The Witchs home has a door that we havent opened before.

Its a door that the landlord herself told us not to open.

I had just come towards that door with Erika beside me.

[Can I come in?]

[Well, I suppose you have earned enough trust from this mistress.]

[Or so she says, Pigimaru.]

[Pinyyuuu.]

Pigimaru is also together with us.

[Come, lets go in.]

Beyond the door was a hole leading downwards.

It seems that theres still a place even further underground.

Taking the ladder installed nearby, we began heading downwards.

When she finally reaches the bottom, Erika nonchalantly steps on the ground.

I also got off the ladder too.

What we found on the end of the ladder is

[This place should be the Witchs Laboratory huh]

I guess you could call this something like Erikas workplace.

This place is about the size of a schools Science Laboratory.

Equipment that looks like they were used for experiments are lined up on desks and shelves.

I could also see that standard mysterious liquid that had those bubbles frothing out of its conical flask.

The room temperature in this place is higher than normal.

Its not that unbearable, but it does make people sweat a bit.

I could also see some doors leading to other rooms.

Then, Erika pointed to a door on the right hand side of the room.

[This way.]

Erika opens up that door.

When I entered the room, I came upon shelves that were lined up in a row.

It looks like these were handmade shelves.

Each step in those shelves were lined up with vials.

The vialed parts that were supposed to belong to monsters were sorted out together.

It kind of reminds me of that so-called formalinization

[It looks like you went to a lot of trouble to preserve them.]

[Its a little too hot in this room though.]

[Normally though, I had an image that you would lower down the rooms temperature though.]

[The things inside this room must be kept within temperature. Fuuuuu Its really hot in here.]

Erika wiped her jaws.

The clothing shes wearing looks like it would be quite refreshing, but her tanned skin is dripping in sweat.

I see.

Perhaps, the reason why shes wearing outfits like that was because shes working in a hot room like this.

[Puyuriii~]

Pigimaru also looks like hes getting a little sluggish from the heat.

It looks like he turned into a lifeless mochi.

[Hold on a second~]

Standing on her tiptoes, Erika checked the shelves one after another.

It appears that she doesnt remember everything about where things go and where she kept certain stuff.

[The fact that youve gone to such great lengths to preserve them That means that theyre quite valuable, arent they?]

[Of course, they are.]

[Then, whats your conditions for supplying me with this?]

[Nothing really? I dont really have any conditions for this.]

[Youre just going to give me without any sort of conditions?]

[You can just say its my thanks for the whiskey.]

[..]

So its thanks to that huh.

It seems to have done more for me than I ever expected.

But well, she may have been willing to give it to us unconditionally from the start.

Erika stopped in front of one of the shelves.

Then, she started looking around nearby.

It seems like shes searching for something.

Then

[Fuuuuu]

Sighing, Erika crossed her arms.

Shes intensely staring at the top of the shelf.

In the end

[Touka.]

[Hmm?]

[Lend me your shoulders.]

She requested to ride on my shoulders, and Im someone who complies with her demands.

[Is this alright?]

[Thank you.]

The thing she was probably looking for earlier was a ladder.

[..]

Shes lighter than I thought she would be.

[Im sorry if Im sweaty, but youre also sweaty anyway. Im enduring it myself, so you should also endure it.]

[Its fine, Im already used to enduring.]

Erika placed her hands on the edge of the shelf and peered at the stuff above it.

[Well, its not good if youre always enduring things You should just always be prepared for the right moment oh, found it.]

It appears that she found what were looking for.

Dropping down on my knees, Erika gets down from my shoulder.

In her hand was a vial the size of a humans head.

[Yes, I think this is it.]

I check the contents of the vial that Erika passed towards me.

[Yeah This really is what Im looking for.]

[Why dont you just make it here? I can lend you my equipment, you know? Erika is also interested in that Enhancer.]

With that comment from Erika, I decided to move on to creating the Enhancer.

This place certainly is quite filled with various equipment

I went back to my room once more to get some of my materials.

[Now then, I guess Ill start.]

Erika also helped out in making it this time, so I quickly finished making the Enhancer before I knew it.

Then, Erika pointed to one of the doors with her thumb.

[If youre going to administer the Enhancer to Pigimaru, how about we use that room instead? Its a little hot in here.

According to Erika, its a spacious room built with sturdy walls.

It seems that its mostly used to test the effects of powerful magic tools.

Well, theres no reason for me to say no.

I stepped into the room.

[.]

How refreshing.

It feels similar to that feeling I get when I walk into an air conditioned store on a hot summer day

[Now then, lets do this. Are you ready, Pigimaru?]

[Pinyuu~! Pigii! Pigiii! Piggiiiii!]

Pigimaru is extending and retracting his protrusion alternating from left to right.

It kind of looks like hes doing Seikendzuki

It may be that Pigimaru is also spirited in his own way.

(T/N: Seikendzuki is something mostly seen in karate. Theyre just mostly really fast and strong straight punches. What Pigimaru is doing is that karate practice where they alternately make straight punches with their left and right fists.)

This time too, I used the Monsters Enhancer according to the instructions.

The effect of this experiment towards a slime

According to the Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts Ive brought with me along with the materials

[Pigii? Pii Pipii?]

Pigimaru began to faintly glow.

While hes glowing, he also appears to be increasing in size.

[Pigigii!? Piiggyyyyyiiiiiiiii-!]

Bang!

Erika looked at that thing that had swelled up and reached the ceiling.

[Youve developed something really outrageous, Great Sage]

Yes, Pigimaru

started to turn gigantic.

The ceiling in this room is quite high.

And yet, his size has already reached close towards the ceiling

You could say that he had turned considerably gigantic.

[Pigimaru.]

[Pii!]

Even as it grew larger, he still had his adorable purr.

[Can you try turning back into your original size?]

[Pimuuu?Piii! Pimumumu Pyuuuu~]

Just like a deflating balloon, he shrank back his size in no time.

In the end, he returned back to his original size as if nothing had happened.

Thats right To put it simply, the effect of the Enhancer this time is Gigantification.

However That may just be a simple way to put it.

[Fuuuuunnn]

Erika looks impressed.

[The idea of making it gigantic by increasing its density]

[Personally, I think weve been able to raise the level of our capabilities by quite a bit with this enhancement. The effect of this enhancement, by itself, may look really like the epitome of simpleness but]

However, because of its simplicity, it can be used in a variety of ways.

Erika looks like shes trying to see through me.

[The way to use this ability It seems that youve already assembled it inside your head, huh?]

Bending down, I put my hand in front of Pigimaru.

[Pii?]

[Whether it works the way I want it to, Id see it after I verify it in the future]

There are still some things that I need to verify.

Not all data is recorded in the Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts.

What things could be done, and what are things that couldnt be done

To what extent could I use this skill

I would need to make sure of these things first.

But well, for now

[Without a doubt, this would definitely broaden our ways to fight.]