After quickly calling an ambulance to take Alice Digital away, Rei Zai returned to the laboratory.
"Alright, things over there have been dealt with…!?" She instantly froze in place.
"Oh my, oh my… it seems a strange error has occurred." Air Groove was nodding, dragging sleeves longer than usual.
"= =" Chaza, on the other hand, was staring blankly.
Both of them had shrunk.
"What happened again…?" Rei Zai felt her brain trembling.
"Well, Rice Shower grew bigger after drinking the potion, right? I got a bit curious about what would happen if Uma Musume who have already grown up drank the potion, so Chaza and I each took a swig."
"Do you think it's alcohol!? And a toast!?" Rei Zai felt her blood pressure soaring.
"Well, so Chaza and I turned into this. Could this be what they call two negatives making a positive?" Air Groove shrugged.
"But I have to say, a child's body does have a lot of troublesome aspects. Heh-ho~" Air Groove, however, calmly jumped onto the sofa.
Chaza, on the other hand, seemed to be in a state of denial, staring blankly with a look of disbelief.
As for Rice Shower, she was still acting like a good child, sitting there with an ovo? expression on her face.
Okay, she must have frozen, unable to process the current situation.
With no other choice, Rei Zai picked up the remaining potion and used the system to identify it.
[Trouble-Eliminating Potion]
[Effect Target: Uma Musume]
[Description: Adults have adult troubles, and children have child troubles. So, if they switched, would they no longer have their original troubles?]
[Effect: When used by an Uma Musume under 1.5 meters tall, they will transform into an adult appearance, even ignoring 'honkakuka'. When used by an Uma Musume 1.5 meters or taller, they will transform into a child's appearance.]
[Additional Effect: Heals internal hidden injuries]
[Duration: 48 hours]
Wait, my height is just a bit short of 1.5 meters… So, if I use this potion, I can grow bigger!?
[Note: When Absolute Zero uses it, she will become even smaller, and will experience infantile regression.]
…Damn!
One can only say that Air Groove, who could create such a potion, was truly a divine talent.
But now there were more troublesome things to deal with… "Z-chan, what happened with that ambulance just now… Eh eh eh eh eh!?!?!" Special Week, who had just walked in, was startled by the situation.
Including Teio, who had followed out of curiosity.
These two together certainly made for some good facial expressions. Rei Zai evaluated their sudden change in expressions in her mind.
"What on earth happened!?" Teio also seemed unable to accept reality.
Speaking of which, Teio's height seems to be exactly 1.5 meters… So does that count as 1.5 meters or above, or 1.5 meters or below?
Never mind, it feels like it would be troublesome no matter which way she turned out.
Left with no choice, Rei Zai could only explain to the two what had happened.
"It sounds like fun! I want to try it too!" After hearing the explanation, Teio's interest grew even higher.
"No, and Suko, don't take this potion out randomly in the future = ="
"I understand, of course. After all, this is too different from the potion I expected." Suko also agreed.
"Eh~?" She deflated instantly.
And Special Week also stood frozen.
In other words… A Mi, and Miss Suko, and Miss Chaza are going to live at Z-chan's house!?
No! If that happens, Z-chan will be taken away! I must find a way!
"Um… Z-chan, can I stay overnight tonight?" Special Week suddenly spoke up.
"? What's wrong again?"
"There are some parts of the exercises I don't understand!" That's right, if I use this reason, Z-chan will definitely agree to let me stay overnight!
"Eh? Is there anything Little Special-senpai doesn't understand? You can leave it all to this Teio!" Teio, on the side, patted her chest, looking confident.
"You two aren't even in the same grade, alright = =" Rei Zai, however, saw that Special Week had ulterior motives. While agreeing wasn't impossible, bringing three was already troublesome enough, so… "At that time, let Suzuka help out. I feel a bit tired from today's events…" Rei Zai rejected Special Week's request to stay overnight.
"Eh QAQ"
While they were chatting idly, Rice Shower, with the belated help of Oguri Cap, finally changed into new clothes.
"Well, it fits perfectly, A Mi~ Is there anything that doesn't fit?" Oguri Cap clasped her hands together, looking at Rice Shower with a relieved expression, much like a mother touched that her child had finally grown up.
This set of clothes was, of course, freshly bought. After roughly understanding what had happened, Oguri Cap simply bought a new set of clothes based on her own size, and even specially adjusted the style according to her impression of Rice Shower. Wearing it now, there was no sense of incongruity at all.
"No, it fits very well. Thank you, Oguri Cap-senpai."
"Oh my, it would be even better if you called me Mama~"
"Wuwu… about that, it's still… Oh, how much are these clothes? I'll transfer the money to you later."
"No need, it's enough for me to see you happy." Oguri Cap refused Rice Shower's request to transfer money.
The shrunken Suko and Chaza also changed into clothes that Rei Zai had bought but never worn, and they fit quite well too.
"But it's truly a magical potion, Suko-chan. Is there a potion that can make people even smaller? Like Z-chan last time." Oguri Cap, while marveling at the two shrunken figures, suddenly thought of something and asked.
And upon hearing this question, the expressions of everyone present instantly turned to horror, staring at Suko with an "absolutely not" look.
"Oh? That…" Suko naturally understood what their expressions meant. Although she also understood how terrifying Oguri Cap looked like that, and would definitely not give it out casually normally, but now… dragging a few more down with her seemed pretty good?
"No." Hearing Suko refuse, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, however… "But I can make one."
"Then I absolutely beg you! I'll help you apply for more funding from the President!" Oguri Cap also knew the principle of not freeloading, and directly dropped a bombshell.
"That would be excellent, indeed. Happy to cooperate." Suko's expression became extremely pleased.
No researcher can refuse a request for increased funding, none!
Ignoring everyone's "you devil" expressions, Air Groove happily intended to take a sip of black tea.
Huh? Can't reach… After shrinking, sitting on the sofa, she couldn't reach the coffee table… Wait! This aura!?
"It's alright, I'll take care of you, Suko-chan~" Oguri Cap's expression became strange. She hugged the shrunken Air Groove, placed her on her lap, and brought over the black tea from the coffee table.
"Wait, I can do it myself… Mmm!?" Just as she was about to say something, her mouth was blocked by the black tea.
Serves her right… Everyone looked at Oguri Cap, who had once again triggered a strange switch due to Suko's unintentional action, exchanged glances, and after ignoring Air Groove's pleading gaze, quietly left the laboratory.
Finally, the enlarged Rice Shower and the shrunken Chaza also shocked everyone who was training outside and hadn't yet come in.
Especially Mejiro McQueen, whose expression upon seeing Rice Shower was identical to Rei Zai's earlier.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!