Chapter 288 – Pillar West (5)

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“Ugh… Haaa…”

It’s been a while, but maybe it’s because I woke up, my fatigue was relieved considerably.
As soon as I got out of the taxi, I yawned and stretched out, rubbing my eyes and looking around.
In the mountains where the chilly air coldly sticks to the skin, I see a tall fence and a large iron gate that don’t fit at all.

“Where are you?”
“It’s home, are you tired? Shall we go in and rest?”
“House… ? Is this Grape House?”
“…Yes!”

When I came to my senses, I had arrived at Grape’s house before I knew it.
Come to think of it, when I brought up the topic of lodging, I did say that.
He said he didn’t have enough money to pay for the hotel, so why not stay at his house?

I don’t know why I came to Grape’s house before I could answer… It doesn’t matter if it’s not a hotel, but Grape’s house.
No, it was better
It costs nothing, it’s safe, you don’t have to bother about getting a room, and above all, it’s safe.
If Grape was always by my side, there wouldn’t be things like riffs suddenly appearing like before, and even if something negative or whatever appeared, it was safe for now.

“Like… Are you saving on hotel expenses? Anger gave me the room key too? Then, wouldn’t it be okay if I gave Anger the keys to my house and lived together… ?”
“Hmm… No, it’s not that there’s a problem… It’s me, but is the grape okay?”
“Are you okay! However… Feel so good… After, after… Wait a minute, I’ll open it soon…”

Grape smiled strangely and put his wallet against the wall near the door.
Then the iron door opened with a clanking sound, revealing a path beyond the door that looked like a promenade.
Lanterns planted on the ground shine under your feet, and over the forest road, which is a bit short to call it a garden, you can see a large building shining white in the moonlight.

“…Is that a house by any chance?”
“Little… It looks odd… ?”
“Not a little…”

I expected it from the entrance, but Grape’s house was a detached house, not an apartment.
It is surprising that even the highest-ranking executives of True Vision live in single-family homes in an era where land must be saved enough to live in apartments.
But even more surprising than the fact that Grape lived in a single-family house was its strange appearance.

The walls are metal, the roof is also metal, silvery with no paint at all… Lump of metal
The angular house looked more like a bunker than a house.
There is a large empty lot in front of the house, and there are even things that look like exercise equipment installed here and there.

It’s more than a house… Could it be a gym of some sort?
It looks like an old-time gym that can be seen in dramas and movies in the era when there were no negatives.
I walked slowly down the dirt road, looking at a building that looked more like a fitness center than a house.

“Metal… ?”
“Ah… That’s right. It’s fine now that I’ve gotten used to it a bit, but as I continue to strengthen my magic power, it’s getting difficult to control my strength… This is a house built by the National Guard at a time when everything was destroyed with the touch of a hand.”

I remembered Grape lightly crumpling the metal handle in the elevator.
Even now, when Grape loses his temper, he sometimes makes mistakes in controlling his power.
The way I left fingernail marks on the wall in my room, and the way I pressed my back to the point where it creaked during sex… If you can’t control it at all, sure, you might need a house made of metal…

“Is it made entirely of metal?”
“Hmm… Yes, it was made of leaf steel, one of the special alloys developed by the National Defense Force, and everything from the pillars to the roof… Now, the floors and walls are separately laid with carpets and marbles, and the wallpaper is also applied, but at first it was completely made of metal.”
“That… Uh…”

It reminds me of not a house, but a quarantine facility where dangerous monsters are confined.
In other words, if you don’t do that, your power is ignorant enough to destroy everything.
I’m in good shape now, but… It’s also a bit scary.

“Then, things like furniture… ?”
“Oh, something has changed. The mirror was also a polished metal surface, but now it’s just a mirror… Changed the closet to wood, changed the sofa… Now I can control my power well. Still, it’s strong, so there’s nothing bad about it, so let’s leave it as it is… Bed frames and tables are special alloys that cannot be broken no matter what.”
“Something… It’s amazing.”
“…Is it unusual?”
“Well, because Grape needed it… But then you gave me this for free?”
“Ahaha… I’m still paying off the money I bought this house… Even though it was provided as a condition of the contract, it went over the budget, so I had to take out a loan to pay the rest.”
“Ah! So…”

One day, in an interview broadcast during a product collaboration commemorative event, there were a few things I was really curious about since the magical girl Grape said that she lived a company life like an ordinary office worker and had no money.
If she was in 6th place, she would get a decent amount of support, so why the hell is she short of money.
She wonders why she has to work hard to earn money while living her office life apart.

Grape is a diligent magical girl who shoots a lot of commercials, does a lot of collaboration events, dispatches a lot, and does a lot of rescues.
As a magical girl, she works hard and spends all the money she earns somewhere, and she uses the money she earns from working at the company for living expenses.
As for Grape, she doesn’t have ranged magic, so she uses various auxiliary equipment. There were various rumors about whether she was using money to buy equipment, or if her family was sick, but some of her fans No one had been able to give an answer.

Grape’s lack of money is the same reason most people are in her debt.
She was in debt to buy a house, and she had no money to pay it off.
It’s a house that’s on a different level from what ordinary people live in, so the price is probably different.
In an era where land and resources are scarce, it is a special alloy chunk detached house… She deserves to continue her corporate life no matter how much subsidy she receives.

Now is the time to live in an apartment whether you are a high-ranking officer of True Vision or a general of the National Guard.
This house is truly a house that Grape can have because it is a special case among them, since Grape is a top-ranking magical girl.
And, it was also the house where I would live from today.

“That… Is that it?”

I walked slowly, lost in words at the enormous house beyond my imagination, and asked Grape when I saw an empty lot in front of the house.
The exercise equipment placed in the vacant lot was something I had seen several times.
It is a exercise equipment for magical girls that often appeared on Esther’s broadcasts.

Exercise equipment for magical girls is similar to ordinary exercise equipment, but different.
The shape is the same, but there is no weight.
There are only exercise equipment with springs connected to the ground.

“You know what?”
“Isn’t this a gym for magical girls? Appeared on Esther’s training broadcast… ?”
“I’ve been on my show before…”
“Grape doesn’t broadcast often.”

I thought of Esther’s broadcast as I touched the shiny exercise equipment, even though it was likely to get rusty in the rain as much as I was outdoors.
Esther was sitting in this place… Rapid was lying on the exercise equipment next to it.
While Rapid lay still and took a nap, I laid down on the exercise equipment, remembering the broadcast Esther was exercising.

Of course, I didn’t feel Rapid’s warmth.
The metal seen up close was shining with a mixture of blue and orange light.
It’s definitely metal, but when I touch it, it’s strangely warm.

“…Would you like to try it?”
“Can I lift it?”
“Wait a minute, I’ll do it with the lightest tension.”

As I held the bar spring-loaded into the ground, Grape came over and looked down at me to adjust the bar.
I have heard on the air that this exercise equipment is supposed to exercise using a special spring, not a weight.
Grape held the dial on my head with his hand and turned it with a click, then placed his hand under the bar and said.

“Listen. Like this, push up with your arms and chest…”
“Like this?”
“Yes, now, at once, strengthen your strength!”
“Huh!!”

I grabbed the metal bar with all my strength and pushed it upwards as Grape ordered.
I really grit my teeth and push it away, but it doesn’t budge.
It’s to the point where I wonder if I’m playing with a welded rod.

Exercise equipment for magical girls is an exercise equipment for magical girls who use magic to strengthen their bodies.
Rapid is having a hard time, Esther is a little burdened, and Grape and Lily feel light enough to laugh.
That also meant that I, a normal human being, would not budge no matter what I tried.

“Whoa…”

I stopped pushing and got up on the bench press.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to hear it anyway.
I just wanted to feel the power difference between a magical girl and an ordinary human.

“What… ?”

At that time, Grape, who saw me having given up on lifting the bar, was embarrassed and grabbed the bar and lifted it lightly.
The bar swishes up and down, and the springs at each end make a squeaking sound.
Since Grape is a magical girl, of course it would be easy, but it was a strange sight that hurt my pride.

“This is the lightest one, right? .”
“…Are you kidding me for not being able to lift the lightest thing?”
“Mi, I’m sorry!”

I said, glancing at Grape in an act I really couldn’t think of.
Then Grape, startled as if he thought he had made a mistake on me, hurriedly embraced my arm and apologized.
But it’s already too late.

It’s natural that I’m weaker than Grape, but if I openly make fun of it like this, as a man, I can’t help but feel bad.
No matter how stupid you are, being teased for being stupid makes you feel bad.
As I put on a grumpy face in a bad mood, Grape didn’t know what to do, then gently tickled my back with his fingers and said,

“I didn’t say that Anger was weak or made fun of him… I was just surprised that it was this hard… Yes?”

What… ?
Is it an additional provocation disguised as an apology? ?
I stared at Grape silently.

“It would be nice to be strong.”
“I’m a magical girl, so I’m strong… And no matter how hard I count, Anger wins…”
“What nonsense… When did I win?”
“Same as when having sex… This and that…”
“Sex… Was I winning?”

Even if Grape lost to me or stayed still without moving, I never won.
Grape, avoiding my gaze, remained silent for a moment, then grabbed my arm and lifted me off the exercise machine as if nothing had happened.
It seems that he decided that there would be no benefit to himself if he said more about this here.

“Come on, come on… Exercise equipment isn’t fun, so I’ll show you the house! Take a look at the house!”

I was dragged by Grape, who was lightly carrying exercise equipment that I couldn’t carry, and I arrived at the front door made of the same material as the exercise equipment that Grape was lightly carrying.
Grape brought his wallet to the door made of the same material as the exercise equipment I couldn’t lift, opened the door, and started to guide me through the house made of the same material that I couldn’t lift but Grape could.