Chapter 117: Addicted to the Gym
The next morning, Silas woke up feeling strangely refreshed. The estate was... quiet, too quiet. There was no sound from the television, no sounds from the kitchen, no Chloe humming while watering plants, and no Anna making coffee.
There was even no...
"Where’s Gromda?"
He blinked a few times before climbing out of bed. After throwing on a loose gray T-shirt, black shorts, and a pair of slippers, he walked out of his room.
The mansion was still unfamiliar, so he found himself taking a wrong turn twice before finally remembering where everything was. Well, most of it.
The kitchen was empty. The living room was empty. And even the backyard looked deserted. This was expected because they were still new to the place, and it was an estate, not an apartment. The place was so huge that it would take days to familiarize themselves with it.
Plus, they were few. Their number was a huge contrast to the huge estate.
"Did she go hunting?"
He was right to think that. Gromda was an orc after all, and despite her being a... pampered-kind-of orc, her natural instincts and attitude couldn’t be ignored.
Just as he wondered that, he heard it.
CLANG!
THUD!
CLANG!
"Please don’t let her tear the house apart."
Following the sounds downstairs, he eventually arrived at the private gym. The automatic doors slid open, and Silas froze at what her was seeing.
"..."
The gym looked as though a child had discovered a toy store for the first time. Except that the child in this context was a seven-foot-tall orc.
Gromda sat cross-legged in front of an enormous dumbbell rack. She was not using them. She was just looking at them. Her emerald eyes sparkled with innocent fascination.
She would occasionally pick one up, turn it around, feel its weight, smile, put it back, and reach for a heavier one.
Silas quietly leaned against the doorway, staring at her in disbelief and slight affection. She was cute.
"What are you doing?"
Gromda turned immediately, her face brightening. He could literally see the bright halo around her, which seemed to brighten her surroundings. How was that even possible?!
"Mate!"
She proudly lifted a pair of enormous dumbbells that each weighed over a hundred kilograms as if they were grocery bags.
"They’re heavy."
"That is generally the point," Silas answered with a blank expression.
She nodded enthusiastically. "I like heavy."
Silas couldn’t stop himself from laughing.
"I can see that."
She walked over carrying the dumbbells in one hand.
"I do not know what these are."
"They’re dumbbells."
"Dumb... bells."
She repeated the words carefully before smiling.
"Dumbbells."
She then held one out to him.
"Lift."
Silas accepted it with a deadpan expression
"..."
"...You picked the one-hundred-and-fifty-kilogram pair."
"I know."
"You wanted to see if I could."
"I knew you could."
Silas sighed.
"Fair enough."
He curled it once, causing Gromda’s eyes to somehow sparkle even brighter.
"Amazing."
"It isn’t that amazing."
"It is."
She looked around the gym again.
"So many heavy things."
Only then did Silas properly observe the room. It wasn’t merely a home gym. It rivaled commercial fitness centers.
Entire rows of dumbbells ranging from one kilogram to over two hundred kilograms, Olympic barbells, multiple squat racks, cable machines, Smith machines, bench presses, deadlift platforms reinforced into the floor, punching bags, something he would definitely love, battle ropes, and pull-up stations.
There was even specialized equipment designed specifically for awakened individuals capable of handling absurd amounts of weight.
Gromda had already wandered away again. This time, she’d discovered the leg press machine.
She cautiously sat down, placed her feet on it, and pressed once.
CLACK.
The entire weight stack shot upward, shocking her a lot.
"Broken?"
"No."
"It moved too easily."
"Because you lifted all the weights."
"Oh." She looked disappointed. "It is too light."
Silas stared silently at the machine and began questioning if this was real or a dream.
"That thing has over six hundred kilograms loaded."
"Light."
She answered with complete seriousness.
"..." Silas looked toward the ceiling.
’System.’
[Yes?]
’Do all orcs have gym addictions?’
[No.]
’Then why is she looking at this place like she’s in heaven?’
[Correction.]
[...]
[Your mate has developed a gym addiction.]
Silas pinched the bridge of his nose.
’Already?’
[Current Diagnosis.]
[Patient: Gromda Ashard.]
[Symptoms:]
- Sparkling eyes.
- Constant smiling.
- Refusal to leave heavy objects alone.
- Repeatedly saying, "Heavy good."]
[Conclusion: Terminal Gym Rat.]
Silas burst into laughter.
"My system says you are a gym rat"
Gromda looked over in confusion. "I am not rat."
"No." He walked over before gently patting her head. Well, she had to squat
"You’re much cuter."
The fierce orc who could split monsters apart with her bare hands immediately leaned into his touch without hesitation.
"I stay here."
"You’ve been here since morning, haven’t you?"
She nodded. "Since five."
Silas wasn’t even surprised anymore.
"Breakfast first. Gym after."
She hesitated, looked at the squat rack, then looked back at Silas.
"Gym... after breakfast."
"..."
"...Okay."
She reluctantly followed him out, but not before glancing back at the weight racks one last time. It was the exact look a child gave a candy store when their parents said it was time to leave.
Silas sighed.
"I think... we’ve accidentally created a gym monster."
Silas watched Gromda reluctantly walk away from the gym, only to glance back over her shoulder every three steps.
"You really don’t want to leave, huh?"
The giantess nodded honestly.
"I come back?"
"You’ve been in there for over two hours."
"I come back?"
Silas couldn’t help but laugh.
"You really are addicted."
"I like heavy."
"I noticed."
They arrived at the dining room, where Anna had already finished preparing breakfast with Chloe’s help. Alpha, who had been apparently invited over again for reasons no one could explain, was already seated at the table, eating toast as though this had always been his house.
"..." Silas looked at him. "...Do you even knock anymore?"
Alpha took another bite.
"I texted, and Chloe invited me."
"You sent a single dot," Chloe commented from the side
"It was a warning."
"No, it wasn’t."
"It was."
Anna didn’t even look up.
"I let him in."
Silas sighed dramatically.
"I’ve lost control over my own house."
"You never had it," Anna replied calmly.
"That’s fair."
Breakfast passed peacefully, though every few seconds Gromda’s eyes drifted toward the hallway leading back to the gym.
Silas eventually noticed.
"Okay."