Chapter 4

Chapter 2. Tricks are My Power! – Chapter 2

And her face soon turned bright red.

She shouldn't have such thoughts, but the conversation seemed to be about something she shouldn't know, something forbidden.

'No, Lord Jared is an adult! It's perfectly fine. He's a healthy adult, after all.'

Haze recalled numerous scenarios in her mind.

Each one was embarrassingly vivid, but as an adult! And it was something she could understand.

But it felt strange.

Haze, who had always cherished Jared like a sunflower since childhood, felt a strange sense of betrayal.

Actually, she was... angry!

She had never thought of Jared as hers, but she didn't want to see or know about him sharing passionate moments with someone else.

After staying in his bedroom like a mouse for so long, suddenly coming out to have a secret affair with a woman—she was absolutely certain it wasn't a man—was unacceptable!

She wished she hadn't known!

It felt like opening Pandora's box.

"Ah, really. If others saw me like this, how pitiful would they think of me? If they knew that the lord was completely naked and doing this with you here..."

"Aaaah."

Haze's pupils trembled.

Jared seemed to be scolding himself while still going through with the procedure.

She didn't know who the other person was.

If they were both naked and in the basement, it was obvious what was happening, right?

'No, no!'

Haze shook her head.

Right then.

"Aaaaaah!"

A rough moan echoed.

Haze's mind went blank.

Click!

Before her mind could process it, her body had already opened the basement door.

Haze had the key, so opening the locked door was not difficult.

"No! No, Lord Jared!"

Haze rushed in, shouting urgently.

She moved so quickly that by the time Jared realized her presence, their eyes had already met.

"Uh..."

"A...?"

At that moment.

Silence fell.

As if time had stopped.

Jared and Haze just stood there, staring at each other.

There was a problem, though.

Jared was completely naked, and Haze, who thought she had caught him in a passionate moment, found him alone.

"Wh-what... is going on?"

Jared asked.

In his shock, he hadn't even thought to put on clothes.

In his right hand, he held a needle he had just placed, and his belly was covered with needles like a porcupine.

"I thought... you were sharing love... Ah."

Haze blushed and bowed her head, inadvertently revealing her inner thoughts.

That was fine.

The problem was the perfect misunderstanding.

"What are you going to do? Take responsibility!"

"Excuse me?"

"The first person to see my naked body... Haze, it's you."

That was sincere.

It was the moment of revealing his perfect naked body, which he had never shown to anyone in his past or present life.

* * *

It took some time for the shock of suddenly revealing his naked body to subside.

And after a sufficient amount of time had passed.

I explained the whole situation to Haze.

She tilted her head a few times, not understanding the concept of acupuncture, but soon accepted the situation as it was without hesitation.

"I think anything Lord Jared does is right! I'm so happy! Seeing Lord Jared manage himself so enthusiastically is amazing!"

"Haze, look up. What are you looking down at?"

"Ah! I'm sorry."

"Anyway, to place needles directly on the stomach and thighs, I had to be naked, so I came down to the basement for a moment."

"I'll make sure to secure the door properly from now on. Or should I stand guard at the entrance? Just in case someone comes!"

Haze stood at attention, mimicking a guard.

Such innocence was Haze's charm.

That's why the previous owner of this body, who was rather foolish, liked her.

Maybe she still likes me.

-Hand over your Insight!

'Surprised.'

At that moment, Isabella, who had been glaring at me, let out a screech.

But thanks to that, my focus was redirected, and I naturally thought about the Insight skill.

I immediately used the Insight skill on Haze to check her stats and tendencies.

The Insight skill is a passive skill, so there's no need for a specific activation procedure.

Moreover, it doesn't consume mana. It's similar to a permanent buff.

'Wow, her dedication is S? And she has so many special tendencies?'

I was surprised by her special tendencies.

If a player in the game had seen her tendencies without knowing she was a maid, they would have definitely recommended her to become a healer.

Dedication and encouragement are essential for a healer, who uses holy energy for healing.

In extreme terms, if a healer lacks these two tendencies, it's a waste of time to choose that class.

However, Haze had both at S and A ranks, respectively.

'Unrequited love at A means a deep, long-lasting infatuation. This suggests she has been in love for over ten years...'

While it wasn't surprising to know who the object of her affection was, it made me feel a bit sad.

But I have a lot to do as the lord.

I have no desire to give my heart to someone and have a comfortable relationship.

That goes against the goals I set when I regained consciousness in this life, and I don't want to deviate from them.

Unless there's a significant change in my heart.

'Her cooking skill is also A. That's why the food she prepares tastes so good.'

I used to enjoy Haze's cooking a lot.

I was always curious about her cooking skills, and now, with Insight, it made sense.

'I need to train Haze as a healer. She will be a great asset to the estate!'

I planned for Haze's future, which she didn't know about yet.

Haze's Healer Training Plan!

The healer or healer class is one of the rarest professions on the continent.

A professional healer's healing power is so great that even a high priest or archbishop can't compare. It's embarrassing to even compare.

If I train her well, she will be a tremendous asset to the estate.

"Lord Jared? What are you thinking about? Are you worried about something?"

"Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about a few things. Where were we?"

"I was offering to guard the basement entrance for Lord Jared instead of the guards!"

"That's fine. You manage the basement keys anyway. I have the other key."

"Right!"

"Just don't come in, Haze."

"H-Huh? Is that so?"

Haze scratched the back of her head, and I playfully tapped her head.

"Turn around. I need to do something a bit embarrassing now."

"Okay! I'll go over there and organize the cleaning tools."

"Don't come over unless I call you. There's nothing to see, really."

"Okay! I'll remember that! I mean, I'll remember not to come over! Not the last part!"

If she had just gone, it would have been fine, but Haze, being so innocent and naive, felt the need to confirm.

"...Well, it's okay."

"Sniff, I'm sorry!"

"It's fine. Go on."

"Okay."

Haze walked through the basement corridor and went inside.

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and start channeling mana into the needles on my stomach.

'At least the old Jared did some magic training, which is fortunate. If I had no magic skills, it would have been truly hopeless. I'm grateful that he reached the 4th class level.'

This body has low mana stats, but fortunately, it can sense and manipulate mana.

I received magic training from a young age because my father was a mage.

Currently, as a mage, I'm at the 4th class level.

I can use quite a few spells, but the problem is the small capacity.

With my current 75 mana, I can't even cast a 4th class spell, which costs 40 mana, twice.

However, having the class level means I have the basic skills of a mage.

The flow of mana is also stable.

'I need to start working on increasing my mana capacity alongside the diet tricks. It's more important to expand my mana pool than to dive into a dungeon right now.'

I concluded my thoughts.

Going to a dungeon with this bulky body, where agile monsters swarm, is absolutely out of the question.

First, I need to increase my mana stats safely and lose weight. Nothing is more important than this.

"Huff, huff."

Every time the four elements' energy from the needles was infused into my body, it would heat up, cool down, harden, and relax in cycles.

Sweat poured down like a waterfall.

I had brought plenty of towels, or the basement floor would have been drenched.

'Great! This is it.'

Inserting the needles deeply and circulating mana made my body react more actively.

I could feel my belly fat shrinking by a fingernail's width.

"Wow!"

I could almost see my toes.

When I exhaled, they were invisible, but when I inhaled, my big toe peeked out and then disappeared.

It was a significant improvement!

I couldn't even see my toes a moment ago.

I was elated.

I continued to channel mana into the needles, touching them with my hands.

"Ha, I've never smelled the scent of frying bacon from my own body before."

I chuckled.

Every time I activated the fire element, a sizzling meat smell rose from my belly.

This too shall pass!

I silently dedicated myself to fat decomposition, sweating profusely.

* * *

After sweating it out in the basement for a while.

I took a refreshing bath and returned to my office, where Haze promptly entered.

She carried a small tray, which contained the dinner I had requested.

"Lord Jared, I've prepared the meal with the menu you mentioned."

"Thanks. You can put it down."

"That seems too harsh."

"Huh?"

"It's all vegetables and greens. I'm worried that if you only eat this, you might collapse. The content of your meals has changed so drastically from the hearty meals you used to eat..."

The mention of hearty meals made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I did eat a lot.

No, I really ate a lot! It's amazing I didn't die from it.

If the system had a category for 'super-super-obese,' my meal portions would have fit that.

I decided to strictly control my diet from today.

This will greatly enhance the synergy with the fat-dissolving needles. This relationship has been verified in the game.

"Acupuncture and diet control are essential. It doubles the effect."

"Ah, really?"

"Yes. You must follow it."

I was determined to proceed with the acupuncture trick, which has been verified in the game.

"Then, should I try making some tofu? I learned it from the chef before. Lord Jared didn't like it then, but maybe it's okay now?"

"Tofu? That sounds fine. It's made from beans, not real meat."

"Yes! That's right!"

"Then, let's see what you can do. Can you make it now?"

"Of course! I'll do anything Lord Jared asks!"

"Anything? No matter what?"

"Yes!"