Her face turned bright red almost immediately. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about this, but the conversation seemed to be about something forbidden, something she shouldn't know about.
"No, no, the lord is an adult! It's perfectly normal. He's a healthy adult, after all."
Hayes imagined all sorts of scenarios in her head. They were all quite embarrassing, but understandable for an adult. Still, she felt strange.
Ever since she was young, Hayes had always admired Jared with a heart like a sunflower. Now, she felt a peculiar sense of betrayal. In truth, she was angry!
She never thought of Jared as hers, but she didn't want to see or know about him sharing a passionate love with someone else. After staying quietly in his bedroom for so long, suddenly coming out to have a secret affair with another woman—she believed it couldn't be a man—was unacceptable.
She wished she hadn't known! It felt like she had opened Pandora's box.
"Oh, for real. If others saw me like this, how pathetic would they think I am? If they knew the lord was here with me, undressed..."
"Ahhh."
Hayes' pupils shook. Jared seemed to be blaming himself while still going through with the act. She didn't know who the other person was, but if they were both undressed in the basement, it was obvious what was happening.
"No, no!"
Hayes shook her head. Just then, a rough moan echoed.
Hayes' mind went blank. Clink! Before she realized it, her body moved on its own and opened the door to the basement. Since Hayes often went in and out of the basement, she had a key, so unlocking the door wasn't difficult.
"No, stop! Lord!"
Hayes shouted urgently as she rushed inside. She moved so quickly that by the time Jared noticed her, their eyes had already met.
"Oh..."
"Ah...?"
In that moment, silence fell. It was as if time had stopped. Jared and Hayes just stood there, looking at each other.
But there was a problem. Jared was standing there, not wearing anything, looking at Hayes. And contrary to Hayes' assumption that she had caught him in the act, Jared was alone.
"What... is going on?" Jared asked. He was so flustered that he didn't even think to put on his clothes. In his right hand was a needle he had just been about to place, and his belly was covered with needles, like a porcupine.
"I thought... I thought you were making love, my lord... Ahh." Hayes blushed and lowered her head, inadvertently revealing her true feelings. That was fine, but the problem was that it was a complete misunderstanding.
"What are you going to do? Take responsibility!"
"What?"
"You're the first person to see me like this... Hayes."
He was sincere. It was the first time he had shown his perfect, bare body to anyone in both his past and present life.
It took some time for the shock of suddenly being exposed to wear off. After enough time had passed, I explained everything to Hayes. She didn't quite understand the concept of acupuncture, but she accepted the situation without much hesitation.
"I think whatever the lord does is right! More than that, I'm so happy! It's amazing to see you taking care of yourself so enthusiastically, my lord!"
"Hayes, look up. Where are you looking?"
"Oh! I'm sorry."
"Anyway, I had to take off my clothes to place the needles on my belly and thighs, so I came down to the basement for a bit."
"I'll make sure to lock the door tightly from now on. Or should I stand guard at the entrance? Just in case someone comes!"
Hayes stood at attention, mimicking a guard. Her innocence was part of her charm. That's probably why she liked the previous owner of this body, who was foolish and clumsy. Maybe she still likes him.
"Give me the Insight!"
"Whoa." Isabella, who had been glaring at me from the side, suddenly shouted. But thanks to that, my focus shifted, and I naturally thought of the Insight skill. I immediately used the Insight skill on Hayes to check her stats and traits. The Insight skill is passive, so it doesn't require any special activation process. It also doesn't consume any mana. It's similar to having a permanent buff.
[Hayes - Lv. 8]
[Strength: 3]
[Stamina: 11]
[Mana: 0]
[Intelligence: 13]
[Agility: 13]
[Charm: 25]
[Physical Defense: 5]
[Magic Defense: 0]
[Special Traits: Devotion S / Unrequited Love A / Support A / Cooking Master A / Sensitivity B]
[General Traits: Stability, Peace]
"Wow, her devotion is S? And she has so many special traits!"
I was surprised by her special traits. If a player in <Paradiso> saw her traits without knowing she was a maid, they would definitely recommend her for a healer job. Devotion and support are essential for healers who use holy energy for healing. Without these two traits, choosing to be a healer is a waste of time.
But Hayes had both traits rated as S and A, respectively.
"Unrequited Love A means she's been in a deep one-sided love for a long time. It must have been over 10 years..."
Knowing who the target was, it wasn't surprising, but it did make me feel a bit sad. However, as a lord, I have a lot of responsibilities ahead of me. I have no intention of giving my heart to someone or having a carefree romance. That would go against the goals I set when I became aware of my current life, and I don't want to break that.
"Cooking Master is also A. No wonder Hayes' cooking always tastes so good."
I used to really enjoy Hayes' food. I was always curious about her cooking skills, and now that I've confirmed it with Insight, it makes sense.
"I must train Hayes to be a healer in the future. She'll be a great asset to the territory!"
I made a future plan that Hayes wasn't aware of yet. The plan to train Hayes as a healer! The healer, also known as a cleric, is a rare profession across the continent. The healing power of a professional healer is so immense that it can't be compared to that of a high priest or a grand priest. It's almost embarrassing to compare.
If I train her well, she'll be an incredible asset to the territory.
"My lord? What are you thinking about? Do you have any worries?"
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about a few things. What were we talking about?"
"I was asking if I should stand guard at the basement entrance for you, my lord!"
"It's fine. You manage the basement keys anyway. I have the other one."
"That's true!"
"Just don't come in, Hayes."
"Heh... Is that so?"
As Hayes scratched the back of her head, I gently tapped her on the head and said, "Turn around. I have to do some embarrassing work now."
"Yes! I'll go over there and organize the cleaning tools."
"Don't come over unless I call you. There's nothing to see, but still."
"Yes! I'll remember! Oh, I meant I'll remember not to come over! Not the other part!"
Hayes, confirming unnecessarily, left. Her pure and innocent nature was evident.
"...Well, it's fine."
"Sorry!"
"I said it's fine. Go on."
"Yes."
Hayes walked down the corridor of the basement and disappeared inside. Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and began to channel mana into the needles stuck in my belly.
"Fortunately, the previous Jared did some magic training. If this body had nothing, it would have been hopeless. I'm grateful he got it up to the 4th class level."
This body has low mana stats, but fortunately, it can sense and use mana. My father was a magician, so I received magic training from a young age. Currently, as a magician, I'm at the 4th class level. I can use quite a few spells, but the problem is that my capacity is small. With my current mana of 75, I can't even cast two 4th class spells that require 40 mana each.
Still, having reached the class level means I've got the basics as a magician. The flow of mana is stable.
"I need to work on increasing my mana alongside my weight loss tricks. Right now, expanding my mana pool is more important than jumping into a dungeon."
I concluded my thoughts. With this heavy body, going to a dungeon full of agile monsters is impossible. Increasing my mana stats and losing weight safely is the priority. Nothing can take precedence over this.
"Hoo, hoo."
As the energy of the four elements infused through the needles, my body alternated between feeling hot, cold, hard, and relaxed. Each time, sweat poured down like a waterfall. Fortunately, I had prepared plenty of towels; otherwise, the basement floor would have been soaked with sweat.
[Your body enters the 'Fat Breakdown Activation' state.]
[The effect of the needles increases by more than three times.]
[A large amount of stimulation is activated. 900g of fat is immediately broken down and expelled!]
"Great! This is it."
Indeed, deeply inserting the needles and circulating mana made my body respond more actively. I could feel my belly fat shrinking by a fingernail's width.
"Wow!"
I could barely see my toes. When I exhaled, they disappeared, but when I inhaled, my big toenail peeked out and then vanished again. It was a significant improvement! Just a moment ago, I couldn't even think about seeing my toenails.
Excited, I continued to touch the needles embedded in various places and infused more mana.
"Ha, it's the first time I've smelled grilled pork belly from my own body."
I chuckled. Every time I activated the power of fire, a savory meat smell wafted from my belly fat. This too shall pass! I focused on breaking down the fat, sweating profusely.
After sweating it out in the basement for a while and taking a refreshing bath, I returned and sat in the office chair. Hayes came in as if she had been waiting, carrying a small tray with my requested dinner.
"My lord, I've prepared the meal as you requested."
"Thanks. You can leave it there."
"It seems too harsh."
"Hmm?"
"It's all vegetables, isn't it? I'm worried you might collapse if you only eat this. The meals you used to have were so hearty, and now it's all changed overnight..."
The mention of hearty meals made me feel a bit guilty. I did eat a lot. No, I ate a ton! It's a wonder I didn't die from it. If there was a category for 'super morbid obesity' in the system, I would have been classified under that with the amount I ate.
I've decided to strictly control my diet starting today. That way, the synergy with the fat-breaking needles will be excellent. This is a proven connection in <Paradiso>.
"Diet control is essential with acupuncture. That's how the effects are maximized."
"Really?"
"Yes. It's a must."
I planned to diligently follow the steps of the acupuncture trick. Since it's a proven method in <Paradiso>, I had no doubts.
"Then should I make some soy meat? I learned how to make it from the cook before. You didn't like it back then, but maybe it's okay now?"
"Soy meat? That sounds good. After all, it's made from soy, not real meat."
"Yes! That's right!"
"Then let's see your cooking skills, Hayes. Can you make it now?"
"Of course! If you command it, my lord, I'll do anything!"
"Anything? No matter what it is?"
"Yes!"