"Yo! How have you been lately? How many pounds have you gained, Yu!"
"Well~ Thanks to everyone at Grand Blue, I'm having a blast! No parents to supervise me in college! It's a super cool life!"
At the SILVERMAN GYM, Miyazawa Yu, who had changed into a gym shirt he hadn't touched for several months, exchanged a knowing fist bump with the clean-cut young man who had been waiting for a long time.
Both of them looked like long-lost friends, and indeed they were.
Machio Naruzo could be said to be Miyazawa Yu savior. Thanks to him, Miyazawa Yu was able to get a part-time job at SILVERMAN GYM in high school.
After the classic scenario of being caught by his parents and having his allowance cut off, he relied on his gym salary to survive!
"Let me introduce you, this is Toshio-uncle who took me in, although I'm sure you already know him~"
"Of course! How could I forget such a professional dive shop!"
Smiling, Machio Naruzo shook hands with Kotegawa Toshio and then turned to lead the two guests to the fitness area.
"The students for the trial are all currently exercising. As requested by Yu, they are all very cute girls!"
"Oh! Using girls for promotion can indeed enhance the effect. You're very thoughtful, Yu!"
Nodding in approval, Kotegawa Toshio was different from young people like Iori. His focus for the trial candidates was entirely from the perspective of the shop's operation.
Although it was cruel to say so, the promotional effect of a muscle man was far inferior to that of a beautiful girl; this was an eternal rule.
He once tried to use Ryujirou and Tokita's images for promotion, and he almost lost his shirt.
It wasn't until he switched back to Nanaka promotional photos that the proportion of new customers slowly recovered.
"I can't help it. After all, it's the first order, so of course I have to put more thought into it..."
Touching the back of his head shyly, Miyazawa Yu hadn't actually thought so much when he asked Naruzo to find beautiful girls for the trial.
He was simply suffering from aesthetic fatigue from the muscle men of the Pab club, so he urgently wanted to find a few fresh flowers to save his eyes.
"But speaking of which, it must have been tough for you, Naruzo, to find female students in a hardcore fitness club."
"Not at all! Everyone signed up very enthusiastically. My students alone have already filled up the spots. I should be thanking Yu!"
"Eh? Is that so? Has fitness become popular among girls recently?"
Miyazawa Yu was skeptical of Naruzo's statement. With an expression that clearly said 'you must be lying,' he shielded Toshio-uncle behind him.
He knew his own house best. As a lifelong member of SILVERMAN GYM, he knew the nature of this hardcore gym inside and out!
As Machio Naruzo opened the door to the training room, the next second, a blast of hot air poured out.
Miyazawa Yu eyes narrowed, and his muscles instantly tensed, like a Daruma doll rooted to the spot. Only then did he manage to block the muscle surge directed at Kotegawa Toshio.
"Ugh—Ugh—Mmm!!!"
"Oh—Yeah!!"
"One more! One more! Can you hear the sound of your pectoral muscles tearing! One last time!"
Standing still for two seconds, a strange sound effect he had never heard before was added!
Looking at the pulsating muscles and the heavily panting tough men in the room, Kotegawa Toshio showed a flicker of change in his expression for the first time.
It couldn't be helped. Although most of his muscles were trained from moving goods, he had been to a few gyms.
But it was safe to say that there are all kinds of people in the world. Compared to the clean training rooms he remembered, where there were more young men and women, the members of this SILVERMAN GYM seemed too hardcore!
"Ah ah—it's the same as always. That's why I doubt you can find pretty girls."
His face full of speechlessness, Miyazawa Yu stood at the door and lightly coughed twice to draw the attention of all the fitness buffs, then deeply exhaled and lowered his arms, striking the classic Crab Pose!
"Oh! What is this! How is it possible! Such perfect proportions!"
His pupils shrank to pinpoints. Looking at the perfect and healthy pectoral muscles, the fitness buffs involuntarily stopped what they were doing.
Next was the Side Chest Pose!
"My eyes! My eyes! It's Mount Everest! I can't compete!"
Illusions formed before their eyes. In the eyes of the fitness buffs, a majestic Mount Everest suddenly appeared behind Miyazawa Yu.
The curve of his biceps was as cold as the snow peak of an insurmountable mountain!
And finally...
Placing his hands on his front thighs, Miyazawa Yu slightly bent his knees, contracting his core simultaneously—Rear Double Biceps Pose!
"Ah ah ah ah!!! This, this is the face of an Oni (demon)!"
His heart was shaking uncontrollably. When faced with back muscles that resembled a demon's face, even the strongest fitness buffs could not resist the overwhelming demonic aura.
At this point, the three poses were finished. All the muscle men in the gym lost their fighting spirit and turned gray, no longer making strange noises while working out.
"Done! Let me see, where are the cute girls..."
"Um... Yu, what was that just now?"
A few poses acted like a mute button. Kotegawa Toshio, facing the silent crowd, was impressed but confused, so he immediately asked.
However, Miyazawa Yu was also not very clear about it.
"Huh? Is uncle asking about the method to shut up the muscle men? I'm not sure either. The first time I used it, Naruzo seemed to call it Muscle Pressure, right?"
"Precisely! Yu, you've become even stronger..."
With a deeply meaningful smile on his face, Machio Naruzo glanced at his slightly trembling right arm and immediately praised without reservation.
"The so-called Muscle Pressure is the ultimate secret of a fitness practitioner! Only a strong person who has reached the peak has the ability! Yu, is your Muscle Pressure already this powerful?"
"Even if you say that, it's hard for me to understand Muscle Pressure. It's an aura or something like that, right?"
Scratching his head in annoyance, Miyazawa Yu naturally knew about auras. After all, his seniors would always release dark red Demon King auras when playing baseball-rock-paper-scissors.
But whether it was a Demon King aura or Muscle Pressure, they were passive skills for him.
Therefore, he couldn't intuitively understand and control it freely. At most, he could only passively trigger it through his actions.
"That's right! But now, Yu, your Muscle Pressure is still missing one thing. I look forward to the day you complete your Muscle Pressure!"
"Oh oh oh! What happened here? A terrifying aura just passed through!"
As soon as Machio Naruzo finished speaking, a dark-skinned girl with twin tails from the aerobic exercise area next door rushed over, shouting.
She looked in astonishment at the other muscle men who had completely turned gray, and finally focused her gaze on Miyazawa Yu.
"Ah! Clear-cut Muscle Hunk No. 2 has appeared!"
"That's an utterly undeniable nickname..."
Seeing the girl with bared canine teeth looking vigilant, Miyazawa Yu slapped his forehead and quietly leaned close to Machio Naruzo's ear, asking softly: "Hey! Did you trick some little girl with your clean-cut handsome face? She's only a high school student, right!"
"Eh? I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyway, this Miss Sakura Hibiki is one of the trial participants."
The culprit refused to admit anything. As a former colleague, Miyazawa Yu couldn't strongly criticize him for defrauding little girls of their allowance.
Helplessly, he could only squeeze out the kindest smile and extend his hand to the energetic twin-tailed girl: "Hello, my name is Miyazawa Yu. I'm sort of a staff member at Grand Blue. Nice to meet you!"
"Oh! So you're the kind person from the dive shop! Just call me Hibiki. Nice to meet you!"
Although he was also clean-cut, at least the muscle man in front of her was very sincere.
The thought of being able to experience diving at a 60% discount just by taking a few promotional photos immediately made Sakura Hibiki's attitude enthusiastic!
Grabbing Miyazawa Yu arm and shaking it madly up and down, she instantly turned into a curious baby.
"Right! Is food included in the trial class? Can I get a discount for the second time? You won't suddenly drag us into a muscle lecture, right!"
"Wait a moment, Hibiki, you're being too rude!"
Soryuin Akemi, blushing, dragged the talkative Hibiki away, tucked the stray hairs behind her ear from exercising, and bowed deeply.
"It is an honor to meet you here. I am Soryuin Akemi. You can call me Soryuin or Akemi!"
"Oh? Oh... Nice to meet you, Miss Soryuin."
With long black hair and extremely delicate, cool-toned white skin, she must be a young lady from a wealthy family!
Just by the first few glances, Miyazawa Yu immediately judged that the girl in front of him was definitely not a child that could be raised by an ordinary family.
Judging by the Yamato Nadeshiko (idealized Japanese woman) aura emanating from her, could it be...
"Um... may I ask if you are related to the Soryuin school board chairwoman of Oumi Women's University?"
"That is my older sister! Ha... Ha..."
Suddenly leaning in close, heavily panting, the Yamato Nadeshiko aura instantly dissipated from Soryuin Akemi, and hearts inevitably popped out of her eyes.
These perfectly sculpted, full pectoral muscles, these mountain-like trapezius muscles, and these armor-like quadriceps!
Trembling all over, saliva unconsciously drooled from the corner of her mouth. She finally spoke in a misty voice, as if her soul was about to leave her body: "Simply wonderful—!"
"???"
Frozen in place, Miyazawa Yu instinct somehow urged him to run away quickly, or he might be completely devoured by the woman in front of him!
"Wonderful! Too wonderful! He's equal to Mr. Machio, and perhaps even a little bulkier!"
"Seriously, and you said I wasn't modest~ Sorry, this one is a muscle fetishist. No malice intended."
Looking speechlessly at Akemi, Sakura Hibiki turned sideways to reveal the remaining three people behind her and introduced them one by one.
"The one with the beautiful figure is Uehara Ayaka, a boxer from Kōrō Boxing Gym! And this is Satomi Tachibana, our teacher!"
"Hello!"
"You don't have to mention the teacher part~"
"Hello to you too..."
His eyebrows twitching wildly, Miyazawa Yu didn't feel happy at all looking at the four beautiful fitness girls with different styles—
The personal characteristics of this group were too distinct! He had a feeling that Naruzo had found a group of problem children for him!
"Hey, Miyazawa-bro, when is our diving scheduled?"
"Regarding that, since you ladies have just finished working out, your strength will be reduced, and you might cramp up underwater! So, we can wait until tomorrow."
Kotegawa Toshio had to step in for professional questions.
Seeing that the girls were sweating a lot, he immediately suggested postponing the diving date by one day for safety reasons.
"I see... I was inconsiderate. I apologize!"
Machio Naruzo, who only considered his own physique which allowed him to dive even after exercising, apologized with a look of miscalculation.
"No, no! It's us who didn't remind you enough."
"So diving before strenuous exercise is not allowed. Then let's gather again tomorrow! Thank you, Uncle!"
"It's no trouble at all. We will definitely give you the best experience!"
Patting his chest, Kotegawa Toshio couldn't help but show his signature hearty smile and promise, facing the girls' admiring gazes!