Sophia met with King Menzor and told him all about how she felt about him throwing a tantrum over his daughter having done what she did. Having threatened multiple times to literally kick him out of the castle while gesturing at the window behind them if he didn't stop, Menzor eventually started caving in. Sophia gave him many tips to get over it. Together with admitting that she's responsible for the gigantic lake in the area where the king planned to create an outpost for which no one had an explanation, to further distract him from being awkward.

"Did you know that female same-sex couples can only have children of the same biological gender, too? Meaning, if we have kids, it will definitely be a daughter." After Sophia had parted with the king, she reunited with Maya, who was waiting for her already, and started telling her about the topics she had chatted with Ari's mother beforehand.

“R-Really…?” Maya’s face immediately turned a little red because she wasn’t expecting for this topic to come up. “Well, I did notice that all the same-sex couples I met so far had the same type of children, but I haven't given it much thought. I mean, it wouldn’t be impossible for it to be a coincidence.”

“Yup.” She nodded. “Well, to be honest… I’m not sure how you feel about it, but I’m actually a tiny little bit happy about it. I would’ve preferred a daughter, anyway.”

“M-Me, too… I would have no idea how to raise a boy… The bond between mother and daughter normally is tighter, too… And I would like that…”

“Yes!” The blonde felt the same.

“Did she tell you anything else about the blessing magic?” Though still embarrassed, the cat-girl had gotten curious about it. “I know that it is a thing and what the purpose is, but I never looked that deeply into it before..."

“I asked her about everything she knew~. I was super surprised about how it actually works in detail!”

“Why…?”

"Male couples aside, it's basically completely natural for us.”

“That means…?

“The mother that gives birth to the child has a 100% normal pregnancy. She even gets pregnant without any extras.”

“E-Eh?” Maya tilted her head. "I thought blessing magic is… magic? Like, we mix our magics together, which is the basis for our child when it grows in either of our wombs?"

“That's more or less how it works for male couples and a surrogate mother."

“Ohh…” She sounded impressed. “What about us girls, then?”

“Each of us has to do a different chant for the blessing. For example, you have to do something that turns your magic into something that roughly has the properties of sperm in terms of the information about you it carries, and I have to use the magic merely to accept it... or rather, you. Once it enters me, everything happens as if the information came from a man in the biological way.”

“S-Seriously?!”

“I had the same reaction…”

“That is… That is amazing in one way or another. I knew the child is completely normal in the biological sense, but I had no idea it's that natural.”

“Yes…”

“Wait, how does my information enter you…?" Maya's expression suddenly turned complicated. "How does it... I get inside of you...?"

"In the traditional way of the magic, you, uhh… simply place your hand on my stomach, and we both do our parts of the chant."

“Really?” She tilted her head and then placed her hand on Sophia’s lower abdomen before she gently pressed on it with her fingers. "L-Like this…?" She had touched her tiger many times before, but something about this made her a little nervous.

“P-Pretty much…” The blonde’s face, too, was turning redder with each passing moment.

“H-Has she told you the chants…?” She was still touching Sophia’s stomach when she asked that question.

“…” The tiger’s expression finally had lost its remaining composure, and her blush surpassed any level of embarrassment she had shown on her face in the past. "N-No… No, she… she h-has not.”

“I see…” While her blush wasn't any less intense, the cat-girl still had her hand gently placed on Sophia's lower abdomen, right where her uterus would be inside.

“Y-You are scaring me a l-little right now…” Unable to bear it any longer, Sophia took a step away from her to prevent her face from lighting on fire. Although, the moment she touched her stomach with her own hand in the place Maya was touching, her blush only worsened.

"A-Ah, sorry about that…" The cat-girl glanced at her hand for a moment before looking at the blonde. “I, uhh… I just felt like doing it…”

“T-That’s not something you just do!” The tiger got loud.

“Yes… It made me curious, and my body kinda acted on its own…”

“Bad body!”

"M-More importantly…" Maya then focused her attention on Sophia’s bright red first. “Why are you blushing more than back when we first met, and I clung to your arm…? You were the one who was able to deal with the whole c-children and blessing magic stuff with ease before! I always turned into a mess there.”

“I-I don’t know…” She took a small break. “Daria telling me that it’s so natural for us… and just how easy it to use… N-Not to mention that she’s the mother of Ari, the proof that it works… Then, you a-actually putting your hand on my stomach while I was telling you about it… It… It…”

"It finally started feeling real for you…?"

“…” Sophia went silent for another moment. “Y-Yes…”

“Don’t you dare to ever tell Kira about this! She loves this topic way too much, and if she finds out that you also turn into a mess now when it comes up…”

“Is that… Is that really the most important part here…?”

"Is there anything else you want to tell me about the topic?" Saying so, Maya once more brought her hand closer to Sophia's stomach.

“S-Stop it!” She got louder again. “You know that complicated magic and I don’t along. W-What if I mess up when you touch it and then… bam!”

“Bam… and you’re pregnant?”

“YES!”

“I highly doubt that…”

“H-How often did you say those very same words when it came to me and magic?!”

“…” Maya went silent and actually pulled her hand away.

“See?!”

“Well, I still don’t think that’s possible. The big C said you have to use your tiger magic and not the other one, right?” She decided against mentioning Canir’s name in the castle. “That magic is the one that’s reasonable, right? Bound by the regulations of magic, that is.”

“Right!” She looked noticeably relieved. “Being a tiger is the best!”

“Well, according to him, that also makes you able to use it in the first place, so… It’s also the root for your current embarrassment."

“S-Shut up!”

“Good.” The cat-girl smiled at her. “Sounds like you calmed down.”

“Ah… Thanks…”

“Now, stay like that! It’s my job to freak out over this topic. You already freak out over everything else, so leave the child thing to me!”

“You know how greedy I am.”

“Idiot.”

“Ehehe~.” The blonde had gotten over it for the time being.

“Still…” Maya tilted her head. “It’s kinda nice that it works so easy… Simply placing your hand on the other’s stomach and doing the blessing chant, but it’s also pretty lackluster for such an important event, isn’t it?”

“Oho, you’re in for a treat now!” Sophia's smile changed into a full grin. "Have you heard about magic dildos already?"

“I like the sound of that! I can’t say I have, though.” The cat-girl looked very interested.

“I did, too~.” Afterward, with an even bigger grin, the tiger told her everything about the magical device Daria had told her beforehand.

“Wow…” Maya looked a little overwhelmed after the blonde was done talking. “Seriously, wow…”

"I said it before, and I'll say it again, everyone in this world is a pervert."

“I have to agree.” The cat-girl just nodded a few times.

"It's a fantastic world, isn't it?"

“ABSOLUTELY!” Her nodding got even stronger. “So, in summary, you can use all those amazing features without activating the blessing, too?”

“According to Daria, yes. Yes, you can!”

“Awesome!” Maya sounded slightly excited. "Is only the, let's call it... natural shape available, but are there some cuter versions on sale, as well...? Making it look like the real thing is kinda intriguing for, uhh... roleplaying purposes, I think...?" She had a somewhat complicated expression. "Still, let's face it... good fitment, judging by the more realistic toy we got for fun, aside, it's not the most aesthetically pleasing thing to look at... Like, at all. It was a bit of a turnoff when we actually tried to use it... More than a bit, if I'm honest. Exotic-looking things with a good shape are way more fun!"

"Yup! Same here..." Sophia agreed. "Good news, you can get all the colors you want, and shapes that are fit for insertion are available."

"Nice!" She started smiling again. "Wait, why were you talking about dildos with Ari's mother in the first place?!"

"Weird how stuff like that happens, huh?" She just shrugged. “One thing led to another when she told me about the most natural version of conceiving a child between two girls. Natural, is relatively speaking there, though. It’s the most biological sound, at least, I’d say.”

“Natural, she says…” The cat-girl rolled her eyes. “The girls that invented that thing were just horny beyond saving when they came up with it. I am 94% sure the blessing addon was just an afterthought.”

“I’m totally with you on that.”

“Bless those girls.”

“I know, right?!” Sophia fully agreed with her assessment of the invention.

“So, where do we get this thing?”

“Why do you think Daria gave you a letter with an address earlier?”

“I love you!”

“Good answer~.” The tiger smiled at her. “I love you, too.”

“Let’s go there tomorrow!”

“We are so going to do that!”

“By the way,” Maya looked right at her. “Can I wear it first? I want to use it on you!”

"Oho!" Sophia's eyes lit up. “It sounds pretty enticing to find out about all it can do inside~. When you're the one doing it, at least. Well, ALMOST all of it, I want to add!"

“We’re definitely going to swap, though. I’m not going to let you have all the fun of that side to yourself!”

“Sure~.” She gave her a thumbs up. “I bet it's also pretty intriguing to be on the giving side.”

While being in an excellent mood, the couple kept planning their nightly activities while walking toward Anna’s room to collect some of her clothes because Maya hadn’t had the chance to do that yet.