This world was populated not just by humans but also many hybrids like Oltea and Frieze. They looked different, of course, but the largest difference between humans and hybrids had to do with the presence of magical ability.
Rather than technology born of scientific advancement, magic had been the motive force in developing this world. Hybrids, though, were unable to use it. It was like being unable to use electric appliances: they couldn’t turn on the lights, draw water from the tap, or take advantage of other basic conveniences. Finding work wasn’t easy for them either. Hybrids were often overburdened and exploited by mean-spirited and uncaring human employers.
Oltea, in fact, had been drowning in debt before she met me, and Frieze had made a living by wagering her own freedom.
“Really, we can’t ever thank you enough, Kaito. Living in this incredible house is a dream come true!” Oltea said.
“Don’t mention it. Have you gotten tired of looking at the castle every day yet?” I asked.
“I don’t think I ever could,” Oltea replied.
“I can’t imagine Oltea getting bored of that,” Frieze said, laughing. “Just this morning, she was staring at it like she was spellbound.”
It was Oltea’s dream of living in a house with a view of the castle that had been the deciding factor in choosing to purchase this home. Making my friend’s dreams a reality was as good as pursuing my own happiness.
“If it makes you happy, then it was worth the move,” I said.
After I first arrived in this world, the three of us had lived in Oltea’s house for a while. At only eight tatami mats in size, however, it ended up feeling a bit cramped. Beyond that, living true to my desire to collect led to the room overflowing with my personal belongings. We decided to move before someone got hurt tripping over all the accumulated stuff and, in the end, wound up in this house.
It had cost eight hundred gold, which, converted, amounted to eighty million yen. Unable to just slap that kind of money down on the table, we’d been obliged to take out a loan. It wasn’t entirely paid off yet, but luckily, thanks to my laser beam, I was able to earn a healthy living as an adventurer. Instead of being overwhelmed by the burden of repayment, we were able to live in comfortable, moderate excess.
I had already satisfied my desire to pet animal ears, but thinking about laser beams had me itching to fire one off. I wanted to shoot a beam ASAP!
“After we eat, shall we head to the guild?” I asked.
The two of them, having already been waiting, nodded. “Rumble rumble!” groaned their stomachs in agreement.
After enjoying breakfast at the bakery nearest our home, we walked to the guild beneath a cloudless sky.
“You just can’t beat fresh baked bread! The smell, the way it feels in your mouth... Fantastic. Leftovers just aren’t the same,” I said.
“It’s half the price, but old bread is so dry, crumbly, and bland,” said Oltea “The stuff we had today was absolutely delicious. Thanks for treating us, Kaito!”
“I feel bad that you’re always buying us food. Should I make it up to you by carrying you on my back the rest of the way to the guild?” Frieze asked.
“I appreciate the thought,” I said, gratefully.
The sight of a twenty-nine-year-old man loaded onto a sixteen-year-old girl’s back would surely be a spectacle, and not one I wanted to be a part of.
“I’d like to return the favor once in a while, you know...” Frieze said.
“We’re friends! You don’t need to think of it like that. Besides, I need to do my own walking or else I’ll start putting on extra pounds,” I said. I was already pushing it by using my beam powers to fly everywhere. Doing so satisfied my urges, and I preferred to use my lasers whenever I got the chance, but my thirties were fast approaching, waiting in the wings, and it wouldn’t always be so easy to keep my weight in check.
I wasn’t all that concerned about my appearance, but without any exercise, my health would suffer. I had never been attached to my own life before, but things were different now. For the sake of securing my own longevity, a moderate amount of exercise was going to be a necessity.
The distance between the bakery and the guild was about what would separate one train station from another back home. Just right for getting a bit of cardio.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about getting fat, Kaito,” Oltea said. “Actually, I think your abdominal muscles are even starting to firm up a bit!”
“Yeah, you really don’t look like you’re getting fat at all,” Frieze said, then paused. “Wait, how do you know his abs are getting stronger? Are you...taking off his clothes while he sleeps or—”
“N-No, I would never do something so disgraceful! I only know because whenever we fly, I cling to him!” Oltea said.
At Oltea’s response, understanding came over Frieze’s face. Then, as if she’d just thought of it, she said, “Cling to him, you say... Speaking of clinging, I can’t help but feel that you’ve felt a little softer lately, Oltea.”
“Eh?! Really?!”
“Really. Your stomach is feeling a little more tender.”
“My stomach...is...” Oltea muttered. She hung her head in apparent shock. She patted her stomach as if to check, murmuring “Soft... Tender...” in disbelief.
“I-I’m sorry!” Frieze said, panicked. “I didn’t mean to make you sad! I just... I meant that it feels really nice when I hold on to you! Clinging onto your soft body when we fly around in the sky keeps me calm! Or, I mean, it would if I got scared, which I don’t.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” Oltea said dejectedly. “It’s my fault that I got fat, anyways. I’ve been eating too much. I’m always guzzling down beer too... I mean, how do you stay so thin even though we have such similar lifestyles?”