"…Haa."
On a certain day.
I was wallowing in depression in the dining room in the repaired "God's Garden".
Just why did this happen?
No, I actually knew why.
Yes, everything was my own fault.
"…Haa."
As proof of that, Magmell, sitting diagonally across me at the dining table, was also sighing loudly with a tired look on her face.
In all probability, she was having the same problem as me.
Because we were both in charge of providing relief to the people, we inevitably ended up moving our bodies less than the rest.
On top of that, we both loved to eat.
The end result was, of course, we gained weight.
""…Haa."" We both slouched our shoulders, crestfallen.
I mean, it can't be helped?!
Elderlies keep kindly giving me tasty-looking food?!
Of course, I have to eat, right?!
It would be rude to refuse, instead! That's common sense!
Grrr! I was fuming, but I didn't know who I was angry with. Honestly though, I'd got no time to be doing this.
I mean, at this rate, my stomach would stick out first before my developing chest.
If I had been by myself, I would have almost certainly been too lazy to do something about it.
Thankfully…! I said to Magmell, who was still wallowing in shame and depression. "Hey, Magmell. I'm guessing we're troubled by the same thing, so as Exa's wives, how about we work out a solution together?"
"Huh? Is that okay?"
"Of course, why not? I don't want to fall further down the 'Ranking of Wives'."
Or rather, why was I placed near the bottom anyway?
I mean, a lot of not-so-pleasant things had happened between me and Exa, and I was the last to join, but looks-wise, I should be the number one no matter how you sliced it.
Honestly, they should have put a heavier emphasis on looks when making the ranking.
"Indeed. This matter is related to my identity as well, and if I don't want to fall behind the others, I have to seriously think about how to solve this problem."
"Yeah. So, I'm thinking that the quickest and easiest way is to refrain. What do you think?"
"It is as you say, but I don't think simply refraining alone will solve the fundamental problem."
Well… yeah.
After all, refraining from eating was gonna make you stressed, and refusing every time people gave you food would make you feel bad.
Even if you accepted just for the sake of being polite, just seeing the food without being able to eat it was going to be stressful.
"Which leaves us with only one option: to move our body more," I said.
"I see. So, instead of being passive, we have to try to turn the tables and go for a more aggressive approach—is what you mean, right?"
"Yeah. Regardless of what others say, that's the only solution."
When I said so as I folded my arms, Magmell blushed as though she was embarrassed for some reason, then she said, "Yes, indeed… I'm sure Exa-sama will like it too…"
Was she saying Exa's would like it if she was slimmer?
But Magmell's fat mostly went into her womanly parts, which made her attractive points, so I didn't think she'd need to lose too much weight.
Well, if it meant those uselessly big chunks of fat shrink, I was all for it!
Then.
"All right. I will try my best following Elma-san's advice." Magmell smiled and nodded.
I smiled back at her. "Yes. Let's do our best together."
"Yes!"
"That's the spirit! We're going to get started tonight!"
"Right!" Magmell gave a powerful nod. Then we continued at the same time:
"To exercise!" "To practice night service!"
…Mm?
Huh, hold on a second.
I felt like I just heard something strange there.
"Sorry. We were talking about exercising, right?"
"H-huh? Weren't we talking about if we should still wear the same type of underwear as we do now after we give birth…?"
Where the hell is this topic I have no interest in whatsoever coming from?
Just wear whatever you like.
I couldn't care less about it… Feeling like I was gonna get a headache, I said, "…For now, let's sort things out. Um, what's with underwear?"
"U-uhm, some time ago Arcadia-san asked me, 'Are you still going to wear that kind of underwear even after you give birth?'. I was worrying over it when you said, 'If that's the case, then you should just vent it all out in the nightlife'…"
"I never said that?! I've been putting on a bit too much weight lately, so I was worrying if I should refrain from eating or do exercise?!"
"Huh?! Then what should I do?!"
"I don't know?! Rather, answer my worries?!"
When I said that, Magmell looked somewhat troubled, and said, "I'm sorry… I, uh, have never put on too much weight, or rather all my fat always goes to my chest and buttocks…"
"..."
Hmm, is that so~…
Hmm…
I'm sorry for being the type to always get hungry!
Hmph!
That night I ate so much that I set a record for my weight.