Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 72-73

Chapter 72: Inside a Heavy Mass of Metal

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It was a weekday sometime after Obon had passed, when summer vacation was nearing its end. Before dinner, while I was doing an upper-body-focused strength training session at a nearby gym…

“Yo, Suou. You’re really going at it again today.”

Naki called out to me as he came over from the locker room.

“Yeah. You just finished club practice?”

When I asked, Naki flashed his white teeth and gave a firm thumbs-up.

“Yeah. Got put through the wringer all day again!”

“That’s not something you say with a smile. …Still, I’m impressed you’ve got the motivation to come to a place like this for extra training after practice. The Interhigh just ended.”

“We’ve got the regional qualifiers for the championship this weekend. So I can’t exactly afford to take it easy. Plus, the third-years’ retirement is on the line.”

As he said that, Naki started warming up on a nearby cardio machine. Even though he had supposedly been practicing all day, his movements were light, not showing the slightest sign of fatigue.

How much stamina does this guy even have?

I couldn’t help but be impressed but precisely because of that, there was something I couldn’t ignore.

“Even so, if you get injured from overworking yourself, that’d defeat the whole purpose.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m planning to pace myself so that doesn’t happen. I actually take recovery pretty seriously. Besides… it’s not like I’m aiming to get big and bulky like you, Suou.”

“I’m not training to get big.”

I had just ended up this way as a result of continuing strength training. Compared to people who trained seriously for size, my muscle mass was pretty modest.

“And this is modest? Man, it’s such a waste you don’t play any sports, Suou. With that kind of physique, you could’ve easily aimed for a starting position.”

“You’re overestimating me. And no matter the sport, it’s not so easy you can just bulldoze your way through with physique alone.”

“That’s… well, yeah, you’re right. Even so, it feels like a waste to just leave that gifted body of yours unused.”

After saying that with a hint of regret, Naki finished his warm-up and immediately moved to another machine to start leg training. Before long, he became fully focused, so I turned my attention back to my own routine. Since we tended to come to the gym around the same time, I had been running into Naki fairly often ever since that day. Thanks to that, we’d gotten to the point where we’d exchange some light small talk whenever we met.

When Naki first started coming to this gym, I honestly thought, Why here of all places? But it wasn’t like he clung to me annoyingly. He would talk to me occasionally, but he took his training seriously. On top of that, he never brought other people along, so it didn’t get unnecessarily noisy. So now, I figured training alongside Naki wasn’t so bad.

For a while after that, we both silently worked through our respective routines. The clanking and rattling of the machines echoed through the room. Eventually, I completed my planned menu and finished up with some stretching to loosen my body. It seemed Naki had also finished his workout.

“Phew~! That’s a wrap!”

“…Good work.”

“You too, Suou!”

Even though he was slightly out of breath, his smile was as refreshing as ever, and he didn’t look worn out at all. It probably had something to do with the difference in our training routines and the weights we used, but to an outside observer, I probably looked far more exhausted.

So this is the stamina of someone from a soccer team that made it to nationals…

I was inwardly impressed when Naki’s phone started ringing.

“Whoops, sorry.”

After excusing himself briefly, Naki picked up his phone.

“Yo, what’s up? …Huh, a festival? When? Ah, sorry. I’ve got the regional qualifiers for the championship that day, so I can’t go. My bad, try asking someone else. —Yeah, leave it to me. Later.”

With a faint smile at the end, he hung up and muttered thoughtfully,

“So it’s that time of year already… festival season.”

“Seems like it.”

“‘Seems like,’ huh… I can’t really talk, but you really don’t show any interest in things you’re not into, do you, Suou?”

“I get that a lot.”

Mostly from my sister.

Personally, I always thought, So what? But my sister never seemed satisfied with that answer and often lectured me, telling me to “go out and have some normal fun once in a while.” In fact, she had only just said that to me recently.

“…A festival, huh.”

It wasn’t like I was going to act just because of my sister’s admonitions. Still, come to think of it, I had never been the one to make the first move about something like that before. Maybe this was a good opportunity.

I guess I’d better brace myself a little.

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Chapter 73: Inviting the Hungry Gyaru

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After parting ways with Naki, I headed straight home. Waiting to greet me in the living room were Ichika and Shizuku. She hadn’t been there when I left the house, so it seemed we had just barely missed each other.

“Welcome home, Gaku-nii!”

“Suou-kun, welcome back! And thanks for having me!”

“I’m home. Have you two eaten yet?”

I asked as I took off my shoes, and both of them shook their heads.

“Nope, not yet.”

“We were waiting to eat together after Suou-kun got back. I mean, it’s better to eat with the person who made it, right?”

Shizuku and Ichika looked at each other and chimed in together, “Right~!” Lately, the two of them had really started to sync up… It was proof that they’d grown closer, which was something to be happy about.

“Got it. I’ll get dinner ready, so hang on a second.”

“It’s fine. We’re just reheating what you made, Suou-kun. Me and Ichika-chan can handle that much.”

…Well, if they were offering, I could just let them.

“Okay, I’m counting on you.”

After dropping my things off in my room and returning to the living room, I found Shizuku and Ichika working together to set the food out. On the table were three servings of curry and green salad. My sister wouldn’t be back until late because of her part-time job, so this was everyone’s portion.

“Thanks for carrying it out.”

“No problem. More importantly, let’s eat already! I’m seriously starving!”

Beside her, Ichika nodded eagerly. So we quickly took our seats at the table and put our hands together. “Thanks for the meal.” I started with the salad, then moved on to the curry.

…Yeah, not bad.

Along with the roux, the base flavors were the richness and acidity of tomatoes. The sweetness of onions blended in, while eggplant, steamed soybeans, and enoki mushrooms enhanced the depth of the sauce. Because of that, even though it used chicken breast, it didn’t feel lacking at all.

Honestly, if I were judging purely by flavor, the spiced curry I made last month had been better. But considering the calories per serving, this turned out more than satisfying. As proof, when I glanced to the side, Shizuku’s face had completely melted into a blissful smile as she ate her curry.

“Mmm~ so good! This curry is seriously amazing!”

“It’s decent enough, right?”

“No way, it’s way better than ‘decent’! I could totally eat this every day!”

She took another bite and let out a happy little hum in her throat.

“Getting to eat curry while dieting is literally the best~! And I can still lose weight with this, right?!”

“As long as you don’t overeat.”

It had been nearly two weeks since she started dieting, and she was still sticking with it. That was why we were still living off chicken breast most days. The reason we could have curry at all was because I used a low-calorie roux. This kind of curry, often called waterless curry, not only cut down on fat-heavy calories but also provided plenty of dietary fiber and made you feel full more easily. I had seen it trending on a video site a while back and tried copying it on a whim. It had turned out better than expected, so I started making it whenever I got tired of plain steamed chicken.

“I’ll take care of the cleanup, so you two relax.”

A little while later, once everyone had finished eating, I stacked the plates together—

“Oh, I’ll help too.”

Shizuku stood up and followed me into the kitchen.

“Then Ichika will clean the bathroom while you’re doing that!”

“That’d be a big help. Thanks, Ichika.”

I gently patted her on the head, and she narrowed her eyes happily before scampering off toward the bathroom. After watching her leave the living room from the corner of my eye, I looked back to find Shizuku staring at me.

“…What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

It was clear she wanted to say something, but I didn’t press her and started washing the dishes. I rinsed off the plates I had used, and Shizuku dried the ones I finished washing. Since we were splitting the tasks and there weren’t many dishes to begin with, it didn’t take long to finish.

It’s about time.

When I handed her the last plate, I braced myself and spoke.

“Hey, Shizuku. I’m gonna ask something kind of insensitive. Do you mind?”

“…That’s fine, but it’s not something weird, right?”

“It’s serious, at least. I’ll be blunt… Have you gotten your weight back to what it was before you gained it?”

Shizuku blinked. Then she let out a small snort and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

“Ahahaha! That’s seriously so insensitive, it’s hilarious!”

“…Sorry. I’m not good with tact.”

“It’s fine, I’m not bothered. I mean, you’re Suou-kun. …Ahh, my stomach hurts.”

After catching her breath, she puffed out her chest with a proud look.

“Yep! Thanks to you, Suou-kun, I’m all good! I’m pretty much back to normal now.”

“…I see.”

Then this should be fine.

“By the way, why’d you suddenly ask something like that?”

Tilting her head, she looked at me curiously. I took a slow breath before answering, looking straight at her.

“Can you keep one of this weekend’s days free for me?”

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