Chapter 100: Chapter 96 – An uncomfy ride

The king finished his speech to raise morale before they left for the soon-to-be battle between the beastfolk and the humans. Afterward, they boarded the carriages, ten in total, drawn by two horses, or harses. The king and his group of commanders, just as Sophia, Maya, Anna, and two maids, were seated in the two middle ones, each driven by two soldiers. The remaining soldiers boarded the remaining carriages in front and on the back of the convoy.

"By the way... how long is this trip going to take?" They had only just left the capital, and Sophia was already bored.

"We'll have to stay the night in the carriages once and continue our travels in the early morning. We should reach the troops near Talaga around the same time tomorrow." One of the maids accompanying the group answered her.

"So long!" She didn't like the sound of that. "Also, leaving early in the morning? Don't even bother to wake me up..." This part sounded even worse to her. "At least riding in a carriage is nice... It's my first time, but it's really comfy and relaxing, though really slow."

"Yep, slower but nice." Maya agreed.

"Wait a moment..." Anna interrupted them. "If you've never ridden a carriage before, how did you come to the capital? Father said that you're from really far away."

"We walked?" Sophia tilted her head. "We're much faster than those carriages, after all. Not having to follow roads speeds things up, as well."

"S-Seriously...? How long did you walk?"

"Three months? Maybe four, I'm not sure... It could've been longer, actually." The blonde's sense of time was already long gone.

"Yeah, we took a lot of detours..." Maya, too, had lost track.

"It really isn't a good idea to apply common sense to the two of you..."

"H-Hey!" Maya didn't like the sound of that.

"But sleeping in the carriage sounds, uhh..." Sophia looked around. "It will be... snug or cozy? There's not exactly much room, to say the least."

"I don't mind at all!" Anna saw her chance to sleep with Sophia.

"I do, though!" The cat-girl put up her guard. "You're not going to sleep next to her, princess!"

"Aww..."

"Sophia, we're camping outside!" She didn't trust Anna, after all.

"I don't mind either way. Though, I'll miss my body pillows. Fenny and Aura, that is."

"E-Eh?! Isn't sleeping outside dangerous?"

"Not really. I've done that almost exclusively, actually. Nice campfire, good food, some friends. I think that's good fun~."

"Yep, it's great."

"It... does sound fun when you put it that way." Anna sounded a little envious.

"Wanna try camping tonight, princess?"

"Eh?!" It was the cat-girl who reacted to Sophia's offer. "I only suggested it to get you away from her, you know?!"

"Don't be like that. No matter what she w-wants to do... Princess Anna would never do anything that would make me lose my trust in her, would she?" She looked at her towards the end.

"I-, I wouldn't... Consent is important..." Anna could do nothing against the pressure she was feeling.

"Great~! I look forward to it."

"Y-Yeah..." The other two girls once more shared the same expression.

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About four hours passed since the convoy left the capital, and it was time for the first break to let the harses rest. Feeling a little sore after sitting for so long, the girls decided to take a little walk.

"I might want to rethink my earlier statement." Sophia rubbed her butt while saying so. "My backside's all tingly... A carriage isn't so comfy, after all..."

"That's true..." The other two shared her assessment.

"Also, I'm hungry!"

"I think food's scheduled for the evening..." Anna swiftly crushed her dreams.

"Uuh... Hunting and grilling something takes too much time- Ah!" It seemed like she got an idea. "Anyone wants some nuts or dried fruits?"

"You actually still have some left? You've constantly been snacking on them, after all." Maya rolled her eyes in response.

"Of course. I mean, I bought out the entire shop."

"Err..." The princess seemed lost. "What nuts or fruits...? You're not carrying anything, are you?"

"Ahh, want to see a little party trick?" While saying so, the blonde tiger-girl stretched out her hand, which suddenly disappeared into her extra storage space, giving Anna quite the fright.

"H-Huh?! Your arm! W-What is going on?!"

"Y-Yeah..." Maya could sympathize with her, having had the exact same reaction when Sophia first tried out this magic.

"Aaand there we are." Pulling out her hand again, she now held a bag filled with the previously mentioned nuts and fruits.

"Oh, I love that mix. Gimme some." Being used to it already, the cat-girl simply went for the snacks.

"Ehh...?" The princess, on the other hand, was still quite confused. "What... What just happened here?"

"A magic I, uhh, invented. I didn't want to bother carrying luggage, so I created a place with magic where I can simply dump everything into."

"..." She needed a moment to wrap her head around it.

"Some nuts?" Maya held out the bag she'd snagged from Sophia before. "They're good."

"T-Thanks..." Accepting her offer, Anna had a small snack to calm her nerves. "Seriously... what sort of monster are you, Sophia?"

"J-Just why does everyone keep calling me that…?"

"Because you are!" As usual lately, the princess and the cat-girl were in perfect sync.

"I-I'm just... creative, and maybe a bit eccentric. " Not that she'd never called herself a monster, either.

"Same difference!"

"Alright, give back the snacks. The monster's hungry." The blonde just rolled with it.

"We're very sorry!"

"Seriously... are you guys getting along now or not?" Sophia was confused about their relationship.

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"We are not!" Their syncing wasn't helping. "Okay, maybe a bit."

"That's nice."

"But you're still my number one!" The two, again, replied with the same.

"Oookay, and it's gotten creepy..." Their continuous syncing up was too much for even Sophia.

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After having had their snack, the girls finished their walk to get rid of the soreness from sitting for so long and went back to the resting place of the convoy. There, they ran into the king, who had just come back from some sort of meeting.

"Oh, where have you girls been?"

"We had just a little walk, father. The ride in the carriage was a little tiring."

"That is true."

"Is something the matter? We saw you talking with the commanders just now?" Anna seemed concerned.

"No, everything's alright. We were just talking about how we're making surprisingly good progress because no monster had held us up until now. Normally, some of them would've tried to attack us."

"Ahh... That's Maya's and mine fault."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The king looked at Sophia.

"Monsters... Actual monsters," She glared at the other two girls while adding that part. "They can instinctively sense magic power and stay away from sources that are much more powerful than themselves. Because Maya and I have so much of that, no monster is stupid enough to attack us."

"I-Is that true?!" Menzor was shocked.

"Yes. When I lived in the monster country with Fen, the only monsters that tried to attack me was a group of slimes because they're too... basic to sense it. From what I've heard, it's normal instant death there because you'll be flooded by monsters the moment you enter the place."

"T-That's how it's supposed to be..."

"Ah, well, I was attacked by a griphon once but only because it was blinded by rage after I accidentally killed its child. That's a different story, though."

"..." The king needed a moment. "A-Alright, I think the break was long enough." While holding his head, Menzor went back to his carriage.

"Poor father..."

"Yeah."

"H-Hey!" Sophia began to dislike the bond that was forming between Maya and the princess.

"..." They didn't reply, and soon after, the three girls also went back to their carriage before the convoy resumed its travel.

"Hrmm..." After a little while, Sophia began to shift around her butt on the bench inside the carriage. "Urgh... Maya, remind me to buy some extra fluffy pillows in that Talaga or whatever it's called city for the way back... It's really no fun for longer than half an hour."

"Good idea." She gave a big nod.

"S-So carefree..."

"Maybe I should get a couple of then? Pillows are always useful. They would even be a nice addition for camping."

"H-How big is that storage space thingy of yours?!" Anna was surprised it would even fit multiple pillows.

"That's a good question. I've never tested the maximum size. Right now, you could comfortably live in there, though."

"S-Seriously?!"

"Live in there, huh...?" Sophia got interested in her own words.

"Don't get any weird ideas now!" The cat-girl, on the other hand, didn't.

"I-It wasn't... that weird..." Her defense was weak. "Entering the place might be useful for something... somehow?"

"It sounds like it would be a great hiding place for when you don't want to deal with something."

"That's brilliant!" Sophia liked Anna's suggestion.

"Don't spur her on, princess!" Maya, once more, didn't.

"There's definitely more potential in the extra space than just storage!"

"Great, now she's motivated..." The cat-girl had lost in persuading her to drop the idea.

"By the way," The blonde tiger-girl looked at the orange one. "You're still going to school, right? Aren't there any problems with you taking off a few days for this trip?"

"The magic academy, to be exact, but there are none at all~. I mean, I'm the daughter of the king, after all. This falls under royal duty or something like that."

"Fair point... What do you do there anyway? Such an academy didn't exist from where I come from."

"Interested? Want to accompany me once we're back? I have some good connections, so it should be possible." If anything, a princess should indeed have good connections.

"Hmm... me going to school...?" Judging by her cramped-up expression, Sophia wasn't the biggest fan. The memories of her school life weren't something she liked to remember because she had completely isolated herself ever since puberty started.

"Definitely not a good idea!" The cat-girl stepped in. "Sophia in a place full of teenage girls?!" She had her very own worries.

"M-Maybe I'll check it out..." While a part of her was happy about the cat's feelings, she also felt her jealousy was a bit too much. "You have to grow a bit of a thicker skin. Also, i-it might help with the other thing, Maya."

"Uuh..." She had no defense, and also knew Sophia was talking about her boosts and shyness. "I still don't like it, though! O-Only if I, too, can come with you... for protective measures!"

"That's fine... I wouldn't survive there without you, anyway. A-Alright, princess, I'll t-think about it..." While she didn't overly like the idea, she saw it as a challenge to overcome in order to become the person she wants to be.

"Really?! That's going to be so much fun!" Anna was really happy about it.

"I wonder..." For once, lately, the couple had the same reaction, but for very different reasons.

"I look forward to it!"

"Good for you..."

The journey continued for a couple of hours until it started to get dark when the convoy finally took its second break. They had already done more than two-thirds of the distance, but going through the night would only increase the theoretical danger. That's why the second break included an overnight stay inside the carriages, though the girls planned to camp outside. Before that, the three first had to take another walk to get rid of their soreness.

 

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