The Fairy Is Smiling

Without a moment's hesitation, I'd chosen my path and immediately attempted my second evolution.

The notification for the evolution time was at least twice as long as when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd gone from Fairy to Fairy. At first, I figured I just had to wait it out.

'The time... isn't going down?'

As I frowned at the unchanged status window...

A warning popped up, urging me to try the evolution in a safer spot.

'...What a hassle.'

If I hadn't had the Fairy Realm, I'd have had to scout carefully just for one evolution. But for me now, it wasn't an issue.

"Diana, I'm sleeping first!"

"Already...?"

Once I knew the reason, there was no need to hesitate. I told Veronica, who was tending the grave, that I was going to sleep right then. Ignoring her puzzled expression, I climbed into the basket and drifted into deep slumber.

I woke from sleep to the sensation of sunlight still shining.

Even though I'd slept for nearly seventeen hours, there was no grogginess or lethargy—just pure refreshment and vigor.

"Nngh—."

After a light stretch lying down, I sat up.

Right on cue, the completion notification appeared.

It was like booting up the old family computer back home—a barrage of popup notifications flooding my vision.

'...Impressive performance.'

I recalled the description of Fairy(Green) that I'd chosen.

- Skills will undergo 'projection,' 'integration,' and 'transformation' far more frequently.

True to that, my existing skills were chaining together, fusing, and morphing into new forms.

Not bad at all. But...

'That's not the important part right now.'

These stat boosts were just side benefits.

The main event was this.

'17cm.'

About the size of an adult man's palm.

'...Or maybe even 22cm.'

This evolution had taken twice as long as the first. Factoring that in, double the growth wouldn't be surprising at all.

I took a moment to carefully observe my surroundings inside the basket.

'Did I... get bigger...?'

The dim interior made it hard to tell. No clear change registered.

'...Well, these things are always more obvious to others than yourself.'

Unable to gauge it alone, I boldly pushed open the basket and flew toward the soundly sleeping Veronica.

'Veronica doesn't look any smaller—'

...No. That's impossible.

I shook my head hard, banishing the intrusive thought.

Right, Veronica's still a kid. Children grow in spurts—you turn away for a second, and suddenly they're unrecognizable.

Looking around more, everything seemed a bit smaller. Yeah, definite proof I'd grown.

"Veronica! Veronica! Wake up! Rise and shine!"

"Mmm... Diana, ma'am...?"

I tucked the sudden anxiety away and planted myself in front of the rubbing, mumbling Veronica.

"Diana, you seem... different somehow?"

"Different how...?"

"You look different. Did you find it?"

Well, she was still half-asleep, so maybe she couldn't tell dream from reality yet. Once fully awake, she'd notice the change for sure.

Veronica stared intently at me for a while before speaking.

"...No?"

"Huh...?"

Th-that—

"N-no, no way! There must be a change! Th-there definitely is!"

"Uh... did you cut your hair?"

"......"

"Or... your nails? ...Wait, can you finally use magic now?"

"......"

And just like that, my world crumbled.

'One can only truly see with the heart. The most important things are invisible to the eye.'—like that line from The Little Prince.

Appearances are just skin-deep. What matters is the inside, not the outside.

Size doesn't matter. The real question is whether I've improved.

Think positive.

Behold my magnificent status window.

Max mana had ballooned with the racial bonus—enough to maintain Invisibility for 103 seconds straight. [Throw] became [Javelin], [Ambush] turned into [Stealth], and [Endurance lv.4] + [Tenacity lv.1] fused into [Unyielding lv.1]. [Air Dodge] and [Mana Sense] evolved via projection into [Air Manipulation] and [Mana Manipulation]. Even [Dimension Corridor], which had stubbornly refused to level up no matter what, finally rose.

With all these new skills from this evolution, I'd been sufficiently rewarded—

⋯

Bullshit.

'Why the hell not? Why didn't I grow?!'

By my calculations, after the second evolution, I should be 16.9cm tall. So why was I still stuck at 13cm?

Each evolution grants 30% growth, reaching human size around the tenth.

My near-perfect "Escape Fairy-hood" project had faceplanted into a ditch at the very first step.

⋯

⋯

—Sigh.

Fine, time to face facts. Even I—the incarnation of rationality, who conquered coin and stock communities without ever getting swept up in the madness, boasting a superior 0% return rate—make mistakes sometimes.

Reasons for no growth? Plenty.

The assumption that the first evolution guaranteed 30% growth was overly optimistic. Sure, it's a game world, so I figured it'd at least give players the joy of growth... but nah.

'What a scam.'

This was some no-name mass-produced game. Expecting normal logic from them was the real mistake.

'...And it's only the second evolution anyway.'

No growth this time doesn't mean never. Maybe just a defect in this one.

Since Fairy(Green) is still under the "Fairy" category, maybe no physical growth this round.

'...Yeah, evolutions don't end here.'

Even if it bumps from 10 to 11 evolutions, no biggie.

Hell, it might even be good. If growth isn't fixed at 30%, maybe it'll spike to double or triple next time.

'Meaning, one evolution could make me human-sized.'

Right, this no-growth was just to build momentum...

"Diana, ma'am? Shouldn't we get going soon?"

"...Yeah, you're right."

Veronica interrupted as I tried to keep rationalizing.

"Ready perfectly."

"Ready per... fect? Is that fairy language too?"

"Mm... probably?"

"?"

Strictly speaking, it was English, not Korean, but...

'Whatever.'

No need to explain the difference.

Swoosh—.

"W-wait—"

I nodded vaguely, brushed past Veronica, and passed through the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rift first.

"You promised we'd go out together!"

"Oh, sorry. Forgot."

I brushed off her protesting as she followed and scanned our surroundings carefully.

'Yeah, no real changes.'

The fresh outdoor air—or whatever passed for it, not much different from the Fairy Realm's. Anyway.

Thus, we ended our long seclusion and finally breathed the outside air.

On the fifth morning since Veronica had stayed in the Fairy Realm, Diana suggested heading out through the rift, claiming she had a way to resolve the elf issue.

To be honest, after being attacked by elves twice already, Veronica wouldn't claim she felt zero fear leaving the safety of the Fairy Realm.

But what weighed on her most wasn't meeting the elves.

Diana. The fairy who'd come to her when she'd lost everything, pulling her from despair. Diana was all Veronica had left.

So for her, failing to meet Diana's expectations was far graver than any elves.

She didn't know why Diana had asked that first thing in the morning, but...

'She seemed to hope I'd notice the change...'

But no matter how hard Veronica looked, Diana looked the same as ever—a cute 13cm fairy.

Diana, who'd been down for a while, luckily perked up quickly and declared they'd confront the elves today. But...

'Her wingbeats look weaker somehow.'

Seemed like not noticing the change had shocked her. Leading the way, Diana wobbled unsteadily.

'...But insincere comfort could backfire.'

Instead of hollow reassurance, Veronica decided to change the subject to lift her mood.

"So, do you have a plan for meeting the elves?"

"......"

Diana responded to her question with silence. At first, Veronica ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought it was lingering gloom from morning.

"Um, Diana, ma'am...?"

"I-it's fine! Of course I do! ...Probably?"

Seeing Diana avert her eyes, Veronica sighed softly.

This tiny, beautiful fairy always came unglued at the crucial moments. Everything she did was a mess, yet impossible to hate. Impossible to look away from—like the little sister Veronica had once dreamed of.

For a moment.

'I really will have to stay by her side and serve her forever.'

A dark emotion welled in the young girl's eyes, but...

"D-Diana, leading the way! Got it all figured out!"

"What are the odds?"

"Certain! It, it will work! Trust Diana!"

"Hmm..."

...before she even realized it herself, the feeling sank back into the depths.