Chapter 6
Look at him trying to change the subject. It was clear he had no money.
“That’s not for you to worry about. Let’s deal with the urgent matter first, shall we?”
“…Once this current research is finished, I’ll get a performance bonus. I’ll pay you then.”
“And when will that be?”
“Probably… it should be completed in about six months.”
“Are you joking right now?!”
Who does this shameless guy think he is? Paying in six months? He must be out of his mind.
“Fine! Where’s the item? I’ll be taking it back.”
It was a waste of time to keep talking to someone unreasonable. Flushed with anger, Hermie began rummaging through the mage’s lab.
“Ah, no, no, no. That’s the most important thing for this research.”
“If it’s that important, you should have paid for it properly!”
The mage kept trying to dissuade her in his weak, listless voice, but it was no use. While searching the lab intently, a familiar object caught her eye.
‘That’s it!’
The precious item worth 300 gold was glowing with an opal light inside a transparent beaker.
The item the mage had swindled was none other than a Fairy’s Tear.
A rare gem called a Fairy’s Tear, found only in the deep parts of the Hexe Mountains and believed to be left behind by fairies. Its value varies by size, and the one the mage had ordered was a top-grade specimen as large as a fist.
Without hesitation, Hermie plunged her hand into the beaker, and the mage screamed in horror.
“No! Stop! It’s almost finished!!”
Is only your research important? Our guild is on the verge of bankruptcy! Hermie steeled her heart.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she pulled the Fairy’s Tear from the cold liquid. Having retrieved the item, Hermie looked at the mage triumphantly.
“There, we’ll be taking the item back to our guild. From now on, please pay properly for…”
Something strange was happening. Hermie’s voice was gradually shrinking to the size of an ant’s.
A plop sound followed, and the Fairy’s Tear she was holding fell to the floor with a thud. At the same time, her vision went completely dark.
“My goodness! Incredible!”
Then, the excited voice of the mage shouting for joy could be heard.
Hermie felt dizzy, tightly shut her eyes, and shook her head vigorously.
When she opened them, it was as if she had entered a cave; she couldn’t see ahead. She could hear the mage’s voice, but it was a strange sensation, as if she had suddenly been dropped into another world.
At that moment.
Whoosh—!
The veil covering the world was lifted, and her vision cleared.
“I did it! It worked!!”
An impossibly gigantic mage was looking down at Hermie, beaming brightly. The situation of looking up at a colossal human being was terrifying in itself.
The mage stomped his foot, thump, thump, making the ground shake. If she were stepped on by that enormous foot, she would be flattened instantly.
“Wh-what is this?”
Terrified, Hermie scrambled backwards, but she didn’t get far before she was caught in the mage’s hand. And not just part of her—her entire body.
“AAAAH!!! Wh-what is this?!”
Seeing the giant palm that enveloped her from her chest down to her calves, Hermie let out a shrill, shrieking scream. Unfazed, the mage just kept rejoicing like a madman.
“Perfectly successful. This is it, this is it. Ah! I need to write this down before I forget.”
The mage tossed Hermie into an animal cage like the ones used for lab mice, then rushed to his desk and began wrestling with paper.
“Ah, I added this. Yes, yes. That was it.”
While the mage muttered and organized the potion recipe, Hermie belatedly realized what had happened to her body.
“Gasp!!”
The mage’s room felt impossibly vast. The enormous cage. Her clothes, lying on the ground. And herself, now naked.
She had shrunk to the size of a baby mouse.
“Hey, you crazy bastard!!!!”
Even the scream she let out with all her might was as tiny as a mouse’s squeak.
***
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