Dinner Invitation

What could happen in a month?

For Ichika Amber, every month 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 month, she had deeply ingrained into her mind that miracles could indeed happen within the space of a month.

That was right—a miracle!

It happened right in front of her, to that formerly fat otaku, Astrid Tarmon.

At first, she discovered that Astrid had begun exercising.

The fat youth kept exercising unceasingly—he jogged every morning, exercised in his room each night, and he was almost always caked in sweat.

In the beginning, Ichika was moved. After a while, she became impressed as it was obvious he was taking it seriously—even though it must have been difficult, he never gave up.

If she had exercise every day, could she? She truly didn't know the answer to that question.

However, on the end of that month when rent was due, 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!

Astrid Tarmon, that otaku whose weight was definitely over 100 kilograms before, had become skinnier after exercising for only a week!

Not just a normal level of skinnier—it felt like he reduced himself by almost an entire layer!

His stomach that once jutted out had disappeared.

His formerly flabby arms were now sticks.

And his chubby face and neck were now a skeleton.

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!

"Tarmon-kun seems to be getting more and more handsome." If it wasn't for her mother coincidentally saying this, she probably would've stayed ignorant, lost in her own delusions.

And then the final day passed…

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 Ichika's eyes to become completely unfocused.

This was Astrid Tarmon, 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 Amber? Umm… Do these clothes look that bad on me?" Astrid nervously tugged on the clothes that he had bought just earlier today.

Because his body shape had changed so much, his former clothes wouldn't 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 don't look bad at all… my apologies for not inviting you in, please… please come in!"

[Game face, get the girl!]

'Yessir!'

Astrid nodded lightly before following her in. Although it wasn't his first time here, since the landlord had formally invited him to eat dinner together this time, he was somewhat nervous.

Sakura Amber 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.

Astrid 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 couldn't complain.

"Welcome, Tamron-kun… Oh my, you've become quite handsome." Sakura came out of the kitchen, and her eyes began sparkling when she noticed the sturdy youth.

[She is delusional!]

'No she is not!'

"Though Astrid, you better get smarter, being locked up playing games is not good, you should go to school."

'Maybe she is...'

Even if she had sharper senses than her daughter and was mentally prepared, she could only mentally exclaim at the fat youth's 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, that's all." Astrid 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 the item 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. That item was so powerful! Astrid wondered if he could get the item for other stats, if he could, he could become a god. It was also only rare rank too, imagine higher ranks!

[Ability: Charm - Become beautiful, higher your stats, higher effect! (Passive) Rank: Somebody?]

[Skills:]

[(Fire Dragons Tongue): Whenever you roast someone, you are able to deal 1 damage with a 0.01 burn tick damage lasting for 5 seconds. (Passive) (Upgradeable)]

[Stats]

[Charm: 5 - A random person on the streets (averaged from the stats)]

[Speed: 5 - All that running did not pay off!]

[Social Status: 7 - The change didn't do anything]

[Communication skills: 8 - You have opened up, a little crack]

[Knowledge: 9 - You have perfected the stuff you have known, but you haven't learned shit!]

[Strength: 6 - The strength of an adult, not impressive.]

[Defense: 8 - Strong a plastic straw!]

[Personal talent: 7 - You can learn alot of things, if you even tried!]

[Stat Points: 0 - Points accrued for accomplishments. Can be used to raise your stats]

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 life's maxims…

Dinner time.

Sakura and Astrid were chatting happily.

Although Astrid was an otaku in his past life, with is raised communication and knowledge stat, he could entertain guests. If he made an effort, he wouldn't let those conversing with him feel bored.

Sakura was slightly shocked inside; she didn't expect that she'd be able to have such a deep conversation with Astrid, considering that he was still a youth. Right now, he felt more like an adult her age.

Ichika ate in silence. It wasn't 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 didn't fade.

"Tarmon-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?" Sakura brought up a sensitive topic.

Astrid was surprised for a moment.

"Well, I've been considering it recently as well, but… really, my previous mistakes were incredibly severe. Even though I've decided to change myself, I think it may be difficult for them to accept me if I decide to return in my current state."

'They might find it difficult to accept him for another reason.' Ichika 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?" Sakura propped her chin up on her hands and stared directly into Astrids's eyes, showing the appeal of a mature woman.

"I still don't know yet. Maybe… I can find a job, one with a high salary—and then buy some gifts for my family…"

His body type was normal now… Okay, both his body type and appearance now had improved to a model type! Looking for a job was definitely viable now, especially considering that it would allow him to save up some money.

"How considerate of you—I'm sure that your family will be delighted to see the way you are now." Sakura nodded.

"Your joking, they kicked me out of their household!"

"I'm not joking—you've become so handsome now. Haven't you already noticed that Ichika's been blushing this entire time?"

"Mom!" Ichika was suddenly ambushed by her mother teasing her, and her face became even redder as she shrieked in a tender voice.

Astrid could only smile awkwardly.

[Good job! Put on a show!]

'Shut up! Im trying!'

"By the way Miss. Amber, did you watch that TV show, the Early Morning Show! The host is so funny!" Astrid said with a laugh.

"Call me Ichika!" She wasn't 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.

[Damn boi]

In Cratos, calling someone directly by their name was considered quite intimate—only family members or close friends would do this.

She was just being teased by her own mother, and now she immediately let Astrid call her own name! Ichika truly felt like she was dying inside!

"It… it's just that if you call me Amber, it's confusing to know who you're talking about, so… so that's the only reason!" She didn't even know what she was saying anymore.

"Oh my, oh my…" Sakura glanced gently over at her daughter acting shy.

*Cough!* Astrid forced himself to fake a coughing fit, "Let's continue the conversation." Astrid said with a smile

.....

"Mm… That is wonderful…"Sakura said

"Hey Ichika, what do you think of Astrid, do you like him?" Sakura teased.

Ichika's face turned bright red.

'Even… even if he lost weight, even if he was more handsome, he's still an otaku. I… I absolutely won't fall in love with him, humph!' She desperately tried to conceal her inner feelings in her heart. In truth, he wasn't that handsome, quite normal actually, but because of his determination and change in attitude, she started to like him.

"Ha… haha, auntie sure loves to joke around…" Other than laughing foolishly, what else was Astrid supposed to do?

[Already sheesh]

And so, the bountiful, delicious meal ended with an ambiguous atmosphere.

Not long after, Astrid took his leave.

Right after he left, Ichika instantly jumped on her mother like an angry kitten.

"Mom, what are you saying in front of him!?"

"I don't think I was wrong, hehe…" The young woman covered her mouth as she chuckled, showing her profound experience in life.

"Everything was wrong! I'm not…"

"Then why was your face so red—look, it's still red even now."

"I'm… I'm just angry!"

"You're not honest with your feelings at all. You're my daughter; of course I know what you're thinking." Sakura gently touched her daughter's cheek before saying, "Tamron-kun used to be quite a terrible person, but now he's changed to become much better."

Ichika shyly lowered her head and twiddled her fingers.

"But from your mother's perspective, Tamron-kun is trying his utmost to change himself; he might not even be interested in you… And your mother has a premonition—this may only be the beginning. Perhaps he'll become even handsomer… Hehe… no matter what Ichika thinks, if you're serious about it, you can't let this opportunity escape."

"Mom…" Mewling like a kitten, Ichika tugged on her mother's shirt, "Just… what should I do?"

"Think about it yourself; just don't do anything overboard—boys… even good boys have times when they become beasts. Just remember to be careful about this."

"Mom…"

It seemed that the beautiful mother and daughter's secret conversation was going to continue on for quite some time.