The Potion of True Courage and the Great Bosom Incident
The chaos that erupted after Leo drank the Potion of True Courage ended with a heartfelt punch that knocked him unconscious. After that, Joshua treated him like a complete stranger, so I could safely call the operation a success.
“I’m so sorry!”
“I’m fine. You’re at that vigorous age—it happens.”
Once Leo regained consciousness and remembered what he’d said, he slammed his head against the floor in apology. I was the one who wasn’t fine. It wasn’t like I’d worn out from a little boob staring. I was simply flustered by blatant sexual harassment while my daughter was right there. Even though he’d only spoken, the phantom sensation of being touched had been disgustingly creepy. But would Joshua forgive him? Honestly, the person who truly needed to apologize wasn’t me—it was Joshua.
Every single day, dozens of butterflies flew in from nowhere and attacked Leo. They didn’t injure him, but they were clearly Joshua’s assassins. She treated him like garbage that deserved to disappear from the world and refused to even make eye contact. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she issued an eviction order. A smile crept across my face. All I had to do was wait comfortably. Even if it had required a noble sacrifice… this wasn’t my fault. It was entirely Leo’s filthy ulterior motives that were to blame.
I had downed the breast-enlarging potion without hesitation because I liked big breasts, but once they actually grew, they were just inconvenient. Aside from serving as mana pockets, they had no real use, so all that daily maintenance had been worth it. While it’s true that no man dislikes huge breasts, I could never hand my precious daughter over to a scoundrel who would blurt out whatever came to mind just because he had the courage to speak. It felt like I finally understood why the Holy Kingdom had ghosted Leo. To think he’d been hiding that level of vulgarity in his heart.
Joshua, forget about men who only stare at other women’s chests and judge them!
Contrary to my expectations, Leo was not kicked out. Instead, as the days passed, Joshua’s emotions seemed to turn inward rather than toward him. She started spacing out more often, and there were days when she sighed until she fell asleep.
“Are they… too small…?”
Whenever we drank tea and chatted together, she would glance at my chest and mutter to herself. Even though she spoke so quietly it was barely audible, those two loaded words had such weight that I couldn’t possibly miss them. I had no choice but to pretend I hadn’t heard.
If I said anything here, it probably wouldn’t comfort her at all. When I went to the communal area for errands, I sometimes sensed someone’s presence near the potion storage. Since I had banned Leo from entering the communal space, the only people who could go there were me and Joshua. So it was obvious who was in the storage room.
“Joshua?”
“Hiiik…!”
When I cautiously opened the storage door, I found Joshua looking like a thief caught red-handed. Her body was tangled in a box of rarely used potions, her lower half flailing desperately while her head stayed buried inside. It looked exactly like an ostrich that thought it was perfectly hidden. I was at a loss for words.
“Did you need a particular potion? If you’d just told Mom, I could have found it for you right away.”
“N-no! Ehehe!?”
She’d already rummaged through more than five boxes, so the “no” wasn’t very convincing. Joshua scrambled out of the box with a bright red face and tried to flee, but because she wasn’t watching where she was going, she slammed straight into my chest and bounced off. I barely managed to catch her before she fell, so she wasn’t hurt, but her expression looked more pained than ever.
“Are you okay? Be careful, it’s dangerous—”
“I-I-I’m fine!”
She shook off my hand and bolted out of the storage room like she was escaping. I stood there wondering what I should say to her… I thought about chasing after her and grabbing her, but I quickly changed my mind.
What had I been like at fifteen? The only memories that came to mind were studying furiously under the Western Witch. When my second sexual characteristics arrived, I had simply found it fascinating. My chest had begun to swell, baby fat had melted away, and curves had started forming on my body. The first time I experienced my menstrual cycle, I had truly felt like I had become a woman.
I had my previous life’s memories and had already gone through puberty once, so I handled it without much trouble… But Joshua was at an age where every change felt alien and she was hypersensitive to other people’s gazes. The fact that I couldn’t even empathize with her as her mother broke my heart.
What Joshua had been looking for was probably the breast-enlarging potion. But I kept that one under strict lock and key, so she wouldn’t find it here. Since I hadn’t written down the recipe either, she couldn’t make it herself. That must have been why she’d come to the storage room.
Why was she so obsessed with having huge breasts? Her current shape and form were already plenty beautiful. If she just grew a little more, they would reach the perfect size for her. Mindlessly large breasts might look good to men, but for Joshua herself they would only be a curse. There were so many things to worry about. Just moving a little made her shoulders ache. In summer, the sweat that gathered under her breasts was another problem. And if she didn’t take good care of them, they would sag and become worse than if she had nothing at all.
If I hadn’t recalled the aesthetics of big breasts from my previous life, I never would have drunk that potion. As I cleaned up the messy storage room one box at a time, I pondered how best to persuade her.
I briefly considered beating Leo up instead of persuading Joshua, but since I was partly responsible for making him spill secrets he had hidden so well until now, I decided to put that on hold. Men were just that kind of creature. Even if someone wasn’t a man, when they saw breasts with the destructive power of a siege engine, their eyes would inevitably be drawn to them regardless of age or gender. Joshua was probably just a special case. Since she had grown up seeing only me, she might have thought it was normal.
The thought of Joshua spending the rest of her life conscious of her breast size and trapped in inferiority complex if Leo were driven out made my heart ache. Should I trick her by mixing it into nutritional supplements little by little? I pulled out the breast-enlarging potion—labeled Love Potion—from the simple inventory magic circle engraved between my cleavage and fell into thought.
“No. There’s no need to rush. Especially not if it’s because of Leo.”
Who would that even be for? It would be far too pitiful for her to become busty just for someone like Leo. Even if Joshua asked for it herself, there were lines a mother could not allow her to cross.
Knock knock knock—
“Mom, are you asleep?”
I had just been about to lie down in bed when Joshua knocked on the door. When I opened it, she was standing there hugging a pillow with flushed cheeks. It looked like she wanted to sleep together tonight. I let her inside.
“Can I sleep with you tonight?”
“Of course. Come on in.”
A meme that had once gone viral on the internet in my previous life flashed through my mind. I slipped under the covers first, then pulled Joshua into my arms and held her tight.
“Is something bothering you?”
“It’s not really a worry…”
Joshua mumbled hesitantly, clearly wanting to say something. I gently stroked her hair. The only thing she could possibly be worrying about lately was her chest, but I was curious why she was so obsessed with it. If there was a reason I hadn’t thought of, I was willing to pretend to be persuaded and give her the potion.
“Mom… y-your… your chest is so…”
“So?”
“So big?!”
She had finally said it. Her face turned scarlet as she buried it in my chest like she was trying to run away. The ticklish feeling of her breath made me squirm, but I endured it and gently pulled her away.
“Why? Is it because of what Leo said?”
“It’s not because of Leo…”
The way she avoided my eyes practically screamed that it was. Given the subject, it must have been hard for her to say it honestly. If I reversed the genders, the current situation would be completely impossible.
“Then? Why are you asking about Mom’s chest?”
“Well… they’re pretty, and big, and…”
Joshua began rambling praises of breasts in a complete jumble. I had no idea how to soothe her.
“…I know someone who likes big chests. So I thought it would be nice if mine got bigger too… And since yours are so big, Mom, I wondered if you might know how to make them grow. Mine are small and…”
It was admirable that she had the courage to reveal her honest feelings, even bringing up “someone she knew” like she’d learned from somewhere… but I still couldn’t give her the potion. If she started comparing herself to others one by one, her life would fall into unhappiness. I wanted her to love her body exactly as it was first.
“What’s wrong with you, Joshua? Everyone grows at different times. Your body right now is so pretty.”
“Me?”
I couldn’t exactly describe her shape in detail, but Joshua had a slender figure that was rare for her age. Her chest was developing appropriately for a fifteen-year-old and was by no means smaller than her peers.
“As you become an adult, your mind will gradually change to match that form. So there’s no need to feel impatient right now. When I was fifteen, mine were smaller than yours, you know.”
“Really?”
She looked a little more confident; a smile bloomed on her face before she blushed with embarrassment.
“But Leo is an idiot who only knows about big chests.”
She wasn’t even pretending it was “someone she knew” anymore.
“Where would you find a huge slime from the start? They all begin as baby slimes and grow bigger little by little. Besides, Leo isn’t being honest. He doesn’t like Mom very much, so he was probably just trying to lighten the mood on purpose. In truth, he probably doesn’t care whether chests are big or small.”
“R-really?”
Of course. The guy who drank the Potion of True Courage wouldn’t have lied, but I could change it into a lie right now.
“It’s getting late. Go to sleep. The earlier you sleep, the faster they grow.”
I tucked the blanket around her and gave her a little wink.
That’s right. There were many ways to make your chest grow without relying on potions. Even if genetics played a big role, environmental factors could never be ignored.
After confirming that Joshua had fallen asleep, I carefully got out of bed and left the room. My destination was obvious. I grabbed Leo by the collar—he was sleeping peacefully alone in his large room, completely unaware of what Joshua was worrying about—and forcibly dragged him upright.
“Ughak!”
Leo let out a strange scream as he woke up. The moment his eyes met mine, he froze. He seemed to have some sense after all. While he stayed perfectly still, I kindly explained what he was going to do the moment he woke up tomorrow.
“First thing tomorrow morning, tell Joshua that you hate big chests. Got it?”
“……!”
“Answer me.”
“Y-yes!!!”
Good boy. If he didn’t want to die immediately, he’d better obey quietly. Satisfied with his answer, I released his collar, ignored the way he flopped limply onto the bed, and returned to my room. Joshua’s worries should be resolved by tomorrow. With a much lighter heart, I went back, hugged her tightly, and fell asleep.
“Joshua, I hate big chests! To be honest, I prefer modest sizes the most! From the first time I saw you…”
“Pervert!!!!!!!!”
Good grief, that idiot…
The sin of sexually harassing Joshua first thing in the morning was once again paid for with unconsciousness… but Joshua’s expression looked much more at ease.