Chapter 10 - Muscle Master

Three months later.

"Good morning bos--- whoah.." Fumio is stunned to see all sorts of potted plants in Red's apartment.

"So this is where you put all the things you had me buy?" Fumio says as he carefully treads while looking around.

"Yep." Red nods.

"Is this really your place, or your f*ckin garden?" This is the first time he visited Red's home since he started working for him.

"What? I live alone. My bedroom and kitchen is enough for me." Red says.

"Psh.. Good for you. Anyways. They look really vibrant, and they're not exposed to sunlight. Tell me, sir is your superioris ability have something to do with plants?" Fumio asks. He had been curious about Red's superioris ability since he was hired.

"Pretty much. Anyways. How did it go in the business office?" Red asks.

"You can finally open your massage clinic, boss. *sniff* AHHHH… I don't know why, but why do I feel like a father seeing the clinic?" Fumio says, starting to tear up.

For three months, Fumio has done all sorts of things for Red. It includes registering a permit for Red's massage clinic, buying the herbs and seeds that Red needs, researching other massage clinics, and buying the furniture and equipment a massage clinic needs.

"Uhn. Your job for the clinic is done. I can take over from here." Red says.

"*sigh*… I wish I didn't have to be so efficient. That way, I can squeeze you more for money." Fumio says in disappointment.

"What are you talking about? Your job for me isn't done." Red says.

"W-what?" Fumio asks in surprise.

"Yes. I can handle all the things in the shop from now on. On the other hand, you have new tasks." Red says.

"New tasks?..." Fumio is more than pleased that he is not getting fired.

"Go sit at the chair in the terrace. I'll join you in a moment." Red says as he goes to his bedroom. Fumio can only follow the orders in confusion.

A moment later, Red joins Fumio at the terrace.

"Here." Red hands Fumio a manila envelope.

"What's this." Fumio asks as he opens it.

"Your next task." Red says.

"…hmmm… Isao Miyashiro… Koga Dai… Hayashi Ayako… Why do they look familiar?" Fumio asks as he goes through the files and photographs.

"They're wanted criminals." Red says.

"Oh! That's right. I saw posters of them on the train!" Fumio recalls.

"Yes. Your next task. Find them." Red says.

"… What?" Fumio is stunned.

"Wait…" He then starts reading the files more.

"Wait! These are D-class superiori! I'm not suicidal!" He complains.

"Did I tell you to fight them?" Red asks.

"Uhh… no. So I'm really only gonna look for them?" Fumio asks.

"Yes. I'll give you a huge bonus too, if what you find out is useful." Red says.

"… I'll do it!" Fumio accepts immediately.

"That easy, huh? It has some risks. These are killers." Red says.

"Like you said, boss. I'm not going to fight them …" Fumio starts giggling.

"What's wrong with you?" Red is confused at the reaction.

"Boss. When else can I play private detective while getting paid?" Fumio says.

"Alright. Do well. But be careful." Red says.

"Okay… wait. Information about these people have a price, right?" Fumio asks, with a gleam in his eyes.

"Hahahaha. Yeah. They do. Are you worried I'll be taking credit?" Red asks.

"No boss. Come on. I know you don't need the money. But… I need it." Fumio admits shamelessly.

"Well. You can give the information you find to the police if you want to. But give me 12 hours before you do." Red says.

"12 hours? Wait... boss. Why are you looking for them? Are you gonna help them hide?" Fumio asks.

"Help… No. These people have a debt to pay." Red says.

"Debt?"

"Yes. Debt. These three killed the person I'm most thankful for in this world." Red says.

"…" Fumio is stunned at how serious the matter is.

"You're not gonna fight them, are you? You're a non-combat Superioris!" He asks in worry.

"Who said I'm gonna fight them? They'll be.. never mind." Red shrugs.

"That's the sterile solution I asked?" He says, seeing the plastic bag by Fumio's foot.

"Ah. Yes." Fumio can only drop the matter, seeing that Red does not want to talk about it.

"Hey Boss. Why do they look like IV for patients? Are you sick? You've been having me buy these for months." Fumio asks.

"Sick… No. These are different. These are for washing and mixing medicine." Red says.

"Oh… mixing medicine, huh. You really sound like an expert." Fumio says.

"Yeah. Wanna give my massage a try? I haven't practiced in years so I need to warm up." Red says.

"Ohhh. It'd be an honor!" Fumio says excitedly.

"Alright. Let's do it in the clinic. It's just a five-minute walk anyways."

~

"Ahh… I know it's all yours boss, but… I feel like I built this place." Fumio remarks as him and Red step in the humble looking massage clinic.

The furniture at the waiting area, the tatami floor and sliding doors of the massage room, makes the clinic look very traditional.

"You practically did." Red says.

"Ehhh. But boss. Are you really sure naming the clinic 'Muscle Master'? It sounds like it is owned by a physical type superioris." Fumio asks.

"What's wrong with the name? It's honest. Straightforward. I'm a master of muscles after all." Red says.

"Hmm... You sound confident as hell... By the way. What work did you do here, boss? It feels like I'm the one who did all the work." Fumio playfully rudely asks.

"Oh… That room I'm not allowing you to see." Red says.

"Oh?" Fumio gets curious.

"Wanna take a look?" Red asks as he goes and unlocks the room.

"… Sure…" Fumio is too surprised to argue and he subconsciously follows Red.

"Wow…" Fumio is in awe, seeing the room has shelves full of glass bottles containing liquids of different colors.

"The sterile solutions… the plants… the glass bottles… So this is where they all went?" Fumio asks, connecting the dots between the stuff he purchased for Red.

"That's right." Red says as he grabs two different bottles, one containing clear liquid, the other has green.

"Alright. You've looked enough. You go to the massage room and wait for me there." Red orders.

Fumio complies and Red is left alone in the storage.

Red then walks towards the door but does not step out of the room immediately. Instead, he caresses the door frame, containing the nigh invisible security seals he carved, and infuses very small spiritual energy on them. As soon as he feels the seals working, he locks the door and leaves.

"Alright. Strip- " Red says as soon as he steps in the massage room, only to find Fumio already lying on his stomach on the massage table, half-naked.

"I wish it'd be a beautiful lady who said that…" Fumio grumbles turning his head to Red's direction.

"Hehe. Well. Seems like you've done this before." Red says, chuckling.

"Nope. But I've always wanted to. I just can't afford it." Fumio says.

"Alright. I'll start. Relax." Red says and he scans every inch of Fumio's muscles.

"Hm. Let's start with the back." Seeing the slightly inflamed muscles on Fumio's back and shoulders, he applies his clear-colored concoction on his palms and starts kneading the muscles.

"Ohhh… That feels good." Fumio cannot help but moan in pleasure.

"How come your entire back is stressed?" Red chuckles.

"You make me buy and carry a lot of stuff. But seeing as they're gonna be used here a lot, the back pain is worth it." Fumio says.

"I see… Well, they have signs of recent mass growth. Hey. It looks like the work helped you bulk up a bit." Red says.

"That's true too." Fumio scoffs.

A few moments later, "Wow. I why do I feel like my back is weightless?" Fumio asks, enjoying the relaxing feeling.

"Ultimate relaxation of the muscles." Red says.

Finished with the back muscles, he immediately applies his green colored concoction. "Mmmhmm… It's like my entire back is drinking sprite." Fumio cannot help but moan again in pleasure.

After the back and shoulders, Red moves to the legs.

"Legs…" Red notes that Fumio's leg muscles also increased.

"Let me guess. They bulked up too?" Fumio says proudly.

"Yes." Red confirms.

"Ssssss…" Fumio feels another round of pleasure climbing up his spine, and he shortly falls asleep. Red does not care whether Fumio is awake or not, he proceeds to massage the tendons.

A few minutes later. "*uyhhhh*" Fumio wakes up and finds himself still lying on his stomach on the massage table.

"My body feels like jelly." Fumio says as he sits up, covers himself, and randomly stretches his body.

Just then does he realize that Red is still in the room, facing away from him, wrapping up the things he used.

"Boss. How long was I out?" Fumio asks as he starts changing to his clothes.

"Ten minutes. I was done with the massage 5 minutes ago. How do you feel?" Red asks.

"I feel like a man reborn." Fumio says as the buzzed feeling is slowly being replaced by lightness.

"Boss. I'm pretty sure this place is gonna be a hit. I don't know much about massage people, but I'm confident you're one of the best." Fumio says.

"*Nod*" Red is pleased with Fumio's reaction.

"Boss. How much would you charge for the massage you did to me earlier?" Fumio asks.

"Why? You want to be the first customer?" Red asks.

"Hey.. come on. It's just out of curiosity. But, seriously. If I was a customer. How much would you have charged me?" Fumio asks.

"hmmm… Let's see. With how difficult and time-consuming my concoctions are to make, including my rare expertise, then shop expenses… I'd say… 40,000 Yen." Red says.

"40,000…" Fumio's heart drops at the price.

"Boss… How long did the entire thing take?" He asks.

"Around… 30 minutes. 40 if you include preparing and cleaning the table and you sleeping." Red says.

"Boss! That's a crazy price! I've done research, as you know. That's more than two hours' worth of therapy in very high end massage shops!" Fumio says.

"Well.. Did you need two hours to feel, using your words, like 'A man reborn'?" Red asks.

"Huh… Fair enough. But… *sigh* There's no spa. No beverages. No frills." Fumio still finds it expensive.

"Hey. Even if you can't afford it, that doesn't mean others can't. And it's a reasonable price to me." Red shrugs.

"Hey boss. I can afford it too, you know? Especially now." Fumio says in offense.

"Then pay up." Red holds his palm out.

"Hey come on boss. You said I'm practice… Uhh… But..." Fumio is about to ask something else, but hesitates.

"What?" Red asks.

"Don't you need more employees? Someone to receive the money. Someone to keep the floors clean. Someone to do the laundry." Fumio starts counting with his fingers.

"Ah. Don't bother. I'll handle them." Red says.

In actuality, Red already made a spiritual formation for the entire clinic using plants and decorations simply for the purpose of keeping everything clean and shiny. The formation is powered by a spiritual storage seal he carved in a silver plate that is kept in his concoctions room.

Because the atmospheric spiritual energy in the world is not thick enough to automatically power the basic formations and seals, Red refills the spiritual storage seal with his own energy.

As these things are not complicated, the spiritual energy he spends on them is negligible. As for the cashier, Red will do it himself.

"You sure, boss?" Fumio asks, imagining the work needed to keep the place running.

"Yes … Seeing as you have the energy to question me, are you feeling fresh?" Red asks.

"Yes boss." Fumio stretches his back once again in satisfaction.

"Good. Why don't you start looking for the three?" Red says.

"… Okay." Fumio cannot argue.

"But… I don't even know where to start…" He sighs.

"Why don't you do this? Apply to be some sort of a volunteer or paid informant to the police. You can start with that." Red proposes.

"Uhn… That's a good idea!" Fumio says in excitement.

"Yes. So go, go." Red shoos Fumio out of the shop.

Finally alone, Red goes on to write on the chalkboard behind reception counter just one price.. "40,000 yen for 30 minutes of treatment."