Tiya’s Smooth Regression Life Chapter 12

Fortunately, Tiya’s gloom didn’t last long.

 

It was because the carriage had reached its destination.

 

When Mia stepped down from the carriage and saw the building before her, she could not help but falter.

 

“Are you really… going to purchase something here?”

 

“Yes!”

 

[The Golden Owl]

 

The carriage had stopped in front of a pawnshop.

 

Located in a prime spot and beautifully decorated inside, it was a place frequently visited by commoners and even nobles short on cash.

 

The shopkeeper’s eye for appraising items was precise, and thanks to the unique practice of paying for even the most trivial stories—as long as they weren’t lies—it was a local landmark known to those in the loop.

 

Still, it was naturally not the kind of place a young child from a noble family would visit.

 

‘Besides, there’s that strange rumor that the owner here hasn’t aged in ten years.’

 

Mia hesitated, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

 

“Hurry, hurry!”

 

Before she could be stopped, Tiya quickly dashed inside the pawnshop. The rest of the group hurriedly followed on her heels.

 

“Are you selling, or buying?”

 

At the staff member’s greeting, the eyes of Mia and the escort knights turned toward Tiya.

 

Ahem. Clearing her throat, Tiya suddenly began a riddle.

 

“You know, that thing. It’s about the size of my two fists, but the whole world is contained inside it.”

 

Question marks rose over their faces.

 

Yet almost immediately, a strange determination bloomed in their hearts to solve it no matter what.

 

“I want to have that!”

 

Tiya, fluttering her hands in excitement, was so lovely that she looked like a baby bird chirping and begging its mother for food.

 

“Yes! Please wait here. Everyone, look for it!”

 

Without anyone needing to say it first, not only Tiya’s party but even the staff scattered and began to search every corner of the pawnshop. 

 

Once their attention drifted away from her—

 

“Heh, just as planned.”

 

Tiya spoke with a mean laugh, like a strategist who had successfully executed a scheme. Of course, because of her missing front tooth, she didn’t look particularly sinister.

 

<Why does this child… appear more foolish by the day?>

 

Carrying Winter’s worry at her back, Tiya moved toward her true target.

 

Her gaze settled on the one person who had not left her post: the employee behind the counter.

 

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties. Tiya trotted up to the young woman with flame-red hair and called out,

 

“Sister.”

 

Glance.

 

The staff member shifted only her eyes to check Tiya, then spoke with a face that looked bored to death. 

 

“I have a constitution that develops a headache when I converse with creatures of below-average intelligence.” 

 

I haven’t even said anything yet.

 

Indeed, just as Winter had warned, the speech of the Golden Owl’s owner was nothing short of biting. 

 

An ordinary child might have wilted into silence at once.

 

<Appeal to the fact that you’re a customer. You mustn’t be looked down on, so don’t smile at all.> 

 

Drawing upon the brazen boldness she had honed while dealing with her emotionless father, and mixing in Winter’s advice, Tiya declared proudly,

 

“I am a customer!”

 

“And I am the owner of this shop.”

 

Her opponent was equally unyielding.

 

The woman checked Tiya’s group, who were scouring the interior of the pawnshop. 

 

‘Tch. This is why nobles are troublesome.’

 

The staff member—no, the owner—clicked her tongue pointedly and asked reluctantly.

 

“And what do you want, lower life-form customer?”

 

“I need a magic potion that turns you into an adult.”

 

One of the owner’s eyebrows twitched upward.

 

“…A headache is starting to creep in. Look for such an item in your dreams. Unfortunately, this pawnshop doesn’t sell things like that.” 

 

Uh-oh. I didn’t expect an answer like this.

 

Rolling her eyes again—Winter, help!

 

<Threaten her with an expression that says you came here knowing everything, and ask her if she’s sure.>

 

“Are you suuuure?”

 

Imitating her grandmother, Tiya crooked one corner of her mouth upward in what she intended to be a menacing smile.

 

<Heavens. When will that front tooth grow back?>

 

Tiya’s threat failed spectacularly, and the opponent dealt with her by remaining completely unmoved and unresponsive.

 

“Hmm,” Tiya hummed, contemplating something, then lowered her voice further and whispered, “Then, should I tell you where that magic potion is?”

 

Though she made no effort to hide her annoyance, the woman leaned toward Tiya’s cupped hands.

 

“The owner of the Golden Owl pawnshop on Molber Street had been taking a potion to become an adult until five years ago.”

 

“…”

 

In the next instant, a flash like lightning sparked in the woman’s eyes, which until now had been utterly indifferent.

 

“Shh! I’ll keep it a secret.”

 

Tiya grinned widely, showing off her missing front tooth.

 

* * *

 

Roxanne, the sole appraiser and owner of the Golden Owl.

 

Her eye for appraising items and judging their value was renowned in the industry.

 

But her true profession was not merely that of an appraiser.

 

She was also the leader and brain of the information guild ‘The Bronze Monkey,’ which boasted the highest reliability, accuracy, and processing speed.

 

And the secret to her youthful looks, the rumor that she hadn’t aged in ten years, was precisely—

 

‘With this, I can become an adult too?’

 

—rested in the tiny vial of magic potion in Tiya’s palm.

 

Tiya carefully inspected the vials containing Growth Stimulant ver. 10, also known as the ‘Tall-Tall Potion,’ which she had obtained through negotiations with Roxanne. 

 

The pink liquid inside, no larger than her index finger, looked oddly sweet.

 

“Did you enjoy your outing?”

 

Inside the carriage returning home, Tiya hastily hid the potion bottles at Mia’s question and pretended to admire the snow-globe music box on her lap.

 

She had just been talking nonsense, but Tiya’s riddle had summoned a variety of items: a jewelry box with imitation gems, a book of trivia, a miniature dollhouse, and more.

 

Tiya had chosen the music box because the castle beneath its glass dome resembled Frost Fortress.

 

Tiya fiddled with the inscription ‘To my beloved Winter,’ which someone had roughly etched into the surface of the music box.

 

As a price for the music box, Roxanne had charged an absurdly high price.

 

It felt like she’d been scammed, but she liked it so much.

 

Pressing her cheek to the glass dome, Tiya gazed into the tiny world inside and replied,

 

“Yes, it was fun.”

 

“If you ever wish to go out again, please tell me!”

 

Tiya spoke with an apologetic heart toward Mia, who was so kind to her.

 

“But I want to rest well tomorrow. Because tomorrow, I’m going to be with Dad all day, starting from early in the morning.” 

 

* * *

 

At dawn. A time when even the most diligent servant in the mansion was deep in sleep.

 

Tiya stood before the mirror, clutching the Tall-Tall Potion. The mirror reflected a child who had secretly stolen and put on an adult’s dress.

 

“All right. I’m ready.”

 

Pop. The cork slipped free at once.

 

<Don’t sip it. Drink it all at once. That’s how you swallow bitter medicine.>

 

Encouraged by Winter’s words, Tiya tipped back the vial in a single gulp.

 

Gulp. Her throat bobbed.

 

Tiya, having emptied the vial completely, rolled her eyes with a strange expression before suddenly covering her mouth.

 

“Mmph!”

 

<Why! Is something wrong? Does it hurt?>

 

Magic potions, by nature, required careful adjustment of dosage and composition for each individual.

 

She had swallowed one crafted for someone else’s body. What if there were side effects?

 

“It tastes like strawberry! Not bitter at all!”

 

<…>

 

Tiya licked the mouth of the vial.

 

‘I was worried for nothing.’

 

Winter’s sigh deepened—

 

“Ugh.”

 

This time, Tiya clutched her stomach and curled her body.

 

Her insides churned as if boiling, her organs stretching like melted cheese.

 

Tiya, groaning and breaking into a cold sweat, realized belatedly that Winter was calling her.

 

<—say something.>

 

“I—I think it’s getting better now.”

 

Tiya propped herself against the full-length mirror and unsteadily pushed her body up.

 

“Huh?”

 

She had merely straightened her knees, but suddenly the ground drifted away and her eye level rose incredibly high. 

 

She lifted her head to check the mirror in front of her.

 

Srrk. The hair that had veiled her face like a black curtain slipped aside, revealing her bare features.