Chapter 2: Cheating is my strength! (Part 1)

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– You! You dare make fun of me?!

“Make fun of you? What do you mean? You told me to think of what’s most important to me, so I did. Was I wrong?”

– Wha-what kind of crazy b****** considers their purity to be what’s most important to them?!

“That b****** is standing right in front of you.”

Jared responded very naturally to the angry Isabella’s question.

She had completely fallen for his trick.

Isabella was upset but there was nothing she could do. The term of the contract was that the contractee had to give up something important to them, and she had to follow through with it.

Just how did he manage to figure out the conditions to the contract? She was extremely surprised. 

There was simply no way for him to think of such a ridiculous ‘important thing’ without knowing exactly what the contract entails.

For him to slobber his ‘purity’ over her lips was horrendous! Crazy! She wouldn’t ever want it!

She’d gained utterly nothing from this contract.

Isabella could have just left after giving him the Mind’s Eye, but her fury refused to move her feet. 

– This won’t do.

“What won’t do?”

– I will take back the Mind’s Eye no matter what. I will follow you until the day you die! I will annoy you, pester you until I can forget about today’s humiliation!

Isabella aggressively vented her feelings with a heavy snort.

Since she had returned to her ghost form, she probably wouldn’t be seen by anyone else. This was because evil spirits could usually only be seen by those who summoned them.

“Well, sure, go ahead. I’m fine with it since I already achieved my goal. Do whatever you want. See ya!”

He waved at Isabella with an uninterested face and headed out of the office.

Jared left with no regrets since he’d successfully achieved his purpose even though it was gained via cheating. Jared, who came out of the office, headed straight to the basement.

While it was important to understand the current status of the territory right now, he wanted to use every cheat he can get his hands on.

Following the acquisition of Mind’s Eye, what Jared was currently imagining in his head is a cheat for dieting.

Dieting is essential to solving this ultra-high obese body of his. Perhaps it can be said that it’s a more important task than managing the territory.

– Give me back my Mind’s Eye! Give me back my eye!

Isabella persistently shouted in Jared’s ear. However, Jared continued down the hallway rather leisurely, humming and whistling while walking to the basement.

“Once it’s been activated, I’ll start losing weight. I can’t miss this opportunity; this is the best time.”

After going down to the basement, I recollect my mind before starting on the ‘big project.’ It wasn’t a pleasant experience when I played <Paradiso> in my previous life, but I’d come to know the perfect cheat that had been effective in losing weight in the game.

Click.

I first firmly locked the iron door in the basement behind me. Then, I tossed my clothes.

If you’re thinking I’m about to do something weird naked, then my answer is no, I am not. The project I’m going to begin can only be done with a naked body. This is the reason why I came to the basement—to prevent others from seeing me in this state. If by any chance, a maid walks into the scene in my room or my office, it wouldn’t take too long for them to consider me a pervert.

‘Fat Decomposition Needle.’

What I’m about to use for my ‘diet’ is the skill Fat Decomposition Needle. I hadn’t officially learned it, but it’s a skill I briefly saw a colleague use in <Paradiso>. The principle itself is simple. All you have to do is stick acupuncture needles in areas of the body with a high concentration of fats, like the abdomen and thighs.

But before that, disinfection must be done. That’s a must. 

It wasn’t difficult to complete the preparation because there were very thin needles kept in the basement that could be used as a substitute for the acupuncture needles.

Anyway, when the needle is placed, the four elements of mana gather at the point and decompose the fat.

I’m probably the only one in the world who’s attempting this method to rapidly lose weight.

Acupuncture isn’t something that appeared in the game in the first place.

The job for acupuncturists appeared five years later in <Paradiso>, so the idea would most likely be the same here. The development of this acupuncture cheat was quite simple. An oriental doctor who enjoyed <Paradiso> came up with this trick in his free time after setting up his own oriental medical clinic.

The user had a unique taste. He didn’t use acupuncture for treatment, but instead devoted himself to creating a customized fat decomposition needle to make the characters slimmer! As a result of months of commitment, he finally acquired this skill. And thus the beginnings of the Fat Decomposition Needle.

In <Paradiso>, the Fat Decomposition Needle was a cost-effective trick. This was because the weight loss effect was very good, but it cost so little to use. On the other hand, in most games, the body shape-changing medicines sold by merchants and in-game markets were so expensive it was difficult to even want to open up your wallet. 

The same was true of this world. In order to lose weight quickly, one has to be given a buff spell called “Blessings of Hardship” from a high priest or high-profile person proficient in that area instead of buying medicines.

The problem is that the amount demanded by these people in exchange for using the buff is an astronomical number. Since it’s a skill that is incredibly scarce, there is no one market price set for it. It was usually quoted at a high enough price to purchase a house for ordinary people.

In addition, even if I pay the right price, I’d have to wait a long time. Due to the enormous consumption of holy power, a high priest can only use the skill once a day. For me, whose financial situation is not very good, it’s like a rice cake in a picture1.

‘The effect is at least 15kg per month.’

When the Fat Decomposition Needle is effectively used, the weight loss per month would be 15kg or more. In addition, if the needle is inserted well in the right place, fat and waste in that area of the body would be immediately decomposed. Meaning, you’ll lose weight immediately.

This is why I’d come down to the basement as soon as possible, right after I got Mind’s Eye. If I start right now, then I wouldn’t have to wait too long before the next time I can use the needle.

“Oh, dear God. Please.”

Although an atheist, I prayed to god as I prepared to put the first needle in my belly. It would be slightly painful to put it in my thigh, but the thing I was the most scared of was my stomach. It doesn’t matter if someone else injected or put needles into me, but it’s scary to do it to myself.

This was a fight against me and my self-discipline, one I had countless times in my previous life when it comes to games but failed every time.

“Ha, I feel ashamed whenever I look in the mirror.”

When I looked in front of me, I could see myself standing very awkwardly in a naked state, grabbing my belly fat as hard as I could to put the needle in.

Part of me wondered what I was doing. Since I couldn’t see what I was doing when I looked down due to the fat, I had to use the mirror to guide myself to the right area to needle.

“I need to insert it deep to double the effect of mana circulation.”

I checked the line marked on the needle. I had marked it at the half-mark. Inserting it at the quarter-mark would give a weakened effect, but inserting it at the half-mark would give the maximum amount of effect.

In addition, after I leave the basement, I would need to apply mana on my abdomen and thighs from time to time to help get the fat decomposition to continue working. Great. I might be considered even more of a pervert for real if anyone sees me rubbing my abdomen and thighs.

But I still have to do it!

“It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt at all. It’ll just sting. Sting… Ahhhhk!”

I tried to mind control myself before I went for it. From the moment when the needle penetrated the skin of my stomach and entered the fat layer… 

I screamed.

I thought I put it in pretty well, but it felt like I was stabbed.

“Whew, it’s okay. It’s probably because this is my first time. Now, for the next one. It doesn’t hurt. It stings… Urghhk!”

The mind control did nothing. My belly fat jiggled as I screamed each time. The pain wasn’t this bad in <Paradiso> when I was only a game character, but now that I’m experiencing it in person, I feel like dying would be a better option.

“I-I still have eight more spots to put on my stomach alone. Will I be able to endure it until I finish with my thighs?”

Cold sweat started to form. Perhaps because I was already fat, my whole body felt like it was on fire even though I sweated only a little.

“Hooha. Hooha. Hooha.”

I tried to control my breathing. The more pain I felt, the harder it was to focus on putting the needle in. If I fail to put the needle in correctly, I’d probably lose half or all the effect of the needle and gain double the pain instead. 

So, I continued the battle against myself as I continued to poke myself with needles.

~~~

At the same time.

‘What is Master suddenly thinking about? Why did he stop by the office even though he didn’t have a meeting and where did go right after?’

Haze, the maid, was headed to the basement to pick up cleaning tools.

Today, many servants and maids of the mansion are in upheaval. This is because the territory owner, Jared, had finally come out after staying in his room for months.

‘The basement… I used to cry a lot here before.’

Haze recalled old memories. For her, the basement was like a secret hideout. Whenever something sad or unbearable happened while working as a maid, it was a place where she came down to and cried. 

This was especially the case when Jared threw harsh words and items at her. Whenever that happened, she would come to the basement, cry, pray, and go back out. She would pray for her Master to return to his former self. She wanted those bright and lively days to come back.

But today, it felt as if her dream had come true. When she saw Lord Jared wake up, she felt similar energy to his former self. Although he had gained weight and had difficulty with his heavy body, his eyes held a different look.

It wasn’t the usual look where it was dim and only spared annoyance to everything it met. Instead, it glowed like it did once before.

“If Master returns to his old self… I think I’ll be really happy. How great would it be if I could fill the empty seat next to the lord? Master, please come back. I’ll be waiting for you!”

Haze put her hands together and prayed.

Her crush, which had begun since she entered this mansion as a maid, has not faded. Everyone tried to avoid taking care of Jared, who had gained a lot of weight, but Haze never did that. She was always by his side when Jared was angry, when he laughed, and when he was hysterical.

“While Master is away, I should clean his room! Right, because that’s my duty!”

Haze smiled brightly as she approached the doors to the basement. 

Just then.

There was a noise coming from the basement.

It was strange that there was a noise, considering no one else comes down to the basement beside her. Haze has been the only one to come down since she’s the one in charge of cleaning, so no other maids should be in the basement at all.

“…”

Haze approached the basement and perked her ears to listen in.

“Ahh! Ow! Argh! This is driving me crazy! I’m gonna go crazy! For! Real! Arghhh!”

‘Master?’

Judging by the way the person was speaking and their tone, it was obviously Jared’s voice. However, something was very off about the way he spoke.

“That’s right! There! Why couldn’t you find the right spot?! I wouldn’t be suffering this much if you went in smoothly and went in right away! You idiot!”

Haze’s face darkened.

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Translator’s Notes: