The Queen Who Goes on a Diet

Thanks to everyone’s support, the second volume of this work will be released on July 25!

Thank you so much.

If you purchase it, the author will be thrilled. I’m a simple person, after all.

Back in high school, there was someone I was on such bad terms with that people said we were like water and oil.

She was a girl, and unlike me, who kept to the shadows, she was the type who stood out in class.

The reason we didn’t get along? Nothing major. She just unilaterally decided she didn’t like me, so I had no particular desire to go out of my way to interact with her.

I thought that once high school was over, I’d never have to see her again… but due to some twist of fate, we somehow ended up living together.

Life with her was, to be honest, a rough ride. We fought, we argued, I made her cry, and yeah, I’ve had my moments of shutting her down in debates.

…Wait, why do I sound like some kind of awful guy?

Anyway, as we navigated this chaotic cohabitation, what I initially thought would be a short-lived arrangement was now approaching six months, and our relationship had started to shift, just a little.

To be specific…

The number of fights… hasn’t gone down.

The number of arguments… hasn’t gone down either.

Wait, has anything actually changed?

No, no… that can’t be right, can it?

Because…

Making her cry… that’s definitely decreased. Though, I’ve been finding myself on the verge of tears more often.

I don’t shut her down in arguments anymore. Lately, I’ve been picking fewer fights. Mostly because I get completely destroyed.

What the heck.

There’s not a single positive change for me, is there?

In the end, after all this time living together, I’ve completely fallen under her thumb.

As expected, life with her… with Hayashi… is one hurdle after another.

But lately, I’ve started to think, just a little, that I wouldn’t mind if this life continued a bit longer.

In other words…

Living with the arrogant queen from high school is surprisingly not so bad.

Now, as my life with Hayashi starts to feel a bit fun, I throw myself into it again today.

“Hayashi, you’ve put on a bit of weight lately, haven’t you?”

“Could you maybe pick up some tact?”

Just when things were wrapping up nicely, I somehow ended up getting scolded by Hayashi.

“Didn’t your mom ever teach you not to tell a girl she’s gotten fat out of the blue?”

“Actually, she told me to point it out as much as possible since she’s trying to watch her weight.”

“Yeah, that sounds like something your mom would say.”

“Does it, though?”

“So… how’d that conversation even come up?”

“Let’s see… I think it was the night after my mom went to a high school reunion. She got annoyed by some drunk classmate pestering her, so she called them a triple-layered belly.”

“That’s awful.”

“Then my mom burst out laughing and egged them on, saying, ‘Keep going!’ And that’s when she told me, ‘I want to watch my weight, so say it more. Say it all the time.’”

Come to think of it…

“Now that I think about it, when I actually pointed out she’d gained weight later, she got super mad. What’s up with that, seriously?”

“That’s awful.”

Hayashi had turned into some kind of “awful” bot.

What the heck. It’s almost like I’m the awful guy here.

Oh, wait, am I the awful guy?

“…My bad. So, uh, could you maybe forgive me?”

For now, I decided to bow my head.

“Geez, seriously. Who just goes up to someone and says they’ve gotten fat?”

“Sorry about that. But, you know, since you moved in here, you haven’t been going out much, have you? And lately, I’ve been seeing you munching on potato chips or chocolate a lot.”

“Well… maybe a little.”

“Right?”

“But I’m not the type to gain weight easily, you know.”

Hayashi was optimistic.

Apparently, she wasn’t even aware of it.

“…Fine, if you’re that insistent, maybe I’ll step on the scale tonight.”

“Why don’t you give it a try?”

“Yeah… I’m sure it’ll be fine, though.”

Hayashi said with a carefree laugh.

And that night…

“GYAAAAAAAH!”

A loud scream echoed from the bathroom.

“Oi, Hayashi! What’s wrong?!”

Separated by just a door, I called out to Hayashi.

“Oi? Oi! Hayashi!”

No matter how much I called, there was no response from Hayashi.

“…Yamamoto.”

Finally, Hayashi’s voice came from the bathroom. But for some reason, it sounded utterly exhausted.

“Yamamoto, can we make meals a bit plainer for a while?”

…I understood everything in that moment.