He knew himself well.
Hayashi wasn't the type to overestimate himself—quite the opposite. He had a very clear understanding of his own personality! He was lazy and lacked perseverance. It wasn't that he couldn't stick to a workout routine, but it would require a tough mentor by his side to supervise and force him through it!
And even then, Hayashi would probably whine the whole time about how tired he was, how hard it was, how he didn't want to do it anymore, how he just wanted to slack off—at which point the mentor would either have to patiently coax him or simply shut him up with brute force.
Get to work (whipping sound)!
Honestly, he was a real handful!
Precisely because he knew his own nature, Hayashi suggested finding items to enhance his body instead of accepting Gin's training offer. After all, he was a little worried his troublesome personality might annoy Gin.
"Finding items to strengthen your body?" Gin blinked, then quickly caught on—Hayashi's subtext was that he wanted to take the easy way out, using external means to gain a healthy physique. However, he didn't show any disdain or disapproval. Instead, he stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "If such items really exist, that wouldn't be a bad option."
"Huh? I thought you'd say something like 'relying on shortcuts is shameful'..." Gin's response caught Hayashi off guard. He scratched his head. "Someone like you should believe abilities should be earned through hard training, right?"
"Black cat or white cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat," Gin chuckled. "Besides, the choice is yours. I have no right to dictate what you should do, do I?"
"That answer makes me feel kind of ashamed," Hayashi sighed, rubbing his face. "Now I feel like refusing to even try would be letting you down."
"Oh? Then let's give it a try!" Gin's eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he said eagerly, "Don't worry! I'm very experienced—I'll take it step by step to make sure you enjoy the process of muscle training!"
"Whoa, no thanks! I'm really troublesome—" Hayashi quickly raised his hands defensively and hurriedly explained his "troublesome traits" to Gin. "…That's why I don't want something like this to affect our relationship."
"I see, so that's your personality?" Gin stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded. "Hmm, that does sound pretty troublesome!"
"Right? So let's just drop it! I remember there are plenty of things that can enhance physical strength." Seeing Gin relent, Hayashi grinned. "Let's just leave it at that! Ahh, I'm really looking forward to enjoying good food for the next six months—"
"Wait, I have one last question about this." Gin blinked and tilted his head slightly as he studied Hayashi, then asked curiously, "Let's assume you actually get your hands on a body-enhancing potion—one that gives you an enviable, perfectly sculpted physique…"
"Huh?"
Gin crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched Hayashi's puzzled expression. "Do you think, given your lifestyle and knowledge of fitness, you'd be able to maintain that muscular body?"
"..."
Hayashi froze. He had never even considered that before!!
"Seems like you haven't thought about it at all." Gin chuckled before continuing, "Muscles and physique gained too easily aren't something the owner tends to cherish. If you don't exercise properly to maintain them and just indulge in eating recklessly, your figure could easily deteriorate in half a year. What then? Would you try to get another body-sculpting item? But those probably have usage restrictions, right?"
"Ah, w-well…" Hayashi stammered, his face twisting into a conflicted and troubled expression—Gin was right, wasn't he? Even if he somehow obtained a bat-wing back, a tapered waist, defined abs, and an eight-pack through external means, could he really keep all those muscles in shape?
Without good lifestyle habits… it'd be impossible, right?!
Seeing Hayashi's wavering expression, Gin couldn't help but smile faintly. He said softly, "Even if you can achieve a perfect physique through other means later, maintaining good habits is absolutely essential! Right? So, why not train with me now? At least build a foundation—it'll make things much easier in the future!"
"But my personality is really troublesome—"
Noticing that Hayashi was just one step away from being convinced, Gin laughed heartily and slung an arm around his shoulders. "No problem! You already told me about it, didn't you? I'll just ignore your resistance!"
"T-that's…"
"Relax! I'll personally prepare your fitness meals—guaranteed to taste great!"
"Uh, well…"
"Alright! Stop overthinking it, let's go!" Gin gestured towards Jōichirō, who was snickering in the corner with his hand over his mouth, then wrapped an arm around a bewildered Hayashi and headed for the door.
...
...
"Huff… huff… huff…"
At this moment, Hayashi was lying on the gym floor, drenched in sweat, panting like a broken bellows. Yet, his rapid gasps did little to ease his suffering—instead, they left him dizzy and suffocated.
"Young Hayashi, this won't do!" Gin looked down at Hayashi, who was sprawled out like a starfish on the floor, and said with concern, "You can't just lie down right after exercising. You need to move around a bit, or tomorrow will be re~al~ly~ painful~, you know?"
"I know all that—" Hayashi struggled to move his lips, his voice hoarse as he gasped out, "But right now, I don't even have the strength to twitch! Even if a shiny Machamp tried to do something to me, I wouldn't be able to resist!"
If it had been Jōichirō—that shameless old man—standing here, he'd probably have grinned and said something like, "Hey, are you hinting at something? No no, my tastes are strictly normal, you know!"
"Your stamina is completely lacking!"
"That's my line! Yours is downright monstrous! This is fraud, this is a scam!" Hayashi's voice was thick with indignation.
To be fair, though he'd been roped into this by Gin, Hayashi had mustered a fleeting burst of enthusiasm on the way over. He'd mentally prepared himself to approach this first training session—at least the first one—with the right attitude!
And the result?
The result was that after gritting his teeth, glaring fiercely, and pushing through each of Gin's exercises with sheer willpower, just as he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, Gin cheerfully announced, "Alright! Warm-up's about done. Let's get started for real!"
Hayashi's mind flooded with question marks: 'Wait, look me in the eyes and say that again!?'
Warm-up? You're calling this level of exercise a warm-up!?
Impossible desu!
With his spirit utterly spent, Hayashi crumpled to the floor. The fatigue and resentment he'd barely suppressed with his third-rate willpower instantly overwhelmed him.
"Hmm, judging by your performance, your physique is even weaker than I thought—" Gin scratched his head in frustration, muttering, "That shouldn't be the case! Even the girls at Tōtsuki have better stamina than you…"
"That's probably just survivorship bias, right?" After resting for a few minutes and regaining some strength, Hayashi weakly sat up and forced a smile. "This world revolves around gourmet food and chefs, so the students you meet have all trained in cooking—I remember chefs need to practice things like flipping woks, right? That takes a fair bit of stamina and strength."
"That does make some sense—" Gin stroked his chin, then crouched in front of Hayashi with a grin. "Tell you what, how about you learn cooking from me too?"
"Whoa! Don't mess with me! My cooking skills are still at the level of instant noodles!" Hayashi grumpily pushed away Gin's face and said, "And I mean the kind where you just drop the noodle block, sprinkle the seasoning, wait a few minutes, and dig in!"
"All the more reason you're easier to teach since you have no culinary foundation!" Gin winked mysteriously at Hayashi. "Don't you want to impress a girl you like someday by showing off your cooking skills? Win her heart through her stomach so she'll never leave you!"
"I'd rather find a girl who can cook, prepare a table full of steaming hot dishes, and then ask me, 'Honey, would you like to eat first, take a bath first, or have me first—'" Hayashi clasped his hands behind his head, adopting a slacker's pose. "Bonus points if she's wearing nothing but an apron! Now that's a man's romance!"
"Oh? So that's your type—" Gin immediately flashed a knowing grin, rubbing his chin. "Then you should learn cooking even more! Tōtsuki is full of super cute girls! If you pick up culinary skills, you'll have the perfect advantage, won't you?"
"I never thought you were this kind of guy, Gin!" Hayashi squinted at him. "Aren't you afraid those female students will hear this, grab their kitchen knives, and send you straight to the 'good end'?"
"Good end?"
"It's like—" Hayashi drew a finger across his throat, stuck out his tongue, rolled his eyes, and mimed collapsing dead. "—This!"
"Ahem! Don't worry, they can't beat me." Gin joked before standing up and stretching. "You've rested enough. Time to resume training!"
"..." Hayashi twitched his lips, then flopped onto the ground with his eyes closed, muttering weakly, "Hayashi Sora is dead. Burn offerings if you need me."
Slacking off begins!
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