Chapter 03: Changes in the Body
“Ngh.”
Hayato opened his eyes once more. As the morning sun streamed through the thin curtains, he confirmed that, yes, this was undoubtedly his room.
The pain in his body still lingered. It seemed difficult to sit up, let alone stand.
Overcome by intense hunger, he endured the pain and crawled towards the refrigerator. Hayato had no memory whatsoever of what was inside. It was a strange sensation, like peeking into someone else’s refrigerator.
It seemed that no time had passed in this world during the period he had gone to the other world and returned. Most likely, ten years hadn’t passed. It was probably one of those things where the flow of time is different between this world and that one. He recalled common tropes from manga and anime. He didn’t know the details, but it was the only explanation he could think of.
As things stood, he had returned to the time immediately after he’d gone to the other world. That was Hayato’s understanding.
In any case, from my perspective, there should be something in the refrigerator that I’d bought ten years ago. Please let there be something I can eat right now. Praying for this, he opened the refrigerator door with a trembling hand.
“Hmm…”
Alcohol and snacks he’d probably bought to have after work, and some seasonings. That was about all there was, and the only things that looked immediately edible were the snacks meant for alcohol. There were no other options. He’d have to stave off his hunger with these. He reached out, took a snack, and ate it while sprawled on the floor. What he’d grabbed was a cheese snack. He popped it into his mouth.
“S-So good…”
It was so delicious it brought tears to his eyes. He also found some jerky, and when he ate that, it was just as movingly flavorful.
Towards the end of the journey to defeat the Demon King, even eating had been extremely difficult. He had staved off hunger with bitter medicinal herbs that had healing properties and quenched his thirst with stamina-recovering potions, all while continuing to fight. Days of bland meals, eaten solely to survive and fight.
Perhaps because he had lived through such days, this ordinary cheese and jerky felt like a luxurious feast served at a royal banquet. After finishing the deeply satisfying meal, he crawled back onto his futon and fell into a deep sleep to heal his exhausted body.
In any case, he would sleep and let his body recover.
After that, he continued a life of finding and eating the instant noodles he had at home, and quenching his thirst with tap water. However, even those supplies ran out in a few days.
The food in the house was completely gone, and he was in a situation where he had to go out and buy more. If he didn’t, he’d have nothing to eat. The excruciating pain in his body had subsided compared to when he first returned. He could feel signs of recovery. But the pain hadn’t completely disappeared yet. It was still eating away at his body.
“Guuh! Hah…”
He psyched himself up and stood. He felt like he could somehow manage to walk. The supermarket was too far. If he were in his usual condition, it wouldn’t be a problem at all. It was probably impossible now. As expected, the nearby convenience store was his only option. Taking only his wallet, he stepped outside his apartment.
“…”
When he went outside for the first time in a while, tears welled up uncontrollably at the nostalgic scenery. That’s right. In the world I was born in, such peaceful scenes existed as a matter of course. The sight of people coming and going freely, cars driving by, and an orderly cityscape.
A peaceful world where people’s faces showed no fear of Demon Kings or monsters. Seeing them, Hayato truly felt that he had returned to his own world.
“Hh-“
Tears flowed endlessly. His body still hurt, so it couldn’t be helped if he cried. However, if he made such a face, the neighbors would look at him suspiciously. Hayato hurriedly wiped his face and then slowly started walking.
“It hurts…”
Even a short distance required more effort to cover than he had imagined. Walking while pretending to be fine, so as not to seem strange to those around him, was also a struggle.
He entered the store, grabbed a basket, and casually tossed some bento boxes into it. Then, he paid. It was over in about ten minutes. That’s right. Shopping was this simple.
He somehow managed to get food, returned home, ate the convenience store bento, and went to sleep.
That kind of life continued for about a month.
“Yeah. I’m okay now. I think.”
Thank goodness. My physical condition has finally recovered. Even when he moved his body, he didn’t feel that excruciating pain. Thanks to taking a good long rest, his body was completely back to normal. In fact, he felt even better than before. Better than back then, when he was constantly fighting in the other world.
Hayato sat cross-legged on his futon, placed a hundred-yen coin on his finger, and flicked it upwards. Before it reached its peak, he moved his hand with blurring speed and caught it. He repeated this motion many times but never once dropped the flicked hundred-yen coin on the floor. He could perfectly track the coin’s trajectory with his eyes. There was no sign of him making a mistake and fumbling the catch. His body control was also perfect.
“I can see perfectly. My body moves as I want it to. Almost too well.”
For the Hayato from ten years ago, before he went to the other world, these movements and this kinetic vision would have been absolutely impossible. Or rather, it was a feat that an ordinary person could never accomplish. But for him now, it was effortless.
That wasn’t all. Every corner of the room was within his field of vision, and he could hear sounds from outside with crystal clarity. The senses he had honed in the other world to detect enemy presence were still alive and well in this world. He couldn’t feel mana, but the intuition and physical abilities he had cultivated through battle definitely remained.
“My body… has become something incredible.”
Hayato lifted the clothes he was wearing to check the condition of his body. His abs were perfectly defined, and his muscles rippled beautifully. If he tensed his arm, an incredible bulge of muscle would appear. Muscles so impressive he thought he could win a bodybuilding competition.
If he clenched his fist with force, he felt like he could crush a walnut to pieces. Superhuman strength that seemed capable of easily tearing through a deck of cards or the pages of a monthly manga magazine. He felt an incredible power coursing through his entire body. Overflowing.
This wasn’t the body of an ordinary office worker. It was the trained body of a warrior from his time as a Hero, from his days of constant battle.
Hayato thought. He had likely returned to this world with his Hero’s body intact. Even though the ten years he had spent in that other world should have been but a moment in this one. The strength of his trained body had indeed been carried over. This power was a testament to all the battles in that world, and the bonds with his companions.