A huge mirror on the wooden table reflected pairs of tiny green eyes.
Mr. Pod's big belly was gone.
He pulled open his patched jacket in surprise, revealing a row of abdominal muscles.
His arms were thick and strong; the rat scratches on his neck had quietly healed.
Homily pattered to the mirror and pressed her face to it: wrinkles gone, sagging flesh full and round again.
Her once-white hair blazed like her daughter's, a burning flame.
Her figure… in short, fifty-four-year-old Homily was young once more.
She turned to her equally renewed husband, joy shining in her eyes.
"Pod!! Pod, look at me… look, just look!"
Homily jumped up and hugged him; the rejuvenated lady seemed to have regained the spirit of twenty years past.
"Yes, Homily! This—this is simply… simply miraculous!"
Pod still could not believe what he was seeing.
Sen Getsusa watched the Little Sprites bicker with a smile, understanding the surprise of Pod and Homily.
After all, most sprites who chose to become Attendants were relatively young, and the changes were mainly reflected in their physical fitness.
Older sprites would undergo significant transformations—it was quite difficult for a sixty-year-old to wake up and accept returning to their twenties.
"From the moment you became my Attendants, you became immortal."
Sen Getsusa straightened the mirror: "You have plenty of time to enjoy your life together, Mr. Pod, mind your manners."
The girl teased.
In the crowd, Mr. Pod was embracing his young wife, his face flushed as he scratched his head.
His wife in his arms shyly rolled her eyes at him.
Sen Getsusa clapped her hands, drawing the attention of the Little Sprites.
She pointed to the mirror, "I hope you like the environment I've prepared. Arrietty, you're the leader, you go first."
Her emerald fingernail touched the mirror, and ripples spread.
Behind the mirror, the scent of green grass wafted out, and the faint sound of flowing spring water could be heard.
A massive courtyard appeared in the mirror.
"This, this..."
"It's amazing!"
The sound came from the Heart grass.
At this moment, the Tontatta Tribe, who had witnessed the entire process, were completely separated from Sen Getsusa's sprites by an insurmountable chasm.
They had not participated in the evolution, nor could they gain immortal life, not to mention that they and Arrietty were already two different races.
"Respected... Mage? My Lord Planeswalker!"
The shrewd voice spoke fawningly: "We agree! We agree! Please cast your magic again! We can run errands for you, fight, farm, anything! Please turn us into people like Pod!"
"That's right, just immortality! We don't ask for much!"
"Miss Planeswalker?"
The sprites looked at each other, then at their leader, Arrietty.
The Little Knight shrugged, ceding the choice to his queen.
Sen Getsusa casually plucked a few leaves from the air, gathered them, and placed them back into the rhomboid potted plant.
Amidst the little people's shouts, the Heart leaves and the rhomboid Card Grass visibly melted, re-forming into a paper airplane—
Sen Getsusa held up the airplane, placed its pointed end to her lips, and gently breathed on it.
"Ah~"
Then, she aimed the airplane out the window and pushed it with her finger.
The airplane floated out the window, twirling and disappearing into the void.
Clapping her hands, Sen Getsusa turned to look at the sprites hesitating before the mirror: "See, they chose it themselves."
Arrietty took her parents' hands, pulling them to the mirror. First her leg, then her hand, and then her entire body.
Under the gaze of all the sprites, the Pod family was 'eaten' by the mirror.
"Let's go, let's go! See you in the courtyard." Sen Getsusa greeted the sprites, turned into the living room, and stepped into the full-length mirror... Wabi-Sabi Courtyard.
The crisp sound of a shishi-odoshi made the secluded courtyard even more tranquil and peaceful.
Arrietty, like a tour guide, led the sprites looking around, though she herself was visiting for the first time.
Sen Getsusa crouched down and held out her hand, letting the Little Sprites climb onto her shoulders and hair.
"Here are the guest rooms. There's also a lake behind."
"It's a sea! It's the ocean!"
"We can build our own castle here! And a furnace, bellows, farmland!"
"We have our own home!"
On Sen Getsusa's shoulders, the sprites chattered excitedly.
Arrietty lay on her head, wearing black-rimmed glasses, holding a small quill pen, writing and drawing in a notebook.
"We need a blacksmith's shop to make armor and weapons."
"Those who can't fight can be responsible for reconnaissance and building our home."
"And farming... administration..."
"As for the Queen's Guard—" the short-haired girl who could wield a huge hammer asked, but Arrietty immediately denied her.
"I can be the Queen's Guard, you go build houses."
The other party rolled her eyes, scrutinizing Arrietty, and raised the hammer in her hand.
"I don't think you can handle the responsibilities of a guard very well."
"Want to compare?"
"Bring it on!"
Several young Little Sprites stood on her shoulders, watching the two girls confront each other on Sen Getsusa's head with sparks flying, shouting 'Fight! Fight!'
Sen Getsusa:...With your current abilities, fighting on my head would probably blow off the top of my skull.
"No need for farming, food can be purchased daily, it won't cost much." Sen Getsusa poked the short-haired girl on her head, who responded excitedly.
"My name is Kina! Your Majesty!" The short-haired girl excitedly looked at her queen, jumping onto Sen Getsusa's palm in a few leaps, leaving Arrietty behind to sulk.
"I'll put the food in the house, you just pick someone to carry it."
"Um... can I stay with the Queen?"
Arrietty squinted: "No."
"I wasn't asking you." Kina bumped Arrietty with her chest, looking at Sen Getsusa pleadingly.
Sen Getsusa nodded, unbothered: "Of course. Kina, I'll rely on you and Arrietty from now on."
"No problem, My Queen!" Kina rubbed against Sen Getsusa's finger.
"Aren't all the strong ones Masira?" Arrietty narrowed her eyes, touched the sewing needle at her waist, and scanned Kina's front.
"Too big will affect our flexibility."
Kina covered her mouth, chuckling, looking at Arrietty like a Child.
"That's too small, it will affect your entire life, my leader."
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