Translator: P411

Editor: Shard

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 21 – I’m Happy That You Recognise Me!

I stealthily approached the gate. 

There was a gatekeeper whose face I recognised, but couldn’t remember the name of, standing at the gate so I approached nervously. 

“Hello! Good afternoon.”

“Oh, you’re going out? Be careful.”

He was acting like it was the first time I’d met him. 

I was a little sad, but it couldn’t be helped with my appearance now, so I held back a sigh.

“I want someone to convey my message to Vidello-san.”

“What? It’s already stated in the rules that you can’t do that. Where did you hear Vidello’s name?”

“Vidello-san himself told me. I’m already acquainted with Vidello-san. I’m Mac.”

“Mac? Ah, you do look like Mac. Are you Mac’s brother, or someone related? Unfortunately, today’s Vidello’s day-off.”

I was being treated as Mac’s brother after all. 

I wondered why they didn’t recognise me.

If it was going to be like this, I doubted Vidello-san would recognise me either. 

If even Vidello-san didn’t recognise me, I was sure I would be depressed for a while. Maybe I should retreat now before it was too late…?

These slight negative thoughts came to my mind. 

“I know he’s off today. I was with him until this morning. I am Mac. I know I don’t look like myself right now but I really want to meet up with Vidello-san…”

Ok, if this didn’t work out, I would go back. 

No doubt that he wouldn’t notice me.

“But… wasn’t Mac a really tiny guy?” 

“Tiny?! Wh-what! How exactly do you see me…?”

Now that was something I didn’t need to hear. I was completely dejected. I had increased my avatar’s height a little bit, too. Did people in reality think of me as even more tiny?!

“…It’s fine! Ah, right, please take this. If you apply this, I think the injury on your arm will heal faster.”

I saw a bandage on the gatekeeper’s forearm through the gap in his armour by chance, so I took out and handed a high-potion to him. 

The gatekeeper looked perplexed as he received it. 

“Wh-what?”

Then, he lifted the visor of his helmet. 

“Wait! Wait! Are you really Mac?!”

“That’s right.”

“Wait a moment! I’ll call Vidello right away! How did you grow up so suddenly?!”

It was because I was under the [Growth Acceleration] status. 

I didn’t know whether the growth would fade or not, but the item was a “medium” rank [Growth Activator], so I believed the effects would disappear soon. 

“Hahaha, I don’t know either.”

I couldn’t say I’d drunk a strange potion by accident. I also had a feeling that it would be bad to talk about the potion to anyone except Crash and Vidello-san. 

“Did you get cursed…?”

The gatekeeper-san asked while looking at me with pity. Was there a curse like this? Scary!

Just like the previous time I’d visited, the gatekeeper rang the summoning bell and I waited.

After nervously waiting for several minutes, the guardroom door finally opened. 

I wondered if he would really recognise me.

As I worried, my face stiffened in anxiety.  

“What is it?”

Vidello-san came out. As he was looking around, he stopped as soon as he saw me. 

“…Mac?”

“Vidello-san!!”¹

The moment he called my name, I overflowed with happiness. I rushed over and hugged Vidello-san tightly, shamelessly in front of the passersby and the other gatekeepers. 

Vidello-san seemed as if he was perplexed and yet he still hugged me, crossing his arms around my back. 

I am so happy. I like you, Vidello. 

“What happened Mac? Do you want to come to my room for a bit?”

“Is it okay to? Do you really recognise me?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t recognise you? Why don’t you come in and tell me what’s going on?”

Yes, I would love to. I had done something stupid. Would he laugh and forgive me after hearing about it?

Vidello-san led me towards his room. 

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As we sat side by side on his bed, I explained to him the gist of what had happened. 

“I don’t know when I’ll return to normal but my underwear is stained the colour of the potion, and I can’t think of anyone but Vidello-san to ask about it….”

Even if I asked the players, “Where do you buy underwear?” I was sure there would be no one who knew. I was sure underwear would be sold at NPC shops. 

“Mac… Thank goodness. I’m glad you’re ok. I was in a panic because I thought you’d gotten yourself into danger or something and gotten a curse from somewhere.”

“Is there really a curse like that?”

“Yes. I’ve seen such a case where a young man from yesterday suddenly became an old man tomorrow. I heard that a young man had tried to open a tomb of a warrior from ancient times. He was cured by offering a lot of money to the church after giving up on breaking into the tomb.”

Scary! Suddenly becoming an old man! How awful!

I was surprised that there was a curse like this. 

“But Mac, this is what your face will look like when you become an adult.”

His gaze was fixed on my face as he soaked in my appearance. 

I also thought that my presence had changed considerably, but inside, I was still the same. 

My heart fluttered when I saw Vidello-san not mistake me for someone else and that his kindness would never change. 

I really like him. 

“I’ll lend you my clothes for the time being, then, I’ll show you the shops where you can buy some new ones.”

“Ok… thank you.”

Vidello-san patted my head as I leaned on him, and he stood up. 

He brought out a change of clothes and laid it out on the bed. I took a look at them and prepared to change. 

I took off my undershirt and started to remove my pants. 

“Mac, your underwear is stained, too. I’ll go get you a pair so please wait a moment.”

“Uh, ah, you’re right.”

Even my pants were pink now. Did what was on the underwear soak into my pants? Moreover, it was on the front! How embarrassing!

I shrieked internally! Even with this stain, I wouldn’t be able to change my underwear. 

“But Vidello-san, I can’t take off my pants.”

But the fact that the front of my pants was stained with this embarrassing pink colour looked too ridiculous for words. 

Thoughts like, “What I would look like fighting and working with this stain on my pants,” came to my mind. It would make it impossible for me to focus if I looked like this. 

Why did I still have to be a minor…!? I couldn’t work like this. I wouldn’t be able to do anything! What was worse was that the pink stain was permanent!

As I was thinking, Vidello-san looked down at my pants with a change of clothes in his hands.

“But being damp and stained is terrible, isn’t it?”

Yep, it was horrible. I wouldn’t mind if the stain were on the edges of my pants but such an embarrassing stain awkwardly placed directly on the crotch of my pants was quite cruel to me. Was I out of luck today?

As I sulked, Vidello-san’s hand quickly reached out to my waist.  

And then…

He put his fingers inside my pants.

“What?!”

It wasn’t stuck to me anymore?!

We both stared intently at my pants.

Then, his fingers pulled down the waistband….

The pants that were supposed to be affixed to my privates slid down my legs in a smooth motion and fell to my feet.

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Note: You all know what’s coming next… 😏