The Chiropractor, the Monk, and the Scarecrow - Episode 12

"The Witch of the Lumbar Roll"
When that person appeared, the clinic directors, starting with Mr. Nonaka, whispered to one another.

I attended the FBG Kyushu area training session held at the Fukuoka High-Gra Hotel.
The scale and atmosphere seemed to be on a completely different level from the study sessions held at Tsunnote.
The building towering over the reclaimed harbor land might be a luxurious resort for tourists, but for someone like me who was about to be cooped up for three days of training, it looked like an inescapable fortress.

While applicants gathered from clinics across Kyushu, I attended from Tsunnote along with Mr. Futoshi Konno and our director, Akio Nonaka, who came as an escort. The teachers who already held a first-degree rank did not take it. Since it costs a fair amount, it seems the stance is for each person to decide for themselves whether to attend.

I chose to attend because I wanted to improve as quickly as possible.

After checking in and wandering around the lobby, the opening ceremony began in the grand hall at 10:00 AM. Looking around discreetly, there must have been about 50 people. After the VIPs from the FBG headquarters and the Kyushu branch gave their greetings and explained the purpose of the training session, the training proceeded according to the schedule.

After lunch, we moved on to the main theme of "lower back pain," and it was time for "pelvic correction," which I wanted to know about the most.

"There she is, is that the Witch of the Lumbar Roll?"

As soon as the instructor appeared, such voices flew about.

Ms. Michiyo Abiru. She is a veteran chiropractor who serves as a chief instructor at FBG headquarters.
Without waiting for her self-introduction, that is what my biological intelligence—in other words, my own brain—concluded by aggregating the information from the voices around me.
Furthermore, using my vision to intuitively calculate, she was about 165 centimeters tall, with an inseam of about 75 centimeters, and weighed about 50 kilograms.
Moreover, her hairstyle was long, unlike a typical chiropractor, and it was brown with loose waves, a so-called sauvage style.
"Beautiful witch"
"The beautiful witch of the lumbar roll"
I muttered to myself, but it was lost in the commotion and went unnoticed.

That beautiful witch finally opened her mouth.
"You all, enjoy being flighty while you can. We won't be using handouts or notebooks, so close them. I'm going to drill this into your bodies, so be prepared."
The room buzzed in a different sense than before, and the sound of materials being closed continued for a while.

Her vivid red lips, despite her natural makeup, unleashed blunt words, and her black natural eyebrows, trimmed to a thickness that wasn't too thin, and her large, almond-shaped eyes asserted their presence in an exquisite balance, while her black pupils, possessing a mysterious depth protected by the whites of her eyes, were overwhelming.

Rumor has it she is in her 50s, but she looks 10 years younger. Her agelessness is likely the reason she has been called a "witch" by generations of chiropractors.

"There are several ways to perform pelvic correction, but the technique often used in chiropractic is called the lumbar roll. Let's learn that first before we go home."

Everyone listened intently to her progress, but I must have been nodding the most vigorously, helped by the fact that I understood what "Witch of the Lumbar Roll" meant.

"First, I'll explain how to do it, so someone please be a model. Let's see, you there, spacing out in the back."
Everyone turned to look, and there was Mr. Futoshi Konno. He himself had a blank look on his face, and he seemed unable to hide his confusion at the sudden turn of events.
"Come here. Everyone is going to do it anyway, so it's the same thing. What's your name?"
"Ah, I'm Futoshi Konno from Fukuoka Tsunnote."
"I see. Well, Konno. Lie on the mat on your right side..."
It seems that when you are an expert from headquarters and a witch, you don't easily call the students "teacher." She didn't even use "-san," just his name.

"Are you all ready? When you lie on your right side, keep your bottom leg, your right leg, straight. For your top leg, your left leg, bend the knee and hook the instep onto the back of your right knee, right here. Fix it like this. Konno, cross your arms to hug yourself. Both hands should be near your shoulders. Now, relax, take a slow, deep breath in, and yes, breathe out slowly..."
The witch's body, which had been giving instructions while placing her right hand over Mr. Konno's lower back, sank slightly.
There might have been a cracking sound, or maybe not... In any case, it was clear that she had performed the technique in an instant.

"This is the lumbar roll. How was it, Konno?"
"It felt like my lumbar vertebrae cracked. But it didn't hurt at all."
As Mr. Konno answered and stood up, he twisted his body from side to side, arched his back, and bent forward.
"My movement has become smoother. It's like my range of motion has increased."
"Good. That's a quite excellent observation."
When the witch showed a full smile and patted his shoulder lightly, he scratched his head shyly. The expressions of the students seemed to have softened considerably, eased by the interaction between the two.

However, the smiling witch immediately returned to a serious face.
"Don't miss the timing when the client has exhaled completely and relaxed. I'll go around and do it for each of you, so don't forget that feeling. Now then..."
"Please!"
Since the witch was about to choose who to do it to, I raised my hand on impulse.
My proactiveness was something I had cultivated at chiropractic study sessions. The fact that I belonged to the same Tsunnote as Mr. Konno also pushed me forward.
"I like your enthusiasm. What's your name?"
"Mai Mayama from Fukuoka Tsunnote."
"Ms. Mayama, then. You know the procedure, right?"
Huh? She used "-san."
I brushed aside the trivial question and lay on my right side as I had seen earlier.

The witch, with her arms crossed, watched as I straightened my right leg, bent my left knee, and crossed my arms.
"160 centimeters, 50 kilograms, 80-60-82, I'd say."
I didn't quite get it, but the people around me cheered "Oh," so I finally understood.
"Excuse me, teacher, what was that all of a sudden!"
I was about to say it was sexual harassment, but I held it back. It seems that wondering if it was power harassment in this case acted as a brake.
"Well, isn't it fine? There are few women here, so let's get along and help each other. By the way, that was just my own average value calculated from your height. But it's pretty close, isn't it?"
"Ugh, well, that's enough of that, isn't it? Please hurry up."
I was worried about the gazes of the overwhelmingly large number of men, and I blurted that out, desperate to move away from the topic of my three sizes.
"Oh, too bad. Well, here I go. Relax..."
Like I could! I grumbled in my heart, took a deep breath, and focused on the feeling of exhaling completely.
Ms. Abiru, the witch, put her weight on the hand she had placed around my fifth lumbar vertebra and applied force for just an instant.
There might have been a cracking sound, or maybe not. But I knew the feeling of my lumbar vertebrae cracking. It was the same as what Mr. Konno had talked about.
I was braced for her to ask me for my impressions, but she said something unexpected.
"Hmm. I see. You, come to my room after today's curriculum is over."
"Eh, what do you mean by that?"
"I can't talk about it here. It's important, so make sure you come."
"Yes, I understand."
I had no idea what it was about, but I agreed for the time being. It's not easy to stand up to a witch.

In the afternoon, there was a "thoracic vertebrae" training session, and after dinner, there was free time, followed by a "cervical vertebrae" training session from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. After that, we split into groups to review what we had learned.

I slipped away alone, got on the elevator, and headed to the 33rd floor.

It seems the instructors and headquarters staff were staying in suites on the upper floors.
Relying on the note given to me by Ms. Michiyo Abiru, I managed to arrive without getting lost.
When I knocked on the door, it opened without a sound. High-class hotels don't even make a clicking sound.

"Please, come in."
I had let my imagination run wild about what I would do if she were wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, but I was relieved to see she was wearing the same white chiropractic coat as during the lecture.
That was short-lived, however, as I was stunned by the luxurious design of the room, which offered a panoramic ocean view through floor-to-ceiling glass.
"We can't take too long. I'll be brief, so go ahead and sit down."
When I sat down on a large sofa that looked like it could have been in a drama or movie, the witch sat down next to me, a little distance away.
She didn't sit back haughtily, but placed both hands on her knees and started with a serious face.

"You have hidden slouching. Did you know that?"

I have confidence in my health, if nothing else. Or so I thought. That's why I couldn't hide my confusion at that unfamiliar term.

"Hidden slouching... is it?"

To be continued in Episode 13⇒

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