The group arrived at the port city that Sophia had spotted with her detection magic and, after having eaten something, met up with the mayor there. From her, they learned that Nathan had also been there and, much to Anna's delight, she also knew where he was headed next. Wanting to waste no time, they immediately got going again while trying to catch up with the prince and his group.

"So, am I really the only one concerned about that?" While saying so, Ari pointed at the ocean to their left. More and more waves, which were getting higher and higher as well, were hitting the shore at a rate way higher than just a couple of hours ago. At the same time, something like whirlpools and smaller underwater explosions could be made out in the distance towards the horizon.

"Kelkel's having fun, huh?" Chloe, who just decided to give their new friendly dragon his own nickname, didn't see the issue.

"I can't wait to see what he's going to add to the ocean in my domain!" Sophia had a similar opinion on the matter.

"Is that really the takeaway here?" The jaguar had her doubts about their reaction.

"Sure is!" Steph smiled at her before gesturing at Kel's work. "That's exactly the right amount of dedication someone should give when wanting something!"

"You have to want something so hard that you need to turn an entire ocean upside down or the equivalent of that?" Ari raised an eyebrow in return.

"Exactly!" The dog-girl just gave her a thumbs-up.

"Hah…"

"As much as I agree with you and feel the same, it pains me to say, but I think it's time we get used to stuff like this happening around us." Maya awkwardly scratched her cheek while looking at the jaguar.

"HUH?!" Steph, Chloe, Sophia, and Anna couldn't believe what they just heard.

"I hate all of you." The cat-girl didn't appreciate their exaggerated response.

"Well, they do have a point." Ari couldn't exactly blame them. "You have been trying to be on their chaos side every now and then, but…"

"…" She wasn't sure what to say at first. "I mean, it's about time we accept that there's no chance we can keep them in check. You, too, have given up multiple times already and only snap back on instinct every now and then."

"I mean, you're not wrong, but still!" The jaguar had a hard time accepting it. "It's one thing if it's just us, but all the attention we get when we're amongst others because something too out of the ordinary happens is so stressful!"

"That's fair, but now that we've picked up our pace while traveling, we won't be in the same place for long enough for too many people to pay attention to us." Maya lightly shrugged while looking at her. "Sure, our two tigers will always gather some curious onlookers, but we'll be long gone before more people link our presence with something like Kel." She gestured at the ocean while saying so. "The sisters doing something too exaggerated won't be that bad if we don't stick around, either."

"I guess you have a point there." Ari didn't have much to add there.

"Also, we'll depart for the demon continent soon, or soon-ish, and I doubt tigers will be much of a deal there, so we'll naturally get a lot less attention there!" The cat-girl tried to come up with something that would work on her.

"That's true!"

"Not if I have a say in it!" Steph smirked at Maya. "I want all the attention! If Sophia is okay with sharing some, of course." She had to take a jab at her sister, as well.

"Shut up!" The cat-girl glared at her.

"Hehe~."

Afterward, once they put the topic to rest, the girls continued to walk alongside the ocean's coast while taking in the sights. As it wasn't just a regular plain or meadow, they decided against using the portals, as well. For now, at least.

----------------

The group traveled for a few more hours before eventually heading back to Sophia's domain, feeling that they had been productive enough for a single day.

"Aura, my dear!" The girls were back in the cottage, where Steph immediately approached the wolves in the living room. "We've come with questions!"

"What can I do for you~?" She seemed to be happy to be of service.

"We have a great desire to learn more about the demon continent!"

"I thought you wanted that to be a surprise?" The female wolf lightly tilted her head.

"When it comes to exploring and stuff, but we were wondering about some things about the people that live there while traveling today."

"Alright, I'm all ears."

"Who among us could beat a demon? Not someone especially powerful, but an average member of the demonfolk."

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"In a regular magic challenge or in a matter of life and death?"

"Both?" Steph hadn't thought about it to that extent.

"In an actual fight where your life is on the line, everyone here would be able to defeat most demons." Aura paused for a moment. "And no, I don't mean because Sophia would be overprotectively destroying said demon if they tried harming anyone here."

"Which she totally would." The blonde in question nodded a few times.

"By now, everyone here has gotten properly strong in terms of raw power thanks to Sophia's domain and its influence on everyone. Using all of that to defend yourselves from an attack, which would usually happen subconsciously, is enough to incapacitate or kill a demon attacker."

"Even I?" Ari gestured at herself while sounding rather dubious about it.

"Absolutely." The wolf just nodded in return.

"Wow." The jaguar wasn't sure how to feel about that. Although, she did seem a little relieved that she could at least defend herself, all things considered.

"What about a regular match to show off your magic, then?" Steph then got curious about why Aura had made the distinction earlier.

"Uhh…" Her voice turned a little awkward. "Well, Sophia would easily win against an entire army of the demonfolk. If she cheated, she could probably take on the entire continent." Choosing not to elaborate on her time-stop powers, she then looked at the fox-girl. "Chloe would win against quite a number of them, too. Even before your boost in magic power provided by Steph, your usage and handling of magic were immaculate, thanks to being the daughter of Mira and being raised by Fey. No demon could even dream of having such control."

"Ehehe~." The fox-girl liked that.

"What about me?" Steph excitedly pointed at herself as her tail was wagging from side to side behind her back.

"Uhh…" Aura started sounding awkward again. "If it's a challenge of pure strength, sure. You'd be able to destroy more things than most, if not all, demons could. If the contest were about the skillful application of magic or being precise and effective, well… might I remind you of your match with Kel?"

"…" Steph went silent as her tail dropped to the floor. "I'll get in more training with Kel before we meet the demons!" And just like that, her tail instantly returned to its default wagging motion.

"That would help a lot." Aura liked her dedication.

"If Steph needs more training, the same definitely also is the case for us, right?" Anna gestured between Ari and herself while looking at the wolf.

"Very much so." She nodded a few times. "While both of you have the power, the control over magic is still lacking. The creativity department could use some work, too." Aura then paused for a moment while looking at the jaguar. "Though, the demons are big fans of all things related to fire, so depending on the contest, you'd have a chance, my dear pyromaniac."

"OI!" Ari did not like that. Not even a bit.

"Unfair!" The princess also started pouting. "I'm not as good as her, but I also like to set things on fire!"

"That's a good start~." Aura winked at the tiger.

"I hate it here." Ari just hung her head.

"You'd win most contents, by the way." The female wolf then turned her attention to Maya. "You've been more powerful than most demons for a long time already, and only grew even more in strength lately. You're not quite as creative with magic as they are, but lots of Sophia's fun ideas and ways of thinking have already stuck to you, and you generally know how to use magic in an efficient way. That being said, you also still have lots of room for improvement."

"Hah." The cat-girl wasn't sure what to say. "Well, I guess that's good? I'm not interested in the life and death part from earlier, but a regular fight or match seems interesting."

"I'll immediately start my training with Kel!" Steph's competitive spirit flared up even more once she learned Maya was above her. "Stronger and hornier than me is just completely unacceptable!" The reason for her motivation was a little questionable, though.

"Hehe~." Maya liked that, though.

"What about the people?" Steph still had more questions to ask. "Sure, it's called demon continent, but I'm sure they're not the only folk there, right?"

"Of course." Aura nodded a few times. "They're just the dominant race there. Just like the beastfolk are here."

"Ahh!" The dog-girl got even more excited. "So, what other people are there?"

"Well, for starters, elves are a lot more common there. In great varieties, as well." The wolf thought about it for a moment. "They do exist here, but it's nearly impossible to find them without being lucky."

"I've met a group before, but only once!" Chloe nodded a few times.

"Ohh!" Steph's tail wag reached dangerous levels. "I can't wait to finally meet some elves!"

"Personally, I'm a little more partial to the dwarves." Aura paused for a second while remembering her stay there. "I love those stubborn and gruffy guys! Especially when you get drunk with them when they come up with the most unhinged things you can imagine. Their alcohol is something else, too. I bet even Sophia and Chloe would get drunk on that, even though they're immune."

"Ohh?" Hearing that, Fen's ears and tail perked up before looking at Sophia. "When are we heading there again?"

"Ahaha." The blonde could only chuckle at his very obvious reaction. "We have decided to pick up our pace a little, so we'll get there eventually. I still want to place a few more portals on this continent, though. Maybe finding Anna's brother and visiting Maya's home on the way would be nice, too. Well, we have a goal, but some sidetracking surely is going to happen."

"Fair enough." The wolf wasn't that eager to meet his new best friends.

"Are there any members of the beastfolk on that continent, too?" Anna finally got to the part that interested her the most.

"Quite a few, yes." Aura just nodded. "I mean, not nearly as many as here, obviously, but you don't really have to search for them for too long, either. There are also some varieties that, from what I'm aware of, don't exist here. Like the dragon beastfolk."

"What?!" The princess raised her voice. "I've never heard of the dragon beastfolk!"

"I'm no expert on your species, but it shouldn't be too surprising that if there are dragons, there would be a beastfolk subspecies. That's the case for every animal type, right?"

"There is the lizard beastfolk, which is kinda not too far off, too…?" Steph tilted her head while hoping she didn't say something offensive just now.

"I guess that's fair." Anna couldn't really talk back there. "It's just that while we have records of dragons, I can't remember any mention of a dragon beastfolk!"

"I don't remember ever hearing that, either." Ari nodded a few times. "With there being a lot of dragons on the demon continent and them being basically just a myth here, Kel aside, I can see it making sense, though."

"Elves! Dwarves! Cute dragon-girls with wings and thick tails!" Steph got louder with each word. "We really have to hurry up and get there!"

"I very much agree!" Chloe had no issues with how oddly specific her girlfriend got at the end. "The dwarves also sound like so much fun! I don't think I can actually get drunk, but I'm sure it will be amusing to outdrink them as a fluffy pink fox-girl."

"Ehehe~." Sophia let out another chuckle. "We're going to ruin their pride."

"Yes!" She just gave her a thumbs-up in return.

Once the most important topics were taken care of, the girls tried to learn more things about the demon continent and its inhabitants, but the more they heard, the more the group wanted to hurry up and get there already.

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