Boosted Continuation

The group finally reached the warning signs at the edge of the kingdom and crossed over to the monster country. From there, they decided to explore the place while walking towards the demon city ruins Aura talked about before.

“I’m still not a fan of the temperature around here.” They were walking through the monster country when Steph let out a sigh.

“Same!” Chloe nodded a few times. The grassland around then had turned much browner and became even drier than before. There were mostly no trees left, either, just a couple of prickly bushes here and there.

“That’s the only good thing about this place!” Ari rapidly shook her head. Just like ever since entering the place, she was still clinging to Sophia’s while sticking close to Fen, and seemingly had no intention of ever leaving her safe place. If anything, she’d love to have Aura close to her, as well.

“Well, you’re probably going to like the evening hours and night around here.” Aura looked at the cold-loving couple. “The temperature around here drops a lot once the sun sets, as there's little to no vegetation or environments that could trap the heat. Similar to a desert, just not quite as extreme.”

“Ohh!” Steph clapped her hands. “I hadn’t thought about that! I can’t wait for it to turn dark now!”

“We’re going to stay at home once that happens, right?” Maya, not liking the sound of that, looked at Sophia while tilting her head.

“Absolutely!” She reacted with a firm nod. "The two and our wolves can take care of the night shift."

“The two and Aura can take care of it.” Fen disagreed with her plan.

“Haha.” She liked his reaction.

“It’s hard to complain about that after I complained first.” There was little Steph could say there. “Oh, are there any monsters that are active at night? Many predators are nocturnal, after all." She already started making plans for her night travels.

“Not really.” Fen shook his head. “Most monsters don’t have a set cycle because there's an abundance of predators, and they'd hunt each other down if they were to learn each other’s sleep cycles.”

“I guess that makes sense to some degree.”

“Ah, well, griffins do have a set sleep cycle.” The wolf corrected himself. “Almost no one dares to prey on them, after all. Also, most predators won’t be able to reach their nests in the first place. However, they sleep at night, so they’re the opposite of nocturnal.”

“Aww, too bad!” The dog-girl was a little disappointed about that. “Then again, it means that no matter when we travel, we’ll never miss anything or anyone interesting!”

“Terrible news, I agree!” Ari was having a bad day.

“You know that you can wait it out in the cottage in Sophia’s domain, you know?” Chloe tilted her head while looking at the jaguar. “I’m thinking of also doing that because I really don’t like this part of the monster country. Too hot, dry, and sad-looking for my taste. I’ve been here before, and all I really care about is petting a griffin, after all.”

“And riding on one!” Steph smiled at her. “That part is important.”

“That, too, yes.”

“I have been debating staying comfortable in the cottage while those thrill-junkies are out here, but I have to take care of the princess because I'm still also her maid, and she’s definitely not leaving this place because she’s too excited.”

“Since when has this plot point become relevant again?” Anna looked confused. “Not to mention that you’re taking care of the wrong tiger at the moment.” She then gestured at the fact that the jaguar was still clinging to Sophia’s arm while hugging it tightly.

“No, I think she got the right tiger.” Sophia reacted with a cheeky smile as she gave her a thumbs-up with her free hand. She was obviously enjoying the sensation of having her arm pressed against the jaguar’s body. "She's a powerful maid capable of taking more than one tiger~."

“Oi!” Anna didn’t appreciate that.

“I love this group.” As usual, Steph was a big fan of their dynamic. “You’re also curious, though, aren’t you?” She smirked at Ari. “Like, being the probably first jaguar in here, and one of the first of the beastfolk in general to cross the monster country is something one can boast with forever!” The dog-girl then paused for a second. “Well, I think at least. It’s not like I’m from around, after all.”

“There’s definitely a lot of prestige and bragging rights to gain here~.” Anna nodded a few times. “We’re about the only ones on the continent who hopefully are able to do such a feat.”

“…” The jaguar suddenly went silent.

“Spot on, huh?” Steph let out a chuckle. “I’ll manage to fully drag you over to the fun side before we leave the monster country!”

“I won't accept such a thing before we leave this continent!" Ari shook her head.

"What does that mean?!” Steph got visibly excited. “This continent?! As in, we’ll get unhinged Ari once we leave for the demons?!”

"Unhinged might be going a step or four too far.” She shook her head. “I still don’t want to stand out too much, after all.”

“You need to add some details there!” The dog-girl got even bouncier. “What’s the play? Also, you already stick out plenty by being so beautiful and the rare color scheme!”

“T-Thanks for the first part.” The jaguar got a little embarrassed. “The second part is part of the issue. I’m okay with my colors now, thanks to you all, but I’m still self-conscious about standing out. After all, I’m not Sophia, who needs to be the center of attention at all times or else she dies.”

“Oi!” The blonde didn’t like the jab.

“Anyway, I just don't want to get even more attention by displaying any sort of odd power levels.”

“You worry too much~.” Steph didn’t share her concern. “What does this continent have to do with any of that, though?”

"Well, if it's a completely different place where the beastfolk aren't in the majority, having special colors won’t matter at all.” The jaguar scratched her cheek. “According to Fen and Aura, the demons are also stronger and have much more magic than the regular beastfolk.”

“Okay?” The dog-girl still had issues following her.

“I probably won’t mind adjusting my levels to the locals. To be less conspicuous, you know?”

“Is that how that works?” Chloe tilted her head while listening to her.

“Shush!” Steph lightly glared at her before energetically nodding at Ari. “Makes perfect sense to me! Though, then again, with Sophia around, I don’t think you’d ever stand out.”

“Doesn’t matter.” She shook her head in return. “It’s not like I’m always close to Sophia to have her overshadow me.”

“Mh-hm.” The dog-girl just stared at the jaguar while she was tightly clinging to the tiger in question.

“…” She paused for a moment. “She’s just the safest space around, but I see your point.” Ari’s expression turned slightly awkward. “Anyway, I still want to call myself regular, so I’ll match the locals.”

“Sophia!” Steph suddenly turned to her sister while looking at her with big and excited eyes as her tail wagged at full force.

“Yes?” She tilted her head in return.

"We need to find a region where nothing but extremely overpowered beings live!”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” The blonde gave her a thumbs-up.

“Wouldn’t that kinda just be Sophia’s domain?” Chloe thought about it for a second. "I mean, everyone in there is extremely powerful.”

“That’s true!” Steph could follow her logic before changing her attention to the jaguar. “Wait, is that why you burned down like half of her domain already?! Because you're an overpowered being who can't contain herself?”

“I helped burning it down~.” Ari decided to humor her for a change.

“Unleashed Ari at full blast might be the greatest thing ever!” The dog-girl was loving every second of it. “She might turn into the most powerful amongst all of us! Not in terms of magic, but in being the most playful one!”

“That might be a tall order with this group.” Chloe had her doubts about that claim. “I mean, we have some heavy hitters in that category.” She then went ahead and looked at every single individual in their group without focusing on anyone in particular.

“Yourself included.” Sophia looked back at her.

“I very much hope so!” The fox-girl was a big fan of being playful, after all. “I just hope I can compete with the new and improved Ari, though.”

“You did that to yourself, by the way.” Listening to them for a bit, Sophia then glanced at the girl clinging to her arms while slowly shaking her head. “I’m the queen of doing things to herself, so I’d know.”

“That’s what I get for playing along, huh?” Ari let out a sigh. “You offer them a hand, but they take your entire arm instead.”

“More like all of you.” The blonde corrected her.

“Definitely all of you~.” Steph nodded along with a big grin on her lips.

“Urgh.” She hung her head.

“Anyway, let’s get going!” Steph energetically raised her arm high in the air. “The griffins and the demon ruins are still my top priority right now, but the incentive for going to the demon continent as soon as possible has just gotten even sweeter!”

Ari was more than okay with dropping the topic and immediately started walking while dragging Sophia along with her. Letting out a small chuckle, Chloe eventually followed after them before Steph immediately sprinted in the same direction, as well. A little while later, everyone else began moving as well.