My World Crumbled Twice
"Mari." "Yes?" "Ave Maria." "Still better than an iron, though..."
After that, time flew by at a terrifying speed. People had all sorts of opinions about me—the Representative Hero of Area 4—who had suddenly vanished from sight. 'She's probably undercover somewhere.' 'She must be regenerating from a serious injury.' 'After more than ten years of activity, it was about time she took a vacation.' The internet was flooded with speculation. 'That department store girl—isn't she the daughter of that guy from Area 4?' Every now and then, a few sharp-eyed individuals somehow connected my past self to my current one, but fortunately, I hadn't left the house since then, so they had no clues to work with. If anything, the fact that I could stay this hidden without leaving any trace only made their ability to draw connections without evidence more impressive.
Yet despite these reactions, everyone knew and felt my absence. Residents of Area 4 began to feel discontent and anxiety. Whether it was because my disappearance affected not just citizens but criminals as well, the crime rate in Area 4 dropped even further than before. Not only serious crimes like terrorism and robbery, but even minor offenses like illegal dumping and traffic violations decreased across the board. There were even days when not a single crime occurred. As a result, Area 4—which had always had few heroes—now had some breathing room despite the limited numbers. If crime had risen, I would have gone out immediately, but thanks to the drop, there was no need.
Of course, that also meant I couldn't step outside at all, terrified I would get lost again. 'No crime is a good thing, right?' It was great for me, but it also brought its own problems. More precisely, the lack of any incidents at all was the problem. Even normally, I only went out when there was work to do; it just so happened there was always plenty of work. That was why I spent so little time at home. But now there was nothing worth going out for, and I wasn't in any condition to do so anyway. So my time indoors only increased.
"Even so, working out is so boring."
There was no helping it. Among the things I could do at home, exercise was the only thing that needed doing. At least lifting something heavy would make the boredom more bearable, but pushing myself with heavier weights risked triggering my ability, which would have the opposite effect. Even moderate weights might activate Regeneration. So all I could use were these light dumbbells.
Thud. I set the pink dumbbell down on the floor and glanced toward the corner where the weights were stored. There were pink dumbbells in 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 20 kg. The one I'd just put down was a 2 kg model that wasn't among them. I walked over to the pink set and ran my left hand across them. My fingers stopped at the largest and heaviest—20 kg. I gripped the handle and poured strength into my entire body to lift it, but it only wobbled and refused to budge. Maybe I'd leaned too far forward while straining; I had no choice but to let go. Staring at the dumbbell, I tried again with my right hand. Without any real effort, it came up easily. It didn't feel light, but the fact that it lifted at all highlighted how different my two arms had become.
After a couple of half-hearted reps, I set it down again. Exercise was mind-numbingly dull. But the muscle imbalance between my left and right arms—caused by fighting villains and regenerating—was uncomfortable, and the only way to fix it was to keep going. Besides, even if I hated it, the only ways to kill time in a house without a TV were sleep and exercise. So I just alternated between the two.
Over the past two weeks, Area 4 had remained surprisingly uneventful. It was so peaceful that people were still talking about the department store incident from two weeks ago. 'Maybe Area 4 runs fine even without me.' The thought crossed my mind more than once. But while the city was quiet, I was going through plenty of hardship. After repeatedly regenerating during fights with robbers, the imbalance between my left and right arms made daily life difficult. To correct it, I'd used my ability—just a tiny bit—knowing it would take longer to return to normal. That tiny bit had instantly triggered anemia, forcing me to balance my arms the honest way: through exercise.
"Well, losing 700 ml of blood would cause anemia for anyone. Besides, muscles are meant to be built through training!"
Since using my ability required at least some injury, I'd made a small cut. Who could have predicted that would cause anemia? I could have used more of my power to avoid it, but that risked throwing the balance off again or extending the recovery time, so I decided to hold back. It wasn't because my ability was lacking!
There were other changes too. Between the heavy regeneration last time and my naturally fast-growing hair, it had grown a lot over two weeks. What had barely reached my shoulders now covered my entire back. I'd suggested cutting it before, but both Mari and Yeon—who had appeared at some point—had firmly refused. "No way!" "Absolutely not!" So I hadn't been allowed to cut it, and there was still no sign they'd change their minds.
Ah, right. The house had changed too. There were three unused rooms that were far too big to be practical. Two of them had finally gained something besides dust and air. First came the dressing room. I didn't like the name, but after being told that "dress" didn't literally mean dresses, the clothes Mari had bought last time were moved in. There had already been a closet, but since it couldn't hold everything and Mari insisted things needed proper organization, one room became a dressing room.
The other room now held a barbell and various dumbbells. I could have just used my ability to instantly build muscle, but that would only prolong this state. So I had to follow Mari's "proper method" and actually exercise. The reason she kept emphasizing it was because while I could control Regeneration to some extent, I couldn't control it completely. If the ability activated while I was building muscle through training, the whole point of exercising would be lost. She also pointed out that ignoring my request and only providing a barbell and light dumbbells meant bodyweight exercises wouldn't make much difference anyway. The most annoying part was having to do it regularly, but what bothered me most was—
"...Is this even doing anything?" "How would I know? I've never seen you exercise before."
While fiddling with the 2 kg pink dumbbell, I asked Mari. Just as she said, I'd never exercised before, so she'd taught me the proper form and usage. Teaching me posture was one thing, but explaining how to use dumbbells made me wonder if she saw me as an old man... or at least not as someone from the same generation.
"More importantly, even if my height dropped to the 140s, is 2 kg really the right weight? The kid next door without any powers could probably lift 20 kg!" "...That's literally just picking it up."
Thanks to Mari's help, my muscle mass was slowly but steadily increasing. There was no InBody machine to measure it precisely, but I could feel the difference—doors that used to rattle twice now only rattled once. Still, this was a matter of pride. Training with these pink silicone toy-like things just felt wrong. I needed to build muscle fast and graduate from these pink dumbbells.
Whoosh, whoosh. Swinging the dumbbells quickly, I asked, "By the way, do I really have to attend?" "Given that the branch chief has seen your current state and hasn't said anything about the Usurpation Match, doesn't that mean you should attend?"
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh. "Usurpation Match? It's supposed to be a sacred ritual to carry on the great cause!" "To me, it just looks like a plain old Usurpation Match."
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh. "Two heroes fighting for honor...!" "The moment heroes fight for honor instead of people, isn't that already the problem?"
Thud! The pink dumbbell slipped from my hand and hit the floor. After her words, silence fell. It wasn't particularly heavy, but against the mat, it made a loud sound. Still holding the empty air where the dumbbell had been, I stared at her blankly. She looked back at my dazed expression, clearly flustered by my reaction.
"Uh... I mean, cancel that?" "Like hell you can!"
Thud—thud. I rushed at her and punched. Even if I hit hard it wouldn't hurt, but just in case, I didn't put much force into it. She either realized I was holding back or had been planning to joke around from the start, because she pretended it hurt—
"Ow ow ow. Is it okay for a hero to hit an innocent citizen?"
I froze. "...It was a joke." "The victim doesn't see it that way." "Huuuuurgh...!"
Today, my world had crumbled twice.