Chapter 22: To Grow

We found ourselves in the largest open space in the village.

The reason was simple: to test the “height-enhancing magic” that Harp claimed to know.

“Alright, Harp! Cast the ‘magic to make me taller’ on me now!”

“Um… it’s a bit of a different kind of magic… You might be disappointed…”

“What kind of magic is it?”

“Well… it’s, um, a spell that accelerates growth.”

“Oh, that’s perfect! It’s basically the same thing!”

“O-okay.”

Though hesitant, Harp calmly began preparing the spell.

Meanwhile, I stretched both of my arms high above my head to fully savor the joy of my impending “growth.”

“Teacher… What’s that pose?”

“It’s my ‘Stretching Gymnastics.’”

“…?”

“It just feels like the magic will work better if I do this. Don’t worry about it, Harp.”

“I… see.”

Harp scratched her cheek awkwardly as the magic circle on the ground began to expand.

A mysterious glow started to rise, shimmering with an otherworldly light.

It seemed like the spell was about to activate.

“Don’t regret this.”

“I won’t regret it. Not one bit.”

“Alright then… Here I go, Teacher!”

“Okay!”

As I nodded, a blinding white light engulfed my vision.

Finally, my long-held wish was about to come true.

No more “shorty Eve.”

From now on, the world would only know “tall and stylish Eve.”

Mwahaha!

Filled with anticipation, I closed my eyes and waited patiently.

I didn’t want to risk even the slightest movement ruining the spell.

After what felt like an eternity, the dazzling light began to fade, and my vision cleared.

“Ta-da! …Huh?”

“What?”

Something felt… off.

If I’d really “grown,” my perspective should have changed, and my eye level should be higher.

But for some reason, nothing seemed different.

In fact, it felt like things might’ve gotten lower.

Did the spell fail somehow?

But no…

The weeds around me were towering much higher than before.

“Teacher?”

“Harp, what do you think? How do I look?”

“Well, uh… That is…”

Harp seemed unable to give me a straight answer.

Her eyes darted around, avoiding mine, and her hesitation only amplified the gnawing anxiety in my chest.

“Just tell me already.”

“…You’ve gotten… younger.”

“…What?”

“This is hard to explain with words. Maybe you should… look in a mirror.”

“O-okay.”

Harp handed me a small hand mirror, which I grabbed hurriedly.

“…Eh?”

In the reflection was me—except I looked at least six years younger than usual.

My cheeks, already soft, now had a babyish plumpness to them, and my previously short stature had shrunk even more.

So much so that I probably couldn’t even climb onto a chair at the orphanage without help.

This… this doesn’t make any sense.

I’m younger now?

I was already stuck in a babyish body, and now I’ve become a super baby.

What am I supposed to do with this?!

“This… this has to be a lie, right?”

“It’s the truth.”

This had to be a dream.

If not a dream, then surely a nightmare.

But no matter how hard I pinched and pulled at my cheeks, the sting from my soft, smooth skin, and the tears welling in my eyes, made it clear—this was reality.

“Nooo!!!”

As I flailed around in despair, sinking deeper into the abyss of hopelessness, Harp quietly cheered in her mind.

‘Nice.’

Everything was going according to plan.

‘I’ve always wanted to see Teacher’s younger self…’

Eve would never know.

From the deliberate display of their height difference in the bathhouse to spark jealousy, to using the so-called “growth” magic… it was all part of Harp’s plan.

‘I didn’t lie, Teacher.’

Of course, the spell didn’t actually enhance growth.

Instead, it accelerated reverse growth.

Harp had simply stretched out her explanation and played coy, knowing her excited teacher wouldn’t catch on.

‘But it’s all for Teacher’s own good.’

Harp wasn’t driven purely by selfish desires.

To her, Eve always seemed like she was being chased by something, always in a hurry.

Just now, and even before, Eve always prioritized others over herself.

She was the kind of kindhearted person who ignored her own pain but always noticed when someone else was hurting.

‘Teacher…’

Did she even know?

Did she remember how, on that fateful day when she saved Harp, her body had been covered in wounds?

Did she realize that Harp had secretly healed those wounds with magic while she was unconscious?

‘She probably hasn’t noticed anyway.’

With that in mind, Harp decided to kill two birds with one stone: give her teacher a brief break while also indulging her own curiosity and desires.

‘Teacher, you always push yourself too hard.’

Eve always claimed to be an adult, but in the end, she was just a child like Harp.

Though she occasionally acted her age, her usual demeanor was… precarious.

To Harp, Eve was cool, flawless, and dependable—someone she could rely on without question.

But no matter how mature her mind might be, there was no way her small body could carry every burden.

‘So, Teacher, just for today, it’s okay to take a break and be a kid. Lean on someone else for a while.’

After all, if you place a large stone on a small bridge, it might hold for a time, but eventually, it will crumble under the weight.

That was exactly what worried Harp.

Since the magic’s effects would only last for about a day, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for her teacher to catch her breath.

‘…Ehehe.’

Of course, this was just a convenient excuse; most of her actions were driven by her own selfish desires.

“…Hey, Harp.”

“Y-yes?”

“How… am I supposed to chop firewood now? I can’t even lift the axe anymore!”

“…Oh no.”

The sight of her teacher, now regressed to an even younger state, was absolutely…

Adorable.

‘…That lisp is so cute!’

Eve didn’t seem to notice, but her now even smaller body made her struggle with more complex words, causing a slight lisp whenever she tried to speak.

To Harp, it was nothing short of perfection.

“This is all wrong! I wanted to grow taller so I could protect Harp… Now I’m the one who needs protecting…”

“It’s okay, Teacher.”

“It’s NOT okay!”

Harp’s face turned bright red.

She was clearly struggling to keep her composure, pressing her hands firmly against her face as if trying to stop a nosebleed from erupting.

“Well… How about we switch roles for today?”

“Switch… roles?”

“Yes! I’ve always wanted to try being a teacher, even just once!”

…But I’m the teacher here.

“Ugh, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“Please, Teacher? Just for one day?”

“…If it’s just one day… okay, fine.”

Though reluctant, I eventually nodded, deciding that one day wouldn’t hurt too much.

“Ah, but today’s market day… I need to buy some things.”

“Oh, Teacher, what’s there to worry about? You have me!”

“Alright, Harp, I’ll trust you.”

It wasn’t what I’d planned, but so began the reverse-shopping adventure of Harp and Eve.

“Let’s hurry! It’s getting late, and we’ll need to move fast to find the best deals!”

“Okay…”

“…Hey, Harp?”

“Yes?”

“…My legs hurt.”

Sure enough, Eve, who had been waddling along on her tiny legs, quickly grew tired.

Grabbing onto Harp’s sleeve, she slumped in exhaustion.

“Pant… Huff…”

“Teacher?”

“Y-yes, I’m here! Oh no, you must be really tired. Let me carry you!”

“W-wait! No! I can walk on my own…!”

“Your legs are already trembling, Teacher. Just sit still and let me carry you, okay?”

“Nooo, I said no!”

Eve flailed around, determined not to be carried, but her resistance was weak at best.

With her now even smaller and more fragile body, she couldn’t put up much of a fight.

Inevitably, she ended up on Harp’s back.

“Th-this has to be a dream…”

“It’s reality, Teacher.”

“Ugh, n-nooo…”

Steam seemed to rise from Eve’s head as her embarrassment reached its peak—not literally, of course, but Harp could tell she was mortified.

“Teacher, do you know something?”

“What is it?”

“I’ve started to resemble you without even realizing it.”

“…Huh?”

“The villagers say so… B-but, uh, never mind! Forget it!”

There’s an old saying: people who care for one another start to resemble each other.

To the Harp who used to live every day in despair, it was a concept she could never have understood.

But now, as she carried Eve on her back, she found herself smiling.

Even in the midst of embarrassment, she felt grateful for the warmth and kindness her teacher had shared with her.

“Why’d you stop talking? That’s no fun.”

“I’ll tell you when I’m older.”

But now, Harp understood the meaning of that sentence.

The warm, bright, and unique gaze she had always felt from her teacher—something she thought she would never experience again—wasn’t Eve’s gaze at all.

‘It wasn’t her gaze…?’

That gaze wasn’t Eve’s.

It was Harp’s own gaze, reflected in Eve’s pure, golden eyes.

And the emotions held within that gaze…

“Eve, Teacher.”

“Why’re you calling me?”

“N-no reason.”

“…Why are you smiling like that? You’re scaring me.”

“Hmph.”

It was the feeling called love.