Chapter 43

“I’m going to do the same thing as Mom!”

“……”

Tia boldly declared in the lingerie store.

She said she would do the same as me.

It was clear she blurted it out without even understanding what it meant.

I looked from my concealed feet to Tia’s chest and then opened my mouth.

“Mom’s size is, let’s see. It’s about this big.”

“Huh……?”

To make it easier to understand, I selected a bra of a similar cup size from the display and handed it to Tia.

As soon as she received it, Tia’s eyes widened, and she immediately put it on her face.

It was slightly larger than her face.

By cup size, it would probably be around a J cup.

“That’s not going to work, right? Let’s find one that fits your size.”

“Mm……”

I pushed Tia’s slumped shoulders and took her to the staff.

From now on, we would measure her chest and choose a bra that fits Tia perfectly.

At first, I thought about just buying something randomly on my way back from work and tossing it to her, but I couldn’t let Tia wear the wrong size, so I brought her to the store.

I learned long ago that if you wear something too small, it can be really uncomfortable.

Watching my daughter’s growth with my own eyes made me feel a bit strange, but it wasn’t bad at all.

It was more exciting than boring.

“Ugh. I’m so bored. Should I just buy one of those junior bras over there? Why are we wasting time?”

“……”

Hero Leopard.

It would have been nice if he weren’t here.

He was sprawled on the store’s sofa, yawning, completely unconcerned by my cold gaze.

I was stupid to think for even a moment that this guy could be a girl.

He was definitely a guy.

Today, I was once again certain of that.

“Shut your mouth. You’re not helping.”

“Can you treat me so harshly? Really?”

“……”

Leopard was munching on cherries from a plate while sending me a greasy look.

But that gaze was directed not at my eyes but toward my chest.

The way his tongue moved made me feel goosebumps all over, as if he were sucking on something and rolling it in his mouth.

Pervert.

“Tsk……”

I clicked my tongue and turned my gaze back to Tia.

It was a loss just to let a guy like that into my sight.

So, if someone asked why I brought that guy along to choose Tia’s bra……

The story would get a bit long.

…

…

…

“Ugh. It tingles……”

“Ouch. Are you okay? Is it very prickly? What about the bra?”

“Bra?”

Tia tilted her head, looking puzzled.

Her eyes seemed to say she didn’t understand what that meant.

Seeing this, Irina let out a deep sigh and suddenly shouted in a loud voice.

“Julia!”

“Huh?”

“Come here!”

“I’m busy!”

“If it’s not urgent, hurry up! It’s about your daughter!”

“I’m really busy……”

As the grumbling noise drew closer, Irina’s blood pressure kept rising.

She hadn’t even taught her daughter what a bra was, let alone bought one for her until now.

Is she really a mother?

Frustration surged.

Irina sat Tia down on her lap and waited patiently.

Soon, the door opened, and a visibly exhausted Julia appeared.

“What’s going on?”

“Tia said her chest tingles. You didn’t know? She got her first period yesterday and now seems to be in her growth phase; you should have bought her a bra ages ago.”

“Ah. Right. I forgot. I’ll buy one soon. It’s okay.”

“You forgot? Hey, you can’t do that as a mother! How old is the kid already!”

“2 months and 8 days.”

“……”

Irina was speechless.

She glanced at Tia, who was sitting on her lap, and felt a bit awkward, biting her lips.

2 months and 8 days.

That was the age at which this girl had begun to show signs of becoming a young woman.

“What? I messed up, okay? I didn’t expect the second sexual characteristics to start just 2 months after she was born. You knew, right?”

“……”

Irina couldn’t say anything in the face of Julia’s assertive questioning.

Who would have expected the growth rate of a half-demon to be so fast?

It would be believable if it were compared to the growth of a lizard instead of a human.

“More like an animal than a person…… Huh?”

Irina’s expression changed oddly.

Tia fidgeted uncomfortably, and Irina felt a strange sensation on her stomach where Tia’s back met it.

It felt as if something was sticking to her back.

Or maybe something was sprouting from her back.

“Ahh! I got it! I’ll go buy a bra! That’s all we need!”

“Uh……”

Noticing something strange, Julia hurriedly ran over and lifted Tia to her feet.

Unconsciously, Tia had pressed her tail, which had grown to the size of a finger, against Irina’s belly.

Julia glared at Tia out of anger, but Tia simply giggled and hugged Julia.

‘What was that? Was it the tag of the clothes?’

Irina was about to ask what it was, but she decided to let it go, thinking it was nothing serious.

When Irina’s lips only twitched and no words came out, Julia was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief internally.

“You don’t know how to pick out a bra for a kid, do you?”

“I don’t.”

“If I leave you alone, you’ll just buy some flat bra from the store and toss it to Tia, won’t you? You wouldn’t do that, right?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that.”

“……”

I had no faith in that answer.

She was a rookie mom in her third month, and yet she was taking on such a big child.

It seemed like she would need help after all.

Yet, as I always felt, helping Julia with Tia was not at all bothersome or tiresome; it felt rewarding.

Just seeing Tia grow up well in Julia’s arms made Irina feel as if her past mistakes were forgiven and comforting.

“I’ll roll up my sleeves here……”

“Are you going to buy Tia underwear? Can I come along? Ahh?!”

With a noise that fit the phrase ‘banging’, Sasha crashed into the waiting room.

As soon as she entered, she hit her horn on the doorframe and fell over.

Clutching her sore neck, Sasha let out a groan.

Such incidents happened so often that she seemed to have evolved to have a particularly sturdy neck vertebra, so it shouldn’t cause any major health issues, but it still hurt.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! But let’s go together! To the lingerie store!”

“Why are you suddenly butting in? Can’t you see I’m talking to Julia?”

“Um. I thought you might be busy. You have a lot of names, but I don’t.”

“What does that matter? We’re going to go after work or on holiday anyway. Right, Julia?”

“I’m hoping to leave early today. I’ve got bad period cramps. I was planning to buy a bra on the way home.”

“Ah……”

Julia answered while avoiding Irina’s uncomfortable gaze.

Only then did she realize.

Since the beginning, Julia’s plan was to leave work early and go shopping with Sasha.

I felt betrayed, thinking I had been played well.

“Well, well. I’ll finish cleaning quickly. Let’s leave together and buy Tia some underwear.”

“Okay. It’s been a while since I’ve left before dark.”

“Muhuhuhu!”

“……”

Irina saw.

Sasha turned around with a smile that looked as if she were mocking.

That foolish girl with a long handle on her forehead couldn’t look any smarter than today.

Irina felt a sudden impulse to cancel all her pending names and just leave.

The door swung open with a loud bang.

“Is Julia here?”

“Yes? Who is it…… Ugh.”

“What do you mean ‘ugh’ as soon as you see my face? Ugh.”

Julia’s expression crumpled as she peered out into the waiting room.

It was none other than Hero Leopard.

He invaded the waiting room as if he were familiar with it and grabbed Julia’s wrist.

“What are you doing?! I just got off work! I’m not working anymore!”

“Since you’re off work, that’s even better. Let’s go clothes shopping together.”

“Am I crazy? Why would I go clothes shopping with you? Not even if you killed me!”

“You need a dress. You need a dress to attend the party. You’re not seriously planning to wear a miniskirt and a revealing outfit again, are you?”

“That’s not it…… But even if I choose a dress, I’m not picking it out with you. Let go of me.”

“Hey, let’s not make a scene now. Isn’t it troublesome for Julia?”

“Right, right! You need to know your limits! If Dragania is backing you up, that’s one thing!”

“……”

Voices of rebuke erupted from all around.

Leopard was notorious for getting into fights despite looking scruffy.

However, everyone had mustered the courage to intervene, unable to watch him bully the popular Julia after work.

“I’ll buy you a dress.”

“Huh?”

“Did you not hear? If you choose the dress, whatever it is, I’ll buy it for you.”

“……”

Julia’s eyes widened.

Party dresses often cost as much as Julia’s salary for two months.

As Julia calculated in her head, she opened her mouth.

“Shall we go right now?”

“Sounds good.”

“But we’re stopping by the lingerie store first, okay? I need to buy Tia some underwear.”

“Sure, sure. Doesn’t matter.”

Pride could be bought for money.

Overwhelmed by Julia’s quick response, Leopard’s lips curled into a smile.

“Wait, Julia? You’re going out with a guy after work? Is this a joke?”

“You’re not seriously thinking of selling your virginity for a dress, are you, Julia? I could pay you double that······”

“Don’t think of weird stuff, you pervert uncle!!! Tia! Come here. Let’s go.”

Julia let out a big, determined breath and quickly gathered Tia, disappearing out the door.

With Hero Leopard courteously opening the door for Julia as if to escort her.

Even after the two disappeared, no one could say a word and just stared blankly at the door.

Sasha, holding a broom, wore an expression like a wildcat that just lost its prey right in front of it.

“Julia…… finally hitting it off……”

“Looks like she is. She really is……”

“Will we see her on the second designation from tomorrow? That might be nice in its own way.”

“Hey, you! What’s nice about that?”

“So you’re not going to designate Julia for the second time? Only those who won’t do so can throw stones at me! I’m just being honest about my desires!”

“Bring stones! Let’s kill that idiot and send him to prison!”

In the blink of an eye, the tavern turned into chaos.

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