The most compact gearing setup I ever used on any MTB was a 13t Odyssey Cassette sprocket mounted on a planet-X Dog Hub with a 33t Mankind BMX chain ring, this was on a 24” wheeled Dirt jumpy MTB and the gearing was a touch tall (2.53-1: 60.9 Gear inches) for most riding other than trail pootling and of course DJing, it would stretch good quality (KMC) 1/8” chains quite noticeably over a 6 month period…
Have you thought about what chainring you want to use with this? If it’s for some sort of 26” wheeled SS XC beasty then the old ~2:1 ratio rule means you’ll need to run a 22t chain ring, 16/32 is popular for a reason, easy & cheap to source parts and not much heavier than a “Micro-drive” setup (if not lighter in some cases)… best option is to pull a cassette apart and use that to play with ratios to see what you like the feel of, then go find some SS specific Sprockets & Rings….