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A few days later, in Inglis’ room at Eux’s mansion, she had overslept and woke up a little late in the morning after spending the previous night tinkering with the Artifacts.
Suddenly, the door was forcefully thrown open, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
“?! What’s happening?”
Inglis finally noticed, but it was too late. Someone leaped onto her bed.
“Hyau?!”
“Good morning, Glis!”
It was Rafinha, wearing a big smile on her face. Well, she had sprinted and dove onto Inglis, so it was a bit overwhelming.
“Happy Birthday! You’re sixteen today, right?!”
“Rani…”
Both the impact and weight were all for the sake of being the first to congratulate her. Inglis couldn’t complain, as she found herself smiling.
“Good morning, Rani. And thank you.”
“Yup, yup. Now, let’s get those clothes off!”
Rafinha started to tear away Inglis’ thin nightgown, and even Rene jumped onto Inglis’ chest.
“HYaaaah?! Rani, stop it…! What are you doing?!”
“What else? It’s your birthday, so I made you a new dress! Wait… hm? Your breasts got bigger again? Oh no, will it fit? Excuse me for a sec.”
She proceeded to rub Inglis’ breasts more than necessary.
“Eeh? I don’t think so… My usual underwear doesn’t feel tight.”
“Hmm… Well, I just wanted to give them a little squeeze, you know.”
“You…! And that’s more than just a little!”
Rafinha leaped off the bed, narrowly avoiding a collision with the desk.
“Now, now, I worked hard to make the dress myself. This is just the fee. Come on, get up and put it on! You’ll look amazing in it!”
She twirled around happily, holding a beautifully wrapped present in her hands.
“Yeah, I will.”
Inglis laughed and got out of bed when…
Clank!
Rafinha accidentally bumped into the desk, stumbling over it.
“Wah?!”
“Rani!”
Inglis quickly rushed to support Rafinha, but in doing so, she accidentally let the Artifact on the desk fall to the floor. With it came the various parts and materials that had been stripped away, scattering across the ground in pieces.
Spoof!
There was a collision, generating a thick plume of smoke that instantly filled the room. The smoke was so dense that it engulfed Inglis and Rafinha, obscuring their vision completely.
“Uwah?! Wh-what’s happening…? Koff, koff…”
“J-just open the window for now…!”
As the smoke gradually dissipated, visibility started to return.
“I-I’m sorry, Glis…! I knocked it over…”
“It’s okay, I can fix it. But more importantly, are you okay, Rani? Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay…”
Rafinha reached for the hand Inglis extended to her, but something felt off.
The hand felt different than usual. It was strangely soft and fluffy.
““Hm?””
The reason behind the odd sensation soon became clear. The image of Rafinha that came into view was that of her as a five or six-year-old, resembling how she looked ten years ago.
““Uwah! So nostalgic! Cute!””
Both of them exclaimed at the same time.
““Eh?””
Their surprise was synchronized as well.
““M-mirror!””
They hurriedly looked into the mirror and saw their own reflections as five- or six-year-old versions of themselves.
““EEEEEeeeeeehhhhh?!””
Even their screams matched perfectly.
◆◇◆
And so, the day of their scheduled matchmaking arrived, with Inglis and Rafinha still stuck in their small bodies.
“Well, this is a problem…”
“I-it sure is… Can they even return?”
Irina and Selena lamented, each holding their daughter on their lap.
“But them looking like this isn’t that bad, right?”
“Right. Although, it might be problematic for the matchmaking…”
They commented, let out sighs, and squeezed their respective daughters tightly.
““Aah, so cute…””
While they were worried about Inglis and Rafinha being trapped in childlike forms, they couldn’t help but feel delighted to hold their daughters when they were at their most adorable. The four of them had been stuck like this for several days now. Inglis understood how her mother and aunt felt.
Immediately after the incident on Inglis’ birthday, Inglis couldn’t resist hugging the now-smaller Rafinha because she was just too cute. And it seemed Rafinha felt the same way when she saw little Inglis, as they ended up hugging each other for quite some time. Inglis also found herself spending hours alone in front of the mirror, fascinated by her own cuteness. However, she couldn’t wear the clothes Rafinha had prepared for her as a birthday present.
But if she could bring joy to her mother and aunt, then she was happy. Still, it had been several days, and they hadn’t returned to normal. Inglis wondered if she should accept that whatever happened wouldn’t naturally revert over time.
She didn’t understand it well herself. After all, the Artifact she was modifying had exploded in the middle of the process, and she couldn’t say for certain the state of the Artifact at the time.
She had been working on modifying the Artifact’s core to increase its output and change the nature of its Gift. Her goal was to create an effect that would alter the size of the object the Artifact hit. With Alina still being a young girl at the age of ten, Inglis thought that if she had to fight someone, she might be able to neutralize her opponent without taking their life by making them smaller. That was the idea behind her modifications.
While Leone’s black greatsword Artifact could change its own size, Inglis aimed to make the size alteration work on the opponent instead. Using the black greatsword Artifact as a reference, she reconfigured the structure of the mana control in the core of the Artifact and also injected a bit of Ether as a hidden ingredient.
Perhaps using Ether was a mistake. If she had to guess, the core became overloaded, and a slight shock caused it to explode, spreading the effect of the mutated Gift to anyone in the room.
That was probably it. If Inglis and Rafinha didn’t revert back, then Inglis would have to consult with Principal Miliera and Special Envoy Theodore to discuss how to reverse the effect.
But, for now…
“There’s no problem if we stay like this for a while. If we remain as children even after the vacation is over, we can ask for help once we return to the Knight Academy. The matchmaking can still happen like this too. I’m fine with it.”
It wasn’t like Inglis couldn’t fight with the body of a five or six-year-old. Her physical capabilities were slightly reduced, and her reach for direct attacks was shorter due to her shorter limbs.
“Eeh~! But I do mind! I can’t have proper matchmaking being a kid like this!”
“But I can still fight, right?”
“Again, matchmaking doesn’t mean battle matches!”
“Hmm, she’s right. It’s difficult to hold a matchmaking if they’re children like this…”
“Exactly! Do something, Glis…!”
“It’s challenging right now. I’m sorry, okay?”
Inglis answered with a big grin. She saw it as a good thing that Rafinha’s matchmaking was hindered. Inglis had already made a contingency plan by asking the Marquis, but if this made it impossible for the matchmaking to take place, she was fine with it.
Even though Inglis was in a childlike form, she could still fight. Besides, she had already stated that she would proceed with the matchmaking if her suitor could defeat her, so her childlike state might give them the illusion of an easier victory.
In short, it wasn’t a matter of whether she could fix them or not. It was a matter of when, and right now, it was favorable for her not to.
“You’re not taking it seriously, Glis! I know, since now my matchmaking is jeopardized!”
“That’s not true, you know?”
“…Well, fine, since this means big brother Rafa has that much bigger chance…”
Rafinha mumbled something under her breath.
“Hm? What was that?”
“Nothing~!”
Just then, Ada appeared.
“My lady, everyone! We have a guest!”
Inglis jumped down from Selena’s lap and clenched her fist.
“Here they come…! Miss Ada, how many enemies do we have?!”
“They’re not enemies! They’re suitors!”
“She’s the spitting image of you from the past, Selena…”
“Hahahaha…”
“But, it’s only one person…”
“Just one, huh? That’s a little disappointing, but the rest may come later. Besides, if they’re alone, it could mean they’re confident in their strength. What kind of person are they?”
“Well, in terms of strength, I’m sure the person in question is quite strong, but I don’t think our guest is a suitor.”
““?””
“Ah, could it be big brother Rafa?”
But then, Ada wouldn’t refer to him as a guest.
“No, it’s not the young master. It’s Lady Eris, the Hyrule Menace, who has come.”
““Miss Eris?!””
Why would Eris come to Ymir? Inglis and her family immediately went to see their unexpected guest.
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