The next day.

Waking up at 4 a.m. as usual, I despaired upon realizing my body hadn’t returned to its original state yet.

Since today was Friday and school would reopen on Monday, I now had only about three days left.

The last time I took the medicine, it took about three days for my body to return to normal, so I wasn’t sure why it hadn’t yet.

‘It can’t be helped.’

All I could do now was try to buy as much time as possible.

Before my parents woke up, I sneaked into the living room, placed the vegetable box I had brought yesterday on the table, and left a note.

[These are the vegetables I got from helping with the farm work at Senior’s house, feel free to use them.]

Then, waking up Saya, who was still sound asleep, I went out for a morning jog.

“Ugh, sleepy…”

It was odd that a ghost liked sleeping at night; she really was unique.

Rubbing my eyes, I gazed at Saya floating in the air and then started to jog lightly.

“Huff, huff, huff, huff.”

My body felt heavier than usual.

Probably because I’d turned into a child.

The efforts of about two years vanished in an instant, but looking back, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Since I’d already been through this once, I was confident I could build my muscles more skillfully if I started over.

Was this what it meant to go back to the beginning?

The course that would usually take 30 minutes took me about an hour, twice as long, and feeling breathless, I collapsed on the grass.

The sky, still without the morning sun, was just beginning to brighten.

Saya, floating in the air, asked me with a weary expression,

“Why do you exercise so hard?”

“Just because. I like it.”

Initially, I started exercising to navigate the unpredictable world of love comedy, but now I do it simply because I enjoy it.

There was a term in exercise called ‘runner’s high’, where it was painful until a certain point, but once you cross that line, endorphins would bereleased in the brain, giving a sense of happiness.

I was experiencing this runner’s high in my fitness routine.

Hearing this explanation, Saya said,

“You are addicted to exercise.”

“I know.”

After replying, I sat up once I caught my breath.

My whole body was drenched in sweat.

Indeed, the high-intensity aerobic exercise I usually did seemed too much for my current body.

After drinking water from a tap, I started practicing Hayate in a secluded clearing.

“Huff!”

Hayate consisted of seven different movements.

The first form, Kamaitachi, originally a technique similar to slashing, was used to strike the opponent’s neck when they let their guard down with bare hands.

Of course, without wrapping qi around it, it was just a regular hand strike.

In the love comedy world, there was no real need to kill someone, so these skills would likely remain mostly sealed.

Next, I was to learn the second form, Hayate, which meant “Gale.”

It was a deadly technique where you would rush at high speed to grab and tear the enemy’s throat.

Originally developed for assassination, this martial art boasted brutal killing power.

I wondered if such techniques really belonged in a peaceful love comedy world, but considering the typical fighting drift in Jump comics, it didn’t seem too strange.

‘Have I unknowingly become immersed in this world?’

This thought gave me the chills.

Fortunately, Hayate had similarities with a technique from the Eight Trigram Palms martial art that I already knew.

Essentially, it involved quickly approaching and grabbing the opponent’s collar in the blink of an eye.

It was easier to understand than Kamaitachi, which I initially found incomprehensible.

I practiced Hayate until dawn and decided to stop as people began to gather in the park.

After all, today wasn’t the only day I had.

“Now… I should go home.”

Honestly, I felt a bit overwhelmed.

Even though my parents spent most of the day at the store, I wasn’t confident I could avoid meeting them at home.

Anyway, I had to go home for breakfast and a shower.

With a face full of worries, I decided to head home with Saya.


“I’m back…”

I quietly spoke and checked the situation inside the house.

Fortunately, it seemed like my parents were not at home.

Entering the kitchen to drink water, I noticed the vegetable box was gone.

It seemed my mother had seen the note I left.

I quickly finished my shower after having a cup of barley tea.

Then, after a quick meal of instant curry, I changed clothes to go out again.

Saya, watching me, asked,

“Going out again?”

“Yeah. First, I need to do something about my current physical state. Then I can meet Ryuji.”

“Then let’s go quickly.”

Her change in attitude from being negative just moments ago was impressive.

I chuckled and looked at her brazen face before picking up the phone I had left on the desk.

She was the only person I could ask for help in this situation.

‘Alexandra Ivanovna Romanova.’

I pressed Sasha’s name, which was on my contact list.

After a brief ring,

Click!

[Kim Yu-seong? What’s the matter all of a sudden?]

Sasha’s voice, which I hadn’t heard in a while, came from the other end of the phone.


The place Sasha chose for our meeting was a luxury hotel near Akihabara.

It appeared she was living in a suite on the top floor of the hotel, rented out entirely.

It was an idea beyond the reach of ordinary people.

When I mentioned Sasha’s name at the front desk on the first floor, the staff courteously guided me.

I took the elevator straight to the top floor.

Ding!

As the doors opened to the left and right, the first thing I saw was the massive body of Boris, a subordinate of Ivan.

I had felt it before when I saw him, but he really was enormously large.

In my current state, much smaller than usual, I had to take several steps back just to see his face.

Standing with his usual expressionless face, he wriggled his eyebrows upon spotting me.

But soon, as if nothing had happened, he spoke in a gruff voice.

“Follow me (Atashi).”

Surprisingly, it seemed Boris had learned Japanese during the time we hadn’t seen each other.

His pronunciation was a bit awkward, but understandable.

However, he spoke like a high school girl, perhaps having learned from anime.

It was probably due to the influence of Sasha, an otaku, but I found it amusing and decided to leave it be.

He would probably be terribly mortified if he found out later.

Following Boris down a short corridor, a spacious living room soon came into view.

There, Sasha sat on a sofa, looking relaxed.

“Have you come? Kim Yu-seong.”

She said so, turned her head, and then stopped abruptly.

She had noticed my shrunken appearance.

“You really have… shrunk.”

I sighed softly.

“There’s no benefit for me to lie about something like this.”

Ignoring that, Sasha stood up and leaned in close, speaking as if intrigued.

“Your shrunken form has its own charm. I prefer muscular types, though.”

I stepped back to avoid her too-close face and realized that my escape path was blocked.

Then, Saya, who was beside me, spoke.

“Shall I help?”

As I hastily nodded, she blew a breath of icy air into Sasha’s ear.

Instantly, Sasha’s body stiffened.

I quickly slipped out of the arm-made lasso at that moment.

Five seconds later, Sasha began moving again, looking down at her body as if amazed.

“What did you just do to me?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

That was the truth.

It was Saya who had done it, not me.

Sasha, who had been staring at me as if interrogating, soon sighed softly and said,

“Well. I guess I’ll understand the details when I hear them. Sit down for now.”

I sat down on the sofa as she suggested.

Meanwhile, Saya was wandering around the suite, looking around with a curious expression.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Oh, I’m not picky.”

“Then I’ll prepare some black tea.”

When Sasha said this and gestured, Boris went into the kitchen.

“Now, to the main point…”

Sasha asked, sitting on the sofa and crossing her legs.

“Can you tell me how your body ended up in that state?”

I nodded and began to speak.

“The story is a bit long. It starts with me going to a ninja village at the suggestion of my senior at school, Senior Fuma…”

“Ninjas!”

Sasha reacted to the specific word.

“Are you talking about that kunoichi we saw before?”

It seemed that Senior Fuma had left a strong impression on Sasha during their first meeting.

“Yes, that’s the person.”

Anyway, the fact that she didn’t question the term ‘ninja’ made it easier to explain the story.

“I went to the ninja village and was ordered by Senior Fuma’s grandfather to defeat a Snow Woman in the mountains behind the village.”

“Wow! A Snow Woman!”

…She didn’t look like it, but her reactions were rich.

I was at a loss for words.

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