The girls had lunch in one of the villages along the coast of the ocean they were traveling along before they decided to take a shortcut to the main trading and port city in the area with the help of Sophia’s portals. They arrived roughly 50 kiloters away from it because there were many people outside the city, which would've made getting closer too much of a risk.
“Oh, looks like Kelkel’s taking a break from his ocean activities." They were still walking towards Agola and had already made so good distance when Chloe noticed that the water had cald down considerably, and the suspicious activities on the horizon stopped as well.
“Maybe he had enough foresight to think that it might be a bad idea to go that wild near a city with a big population?” Ari tilted her head. “Although, with how he’s seemingly getting along with the group already, I have my doubts about that.”
"You get along even better with everyone, so that says more about you than it does about Kel." Sophia looked right at her while slowly shaking her head.
“Ah.” The jaguar paused for a mont. “I hadn’t thought that one through.”
"Which is a perfect example of why you get along so well with this group." Steph let out a small chuckle because there was no way she wouldn’t use this chance.
“Wow, that sure backfired on .” She could only scratch her cheek.
“You don’t need to keep giving us more explanations on why you’re a perfect fit for us~.” The fox-girl simply smiled at her.
“I hate it here.” Ari hung her head in defeat.
“By the way, I just detected a group of people right behind that little hill over there.” Sophia pointed in front of them where the path they were following began to rise slightly. “Should we avoid them to get to the city fast or say hello instead?”
"While I’m really looking forward to learn more about Nathan, a few hours won’t make a difference.” Anna wasn’t in that much of a hurry anymore. “Also, as a tiger, avoiding people on purpose is a no-go! Let’s greet them!”
“Sure.”
Having decided on that, the group picked up their pace to catch up with the group of people on the other side of the hill ahead of them.
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After a short jog, the girls made it over the little hill and quickly spotted the group with their own eyes. They saw a carriage drawn by two horses, with one brown-haired dog-man holding the reins. Four people, two black-haired cat-n and two grey-haired won of canine origin, were walking alongside the carriage.
From the looks of it, as various types of fabric, as well as nurous boxes, could be seen from the back of the carriage, they seed to be rchants, or at least escorting the rchant riding the carriage.
“H-Huh?!” Once Sophia and the others were in range, the four people walking alongside the carriage all had the sa reaction and turned towards the girls while looking rather tense. “E-Eh…?” Once they saw who they were, while mostly staring at the two tigers in the front, the expression of the four turned dumbfounded.
“Hello~.” Anna and Sophia lazily waved at them while they and the other girls caught up with the group.
“What is the royal family doing out here…?” One of the cat-n was the first to address them.
"I nearly had a heart attack when I suddenly sensed the massive surge of power appearing out of nowhere behind us!” One of the canine girls joined in on him. Taking a closer look, it seed like she had quite a few wolf traits.
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“Ahaha, sorry about that.” The blonde scratched her cheek. “We’re a little on the powerful side, so people can have that reaction when they sense us before seeing us.”
"A little?” The wolf-girl stared at them for a mont while primarily focusing on the shorter tiger.
“Well, that always depends on who you ask~.” Sophia just smiled at her.
“Is that so?”
“Yup!”
“So?” The cat-man from before tried to get their attention again. “I certainly did not expect to run into the royal family today. How and why do we co to this honor? Especially considering that we’re in the middle of nowhere and the capital being about a year’s worth of travel away?”
“To be fair, wasn’t the nation’s prince also in Agola up until not too long ago?” The wolf-girl tilted her head again while looking at him. “Ah, wait, you weren’t around back then, weren’t you, Dan?”
“Yeah, I only returned in late spring, but now that you ntion it, I heard people talking about that when I was in the city again.” The cat-man nodded a few tis. “Does that an Agola turned into a royal hotspot while I was away? Or did sothing happen that needs a large-scale investigation? Do you know anything about that, Tiva?" He only beca more confused the more he thought about it, and he looked at the wolf-girl again.
“Not that I know of?” She also tilted her head. “From what I rember, the prince ca here to learn about his country, so I don’t think anything serious is going on?”
“Rest assured, there’s nothing shady going on we’re trying to uncover.” Anna let out a small chuckle while smiling at the duo.
“That we’re aware of, that is.” Sophia just had to add that.
“True enough.” The taller tiger just nodded. "Nathan, the prince in question, is my brother, and we're currently trying to catch up with him and his group."
“Ohh, I see!” The wolf-girl returned her smile. “Wait, brother? So, you two aren’t just simply high up in the pecking order, but the actual princesses of our country?!”
“She is.” The blonde pointed at Anna. “I’m just your friendly neighborhood tiger going by the na of Sophia~.”
“What’s that supposed to an?”
“Don't worry about it~.”
“Okay…?” It didn’t help the slightest in clearing up her confusion.
“Yes, it’s as she said, I am Anna. Daughter of King nzor and the first princess of this nation.” She did a little curtsy while introducing herself.
“Wow.” The wolf-girl needed a second. "I'm Tiva, and this is Dan over there.” She gestured at the cat-man from earlier before pointing towards the other two. “Those are Lis and Tom. We're adventurers in the area and currently escorting a rchant back to Agola.”
“Ohh, an escort quest!” Sophia lightly clapped her hands. “There are few things I can imagine being less exciting!” Her words didn’t match her happy expression whatsoever.
“Well…” Dan scratched his cheek while looking a little awkward. “The pay’s nice and we’d need to walk the route anyway, so why not make so money while at it? Otherwise, walking from place to place to take on requests would just be wasted ti, so it makes up for that a little.”
“I guess that’s fair enough.”
"If anything, I'm surprised that the tiger princess and the friendly neighborhood tiger don't have a whole entourage of escorts with them.” Tiva tilted her head as she looked at the two striped girls. “Isn’t it dangerous for the royal family to travel around like that? The prince also just had a small group.”
“Mind I remind you of five minutes ago when we startled all of you by having too powerful magic?”
“Okay, that point goes to you.” The wolf-girl had nothing to add there. “If anything, everyone trying to attack you would be the ones in trouble, huh? If anyone would be stupid enough to try, that is.”
“Sothing like that.” Anna reacted with a few nods.
Chatting for a few more minutes, the tigers then decided to finally go ahead and greet the owner of the carriage, who had been waiting ever since their escorts stopped moving.
“Okay, that’s certainly a surprise.” The dog-man on the carriage wasn’t sure how to react when he was approached by the two striped girls. “I am Dago, a wandering rchant who frequents between Agola and Barak. How do I co to the privilege of eting the esteed royal family in the middle of nowhere?”
“We’re also on our way to Agola and decided to say hello when we spotted your carriage. It’s just a coincidence, so you don’t have to think too much into us being tigers.”
“Alright, if you say so.” As Dago had no intention of talking back to the tigers, he could only agree to that. “I haven’t t him, but I rember hearing about another tiger having been in Barak and Agola. Are you related to them? Well, I assu all tigers share so sort of relation in one way or another, but still.”
“Yes.” Anna nodded. “That was my brother Nathan. We’re currently trying to catch up with him and his group.”
“Ahh, I see!”
Afterward, Anna and Sophia went ahead and explained the situation to the wandering rchant just like they had to the escort adventurers just monts before. While doing so, the girls also decided to accompany the group on their way to Agola.
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