Naoko, Mitsuhiko Okaya's girlfriend, ran into Ichika Hiekei, her other lover.

On a summer vacation afternoon, at the sports gym.

"Wow, so Naoko-chan uses this gym too?"

Ichika and Naoko were running side by side on treadmills.

"...Yeah. Since summer break started. My teacher said staying cooped up at home isn't good for my health." "I see," Ichika said. "......"

Naoko found herself staring again in awe. At Ichika's incredibly perfect physique.

Her breasts were terrifyingly large, yet there wasn't a single excess gram of fat elsewhere on her body.

She was tall and slender, with an upright, straight posture.

Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail.

On her pale skin, muscles were defined just right.

It was a body like a Thoroughbred racehorse; even as a woman, Naoko couldn't help but sigh.

"Huh? What's wrong, Naoko-chan?"

"……Ah, no. It's just really pretty, you know."

"Thanks. You're pretty too, Nana-chan."

"……No, no, it's not like that…… I'm…… all wobbly and flabby." Nana is a bit on the heavy side.

She isn't fat, but she has a certain thick, solid quality to her build.

"That's not true at all. I think a lot of guys actually prefer girls with a little more flesh on them." "……Ikkah-san!"

Nana looked at Ikkah with sparkling eyes, grateful for the supportive words.

The two of them stepped off the treadmills. "……Huff, puff."

"Oh? Nana-chan, what about your drink?" "……Ah, no, I don't have one."

"You have to rehydrate properly. Wait here a moment."

Ikkah went over to the vending machine installed in the gym and bought a sports drink.

Returning, Ikkah handed the plastic bottle to Nana. "Here, have some."

"……No, you can't just give me that!"

"That's fine, that's fine. It'd be bad if you got dehydrated, so please hydrate quickly."

Seeing Ichika's smile, Nanaiko felt a surge of admiration.

"Naaanaii is so... grown up!" Nanaiko exclaimed excitedly.

"It looks like Nanaiko-chan didn't know how to use the machine. Did they not teach you properly?"

Struck by that poignant question, Nanaiko clutched her chest. "...Y-yes." "Why was that?"

"...I-I was scared... it was hard to bring myself to talk to anyone." "Ah I see... I understand now..."

Nanaiko hadn't used any of the gym equipment other than the treadmill and the pool.

She had tried to ask the instructors to teach her how to use the other machines, but they never spoke to her, which is why she was still in this situation. "I can teach you if you'd like." "R-really?" "Of course. Where would you like to start?"

"...C-can I train my chest first!"

She kept to herself the desire to have firm breasts like Ichika's. "Okay, let's go over there then."

They moved to a machine designed for seated weight lifting.

"Yes, that's it, sit like that. Chest up. Push out quickly at first, and lower it slowly on the way back... yes, that's it, you're doing great!"

Ika’s teaching style was exceptionally clear and meticulous.

Nanako experienced weight training for the very first time.

“...Pffu, pffu... My chest is... it tingles. It feels good.” “Oh, I see. Good to hear.” Ika took a seat on the adjacent machine.

“Hnnff...! Pffuu~... Hnnff! Pffuu~...”

Curious about how much weight Ika was lifting, Nanako glanced over. “...Am I seeing things?” It looked like 100 kg. No way, surely it couldn’t be that heavy...

Nanako sat in her chair and approached the 100 kg stack with the selector pin. “...Knn! Knnuu~!” ...It didn't budge an inch.

“It’s no good, Nanako-chan. You need a bit more margin on the weight for it to be effective.” “...H-Huh?”

Seeing Ika lift 100 kg with a relaxed expression made Nanako’s eyes go wide.

Where in such a slender, beautiful body did all that power come from...? “...Th-That’s amazing.”

Next, they decided to try out the machines for training the buttocks.

“Sit on the chair like this and push the wall with your legs. Remember to go slowly on the way back too.” “...Yes ma’am!”

Nanako lifted the 30 kg weight slowly and deliberately.

"That's right, that's what I'm talking about. Nice work, Nanako-chan."

Ikka was using the same machine placed in front of him.

Creak... creak... The weights were straining audibly.

I wondered how many kilos it must be... and then I squinted, disbelieving my eyes. "Tw-two hundred kilograms...?" No way. Two hundred kilos?

Nanako also set the pins to two hundred kilograms. "Ku-un! Ku-nu-uu-u!" ...Her body didn't budge an inch.

There is no human who can lift this much weight! "...……"

Ikka was beautiful. Slim, yet toned and tight.

...and from where does she draw all that power?

"...The laws of physics are breaking down!" Next up was the barbell.

Lie flat on your back and lift the bar. "Ku-uu-uuuu~~~"

But with the weights loaded, he couldn't lift it off the rack at all.

"Shall we just use the empty bar? It's still pretty heavy, you know."

Nanako slowly lifted the metal bar. This was pushing it, but she could just barely manage...

"Good! ...Hah! That's good... Pfft! Keep it up...!"

Meanwhile, Ichika had a barbell on her shoulders and was performing squats. Nanako... shuddered. "Th-thirty hundred... kg."

With 150 kg plates attached to each side, Ichika effortlessly lifted the barbell and squatted.

She was lifting a total of 300 kg. "...Incredible... too incredible..."

On closer inspection, muscles were visibly defined on Ichika's body.

They were incredibly well-developed muscles, rivaling those of any professional athlete.

"...Does Ichika-san practice sports as well?" "Yes. Karate and judo, a little."

With a heave, Ichika returned the bar to its rack.

The two moved to the rest area.

Nanako gulped down some sports drink.

"...Are you still practicing now?"

"Nope. I quit in high school."

"……What happened? Was it an injury or something……?" Nana-chan's face fell, her expression clouded with worry.

"Yeah, an injury. Ah, but look. I've recovered enough to go about my daily life again. Light strength training is totally fine now, too."

Just light? The thought sent a shiver down Nana-chan's spine.

To get injured like that…… if she hadn't been broken, just how much more could she have……

"Still, when it comes to sports, well. I was told pro level is out of the question."

Ichika touched the area near her Achilles tendon.

There was a loneliness in his eyes, but no tragic despair.

"You know, even with this, I once made it to the national karate championships." "……W-wow, that's amazing!" She genuinely thought it was incredible.

Ichika gave a small smile and thanked him.

"But, um…… I lost in the first round at nationals."

"……S-so there really are people stronger than you, Ichika-san? People like that?"

「More than that, I got injured right before the match and ended up with a forfeit loss. A kid was about to get hit by a car, so I stopped him and broke my leg in the process. Pretty stupid of me to wreck it just before a fight, huh?」

「……T-That’s impressive! Helping someone is... it's amazing!」 Ichika smiled, saying thank you.

Ichika spoke as if recalling her youth.

「I lost the match and got injured, but they offered me a university recommendation on the condition that I come even if I wasn't an active athlete anymore. I turned it down.」 「...W-What a waste.」

「Maybe so. But it was fine. I wanted to be an athlete. Besides, I figured using that slot for someone more promising would benefit the university more.」

There didn't seem to be any regret in Ichika's words.

But though it wasn't visible now, there must have been difficult times.

「...What happened after that?」

「Hm? Just normal stuff. I turned down the recommendation, studied from scratch, and got into the same university as Mitsuhiko-kun.」

If I remembered correctly, Okaya was enrolled in Kei-ou, a prestigious university.

Starting her studies in the summer of her senior year of high school and getting into Hastada straight from that... it felt incredibly amazing.

Competing in national karate tournaments and getting into Kei-ou in such a short time...

Naoko thought, What an incredible person she is.

"...I'm glad you quit karate. Even if you couldn't have become a professional athlete, it's a shame to let such rare talent go unfulfilled."

"Yeah. I'm really glad I stopped. If I had kept going... I wouldn't have met Kouhei-san."

If she had used her karate recommendation letter to enter a different university, she would never have crossed paths with Okani Kouhei.

"Even when I thought I had given up on my dreams, another dream was right there to be found. It made me realize that life is full of rewards and so much fun." "..."

Naoko had never once viewed her own life as something rewarding or enjoyable.

There was nothing in her life that shone. Nothing special about it at all.

"...I envy you. I don't have anything like that."

Ichika set down her drink bottle and cupped Naoko's cheeks in her hands.

She gently massaged her face, rubbing it back and forth.

"Don't be silly, Naoko-chan. Stop making such a gloomy face. Happiness will run right out of you." "...Ichika-san."

"Saying you have nothing is impossible. Everyone has a talent that can shine."

Icca let go of his hand and offered a small smile.

"It's true... the talent you actually wish for is often out of reach. But... but I really believe that everyone has some kind of talent. And even if you think you don't have any, maybe you just haven't noticed yet—you could be hiding a truly incredible gift."

It didn't feel like she was speaking only to Nanako.

Her words seemed directed at someone else present in spirit but absent from the room.

"So please, don't give up on that person... or on yourself. Even if you can't see it right now, it's definitely there. The rough diamond of a talent capable of shining is just waiting right next to you." Icca smiled.

"Don't ever say you have nothing. Don't let such words narrow the scope of your possibilities. You're young and you have a future ahead of you, after all." "……"

Nanako, who had always lacked self-confidence and spent her time envying others... felt a pang of regret.

She wasn't injured like Icca.

She had simply stopped at the start of her runway, afraid of getting hurt before even taking off.

"Nanako, is there anything you're really good at?"

"...Good at something? I guess... studies?"

Nanako was intelligent enough to consistently rank first in her grade.

"Amazing! You can actually study! That's a remarkable talent you have!"

"...But even if I can study, I don't know what I want to do." "What about going to college?"

"...Technically, sure. But I just don't know which university I'd like to go to." Ichika thought for a moment before replying.

"Well, why don't you try visiting an open campus or something?" "...Open campus?"

Nanako remembered there was such a thing. "Oh right, they do have those."

"It's fun to go see a university, feel out the atmosphere, wonder what they're actually studying, and look around at all sorts of things. Besides, you might just find something you really want to do." "...But it costs money."

"Why not talk to Kouhin-kun about it? If it's for your future, I'm sure he'd be happy to invest in it." "...I suppose so."

"Yes. He is... someone who supports other people's dreams with his whole heart. That part of him is wonderful... and that's what makes it sad."

Ichika's face fell, becoming small and sorrowful.

"...And Kouhin-kun isn't the only one here to support your dream." "...Ichi-san?"

Ichika smiled brightly, her expression softening as she said.

"If you're free during summer break, I think it's worth looking at universities and deciding on a path for your future." "...Yes, that's true."

That's it. Rather than sulking at home and mulling things over, it's better to get out there and think about my future.

"...I'll do it! Thank you, Ichika-san!" "Oh, you're welcome."

Bolstered by her encouragement, Nana took the step toward a new beginning.