Even a chronic victim of bad status ailments such as the wanderer Alain and his Emerald Dragon knew such an investment, while worthwhile, was a pipe dream. There were many times they wished it wasn’t, however.

Such days included that day when the travelling Dragon Rider was flying over Solvan Archipelago on their way to the mainland to bring back what they had gathered for a request.

“Not good, Gale. The mist is too thick. I can’t even tell which way is north. We should land as soon as we can.”

“Woo! Ewoo! Ewooo!” agreed the young green scaled dragon.

“The problem is, I can’t exactly see any land. Blasted. Well, if this isn’t a load of Armorbeast dung. Maybe we shouldn’t have taken so much time gathering extra Suntree Fruits.”

Even ascending high above the sea, they were unable to see anything but fog. They had thought taking flight early that morning would make it easier for them to make it back before mid-day, but getting lost while unable to find the correct direction to head had made that impossible. If they didn’t break out of the mist soon, they would be exhausted and sitting ducks in the open ocean.

Of course, that wasn’t the unlucky duo’s only problem.

“Aaaaa~~!” a harmonious sound entered Alain’s ear. Though it was a pleasant, rhythmic melody, it immediately put the Dragon Rider on edge. 

“A siren? Blasted! Where is it?” he looked left, right, up, and down for the sight of a feathered creature. He bit his lip to force his body to remain under his control. Sirens were known to lure unsuspecting travellers to their graves if they heard their songs. Even Gale would be in danger upon hearing their singing, so he had to deal with them immediately. Whatever type they were, all sirens had powerful arias that no being capable of listening could fight.

Unfortunately, the siren was nowhere in sight. The fog was still too thick. Up in the air with no landmarks of visible shadows through the mist, Alain and Gale continued to hear the elegant magic melody of the monster despite their best efforts to block it out.

“Gale, we need to dive now while we still can,” the rider gave up searching and took up his Plan B. If he couldn’t defeat the siren, they had to get away from hearing its song. They could only endure so much before the enchanted aria cursed them. 

“Ewoo!” agreed the Emerald Dragon as she swooped downwards. She was also struggling to fight the hypnotic power of the siren’s song.

Down the flying duo went. With their speed, they would get down to the water’s surface within a minute. Certainly, the siren couldn’t be that close to them.

That was what Alain had thought, but as they descended, the singing they could hear was getting louder and louder. It was a simple and distant humming at first but it quickly became ordinary singing and then as loud as a bard’s carols and then as deafening as a thousand cannons firing at once.

“Gah! This song is…” the Dragon Rider realized too late as he and his mount’s descent grew past five minutes. They were not getting any closer to the water because distances had changed. 

A Minimizing Melody, that was what they had fallen victim to. If there was any overpowering skill monsters could possess, this was one of them. It was just their luck to get caught up in it. 

They finally entered a cloudless region where they could see land below. Or rather, the ground had come to them. “Land? No… That’s… Gale! Up! Up!”

It was nearly too late for the Emerald Dragon to pull up. The two had to make an emergency crash landing because their momentum was too great. They couldn’t reverse direction in time. The dragon rider’s mount slammed into the peach colored ground, and the rider himself was flung off and rolled several body lengths away from Gale.

“Oof… Urk… My arm…,” he winced. It felt as though a few bones had broken from the bad landing. He was going to have to find and pay a capable healer when they arrived at a town. He was less concerned about his own injuries however as he stumbled back to his fallen partner. “Gale! Hold on.”

To his dismay, he could see the Emerald Dragon’s wing was limp. This was bad. If his mount was injured, there was no way they would be able to get back to civilization. The seas below were harsh and very few ships travelled the archipelago.

What was worse to the dragon rider, however, was their present location. He could see a small dip in the ground near where they had landed and flat plains for a fair distance until those plains suddenly became two hills. Unless he was mistaken, he could see a cross shaped pattern at the very top of those hills.

“Aaaaaa~” And beyond those hills, he could hear the powerful singing that had driven him and Gale into danger in the first place.

“T-This isn’t good,” Alain realized. They weren’t on land. That much was certain. They landed on on a monster’s belly. “We’re riding on the siren.”

Brought down to 2 cm in height. Alain and Gale were in between a rock and a hard place. If they attempted to escape from the siren, they would not get far on Gale’s injured wing and would likely just plummet straight down to their deaths. If they stayed with the siren, however, they would be up against a creature nearly 100 times their size. 

Slam!

“Urk!”

There was no time or chance for duo to make a decision on how to handle their predicament. Immediately after Alain had made the realization, a white feathered wing landed on top of them. The siren’s ‘hand’ pressed them down into her navel. Though she was not gentle, slamming it down hard on them, it was for the best because the avian monster spun in a full circle. The two felt their worlds flip upside-down and then turn right-side-up again. 

Flying with one wing was not something the siren could do, but she did not need to. She was headed downwards while protecting them from being blown off. Alain worried. What kind of siren was this? There were a handful of different sirens who were capable of using the Minimizing Melody. If this was a Man-Eater or Black Nightingale, they were in serious danger.

“U-Uwoah!” Alain wailed as he was released from the siren’s stomach when she slowed down, spun in the air, and finally let go of them. He found gravity pull him and his dragon downwards. They found themselves amidst a mountain of twigs the size of logs to them.

This was the siren’s nest, he realized. Looking up, she could see the humanoid avian smiling down at them. Now, he could see clearly just what had inflicted Mini on them.

What he saw could almost be considered angelic. The fair skinned avian’s white wings were only accented by a light blue at the very ends. Her body was humanoid and naked, although feathers covered her extremities and her chest. The cross shaped pattern there told him precisely just what kind of siren it was.

“That’s… a Nurse Siren?” 

“Aaaaaaa~~h!” a powerful voice escaped the creature’s mouth. For a moment, the dragon rider was on guard, but as his body was bathed in the Siren’s song, he found his injuries were healing.

“The Healing Hymn - so it really is a Nurse Siren,” a breath of relief escaped Alain.

Turning to his mount, Alain was glad to see the limp wing of his dragon had recovered as well. He was a little relieved. Nurse Sirens were known to be a gentle species of siren. They were proficient in all kinds of magical songs, but preferred tending to travelers rather than toying with them or preying on them.

“Thank you. We owe you one,” he told the winged girl.

But then why had this Nurse Siren shrunk them?

Sniff. Sniff.

“Uwoah!” The adventurer had to lean back to avoid being pulled off his feet when the Nurse Siren lowered her head and breathed in. At only 2 centimeters tall, just her nose sniffing him was enough to make him unsteady. He fell forwards, onto the Nurse Siren’s chin.

“Uuwoo…?” cooed the womanly bird. She extended her neck just slightly which slammed her chin right into his torso. The rider was knocked down onto her nest.

Looking up, Alain found himself looking up at pink lips, though not for long as those lips opened into a dark hole. “Huh? Wait. Hold on there!”

Lick!

The dragon rider could not defend against the pink wall and the slobber that came out of the Nurse Siren’s mouth. He was shoved onto the nest and pinned against her tongue. This was bad. Was the monster trying to eat him? He had to get his weapon or cast a spell. Unfortunately, the moment he opened his mouth, the siren’s saliva poured into it, preventing him from chanting, and because he was pinned down, he couldn’t move to draw his weapon. To be rendered so helpless even to a gentle Nurse Siren, being affected by Mini was terrible even to the most experienced adventurer.

But to his relief, licking him was all the Nurse Siren did. She tasted him but withdrew her tongue, shaking her head. Apparently, he didn’t taste good. He did not feel offended in the slightest. He wished more monsters hated the taste of humans.

“Ewoo! Woo!”

“Oh, no! Gale!” he heard the dragon’s cries as he saw the Nurse Siren change targets to his dragon. When he stood up, he saw he was too late, however. His mount was pulled up onto the avian girl’s tongue and pulled into her mouth. “Blasted… Let her go!”

Not taking any chances when his partner was in danger, Alain rushed forth, pulling out his sword and channelling his magic power. “Surge! Howl! Strike! Pierce my enemies with a crimson storm! Lightning Javelin!”

Lightning magic, his signature ability as a travelling dragon rider, was known for its fierce intensity and its ability to destroy any enemy with its scorching heat and stunning current. He aimed his attack at the giant siren’s cheek, sending a bolt of lightning from his sword forward. He was aware that he had been weakened heavily due to the negative status condition, but his magic was on a tier only behind professional mages.

Bzzzzzt!

“Uuuweeech!” the siren felt the bolt of lightning as though it had received a strong static shock. While he would have liked to stun the creature, that was an impossibility considering how weak his magic was in his current state. Still, in reaction, her mouth opened. Alain could see two things fly out - Gale and the cargo she had been carrying.

He was not concerned about the cargo. His dragon fell back down to the nest with her entire body coated in viscous saliva. Her wings were sticky as she tried to beat them to scatter the water clinging to her off. “Woo… Ewowoo...”

“Don’t worry, girl. I’ve got you,” the dragon rider reassured. He placed his hand on the dragon’s wing and channelled his magic power again. If it was water, he could handle it. “From sea to sky. Disperse Water!”

In an instant, the liquid surrounding him and Gale became vapor, freeing the Emerald Dragon who was happy to no longer be bogged down.

“Good. We’ll get you a nice bath later,” he jumped onto her back. He frowned, noticing the Suntree Fruits she had been carrying were all gone. However, from that knowledge, the dragon rider came to a realization. 

He turned around, just in time for the two of them to see a wall of flesh headed their way.

“Huh? Bla-”

Wham!

Before either he or his dragon had any time to react, they were run over by the siren’s breasts as she laid down on her stomach and pulled herself onto her nest. Her entire body pressed down on them. 

If it were not for the adventurer’s barrier magic, they would have been crushed flat.

“Uwoo!” The Nurse Siren was paying absolutely no attention to him. Just as he had thought, her attention was on the Suntree Fruits. The Nurse Siren was sniffing the damp bag and looked satisfied with herself. She didn’t eat it immediately - most likely, she was going to wait until Mini wore off so she could eat even more.

“That’s why we were attacked...” he grumbled, struggling to maintain the barrier. All around him was the color of the siren’s skin. Her body was threatening to break his magic defense which he poured every bit of his strength into. The little electricity running around his barrier did not seem to affect the Nurse Siren because it wasn’t as strong as his Lightning Javelin. “Blasted… Who knew Nurse Sirens liked those fruits? This was supposed to be a simple job too...”

Whatever the case, the fact that the siren paid no attention to them gave the duo the opportunity they needed. Gale spread her wings, ready to take flight. That was not all she did however. Her green wings began to glow, and with that bright light, the barrier surrounding them expanded.

“Didn’t think we’d have to use our reserves like this...,” Alain frowned. His dragon’s magic power was saved in case of an emergency. He never had to use it yet, even when going up against his rival. But this was certainly an appropriate time for it. He agreed with his mount that this was necessary. “Okay. I’ll focus on keeping the shield up. You fly us out of here, alright?”

“Ewoo!” affirmed the Emerald Dragon.

With that confirmation, Gale moved. She did not head forwards or upwards. No, to try and fight the massive weight of the Nurse Siren pushing down on them was impossible. Instead, she moved down, using the barrier to push away every single twig making the siren’s nest. Alain focused his magic as best as he could while the dragon began to spin, turning the electric barrier into a drill that shoved aside and tore through the log-sized twigs.

“C’mon… just a little more…,” Alain grunted, wincing due to the fact that he was nearing exhaustion from over expending his magic power. 

After digging a 5 cm diameter hole through the nest for several minutes, the duo finally breached through and saw light.

“Freedom!” “Ewoo! Woo!” they cheered.

Being able to escape the Nurse Siren, the adventurer and his tamed dragon were relieved to be out in the skies again. Though they were still small, they were at least out of the creature’s sight and away from her heavy body, and to their relief, they found themselves around land again because the siren’s nest had to be built somewhere that wasn’t in the sky. From what they could see from their miniscule scale, they were on an island. The Nurse Siren had made her home on the cliff by a beach.

“Alright… good...” wheezed the dragon rider. “Let’s get to a safe spot until this bad status wears off, Gale. Then we can go home. I don’t care if we fail that job request. I think we both need a rest.”

“Woo...” the Emerald Dragon agreed.

While it was a shame that such a simple job couldn’t be fulfilled, this was how terrible the Mini ailment was. To be able to turn the most docile of creatures into a threat and to exhaust even an experienced adventure such as him, the condition was nothing but trouble.