Little Witch's POV.
My name was Rufe.
While fighting Diesel, a subordinate of the Witch Queen, I had consumed a Mistletoe Fruit brimming with the magic of the Witch Queen Kirke. As a result, I had transformed into an adult.
That battle had helped me grow.
It wasn't just my body that had changed; I had even gained my very first subordinate.
I glanced toward the strange urn that had newly become my familiar. Ruru, an Urn Golem who had turned white under my influence, still looked like a jar with arms and legs sprouting from it. It wasn't exactly what I’d call "cute."
I'd finally gotten a familiar, and yet I was a little disappointed...
"Can't you change your appearance or something?" I asked.
"Nyaa..."
"I see. I guess not."
It seemed it couldn't be done. Even though its cry sounded like a cat's, I would just have to bear with it remaining an urn.
That was fine. I was what people called an adult lady now. Unlike children, adults were supposed to be above caring about such trifles... probably.
"Even so—"
I really had gotten bigger.
My hands felt different; they were a full size larger than usual. These were adult hands!
"My line of sight is so much higher, too..."
The world looked entirely different from this height. It was almost strange. Alraune shifted between her adult and child forms all the time; I wondered if this was how it felt for her.
"And now, I'm just like Alraune."
I could freely change the size of my body. This was a special trait shared only by the two of us. It made me happy, like we were matching. Plus, we had the same hair color now. If we stood side by side, we might actually look like real sisters!
I wondered what she would think when she saw me like this. I was sure she’d be surprised to see how much I’d grown.
I checked the courtyard from the window once more. Alraune, with her pure white hair, was standing with Tulpe's Proxy.
—Ah!
Alraune looked this way!
The perfect chance to show off my grown-up form had arrived. Excitedly, I waved to her from the window.
Alraune stared back, her mouth agaping in shock. Just as I’d hoped—she was stunned by my new adult form! She looked so flustered. Was this what people called a "prank"?
I kept waving, but she was so caught off guard that she didn't even wave a vine back. I hadn't expected her to be this surprised, though. It felt a little strange, but seeing the reaction I had anticipated made me happy.
Satisfied, I moved away from the window and headed deeper into the Duke's Mansion. From what I could see, Alraune was busy with her own business. I was curious about what she was discussing with Tulpe's Proxy, but right now, the rampaging Urn Golems were an emergency.
"I'll leave the outside to Alraune and patrol the interior!"
Diesel and the Urn Golems had been inside the mansion. I had to make sure there weren't any other strange enemies lurking about. After all, I was an adult now. And adults were responsible, so they did their patrols properly.
As I walked through the mansion, I encountered someone shocking.
"...Wait, the Witch Queen!?"
My body tensed up instantly. I was stunned to think she was here in the mansion, but then I noticed something off.
"Is the Witch Queen... moving exactly like me?"
Ah, I realized what it was. It was a mirror.
A white-haired, cat-eared woman. She looked exactly like the Witch Queen Kirke, but it was just my own reflection. I had already seen myself in the window glass, but seeing it in a proper mirror made me realize all over again how much I really looked like her.
From any angle, I looked exactly like the Witch Queen herself.
"I really look this much like her..."
But this was my body. Even if I resembled the Witch Queen, it was just a coincidence. Alraune and Saint Iris looked alike, too, so there shouldn't be any problem.
"...Hm?"
While admiring my reflection, I noticed a maid in the corner of the mirror. One of the servants working at the Duke's Mansion was standing behind me.
—Wait, I just thought of something good!
I turned around and spoke to her. "Hey, do I look like an adult to you?"
"Eh!? W-well, yes, you do..."
"Exactly. I'm an adult!"
"?"
Even a total stranger agreed—I looked grown up. No one would treat me like a child anymore. I had become a real adult!
"Wow, I can even reach the top of the shelf!"
Before, I had been too short, but now I could reach things easily. I didn't even have to stand on my tiptoes!
"I feel like I'm walking faster, too!"
Every step covered more ground. With my longer stride, moving around had become much quicker. This was adult speed!
"Adults are amazing."
"U-um...?"
The maid from before spoke up. She had been following me since I left the mirror. Why?
"I presume you are Rufe-sama, Tulpe-sama's guest?"
"That's right, but how did you know it was me?" I asked. I was an adult now, after all.
"Well, Rufe-sama is the only one in Edelweiss with white hair and cat-ears. I was surprised that you were taller than I’d been told, but..."
"Exactly. I grew up and became an adult."
"......?"
The maid looked troubled. It couldn't be helped since she didn't know me, but it was a bit sad that she wasn't as surprised as Alraune.
"So, did you need something?"
"Um... this is very difficult to say, but your clothing, well..."
"Clothing? ...Wait, what is this!?"
My clothes had gotten tiny!? No, that wasn't it. Because I had grown, my clothes had become incredibly tight!
"My clothes... they're ripping..."
I had been so happy about growing up that I hadn't even noticed. I had never had this much skin exposed in my life. The maid looked away, appearing embarrassed, which made me start to feel self-conscious too.
"If you'd like, shall I prepare some new clothing for you?"
"Eh, is it okay?"
"As Tulpe-sama's guest, you are a guest of the House of Duke Edelweiss. Such a thing is only natural. Besides, your current state is the result of fighting those strange urns that attacked the mansion, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
I had grown because of the fight against the Urn Golems and Diesel, so she wasn't wrong. I could even say it happened because I fought to protect Tulpe's Proxy and this mansion.
"Now, Rufe-sama. Please follow me."
The maid led me to a room filled with closets. Everywhere I looked, there were clothes, clothes, and more clothes. It was like a forest of fabric. They all looked luxurious and expensive.
"Please choose whatever you like from these garments."
"Is it really okay for me to wear these?"
"The owner of these clothes is no longer with the Ducal House, so there is no issue."
"What do you mean?"
"...The owner of this room is no longer in the mansion, so it has been left as is for many years. We keep them because we cannot bring ourselves to throw them away, but the Master preserves them exactly as they were, under the pretext of lending them to guests in times of need."
"I see."
"Then, if you'll excuse me—"
"!?"
What followed was a whirlwind. In the blink of an eye, I was stripped of my old clothes, and by the time I realized what was happening, I was wearing a dress.
The blue skirt flared out like a blooming flower, decorated with layers of frills. It was covered in intricate embroidery and sparkled from every angle. Even I could tell this dress was incredibly valuable.
"Rufe-sama, it suits you beautifully!"
"But, the chest is a bit tight... maybe?"
Though not quite as much as Alraune, my chest had grown significantly as well. Just seeing it made my confidence as an adult swell even further.
"Would you like to try something else, then?"
"No, it's not that tight. It's fine."
I didn't want to be rude after she went to the trouble of lending it to me. Besides, the floral embroidery was so pretty that I really wanted to wear it. It looked like the kind of thing a young adult woman would wear.
"This belongs to Tulpe's Proxy, right? I'll have to thank her later."
"............No, this is not Tulpe-sama's dress."
"Then whose is it?"
"In all of Edelweiss, there was only one person who owned a dress with iris flower embroidery..."
The maid lowered her eyes sadly.
In that moment, the truth clicked. A dress that no longer had a master. Someone who had lived in the House of Duke Edelweiss and would have been about the same age as I appeared now...
I looked from the dress back to the maid. Her eyes met mine, and she spoke softly.
"These... were the dresses of Lady Iris, who passed away six years ago."
Saint Iris, the girl who looked exactly like Alraune.
I had come to the Duke's Mansion to solve the mystery of why the two of them shared the same face. And here I was, wearing a dress that had belonged to the Saint herself.
"Ah..."
A mischievous thought crossed my mind.
I knew Alraune and Saint Iris were different people. However, I also knew Alraune was hiding something from me.
I decided I wanted to test her.
I wondered what kind of reaction she would have if I appeared before her wearing these clothes.
Next time: Little Witch Enjoying Her First Adult Form - Part 2.