Ch.198Chapter 198

Due to Ouro’s stubbornness, my enrollment was delayed by a year. Karen had already graduated, and I unwillingly ended up taking a year off because of Ouro’s exam.

She could have just enrolled on her own, but why was she so insistent on us entering together…

Now that she’s human instead of a Demon God, she should consider a year important, but Ouro still seemed to think she had plenty of time left. It’s as if her once infinite existence had been suddenly cut short.

Well, I suppose suddenly hearing “you’ve become human, and your lifespan ends here” wouldn’t really sink in. Just like how people don’t change their behavior when told they’ll only live until 40.

She’s aging, and I should probably give her time until she physically realizes there’s no going back.

A year and a half had passed that way. We both earned our high school diplomas, with only Academy enrollment remaining. Technically, two years had passed.

Ouro’s hair was longer now, and she had grown taller. Her lengthened limbs created elegant lines, and there was no trace of youthfulness left in her.

I guess that means her physical age is increasing.

“…Why am I the only one who isn’t growing?”

While Ouro had shed her childish appearance and was showing all the signs of adulthood, I still hadn’t grown taller. I remained frozen at a height even shorter than Ouro was two years ago.

I’d noticed it every year, but now that we were about to enter the Academy together, I felt even more anxious about it.

I’d resigned myself to looking young on the outside, but isn’t this difference a bit much? Plus, I couldn’t shake the fear that I might never grow from now on.

My shoulders trembled involuntarily.

“Ourr?”

“Don’t touch me.”

I swatted away Ouro’s hand from my shoulder. I had a lot to think about and no time to be disturbed. I needed to somehow overcome this unfortunate situation, but I couldn’t figure out how.

No matter how much I thought about it, there must have been some mistake with the humanization magic. I’d never heard anything about physical age being fixed…

“Ourr.”

“Ugh!”

Ouro, apparently disliking being ignored, subtly embraced me from behind. With her longer arms and increased strength, it was impossible for me to seize an opportunity to escape like before.

I groaned, grabbing her arms and tilting my head, but Ouro paid no attention and pulled me into her embrace. Seeing her close her eyes while burying her face in the top of my head, I knew she wouldn’t let go easily.

The Professor, who had gone to the convenience store, returned.

“Oh? What are you two doing?”

“…Professor, why am I not growing?”

I asked out of frustration, but the Professor seemed unsure and gave an awkward response after studying my face.

“I wonder… where did something go wrong?”

It’s hard to say I’m just not growing when Ouro, who looks exactly like me, has grown so well. Arms, legs, chest! Everything has grown. But I haven’t grown at all, so the problem must be with the magic the Professor wrote.

Soon we’ll have to attend the Academy entrance ceremony, and at this rate, I’ll clearly look like Ouro’s younger sister.

“Let me go.”

“Professor, why is Ourr so small?”

It’s annoying how she deliberately brings it up again when the Professor already said she doesn’t know. It just rubs salt in the wound.

“Ouro.”

“Mmm, sorry.”

When I spoke sternly, Ouro tried to brush off the situation with a half-hearted apology that may or may not have been sincere, then hugged me tightly.

By hugging me, she prevented me from protesting—essentially subduing me.

“Oh right, aren’t you two going to get your uniforms fitted? There’s joy in designing them yourself.”

The Professor clapped her hands with a smile, seemingly trying to change the subject.

I puffed my cheeks in dissatisfaction, but I suppose it’s natural to let it go since this happens all the time.

Speaking of uniforms, since we already had uniforms we wore regularly, I hadn’t thought about getting new ones fitted. Going from navy to white-based uniforms felt like it might be awkward.

The uniform Karen currently wears is blue. Second-years wear black, first-years wear red, so the incoming students will wear the same color as the graduating third-years.

Blue… it would suit me. Still, I’d prefer a darker color if possible.

“Would it be possible to make the color a bit darker?”

“…That might be difficult. I believe the colors are predetermined. You might be able to change it slightly without anyone noticing, but completely changing it is a bit…”

Hearing the Professor’s words, it seemed I wouldn’t be able to choose my personal color. I sighed, looking at the uniform I’d been wearing.

While students have stylish uniforms they can wear for three years, I had this uniform that I now had to let go.

It truly felt like a new beginning. Leaving everything behind and moving forward—it left me with lingering regrets.

I opened and closed my mouth before burying my face in my clothes.

Maybe I could wear it when I’m out alone? I thought.

When we went to get our uniforms fitted, there were truly diverse designs on display. While most designs were simple, the flashy or unique ones naturally caught my eye.

Someone must have had similar thoughts to mine, as I saw a uniform that minimized white and was mostly blue. However, the blue was subtly bright, so it didn’t look particularly pretty.

More precisely, it didn’t seem to suit me.

In the end, I decided to get a design similar to the uniform I usually wore. The difference was that instead of the basic navy color, it would be pure white, giving it a somewhat different feel.

“…Hmm, hmm.”

I tried on the uniform that arrived a week after fitting. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, I twisted my body slightly, stood on tiptoe, and examined myself from all angles.

Somehow, even though only the color had changed, it gave a completely different impression. The fact that I would be wearing the same uniform as others at the Academy evoked mixed emotions.

“Hmm~”

“Ah, go look somewhere else.”

Ouro shamelessly showed off her figure beside me. Whether she considered my lack of growth a complex or simply wanted to boast about her own growth, she moved her body this way and that.

Ouro’s body moved stiffly. Nevertheless, I disliked how my gaze was drawn to her curves that she couldn’t hide. This small body with no advantages had nothing good about it.

“Ourr and I have the same clothes.”

“…We do, but somehow they look different.”

Even with the same design, the atmosphere is completely different because we’re different people. From the shirt to the skirt that emphasizes the hips. Even the jacket that I wear straight down flows along Ouro’s figure, making me stare for a long time.

I’m envious. If I were taller, I would look exactly like that. Wouldn’t it be nice if we looked the same?

During the year and a half, while earning our diplomas through the qualification exam, I watched her growth with sidelong glances. How anxious I felt seeing Ouro’s height and chest grow day by day.

The realization that I now had to give up made me feel empty inside.

“Ourr, will the Academy be fun?”

“…If you don’t study like before, you won’t be able to maintain your grades.”

“What are grades?”

“You know the scores Ouro got after taking exams? The Academy will score you like that too. If Ouro doesn’t study because she’s lazy or uninterested, she might have to retake classes.”

I said this playfully with a chuckle, but Ouro seemed quite shocked by this fact, widening her eyes and looking around.

She seemed to want to say that couldn’t be possible.

“…If the Professor is the teacher, doesn’t the Professor give the scores?”

“Hmm~ It wouldn’t make sense to give you scores if you failed the exam, would it?”

“Ugh.”

“You do well when you try. Why are you already making excuses? What will you do next time?”

I glared at Ouro with narrowed eyes. While her reflection in the mirror looked mature, her mental age still seemed quite young during our conversation.

Perhaps socialization is important after all.

At times, her thoughts seem so deep that I wonder how old she is, but at other times, her thoughts seem so shallow that I wonder the same. It’s truly difficult to understand people.

“If Ouro is terrible at studying, how disappointed will the Professor be? Ack!”

“Professor! Professor! Are you disappointed in me?!”

“Ah, my hair! My hair!”

As Ouro grabbed my hair and dragged me to the inner room where the Professor was sitting, my feet struggled before finally compromising with reality.

“……”

I looked at the Professor with a sullen expression. The Professor, who had been typing on the keyboard, stopped what she was doing and looked at us with wide eyes before smiling.

“It suits you well!”

“That’s not the point.”

I pouted.