#938 Marine Running

Otherworldly Diet Day Two.

...

I’ve had enough of this.

To get my aerobic exercise, I tried hopping into a human-sized hamster wheel, thinking, “This is it; I’m the hamster now.” But it turned out to be a lot tougher than I imagined.

It’s not the running that’s hard, per se.

It’s the utter lack of change, the running in place that’s the real grind.

Thanks to this wheel, the ground just scrolls backward, and I’m not actually going anywhere—nor is the scenery changing.

All I see are blurs of the speeding wheel’s frame before me.

...Boring.

Nothing changes, and I quickly realize how swiftly boredom sets in.

Once bored, it becomes nothing but torture.

Stuck in monotony, I remember someone saying humans can’t last even five minutes like this.

All right, given my current predicament, I’ve realized just how wonderfully distracting... I mean, refreshingly exhilarating it is to go jogging. As I dash along, I get to immerse myself in various sceneries and slice through the breeze.

Anyway, this is impossible.

Time crawls by excruciatingly slowly.

It’s futile to keep running mindlessly; I’ll take breaks, but this isn’t doing much for my metabolism.

No fat is burning, and my grand goal of dieting is just not happening.

Maybe I should just jog outside?

But then, I’d have to deal with Sakamoto’s “Why don’t you straddle me instead?” gaze following me around...!

...I gotta do something.

Or my otherworldly diet journey will come to an abrupt end.

What should I do?

Ideally, I need some kind of distraction while running on this wheel to help me forget the time...

At times like this... if only there were TVs in this otherworld.

Just place one right in front of the wheel, and time will fly while I’m watching something as I run.

Actually, in this digital age, who needs a TV?

A tablet would do.

With a good Wi-Fi setup, streaming videos could make the time vanish.

I’d probably burn a decent amount of calories by the end of an anime episode.

Or maybe play some music.

That might help distract me, too. I just need to make sure I’m not annoying anyone—earbuds in, though dangling cords could be a nuisance while running. Wireless earbuds would be better, but then I’d get picky about sound quality...

No, this is hopeless. Seeking more comfort in my dieting only leads to accumulating more gadgets.

And then my wallet suffers as my enthusiasm dwindles.

I’m falling into a classic bad dieting trap!!!

This won’t do.

I need to keep it simple and diligent if I want any success with my diet!

I must rethink everything from scratch, or I can already see a future filled with dieting failures!

“No good... What else can I try...?!”

Just as I hit a dead end, I hear someone calling me.

“Dadddd, dadddd.”

Whose voice is that?

Currently, there’s only one in the world who calls me that.

Technically, two are qualified, but my younger son Norito can’t talk yet, so it’s really just one.

It’s my eldest, Junior.

What’s up, Junior? Wanna play?

Or have you caught a bug and come to brag about it? I was amazed last time you caught that sandworm but also quite perplexed.

But you see, Dad here is a bit preoccupied with his own issues right now...

“This way, this wayyy.”

Where are you taking me?

He’s pulling my arm quite insistently.

For a father, being sought out by his child like this is the ultimate joy, so I let him lead.

In ten years, I bet he’ll ignore me when I try to get his attention.

The bitterness of teenage rebellion cuts sharper than a knife.

You only realize its sharpness when you’re on the receiving end.

Before his rebellious phase begins, I’ve got but a fleeting moment to bask in as much doting as I can muster. So, when I’m dragged around—somewhat forcibly—I let it happen.

And where he leads me to...

“...The ocean?”

“The ocean is big and wideee.”

Junior’s destination was the beach.

Our farm is relatively close to the shore, where even mermaids like Platy show up from time to time.

So we often head down to the beach for activities, like watermelon splitting earlier this year.

What do you want at the beach now, Junior?

The watermelon season has passed... Wait, could it be you want to catch sandworms here?!

“Exerciseeee.”

“Here? Really?”

The sandy beach?

I’ve heard athletes train on such terrain—soft sand that makes running difficult. The logic goes, if you can manage here, you’d run faster on a proper track.

It seems my son is demanding such precision just for a diet...

That’s Junior for you...!

“That wayyy.”

But it seems Junior has something else in mind.

He points further, and I marvel once more at my child’s cleverness.

“The sea...!”

What Junior points to is the vast sea itself.

“So you mean to swim...?!”

Swimming?

I’ve heard it’s another excellent aerobic exercise that burns fat while being gentle enough to sustain for long periods and works out the entire body.

And if I’m swimming, I won’t be seen as moving around, so Sakamoto won’t bother me.

It’s a win-win on all fronts!

For a five-year-old to come up with such a brilliant plan... my child is truly a genius!!!

“Not thatttt.”

Oh?

It seems there’s still a gap between my guesses and Junior’s plans.

Junior toddles off towards the sea.

“Watch outtttttt!!!”

That nearly stopped my heart.

No parent could stay calm seeing their child sprint towards the sea like that.

But, well...

It seems par for the course with my kid. Or rather...

“Um, what?”

Just as I thought Junior’s feet would plunge into the sea... they didn’t.

Instead, there he is, standing atop the water as if the sea were just more land to conquer.

He’s casually walking on water.

“My kid’s performing miracles again...?!”

Could this be due to the Hand of Ultimacy gift that Junior apparently inherited?

“Daddd, come, let’s go togetherrr.”

“Huh? You mean, come with you?”

Can I walk on water, too?

Junior’s Hand of Ultimacy and my own Hand of Supremacy might be similar parent-child abilities, but his gift is definitely a few notches above mine.

When the next generation surpasses the previous one, that’s considered evolution.

There must be many things Junior can do with his ability that I can’t, but...

“...I made it.”

Looks like this is still within the scope of what I can do.

My ability has been evolving lately, so walking on water? Sure, why not?

“Dad, let’s go joggingggg.”

“Ah... huh?”

So, that’s what this is about?

Junior means to say, if we’re going jogging, why not do it over the sea?

Does that solve anything?

Whether it’s over sea or land, if it looks like travel, Sakamoto will come trotting over with a “Why aren’t you riding me instead?” look.

...And as I say this, here comes Sakamoto himself, sensing we’re about to move!

He trots up to just shy of the shoreline, staring at us as if to say, “Are we moving? Are we moving?”

But then...

Seeing where we are, he gives a sigh that seems quite out of character for a horse.

“Oh, it’s just water. Mo job for me here,” he seems to think and trots off.

“Seriously...?!”

Turns out, I can go jogging if it’s on the water.

A new path to burn calories has just opened up for me!