(48) Day 3 Meeting – Normal Sized (16.2 m < 16.3 m)

Because she was a representative of the Department of Alteration and was Sasakura-sensei’s younger sister, I thought Ranko-san would be more trustworthy than the oddball that I know would trigger Yae and had taken down Takahashi. But to consider her as the lesser of two evils might have been my biggest mistake that day.

“I’ve heard of cruise liners and casinos being said to be their own cities inside, but I never thought that would apply to a ryokan.”

I said those words to nobody in particular as I waited patiently for the elevator I was in to reach the top floor.

After Yae had returned and Takahashi worked her butt off to convince my childhood friend that she was fine and to not worry, we realized we had to make our way to meet with Sasakura-sensei’s sister. Although we were already at our destination of Hotel Ten-Scale, that did not mean we were where she was waiting.

Walking around the ryokan ‘courtyard’ where the footbath hot spring was, we ended up finding a small street with multiple buildings including the hotel where the guys would be staying. It didn’t seem to have any name that I could see, so I considered it to be the One-Scale to the Ten-Scale that surrounded it.

“A penthouse restaurant… Then I guess that building there would be a chair for Yae.”

I had entered the building furthest from the normal sized hotel under Narumi-senpai’s instruction. I was alone, but it was not because Yae would be waiting until I got to the top floor. Yae wasn’t going to come until later apparently. Ranko-san wanted some time to talk with me alone first before talking to the two of us together. Because of that, Narumi-senpai asked Yae to help bring Takahashi to her room in the ryokan, leaving me to go it alone.

“Hopefully the conversation when Yae’s here isn’t confidential. With Yae’s size, it won’t be easy to keep things secret even if these walls are soundproof. There’s a lot of room between here and the hotel, but the streets seem small.”

For me to call the streets small… my perspective was being warped because I was also comparing it to the surroundings of the Magnified ryokan. The distance from the restaurant building I was in to the next building was wider than two Shibuya Crossings - around 90 whole meters to me but just 9 m to any of the Magnified girls. For some reason, I didn’t feel used to walking around regular sized anymore. It must have been because, even wandering the city, there were towering girls wandering the streets.

Also, I had to admit that having to talk to someone my size felt more stressful now than ever. I was going to speak to Ranko-san, an authority in Alteration. It meant I had to be as professional as possible. “Yae, come back soon. I’m a bit nervous talking to Ranko-san on my own.”

Ping! Pong!

“Hehe. You’ll be fine. You don’t seem that nervous talking to yourself after all, kiddo.”

My solo elevator ride was interrupted two-thirds of the way up as someone stopped the elevator music and chuckled through the speaker system. Although I had only heard her voice a few times today, I knew who it was.

Who else could it be other than Ranko Sasakura, Sasakura-sensei’s younger sister and the representative of the Department of Alteration?

When the elevator reached the top floor and opened up, I confirmed that I was right. My way was blocked by the same woman who had greeted us earlier in the day.

“Yo! Hold on for a moment, Kirishima-kun!”

The bespectacled woman in a fancy red dress greeted me with a wave. There was a huge gap in how formal she was dressed for the meeting compared to how she casual she was. Her looks, from her long dark hair to her sharp eyes, made it clear that she was our school nurse’s younger sister, but her behavior was far from Sasakura-sensei’s. She had a mischievous, Cheshire Cat-like grin, and there was a glint in her eyes that felt like she was capable of doing anything.

Considering she had chosen to hijack the elevator speakers before it got to the top floor, she certainly was unpredictable. It seemed she was still in a conversation with someone while waiting for me as well.

“So there’s been positive feedback about the dormitory system? That’s good to hear.”

“It’s still taking some time to get used to, but with how luxurious the architecture course students designed the Reduced dorms, the boys this year were a bit more accepting.”

“Is that so? I’d love to see them for myself next time I get the chance to visit Kogei. In any case, how are the safety regulations being implemented? You mentioned a Dorm Caretaker system last time, didn’t you?”

“… That still needs some fine tuning. We’ve had some trouble dealing with a… discipline problem… Those caretakers need to be screened better… It’s even worse this year, honestly.”

“Oh? Well, innovation has both its highs and lows, Director Miura. I’ll leave it to you to iron those issues out. Just be aware that the Department of Alteration will step in if you need any additional assistance.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I switched places in the elevator with the well-dressed woman who was apparently the Director of Kogei Academy. I suddenly felt nervous realizing there were VIPs at this restaurant. Was it okay for me to be here?

“Sorry. I was just finishing my conversation with Kogei’s director. You know of that school, don’t you? It’s a famous art school.”

“Yes. I have an old friend that goes there. She’s on this island as well apparently.”

“Really? She must be pretty weird then. That place isn’t exactly an ordinary school. Their new Reduction Dorm system has our support, but the idea of putting students through that so early is a little much… Also, I honestly think the scale they chose is a bit too small.”

Ranko-san made a small space between her thumb and index finger. I gulped. Were the boys at Kogei being made to dorm at such a small Reduction scale? Buildings wouldn’t even be knee high to any girls at that size.

“Then again, I guess you must be used to some weirdness too considering you’re from Sakuragawa. I’ve heard plenty of stores from Kikue-nee about how your committee added so much more to the basic Reduction Week curriculum. It’s nice to be able to speak to the legendary Touya Kirishima who went through all of that. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“L-Legendary? I don’t think I’m anyone important. I should be the one saying that it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ra- I mean, Sasakura-san.” I lowered my head and greeted the government official with a 90 degree bow. She laughed at the sight.

“Hahaha! No need to be so humble. Call me Ranko. It must be confusing for you when my sister and I are both Sasakura, Touya.”

“Touya? Urk-!” I was taken aback at being called directly by my first name. Ranko-san called me Kirishima-kun earlier, but now closed the distance between us – both figuratively and literally as she took a step further. Her 167 cm height put her 13 cm shorter than me, but she quickly pulled me down by grabbing my tie.

 “You want me to call you Touya-kun instead then? I’m okay with that. Hm… You’re not half bad of a looker,” Ranko-san smirked. She let me go, but began eyeing me from head to toe. “I spotted you on the bus earlier today, but I wasn’t sure if I’d act up in public too much if I approached you early. I think I made the right choice to wait until now.”

“Act up? R-Ranko-san?” I wanted to back away into the elevator again, but it had already closed behind me.

Cough!

“Ahem. Forgive her, Kirishima-san,” Ranko-san’s bodyguard stepped in to protect not her but me. He also translated the woman’s words to prevent any misunderstandings. “What she means is that she would’ve gotten too excited about our classified research and experiments if she were to speak to you. She’s been looking forward to this meeting ever since she read your reports.”

“Tch. You don’t have to say it so boringly, Nijima,” Ranko-san clicked her tongue. “And I told you to wait by the stairs.”

“And have you in trouble for a misunderstanding with a minor?” Nijima shook his head. “I’ll wait there, but at least have the decency to call Uozumi over so she can rein you in if you go too far.”

“Yurika’s just going to give me a tongue lasing again… Fine… Since my pace has been disrupted by your intrusion, I guess we should get going,” Ranko-san pouted as her security detail walked off to his designated area. She turned to me and put her hand on her hip. “You must be hungry after walking around all day, Touya-kun. We can head up to the roof, chat, and have dinner until your childhood friend when she gets here.”

“The roof?” We were already at the top floor, but we were going to be going all the way up to the rooftop.

“Where else could we meet up with Yae-chan? Don’t worry. I reserved the whole rooftop, and I also have the perfect method in mind to tone down our conversation so we won’t bother the people inside in the slightest.”

I followed Ranko-san to the spiral staircase her security, Nijima, had been made to wait at. She was a very easy going woman who I was sure had a few alcoholic drinks before I had arrived. Her ears were bright red and there was a sway in her step. Even so, she held authority as she walked and led the way.

“So, how are you enjoying Ookojima so far? Any lucky pervert experiences yet?” she asked me as we started to climb the stairs.

“Define lucky…,” I frowned at Ranko-san’s attempt to provoke me. “It sure is something. Being in the health committee, I knew a lot about what to expect, but seeing it with my own eyes, the city culture here is different. It’s surreal how it seems like every one here is already used to Magnification. It must be used really often around the general public.”

My answer caused Ranko-san to whistle. She was impressed. “As expected of the writer of those Reduction Week reports - You recognized the aspect of this port town that the Department of Alteration has held so much pride in developing.”

“It really isn’t much. I just said what I thought. I’m a very bad liar, so everything that comes out of my mouth is pretty much the truth,” I didn’t think it my observation was anything worth praising. “And I’m happy you liked my reports, but I was just being honest with everything I saw.”

“You don’t know how skilled you are then, kiddo,” Ranko-san used the end of the spiral staircase railing as a pivot point to perform a quick spin that should’ve been difficult to do while wearing high heels. “There’s a reason why Yurika and I want to get our hands on you before any other person can head-hunt you.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Sasakura-sensei always praised my notes and reports, but because was our school’s nurse, I didn’t think too much about it. Ranko-san may have been her sister, but she was also a government official. To have my report on my observations during Reduction Week be recognized by her was praise that I wasn’t sure I deserved. Was my report really that noteworthy?

The rooftop was disturbingly empty when we arrived. Besides what looked to be a stage that I guessed was for events, there was only a single open table on the skyscraper rooftop. All of the other ones had been moved aside. There were three seats and a plethora of fancy dishes spread around it. Ranko-san gestured for me to take a seat by the lab coat clad woman who had been seated at the table waiting for our arrival.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yurika. I brought the star of the show.”

“It’s about time, Ran. I was about to start eating without you two,” the waiting woman laughed. She turned to me with a kind gaze. “So you’re Kirishima-kun. I’m Yurika Uozumi, Ran’s partner and the Senior Researcher at the Department of Alteration’s R&D.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” hearing Uozumi-san’s title unnerved me. I repeated the same 90 degree bow as I had given Ranko-san earlier.

“Call me Yurika. My last name feels so stiff,” My nervousness was easily noticed by both women. “I think he’s afraid we’ll bite, Ran. You didn’t scare him earlier, did you?”

“Hey, that glare’s harsh, don’t you think? I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything. Don’t tell me Kikue-nee’s been talking about me behind my back again.”

“I mean, even if she tries to downplay it, what you’ve done can definitely scare any ordinary person. Remember the northwest part of the island? Why do you think Nijima-san and I have been told to keep an eye on you?”

“That was just ONE test. We didn’t have the budget for a second one, so I had to go all out. Nobody got hurt in the end?”

“Someone’s END is what literally ruined the landscape there.”

“Hahaha. Come on, it’s embarrassing if you say it that way. And it helped us figure out the limits for our DL Field generators.”

“… You’re lucky you can’t be fired…”

“… Come on, be nice, Yurika. We’re in front of Kirishima-kun here.”

“All the more reason to give him a proper first impression of the real you.”

The two Department of Alteration officials felt a lot closer than a conversation between two co-workers. They bantered back and forth without pause. For the most part, Ranko-san and Yurika-san were taking things lightly, but I could see that Yurika-san was capable at making sharp digs at Ranko-san. It made me wonder what Yurika-san meant when she called herself Ranko-san’s partner.

What they said did have me concerned, though.

“Um… Excuse me? What happened to the northwest part of the island?” I had to ask as I sat down to eat. There really was a lot of variety. I started with the pasta dish because it was closest.

I watched as Yurika-san sighed and put a forkful of salad into her mouth. “It’s pretty obvious when you look at it on a map.”

“Hey, Yurika. Let’s just ignore that for today, can’t we?” Ranko-san playfully pleaded with a wink that only caused Yurika-san’s frown to deepen. Suddenly, the researcher stood up. “Wait! Hold on, Yur-”

Yurika-san did not listen and pulled a tourist brochure pamphlet out of her lab coat pocket. She pointed out the northwestern part of the map to me. It was oddly shaped – as though two round impressions had carved away part of the land there.

“She was a real big pain in the ass that day if you catch my drift.” Yurika-san hinted at what had made those impressions.

“O-Oh…” I realized immediately. I glanced at Ranko-san who reflexively patted her own butt. The image of a giant woman’s butt literally carving up the earth and reshaping the environment was unnerving to say the least. How large would she have been?

“Well, Touya-kun, that’s enough of that. Go ahead and eat,” Ranko-san swiped the pamphlet out of my hands, apparently desperate to change the subject. It seemed even the passionate Ranko-san had her weaknesses. “I had the chef whip up a variety because I wasn’t sure what you would like. Don’t worry. Anything you won’t finish will be our lunches for the next few days.”

“You can tell she’s happy about leftovers,” Yurika-san chuckled as she took a sip of water. “Don’t eat too much, Kirishima-kun. This is one of the last waivable expenses she can make for this month. She blew the budget getting some equipment shipped to Sakuragawa.”

“It was for Touya-kun’s sake.”

“For your research’s sake you mean… Well, I’m not complaining. I’d like to see your reports on those tools too when you’re all done using them, Kirishima-kun.”

“I-I’ll do my best,” I gulped. The two Department of Alteration members were making it very difficult for me to start eating with the snide remarks and the praise. “And I’ll make sure to return the equipment safely.”

“Please do,” Yurika-san returned to her seat. “Ran, we should probably get through our talk with Kirishima-kun while we can.”

“Oh right. I guess we should stick to our plan,” laughed Ranko-san as she used a knife and fork to cut up a steak. After taking a bite, she got straight to business. “Touya-kun, I wasn’t joking when I mentioned it earlier. We’re really interested in your observations. They’re far better than anything we get from our current staff. That’s why we’re interested in offering you a place in our department. So allow me to ask you this: Would you be interested in a job?”

“Pffffft!”

Cough! Hack!

I choked on my water.

“Whoa. Easy there, Touya-kun. Don’t choke now. Calm down!”

Calm down? Could I really calm down? “Gak… Hah… Are you… Are you serious?”

I had thought the internship Sasakura-sensei had mentioned them thinking of offering me was like a summer time program. This was not an internship. Yurika-san and Ranko-san offering me an actual job.

“It might sound like we’re skipping a few steps and going too quickly, but that’s because finding good talent interested in Alteration is difficult. We’ve been attempting to make it more wide-spread around the country, but it’s been a slower introduction than we originally predicted,” Ranko-san’s casual tone tried to lighten up the seriousness of her discussion. “We’ve been hoping to find students like you during both Reduction and Magnification Week because that’s when interest in Alteration peaks.”

“I’d compain about Ran being a bit too forceful flagging students early for recruitment, but in your case, I have to agree. For you to be able to handle and endure so many Reduction experiences and write so vividly and objectively about them… We don’t want to let you slip away, Kirishima-kun.”

“I told Kikue-nee we wanted to get you in on an internship. That’s true, but our end goal is definitely for you to work for us. I’m not talking about an entry level position, either. You’ll have full access to the equipment, the documentation, and the facilities.”

“Well, enough on par with a junior researcher at least. I’m not giving up my senior researcher position. You’d be working directly under Ran and as a result end up under my supervision.”

A job in the Department of Alteration. I never thought of it before if I had to be honest. I had joined Sakuragawa and its health committee because I wanted to be a doctor. Alteration was slowly becoming a related field, so an internship felt like the ultimate opportunity for me. A job however… Wouldn’t that throw me straight into the workforce? What would happen to all of my efforts to get into university?

“This is a bit too much to swallow all at once, Ranko-san, Yurika-san… Can I have a bit of time to think?” I realized my hands were trembling on my knees beneath the table. I didn’t want to squander my opportunities, but my hesitance was too strong.

“Of course,” Yurika-san was patient enough to accept my request. “We don’t want to pressure you into this. In fact, we’d like you to take your time and go through Magnification Week to see if you’d really like to work with us… Ran especially… You’ll definitely want to see how she works to see if you’d be fine dealing with her on consistent basis. In fact, you’ll understand what I mean very soon.”

“Yurika, it sounds like you’re trying to dissuade him.”

“I’m not. I admit that I am warning him, but I just want him to think about things thoroughly. It’s why I told you to have his exemption partner come later. This is his decision, so I wanted him to hear things from us and then have some time to think on his own before he doesn’t have time to think anymore.”

I appreciated Yurika-san’s thoughtfulness. I definitely needed some time to collect my thoughts. The hectic insanity of the day somehow paled in comparison to how much my mind was racing at that moment. There was too much to consider and think about. My thoughts were overlapping with one another to the point where my mind went numb, unable to find a proper idea to focus on.

My confused and stunned expression must have been as clear as day to both women. “Kirishima-kun, we’ll arrange for the details to be sent to you tonight. You can even call your parents and talk with your exemption partner too.”

I’d sooner call Yae’s mother before my own folks, but it was good to know that I wasn’t being rushed into making a choice.

“Thank you, Ranko-san, Yurika-san,” I lowered my head to them in gratitude before we returned to our meal.

It wasn’t too long until we were interrupted.

“Speaking of his exemption partner… it looks like Yae-chan’s coming over,” Ranko-san stood up. She was facing the direction where my giant childhood friend was coming from. Turning my head, I could see Narumi-senpai escorting her, now clad in a matching ryokan yukata. “Let’s shelve the Touya-kun specific talk for now. Since we’ve got Yae-chan coming in, we can have the conversation we planned to have with her.”

“I guess it’s time for Yae to make use of those building seats then,” I nodded.

To my surprise, Yurika-san stood up and shook her head. “Building seats? You may have seen that in the city, Kirishima-kun, but we can’t have a private conversation like that. Even with soundproofing, there’s no way that’d be possible with her. I’m also not going to trouble the staff here with Magnifying a meal for her when they’re busy down below with the VIP dinner party.”

“Is that so? I guess Ranko-san did mention she had some other way to tone down the conversation,” I recalled.

“Good memory, kiddo,” laughed Ranko-san. She reached into her bag which was hung on her chairs and took out a surprising item – an orange chemical light stick. I’d seen some of those before in the hands of idol otaku. Ranko-san slammed it on the table to cause the chemicals to glow. She waved it around on the rooftop like an airstrip runway director to lead Yae over. “Let’s get her attention so she gets closer.”

Closer? How close did she want Yae to get?

Really close was the answer.

“Is that Sasakura-sensei’s sister, Senpai? Am I literally having dinner here on the building? This is super surreal,” Yae was hesitant to approach, but was pushed forward by Narumi-senpai.

“It is, isn’t it? Oh, but you’re not supposed to sit down right now, Yae-chan. You can see the orange light waving at you, can’t you? Ranko-san told me to make sure you get over the building.”

“Over the building?”

Yae did her best to not touch the building that was only stomach high to her. The rooftop really was only table height to her. It was clear that the penthouse restaurant was designed to actually be used for giant girls to eat, but it seemed Ranko-san and Yurika-san weren’t planning on using it like that.

“Yoohoo~! Yae-chan~! Down here!” Ranko-san doubled the amount of energy she had earlier and began jumping up and down with her light stick.

“Whoo boy…” I moved to turn in my seat as Yae leaned her entire body so that she could see Ranko-san and the rest of us. Her 10x sized breasts jiggled noticeably when she leaned over. The scent of detergent from the new ryokan yukata entered my nose.

“Look respectfully, Kirishima-kun,” Yurika-san couldn’t suppress her giggle as she got behind my chair. “We’re only getting your girlfriend to lean over because we have to.”

“She’s not my girlfriend yet,” I reflexively answered. I was slow to figure out what Yurika-san’s and Ranko-san’s intentions were until the glow from Ranko-san’s light revealed what the ‘stage’ on the roof actually was. “Wait… is that a giant rescue cushion?”

It wasn’t a wooden stage. It was one of those inflatable air cushions that firefighters and emergency crews used to catch people after a long fall.

Kzzzt!

“Uozumi, this is Nijima. Her center of gravity is above the safety zone. Set to remotely Magnify the rescue pad if necessary,” the sound of a walkie talkie inside Yurika-san’s lab coat announced.

My heart plunged into my stomach. I now realized what Yurika-san had been implying the whole time. “Yurika-san, don’t tell me Ranko-san wants to-?”

“Go get them, ladies!”

My question was interrupted when Ranko-san shouted and changed her orange light’s color to green. The government employees took action simultaneously with Narumi-senpai who seemed to have been told what to do when she got the signal. She grabbed Yae’s wrist at the very same time that Yurika-san grabbed mine from behind. The cold metal of the Size-Link Band suddenly reminded me of its presence.

“Yurika-san?!” “Narumi-senpai?!”

Yae and I were both stunned and unable to physically react before the buttons on both bands were pressed at the same time, activating the scale changing devices that we had been wearing this whole time.

The next thing I knew, my entire body was pulled up and into my chair. As for Yae, all I could hear was her scream.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

(49) Day 3 Meeting – Reduced (16.3 m < 16.4 m)

“Sorry, Yae-chan. I was just following orders. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“Uweh…That was the biggest heart attack I’ve had today… And I’ve had a lot…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I was made to rehearse this many times, but I still feel so guilty.”

“I-It’s okay, Narumi-senpai! I was just shocked. I’m alright.”

“Are you sure? I should’ve been more forceful and got you lower so you were right against the roof.”

“Forceful? No, I think that would’ve been too much… This was more than enough. That fall was scary.”

“Hahaha! With our safety precautions set up, even if the air cushion failed, you wouldn’t have gotten injured,” Ranko-san did not read the mood with her laughter and her words as the towering, guilty feeling Narumi-senpai apologized to Yae. “Thanks for your hard work, Fuuka-chan!”

“Please take care of my underclassmen, Ranko-san,” Narumi-senpai knew she was being told to leave so she said her parting words. “Pranking them is one thing, but please don’t hurt them.”

“It’s fine. That was only a two story fall.”

“Two stories is still a lot,” Yurika-san groaned. “While we ran the simulations multiple times and rehearsed this, it still worried me with what could go wrong. She still wanted to go through with it despite all of the warnings I gave her. You see what I have to deal with, Kirishima-kun?”

Her having gone along with Ranko-san’s plan told me she wasn’t above it all either. Even though Yurika-san said she was the Senior Researcher, I wasn’t sure which of the two held the upper hand anymore.

“I’m suddenly reconsidering that job now…,” I remarked, now stranded on a chair cushion many times my size while standing at only 18 and a half centimeters tall.

“Please consider it. I don’t want to have to deal with her alone,” the researcher squeaked, taking my words as a threat. “She shouldn’t be able to do much else now. The safety cushion should’ve taken up the rest of her budget.”

“… You made sure that Yae would be safe, right? Then, I guess I’ll leave it at that,” I sighed. The sudden realization that Yae was about to fall was likely the same realization Yae had when Sasakura-sensei dropped me in the gym. Was it a coincidence that both Sasakura siblings had similar ideas?

“You’re surprisingly capable of sounding threatening despite having just been Reduced to a tenth of your size,” Yurika-san raised an eyebrow, impressed. “You’re even more adaptable to Alteration than I expected.”

Adaptable? I guess that was true. I was getting used to being Reduced and being around Magnified girls, so I had no issue with speaking up and asserting myself. Of course, being smaller, there was only so much I could do to make myself known.

“Now, now! Don’t make such a cute pouty face there, Yae-chan. It’s impossible to have a private conversation when you’re over 16 meters tall. Come on and take a seat over here, Yae-chan. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Creak!

“Whoah!”

“Wait Ran, I haven’t-”

Ranko-san must have been on the receiving end of Yae’s glare because she was in a rush to change the flow of the conversation. She grabbed the chair I was still on, causing it to creak as it dragged across the floor. My body was forced into the back rest from the rotation as if I was strapped into a centrifuge.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of it. The next thing I knew, an immense, heavy object slammed into me.

“Mgff!”

I could not see what it was because, at least than 20 cm, my entire body was covered by it, but I immediately knew that Yae’s butt was what was sandwiching me to the seat. With my legs buried beneath her rear and my arms unable to budge from the pressure, I was completely pinned into a T-shape in line with the shape of Yae’s panties.

“Hyah! What did I just sit on?”

“Mggh… Yaghf...”

It was so quick that Yae didn’t immediately realize it was me she was smothering between her butt cheeks. She squirmed, grinding me further into the cushion of the chair. I could feel the smooth fabric of the ryokan yukata as it rubbed against me. It was so thin enough that I could feel the contours of her panties underneath. I was becoming plastered to her as the heat of her body poured into me from every angle.

“I haven’t taken Kirishima-kun out of his seat yet, Ran…”

“Oops…”

“Kiri-Touya? Wah! No way, Touya!”

Yae’s realization came with my rescue. Her hand squeezed into the cramped space between her butt and the chair until it wrapped around me. She pulled as hard as she could to free me, but Yae’s squirming had indeed pasted me to her body. I had to literally be peeled off before my body could slip out from between the chair and Yae’s butt.

“Ugh… That was hot and stuffy…,” I groaned as Yae held me by my arm with one hand.

“Are you okay, Touya? Uweh, you got smaller again.”

“We are Size-Linked after all,” I sighed. Yae was still ten times taller than usual in my eyes, but I was the shrunken one now. “I guess this is how they were planning on having a private chat with you. It makes sense. It’d be too loud and conspicuous with you twice as tall as this building.”

“My bad, Touya-kun. It was an honest mistake this time, I swear,” Ranko-san apologized to me.

“This time?” Yurika-san raised her eyebrow but decided to not ask what her partner was thinking. Instead, she sat back down in her seat. “Never mind that. Let’s have a seat. We can have a proper discussion now, you two.”

“Discussion?” Yae paused before remembering. She put me down on her lap where I found myself unable to see the top of the table. “Oh right. That’s why we’re here. Falling earlier was so shocking that I forgot.”

“Yes… I apologize. Let’s hope some good food can help you recover from the shock of Ran’s methods. I know I sure need it after being forced to rush and grab Kirishima-kun’s arm to press that button.”

“You always love taking jabs at me even though everything worked out fine, Yurika,” Ranko-san didn’t appreciate Yurika-san’s tone, but she light-heartedly chuckled and grabbed the plate I had been eating from. “I’ll switch Touya-kun’s old plate for a new one for you, Yae-chan. There’s still some food left on here, Touya-kun. Do you want to finish it?”

“I think it’ll be too much for me at this size, Ranko-san,” I had to stand up so that my head could peak out from under the table.

“Oh, right. Let me see if I can get something closer to your scale for you to sit on. I’d rather not have you strain yourself to talk.”

“Thanks. Yae, can you put me on the table?”

“Are you sure, Touya? Okay.”

It wasn’t comforting to be put right next to a plate that I could sit in the center of and have room to stretch, but it was at least a higher vantage point than being on Yae’s lap. I appreciated it when, after two minutes, Ranko-san put out a miniature table and chair for me to sit in beside the glass of water Yurika-san gave Yae. I noticed, however, that the table and chair were not the same scale as me, being almost twice my scale, as if it were for a 1/6 scale doll. I felt like a child sitting in a chair too big for me.

“It’s not the right Reduction level, but it’s what I had in my purse.”

“I guess it’s close enough,” I chose to not complain. I crossed my legs on the chair and untensed my muscles in an attempt to relax my body. “So what do you want to speak to me and Yae about, Ranko-san? Yurika-san?”

My actions caused the two older women to stop their knives and forks to glance at each other and simultaneously whistle.

“You really do know how to keep your calm, Touya-kun.”

“I would’ve thought you’d at least have gotten a little angry at being made use things that are the wrong scale, especially after everything else you’ve been through.”

“And what would the point be to get angry now? I don’t exactly have any power to argue here, do I?”

“You have a point. Jeez… What was it again…? Asano-san, right? You’ve got one magnanimous boyfriend. At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but he keeps managing to impress me.”

“Fufufu~ That’s Touya for you,” Yae laughed. My behavior was making it easier for her to calm down, but hearing me praised made her happy enough to let her guard down around Yurika-san. “But really, he’s not my boyfriend yet. It’s complicated.”

“I’d like to hear about that if it isn’t too personal, but let’s not get off topic. Nijima will get mad if we take too much time fooling around,” Ranko-san moved to the main conversation point she had called Yae here for. “Yae-chan, you and Touya-kun are the paired exemption that we want to have take part in our newest Alteration tests.”

Yurika-san nodded and added her own explanation. “We recently finished some prototypes before this week started. We were thinking of testing the usual way, but with the fact that you both are here on the island, we thought to reserve the opportunity for you two.”

“We thought it’d be a good chance to see Touya-kun in action, and after reading the reports, we were sure you two would be the most cooperative pair for the job.”

Yae tilted her head. “That sounds intimidating. What would you have us do? And why us? Are there any other exemption pairs on the island?”

“You can hear from Touya-kun later about why we specifically chose you two, but it won’t be something too different from what you would be doing with your other classmates and the other schools,” Yurika-san assured. “You’ve been using devices like the Size-Link Band. We’d simply like for you to try out two more experimental items we’ve been working on. We’d then also like for you to head to our lab facility when your Magnification scale is high enough. We’ll give Touya-kun a proper tour of our main facility during that time too.”

“Hey, I haven’t agreed to your offer yet,” I remarked. It wasn’t that I was against the internship-job idea, but I did not want Yurika-san to rush my decision.

“Touya?” Yae, who hadn’t heard of my previous conversation with the two government researchers, was confused.

My comment actually threw Yurika-san off her pace, so Ranko-san stepped in when she saw her partner wince. “It’s not exactly a tour. We just need to collect the data, and the facility will be the only place for when Yae-chan is too big, Touya-kun. Both devices are pretty helpful in my opinion too.”

“We want you two of think of this together because you’re both involved. If you’d like to just experience Magnification Week by normal, we’ll relent.”

“… Touya?” Yae hesitated to answer, glancing at me.

I took a moment to think. It was definitely strange that the three towering women surrounding me were waiting on me to make a decision, but that was just how much they valued my opinion. It didn’t seem like too much extra work, and I was honestly curious about the main lab facility on the island.

“What do you think, Yae?” I asked her. This was as much her decision as it was mine because Magnification Week was an experience for her. I didn’t want to do something she didn’t want to do.

“I don’t really mind, Touya. Isn’t all the business with Ranko-san important to you? You surprised me earlier when you said you didn’t accept the offer yet, but I did miss half of the conversation. I don’t want to hurt your opportunity, so I’ll go along with whatever you decide,” Yae’s open-mindedness turned the question right back at me.

“You sure it won’t be a bother for you?”

“It’s fine, Touya. I can handle it. You went through so much more during Reduction Week. It’s the least I can do for you.”

“You two sure are an understanding pair. The lovey-dovey aura I’m feeling is making me want a cup of black coffee to counter all of the sweetness,” Yurika-san chuckled.

“… I guess I’ll go along with it then,” I made my decision and sealed the verbal contract. “Just to be sure first, though. It won’t do something crazy like launch me through the air will it?”

“Did you have some trauma from one of our devices during Reduction Week?” Ranko-san chuckled and gestured for Yurika-san to bring out a bag. “It shouldn’t be too bad. We just need you and Yae-chan to wear these. They’re properly set to your Alteration scales, so it’ll be fine when you un-Size-Link. It’s definitely a lot easier and more private for Yae-chan to change into this at normal scale too.”

“If it works properly, it should be comfortable as well as protective,” Yurika-san added. “As for the other tool, Touya-kun, you can put that on after you un-Size-Link.”

Something else for us to wear? As if the metal bands on our arms weren’t uncomfortable enough… Yae took the bag from Yurika-san and opened it up on her lap so that I could walk to the edge of the table and look into it. I watched as Yae pulled out what was clearly clothing… or rather… something that resembled clothing. It was a lot sleeker and more form fitting than normal clothes were typically.

Upon seeing what the two women had wanted us to wear, my childhood friend turned red and I nearly choked on my saliva.

“Hawawa! Are you serious?” “Ranko-san… Yurika-san… You want us to wear this?!”