438 – The Chubby Miss Hates Dieting.

Another peaceful day in Desmond.

“Milady.”

Having completed a journey of over a month, and returned to the manor, I spoke while watching the Milady munching on jerky in bed.

“Ughghghghgh!!!”

“Milady.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeek!!!”

“Milady…”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!! Tough!”

“It’s a serious matter.”

The Milady, who was showing off her healthy teeth along with the jerky, swallowed it down and gave me a serious look as I approached.

“Mmm.”

Because if she didn’t listen to Ricardo, her snacks might be taken away.

“Milady…”

“Mmm.”

“It’s just that, well…”

I’d been agonizing over it for a long time.

Should I say this or not? I worried and worried about saying something unnecessary that might hurt her.

But.

“Sniff.”

Looking at the face of the young lady, an angel if ever there was one, a conviction bloomed within me that I absolutely had to speak. If I held it in, choked it down, it could come back as a bigger disaster later.

“Haa…”

The subject I had to broach was so weighty. Overcoming the oppressive pressure on my shoulders, I opened my mouth with difficulty.

“Milady.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Well…”

“Mm.”

“It’s just…”

Clenching my eyes shut, I addressed the young lady who was staring intently at my face, my heart heavy.

“I think…we should consider a diet.”

“…Hm?”

“A diet.”

“…Eek?”

“It seems…necessary.”

An awkward flicker passed across her eyes.

The trembling in the young lady’s gaze, as she looked back and forth between my eyes and her own stomach, created a heavy atmosphere.

“…”

As if struck on the head, the young lady’s eyes widened, and she stared blankly at me before dropping the jerky she held in her hand with a soft thud, and speaking.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Have I gained weight?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“A little…it is.”

The young lady, reeling from the shocking words, shook her head vehemently, uttering words laced with denial. She insisted she couldn’t possibly have gained weight since she was working hard on her rehabilitation exercises.

“I’ve been working out hard.”

“You’ve been doing very well.”

“I practice walking for more than 30 minutes a day.”

“You’ve been doing exceptionally well.”

“So why am I gaining weight?”

The young lady pouted, sticking out her lips, and gazed intently at me.

“So I haven’t gotten thinner?”

“…”

“Even though I’ve been working out so hard…?”

I know it’s rude to say these things to a woman. Especially to someone who relies solely on her looks, it’s even more unacceptable. I know this all too well.

But.

“…Milady.”

“Mm?”

“When did you bring out the chocolate?”

“Heek…?”

While absent from the manor, I’d thought I really must speak to the young mistress about her addiction to sweets.

The mistress, just now:

“Heuk…? Why am I holding chocolate?”

Because she was a chocolate addict.

Rosanna, who had been eavesdropping from a distance, dabbed at her eyes and nodded fervently. ‘Ricardo, you’re finally the one to say it,’ she thought, wiping away tears.

“Mistress.”

I directed a serious expression toward the young mistress.

“Let us rewind time.”

“Mmm.”

“What did you have to eat a week ago, at noon?”

“Chocolate.”

“And three days ago, when I was away, what did you eat the most of?”

“Chocolate.”

“What time did you go to sleep?”

“One o’clock.”

“In the morning?”

“Mmm.”

“What were you doing all that time?”

“Eating chocolate while watching, ‘Ah, no, milord! I have a husband!'”

“…?”

“It’s a romance novel. It’s incredibly fun. Would Ricardo like to see it, too?”

“…Where did you get it?”

“Gomtang brought it.”

An awkward gaze passed between us in the air, and then the young mistress smiled brightly, a sunny look on her face.

“Hehet!?”

“What does ‘hehet’ mean!”

Truly adorable, but today, I could not be swayed.

As a butler responsible for the health and vitality of his master, I had a duty to address the mistress’s overflowing cheeks and belly.

Not that it was an unpleasant sight.

To be precise, the combination of a little extra weight and plump cheeks resulted in something quite cute. In my previous life, one might have used the (unsuitable) word ‘curvy’ to describe her condition.

Still…

Even if that unsuitable word fit her body all too well. For the mistress’s health, I had to grit my teeth and encourage her to lose weight.

A heavy body would only hinder her rehabilitation.

I watched the retreating form of the mistress, already mourning the loss of her beautiful cheek fat, and called out to her. Cuteness would avail her nothing.

“In any case, you must lose weight.”

“Oowoong…”

“You must become healthy.”

“But, I’m not a pig. It’s okay.”

Pinching at her increased belly fat and pouting her lips, the young mistress sighed deeply, her face clouding with sadness. Hearing Ricardo’s words, she thought that maybe she had gained a bit *too* much weight.

“I’m not a pig.”

“Such a pretty piglet.”

“Oink…”

“Tie a ribbon, and she’s a ribbon piglet.”

“Oiiiiiink!!”

“Adorn her with flowers, and a flower piglet.”

“Stop teasing me!!!”

The young lady, having unleashed her fit of pique, began to nod her head, giving my words her attention.

“Alright.”

“…”

“I’ll lose weight.”

“…Very well, Miss.”

“If I lose weight, Ricardo will make me something delicious, so I’ll try my best.”

“Miss…”

“Hm!”

“Perhaps you should set down the jerky in your hand before speaking.”

Olivia, having succumbed to a snacking addiction in the time her world’s most handsome butler was away.

Moved by the young lady’s serious expression, I began to speak, pulling the documents I had prepared since last night from my inside pocket. Even if I don’t look like it, they contained the wisdom of a beautiful man who, in his past life, had mastered the art of self-management.

“First, exercise.”

“I hate it!”

“Focusing on rehabilitation therapy for one hour each day.”

“…Thirty-five minutes.”

“An hour and a half.”

“Oiiiiiink! Forty minutes.”

“Two hours.”

“One hour.”

“Very good.”

Secondly…

“A diet consisting mainly of vegetables and protein.”

“Oiiiiiiiiink!”

“Consuming paprika, carrots, and a mandrake salad – excellent for dieting – every morning and evening.”

“Ricardo is plotting to kill me.”

“It cannot be helped. Blame your cursed belly, Miss, the one that consumed only chocolate during my absence.”

“My belly isn’t cursed!”

“Blessed, perhaps?”

“Hm.”

“Blessed with the ability to eat a great deal.”

“Hehe! That’s right.”

I hadn’t intended for her to take it as a compliment, but the young lady was smiling brightly.

I let out a dry chuckle and began to state the final condition. The other points were important, but this particular issue needed to be resolved immediately.

“Lastly…”

“Ugh.”

“No chocolate for a while.”

“…Ugh…?”

“It’s forbidden.”

Olivia, as if she’d lost the world, hated Ricardo again today.

***

Back in his dormitory, Ruin sat at his desk, gazing at the brightly glowing sphere.

-Roll…roll…

“Haa…”

A sphere radiating a reddish light.

The flames dancing within it burned with a beautiful light, as always, but Ruin’s heart was not so light.

-Roll…roll.

This magic, the very thing he had longed for.

“Shit… what am I even worrying about, Mosshead?”

-Pause.

“…Wait, did I just call myself Mosshead…”

Having somehow accepted “Mosshead” as his own nickname, Ruin squeezed his eyes shut and spat out a curse.

“Shit…”

Ruin was growing fond of the words he hated the most.

“Ugh…”

He was troubled.

Regaining his lost power was a good thing, but the question of whether he was ready to wield this power now tormented him.

Thinking coldly, acquiring the magic returned by Hans would only benefit him.

There was no need to hesitate.

It was, after all, originally his.

Reclaiming his magic would instantly close the gap between him and the other students, and perhaps he could even aim for the top ranks in the rankings battles.

Even if he couldn’t defeat Mikhail, now the owner of a holy sword, he would grow strong enough to easily face the other students. Of course, facing Historian Hanna and Yuria would be difficult, but he could once again aim for the top of the Magic Department.

Moreover, thanks to that b*stard’s special training, his ability to wield magic had also grown, giving him a power that was incomparable to the past. There were countless benefits.

If he pushed himself, he might even be able to cast Meteor…

“Bad luck, damn it.”

He didn’t think the time was right yet.

He had just barely regained his character.

His awful, cocky, bickering personality had sunk to rock bottom, and he had finally started to straighten it out and see things properly. If he snatched the opportunity now, problems would arise in many ways, he figured.

He might revert to his old self.

Just like Ricardo said, he didn’t think he was quite fully formed as a person yet.

“Just a little more…”

He thought it wouldn’t be too late to master the magic after waiting a little longer, until he could be sure he wouldn’t revert to his old self.

Even though he would need time to adapt to the magic, the time to secure his character would be even longer.

“Yeah, let’s wait a little longer.”

Ruin recalled Hans clapping him on the shoulder and muttered a curse under his breath.

“That brat, he could’ve handed it over himself…”

Though, thinking on it.

I suppose I might’ve done the same.

Luin, with a self-conscious smile at the thought of ‘friendship,’ opened his book.

“Best get to studying.”

Luin, figuring the time wasn’t quite ripe, preferred to remain a lackluster student aspiring to improve.

*

Beneath the moonlight’s reach, under the night sky’s shadow.

Hidden within the darkness, members of the Heretic Order were gathering.

-Thud.

-Thud.

A man cloaked in black stood, gazing directly at the towering steeple, and spoke.

“Draw your swords.”

“…”

“From this moment, the reclamation begins.”

The Heretic’s target was a detention center, a place imprisoning the most depraved criminals.

“Freedom for the oppressed.”

It was a place where those discontent with the world gathered.