For Mika Uehara, every week seemed ordinary: maybe there was a new magazine she wanted to read, or a new episode of a program she liked, or she would go out shopping once with her friends; but in her life, extraordinary events were uncommon.
However, in the past week, she had deeply ingrained into her mind that miracles could indeed happen within the space of a week.
That was rightâa miracle!
It happened right in front of her, to that formerly fat otaku, Seiji Haruta.
At first, she discovered that Seiji Haruta had begun exercising.
Even on the days when he was working at his full-time job, the fat youth kept exercising unceasinglyâhe jogged every morning, exercised in his room each night, and he was almost always caked in sweat.
In the beginning, Mika Uehara was moved. After a while, she became impressed as it was obvious he was taking it seriouslyâeven though it must have been difficult, he never gave up.
If she had to work a full-time job, could she still be able to keep exercising every day? She truly didnât know the answer to that question.
However, on the fourth day, she suddenly discovered that he had changed greatly.
And when she finally noticed the change, she felt that she had been blind before for failing to notice!
Seiji Haruta, that otaku whose weight was definitely over 100 kilograms before, had become skinnier after exercising for only a few days.
Not just a normal level of skinnierâit felt like he reduced himself by almost an entire layer!
His stomach that once jutted out had disappeared.
His formerly flabby arms were now muscular.
And his chubby face and neck were now contoured.
When did it all start?
No, he was changing every day. It was just that for some unknown reason, she had been too ignorant to notice!
"Haruta-kun seems to be getting more and more handsome." If it wasnât for her mother coincidentally saying this, she probably wouldâve stayed ignorant, lost in her own delusions.
And then the fifth day, the sixth day, and the seventh day passedâŚ
In the evening, when she opened her door, she was greeted by a handsome guy with a shy smile. He had a cool and bright face, a strong and well-built body, a slightly messy hairstyle that seemed carefree, and wore a jacket and jeans, which caused Mika Ueharaâs eyes to become completely unfocused.
This was Seiji Haruta, the fat otaku?
No matter what, she was unable to connect this clean, manly, handsome guy in front of her with the otaku in her memory, who liked to shut himself in his dark room and wear filthy clothes. The otaku who reeked of mysterious stenches, had a protruding beer belly, and unkempt, ragged hair with a dreadful expression in his eyes.
There was no mistake; this was a miracle!
A true miracle!
It took only one week.
The fat otaku, who stood right before her, had transformed magnificently!
"Miss Uehara? Umm⌠Do these clothes look that bad on me?" Seiji nervously tugged on the clothes that he had bought just earlier today.
Because his body shape had changed so much, his former clothes wouldnât fit him anymore, so he was forced to go shopping for some new clothes. Of course, they were all cheap ones.
"No⌠not at all!" She finally regained her senses, and her cheeks flushed deep red: "They donât look bad at all⌠my apologies for not inviting you in, please⌠please come in!"
Seiji nodded lightly before following her in. Although it wasnât his first time here, since the landlord had formally invited him to eat dinner together this time, he was somewhat nervous.
Nozomi Uehara had invited him as she felt that expressing her gratitude verbally was insufficient, so she decided to treat him to a good meal to show her gratefulness.
Seiji felt like all this was rather unnecessary; if they truly wished to thank him, the easiest method would be to give him a discount on the rent. Of course, he felt too embarrassed to say that out loud.
Okay, at least he got the opportunity to eat together with the beautiful mother and daughter pair, so he couldnât complain.
"Welcome, Haruta-kun⌠Oh my, youâve become quite handsome." Nozomi Uehara came out of the kitchen, and her eyes began sparkling when she noticed the sturdy youth.
Even if she had sharper senses than her daughter and was mentally prepared, she could only mentally exclaim at the fat youthâs magnificent transformation that was a veritable miracle.
The shadow of that fat otaku from just two weeks ago was completely gone now. Just what had happened to this young man for him to have changed so much?
"I just lost a little weight, thatâs all." Seiji scratched his face awkwardly.
Even he felt disgust at the way he was pretending how this had happened. Even though he had expected this to occur, when he actually saw his own changes, he was shocked at how strong his system really was. But there was no helping it; in front of his elder, no matter how difficult it was for him to act, he still needed to keep up the pretense that this was just "ordinary" weight loss.
Thatâs just not possible!
Mika Uehara felt like yelling that out loud. Right now, there was a mishmash of emotions in her heart, and she wasnât sure what she was feeling.
The dreadful appearance of that fat otaku, and the clean, cool appearance of this handsome boy in front of her kept swirling around in her mind. She just couldnât decide what to make of it.
So miracles were indeed possible.
The ugly duckling was capable of turning into a majestic swan.
That was when she had appeared to realize one of lifeâs maximsâŚ
Dinnertime.
Nozomi and Seiji were chatting happily.
Although Seiji was an NEET in his past life, he also used to be an acceptable government worker, so he knew how to entertain guests. If he made an effort, he wouldnât let those conversing with him feel bored.
Nozomi was slightly shocked inside; she didnât expect that sheâd be able to have such a deep conversation with Seiji, considering that he was still a youth. Right now, he felt more like an adult her age.
Mika ate in silence. It wasnât that the other two were leaving her out of the conversation. It was that her indecisiveness caused her to be unable to talk, but every so often, she snuck furtive glances at his face, and the light red blush on her face didnât fade.
"Haruta-kun, how long do you intend to remain absent from school? Actually, you should be able to go back home and continue going to school, right?" Nozomi brought up a sensitive topic.
Seiji was surprised for a moment.
"Well, Iâve been considering it recently as well, but⌠really, my previous mistakes were incredibly severe. Even though Iâve decided to change myself, I think it may be difficult for them to accept me if I decide to return in my current state."
âThey might find it difficult to accept him for another reason.â Mika silently thought to herself as she listened intently. After all, anyone that once knew him would definitely find his current state inconceivable.
"Then what do you intend to do?" Nozomi propped her chin up on her hands and stared directly into Seijiâs eyes, showing the appeal of a mature woman.
"I still donât know yet. Maybe⌠I can find a new jobâone with a higher salaryâand then buy some gifts for my familyâŚ"
His body type was normal now⌠Okay, both his body type and appearance now had improved to "not bad," so now he didnât need to wear a full-body costume anymore. Looking for a better job was definitely viable now, especially considering that it would allow him to save up some money.
"How considerate of youâIâm sure that your family will be delighted to see the way you are now." Nozomi nodded.
"Surely you jest."
"Iâm not jokingâyouâve become so handsome now. Havenât you already noticed that Mikaâs been blushing this entire time?"
"Mom!" Mika was suddenly ambushed by her mother teasing her, and her face became even redder as she shrieked in a tender voice.
Seiji could only smile awkwardly.
"By the way, that blondie⌠no, that hoodlum actually dropped out of school. Isnât that great news, Miss Uehara?"
"Call me Mika!" She wasnât happy about always being called Miss, so she unconsciously said it out loud. Immediately afterwards, she noticed what she had said, and her face turned bright red to the roots of her ears.
In Sakura Island, calling someone directly by their name was considered quite intimateâonly family members or close friends would do this.
She was just being teased by her own mother, and now she immediately let Seiji call her own name! Mika truly felt like she was digging her own grave!
"It⌠itâs just that if you call me Uehara, itâs confusing to know who youâre talking about, so⌠so thatâs the only reason!" She didnât even know what she was saying anymore.
"Oh my, oh myâŚ" Nozomi glanced gently over at her daughter acting shy.
*Cough!* Seiji forced himself to fake a coughing fit: "Well, for it to all end like this is the best we can hope for."
Two days ago, Mika told him that the blondie had suddenly dropped out of school because his fatherâs company went bankrupt, and his family was no longer powerful, thus causing him to be too ashamed to stay at school anymore. Besides, his family was apparently forced to sell their home to pay their debts, so they had moved away as well.
Did all of this have something to do with the student council president? Neither Seiji nor Mika knew the answer to this, as this was all they had to go on.
"Mm⌠That is wonderfulâŚ" Mika considered it calmly and thought about something else that would happen, which caused her to turn slightly unsatisfied.
"Mika, were you thinking that itâs nice that you wonât have to be scared, but Haruta-kun doesnât need to take you to school anymore, so you were disappointed?" Nozomi didnât pull any punches with her daughter and continued to tease her.
"Not⌠not at all!" Having her inner thoughts pointed out, Mika felt a mixture of anger and embarrassment, and her face turned a deep red hue while her eyes became slightly teary.
âEven⌠even if he lost weight, even if he was more handsome, heâs still an otaku. I⌠I absolutely wonât fall in love with him, humph!â She desperately tried to conceal her inner feelings in her heart.
"Ha⌠haha, auntie sure loves to joke aroundâŚ" Other than laughing foolishly, what else was Seiji supposed to do?
And so, the bountiful, delicious meal ended with an ambiguous atmosphere.
Not long after, Seiji took his leave.
Right after he left, Mika instantly jumped on her mother like an angry kitten.
"Mom, what are you saying in front of him!?"
"I donât think I was wrong, heheâŚ" The young woman covered her mouth as she chuckled, showing her profound experience in life.
"Everything was wrong! Iâm notâŚ"
"Then why was your face so redâlook, itâs still red even now."
"Iâm⌠Iâm just angry!"
"Youâre not honest with your feelings at all. Youâre my daughter; of course I know what youâre thinking." Nozomi gently touched her daughterâs cheek before saying, "Haruta-kun used to be quite a terrible person, but now heâs changed to become much better, and he even saved you. Besides, he didnât mind protecting you for all this time; itâs only natural for you to be moved."
Mika shyly lowered her head and twiddled her fingers.
"But from your motherâs perspective, Haruta-kun is trying his utmost to change himself; he might not even be interested in you⌠And your mother has a premonitionâthis may only be the beginning. Perhaps heâll become even handsomer... Hehe⌠no matter what Mika thinks, if youâre serious about it, you canât let this opportunity escape."
"MomâŚ" Mewling like a kitten, Mika tugged on her motherâs shirt, "Just⌠what should I do?"
"Think about it yourself; just donât do anything overboardâboys⌠even good boys have times when they become beasts. Just remember to be careful about this."
"MomâŚ"
It seemed that the beautiful mother and daughterâs secret conversation was going to continue on for quite some time.