Ch.157Just the Two of Us

“Mina, are you okay?”

“How are you feeling?”

“Hey, guys…”

When I opened the door to the strictly managed emergency treatment room, Mina was lying on the hospital bed waiting for us.

Instead of her usual overalls, she was wearing a patient gown, and her chest area was swollen to a degree that easily surpassed my imagination.

“…Ehehe. I’ve ended up with a body like this.”

“Mina…”

“Looks hideous, right? I guess this is divine punishment for being too greedy.”

Saying that, Mina lifted one of her breasts, which had grown larger than her head, with a bouncing motion.

It was a body proportion completely detached from reality… like something you’d only see in mobile games targeting specific preferences. Commonly called “balloon boobs.”

Seeing this metaphysical sight on Mina’s body was causing some serious cognitive dissonance in my brain.

“Besides your enlarged chest, is there anything else wrong with your body?”

“I’m fine. Actually, I don’t even need to be lying down, but I’m here to prevent accidents since I just can’t get used to my body’s balance.”

“Phew, that’s a relief at least… I heard the main ingredient in that medicine comes from the White Earth tribe. We’ll go to their village and find a solution, so just wait patiently.”

“Sorry. I’m making you waste your time because of me.”

“These things happen. I bought some suspicious medicines too, so I’m in no position to criticize.”

If Seti hadn’t stopped me, I would have bought that medicine claiming to double the size of “something,” and I might have been the one lying there with an adverse reaction.

If everyone had seen me swinging around a telephone pole-sized thing between my legs, even I would have had a mental breakdown.

I suppose the proper thing to do here is to treat it as if it’s no big deal, like it’s just a passing incident everyone will forget with time.

“Anyway, now that we’ve confirmed Mina is safe, let’s hurry to the White Earth tribe village. I’ll extend the reservation for Mina’s room.”

“Good idea. And could you give me some time to talk with Mina alone?”

“Just the two of you…? Alright. When you’re ready, come to where the carriage is parked.”

After Jessica, Seti, and Phyllis left, and the staff cleared out, only Mina and I remained in the emergency room.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Ah, nothing major. I think it’s probably just my assumption, but… I wanted to check just in case.”

“What is it?”

“…I was wondering if the reason you used that chest-enlarging cream might have been because of me.”

Flinch.

Despite her face maintaining composure, Mina’s body language clearly revealed she was disturbed.

“I’m a man, so I don’t really understand women’s complexes or obsessions with beauty. You probably have your own ideal body type and fashion preferences, but from what I’ve observed while traveling together, you didn’t seem to have any inferiority complex when looking at Jessica or Seti.”

“And?”

“With Phyllis’s situation too, I want to make things clear. If the reason you did this was because you have feelings for me, and you thought I only like women with large breasts, that’s absolutely not the case, so please don’t use such dangerous medicines again.”

Some might say I’m being narcissistic, but Mina had never expressed any complex about her small chest before.

And considering that the dwarf women we encountered in Blackforge and Nidavellir were divided into either motherly figures with warm impressions or small-chested childlike types, I assumed dwarves naturally develop fuller figures as they age.

Mina herself must know this, yet she still sought to obtain large breasts through medicine to appeal to someone sexually—and I couldn’t think of anyone but myself as the reason.

“If I were to like you, I would like you regardless of whether your chest is big or small, and my evaluation or feelings toward you wouldn’t suddenly change just because your chest got bigger. If I only approved of women with large breasts in the first place…”

“Hmm? Could you finish that sentence in front of Phyllis?”

“Ugh.”

It would be too rude to ask how I started dating small-chested Phyllis then.

“A-Anyway, that’s what I mean. I’m not the kind of guy who judges a woman’s attractiveness solely by her chest size.”

“Then is there something else that’s the problem?”

“Problem?”

“You said it when we first met. That it wouldn’t work with me.”

“Ah…”

Only then did I realize why Mina had been making subtle sexual appeals recently.

When I first met Mina, she asked if her appearance wasn’t quite nice, and I immediately answered “impossible.”

At that time, Mina’s appearance looked like that of a middle schooler at best, or even an elementary school student if I were to exaggerate.

Unless you were from before the medieval period when people casually married in their mid-teens, there’s a line that a 21st-century modern person just can’t cross.

“…Back then, you know, I came from a world with only humans. It was my first time seeing dwarf women, and in my homeland, touching children is a serious crime.”

“Hoho~? So now you’re feeling liberated from your homeland’s laws and morals, ready to freely go at it even with children?”

“Of course not! Any reasonable person would understand I meant I no longer see you as a child… Ah.”

Thinking I might have gone too far, I quickly shut my mouth, but Mina’s eyes were already filled with her characteristic mischief.

“Hmm~ I see~ So Will has been seeing me as a woman for a long time, hiding his desperate feelings~?”

“You… I didn’t say it like that.”

“Hey, hey, setting aside the side effects, which do you prefer—my normal self or me with these huge breasts?”

“…No comment.”

“Aww, tell me~ Depending on your answer, we might not need to visit the White Earth tribe village?”

“That’s not right. Your current appearance is clearly a drug side effect. Natural and healthy is best, before we even discuss breast size. Whatever my preferences might be, we’re going to restore your body to its original state. Got it?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll wait patiently. Hehehe.”

I thought about giving Mina’s head a light chop as she laughed slyly, but since she was technically a patient, I decided to let it slide this time.

“Oh, if you’re going, could you leave the stone house and dolls in my room? I’ll analyze them since I have nothing else to do.”

“Alright. We’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful~”

After waving goodbye to Mina, I left the treatment room to join my other companions. We left some of our luggage in Mina’s room and departed for the White Earth tribe village.

It’s about 30 kilometers south of here, so depending on how long things take there, we might be able to make it a day trip.

“Sigh…”

While holding the reins and driving the carriage, I organized my thoughts about Mina.

One advantage of our carriage is that once I set the direction, I can leave about half the driving to Ancestor’s autonomous navigation.

This mishap was caused by a drug side effect, but the reason Mina experienced that side effect was because of my insensitive comment right after she joined our party.

– If you’re just evaluating my appearance, don’t I look pretty decent?

– Hmm… I don’t think so.

Looking back, it was an incredibly insensitive remark, but at the time, I truly couldn’t think of any other response.

It was a period when I felt having two lovers like Jessica and Seti was already more than enough, and I had no interest in other women. Plus, to me, still unfamiliar with this other world, Mina’s appearance screamed “jail time.”

I never imagined that single comment would leave a wound that would drive Mina to such extremes.

‘Mina’s appearance…’

To be honest, I still think Mina looks like a child.

However, traveling together has shown me her sense of responsibility, talent, passion, and expertise.

These qualities, which you wouldn’t find in a child, have made me recognize the true value of the person named “Minarette Belghand.”

But if asked whether I feel absolutely no attraction to Mina as a woman, I can’t confidently nod without hesitation.

After all, there have consistently been subtle skinship and appeals between us.

In the disease dungeon, I saw her modest bare chest up close,

The occasional playful “oppa” she throws at me makes my heart flutter even though I know she’s teasing,

When she let her hair down and dressed in Gothic Lolita style to meet Director Geronimo, something definitely struck me.

And then there was the penalty from the recent King Game.

Even though her exposure was less compared to the other three, she still accepted wearing only a men’s shirt—the so-called “boyfriend shirt” look.

I don’t know how Mina feels, but at least for me, I can no longer insist that Mina is just a female friend with whom romantic feelings could never develop.

‘…I should reach a conclusion soon.’

After resolving this issue, I’ll face my feelings for Mina squarely.

Setting aside excuses like her youthful appearance, or how we’ve somehow become entangled, or how I became lovers with the other three while leaving her as just a friend…

I’ll decide clearly what kind of relationship I want with Minarette Belghand, this dwarf girl.

With that thought, I increased the speed of Ancestor pulling our carriage.