February 21st. Though spring was drawing near, a lingering chill still hung in the air. Hina, a girl whose hooded parka, leggings, and hot pants gave her a lively, active look, headed toward an apartment building with a shopping bag in hand.
She pressed the buzzer on the ground floor, where security was strictly maintained, and stepped inside once the lock clicked open. Taking the elevator up to her destination, she stopped before a specific unit and rang the bell again.
"Aoi-senpai, I'm here!"
"Come on in, Hina-chan."
"Excuse me~"
Aoi opened the door from the inside. She was dressed down in a plain white shirt and navy jeans, her long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had grown taller since high school, her features maturing from girlish cuteness into the striking beauty of a young woman. She greeted Hina with a warm smile.
The interior was impeccably organized, possessing a refined atmosphere that felt sophisticated yet lived-in. Hina looked around the room before turning back to Aoi.
"I have to say, Aoi-senpai, you’ve really leaned into the 'commoner milady' lifestyle."
"I’m not a milady anymore, you know? I’ve been disowned. I'm just an ordinary college student."
"I reject that. If you're 'ordinary,' then I’m going to be a pretty lackluster student when I start next year."
"Fufu, what is that even supposed to mean?"
Having severed ties with her family after her life in the Otherworld, Aoi was currently enjoying her freedom to the fullest. Hina watched her with a fond smile as she set the shopping bag on the living room table.
"Still, the rent for a place like this must be astronomical. Are you doing okay for money?"
"Oh, yes. I brought back jewels and artworks from the Otherworld to sell here, so I have plenty of leeway."
"Wait... Aoi-senpai, what did you just say?"
"Eh? Like I said, I sell the things I bought in the other world to jewelry merchants and such. I have plenty of money."
"Th-that feels like cheating! Isn't that unfair?"
"It’s not unfair. I bought those things with the money I earned properly as an Adventurer over there."
"Muu... next time we go, you have to take me on a quest too."
As they chatted about the Otherworld—a place they visited frequently—the two moved into the kitchen to begin their preparations. Aoi donned an apron and nodded after inspecting the ingredients Hina had provided.
"Everything looks good. Well then, shall we start making the chocolates? Even if the timing is a bit off compared to the Otherworld's Valentine..."
"It’s off in this world too! I wanted to make them last week, but you delayed us because of that game event, Aoi-senpai."
"Ugh... B-but the equipment from this year's Valentine event had such great stats! I wouldn't have been able to get it if I missed that window..."
"Games are fine, but you shouldn't let them take over your life."
"Uu, yes..."
Indeed, they had originally planned to make the chocolates and visit Kaito on February 14th. However, that date had coincided with an event in the online game Aoi played, and because she had prioritized the grind, their plans had been pushed back by a week.
"It feels like it's been a while since we visited, probably because I’ve been so busy with entrance exams."
"It’s only been about a month since our last trip, right? Although, I suppose ten months have passed over there..."
"How many 'years' are we staying this time?"
"Hmm. I want to relax with Kaito-san, and I want to do some adventuring too... Maybe about five years?"
"Shallow Vernal-sama resets our bodies when we come back here, and only one day passes in this world, but I still feel like I'm aging mentally."
"Well, if we count the time we've spent living over there, we're probably around seventy years old by now."
"Stop that! I'm still eighteen!"
The two of them frequently visited the Otherworld for recreation. Whenever they returned, Shallow Vernal's power restored their bodies to their original state and ensured they arrived back only one day after their departure. Because of this, they usually stayed for several years per trip; in truth, they had lived much longer in the Otherworld than they had in their own.
"Still, it's a bit of a shame that my chest goes back to normal when we return."
"Are they... still growing?"
"Eh? Yes. If I spend about a year over there, my current bras don't fit anymore."
"..."
Hina's chest had been quite large compared to her peers since high school, and it seemed the growth hadn't stopped. Aoi let out a heavy sigh as she glanced at her own chest, which had remained virtually unchanged since her teens. Aoi was taller, but in terms of curves, she was utterly defeated. To have her friend still in a growth spurt... the world was a cruel place.
"Honestly, there's no need for them to get any bigger than that..."
"You think? But Kaito-senpai seems happy about it, and I still can't compete with people like Lilliwood-sama."
"Uu... Hina-chan, that's so unfair."
"Ah, wait! No, look, Aoi-senpai, your shape is so nice and elegant! I'm actually a little jealous of that, and I'm sure Kaito-senpai likes them too."
Seeing Aoi more distressed than she had anticipated, Hina began offering frantic, nonsensical comfort. Aoi slowly looked up, placing a hand over her heart—and her chest—as she whispered.
"Do you really think so? Kaito-san is kind, so he might just be keeping it to himself... but maybe he actually prefers them big..."
"Umm..."
Hina crossed her arms, looking troubled. While she wanted to comfort her friend, agreeing would imply that Kaito liked Hina's body more than Aoi's, which was a complicated thought for a maiden. After much deliberation, Hina whispered tentatively.
"I've heard... that they get bigger if you have someone massage them."
"I've heard that too, now that you mention it! That's it! I'll ask Kaito-san to do it!"
"...Well, they'll just reset the moment we come back here anyway."
"Hmm? What was that?"
"Nothing! Come on, let's get these chocolates started!"
"Oh, okay!"
Unaware of the cruel reality Hina had just muttered, Aoi began making the chocolates with a face full of hope.
It would be a little while longer before Kaito would have to gently comfort an Aoi who had fallen into despair upon realizing her temporary gains wouldn't follow her home—a gesture that would only make her fall for him all over again.