"Nn... ugh...!"
Souma woke up in the futon at his family home.
(I'm back on Earth, huh.)
With his still-sleepy mind, he recalled what happened in Mistoria.
After leaving the Great Temple, he parted ways with Elena and stayed at an inn.
He took a bath, got cleaned up, and then got into bed.
He thought he'd just sleep normally, but right before that, he had a brilliant idea.
Like any guy his age, he used his imagination to get himself in the mood.
Priestess Elena, the innkeeper Irene, Marida from the Adventurer's Guild...
He pictured doing this and that with various women, and was enveloped in bliss.
Then, at the peak of it all, he blacked out, leading to now.
(I can't do this kind of thing at home since I don't have my own space...)
Satisfied with this new way to utilize Mistoria, Souma's Sunday began.
---
◇
That day, Souma was unusually free.
Usually, he'd work on Sundays, but he wasn't scheduled today.
Plus, there was no school, so he had nothing to do.
(Maybe I'll do some spot work.)
Souma leaned his elbows on the low table in the living room and fiddled with his phone.
"Spot work" meant things like Uber Eats or DoorDash.
Hoping to cover some living expenses, Souma worked whenever he had free time.
(Before, I used to pick only easy jobs like warehouse work to avoid straining my body, but now I could probably earn more easily doing physical labor at construction sites.)
While operating his sluggish phone, Souma browsed for jobs.
(It's a bit sad that I have to do these low-paying jobs, even though I already have the strength to make it as an adventurer...)
To work as an adventurer, you need to graduate from an adventurer school.
For Souma now, that system was nothing but a shackle.
(Concert venue setup. Looks like pure physical labor. The pay is good too. I'll go with this.)
Souma applied for the job.
The next moment, it was approved, and the time and meeting place were displayed.
"Alright."
Souma stood up and slid open the fusuma door.
He called out to his mother, Namie, who was washing dishes in the kitchen.
"I'm heading to my part-time job."
"Okay, have fun."
Namie looked at Souma's face.
She only meant to glance, but was surprised and stared intently.
"What's wrong, Souma?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You look so happy. I haven't seen that look on your face since your father passed away."
"Really?"
Souma checked his face in the living room mirror.
He couldn't tell for himself, but he thought his complexion looked good.
"Did something good happen?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. I'm confident I can make it as an adventurer now. It'll be a few years from now, but look forward to it, because I'll be able to repay you for everything."
"What are you talking about?"
Namie laughed happily.
"Just you being born, growing up healthy like this—that's more than enough repayment for me. You don't have to force yourself to do dangerous work like being an adventurer."
"I'm not forcing myself."
Souma said with a bright, lively smile.
---
◇
"Hey, you're amazing!"
"Even though you look scrawny, you're stronger than me!"
"This is a great helper we've got!"
Thanks to Souma, the concert venue setup work was finished in an instant.
(As expected, having an Overall Power of 1682 lets me display superhuman strength.)
Even though he did nearly a hundred times the work of an average person, Souma hadn't broken a single sweat.
The reason for that was his Overall Power.
Overall Power literally quantifies the body's total abilities into a number.
This includes things like dynamic vision and reflexes.
Strength and stamina are particularly easy to see reflected in the number.
Training like that of athletes or bodybuilders is considered effective.
However, ordinary humans have limits.
Just because you do strength training every day doesn't mean your strength will increase indefinitely.
The same goes for other abilities.
But for Souma, there was no upper limit.
Because when his level goes up, his Overall Power automatically increases.
And the increased numbers are properly reflected in his performance.
"Hey, Kamishiro-kun, I'll pay you five times today's wage, so won't you come work for us next week too?"
A man from the company handling the venue setup tried to recruit Souma.
"Sorry. I usually have other part-time jobs..."
"Come on, don't say that, please. I'll pay you ten times if I have to! We're desperate for help!"
"Ten times...!"
Souma's resolve wavered.
It was an amount incomparable to his convenience store job, so it couldn't be helped.
"I'm sorry, but while I appreciate the offer..."
Even so, Souma refused.
(I owe a debt of gratitude to the convenience store that hired me. Senpai Yuki is there too. I can't just quit...!)
Yuki's face floated in Souma's mind.
After her face, her cleavage and exposed thighs came to mind.
(Crap...! I'm going to have to 'take care of this' in Mistoria again...!)
To get through the moment, Souma escaped into a portable toilet.
---
◇
After his shift ended, Souma headed home.
The plastic bag in his right hand contained cake.
It was shortcake, Namie's favorite.
(Thanks to my high Overall Power, I'm not tired at all. Maybe I'll keep doing hard physical labor until I graduate school. It's not like my Overall Power grows no matter how hard I try in this world anyway.)
While walking along the sidewalk, Souma thought about what to do next.
(Leveling up is good, but I also want to learn more about the world of Mistoria. After all, thanks to the Goddess, I know I can keep going back and forth between Earth and Mistoria from now on.)
That's when it happened.
"KYAAAAAA!"
At the same time as the scream, he heard a booming "HOOOOOONK!" from a truck's horn.
"What's that?"
Souma turned his gaze about twenty meters ahead.
There was a crosswalk.
Despite the red light, a little girl was crouched in the middle of the road.
She had tripped and hurt her ankle while jaywalking.
A large truck was about to plow into her.
It was blaring its horn and hitting the brakes, but it wouldn't stop in time.
The truck seemed to be going way over the speed limit, moving incredibly fast.
"Crap!"
"That kid's gonna get run over!"
The people around turned pale.
But no one could do anything to help.
(A normal person couldn't, but with me...!)
Without hesitation, Souma ran to save the little girl.
He tossed the precious cake aside and sprinted down the sidewalk at full speed.
"What the hell!?"
"I thought it was an F1 car, but it's a human!?"
As the surrounding people gasped in shock, he rushed to the little girl's side.
"Waaah, I'm scared, I'm so scared..."
"It's okay now. Big brother came to save you."
Souma tried to scoop up the sobbing girl and evacuate to the sidewalk.
But—
(No good! I can't get out of the way in time!)
By the time Souma had picked up the girl, the large truck was within one meter.
Even if he could move at speeds rivaling an F1 car, it wouldn't be enough.
CRASH!
The large truck slammed into Souma's back.