Chapter 563: Female Role Models, Blind But Not Completely Blind
When Lucifer guided the group into the bustling Silverman Gym that afternoon, Modeus immediately slapped both hands over her eyes. The sheer volume of glistening, scantily clad musclemen flexing in every direction was simply too much visual stimulation to handle. Pandemonica merely arched a delicate eyebrow at the grotesque displays of testosterone, while Lucifer remained entirely unfazed, having long since grown accustomed to the environment. Nami, on the other hand, didn't feel the slightest bit of embarrassment; she just surveyed the room with a remarkably fierce expression.
Justice grinned, adjusting her signature sunglasses. "Oh! This place has a great vibe for working out! Riven! What do you think?"
"I've never seen training methods quite like these," Riven admitted, her eyes tracking a man doing squats with a mountain of plates. "But I feel compelled to try them. They look highly effective."
Aoandon, who hailed from a far more conservative era, immediately hid her face behind her sleeves, her cheeks burning crimson. "What is wrong with these people?! It's just too indecent..."
Lucifer chuckled softly. "It's perfectly normal here. You'll get used to it... Ah, hey! Machio!"
Machio Naruzo, who had been strolling past in his usual tracksuit, perked up at the sound of his name. Spotting Lucifer, he immediately jogged over, a blindingly bright smile plastered across his face. "Madam! What brings you here today?! Are you here to get a pump in?! Has Sir arrived yet?!"
Lucifer shook her head. "No, no, he has other business to attend to today. I just brought my family down to get them registered for memberships. We have two serious fitness enthusiasts in our group."
Machio's eyes practically sparkled as he looked over the newcomers. "It must be this Madam with the sunglasses and this Madam in the grey athletic wear! As expected of Sir's household!"
"You guessed right," Lucifer said, gesturing to the equipment. "However, your heaviest standard equipment doesn't seem like it will be enough for them. Can you customize some weights?"
"Of course we can!" Machio beamed, though he looked a bit skeptical. "But are these two ladies really that powerful?"
Instead of answering, Justice casually strolled over to the dumbbell rack. Without breaking a sweat, she picked up the absolute heaviest dumbbell available, tossing it lightly in one hand as if it were a plastic toy. Riven stepped up beside her and mirrored the action with effortless grace.
Machio gasped, his eyes bulging as he realized he was in the presence of true masters. Justice didn't request anything overly absurd—just a custom set twice as heavy as the current maximum, along with a few extra counterweight rings of the same caliber. Once Machio eagerly jotted down the order, the group moved on to tour the rest of the facility.
Lucifer smiled wryly. "You two really don't have very high demands, do you?"
Riven remained quiet, perfectly content to follow Justice's lead.
Justice laughed, stretching her arms. "If we ask for something too heavy, it'll just scare the normal people and cause unnecessary trouble. Besides, if the weight is doubled, we can just do a larger volume of sets to achieve the same effect! Though, I really didn't expect Nami to be quite so strong too!"
During their tour, Nami and the others had all tested the equipment. Everyone had been slightly concerned about whether the slender navigator could handle the iron, but Nami had casually lifted a remarkably heavy weight—not the absolute maximum, but far beyond what an average person could manage. It had prompted Machio to loudly praise Ren's impeccable taste, marveling that every woman associated with 'Sir' was incredibly amazing, before he sprinted off to train with renewed, desperate fervor.
Nami smirked, resting her hands on her hips. "I'm a pirate, you know! If I didn't have at least this much physical strength, how else would I teach those idiots on my ship a lesson?"
Riven tilted her head, her innocent demeanor contrasting sharply with her warrior's physique. "So... you achieved this level of strength purely by beating up those idiots?"
"Something like that!"
Lucifer sighed, shaking her head in amusement. "I suddenly feel a little sorry for Zoro... Between the psychological trauma inflicted by Hancock and Perona, and now this, I wonder if he'll just develop a permanent phobia of women."
Nami waved a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Zoro is a meathead with nothing but swords in his heart anyway. Now, if that guy Sanji became terrified of women, I might actually set off some fireworks to celebrate."
"Just how much do you hate that guy...?" several of them asked in unison.
"It's not hate, exactly," Nami mused, tapping her chin. "It's just... um... how do I put this... he's a chivalrous pervert with gentlemanly standards."
"Oh! In that case, that makes perfect sense," they chorused.
Laughter echoed through the gym as the girls settled into their new routine.
Time flowed quickly, and a week passed by in a flash. During this time, the restaurant welcomed three new guests, and Kurumi dropped by once in the middle of the week, ordering her usual favorite with a teasing smile.
By Friday evening, the atmosphere in the restaurant was warm and relaxed. When Riven and Justice returned through the front door with Kasugano Sora in tow, the silver-haired girl immediately cheered, tossed her backpack onto a nearby chair, and sprinted up the stairs with uncharacteristic energy.
As for why Riven and Justice were the ones bringing her home, the reason was simple. The two warriors visited the gym every single day when they had free time. Despite their intense routines, they never developed the strange, overly bulky musculature of the gym regulars; instead, they maintained flawlessly toned, perfect physiques.
Riven had quickly become familiar with everyone in the neighborhood. Her stoic exterior, paired with her occasionally innocent and adorable moments, left a lasting, endearing impression on everyone she met.
Sometimes, after finishing their workouts and finding themselves bored, Justice and Riven would take a stroll to pick up Sora from school. Being escorted home every afternoon by two incredibly cool, confident older sisters made Sora the envy of her classmates, inspiring many to want to be just like them.
It was also worth mentioning that Soryuin Akemi and her friends had instantly become loyal fangirls of the duo. Akemi deeply admired their perfect anatomical proportions, Sakura Hibiki was drawn to their powerful aura, Kamisato Ayaka was deeply impressed by their elegant overall image, and Gina Boyd was utterly captivated by their physical skills.
Back in the restaurant, Ren was sitting comfortably in his favorite chair, reading a thick book. Modeus was pressed flush against his side, her arms wrapped tightly around his arm, her soft curves radiating a warm, intimate heat as she read along with him. She occasionally peeked up at Ren through her lashes, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Hearing the commotion of the front door, Ren looked up. "What's wrong with Sora? Why is she in such a frantic hurry?"
Justice chuckled, leaning against the counter. "It's nothing serious. She bought a brand-new game on the way back and announced she plans to study it thoroughly tonight."
Ren sighed, a fond but exasperated smile touching his lips. "If only she were this enthusiastic about her actual studies..."
Riven unzipped her gym bag, rummaged around for a moment, and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. "Sora mentioned she did pretty well on her midterm exams this time. Her usual homework grades have also unexpectedly improved."
"Hmm. If she's genuinely making progress, then let her play," Ren conceded. He then turned his attention back to the kitchen prep. "By the way, Riven, are your vegetables ready to be cut?"
Riven nodded dutifully. "Mm! No problem. I think the meat is ready to be prepped, too."
After Ren gave her a few specific instructions for the evening service, Riven sighed softly. "I guess I'll get to cutting the vegetables, then... What about Nami? She asked me to bring her notebook up to her."
"She's upstairs studying the meteorological data and weather knowledge Shu gave her," Ren explained, gently turning a page of his book while Modeus squeezed his arm a fraction tighter. "She probably needs the notebook to memorize some of the more complex atmospheric patterns. Speaking of which... if we had another existence here who could control time, Nami could just stay in a time-dilation field for two years and wouldn't need to rush so much. Though, to be fair, she isn't in a massive hurry right now anyway."
Justice waved her hand dismissively. "Save it. Time and space—those two abilities are not your run-of-the-mill powers. They are incredibly mysterious and volatile, especially time manipulation."
"That's exactly why I say it's entirely up to fate," Ren replied. He paused, looking at the High Prosecutor. "Speaking of which, Justice, I've been meaning to ask you for a long time now. Aren't you blind? Why is it that you can clearly see everything around you?"
Justice flashed a brilliant, toothy grin. "I am blind, but that doesn't mean I can't see things!"
"Huh?" Ren and Riven uttered simultaneously.
Riven stood frozen, a head of cabbage halfway to the cutting board. She had only just realized that Justice was supposed to be blind. How on earth had the demon been handling the gym, spotting weights, and walking Sora home this whole time?
Justice chuckled at their dumbfounded expressions. "The concept of a 'blind person'in my case refers to someone who has covered their eyes to uphold absolute fairness and justice. It is entirely in a conceptual sense. So, while my eyes are indeed greyish-white and physically damaged, on a supernatural level, I can still perceive everything perfectly. I also use things like magic perception and aura reading. In short, there are plenty of ways for a'blind' person to see!"
Ren blinked slowly, processing the logic. "So... you are blind? Your eyes are conceptually blind just to satisfy the aesthetic and meaning of the phrase 'Justice is blind', but in reality, you can still see absolutely everything perfectly fine. Is that right?"
Justice pointed finger guns at him, her grin widening. "Bingo!"
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