That day, Rodri had the surprise of his life.
As usual, he woke up and dug away in the trenches. But just as he was about to go to sleep, he saw something that should have been impossible.
"Is something wrong, Rodri?"
"…Nah, it's nothing."
They were big. Clearly, noticeably bigger than usual.
"Shorty… uh, that's…"
"What is it?"
He hadn't expected this.
Touri, the medic he considered like a little sister, had an unnaturally large chest.
Was he supposed to comment on this?
Rodri was uncharacteristically at a loss.
Today, the swelling of her chest was clearly unnatural. What was once flat terrain now had sudden hills.
Rodri realized that something deeply abnormal, terrifying even, was transpiring.
***
"Good work today, Rodri."
"Shorty, you were training with the Platoon Leader today, right?"
"Yes. I'm very grateful for his guidance."
The girl's attitude was completely unchanged from usual.
For a moment, Rodri wondered if maybe he was just mistaken.
Maybe it was just the way her uniform was wrinkled that made her chest look larger.
She didn't mean to do it on purpose. Her clothes just got wrinkled by chance.
"Oh, Touri, you're back too? Good work out there."
"Good evening, Senior Allen."
But even when she shifted her posture, the unnatural padding of her chest remained.
There was obviously something stuffed inside. Rodri's suspicion turned into certainty.
"Looks like you've been training hard today. I saw you running out of the trench."
"Yes, it was exhausting."
"You really need to build up your stamina, Shorty."
Rodri decided to not to make a big deal out of her bulging chest for the time being.
He chose to feign ignorance and deliberately turn a blind eye.
Thinking that was the safest move, he looked up at his senior, Allen.
"…"
"What's wrong, Senior Allen?"
Allen's eyes had gone wide for a moment. Then, he stared at Touri in confusion.
And right in the center of his gaze was Touri's unnaturally swollen chest.
"No, it's nothing. How can this be…"
"Senior Allen, you're acting kind of weird."
Maybe Allen had come to the same conclusion as Rodri. Though he stayed silent for several seconds, he never brought attention to that.
He understood that even if he pointed it out, no one would benefit from it. All that would follow would be an awkward silence.
"Hey, Rodri. You noticed too, right?"
"Yeah. I've decided not to bring it up."
If Touri were the kind of girl who'd laugh it off, Rodri probably wouldn't hesitate to make a joke about it.
Unfortunately, Touri Noel was a very serious girl by nature.
Moreover, she was only 15 years old, right at the most troublesome time of puberty.
The risk was just too high for a guy to clumsily point that out.
"This must be something Touri came to after thinking it over. We should just watch over her kindly."
Soldiers are constantly managing risk on the battlefield. They always have to consider what consequences their actions might bring.
Pointing out the unnatural padding of Touri's chest would be like treading through a minefield.
Ignoring it was clearly the wiser choice.
"Oh, I actually had something I wanted to ask you, Senior Allen."
"What is it, Touri?"
"Ah, it's about reconnaissance techniques. Today, the Platoon Leader mentioned that when confirming where the enemy's aiming—"
Touri spoke without acknowledging her chest at all.
And if she didn't plan to bring it up, there was no reason to stir things up.
The girl's little self-esteem was protected in this way—
"Hmm? What are you all standing around here for?"
"Ah, Platoon Leader Garback. Thank you for your hard work out there."
"Well!?"
Just as the two thought the situation had settled…
"…Ah?"
"Umm… Did I do something wrong, Platoon Leader?"
The timing couldn't have been worse.
Sergeant Garback, the embodiment of arrogance, violence, and unreasonable temper, just happened to pass by.
"…"
Garback stared suspiciously at Touri. Or rather, at the unnatural bulge on her chest.
Meanwhile, Touri, who had the misfortune to be at the receiving end of Garback's glare began shivering; her heart racing as she thought on what she had done to earn his ire.
What else besides you stuffing your chest full of things, Rodri grumbled internally.
"Ah—"
Rodri braced himself, thinking Sergeant Garback was about to explode.
But unusually, Garback only stared at Touri with a sour look on his face.
"…"
From his perspective, he had no grounds to reprimand her.
Padding her chest didn't technically break any military rules.
If it had just been some stupid prank, he could've yelled at her for wasting time.
"…No. It's nothing."
"I-Is that so…?"
But even for Garback, it was hard to use a young girl's chest as grounds for punishment.
Not long after, he lost interest and returned to his own tent.
"Phew, that scared me."
"Thank god, Shorty…"
Just like that, Touri had become one of the scant few who managed to make that Garback feel awkward enough to stay silent.
It might've been the first time something like this had ever happened in the platoon's history.
"Excuse me, Touri. That thing of yours is really—"
"Don't bring it up, Corporal Verdi."
In the end, though many members of the squad had clearly noticed the padding of the young medic's chest, they came to the conclusion not to mention it.
Touri was at that delicate age. She was probably self-conscious about her underdeveloped figure.
Not saying anything wouldn't hurt anyone. Wasn't that what you'd call a white lie?
It was a blessing that every single member of the platoon was older than Touri.
"You're right. I won't say any more."
"Good. That's how it should be, Corporal."
And so, the young girl's small deceit was protected thanks to the quiet cooperation of the entire platoon.
***
"I'm going to make a piece of cloth appear from nowhere now. Watch closely…"
Later that night, before everyone went to sleep, the young medic proudly performed a magic trick of making a waterproof sheet appear from her palm.
As she performed the trick, her chest slowly shrank back down.
"…"
"Why are you making that weird face, Rodri?"
Before long, the girl triumphantly spread out the waterproof cloth larger than she was.
However, the reactions of everyone around her remained dry.
"Shorty, that trick is really easy to see through. That's rare, coming from you."
"Eh?!"
Rodri's words hit Touri hard.