"So, what happened after that?" Mrs C asked curiously after she finished telling Muku about the KP one gets from the different levels of R4 beasts.

"There wasn't anything interesting after that actually. We just carefully hunted a few more beasts. We took turns hunting them since Raya can't get any KP from the beasts I kill. Unfortunately, we only managed to kill two each. After that we thought that it was about time we came here, so we did just that. I guess, you know the rest after that" Muku replied.

"Oh, okay. It seems you really had a good time. I guess we can move on if that's all..." Mrs C spoke then trailed off into thought at the end.

"Yeah... What are we doing next then? I mean, you said there's still a month left before I can start the trials, right?" Muku asked Mrs C.

"That's what I was thinking about actually... Oh! So, son, you wouldn't humour your mother for a bit would you?" Mrs C replied. She seemed to think of something which made her smile brightly as she asked for Muku's co-operation.

"Hmm? Okay, sure. As long as it doesn't hurt me in any way" Muku replied.

He didn't mind doing whatever she wanted since she had done so much for him. And he was sure she just wanted to play some childish game or something...

"Great! Thanks for agreeing. And I promise that not even a single hair on your body will be injured" Mrs C spoke with even more excitement.

Without any further delay, she snapped her finger. Muku's eyes widened as her figure became bigger and bigger in front of his eyes. And it wasn't just her who got bigger, even the room and everything in it got bigger.

No, wait. That wasn't it. It wasn't that everything got bigger. It was he who had gotten smaller!

What the hell was happening?! What kind of game was this?! He never agreed to something like this! No! He couldn't let this continue. He had to tell her to turn him back to normal!

"Gugu gaga"... "Ge?!" Muku tried speaking but it was only cute baby sounds which came out.

His eyes immediately snapped in Mrs C's direction. He asked her what was going on with just a look. He ignored Raya who was laughing her lungs out in the corner.

Snap!

Mrs C snapped her finger and a small mirror appeared before Muku. His worst fear was confirmed... He had been turned into a baby!

"Mwaaaah!... Gugu gaga gu ga..." Muku screamed in surprise then tried his best to tell Mrs C to turn him back.

Unfortunately, no real words came out of his mouth. Only cute baby sounds came out of his mouth.

And the almighty Mrs C seemed to be unable to hear him. At the very least she appeared not to be able to hear him. Whether it was true or an act, only she knew.

However, her eyes hadn't left his body since he became a baby. She was looking at him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

She picked him up the moment he relaxed a bit from the change. It seems she had been holding herself back until he became aware of his situation and accepted it...

"Hehe. Who is Momma's cute baby? Thank you for agreeing to this son. I promise to give you a reward after this okay? Now let's go, we have so much stuff to do!" Mrs C spoke while cradling Muku.

The duo disappeared the next moment leaving Raya alone in the room...

"...." Raya was speechless at the development. She was still laughing when they disappeared. However, her laugh stopped the moment they disappeared.

"Hey! What about me?! There isn't even a door here!" Raya screamed in a complaining tone as she looked at the doorless and portal-less room. It was almost like it had been set up that way to keep her inside.

"I can't believe they left me alone like that. And I really wanted to see what she was going to do with Muku. I'd then use the information as blackmail material when we get back to the team. I'll have him be my butler if he doesn't want me to spill the beans... Sigh, such a great chance wasted" Raya lamented to herself.

"What a terrible friend you are... And who said you were alone?" A familiar voice sounded from behind Raya.

Hearing the voice made Raya's stomach twist. She hated it a lot. Which was odd since the voice sounded like her own. Hell, it was literally her voice. The only difference was the much higher level of arrogance in the voice.

She turned around slowly and her eyes fell on a floating figure...

"...." She looked at the figure without saying anything.

"What? You aren't going to say anything to one you killed?" Fake Raya's ghost which was obviously the owner of the voice replied as arrogantly as ever.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Raya screamed hysterically.

She didn't mind being left alone. She didn't mind being locked in a doorless room. Hell, she didn't even mind dying. But she minded one thing. And that was being locked in a doorless room alone with the ghost in front of her.

She would literally choose to die rather than have that... Unfortunately other than suicide, there was no other way she could die in the situation. And there was no way she could do something so cowardly.

In other words... She was screwed...

.....

A few days later...

Mrs C had taken Muku to a large mansion even more luxurious than his group's back on the Blue Planet after Freya's upgrade.

After that she made him go through the most embarrassing things he has ever experienced. She didn't just make him look like a baby, she made him a real baby! And his R4 strength he was so proud of was completely gone!

Anyway, other than breastfeeding, they did everything. From lullabies, baby feeding, burping, story telling and even diaper changing. That's right, the body he was given wasn't under his control at all.

So, he got to see himself get changed like a baby and everything else. She would take him for walks outside the mansion through the most beautiful back garden he had ever seen. That part he didn't mind.

Then there was the house help. It was especially embarrassing when they talked to him like a baby and pinched his cheeks. Some pinched him so hard he promised himself to pinch them back when he got the chance.

As for where they were or who the people around them were, he didn't know. However, his life as a baby felt rather nostalgic and quite nice despite everything... He was probably going crazy.

Anyway, after a few days, he had grown a bit bigger and could say a few words and walk for a bit...

While he could ask Mrs C to turn him back at that point. He didn't do it. He felt that it would break her heart. Which was something he didn't want to do. So, he chose to go all in instead.

He began acting like a real toddler for her sake. At the very least he did what he thought toddlers did. Of course, he refused to poop himself anymore at that stage. Though it was still embarrassing. Fortunately, Raya wasn't there so he could take it.

After half a month he looked to be about five years... At that point, he could go around the mansion and explore. He would spend most of his time in the library reading books full of ancient knowledge. He even learned a few useful things about Monarchs among other things.

He would also play different outdoor games with Mrs C in the garden. She didn't keep him too busy though. Which gave him his library time...

At that point, he was completely committed to the role of acting according to how he looked... Other than reading "grown-up" books of course.

He had at some point realised that Mrs C wanted to experience how it felt to raise a child from a baby until they are of age. Maybe it was an unfulfilled wish of her's from that "tragic" event he assumed happened in the past.

The thought melted his heart even more. And so, he became the best child he could be. Always obedient and helped out around the mansion when he could.

At the same time, he couldn't help but be impressed by Mrs C's power. It was probably the envy of all parents who wanted to relive the younger days of their children. Unlike those parents, she could literally turn her child back into a baby instead of just wishing she could while looking back in nostalgia...

Around twenty days later Muku had reached his early teen years. His body started going through puberty. This led to Mrs C giving him "the talk". The experience was quite awkward considering that he was actually a twenty-one-year-old dude who had already had sex. But he tried his best not to let the awkwardness show.

Again he played the best child. Listening intently and asking stupid questions...

Then twenty-nine days he had pretty much returned to his usual self. Though his strength hadn't returned yet.

It was then Mrs C who had been in oblivious mother mode broke character and returned to her usual...

"Truly son, thank you for playing along with me. I'm sure it was really embarrassing. However, thanks to you, I won't have any longer regrets now..." Mrs C spoke with a gentle smile on her face...

"Sure mother. If there's anything else don't hesitate to ask" Muku replied naturally.

He had been calling her that every day for so long so it had gotten more natural to him. He had also completely accepted her as his mother. After all, he had seen nothing but motherly love from her in the past 29 days.

"Such a great son I have. I'm so proud of you. But don't worry. There's nothing else. In fact, I wanted to ask you that. Is there anything you want as a reward? I'll give you anything within my power" Mrs C replied with a gratified smile on her face.

"Oh, okay. Umm, I only want one thing. Can you tell me why you had regrets about not raising a child from the baby stage? That is if you don't mind my asking" Muku asked the one thing he was curious about.

Immediately the air shifted. Mrs C looked at him seriously.

Muku gulped down some saliva uneasily as he wondered if he had overstepped his boundaries...