I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace (WN)

Chapter 2549 - A Conversation About the Tea Party ~ ~ The One with Stomachache ⑦ ~ ~

After warming up on the treadmill, we decided to try the bench press. I’ve never done it before, but I’ve seen it on TV, it’s the one where you lie on your back and lift a barbell.

[Alright, we’ll take turns doing the bench press here. For now, let’s check how much each of you can lift.]

[……By the way, is there like an average for this?]

[We did some research when setting up this gym, but since there are large differences between races, it’s hard to group them all together as Humans. For example, dwarves tend to be strong regardless of gender, while elves are generally weaker. As for differences between men and women, human males tend to be stronger, but in races like mermaids, females are stronger. If we limit it to humans though, the average is about 30 kg for women and 50-60 kg for men.]

[I see……]

……Can I even lift the average? My arms, how strong are they? I do jog, so my legs are somewhat trained, but my arm strength is basically nonexistent…… S- Still, even if it’s just a bit of petty pride, as a guy, I at least want to be stronger than Eris-san.

[Since both big bro and Eris-jou are human, going by trends, big bro should be able to lift a heavier barbell…… so let’s have Eris-jou go first.]

[Understood. I just need to lie down here, right?]

[Yes, I’ll support you, so don’t worry. Let’s start with 20 kg, slightly below average.]

(T/N: Namir refers to herself with atashi, and with their gender not being explicitly stated, with them apparently acting some sort of underling, it should be safe to say Namir is actually female.)

It was a perfectly serious exchange, nothing strange about it at all…… and yet, I found myself unsure where to look, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

As Eris-san prepared for the bench press, she took off her tracksuit jacket and lay down in just a T-shirt. Of course, that’s easier to move in, and I’d probably take mine off too when it’s my turn.

But, well, lying on her back like that in just a T-shirt inevitably emphasized certain…… distinctly feminine features. I tried to avert my eyes, but every now and then my gaze would flick over without thinking. Turning around completely would basically be admitting I got flustered staring at her chest, so I just did my best to look away and not think about it.

Also, since I’m up next, I do want to properly watch how it’s done.

[……There’s no problem at all here.]

[Can you raise and lower it as well? ……Looks fine. Next, let’s try 30 kg, the average for human women.]

[I can definitely feel the weight more than before, but I think I’m still okay.]

[Then let’s try 40 kg…… I’ve got my hands on it, so there’s no risk of it falling. Put some strength into it and lift.]

[Yes…… fuu…… ugh……]

[That’s good. You’re lifting it properly…… though at this rate, 50 kg might be difficult. Want to try it once?]

[……Kuh…… ughh…… I- I can lift it but…… I- I’m sorry, I can’t manage to raise and lower it……]

[No, no, if you can lift 50 kg at all, that’s already well above average. Good work. Take your time and relax your hands…… Eris-jou, it looks like training at around 35 kg would suit you.]

That barbell…… I wonder if its weight is being changed with magic? Instead of swapping plates, it felt like the weight shifted whenever Namir-san held her hand over it.

But putting that aside, Eris-san can lift 50 kg huh…… I- I should at least be able to manage that too, right?

[Alright, next, let’s measure big bro as well.]

[O- Okay.]

[How about it? Want to start with the 50 kg Eris-jou lifted?]

[Yeah, let’s start at 50 kg.]

Switching places with Eris-san, it was my turn to try the bench press, and I immediately went for 50 kg. I gripped the barbell firmly…… unn? Ah, this actually feels pretty easy.

[……Yeah, this much is no problem at all.]

[You’re lifting and lowering it smoothly, and it looks like you’ve got plenty of room to spare. If that’s the case, shall we try 70 kg next?]

[Got it.]

Next was 70 kg. If I could manage reps here, I’d definitely be above average…… alright…… unn? This feels pretty light too. It’s heavier than before, sure, but nowhere near a problem.

[This is still pretty easy.]

[Ohh, big bro, you’ve got quite a bit of arm strength. Your reps are smooth too…… hmm, how about 90 kg? If you can lift that, you’d be considered fairly strong for a human male.]

Another jump of 20 kg, bringing it to 90 kg…… but yeah, this is still completely manageable. Arehh? Am I actually pretty strong? I don’t remember doing any strength training, but now that I think about it, I’ve been brushing Bell, who’s over 5 meters tall…… maybe that’s built me up more than I realized.

[Hmm, big bro…… it looks like you’ve still got plenty left in you. Sorry for this, but let’s move the barbell aside for a moment…… could you try pushing against my hands as hard as you can, like you’re lifting the bar?]

[O- Okay…… like this?]

[O- Oh…… Eh? Big bro, you’re not using any Body Strengthening Magic, right? ……That’s strange. Arehh? With this kind of strength…… you could probably handle around “200 kg”, you know?]

[Eh? Ehh, n- no, as expected, that’s too much……]

According to Namir-san’s estimate, my arm strength is enough to bench press 200 kg…… but if I really had that kind of muscle, wouldn’t I be way more jacked?

Which means…… yeah, this isn’t normal. It feels like something other than raw muscle is at play, like there’s some kind of strange modifier boosting my strength.

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [Eh? What in the heck……?]

? ? ? : [Well, I mean, have you seen just how many blessings this guy is loaded with? Even if each one only has a small effect, when you stack them all together, they end up massively boosting his base physical abilities. And there are also blessings that apply modifiers under specific conditions. Since he’s terrible at Body Strengthening Magic and the multiplier he gets from it is ridiculously low, he’s always seemed weaker compared to others when using Body Strengthening Magic, so he never noticed until now…… Though, when it comes to the bench press, there’s probably some kind of modifier kicking in. Like, maybe when he tries to lift something heavy without using Body Strengthening Magic, a strong bonus activates, something like that seems likely…… But he’s got way too many blessings, and he himself is barely aware of them, so even I can’t grasp the full picture. It’s honestly a pain to figure out……]

Serious-senpai : [I see…… Well, I guess I’ll go make my preparations……]

? ? ? : [What’s with that tool?]

Serious-senpai : [I had Makina make it in preparation for tomorrow. Considering she’s always chomping down on my body, I’d say this much is only fair.]