Chapter 86: Chapter 83 – Invitation to the castle

The group had finally arrived in the beastfolk capital. Though, as expected, because Sophia accidentally turned herself into a tiger-girl a while ago, the same as the royal family, she was gathering a lot of attention. They had just exited the adventurer guild when they ran into some official-looking people that were searching for her.

"There really is an unknown member of the royal family..." The two beastmen, who somewhat resembled jaguars, as far as their hair, ears, and tail were concerned, couldn't actually believe it.

"How can we help you?" Maya took over the talking for Sophia.

"A rumor of an unknown tiger-girl had reached the royal castle, and his Majesty dispatched us to confirm it."

"And?"

"He entrusted us with a message in the case it's actually true. On the wish of his Majesty, King Menzor, we invite you to the royal castle for tomorrow at noon."

"W-What happens if I were to decline...?" Sophia wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

"Well, we most likely are going to become good friends because he'll send us out every single day to convince you, I presume? Now that the rumor's confirmed, his Majesty definitely wants to at least see and talk to you."

"A-And what happens if I meet him?" She was trying to find a way out.

"He probably wants to get to know you. I'm guessing he'll also invite you to join the royal family with official measures. Or some of the other high positions the tigers are responsible for."

"How?!" Maya interrupted them with a serious expression. "How is she supposed to join the family?! She's not going to marry any of them, I'll have you know!"

"M-Marry?!" Sophia stumbled over the word.

"Unfortunately, I don't know. Then again, unofficially, she's already a part of the tiger family, after all. It'll most likely just be made public, then."

"Ah, I see." Her expression softened again.

"Do I, uhh, have to join the family in the first place?"

"It's supposed to be an honor, you know?"

"I-I see." She didn't feel like arguing at the moment because she was still too overwhelmed. "Then, can I bring my friends with me when I meet this king?"

"That's..."

"Just so you are aware," Maya interrupted them once more. "I'm going with her, regardless of the answer."

"Well..." The jaguar-man gave up with a sigh. "Yes, that would be acceptable. Only the two of you for the time being, please. Your wolf companions are free to visit at another time."

"Sounds good to me. I wanted to explore the city some more, anyway."

"Yeah, that sounds more fun to me than meeting the king." Fen and Aura had no problems with it.

"Y-You two!" Sophia couldn't believe how readily they bailed out of it. She wasn't angry, though, just terribly envious.

"So, err, can we tell his Majesty that you'll meet him tomorrow?"

"Hrmn…" She needed a moment. "Y-Yes, if Maya can come with me, I'll somehow manage." She still didn't sound happy, though.

"Excellent! We'll immediately head out and tell King Menzor the news!"

"S-Sure."

"An audience with the king on the first day in the capital... You sure are something." The cat-girl shook her head.

"W-Well, you insisted on tagging along, so we have an audience with him, Maya."

"You want to go alone?"

"Thank you very much for coming with me!" Sophia really didn't want to do it on her own. "I simply wouldn't go without you at all."

"Hehe, even if you would've said yes now, it wouldn't change anything. There's no way I could let you go alone! I'm way too worried!"

"Yeah, I might say or do something stupid. Offending the king seems like it would not be overly good."

"There's that, too." She stopped for a moment. "But, I'm more worried about them stealing you away from me. Who knows what they're really planning to make you part of their family!"

"Is that what the m-marrying thing was about?"

"Yes! It doesn't sound that far-fetched, does it?!"

"Hmm," Sophia tilted her head. "That jaguar-guy did say that it's just about making it public, didn't he? Well, that doesn't sound fun either, though."

"W-Who knows if that's true?!" Maya seemed really fidgety about it. "I bet he has no idea, either, or just wanted to lure you in!"

"Don't worry, before anyone steals me away from you, I'll rather burn down the royal castle."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Ehehe~." The cat-girl's expression turned bright again.

"Err," Aura stared at them before looking at Fen.

"Don't worry, castles take a lot of time and work to burn down. Most of it is solid stone, after all."

"I know that. It's not my first time, but is that really the problem here?"

"Nah, I don't think the king's that stupid."

"I see." She let the couple be. "Well, not that I care either way."

"It'll be fun~."

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The next day, unfortunately, appeared before long. After having had a good night's sleep, thanks to sleeping in an actual bed, not to mention having shared it with Maya, Sophia was extra reluctant to get up.

"Should we dress up?" The cat-girl was already out of bed and in the middle of sorting out her clothes while only in her underwear. She was wearing light pink panties and just finished putting on a bra in the same color. Both had some light lace applications on the hem and looked really elaborately crafted.

"Hmm~, your style is fancy enough, I guess? I think you're fine." She took a good look at Maya while saying so. The tiger was still confused about why this world was so advanced when it came to such things, but she definitely had no plans to complain here.

"Say that after I'm wearing some clothes!"

"Ah, yeah, those are fancy, as well."

"Hey!" Maya was not amused.

"Oh, while we're at that, why light pink?" She had no intention to stop looking at Maya in the underwear. "It looks great, love the color, but going by your normal clothes, I was expecting full-white underneath, too. I was a bit surprised that you usually go for more subtle shades."

"White on white can show through."

"Seriously?! That makes no sen- Ah." She stopped for a moment. "Right, white's tends to be a bit see-through in the first place, so a different type of clothing beneath in a similar color kinda gets, accentuated instead… I remember now. You want underwear closer to your skin color, right?"

"Yep, else, the contrast between your skin and underwear will show through the clothes."

"Shows how much I wear white clothes… I prefer looking at them.~"

"Thanks." Maya had a rough idea of what the tiger meant.

"Ehehe. Anyway, what about me? I love my shirts, but they might be a bit too casual, huh?" She got back to the topic of dressing up for the visit in the royal castle.

"Well, they want something from you, so it should be fine either way?" The cat-girl didn't think she has to put so much thought into it. "Ah, then again, it would be the perfect opportunity to wear the sundress again I got for you."

"Oh, that might be a good idea." Sophia wasn't against it.

"Seriously?! And just like that, I'm suddenly looking forward to this meeting!"

"What a thirsty girl you are."

"Are you really saying that, Sophia? While still staring at me? All while I'm in just my underwear?"

"F-Fair point." She didn't look away, though. "Ah, and now I know I shouldn't wear white underneath! Good thing I got curious about your underwear~."

"Sure, you only now got interested in it." The cat-girl didn't believe her.

"Err," She everted her eyes. "Interested in the color, I mean."

"Better." She was satisfied with that much truth. "Also, aww, was a bit looking forward to your white on white…"

"Hey!" The tiger got angry. "Why would you do that?"

"Because it's a nice view for me?"

"And for everyone else!"

"Ah…" She hadn't thought that far. "R-Right, I wouldn't want that. It's my personal privilege!"

"Sure… Anyway, do I even have anything that doesn't show through…? Most of my underwear's the sporty type, and they're either white or black… or some other, pretty bright colors."

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"Hmm… Your default setting is blush, so you should aim for something along those lines. Ah, not setting, I meant skin color…"

"Sassy today, aren't we?"

"Yep, today."

"You…" Sophia stared at her for a moment. "Okay, whatever, I don't have anything blushy, though."

"Anything peachy would work okay enough. Your dress isn't a very bright white, so maybe even a light gray could work."

"I also only have darker types of gray… Peach, huh? Let me see…." The blonde rummaged through her extra storage for a minute and eventually pulled out a matching set of underwear in a subtle shade of peach out of it. It also wasn't the sporty type but closer to Maya's with a few lace applications on the hem.

"I got those the last time we went shopping but haven't had the chance to wear them yet."

"Perfect." Maya liked the idea.

"Good."

"The color's also good. It shouldn't show through." Turns out, it wasn't the idea the cat-girl liked, but rather what she was seeing.

"Hey! But, t-thanks…" Sophia's face turned to the color she, unfortunately, hadn't any type of underwear of, a subtle shade of blush.

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Once she was finally able to leave the bed, the tiger-girl got ready. She changed into the floral sundress, together with her carefully chosen underwear. Afterward, the couple got some breakfast, left the inn, and slowly walked towards the royal castle while the tiger also had put on her new hat.

"This dress looks so nice on you!" Maya couldn't avert her eyes.

"T-Thanks..." She got a little shy.

"Wait, isn't that bad for me?!" The cat-girl suddenly stopped in her tracks. "If you're too pretty, they'll want you even more! I'm such an idiot! I only thought about my own enjoyment…"

"As I said, that's not going to happen!"

"Y-Yes." She couldn't help but be worried regardless.

The couple kept walking for a while, hand in hand, of course, until they eventually arrived at the gate in front of the castle. There, the two were stopped by the guards.

"I'm sorry, girls, the royal palace is only for- Oh!" The guard, yet another beastmen with jaguar-like features, stumbled over his words when he looked past Sophia's hat. "Welcome back, my Lady- wait...?" He looked at her again, seemingly confused.

"I-It's my first time being here... I-It's only natural that you have no idea who I am." She had a rough understanding of why the guard was so all over the place.

"R-Really? Ah, could it be? You're the new member of the royal family that appeared in the rumors yesterday?"

"Err, well, the king wanted to see me after these rumors reached him, yes." She didn't address any of his other claims.

"I see! We were actually informed of your visit today. Together with your companion, that is. Because I sincerely doubt that there's yet another unknown tiger-girl running around in the capital, it has to be you. You two can proceed now. Head towards the main entrance of the castle at the end of this road. Someone will pick you up there."

"Okay, thank you very much."

"Thanks!" Following the instructions, they walked along the street until the two arrived at the actual castle. There, the couple spotted three jaguar-girls that were dressed like maids.

"Are jaguars like the attendants of the tiger family?" Sophia was wondering about it as it started to look like a pattern now.

"No idea, but I was just thinking the same." If Maya had known the royal family to this extent, none of this would've ever happened because she would've stopped Sophia before she transformed herself into a tiger.

"Welcome to the royal castle," The maids did a slight bow while addressing the couple. "His Majesty, King Menzor is awaiting you already. May we ask for your names to properly announce you to his majesty?"

"l-I'm Sophia."

"M-Maya." The situation made them a little tense.

" I understand. Lady Sophia, Lady Maya, please follow us. We'll take you to his Majesty."

"L-Lady?!" The couple felt incredibly awkward, but the maids paid it no mind and silently guided them through the castle.

"I-I'm getting kinda nervous now..."

"Mm-hmm."

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It took almost ten minutes of walking around before the maids stopped in front of a huge and fancy wooden double-door. "We have arrived. His Majesty, King Menzor, is behind this door. Please wait here for a moment until we announce you."

"O-Okay..." Just like that, the couple was left alone.

"I guess I should take off my hat, huh? Well, I probably should've done so a long time ago, now that I think about it… My mind was too preoccupied."

"Sounds like a plan. The king probably wants to make sure about your tiger origins."

"What origins?" She had none of those.

"You know what I mean."

"This is so messed up."

"You can say that again."

Five more minutes passed before the heavy wooden doors slowly opened again, and the maids beckoned them in.

"Your Majesty, this is Lady Sophia, together with Lady Maya on the left."

"N-Nice to meet you, y-your Majesty." Unsure how to reply, the couple became even more awkward.

"Haha, there's no need to be so formal." The king, a dignified-looking tiger-man, greeted them with a hearty laugh. It somehow was hard to guess his age, but he seemed to be somewhere in his forties. He had the same ears as Sophia, but his tail was a bit longer and thicker when compared to his body size. The striped, black pattern was the same, as well, but his hair and fur had a dark-orange hue.

"O-Okay."

"The rumors were true after all, huh?" The king took a better look at Sophia. "Although, your hair's somewhat different. While there are some slight derivations of the orange hue, I've never seen a blonde tiger before."

"W-Well," She had no idea how to react or what to say.

"From which family are you, Sophia? Maybe I can find an answer to your hair if I can trace back your ancestors."

"I don't have... a family." She stopped for a moment. "I've been on my own ever since I came to this, uhh, the world." Though there were a ton of details missing, it technically wasn't a lie. "I have friends and companions but no actual relatives."

"I-Is that so?" He looked genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry for being insensitive and asking about something painful."

"A-Ah, no, it's fine. I'm living a good life now." She ended up glancing at Maya while saying so. "There's no need to feel bad."

"Ehehe." The cat-girl liked her answer.

"That's good. Still, for someone from the tiger family to be abandoned. This is unacceptable!" The king seemed angry. "But there are no reports of any members missing, even going back as far as 50 years. This doesn't make any sense..."

"Well, of course." She only mumbled these words.

"Where did you come from, Sophia? Was there maybe a tribe that got overlooked during our migration to the capital in the distant past?"

"Uhh," This was a complicated question. "Are you familiar with the so-called monster country?"

"Yes, it's a vicious area far away. Even our most remote settlements that are directly governed by us aren't overly close. Why are you asking? W-Wait, don't tell me-!?"

"Yes, I originated from deep inside of it. I've been there ever since I can remember." Again, it technically wasn't a lie.

"Unbelievable! Wait, is that why I'm feeling this massive power coming from you?! Because you had to survive there for your entire life?!"

"Well, err, more or less?" While Canir gave her this power, he did drop her there to survive.

"Y-You've had it rough, huh?"

"Absolutely!" The two tigers weren't necessarily talking about the same thing, but they still came to a mutual understanding.

"That cat companion of yours seems to be quite powerful, as well. Maya, was it?"

"No, I'm simply born with these high magical powers. There's no fancy story behind me!" She didn't want to be compared with Sophia.

"I see. Still, it's at a level where even I lose my confidence, the king of a whole country. No, actually, mine's not even a sliver compared to it."

"..." The cat-girl went silent.

"Okay, let's get back to the topic." The king's voice changed. "Sophia, even though you should be part of the royalty or high nobility of this country, you had to go through such a tragic and hard past."

"..." She, too, went silent.

"We still need to investigate a little further, trying to find your real ancestors. Regardless of that, though, I want you to formally become a part of the royal family, Sophia. My family. We can't let this incident go on without doing anything and let such an outstanding individual not benefit from her origins."

"Err..." She was at a loss for words.

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