Chapter 7 - What the Mob Heroine Lacks
The first day of summer vacation.
Now that I thought about it, this was my first long break since regaining my memories from before reincarnating. Once you’ve become an adult, you can't just take a whole month off unless you're on official leave or flat-out unemployed. I'd love nothing more than to just kick back and enjoy this privilege unique to students... but I just don't have the time for that.
Why? Because this summer vacation wasn't for leisure. I have to help Mobuko-chan... no, that's not right. I have to help the girl named Mogami Fuko, who resolved to break free from her mob-character fate, have her glow-up.
And so, I found myself at the riverside nearby.
I was jogging lightly down a straight path, the sound of the river babbling beside me.
And, of course, Mogami-san was right next to me.
She wore the school-issued tracksuit and jogged awkwardly but earnestly.
"I-It's soo hooot..."
“It’s still early morning, so it’s fine!”
For reference, it was currently 5:30 a.m.
In summer, once the sun rose, the temperature would spike fast, so this was the best time to exercise.
“Why are you so full of energy, Sato-kun?”
"Just used to it, I guess."
“That's unexpected. You were a morning person?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Well, that was back before I reincarnated. I used to work for a borderline black company, so getting to the office at the crack of dawn was just normal. I was in sales, so I had a ton of business trips, too, which was tough. Thinking back on it, waking up this early is nothing.
“Hah… hah… urk, this is soo tiriiing…”
Mogami-san, on the other hand, was clearly having a rough time. She definitely wasn't used to exercising this early. She was already bent over, hands on her knees, just gasping for air.
Yeah, I probably shouldn't push her too hard. Truth is, we've only been running for about ten minutes, but it's probably a good idea to take a break soon.
“Want to take a break?”
“Um…”
"It's totally fine. You don't need to look at me like that. I'm not going to judge your decision. If this is too hard, we don't have to do it again tomorrow. It's not like I'm going to blame you for it."
I didn’t want her to misunderstand. I wasn’t forcing her into this. I just gave her advice to do this because she had asked me to help her change.
“I’m only helping because you said you wanted to change, Mogami-san.”
"And... by exercising like this... will I really change?"
“You will. Remember what you said yesterday, Mogami-san? You said weren’t confident about your figure.”
"Urk!"
At my remark, she averted her eyes as if I had hit a sore spot. That was right, after she was ignored by Sanada yesterday, I made this suggestion as her first step toward change:
“For starters, how about taking off that tracksuit? Sanada probably likes the uniform look better.”
I knew his preference because I’d read the manga. He's your typical teenage boy. He's totally the type to react to... you know, a hint of underwear through a white shirt, or the curve of a girl's chest. So, I figured if she really wanted to get close to a guy like that, the least she could do was stop wearing that baggy tracksuit that completely hides her figure.
But she refused.
“You didn’t want to take off your tracksuit because you think you’re fat, right? Even now, you’re wearing it top and bottom, even though it’s so hot.”
"...Y-You're eggzactly... wight..."
Did I hit the nail that hard on the head? She was so flustered she started lisping. ...Man, she’s so cute.
“Then, exercising won’t hurt.”
That was what I was saying verbally, with a somewhat strict tone. But actually, deep down, I was thinking this:
(I don’t think she’s fat at all. If anything, why is it so hard for girls to understand that a little bit of softness is exactly what makes it perfect...?)
Mogami-san definitely wasn’t fat. In fact, she's exactly my type.
So the fact that she's this insecure about her body... it just means one thing.
(She just lacks confidence. She’s afraid of people saying awful things to her if she starts showing her skin.)
In the end, that's all it came down to. Because honestly, Mogami-san was cute. At the very least, her face is definitely not the problem. Then again, this is a manga world, so it's not like there are any truly ugly characters, but whatever.
The point is, until she can find some confidence in herself, she won't even be able to take off her tracksuit. So, if that's the case, then exercising and dieting is the way to go. If she loses weight, she'll see a concrete, visible change in the numbers. And that, I figured, would help her build that confidence.
(Though, what I really wanted to see was a change in her mindset rather than appearance… I wonder how this’ll go.)
Personally, I really hope she sticks with it. But, if she doesn't want to do it, that's that. If that happens, I'll just have to come up with another plan.
...Or so I thought, but as it turned out, all that worrying was pointless.
"—I'll... I'll keep going, just a little bit more! B-But I'll tell you when I hit my limit... It'd be great if I could fix my being out of shape over summer break, too..."
She clenched her small fists and straightened her posture, ready to go again. Seeing her like that, a thought just popped into my head.
“You’ve got more grit than I thought.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Mogami-san is mentally weak. She just doesn't have confidence. Even when she gets hurt, she has the strength to get back up again. She's definitely sensitive, I can't deny that... but she's the type to bounce back right before she actually breaks.
“Really? Ehehe, I hope that's true... Thank you. When you praise me like that... it makes me feel like I can try even harder."
“Alright. Then let’s run a little more!”
“Yeah! Let’s go, Sato-kun!”
And so, we started running again. Not looking down, but straight ahead. As if she were running toward the path of a main heroine. She ran forward, with no hesitation.
And then, about a week later... a small change began to appear.
“Huh? Mogami-san… you took off your tracksuit.”
“Y-yeah. It’s just, it’s really hot after running.”
And that's when I learned something new. Thanks to her finally taking off that top, a character setting was revealed. One that even I didn't know about, despite having read the manga a dozen times.
(You've gotta be kidding me... Mobuko-chan... SHE'S STACKED?!)
I-I had no idea! She was always wearing that baggy tracksuit, so I'd just assumed she was... you know, a little plump all over. But I was wrong. She was, it seems... extremely well-endowed.
It turns out... the mob heroine may have been lacking in confidence, but she was anything but lacking in the chest department.
