“Aqua… You’re dead…”

Eris’ words struck Aqua like lightning. Her mind went blanker than usual and restlessness grew on her face. “I’m… dead…? What do you mean, Eris…? I’m a goddess, you know, we’re strong, we’re sturdy…!” “Aqua…” With a soft tone, Eris tried to calm down her tinier partner, but the blunette wouldn’t let her.

“T-This can’t be happening! A perfect goddess like me can’t… I-I know!” A crooked smile appeared on Aqua’s face, the goddess wouldn’t accept such a thing as this! “This is a prank, right!? You just felt lonely after not seeing me for a while and brought me here to chat! Come one, Eris! There was no need to make up a situation just because you wanted to see the graceful m-”.

“Aqua!” The porcelain haired goddess interrupted the tiny girl’s rambling, Eris’ loud voice reminding the blunette about her current size. “I know is difficult to accept, but…” While the white-haired girl wanted to get closer and comfort Aqua, she feared the different in her sizes would startle the shrunken deity.

Giving Eris a straight look, the doll-sized woman noticed worry in her enormous face. This wasn’t a joke… was it? Gulping as she felt her body shaking lightly from the implications, Aqua looked up at her fellow goddess weakly before shaking her head. “W-Was it because of this curse…? I-I-It was that damn lich, wasn’t it?!” Hearing the smaller girl’s voice cracking as she spoke more sporadically, Eris could only frown in pity as she saw the state her former higher up was in now. “I-I’ll make sure she pays s-so just bring me back to my room and-”.

“AQUA! Please, calm down!” Eris snapped, stopping Aqua’s quivering voice once again. Not caring anymore about startling the tiny goddess, the white-haired girl rose from her seat and knelt in front of her superior. Even if they were in charge of dealing with the dead every day, experiencing death itself was a first for the goddess, and for that matter any goddess really.  No doubt, she needed comfort.

Sadly, the blunette’s shivering increased as the giantess stood up, however. Each rumble created by the bigger goddess’ steps made the tinier one weaker on the knees. The arch priestess’ legs were about to give up. She didn’t even have the strength to step backward as her massive junior came closer. Fidgeting horribly as she watched the giantess before her loom closer, Aqua looked up and saw Eris’ enormous face setting in front of her.

Being so nervous, Aqua couldn’t make out the expression on Eris’ face before the paler girls hand descended over her, her legs finally giving in causing her to fall on her butt. This was still so scary!!!!! Closing her eyes as she tried to brace for whatever was about to happen, the blunette soon found, she couldn’t hide the fear running throughout her body that kept her in the state she was in now.

Noticing the obvious state her fellow goddess was in, Eris’s face softened before she gently placed her left index on top of Aqua’s head, and began to pet her comfortingly. “You’ll be fine, Aqua. As you said, you’re a goddess. Heavens will give you another chance!” A soft smile accompanied Eris’s words.

Confused as she felt no harm and instead felt a warm source on top of her head, the doll-sized arch priestess slowly opened her eyes, just in time to see the giantess playing with the blue hair in amusement. “Eh…?” Feeling a pair of tears swell up in the corners of her eyes before gently falling down her cheeks in streams, Aqua sniffled as she looked up at the loving face of her fellow goddess. Now she could clearly see the caring expression her junior wore. “I’ll have another chance…?” The shrunken priestess sniffled. “I… I see…!” The blunette’s lips took the shape of a relaxed smile… for about a second. “Wait a minute… Why didn’t you say so before!? You could’ve told me since the beginning!!” With challenging eyes, Aqua looked straight at Eris’ to the best of her abilities despite the height difference.

After a short shudder, the white-haired goddess evaded the small accusatory eyes before smiling sheepishly. “Eh… Well… Hehe, you see…” ‘I can’t tell her… I can’t tell her I just wanted to mess with her for a bit…’ “H-How about we talk about this second chance instead…?” Suggested the towering Eris, not being able to think of an excuse that wouldn’t make Aqua go on a fit. “You go first, tell me about your… shortcomings…”

While Aqua didn’t like what Eris had called her current situation and she could swear the giantess goddess smirked when saying it, the blunette still went on to tell about what happened to her.

---

“I see… You really went through a lot, didn’t you…?” Eris looked over her doll-sized superior with an expression full of pity. Of course, Aqua didn’t tell her about the most humiliating parts but the giantess could make a vague guess about what happened between the inconsistencies in her tale.

Letting a sigh escape her lips, Aqua looked up at her junior before nodding in affirmation. Venting about her accidents was a nice way of relaxing. For once Eris had a nice idea. “It was pretty bad indeed…” Sighing once again, Aqua tried to compose herself and collect her courage, getting mentally ready. Since the porcelain haired deity was now up to speed… It was about time she learned what had happened to her. What had really happened to her…“C-Can you tell me now… h-how I died…?” The blunette asked as she looked up at the giantess. She needed to know what happened, no matter what. There was no way she could be at peace not knowing otherwise.

Stiffening, Eris’ expression changed into a troubled one, causing her to grow silent. “W-What’s wrong…!?” The quietness made Aqua worry. ‘Is she trying to soften the blow for me!? Was it that bad!?’ The blunette gulped, she was having second thoughts about inquiring now. As she fretted about what this meant, Eris softly parting her lips interrupted the smaller girl’s train of thoughts. This was the most attention the whimsical goddess had ever paid in her entire life, though, she was in the afterlife now...

“Aqua… You… Pft! You… You…” The bigger goddess now had a difficult time keeping a straight expression. However, she did her best to try to keep a professional attitude. She was a professional after all. “S-Sorry, give me a minute, a minute…! Hehe…!”

‘I-Is… is she having trouble keeping a straight face…!? AT ME!?!?’ The furious goddess wasn’t going to keep quiet about this! She had enough humiliation for one day. This was just too much! “ERIS! What’s the meaning of this!? How dare you laugh at your superior! I swear when I was in your position I never-” ‘Wait… When I was in her position…’ Feeling the cogs in her mind slowly starting to click together, Aqua’s face went blank. The expression Eris wore right now, she had used it before… when Kazuma appeared in front of her… or whenever someone with a pathetic death appeared in front of her. “NOOOOOO!!!” Screw having to know no matter what, the doll-sized goddess didn’t need to hear about her death if it was embarrassing! Sprinting away from her fellow Goddess, the blunette screamed as she cupped her ears trying not to hear anything.

“A-Aqua, wait! You know you can’t even exit this room by yourself!!” Eris mumbled before walking behind Aqua… Only to catch up to her in a couple of steps. “Also… You’re not getting very far at that size, you know…?” Failing to hold back her giggling, she kept following the tiny arch priestess right behind her as she wondered how she was going to tell her the truth.

“I don’t caaaaare! Just get away from me, you dumb Erizilla!” Even if it was pointless, Aqua had to keep running, she wasn’t ready to hear it. She couldn’t live down hearing if she died in an embarrassing way, not after laughing at so many other deaths in the past. Plus, the booming of Eris’ footsteps scared her!

“Hey…!” Unsure whether she should be madder at being called “dumb” or “Erizilla”, Eris easily passed over the tiny Aqua and crouched in front of her, stopping the small goddess. “You were the one that asked to be told, you know? I’m just complying here. Furthermore, there’s no need for names like that. I’m not big, you’re just small now”. Eris smirked, countering the blunette.

Growing silent as she took in the larger girl’s form, Aqua paled. The giantess looked a lot more intimidating while squatting than when kneeling before. She couldn’t even see past the white-haired girl’s enormous breasts! “I-I don’t need to know any more! I’m sure it’s going to be bad! Also, from here I can see your pads are pretty big- HEY!!!”

With one swift movement, Eris grabbed Aqua, lifting the smaller girl up to her lips. “You little… E-Even if you didn’t ask me I have to tell you how you died, you know! A goddess dying is a big deal! The boss upstairs is really mad at you and wants to make sure you learn your lesson. And, that includes how you died!” Feeling her short burst of anger subsiding, the porcelain haired girl barely notice she was holding the blunette a tad too tight. Her face was turning the same shade as her hair!

Seeing Eris this mad and so close increased the fear in the doll-sized goddess. “O-O-Okay…! You win!!! I’ll listen!! J-Just lighten up your grip, would you!?” The giantess’ fingers were squeezing her midriff and breasts. It hurt, but she didn’t want to admit it to her junior. Though, it was written all over her face.

“O-Ohh! I’m so sorry Aqua!” A slight blush appeared on her face due to the soft sensation of Aqua’s breast against her fingers. Truly, if there was anything she envied the blunette for, it would be her chest. Though, she liked having above average intelligence as well. Something her former superior lacked that she had in spades. Berating herself internally, Eris sighed softly before moving her other hand under Aqua and letting the smaller girl drop so she could stand instead of being held.

Though, the giantess wasn’t the only one embarrassed by what occurred just now. The blunette shared her junior’s embarrassment as she felt her chest being groped. The warmth of Eris’ hand scattered all over the smaller girl also contributed towards her blushing exterior. While she couldn’t break away from the giantess’ grip, her junior could easily manipulate Aqua’s body with just one hand… And it just made the tiny goddess feel powerless.

After the arch-priestess landed butt first on Eris’ open palm, she took a couple of seconds to recover from the shock of her free fall. This allowed her the opportunity to feel around her junior’s hand, however. ‘It’s so soft but firm… So warm… And comfy…’ However, her calm was shortly disrupted by the giantess.

Eris’ didn’t pay much mind to Aqua’s startled state however so she barely gave her any time to recover. With the idea of giving the toy goddess a better footing, the giantess cupped her other hand with the one holding Aqua causing the blunette to tumble until she stopped upside down right between both hands. The bigger goddess did notice this time… but, in an effort to save Aqua some face, she didn’t point it out. “I’m sorry… Did I hurt you…?” Eris asked with worry. While Aqua made her mad all the time, she didn’t really want to hurt her. Not much at least

Humiliation kept invading Aqua, not only her junior could casually harm her without any intention to; she kept being toyed with by Eris so easily! However, the prideful goddess wouldn’t yield yet. Spinning around, Aqua puffed out her chest before huffing. “H-Hurt!? O-of course not! You might have big clumsy hands, but that’s not enough to hurt this perfect godd- Wah! O-Okay, okay, I’m sorry!! Get your fist away from me!! Your hands aren’t big, they’re as small as your chest- Hey!! I said I was sorry!!! Seriously, hitting me won’t solve anything!!!” Panicking, Aqua backed away from Eris’ recently formed fist as much as possible, while still sitting on the white-haired girl’s open hand.

With a sigh to calm herself down, Eris lowered her fist and cupped her hands together once again, now being more careful so that Aqua wouldn’t tumble around. “You really need to mind your words, you know. Your divine body might protect you from any serious damage even at that size, but you’re still pretty much at the mercy of anyone… and, everything.” Even though she wanted to mess with Aqua for a bit, the white-haired giantess was truly worried about her.

As the giantess talked, Aqua could feel a light lukewarm breeze, most likely out from Eris’ breath wayfaring over her face. Nonetheless, she didn’t mention how annoying it was to her junior to not sound so helpless. Ignoring the words out of concern from the bigger goddess, something picked up the blunette’s attention. “Wait, so my stats are still the same even at this size!? I guess that explains how I’m still okay after all that happened but… How did I die then if I’m still so sturdy!?” Now the toy goddess was curious. And if she had to hear about her death anyway, she might as well get the most from it.

A defeated look took place on Eris’ face now. “That’s what I have been trying to explain this whole time!” Giving up to Aqua’s pacing, the giantess started her tale. They had been going round and round for what felt like hours now. “It’s true that your body can still take on huge pressure, relative to your size, not to mention some painful hits or falls, albeit it would still hurt. However, there’re other means by which you could be harmed-”.

“Eh? Which ones? C’mon Eris, get to the interesting stuff already!” Aqua bounced on top of Eris’ palm, making her platform shake a bit much to the smaller girl’s amusement. The bluenette’s attention span was cut short and she wanted answers now!

“I’m on that! Don’t interrupt me! Jeez…” The small goddess’s whims were somehow nostalgic, this was the most Eris had talked to Aqua in a while. “You can still die from greater physical damage, some kinds of magic or from a lack of air for example. You could also probably be melted in stomach acid to now that I think about it…” The teller shuddered a bit at the last statement.

“Huh? Why would I fall in stomach acid? You say some weird things Eris…” The blunette had no clue about why she would ever even close to that stuff. It was inside of people’s stomachs for a reason after all! Wait, why was Eris looking at her like that? ‘Is she holding back her laughter again…!?’.

“W-Well, let’s see what you think after hearing about how you died, okay..? You said you remember everything that happened until you fell asleep, right? Let me start from there then…” Wanting to change the subject quickly, Eris took a moment to clear her throat and start her tale. “Not much later after you fell asleep, your comrade Darkness went into the room you were in, unaware that you were even there. She appeared to be tired after her daily work out so she laid on the bed and-”.

“DID THAT IDIOT CRUSH ME!?!?” Aqua screeched in rage. This would have been the third time that clumsy masochist smothered her this day. “Damn her and her fat tits!! At this point she should be doing it on purpose!! I’ll-”

Feeling her voice silenced by the porcelain haired goddess, Eris moved her finger over Aqua’s mouth before shaking her head. “Aqua, please, let me finish. No, Darkness is innocent… Well, probably that’s not the right word. But she’s not guilty! When she sat on the bed, your body wasn’t crushed under her. Even if she did, there’s a possibility your body might have withstood her weight…” The white-haired girl took a couple of seconds to think about Aqua’s current limits before nodding in affirmation.

Feeling the finger that had been on her lips removed, along with her hand altogether, Aqua scooched around uncomfortably on the remaining hand as she looked up at Eris in silence, rather annoyed that she had even less space now. ‘Is she doing it on purpose for interrupting her…?’ Once she was again in position, the blunette went back into her questioning. “Eh? I could survive even that!?” While Aqua was somehow proud of her own body, she also became more scared about what could’ve killed her. Something more powerful than Darkness’ body had done her in…?

Seeing the goddess back in the middle of her hand, Eris slowly closed her digits as a safety measure to prevent Aqua from falling. “Well, it is just a conjecture. Since the bed is quite soft and it wouldn’t really be her whole weight… If she tried to stomp on you or seriously injure you though, you most likely wouldn’t survive… Thankfully, she doesn’t seem like someone that would do that kind of thing, rest assured”. With a smile, Eris tried to clean Aqua’s comrade name. She didn’t mean to make the blonde out to be a bad person after all. She just wanted to make her point clear. Goddess or not, she was very much not, immortal…

A bit frightened at the sudden movement, Aqua hugged her knees and tried to stay away from the fingers surrounding her as much as possible. “I guess you’re right… plus, she’d probably miss every stomp. She couldn’t step on a bug unless it was standing still.” Aqua mumbled smugly. “I wonder if you’re the size of a bug now actually…” “How dare you!” Going from pompous to ashamed, the blunette pouted while looking straight at the enormous goddess.

“Anyway, back into the tale…” Eris once again cleared her throat. “Darkness missed your body, but it was close… Close enough that you were propelled away by the bed’s springs falling off of it. Frankly, I’m impressed you didn’t wake up after hitting the floor, even if you didn’t really take damage from it. Just what happened to cause you to be so exhausted…?” Eris now lamented not having access to even more previous events before Aqua’s death.

“N-N-None of your business!!!” The fewer people knew about it, the better. ‘Wait, if that fall didn’t hurt me, what about hitting the floor after Wiz threw me…? Would I have been okay…? Did I go through all that humiliation for nothing!?!?’ Aqua shook her head, trying to push away those thoughts and that dreadful expression.

“Aqua, are you okay…? You seem pale for some reason…” Eris concerns were answered by the blunette signaling with her hands to continue. ‘Damn, now I really want to know what else happened. Let’s see what I can squeeze out from her later…’ “Right, after all that, you somehow kept sleeping like a log until… Umm, it appeared…” Eris expression was troubled once again ‘Ugh, keeping my arm extended like this is tiring…’

The arch priestess noticed the giantess’ hand slightly shaking. Not realizing it was out of fatigue rather than fear, the blunette grew worried. “’It…? What’s it!?” Aqua deduced by Eris’ expression that, whatever it was or whoever it was, probably was the reason behind her death. ‘Darkness wasn’t it… Maybe Megumin came in and did something to me! Though, I would’ve woken up probably… But, Megumin’s friend seemed harmless to so that means…’ “AH, by ‘it’ you mean the damned lich!?!? I knew it was her!! Hey, let’s throw some divine punishment back at her-”.

Pulling her arm closer to her body so it wasn’t as tiring for her, her gentle movements caused the blunette to screech before stumbling over into her fingers. Her arm was really getting tired now... “Sorry, that’s not the right answer either.” Eris sighed, more for relief then exhaustion. “In fact, that same ‘damned lich’ has been praying for your wellbeing ever since you disappeared… even if she has to stop every few minutes because of the pain… Really, what is she thinking?” Shaking her head back and forth in discomfort and confusion, the goddess pondered about what moved a lich to act in such a way.

Being focused on Eris’ answer, the blunette didn’t notice the slow movement in her “floor”. “S-She’s what!?” A light blush appeared on Aqua’s face but it was quickly replaced by confusion. “Wait, you said I disappeared… Did someone get rid of my body or something?!” Things were getting more complicated and thinking too hard about things wasn’t her forte… or thinking at all.

“Y-Yeah… something like that…” The massive junior took a pause, choosing her words carefully. “What happened to you is something even I couldn’t believe. After you fell on the floor… What appeared to be some kind of weird black cat with wings came into the room… I guess it’s your pet? I kind of find it cute actually.” Eris smiled.

‘Black cat… Wings…’ “CHOMUSUKE!?!?!? THAT FURBALL KILLED ME!?!? HOW!?!? WHY!?!? W-WHAAT!!” The toy goddess was once again startled as Eris flinched, rolling on her palm as the giantess moved. ‘What’s her problem!?’ Nevertheless… a cat… A freaking cat somehow killed her?! How could it be!

Hearing the blunette screech, Eris cringed, causing her whole body to blench. “Y-Yeah... Let me continue and I’ll explain… Jeez, you sure are loud at this size…” Eris moved her free hand towards ringing ear, in an attempt to alleviate the pain. “That cat… Chomusuke, right? It found your body after looking around the room and… Well, …it kind of… licked you…”The goddess’ uneasiness kept piling up as she told the story.

“… I’m sorry, what…?” Aqua’s blank expression dawned on Eris.

“I said it licked-” “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” Aqua’s cry made Eris flinch once again. However, it seems that wasn’t enough to stop her screaming this time. “THAT FURBALL LICKED ME!? WHY!?” Aqua shuddered at the thought of a slimy tongue running through her body. ‘Well, there was that one time with the giant toads but-’ Aqua made a connection for the second time today. She had mentioned stomach acid… Despair bloomed on Aqua’s face and a cold sweat ran through her back. “D-D-Did I… Get… e-eaten…?” ‘No way no way no way no way!’

Even though each of Aqua’s words went on a lower tone, the bigger goddess was close enough to pick up what her tiny superior meant. “Well…” Eris easily noticed Aqua’s fear, thinking it was enough messing around, she chose to directly tell her the outcome. “No, actually, it looked kind of disgusted after the first lick-”.

“WHAAAAAAAAT!?!?” While there was some relief at not being eaten by an ‘inferior being’, the blunette couldn’t help but feel offended. She was fuming. “WHAT’S WITH THAT FLEASACK’S SENSE OF TASTE?! IT’S OBVIOUS ITS TINY BRAIN COULDN’T HANDLE SUCH A FINE QUALITY SUCH AS MYSELF! LOTS OF THINGS WOULD BE LINING UP TO EAT ME! AND WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO BEFORE!?!? ERIS YOU SHOULD LEARN HOW TO TELL-”

Swiftly, Eris engulfed Aqua’s diminutive body in her fist and brought her even closer towards her massive mouth, making the doll-sized goddess’ heart skip a beat at the sight of her parted lips and powerful teeth,  especially after all this “eating” talk. The arch-priestess could see strings of saliva dripping from the roof of her mouth down to her large pink tongue.

“SHUT UUUUUUUUUUP!!” The blunette’s continuous shrieking finally ended with Eris’ patience. “Jeez! Your voice is still ringing in my ears, keep it down! And don’t blame me for not telling you sooner! You keep interrupting me every couple of sentences, how am I supposed to tell you sooner! Also- Eh… Aqua…?”

The blunette was first hit by a barrage of sound. While Eris’ didn’t yell at her full capacity, it was too much for the small goddess and her even smaller ears. Not to mention, while her ears were still ringing, she had been hit by a wave of heat that came directly from the bigger goddess’ mouth, accompanied by a hint of odor that stayed in the air for more than the blunette would’ve wanted. But, while still bothered by the warmness and smell surrounding her, a rain of spit droplets landed on the smaller girl, covering part of her hair and face in saliva.

‘Uh… Ugh…’ Aqua was shivering in a mix of disgust, fear, and anger. ‘My junior… My own junior humiliating me like this…’ Struggling in place, she tried to move her arms to wipe her face down but she had no luck, Eris’ grip wouldn’t let her limbs move even an inch. ‘Aw, C'mon!’ Feeling a couple of tears form from the heat irritating her eyes and her own humiliation mixed with the dripping spit from her forehead, Aqua could do little more than whimper. Still, even in this situation, her pride won’t allow her to ask nicely for help. “W-W-WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!?!?” Aqua hoped her yelling would distract the bigger goddess from her deep blushing face. “You talk to me about ringing ears but then you scream at me! You’re at least ten times bigger than I am! It feels like my ears just exploded!!! Also…!” The arch priestess nose twitched a couple of times. “I can… Smell your breakfast…” The doll-sized girl cringed at the odor that lingered in the air ‘Just make it stop already’.

A look of worry already appeared on Eris’ face when she noticed her superior’s covered with her saliva. “A… Awawawawa!” She simply felt worst when Aqua lashed all out on her. “I-I-I’m really sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! S-Showing this much disrespect towards my superior, I should amend it... Eh…” The white-haired goddess kept apologizing, now talking in a lower voice while covering her mouth, even getting Aqua farther away from her lips as an extra measure. Even if she was the size of a squeak toy right now, the blunette was still her superior, this was no way to treat her. ‘W-What can I do… Ah’ “I-I’ll get you clean!”.

Looking up at Eris in shock, the smaller goddess was somehow surprised she could still boss her around at her current size but simply wrote it off as herself being just too perfect and Eris being too submissive. ‘Now if only I could get rid of this disgusting saliva…’ The shivering of the fist that held her captive warned Aqua of how nervous Eris was, also, it was getting her dizzy. “E-Eris…? J-Just let my arms go an- AHHH-” The arch priestess barely got time to scream before she was quickly lowered as her face was engulfed by her junior’s dress.

Shaking violently as she tried to fix her mistake, the sputtering girl couldn’t think straight in a time like this. She wanted to get Aqua clean as soon as possible and she figured her dress would do a good enough job. “I-I-I know it’s not a towel or a tissue! B-But my dress is made from the finest materials a-and my body can get rid of impurities just like yours, so…!” Eris whimpered as the fearful giantess clumsily rubbed her shrunken superior’s face into her cloth-covered thigh.

“Ag- Gu- Eri-!” Aqua couldn’t finish a word without finding cloth getting into her mouth. While it certainly was getting rid of the spit in her face, it surely wasn’t the blunette’s preferred form of method. She could feel the warmness from Eris’ skin being emitted from behind the cloth. ‘Her thigh… Feels kinda soft… But it hurts…!’ The archpriests kept getting battered by her junior’s fingers and her meaty leg!

“Ugh…!” Feeling both uneasy and impatient, Eris did her best before resorting to using her second hand to increase the kneading. “Okay…. this, should do it!” Content with her work, Eris raised once again Aqua towards the bigger goddess’ sight level. The giantess found a dry yet angry goddess with scruffy blue hair. “Ara…” Glaring at her junior in silence, the blunette huffed angrily before crossing her arms.

“Eris. Talk. Now!” She looked pissed!

 The next hour was spent with Aqua standing on her previous seat, lecturing Eris who was kneeling on the ground. And while she didn’t like it… she deserved it after all…

Even if it was kind of fun…

-------

“So, what’s the plan now?” Aqua still sat complacently on Eris’ seat, trying to look down on her kneeling junior but, only getting to be at eye about level in comparison.

“Well…” Eris nervousness died down midway of the blunette’s lecture, now she was just annoyed. “As I said before, I’ll be getting you back to life. I should be even able to get you back to normal size-”.

“FOR REAL!? GREAT! Eris I promise I won’t tell anyone about your true bra size when I’m back- AH!!” The arch priestess was thrown away the impact of an enormous palm landing at her side. Gulping in fear as their roles were reversed, Aqua whimpered feebly as she turned to look up at the annoyed giantess in front of her.

“You really don’t learn, do you…? Let me finish for once!” Sighing and trying to go back into composure, Eris tried for the hundredth time that day to continue. “I can get you back to your size but only because your soul is already here. I can’t really get rid of that curse or grow you back each time unless you… Well… Die…” The white-haired girl noticed the uneasiness on Aqua’s face. “Well as far as I can tell the curse will allow you to grow back after a certain amount of time anyway so just keep yourself safe until then. You’re sturdy anyways so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

For the first time, Aqua waited for a bit to make sure Eris finished, lest she tick her off again. She was learning… “I see… Well, there’s no way I’m touching that rune thing again so just this once is fine!” Aqua announced confidently with her hands resting on her hips though, that didn’t fill Eris with much comfort in the end. “Still, what about my party? Lich aside, we still need to defeat the demon lord! And well… I’m… A bit worried, I guess…”

Looking at her superior in surprise, a small smile formed over the porcelain haired goddess’ lips as she smiled warmly. This might have been the first time she saw her fellow goddess make such a kind expression, even if she seemed somewhat annoyed. “Well, I can keep an eye on all of you I guess. And, I’ll even grant each of you some kind of protection. It won’t make it invincible, but certainly, they’ll be able to take more hits-” “Even for the lich?” “There’s no way that’s happening” The blonde deadpanned. While Eris had her own reasons to not help an undead, her blessing would instantly kill her at that size.

“I can’t protect your Lich comrade personally… However…” The bigger goddess interrupted the blunette’s snickering. “Since this is a demonic curse, it might actually help her more than hinder for all we know. Plus, she seems pretty sturdy herself anyway… Just make sure not to die and-”.

“Can’t you just revive them if that happens?” Aqua mumbled as she looked straight into Eris’ eyes. She seemed so serious now that the bigger of the two didn’t lecture her for interrupting.

“Well, even if you ask me… You know there’re rules for this kind of a thing. I can’t just make an exception! I would have to be very sneaky about it!” The white-haired goddess felt like she had this conversation before, and didn’t like where it was going.

“Come on Eris! We’re the only ones that have defeated any of the demon lord’s generals, you know?! We’re the best shot at freeing that world!” The arch priestess noticed her junior doubting after hearing that, but, she needed to be firm and hold to her claim. It was true after all. “Also, now that I made contact with my people from the Axis cult, spreading the word of Eris using pads should be ea-”

“Okay, okay, I got it! Since this is the work of a demon and your party has enough achievements, I’ll make something up about it, just in consideration for that!” “And for you pad-” “Shut up!” The blushing giantess sputtered before standing up. Now on her feet and looking down at her superior solemnly, Eris closed her eyes before nodding. She had been here for a long time, and her time was almost up. She couldn’t just keep Aqua there indefinitely. And besides, her friends were still looking for her.

“Anyways… Get ready Aqua, I’ll bring you back now. Just give me a minute…” Eris whispered before she started chanting quietly as a bright light filled the room. Feeling a strong wind surrounding the smaller girl, Aqua stomped her foot down so she didn’t fall over. Why so sudden?!

“W-Wait! You didn’t even tell me how I died yet! What happened after that furball tasted me!?” The blunette looked expectantly at the other goddess. She couldn’t just not know after all of this!

“Oh…” Eris cupped her hand in surprise, she just forgot after her lecture. “You died out of asphyxia! That cat put you in its mouth an-!” The light and wind swirling in the room vanished, taking Aqua with them. “Shot! Well… Considering where she’ll wake up, Aqua will notice right away I guess…” Eris chuckled before finally plopping herself back into her seat, happy to have some peace once again and thinking about what excuse to use to get more information about what happened before Aqua’s death.

She needed to keep an eye on these girls. It was going to be an interesting journey for them from now on…

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Lifting her head up groggily, Aqua groaned softly as she pulled her body upwards, dirt and sand falling off of her chest as she looked around in a stupor. What the hell was that all about? She had been resurrected to soon! She didn’t get to hear what Eris had to say!

Rubbing her tired eyes as she looked around, the blunette soon scowled as she saw the trees and the garden behind the house. Was she outside? ‘What the hell?’ How did she end up here? Moving her hands down to the ground so she could push herself the rest of the way up, Aqua felt her hand soon squish into the dirt before she looked downward, her eyes beading as she felt a shiver run down her spine.

Trembling silently at first, the now restored Goddess soon grit her teeth before lifting her head to the sky and screaming.

“CHOMUSUKE!!!!! YOU STUPID CAT!!!!!”

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It was night already by the time the girls gathered. After Aqua disappeared they had spent longer looking for their friend then they thought. However, soon all of the worried girls inside the mansion were reunited in the living room as they pondered what to do next.

They had tried everything to find the blunette, but, nothing seemed to work. Yunyun tried to find Aqua with magic but the target was too small and to keep trying was futile. So, for now, she was just consoling Megumin, who was thinking about some kind of plan while containing her tears.

Wiz wasn’t fairing much better either. The lich seemed content in the corner of the room as she prayed for Aqua’s safety. Even though it hurt, she felt it doubled as penitence since the lich was the last to see her and felt guilty for not taking the tiny goddess with her. Plus, she just gave her a lot of trouble right before she disappeared… Was it all her fault?

However, the one that felt the worst out of all of them was Darkness. Going by Wiz’s tale, the possibility of her squashing her teammate was real. She even tried to punish herself physically after hearing that but the others managed to stop her.

The trance in which all of them were in, however, was interrupted by a quiet jiggling noise… as the doorknob to the entryway began to shake. As all of them turned their faces towards the entrance, they expected to see Kazuma with news about the curse. However, smiles appeared on their faces as their expectations were betrayed. The one that went through the door was no other than Aqua! She was back!

“Aqua!” “Aquaaa!!” Aqua-sama!!” “Aqua…!” The four girls ran towards their now normal sized friend… But, stopped when they noticed the blunette was covered in dirt… And a foul smell entered their nostrils. “A-Aqua…?” Darkness was the first one to talk after an awkward silence. “You… What… Where have you been?”

The priestess looked really mad for some reason. Just what had she been through to cause her to be like this… And to be in the state they were seeing her in…“I was in the garden, behind our yard… buried in the dirt…” Aqua whispered venomously. Looking towards one another, Megumin hummed thoughtfully before tilting her head. “Isn’t that where Chomusuke goes to-” "SHUT UP!”

Letting out an eep as she hid behind her fellow crimson Demon, the teenager cringed as she saw Aqua huffing angrily. She looked like she was ready to kill someone! “Let’s just drop it… I have something to tell you all. I was in- AAAAAAHHH!!!” The blunette’s screeched before pacing backward in a hurry as she saw Chomusuke enter the room, the cat gingerly walking toward’s the large fireplace before lying down lazily.

“THAT DAMN BEAST!! GET HER AWAY FROM ME IN THIS INSTANT!!!” The arch priestess wailed! Sharing glances with everyone, all eyes turned towards the little pet as the black cat tiredly lifted its head to look back at them.

“I-I’ll take Chomusuke to my room…” Megumin mumbled before going over to her kitten and picking her up. As the Arch-mage left the room in a hurry, everyone looked back towards Aqua now as they saw her cupping her arms as she shook violently.

Just what on earth had she been through to cause her to act like that? After all, it was just a little cat…

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“So… You’re saying Chomusuke bit you, then took you outside and buried you in the garden…?” Megumin asked with total serenity in an attempt to conclude the shaken goddess’ story. Sitting around Aqua in a circle, Megumin and Darkness in the middle, with Yunyun and Wiz at their sides respectively, each of them listened calmly as they let her speak her peace. The water goddess was now wearing a clean set of clothes and drinking some warm water that Yunyun had brought her. It had been tea originally… But that didn’t turn out how she intended…

“NO, NO!! I’m saying that beast took me inside its mouth!!” Aqua had to use quite a lot of her recovered purification magic to get rid of the impurities surrounding her body and the smell. To be honest, she wanted nothing more than to run into the bath right now but considering what she had to say was more important, she decided against it. She had to tell them about Eris’ help and they had to get that cat out of their home as soon as possible!!!!! “So, are we throwing away the flea sack or what?”

“…” There was silence in the room as the girls looked at each other. But, the sound of breathing broke the quietude as two of the girls opened their mouths before wide grins broke out on their features. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Darkness and Megumin laughed loudly as they clung to one another. That had been the greatest thing they had ever heard! On the other hand, Wiz and Yunyun wore a more concerned expression… Albeit, it looked like they were struggling not to smirk as well.

“WHAT!? What’s with you!? I died and struck a deal with Eris for your sake and that’s how you repay me!?” Aqua was red with anger and embarrassment! How dare they laugh at her after everything she had been through! ‘Just you wait for the time one of you shrink…!’

“S-Sorry Aqua… It’s just… Hahaha *ahem* Sorry, that wasn’t fit for a Crusader… You too Megumin!” Darkness snapped grabbing the brunette by the nape forcing them both to lower their heads in apologies.

“B-But Darkness…! Hahaha” Megumin kept laughing while having her head down. “I mean, being attacked by a cat!? That’s hilarious! Also, what’s was that about dying and meeting goddess Eris? You sure you just didn’t pass out and have some weird dream?” “Megumin is right on that, you know.” Darkness added trying to hide her smile. This was too absurd even for their group to believe.

Next, to Aqua’s party, Yunyun agreed with them but didn’t have the courage to say it to someone like Aqua, who she didn’t know very well. So, for now, she just limited to timidly evade Aqua’s gaze as the arch-priestess looked for supporters.

Having no other options, the blunette inevitably ended up placing hope on her less favorite person in the room. Giving an expectantly look at the lich, she wanted Wiz to back her up somehow. She had to believe her, right? Right?! She was a Goddess, after all, she had to believe her!

“E-E-Eh…? Uh… well…” The troubled lich looked around while thinking about what to say. “W-Well… S-since Aqua-sama is an amazing arch priestess… Maybe… Perhaps… It’s not totally impossible that such a thing happened…?” Wiz gave Aqua her kindest smile in hope to cheer her up.

“You… YOU DAMNED LIIIICH!!” “Aqua, wait!” Ignoring Darkness’ call, the blunette rose to her feet before running out of the room while ranting angrily, most likely towards the bath if they had to guess. ‘I don’t care anymore! They’ll see once someone shrinks again, I won’t let this humiliation stay like this!’

Looking towards each other, all eyes soon landed on the auburn-haired shopkeeper as they saw tears beginning to peek in the corners of her eyes. “W-Why just me!?” Wiz cried as tears streamed down her cheeks as she and the others went back to their normal activities. No matter how they acted with her, all of them were happy Aqua was back and safe.

Albeit, one now being depressed she had upset her Aqua-sama like she had…

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“It really has been a long day… I hope Aqua doesn’t take too much longer for the bath…” The shorter of the two crimson demons mumbled as she collected her pajamas, ready to take them with her as a change of clothes after her own bath. Dirt and other fluids aside, she had worked up a sweat today and she wanted to clean up to…

“Weren’t you guys too harsh on her before…?” Yunyun whispered as she mimicked her rival, both of them gathering what they needed. Being both of them appointed as partners, they were also obliged to bathe together. “I know she said some weird stuff but maybe she just had too much and was hallucinating… I feel bad for her.”

Noticing the troubled look the brunette wore, Megumin sighed before shaking her head. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Aqua babbles all the times about stuff like her being a goddess and this and that. We’re pretty much used to it by now”. The teenager mumbled as she continued to collect her clothes.

As Yunyun realized they were both ready and just waiting for Aqua to tell them it was their turn now, she got an idea to kill time. “Hey, Megumin… How about a challenge…?” Even after going back and forth with confrontations all evening, the bustier two still needed more. Especially since it ended up with her side of the room being barely the section of the bed she occupied. She had to win her side of the room back!

“Oh, come on Yunyun…” Megumin sighed as she took off her hat, eyepatch, and rest of her clothing. The shorter Crimson Demon figured that since Kazuma wasn’t around, she could just go to the bathroom covered by her towel.  Megumin had been all for their usual challenges earlier but she was a bit annoyed by now. “Aren’t you tired of losing? We went through this all day and I can’t really win anything else from you at this point. We’re forced to sleep together which means if I take your spot on the bed you’d need to lay on top of me instead, and I like my space.” The wizard deadpanned.

Looking around, the older Crimson Demon tried to look for something to bet on… But, she really didn’t have anything left to trade, did she? “W-Well… w-we can make it just so that the one that wins can order the other around, right!?” So far the only think Yunyun had defeated her rival on was “Body growth” and she didn’t really feel proud about that! There had to be something else! “Please, Megumin! We have some time to kill anyway!”

Shifting her eyes over towards her old classmate, the brunette closed her eyes before sighing. “Fine, fine! I Megumin will take on your challenge!” Stomping her foot on the ground aggressively, the crimson demon struck a pose as she declared her intent. “We shall duel until the other declares giving up! Are ready, Yun… yun…?”

Growing silent, both girls soon looked down as a strong light shined brightly beneath Megumin’s barefoot. “W-W-What’s that!?” Both girls stared in awe as the shorter one slowly removed her foot from the spot and found the shining source.

She stepped on a rune.

“M-Megumin!!” Yunyun shrieked as she saw her rival disappear in a cloud of smoke.

THIS WAS BAD! SHE WAS GONE!