“Huff… huff… huff… huff… huff…”
Masanojo ran with light footsteps, and Kyoka ran alongside him.
The two of them maintained a steady pace while lightly exhaling.
No — it wasn’t Tokyo.
It was now called the Tokyo Central Special District, wasn’t it?
Thinking that casually, Masanojo looked around as he ran through the streets of Tokyo.
Looking at it like this, the cityscape was not that different from the original one, making him almost doubt whether this really was another world.
But then a person running toward him came into view, and he could not help but feel once again that this was indeed a different world.
“— Bow”
“— Bow”
They lightly bowed their heads to each other as they passed.
There was a park within the Special District whose outer perimeter made a decent running course, so Masanojo was making use of it.
However, every single person he passed while running was a woman, and he did not see a single man.
Apparently, men going out for a run at night was not common in this world.
Could the men of this world maintain their health like that?
While thinking such pointless thoughts, Masanojo continued running.
“Huff… huff… huff… huff… huff…”
With a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, he ran at a steady rhythm so as not to disrupt his breathing.
He had expected it, but after being hospitalized for a long time his stamina had dropped considerably.
Even though he was not running particularly fast, his body seemed to be refusing any greater speed.
While feeling pathetic about his lack of stamina, there was also something that impressed him.
He glanced sideways at Kyoka running next to him.
Even though the pace was not that fast, Kyoka was easily keeping up with Masanojo’s speed.
He felt a slight surprise along with a sense of understanding.
From her everyday demeanor he had assumed she possessed reasonably high physical ability, but it seemed to be higher than he had thought.
“— Fuu”
At a good stopping point he halted and stretched and moved his body in a manner similar to dynamic stretching.
It seemed better for this body to move while inserting appropriate rests.
“Kyoka-san, you’re pretty capable, aren’t you?”
“Fufu.
I am a bodyguard, after all.
Moving the body is the most basic of basics.”
“Ah, come to think of it, Kyoka-san is a bodyguard.
I completely forgot.”
“Fufu.”
Apparently all bodyguards trained their bodies.
Well, thinking about it carefully, that was only natural.
A bodyguard who could not move would be meaningless.
“By the way…”
There, Masanojo asked something he had suddenly become curious about.
“Are there male bodyguards?”
“Male ones? This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Yes, of course there are.”
“Eh, really?”
He was surprised by the unexpected answer.
“When protecting men there are quite a few places women cannot enter, so in those cases male bodyguards take over the protection.
And also when protecting foreign dignitaries.
Teachings that say one must not casually come into contact with women are fairly common overseas.”
“Ah, I see.”
Once he heard the reason it made sense.
Even in the religions of his original world, rules such as women not exposing their skin or contact with the opposite sex outside of family being forbidden were fairly common.
That was in a world where the gender ratio was fifty-fifty.
In this world where the ratio was skewed, it would be all the more so.
In that sense, a country like Japan where men and women could interact normally might be rather rare.
After that they exchanged light conversation and resumed running, working up a moderate sweat.
When he confirmed on the device on his wrist that about two hours had passed, he ended the first day’s run.
“Fuu.”
“Fufu.
Good work.”
“Ah!
Thank you very much.”
Kyoka held out a sports drink she had somehow prepared, and Masanojo expressed his thanks as he gratefully accepted it.
“Gulp… gulp… Puhah—… It soaks into my heated body~”
“Fufu.
You’re starting to sound like an old lady, Masanojo-kun.”
“Shouldn’t that be an old man?”
“Because I’ve never seen an old man do that.”
“I see.
That makes sense.”
In this world, middle-aged women were the ones treated that way, huh.
…Wait a minute.
Does that mean here instead of oyaji gags there are obaba gags?
What’s that, it sounds a little interesting.
While thinking silly things, he sat on a bench, stretched his legs, and rehydrated.
“Fuu, the night breeze feels good.”
The season was May, the height of spring.
At night it could feel a little chilly, but for a heated body it felt pleasant.
“After this it would be perfect if I could slowly stretch my legs while soaking in a bath…”
He recalled things from his original world.
During karate training camps and the like, after training he had liked soaking his whole body in the large bath while stretching out.
Because it was a bathing method he could not do at home, it felt special, and that was why he liked it.
“Oh my, do you like baths, Masanojo-kun?”
While he was nostalgically recalling the past, Kyoka called out to him.
“It’s not that I particularly like baths… well, I do like baths, but I was thinking it would be nice if I could get into a big bath after moving my body like this~”
“In that case there’s a good place.
“Heh?”
At Kyoka’s sudden offer, Masanojo could not help letting out a dumbfounded sound.
――――――――――――――――――――
“Ooooooooh————!”
Masanojo’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
What lay before him was a bathtub large enough for an adult to fully stretch out their arms and legs.
The place Kyoka had guided him to was a facility exclusively for bodyguards.
Inside the facility a full set of equipment necessary for various types of training was prepared, making it similar to a certain training gym.
And not only that — saunas, showers, and hot springs were also fully equipped, giving it the feel of a hot spring spa.
As it was a facility exclusive to bodyguards, the security was perfect and infiltration by suspicious persons was impossible.
Naturally there were no general customers either, so the facilities could be used safely.
He had just said it was a facility exclusive to bodyguards, but in reality protectees were also included.
In fact, that aspect seemed to be the stronger one.
When performing protection while out and about, bodyguards and their protectees apparently used facilities like this fairly often, and for that reason such facilities were scattered throughout the country.
For that reason, Masanojo, who was currently a protectee, had obtained the welcome right to use the facility.
“Fuaaaaaa~~~…”
He soaked up to his shoulders in the hot water and savored the supreme feeling.
“This is it… this is it… Fuaa…”
Masanojo wore a slack expression, but right now he was the only one present.
Therefore there was no need to worry about his surroundings.
He would thoroughly enjoy looking pathetic.
“Fuaaa… it feels so goood…”
The pleasure was so great he felt as if he might ascend in a different sense.
“I want to live here…”
Masanojo said something stupid, but the grounds also had lodging facilities fully equipped, so if he wanted to stay overnight it was perfectly possible.
Of course staying out without permission would be bad for his family, so he would not do that, but…
“Fueee…”
His resolve wavered.
After thoroughly enjoying the bath, Masanojo got out and headed to the shared space.
Although it was called a shared space, it was not an open area but rather spaces divided by group, with multiple tables and chairs set up so that several people could use them, and some even had refrigerators fully equipped.
It also seemed possible to eat meals here; if one ordered food via an internal line, it would be delivered.
Incidentally, payment for those things was done with the dedicated device worn on the wrist.
The Protection Agency was seriously amazing.
“Kyoka-san still hasn’t come?”
He looked around the room but could not find Kyoka.
Well, if she was a woman she would need various amounts of time.
Thinking that, Masanojo took a suitable drink from the refrigerator, sat on the tatami, and tilted the drink he held in one go.
“Pufah—!!
It soaks in!!”
He sat on the tatami for a while waiting for Kyoka, but perhaps because it was right after bathing and fatigue had accumulated, Masanojo began to doze off and, following the invitation of drowsiness, eventually fell asleep.