The Blind Love Life of the Returning Hero: The Companions I Lost in Another World Resurrect in the Modern Era and Indulge Me - Episode 3

“Hnn…”

Hayato opened his eyes again. Morning sunlight streamed through the thin curtains. This was definitely his own room.

The pain in his body lingered. Sitting up or standing seemed difficult.

Ravenous hunger hit him. Crawling despite the pain, he made his way towards the refrigerator. He had no memory of what was inside. It felt strangely like peering into a stranger’s fridge.

Seems no time passed here while I was in that other world. Probably not ten years. The flow of time must be different between worlds. He recalled that common trope from manga and anime. He didn’t know the details, but it was the only explanation that made sense.

I came back at the moment just after I left. Hayato accepted this understanding.

Anyway, inside this fridge should be things I bought—subjectively—ten years ago. Please let there be something I can eat right now. Praying, he opened the fridge door with trembling hands.

“Hmm…”

Work drinks and snacks, seasonings. That was about it. The only things immediately edible were the bar snacks. No other choice. This would have to stave off the hunger. He reached in, grabbed a snack, and rolled onto the floor to eat it. Cheese snacks. He tossed one into his mouth.

“Mm… damn, this is good…”

It was so delicious tears nearly welled up. He found some jerky too. Tasting it, the flavor was equally moving.

Near the end of his journey to defeat the Demon King, eating had become incredibly difficult. He’d filled his stomach with bitter medicinal herbs that had healing properties, and quenched his thirst with stamina-recovery potions while fighting on. Days of tasteless meals purely to survive and fight.

After living like that, this utterly ordinary cheese and jerky tasted like a lavish feast at a royal banquet. After a satisfying meal, he crawled back onto his futon and sank into a deep sleep to heal his exhausted body.

For now, sleep and recover.

After that, he scavenged cup noodles from the house, ate them, and washed them down with tap water. But those meager supplies ran out within days.

With the house completely out of food, he had to go out to buy some. Otherwise, he’d starve. The intense pain he’d felt upon returning had lessened. He sensed healing. But it wasn’t gone yet. It still gnawed at him.

“Grr… Hah!”

He psyched himself up and stood. He thought he could probably walk. The supermarket was too far. Normally, it would be no problem. Not now. The nearby convenience store was his only option. Grabbing just his wallet, he stepped outside his apartment.

“……”

Stepping outside after so long, the familiar scenery brought tears welling up uncontrollably. That’s right. In the world I was born in, peaceful scenes like this were normal. People freely coming and going, cars driving, orderly streets.

The expressions on people’s faces held no trace of fear towards Demon Kings or monsters. A peaceful world. Seeing them, Hayato truly felt he was back in his own world.

“Whoa.”

The tears wouldn’t stop. His body still hurt, so crying was understandable. But walking around looking like this would make the neighbors suspicious. Hayato hastily wiped his face and started walking slowly.

“Oww…”

Even that short distance was far harder than he’d imagined. Putting on an act of being fine so he wouldn’t look suspicious was another struggle.

He entered the store, grabbed a basket, and tossed in some bento boxes. Paid. Done in about ten minutes. That’s right. Shopping used to be this easy.

He managed to get food, returned home, ate the convenience store bento, and fell asleep.

That life continued for about a month.

“Hmm. Yeah. I think… I’m okay now.”

Good. His condition had finally recovered. Moving his body didn’t bring that intense pain. Thorough rest had restored him completely. He actually felt better than before. Better than during those days of constant fighting in the other world.

Sitting cross-legged on his futon, Hayato balanced a 100-yen coin on his finger and flicked it upwards. Before it reached the peak of its ascent, his hand blurred, moving with mist-like speed to catch it. He repeated this motion over and over. The coin never hit the floor. He tracked its trajectory perfectly with his eyes. No hint of missing the catch. His body control was flawless.

“Perfectly clear. My body moves exactly as I want. Maybe even too well.”

This kind of movement and dynamic visual acuity would have been absolutely impossible for Hayato ten years ago, before going to the other world. Frankly, it was a feat utterly beyond a normal human. Yet now, it was effortless for him.

That wasn’t all. He could see every corner of the room, and sounds from outside were crystal clear. The senses he’d honed in the other world to detect enemy presences were fully intact here. He couldn’t sense magic, but the intuition and physical abilities forged in battle remained.

“My body… it’s become something incredible.”

Hayato lifted his shirt to check his physique. His abs were sharply defined, muscles beautifully sculpted. Flexing his arm revealed an astonishing bulge of muscle. If I entered a bodybuilding competition, I could probably win. That level of muscle.

Clenching his fist tightly, he felt he could probably crush a walnut to powder. Monstrous strength that could easily tear through a deck of cards or rip pages from a monthly manga magazine. Tremendous power surged through his entire body. Overflowing.

This wasn’t the body of an ordinary office worker. It was the trained body of a warrior. The body he had as the Hero, during those years of constant battle.

Hayato reasoned: I came back to this world with the Hero’s body. Even though the ten years spent over there seemed like an instant here, the strength of his trained physique had clearly been carried over. This power was the proof of all his battles in that world, and the bonds he’d forged with his comrades.