Bigger Is Better?

The cast on my right arm finally came off, I could take a bath on my own now, and there were even hints that my discharge date would land sometime in mid- to late-February.

Since I'd been cooped up in the hospital this whole time, I had no idea how cold it actually was outside. Letting my thoughts drift to the scenery beyond the window, I ate my meal with the left hand I'd gotten pretty good at using.

"Shouya-san, you're already perfect at eating with your left hand! ♡ It's such a shame I don't get to do 'open wide～' for you anymore ♡"

"Having beautiful people like you and the others feed me is wonderful, but it's embarrassing too, and I feel bad about it…"

"Geez! ♡ There you go saying things like that again ♡ But I'll admit Shiori-senpai is gorgeous, all right! ♡"

Whenever I told Akari-san she was beautiful, she'd fluster up and fire something back. The first time I called her by her given name she'd turned bright red and gotten completely flustered, but it seemed she didn't show that side of herself anymore.

"Besides, we're nurses, so it makes us happy when you rely on us, you know?"

"I can't ask you to do things I'm able to do myself."

It really was Akari-san and the others' honest feeling that being relied on made them happy, but I still couldn't bring myself to ask so shamelessly.

"Most men would just leave it to the nurses until their dominant hand was usable again… Shouya-san, you really are admirable! Working so hard to learn to use your left hand!"

She seemed impressed by what I'd said and showered me with praise. Yeah, in this world, when you put in effort people heaped praise on you, and it made me really happy.

"But if you can move around that much, then… it really won't be long until you're discharged… I'm sorry… a patient being discharged is a good thing, but…"

Looking at my right hand, Houzawa-san murmured the words a little forlornly.

"I'll be lonely too, not getting to see the three of you anymore… since I woke up, I've spent more time with all of you than with my own family."

To me, the two nurses and Kudou-sensei were the people I'd spent more time with since waking up than even my own family. In a hospital with no real entertainment, aside from TV they'd been my conversation partners more often than not.

"Shouya-san…! U-um! After you're discharged, can we still see each other?!"

"Of course! Once I'm better, I'd love to go out somewhere with all of you!"

"Nngh! E-everyone going out together… that sounds wonderful! ♡"

The moment I said 'everyone going out together,' Akari-san looked just a touch disappointed, only for a second. From the flow of the conversation I'd assumed she meant going out with the two nurses-in-charge who'd looked after me, plus the doctor…

Maybe she'd wanted it to be just the two of us? If so, that was bad of me.

I tried to cover for it by digging back into my meal, and just then a knock at the door broke through the awkward air hanging between us.

"Shouya-san, your secretary is here to see you."

The one who'd knocked was Kudou-sensei. And it sounded like Ichijou-san was with her.

When I had them come in, Shiori-san entered the room behind them. The timing lined up just as I was finishing eating, so I had Akari-san take away the dishes and settled in to listen to what Ichijou-san had to say.

"Shouya-sama, how are you feeling?"

"I'm doing much better now, very energetic."

"I see, that's wonderful. Now then, the date for your milking is fast approaching… I'm aware this is a great strain on you, but I would like to carry out the milking sometime soon."

For an instant Ichijou-san looked pleased to hear I was doing well, but then she lowered the eyes behind her glasses apologetically, worried she might be pushing too hard on someone still recovering, before making her request.

"Understood. I'm in good health now, so we can do it right away."

"Thank you for your cooperation! In that case, tomorrow, after Kudou-sensei's examination, provided there are no issues with your condition, we'll perform the milking."

When I gave my consent, Ichijou-san bowed deeply and expressed her gratitude.

"So what does it actually involve, specifically?"

"Yes. Allow me to explain. For the very first milking in the year you turn fifteen, in addition to the semen analysis, we also conduct a personality assessment."

"A personality assessment?"

"Yes. Nothing difficult, just questions about how you feel regarding women. This information is important for selecting matchmaking candidates and the like, so please answer honestly. The milking itself will be performed by me, your secretary, using specialized equipment."

So milking wasn't something you did yourself. Ichijou-san was a beautiful person and I had no objections, but it was a little embarrassing somehow…

"I-Ichijou-san… is going to…?"

"From the second milking onward, you may do it yourself, or have an attendant who has undergone the training assist you, however…"

Ichijou-san began to explain, again with that apologetic look.

"Along with the decline in male libido, men have come to experience less pleasure from ejaculation… and so, to avoid any pain or discomfort, and to 'help you learn what pleasure feels like'… for the first milking, our trained staff handle it."

Mentally I liked women, and whenever Shiori-san or the others were nearby I couldn't keep my eyes from drifting to their chests and rear. So I did have a sex drive… I was pretty sure.

But my body was a body of this world's men, so maybe I'd find the milking rough… The unknown of it made me a little uneasy.

"I'll proceed in a way that places as little burden on you as possible, Shouya-sama. On the day, we'll have Kudou-sensei standing by so she can come at a moment's notice… please, lend us your cooperation."

It seemed my unease had come across, because Ichijou-san bowed her head deeply once more.

"O-okay. Tomorrow, then. Thank you in advance."

"Yes. Then, allow me to handle just the personality assessment ahead of time today."

Once she could see I was settled, Ichijou-san dropped the stiff tone and slipped back into her usual soft, gentle manner, then pulled a tablet out of her bag and handed it to me.

"Please answer the questions displayed on the tablet. It'll take about thirty minutes, if you would. Don't overthink it; going with your gut is fine."

I looked at the device she handed me, ready to start, and saw the screen packed solid with questions. Glancing at the content, it looked just like the kind of personality test that had been popular in my previous life.

The format was the usual one: questions like whether you plan things out before acting, or whether you're an active type versus a quiet type, scored 1 through 5 for how much you agree or disagree.

Once I got the hang of it I started zipping through, and then a startling question came up that pulled an audible reaction out of me.

"… Huh?"

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no! It's nothing!"

The question had been: rate from 1 to 5 your agreement with "smaller breasts are better."

What is this, breast size? Well, bigger is… no, but…

Trying to decide on an answer, I stole a glance at the breasts of the women gathered around the table chatting. The four of them all had different sizes, but every one of them was attractive.

While I was peeking and weighing my answer, my eyes met Akari-san's. The moment she realized I was comparing everyone's chests, she hung her head, embarrassed.

She'd brought her arms in front of her, which made her chest, small as it was, all the more pronounced, and my eyes were drawn straight to it against my will.

So even people with small ones did worry about it, huh? But Akari-san's chest looked attractive to me too, so I went with 3, meaning I liked both.

Starting from the breast-size question, it gradually moved on to asking about my preferences in women more directly.

Height, what sort of personality I liked, whether I weighted wealth highly… I finally understood what she'd meant earlier when she said this was used for matchmaking.

Even though she'd told me to go with my gut, indecisive as I am, I sat there hemming and hawing as I worked through the assessment.

"Ichijou-san. I'm done."

I finished my answers, called Ichijou-san over, and handed her the tablet.

"… Yes. Thank you very much! That concludes the personality assessment. Thank you for your hard work!"

Ichijou-san checked there were no missing answers, then put the tablet away and bowed.

"Then, Shouya-sama, until tomorrow."

After the personality assessment, I underwent a light examination from Kudou-sensei.

After that, Kudou-sensei left the room together with Ichijou-san and Nakano-san. The only ones left in the room were me and Akari-san.

"Sh-Shouya-san, you were looking at us a little while ago, weren't you?"

She didn't specify where, but having it pointed out that I'd been looking made my heart jump.

"I-I'm sorry…"

The only thing for it here was to apologize honestly.

"N-no! It's not that I disliked it or anything, in fact… ♡"

"Eh?"

I'd thought she was pointing it out because she'd hated it, but apparently not. Her cheeks were tinged red and she looked embarrassed.

"U-um! Shouya-san, are you a man who can't go for small breasts?!"

She'd been fidgeting the whole time and I'd been wondering what was up, only for her, the very woman in question, to put that same personality-test question to me. Or rather, was Akari-san self-conscious about her breasts being on the small side?

But even though I say small, she had enough that the swell showed even through her nurse's uniform.

"Um, it's not… a dealbreaker, or anything…"

Having my preferences outed so abruptly made me embarrassed too.

"Ah! S-sorry, I was being so rude… but I'm glad. I heard from Shiori-senpai about what happened in the bath… I was sure you weren't interested in small chests at all… men who aren't scared of large breasts often don't show any interest in small ones, you see…"

Hearing about the time Shiori-san's chest had brushed against my back in the bathroom, Akari-san had apparently started worrying I wasn't interested in her own chest.

Or rather, Akari-san wanted to be the kind of chest I liked, then. Combined with how she'd seemed to want to go out just the two of us, with her being this open about it there was no way I could miss it.

"Akari-san, if you'd like, would you want to go out somewhere, just the two of us? Separate from the everyone-together outing."

She had looked disappointed earlier, so I decided to bite the bullet and ask her myself. She might have gotten the wrong idea and thought I didn't want to go out with her alone.

"～～～～! ♡ Yes! Of course! C-can I get your contact info?! W-we need to decide on a date! And the place and everything!"

The moment I invited her out one-on-one, the fidgety reluctance from before vanished like it had never been there, and she came charging in.

"You'll be the first person besides my family and Ichijou-san that I've exchanged contact info with."

"Shouya-san's… first… ahead of Shiori-senpai…"

Savoring the word "first," Akari-san worked her phone and exchanged contact info with me.

Once Akari-san's account was added to my messaging app, she sent a greeting sticker and the chat began.

Akari-san must have been over the moon about exchanging contact info with me, because she spent a while just grinning at her phone. After that, I listened to all sorts of suggestions from her about where to go and what to do, and the day gradually slipped toward evening.