858 Bear, looks at the growth of Mane - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

We boarded the elevator and moved to the rooftop. As we stepped out of the elevator and looked up, a blue sky stretched above us, with white clouds lazily drifting by. "Where is this place?" "It's a spot used for conducting minor experiments with magical tools and the like. It's spacious here, and no one else can see us." I took out the ice dragon's horn and scales from my storage. The horn was immense, taller than I was. "It looks just like the illustration of an ice dragon's horn in the books." Mane touched the horn. "Yuna, just to confirm once more, it's real, right?" "I have no reason to lie. If you think it's fake, I can just put it away." There was no need to force her belief. "Sorry, I believe you. The size, the chill of its magical energy, and these beautiful bluish-white scales. There's no doubt it's from an ice dragon. Yuna, would you mind if I shaved a bit off the horn? I'll pay you, of course." "You don't need to pay. How about we call it a favor instead?" "A favor in exchange for an ice dragon's horn—that sounds a bit scary." "Just think of it as a favor to call in. If it's something you can't do, you can just refuse." As usual, money wasn't necessary. I had plenty of earnings from dismantling events before. If I ever needed money, I had many things I could sell. But having a favor from someone as knowledgeable in herbs and magic circles as Mane might be more beneficial in the future. It's always good to know more people—consider it an investment. "Alright, I'll take a bit off the horn then." Mane retrieved two knives and a small glass jar from her item pouch. She tried shaving the horn with the knife, but it only slid across the surface. "It seems a regular knife can't cut it." With that, she took another knife, pressing it against the ice dragon's horn and started to shave it. This time, it worked, and the shavings filled the glass jar. "Is that a mithril knife?" "Otherwise, it wouldn't shave." "And the previous one?" "I just wanted to test the hardness, so I used an iron knife. It couldn't cut, as expected." Saying that, Mane continued to slowly and carefully shave the ice dragon's horn. After a bit, the jar was about eighty percent full. Mane securely sealed it. "Thank you." "Is that all you need?" Just a single jar. "This is more than enough. Oh, but if I run out, I'll ask again." "Understood." "If you ever decide to sell them, make sure you sell some to me too." I had no such plans at the moment. I wondered if I could make a weapon from this horn. I put the ice dragon's horn away. "Next, could you show me those scales?" Mane moved closer to inspect the ice dragon's scales. "They're beautiful." Sunlight reflected off the scales, making them glimmer. "Would you like one?" "Huh?" Her expression was a mix of disbelief, as if saying, "What are you thinking?" "What are you thinking?" She verbalized the thought as well. "I have plenty. Just one, then?" "Did you really defeat it?" "I just took them from the ice dragon's lair." "And the horn?" "I broke it off." "…I won't ask any more." Saying that, she shifted her gaze back to the ice dragon's scales. "Yuna, don't offer things like this so lightly. People will take advantage of you. I don't know the exact circumstances of how you obtained them, but I understand they're difficult to acquire. Even finding an ice dragon's lair is a feat in itself. They tend to stay in distant, snow-covered, icy places not easily accessible to people." No, the ice dragon had simply settled in a normal mountain and moved on after having a baby. It was like finding good fortune without trying. Well, there were challenges along the way. "I'll check, but you don't intend to charge extra for this request, do you?" "I do not." "Even though all of that happened. Let me at least double the payment I was supposed to give for this request." "That's not necessary." "No, I insist. What are you trying to say? That my life is worth so little?" "That's not what I meant." "I determine the value of my life. You protected me from a dangerous monster and healed me when I was poisoned. Honestly, even twice the amount isn't enough." "I was just doing my job." "That's part of your charm, Yuna, but you're undervaluing yourself." "I don't think that's the case." Maybe it's because the power given by God doesn't feel like my own, which makes me more lenient about it. If it were power I had trained for years to obtain on my own, perhaps I wouldn't sell myself short. "But if you're offering, I'll gratefully accept it." Mane affectionately stroked the scales, her earlier noble words suddenly falling flat. "Mane, you ruined your moment with that." "Consider it advice from someone older. Wanting it or not is another matter. Of course, I'd want it." I felt a twinge of sadness for having respected her even briefly. "If you turn it down, you might never have the chance again. I could make potions infused with the dragon's magical power from the scales." I decided to part with one of the ice dragon's scales, but with a condition. "Don't tell anyone or sell it, okay?" "I promise. There are so many things I want to try with the potions and magic tools." Her eyes sparkled like a child fascinated by something exciting. We returned to Mane's workspace, where I received the signature and payment for fulfilling the request. If I brought that completion paper to the Adventurer's Guild, the request would be marked complete and my evaluation would rise. "Now, I should try making a potion." "Didn't you say you were short on ingredients earlier?" "Yes, I'm short. But I want to see the effects in their current state." "Wouldn't that just be incomplete?" "The current potion already shows some growth effects. But once the effect wears off, it reverts. Now that I acquired two new materials, I want to measure how much growth and time it takes." It sounds like that potion from a show with a child-sized detective. Ignoring my inner thoughts, Mane began mixing the potion. Having missed my chance to leave, I sat on the sofa, summoning Kumayuru and Kumakyu in their cub forms to relax with. Remembering that the King had asked me to meet his daughter Flora, I mentioned to Mane, “I'm going to meet Flora-sama," and left the room. I spent some time playing with Flora-sama before returning to Mane’s laboratory. Having left without locking the door, I let myself back in. Isn’t this kind of careless? What if someone stole the research materials? While pondering this, I called out to Mane, "I'm back." But Mane didn’t reply, still engrossed in her mixing. As I relaxed on the sofa with Kumayuru and Kumakyu, Mane finally spoke. "There! All done." "Hmm? Is it finished?" I asked, trying to stave off drowsiness. "Yuna, you’re here?" It seemed that for the past few hours, she hadn't noticed my presence at all. Neither did she register my departure or return—it just showed how absorbed she was in making the potion. "I was really curious about the potion's effects." "Well, never mind that. Yuna, could you help me time this?" "Sure." As soon as I agreed, Mane began removing her clothes. "Why are you taking off your clothes all of a sudden?" "It’d get tight as I grow, and could even tear the clothes." Who knows how much she'll grow, but it's impossible for an adult to fit into children's clothes. "Last time, I drank the potion before undressing, and it was a nightmare. It felt like I was being suffocated." Mane wrapped herself in a bath towel that she had prepared. "Okay, I'm going to drink the potion now. Please time it when I start to grow." She placed a clock on the table and moved toward a full-length mirror in the corner. I positioned myself so I could see both the clock and Mane. "I'm ready when you are." Mane drank from the small vial. At first, nothing happened. But it seemed like she was getting taller. "Yuna, how does it look?" Mane turned from the mirror, and the cute girl had transformed into a lovely young woman. "Amazing." The little girl, who seemed around the end of elementary school, now appeared as a middle schooler. "She's growing, but is this a success? Will she grow more?" Though Mane's age was grandmotherly in human terms, her half-elf lineage might interpret it differently. "This is pretty much what I looked like last time as well. I’m not sure if this is my true form or if I’ll become like Sanya. As the potion comes closer to completion, we might discover my actual form. Ideally, I would gradually grow, because I’d love to experience being around your age too, Yuna." Mane cheerfully examined herself in the mirror. "Hmm, the materials I have now just aren't producing significant growth. Maybe the potion’s not working then." "To me, it looks like you're clearly growing." "Yuna, are your eyes just for show? Look carefully." Mane stood authoritatively in front of me. The girl who appeared to be around ten years old had grown taller, with lengthened arms and legs. "I still think you’re growing quite a bit." "Kuun," agreed Kumayuru and Kumakyu beside me. "Here, it's here." Mane pointed at her chest. "Are you talking about the chest?" I could see from the bath towel that there was no noticeable development. "Exactly. If the potion were successful, it would grow too." "Uh, that varies from person to person." "But it should at least be bigger than yours, Yuna." "Are you picking a fight? Because if you are, I'm ready." This is the one thing I wouldn’t let slide, even with Mane. "Wait, it was just a joke. Don’t take it seriously." As I glared, Mane backed away a bit. "So, how's the potion working?" "Last time, it lasted about 30 minutes. This time, it’ll depend on the new ingredients." The result doubled to one hour. "It couldn’t last a whole day, but it did double the time, and my height increased by a centimeter more than last time. This gives me hope that if I can make a complete potion with all the ingredients, it might truly work." Even a slight advancement was good news. But as for the lack of development in her chest, I hoped she wouldn’t blame the potion for it.