I'd started changing in front of Midori-san, but those underpants and shirt were the men's ones I'd used up until a little while ago.

"Miki. Th-those are..."

I followed Midori-san's gaze to my lower half, and the white briefs jumped into view.

"Hmm? Whoa!"

"..."

Midori-san froze, staring hard at my underpants.

D-did Midori-san think I'm some kind of pervert?

My mind went completely blank; no excuse came to me, and I just stood there rooted in that state.

"Miki-san..."

I'll just be honest.

"Sorry. I..."

"Hey, this was your older brother's room after all, wasn't it?"

"Huh?"

"Because those naughty men's magazines under the bed and that photo album over there belong to your older brother, right?"

"Magazines? Album?"

Gah!

This woman—! When did she—

Right where Midori-san pointed, the things I had just hidden under the bed were lined up...

"Miki-san. If you didn't have your own room, you could have just told me. If it's a room for you, Miki-san, I can have five prepared at my house, so please don't hold back."

"Uhh..." gaping

I tried to say something, but no words came out.

Still, thank goodness. This girl's intuition was dull on the crucial point.

"Even so, your older brother looks a lot like you, Miki. Just what you'd expect from siblings~"

She says that, comparing my photo album to me in person.

Well, it's me. Of course we look alike!

"Y-you think so?"

"Yeah. You'll have to introduce me to your brother sometime."

"O-one of these days."

Still, it was surprising she didn't remember that I'd introduced myself as an only child during my transfer greetings.

"Hey, but I think you should change out of those underpants quickly."

"Ah, yeah. You're right. Well, I'll go get changed then."

I hurried downstairs to my parents' room.

"Mom, I mean—where are my underwear?"

"Oh, that's right. I hadn't swapped out all your underwear yet. Look in the wardrobe there; there's a department store bag in it, so see if you can find them."

"Ugh... they're all stiff and uncomfortable unless you wash them first though."

"Yes. Sorry, sorry. I'll wash the rest tomorrow."

"By the way, Mom, what time is dinner?"

"It'll be soon. If your father comes home, I'd like us all to eat together."

"I see. So, what's for dinner tonight?"

"I made your favorite beef stew. I wonder if it will suit Midori-san's palate?"

"I'm not sure. After all, she ate such luxurious food from morning over there..."

"Oh dear, that's terrible! Should we order some sushi or unadon instead?"

As we were having that conversation—

"I'm home~"

Dad came back with perfect timing.

"Welcome back."

"Oh? Is there a guest?"

Dad asked, looking at the unfamiliar shoes lined up at the entrance.

"Ah, my friend. She barged in to stay over tonight."

"Oh, you already made a friend?"

"Well, actually, she's the board chairman's daughter."

Mom answered before I could.

"The board chairman? Then that's Kanzaki-san's..."

Dad had a slightly surprised look.

"Oh? You know him, dear?"

"Yes. Kanzaki-san was two years ahead of me."

"My, from the same university."

"Yeah. Actually, I also asked him to help with Miki's situation."

"I see."

"But Midori-san didn't seem to know about you two being connected."

I was just hearing about our fathers knowing each other for the first time myself.

"Is that so? More importantly, Tomoko, I'm hungry—what's for dinner?"

As I thought, researchers seem not too interested in their kids.

"I was just talking about that..."

"What is it?"

"Well, since Miki was treated to such a feast at the Kanzaki residence, I was thinking of ordering some sushi or something."

"But there's a nice smell, isn't there?"

"Just in case. I made stew."

"What? Your stew is the best in the world. We don't need to order sushi or anything—it'll be fine."

"Oh, honey. Flattery won't get you anything, you know."

Even at their age, they're still a lovey-dovey couple!

"Ahem. Well, I'll go call Midori-san."

* * *

And so, a family dinner plus the uninvited Midori-san began.

"Oji-sama, you're so handsome and wonderful. Oba-sama, your cooking is the absolute best, too. I'm so envious of you, Miki-san~"

"Actually, you know, my dad is a junior of your father's, Midori-san."

"Eh? Yes, I've heard about Oji-sama from my father."

"Then, about Miki too?"

"No. I haven't heard anything about Miki-san. Why?"

"The truth is, I..."

"Wait, Miki."

Mom, slightly flustered, tried to stop me.

"...No, it's okay, Mom. I don't want to keep deceiving Midori forever."

"...I see... if Miki feels that way..."

"The truth is, Midori-san."

"What is it?"

"Until a month ago, I... was a guy."

"Huh?! Wh-what did you say!"

"You might not believe it, but I drank a weird drug my dad and mom made, and I turned into a girl."

"My goodness, it's not a weird drug at all! It's a revolutionary drug that can change the future of humanity!"

Mom cut in with an indignant look.

"Come on. For me, it's an outrageous drug!"

"Well, well... the biggest fault lies with Dad for having stored the drug in the fridge."

* * *

"Um... I don't quite understand the situation..."

So, after that, we took plenty of time and all gave Midori-san a detailed explanation.

Dad even showed her materials he had for presenting at an academic conference, which just made things harder to understand.

Midori-san seemed like she couldn't believe it at first, but as we explained while showing her everything up to now, including the album, she finally seemed to grasp the situation.

"So that's how it was. You've been through a lot too, Miki. I understand the situation perfectly now. Just leave everything to me. This is friendship between girls!"

Between girls? Friendship? Hey, hey, just what exactly are you telling me to leave to you?