The group finally found the oasis city in the middle of the desert, and they couldn't wait to explore it. Even before arriving and looking at it from a distance, the girls got fascinated by the people they could spot. They were especially curious about the horny ones. Much to Maya's regret, it was about their horns and not something else.

  “Oh?” Once the group got near the entrance of the city, an older man, presumably somewhere in his sixties, with a healthy tan, short brown hair, and very long gazelle-like horns on top of his head, spotted them. “Visitors? Here?” He naturally knew that they weren’t from the city, but that was the confusing part. “How did you all end up here? More importantly, how did you survive the desert?” He glanced at the lightly dressed girls during the last part.

  “We’re quite tough~.” Sophia smiled at him.

  “I don’t think that’s technically how that works.” The horned beast man scratched his cheek. “Then again, you being here does prove your point, so what would this old man know, I guess? Not to mention that the power levels radiating from all of you are making me feel dizzy. That being said, it’s another feat entirely to find this place, though. Your navigational skills must be something else.”

  “They sure are!” The blonde nodded. As they really were something else, she wasn’t wrong with saying so, either.

  “My next question would be related to you two.” He then singled the tigers out. “Why is the royal family here?” He naturally knew what the stripes meant.

  “I leave that explanation to our lovely expert.” Smiling, Sophia took a step back while gesturing at the princess at the same time.

  “I love you, too.” Sounding rather sarcastic, the tall tiger smiled back at her while rolling her eyes. “We are currently traveling through the continent to get a feeling of the kingdom. Every member of the royal family should get some firsthand in that regard. After all, how are you supposed to be the head of a kingdom you don’t know.”

  “Oho.” The horned man nodded. “You’re doing the same as Prince Nathan, I see.”

  “Wait, you know about my brother’s journey?” Hearing that, Anna’s ears perked up.

  “Yes.” He looked at her. “He and his group were here, uhh… at least a year ago? Probably a bit longer even.”

  “Nathan was here?!” The princess got loud. “Wait, his group?” She tilted her head. “He was supposed to only be with your sister, wasn’t he?” Anna looked at Ari for confirmation.

  “That’s what I thought so, too.”

  “He did have a jaguar with him. A golden one, though.” He mustered Ari for a second before continuing. “There also was a cat-boy and another girl with him, too. I don’t remember exactly, but I think she was a puma.”

  “Nathan made some friends, huh?” Anna sounded strangely happy. “Good for him!”

  "A puma!” Sophia was most interested in that part. “I haven’t seen one yet!”

  “They did seem pretty close.” The horned man kept focusing on the princess. “They were only here for two days, though, so don’t go asking me about details of their relationship now.”

  “I wonder how they ended up here.” The tall tiger scratched her cheek. “I mean, Nathan isn’t weak, in relative terms, but the desert was quite something, too. I’m not sure how he would’ve fared with that sandstorm…”

  "Well, the cat-boy gave me the same reply as the blonde princess gave me earlier and just boasted that they're quite tough, too.” He took a quick glance at Sophia before shrugging. “As I wasn’t really interested in knowing what that means, I didn’t ask.”

  "A good mindset.” Ari nodded a couple of times, knowing that sometimes not asking about something was the easier solution with the chance of fewer headaches.

  “Exactly.” The horned man smiled at her. “They did arrive during the night, though. Navigating by the stars and not being grilled by the sun makes things a lot easier, after all.”

  “The night’s way too cold!” Sophia wasn't a fan.

  “People normally prefer freezing a little over getting a heatstroke and dying.” He didn’t share her opinion.

  “People are weird!”

  “You are an interesting princess.” The gazelle-man wasn’t sure what else to say.

  “Thanks!” She knew what he was trying to imply, but the blonde also learned how to deal with it in the best way.

  “I really want to see Nathan now!” Having heard about her brother and his new friends, Anna got quite curious about him.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Were you two close?” Maya got curious about the relationship between the royal siblings.

  “A normal amount, I guess?” She tilted her head in return.

  “Those two regularly turned the castle upside down when unsupervised for more than five seconds.” Ari rolled her eyes while looking at the cat-girl. “Also, guess who had to catch and prevent them from doing too many stupid things?”

  "It might be a bit of a stretch, but maybe a certain pair of jaguar sisters?” She gave her a wry smile.

  “E-x-a-c-t-l-y!” Ari looked incredibly tired just remembering it.

  “Ehehe~.” There wasn’t a shred of regret in Anna’s reaction. “Those were good times!”

  “And Menzor was trying to blame me for his receding hairline.” Sophia started pouting.

  “To be fair, how often have you turned the castle upside down?” Maya stared at her.

  “Okay, good point.” She had little to defend herself with there.

  “The current tiger generation is a wild one, huh?” The horned man scratched his cheek while listening to them.

  “We sure are~.” The striped duo smiled at him while also giving a thumbs up.

  “Well, I guess the tiger family will continue to be interesting leaders. I don’t mean it in a bad way, either.”

  “We’ll try our best~.” Anna just nodded a few times.

  “It seems like we’re in good hands.” He didn’t dislike the liveliness of her. “So, what are the plans? I hate to admit it, but while our little village sounds adventurous, it's an oasis in the middle of a desert, after all, there isn't all that much to see once you've gotten here."

  “We’re happy enough just having found it and being able to explore it a little."

  “I mean, there are some good places, that is certainly the case.” He wasn’t going to stop them. “I can recommend the tavern. They serve some mean cactus spirit that will kick you out of your shoes. Many delicious coconut-based cocktails, as well. A bit too sweet for my liking, but quite popular nonetheless.”

  “And with that, you have my attention.” Fen, who had stayed silent until now, perked right up.

  “Ahaha.” Sophia smiled at the alcohol-loving wolf. “I love coconut, though, so thank you for the tip!” As she was immune to alcohol, the blonde didn’t really care about the spirit, but sweet and delicious cocktails were right up her alley.

  “Well, if you want to chat some more, you’ll find me there in the evening. For now, there are some other things I need to take care of. Enjoy the village!” With that, he lightly waved at them before leaving.

  “Bye!” Sophia and the other girls waved, as well. “I like him! Normally, people always make a fuss when they see the two of us, but he was super relaxed!” She looked at Anna during the last part.

  “Yes!” The princess nodded in agreement. “Alright, before we do some exploring, should we make a quick trip to the castle to ask father if we should find the mayor and tell them about the portal plan?”

  “Yeah, let’s do that before we accidentally run into them and don’t know what to say!” The blonde liked the suggestion.

  “As we can’t be bothered, we’ll stay behind and start exploring already.” Fen didn't want to join them.

  “And with that, he means the exploration of the tavern’s insides.” Aura held back a small chuckle. “Well, I like coconut-based drinks, so I’m all for it.”

  “Sure thing~.” Sophia smiled at them.

  Afterward, after having decided on a course of action, the girls parted with the wolves and went to a hidden side alley to use one of the blonde’s portals to head to the capital. Luckily, they went right to the portal hub and not through their cottage, disrupting Chloe’s and Steph’s activities.

  ----------------

  “Father!” In the castle, the girls headed right for Menzor's office and, with the princess in the lead, barged right into it.

  “So that’s why the day so far was strangely peaceful, huh?” The king lazily lifted his head and looked at the girls. “What can I do for you, dear daughter of mine?”

  “We’ve come for guidance!”

  “Oh, that’s a new one.” He was surprised that they actually came to seek his help. “What can I do for you?”

  “We’ve arrived in Iridai and are unsure what to do next.”

  “How are you already there?!” He got loud for a moment. “Never mind, I don’t think I want to know. Anyway, I strongly suggest against entering the desert. It's a perilous and inhospitable place for the most part. Though, while I see Maya and Ari being concerned about it, I don’t feel like either of you would care about that.” Menzor stared at the two tigers during the last bit.

  “Oh, no we already did cross it!” Anna gave him a thumbs up. “When I mentioned Iridai, I was talking about the oasis city, not the desert itself.”

  “…” The king just stared at them for a little while “Haa…” He then let out a short sigh while rubbing his temples. “I really become my greatest enemy if I keep getting surprised by them and their antics.”

  “It would be best for your health if you get used to it already, too.” Sophia nodded. “Also, I loved that you kept rocking the mane style.” She smiled while looking at the luscious and fluffy mass of hair on his head.

  "It's the best!" Anna thought so, too.

  “…” Menzor went silent again. “I haven’t fully decided on what to do with it yet.”

  “You already reached perfection in my eyes!”

  “I think so, too!” The two tigers didn't see the need for him to test out different hairstyles.

  “Why are you here again?” He decided to drop the topic. “Why do you need my help regarding Iridai?”

  “We were wondering why it wasn't on the list of places that should get a portal.” Maya finally got to the point.

  “I simply didn’t think you’d ever end up there.” The king shrugged.

  “Figured as much.”

  “I also don't think Iridai is significant enough. Yes, it’s an impressive place, and they have all my respect for living in the middle of such an inhospitable place as the Iridai desert, but at the end of the day, it’s just a bigger village. I mean, we can’t have a thousand portals here just because it would be easier for every village. Judging by all the reports I got from them so far, they’re pretty happy with their secluded life, as well.”

  “Fair enough.” Sophia nodded along. “Alright, no portal for them!”

  “By the way,” Once the topic was over, Anna looked at her father again. “Nathan also was in Iridai.”

  "HUH?!" Hearing that, Menzor got loud.

  “I know, right?” She smiled at him. “A local told me that he and his friends were there about a year ago.”

  “How?!” He just raised his voice even more. “Wait, friends? Wasn't he supposed to just be with the sister of your Ari?”

  “It seems like he found some more people. They couldn’t tell me more about them, though.”

  “Fascinating.” Menzor scratched his cheek. “I appreciate that the castle doesn’t get as destroyed as often as it used to be with both of you being here, but I’m looking forward to the day Nathan returns and tells us about his journey.”

  “Yes!”

  Once the two had finished catching up, the group returned to the oasis city because they still wanted to explore it some more.