Boosted Restart – A new chance in a different world

Chapter 284 – So that’s how it works

Sophia and Maya were still going strong with teasing the loud couple and even tried their luck on Chloe while they were at it, but the fox-girl was smarter than them and boasted about having invented magic that's able to mask every sound she makes. Though, she didn't notice that mentioning this also meant admitting to having done something loud during the night. Once they had breakfast together and finished a few other preparations, the duo left Anna, Ari, and Chloe behind in their mansion to visit Ellie in the castle.

“Hmm…” Arriving in the castle, Sophia looked around in the entrance hall while studying the people running around there. “Everyone seems to be pretty normal to me.”

“It feels a little like they’re trying to avoid our queen, though.” Maya was doing the same before she faced Kira in front of them.

“Ahh…” Said queen awkwardly scratched her cheek. "Half of them is too embarrassed to face me, and the other half has already gotten a talking from me.”

“Ahhhh…” The couple had a similar reaction.

“Do you think it will become any better until your birthday when the idiots plan to return?" Sophia looked at her, as well.

“Everyone who’s trying to ruin the mood on my birthday when my girls return will be kicked out of the castle.” Kira raised her voice to a level loud enough for everyone in the entrance hall to hear. “It’s that easy.” The was not even a shred of joking in her voice. Immediately after, the entrance hall emptied out pretty quick.

“Wow.” The couple had nothing to add to that. “You’re great.”

“I know~.”

“As the topic came up already, how does the big boss feel about it?” Sophia glanced at the fleeing people before focusing on the queen. “He heard his daughter becoming an adult, after all. Or however you want to call those events.”

“Yes…” Kira nodded. “He and the fifteen ministers he received here in this very entrance hall had heard them.”

“…” The two needed a moment to get past that. “So…?”

“I wonder if I can kick the king out of his castle…” From her expression, Kira earnestly seemed to be thinking about it.

“That bad…?”

“He canceled the meeting with the ministers when it happened, and he hasn’t left his office since then…”

“Wow… Wait!” The blonde raised her voice. “That was the day before yesterday, wasn’t it?!”

“Yes.”

“There’s just no way it’s okay for the king to mope around for two days, isn’t it?”

“It’s not like he’s of any use right now…” Kira let out a sigh. “He’s behaving like the biggest child right now, throwing a gigantic temper tantrum.”

“…”

“The two weren’t the absolute closest because Anna’s a little complicated, but she’s still his little girl. Dads be dads, I guess?"

“Have fun with that once you meet mine, Sophia.” Maya seemed to understand the issue a little. "Well, he's actually not that bad. I think..."

“I’ll try my best!” She got a little nervous before concentrating on the queen yet again. “Would you mind if I try my luck on him?”

"Do you have a plan?"

"I liked the idea of kicking his butt quite a lot. I'm fairly sure I could kick him right out of the window and away from the castle.”

"Oho, I'm a big fan of that plan."

“I’m pretty sure that’s a very serious of high-level treason or something like that, isn’t it?”

“Says the one who tried to attack the first princess on the day they met.”

"…" Maya had nothing to defend herself with against the blonde's remark.

“It’s fine~.” Kira waved her hand. “If the queen allows you to get physical on him, no one will blame you for anything."

“Perfect!” Sophia started smiling. “Let’s have a nice talk with his majesty~.”

“Have fun!” Kira looked forward to it.

“I’ll sit that one out.” The cat-girl had mixed feelings about it. “I don’t disagree, and he earns a kick or two, but I think I’ll go and collect some clothes for the loud idiot couple.”

“Make sure to forget their pajamas, though.”

"Of course!"

“Hmm?” Kira tilted her head in response.

“Don’t worry about it.” The two just smiled at her.

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Afterward, the three went their own ways, and Sophia headed straight for the king's office. Fortunately, thanks to her detection magic, it actually was pretty straight for her circumstances, and she only got lost three times as the tiger knew where Menzor was but not how to get there.

“Oh, hello!” In front of his office, she then ran into one of the jaguar head maids. She was a little smaller, only marginally taller than the tiger, and had dark-yellow hair with many black rosettes in it. It was more or less the exact opposite of Ari.

“Welcome.” She did a little curtsy while she greeted her. "I'm sorry to inform you that his majesty currently doesn't receive any guests."

“I know.” Sophia nodded. “The queen sent me to kick his butt.”

"Oh my, that's a lovely idea!" The maid’s eyes lit up.

“I wasn’t expecting that answer.”

“Our dear king is acting way too much like a spoilt child, and it's time he stops that. I want my Ari back here."

“You know her?” The blonde tilted her head. “Ah, of course you would…” She had no idea why she asked this question.

“I know her very well.” The jaguar smiled at her. “She came out of me, after all.”

“Hmm…?” She needed a moment. “Ahh! You’re her mother?!”

“That I am. One of them, the one that birthed her.”

“Right!” Sophia nodded a few times. “She told me that she’s the daughter of two of the head maids! It’s nice to meet you. Well, meet you better, I guess…? We saw each other a couple of times already, after all.”

“That is true. I’m Daria, by the way.”

“Sophia.”

“I know.”

“Ahaha…”

“How is our idiot doing? She’s at your home, isn’t she?”

“She’s quite loud, but other than that, she’s doing fine.”

“…” Daria took a short pause. “Okay, that was a good one.”

“Glad to see that you can take a joke about it already.” Sophia was glad that she didn’t seem overly upset about it. “Well, she’s terribly embarrassed about everything, but it's getting better already. Kira's doing a good job about beating everything here into shape for them to shut up about it, too. So, if I go and beat up the king, the two should be good to return in a few days, right in time for the queen's birthday."

“Those are splendid news!”

"Granted, I can convince the king to stop being an idiot over his daughter having grown up.”

"A-Ah…” Her expression turned awkward. “Please do your best.”

“Obviously.” She gave her a thumbs up. “Having Ari and Anna stay at my place is fun, but not under such circumstances.”

“Thank you!”

“Alright!” Sophia then faced the door to Menzor’s office, but she quickly stopped and glanced at the jaguar again. “Now that we met after Ari told me she has two moms… Do you mind if I ask a few questions?” While she did want to stall the confrontation a little, the tiger really was terribly curious about many things.

“Well, there’s no way his majesty will run away, so… What do you want to know?”

"I grew up in a very remote place, and I am extremely ignorant about many things… I only learned about the blessing magic after arriving in the capital. I was extremely shocked that I, a girl that likes girls, am actually able to have her own child if she wants to."

“Do you want to?”

“Yes!” The blonde gave her a strong reply. “Not right now, it’s too early, but I want a future for myself that involves this magic!”

“I see… So, you want to know how it actually works?”

"Exactly!" She nodded a few times. "First, though… how does it work for two men…? It has absolutely no relation to me, but it has been bugging me ever since I heard about it! I mean, they don’t come equipped with the necessaries to birth a child as we do, do they?"

"Ahaha, no, they do not." She let out a small chuckle. "For them, it's, unfortunately, a little more complicated. They need a third party, a surrogate mother for it."

“Ahh, I see.”

“That mother only carries out the child, though. She has no other relation to it. Both male parents provide everything that is needed for the child. In one way or another, one provides the regular male part converted to magic while the other replaces the female part that is used instead of the surrogate mother’s with his own. These fuses together like it would regularly happen, forming the child which is then carried out.”

“Ohh, I see!” Sophia sounded honestly interested. “For us, our partner mixes her magic with mine, and I then carry it out in my womb, I guess?"

"Not quite." Daria shook her head. "If you're the birth-giving mother, everything about the pregnancy will be completely normal for you."

“Eh?”

“You only use your magic to accept and consent to your partner's blessing. Her magic will, in a way, act like sperm, and the conception aside, everything else will happen completely like it’s biologically intended. Well, there is one thing that differs from a hetero couple. For both types of same-sex couples.”

“Seriously?!” She hadn’t expected it to be that normal. “Hmm?”

“The biological gender of your child is fixed. Two women can only have a girl. There simply is no information about the other gender the child could receive. That’s also why the population of women is somewhat higher than men. It’s easier for them to have children, after all.”

“I see…” Sophia scratched her cheek. “Well, that ruins the surprise, but to be perfectly honest… Those are great news! I would rather have a daughter, anyway. Not that I wouldn’t have loved my son to death, of course.”

“Yep.” The jaguar nodded.

“Still, it’s mind-blowing that everything else about the pregnancy is that normal.”

“All of the amazing side-effects of a pregnancy included. Have fun with the morning sickness, mood swings, weird cravings, weight gain, and many more things I rather not remember."

“Ahhh…”

“Well, it gave me two lovely daughters, so I don't have anything to complain about. It's an unforgettable experience I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.."

“I can imagine!” She had not noticed a single shred of spite in her voice when Daria listed the side effects, either. "Wait, two? Ari has a sister?"

“Yes. She's a few years older than our Ari. She left the castle a few years ago to travel with the prince. My wife gave birth to her.”

"Ohh, the guy Anna told me about, and I definitely remember!" Her eyes started darting around. “Oh, are those two…?”

“Nope.” The maid shook her head. “Nothing like Anna and Ari. They love each other and are inseparable, but it’s completely platonic. They’re basically like any other siblings.”

“Ahh.”

"Also, the prince is completely useless without her, so she had no choice other than going with him."

“I’m starting to see a pattern here. Our dear princess would be just as lost.”

“I neither deny nor conf… What am I saying? Of course, you are right.” Daria couldn’t finish her sentence while staying serious.

“Okay, back to the topic.” Sophia still had more questions. “Conception aside, everything is perfectly natural… So, how does the conception happen?”

“It’s fairly unspectacular. Your partner puts her hand on your stomach and recites the blessing chant while you use the one to accept the blessing.”

“And then… you’re pregnant…?”

“Pretty much. Although, it can happen that you need a few tries. As the part for the conceiving mother is more or less completely biological, some variables can cause you to have to try again. It basically doesn’t work when you’re on your period or on other days where you most likely wouldn’t get pregnant from a man, either.”

“Wow!”

“Oh!” She suddenly clapped her hands. “It wasn’t a thing back when we made Ari, but for girl couples, blessing magic actually has advanced quite a bit. Even the conception now can be basically completely normal.”

“Huh?” Sophia looked surprised while she tilted her head.

“They developed some, uhh… tools that recreate more or less everything."

“…” The blonde needed a moment. “Toys…?”

Afterward, once the deep blush on her cheeks had calmed down a little, Sophia finally started what she had initially planned to do, beat up the king of this nation. Having gotten sex tips from the mother of her best friend was a rather unexpected experience. She wasn't going to complain, though.