for departure and she had stayed at Suky’s place until she had to leave. As such, this was the second time they spent so much time together.

“Remember when I used to sneak into your backyard and we’d talked until I had to leave?” [Suky]

“I’m surprised you haven’t been caught yet.” [Maya]

“Haha, I know. But, I always cross over the wall and walk around the rich guys’ place without anyone noticing.” [Suky]

“I’m worried for our security~.” [Maya]

Their talk continued for hours and Maya ended up staying for lunch. Once their meal was finished and they talked for a bit more, the fur-covered beastman saw her off at the front door.

“Introduce me to the man you fell for next time.” [Suky]

“Sure~.” [Maya]

They then parted ways on a happy note since they could see each other again anytime they wanted now that she was no longer exiled. With the gift Suky gave her in hands, the former Catallard went to her next destination.

“Next!” [Arka]

Shouting vigorously, Arka asked for his next opponent to step forward after knocking down the last one. He was fighting in his family’s training room against a group of people that were from the branch family. Each time he defeated one, the next person who was waiting by the wall would quickly attack him.

He grabbed the man’s wrist and repeatedly hammered his fist into his stomach until he finally fell on his back.

“Next!” [Arka]

With his words, another challenger appeared and bravely charged straight at him. Arka met his attack head-on and pushed him back with brute strength. He then unleashed a series of punches and kicks to defeat him.

“Next!” [Arka]

The new opponent tried to hit the side of his face with a roundhouse kick, but the firstborn of the Catallard dodged it by stepping back. With his foe wide open for an attack, he delivered a straight kick to his chest. The man stumbled backwards from the impact and Arka followed up with a few heavy punches to his face.

“Next!” [Arka]

The woman sent a kick to his side, but Arka endured the blow and caught her leg. Without wasting a second, he flung her against the wall and chased after her. He didn’t give her a moment of respite and ferociously continued to press on the attack.

“Next!” [Arka]

These sparring matches had been going on since the early morning. Although he was badly injured yesterday, healing potions were used to get him back on his feet right away. The Catallard clan’s pockets were deep, so they could easily afford these expensive items for him. Ever since he lost to Maya, Arka had doubled the efforts he put into his training and single-mindedly aimed for more strength.

It came as a huge shock for him and he looked like his soul left him. However, thanks to his two wives cheering him up, he stopped rejecting the truth and trained himself intensely. Still, the truth was truly hard to accept. His little sister’s hand-to-hand combat skills weren’t half-bad, but they weren’t better than his.

He was confident he would win and he was winning at the beginning. Yet, after that human interfered, she used techniques he wasn’t familiar with, showed more experience in fighting than he remembered and actually withstood his punch fueled with mana. That last scene pretty much caused everyone’s jaw to drop to the floor.

After all, without the mana pool needed to elevate her strength to S rank, something like that was utterly impossible for Maya. However, there was no way for anyone to increase the amount of mana their body possessed. As such, his last attack should have sent her flying. Could it be that that she was hiding her true abilities all along?

“Tch!” [Arka]

Arka clicked his tongue in irritation from remembering his loss and got punched because he was distracted. His opponent tried to follow up with more attacks, but he didn’t get the chance. The dark blue-haired man didn’t stay in a daze from getting hit and reacted instantly. He defended against his strikes and threw in his own.

“(Like a cardivore. Be quick and ruthless. Strong and fast.)” [Arka]

Despite being in a fight, he was repeating this to himself in his head. After his father, he was the strongest. The Catallard’s fighting style involved attacking the opponent before he could react and taking him out with quick and powerful blows. In short, it focused more on offense than defense. The idea was to be like the cardivore that agilely pounced on its prey and ripped its throat out. That was what Arka was. He was fast, strong and ferocious like a predator. Yet, he still lost to that little sister.

“(Damn it!)” [Arka]

Although there was no way he would admit it because of his pride, part of him already acknowledged her strength. After all, he was a warrior from the Catallard clan and having fought her himself, he knew that she was strong. He didn’t know what happened to her, but Maya was no longer someone he could look down on.

“Young master.” [???]

Among the sounds of impacts and spirited shouts, the calm voice of a man was heard in the training room. Both Arka and his opponent stopped fighting right away. Arka looked at the person that called out to him and as expected, it was an old man with white hair. He was the head of the branch family and knew him since he was a baby. In fact, this old man was the only one that called him “young master”.

“What is it?” [Arka]

Arka asked as he breathed deeply to catch his breath. His body was soaked with sweat and a few bruises on his face could be seen. After bowing respectfully, the old man told him one thing.

“Your little sister has come to visit.” [Old man]