Published at 2nd of April 2026 7:13 am

Chapter 2549: A Conversation About the Tea Party ~ ~ The One with Stomachache ~ ~

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

After warming up on the treadmill, we decided to try the bench press. Ive never done it before, but Ive seen it on TV, its the one where you lie on your back and lift a barbell.

[Alright, well take turns doing the bench press here. For now, lets check how much each of you can lift.]

[By the way, is there like an average for this?]

[We did some research when setting up this gym, but since there are large differences between races, its hard to group them all together as Humans. For example, dwarves tend to be strong regardless of gender, while elves are generally weaker. As for differences between men and women, human males tend to be stronger, but in races like mermaids, females are stronger. If we limit it to humans though, the average is about 30 kg for women and 50-60 kg for men.]

[I see]

Can I even lift the average? My arms, how strong are they? I do jog, so my legs are somewhat trained, but my arm strength is basically nonexistent S- Still, even if its just a bit of petty pride, as a guy, I at least want to be stronger than Eris-san.

[Since both big bro and Eris-jou are human, going by trends, big bro should be able to lift a heavier barbell so lets have Eris-jou go first.]

[Understood. I just need to lie down here, right?]

[Yes, Ill support you, so dont worry. Lets start with 20 kg, slightly below average.]

(T/N: Namir refers to herself with atashi, and with their gender not being explicitly stated, with them apparently acting some sort of underling, it should be safe to say Namir is actually female.)

It was a perfectly serious exchange, nothing strange about it at all and yet, I found myself unsure where to look, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

As Eris-san prepared for the bench press, she took off her tracksuit jacket and lay down in just a T-shirt. Of course, thats easier to move in, and Id probably take mine off too when its my turn.

But, well, lying on her back like that in just a T-shirt inevitably emphasized certain distinctly feminine features. I tried to avert my eyes, but every now and then my gaze would flick over without thinking. Turning around completely would basically be admitting I got flustered staring at her chest, so I just did my best to look away and not think about it.

Also, since Im up next, I do want to properly watch how its done.

[Theres no problem at all here.]

[Can you raise and lower it as well? Looks fine. Next, lets try 30 kg, the average for human women.]

[I can definitely feel the weight more than before, but I think Im still okay.]

[Then lets try 40 kg Ive got my hands on it, so theres no risk of it falling. Put some strength into it and lift.]

[Yes fuu ugh]

[Thats good. Youre lifting it properly though at this rate, 50 kg might be difficult. Want to try it once?]

[Kuh ughh I- I can lift it but I- Im sorry, I cant manage to raise and lower it]

[No, no, if you can lift 50 kg at all, thats already well above average. Good work. Take your time and relax your hands Eris-jou, it looks like training at around 35 kg would suit you.]

That barbell I wonder if its weight is being changed with magic? Instead of swapping plates, it felt like the weight shifted whenever Namir-san held her hand over it.

But putting that aside, Eris-san can lift 50 kg huh I- I should at least be able to manage that too, right?

[Alright, next, lets measure big bro as well.]

[O- Okay.]

[How about it? Want to start with the 50 kg Eris-jou lifted?]

[Yeah, lets start at 50 kg.]

Switching places with Eris-san, it was my turn to try the bench press, and I immediately went for 50 kg. I gripped the barbell firmly unn? Ah, this actually feels pretty easy.

[Yeah, this much is no problem at all.]

[Youre lifting and lowering it smoothly, and it looks like youve got plenty of room to spare. If thats the case, shall we try 70 kg next?]

[Got it.]

Next was 70 kg. If I could manage reps here, Id definitely be above average alright unn? This feels pretty light too. Its heavier than before, sure, but nowhere near a problem.

[This is still pretty easy.]

[Ohh, big bro, youve got quite a bit of arm strength. Your reps are smooth too hmm, how about 90 kg? If you can lift that, youd be considered fairly strong for a human male.]

Another jump of 20 kg, bringing it to 90 kg but yeah, this is still completely manageable. Arehh? Am I actually pretty strong? I dont remember doing any strength training, but now that I think about it, Ive been brushing Bell, whos over 5 meters tall maybe thats built me up more than I realized.

[Hmm, big bro it looks like youve still got plenty left in you. Sorry for this, but lets move the barbell aside for a moment could you try pushing against my hands as hard as you can, like youre lifting the bar?]

[O- Okay like this?]

[O- Oh Eh? Big bro, youre not using any Body Strengthening Magic, right? Thats strange. Arehh? With this kind of strength you could probably handle around 200 kg, you know?]

[Eh? Ehh, n- no, as expected, thats too much]

According to Namir-sans estimate, my arm strength is enough to bench press 200 kg but if I really had that kind of muscle, wouldnt I be way more jacked?

Which means yeah, this isnt normal. It feels like something other than raw muscle is at play, like theres some kind of strange modifier boosting my strength.

Serious-senpai : [Eh? What in the heck?]

? ? ? : [Well, I mean, have you seen just how many blessings this guy is loaded with? Even if each one only has a small effect, when you stack them all together, they end up massively boosting his base physical abilities. And there are also blessings that apply modifiers under specific conditions. Since hes terrible at Body Strengthening Magic and the multiplier he gets from it is ridiculously low, hes always seemed weaker compared to others when using Body Strengthening Magic, so he never noticed until now Though, when it comes to the bench press, theres probably some kind of modifier kicking in. Like, maybe when he tries to lift something heavy without using Body Strengthening Magic, a strong bonus activates, something like that seems likely But hes got way too many blessings, and he himself is barely aware of them, so even I cant grasp the full picture. Its honestly a pain to figure out]

Serious-senpai : [I see Well, I guess Ill go make my preparations]

? ? ? : [Whats with that tool?]

Serious-senpai : [I had Makina make it in preparation for tomorrow. Considering shes always chomping down on my body, Id say this much is only fair.]

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