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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Grand Prince of the Marquis House (2)
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The Grand Prince of the Marquis House (2)
[Name: Yuren Lox]
[Peculiarity: Severely Obese]
[Traits: Creator's Eye lv1, Sichuan Tang Clan (Locked)]
[Synchronization Rate: 99.9%]
Nothing else caught my eye. The only thing that stood out was my trait, the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The Sichuan Tang Clan is one of those factions that's practically a staple in martial arts novels. Probably because they mainly use poison and hidden weapons, they often show up as villains or cowards.
"What is the Sichuan Tang Clan doing here?! This is a fantasy world!"
I remember enjoying a martial arts novel where the protagonist was from the Sichuan Tang Clan, but I still had no idea why it was listed as one of my traits.
On top of that, it was locked, so I couldn't even use it. The settings were going completely haywire.
I could at least make some sense of the Sichuan Tang Clan. But this situation was just hopeless. I had no idea what was going on.
"There's no one to ask, and it's driving me crazy!"
**
"Has Yuren woken up?"
"Yes. He woke up a short while ago."
In his office, Arin was reporting to Marquis Willington that Yuren was awake.
"How did he seem?"
"First of all, his physical condition didn't seem back to normal. He fell while trying to stand up and said he wasn't feeling well."
Yuren had fallen for reasons other than his physical state, but of course, Arin couldn't have known that.
"Priest Alio said his injuries weren't that serious."
Willington stroked his beard, thinking about Yuren's reaction today.
"But didn't that boy Yuren seem a bit strange? Normally, he would've thrown a fit the moment I told him to apologize to Ilia, but he surprisingly just said 'yes'."
"Perhaps it's because he only just regained consciousness."
"You think so? I suppose getting hit a little won't change that damn personality of his. By tomorrow, he'll probably be raising hell, vowing revenge on Ilia."
Arin had sensed the change in Yuren even more keenly than the Marquis, but she wasn't certain yet, so she didn't say anything rash.
"If only he were half as good as my second son..."
His second and third sons devoted themselves to training and their studies, often staying up all night even when told not to, let alone needing to be nagged. It was impossible not to compare them to Yuren, who did nothing but laze around and get fat.
"He will gradually get better."
"Haha, even I, his own father, have given up on him, yet you seem to have faith."
Despite Willington's words, Arin simply stood there, her expression as impassive as ever.
"I've done you a disservice. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have let you pursue the path of a knight from the start..."
"It's nothing."
Recognizing Arin's potential, Willington had trained her while debating two paths: making her a knight of the house or Yuren's personal guard.
Willington had sent Arin to Yuren, assuming that Yuren would naturally succeed him as the Marquis, which would allow Arin to become a knight guard. But now, that had become an impossibility.
"Alright. You may go."
"Yes. If you'll excuse me."
As Arin closed the door and stepped outside, she thought about what the Marquis had said, and how different Yuren had been today.
'He's definitely changed. Especially his eyes.'
**
"The Sichuan Tang Clan has to be the one from the martial world. But how do I unlock it?"
I don't know any internal energy techniques, and the only knife I've ever held is a paring knife. For an ordinary guy like me to get stronger, I have to unlock the Sichuan Tang Clan trait somehow.
In any case, the Sichuan Tang Clan is a martial arts sect, so it must involve physical activity. But in this fat body, even exercise is impossible.
I started by walking around my room. The room was large enough that walking wasn't an issue, but I was the problem. After just a few minutes, my legs were already starting to ache, and I desperately wanted to sit down.
"Is this what they mean by the body ruling the mind?"
My mind wanted to keep walking, but my body yearned for a chair. Even now, the lumps of fat on my body were constantly screaming, 'Sit!'
*Knock, knock.*
Just as I had resisted the temptation of the chair and walked for about ten minutes, a knock came from the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and Arin entered. Seeing me drenched in sweat, she flinched and took a step back in surprise.
"Grand Prince, what are you..."
"I was trying to get some walking in, but even though the room is big, it's not great for it. It's getting stuffy, too. There's a training ground, right? Or do you call it a training hall? Take me there."
"What?"
Arin, whose expression was usually a mask of indifference, stood there with her mouth agape, a dazed look on her face.
"I'm sorry. Could you please repeat that?
Arin's frozen eyes began to waver slightly.
"I said, let's go to the training ground."
"May I ask why?"
Arin seemed worried I was going to cause some kind of trouble, but all I wanted was to lose weight and unlock the Sichuan Tang Clan.
"Like I said, the room is spacious, but it's not comfortable to move around in. I'm going to the training ground to get some exercise."
"Umm."
Arin's impassive expression shattered once again. She looked at me with confusion in her eyes.
"Arin?"
"I will guide you."
Shaking her head, she led the way out, and I followed. As expected of a marquis's estate, the hallway outside stretched on endlessly, lined with countless doors.
"Whoa..."
As vast as the building was, many servants were bustling about their work. Every time we passed one, I activated the Creator's Eye.
[Favorability: -49 (Dislike)]
[Favorability: -74 (Extreme Dislike)]
[Favorability: -69 (Extreme Dislike)]
[Favorability: -80 (Loathing)]
[Favorability: -77 (Loathing)]
It was no surprise that no one liked the troublemaking Yuren, but the numbers were ridiculously high.
The female servants, in particular, disliked me far more than the men. It seemed to be the result of Yuren's womanizing, which had led to his fiancée breaking off their engagement.
It's going to be incredibly difficult to repair this ruined image...
I looked at Arin, who was walking ahead of me.
[Favorability: 0 (Neutral)]
Everyone else's favorability was in the negatives, so I really couldn't understand why Arin, who spent the most time with me, was neutral.
But there was a more pressing matter. We kept walking, but the training ground was nowhere in sight. The garden stretched on and on.
"Pant, pant! When are we going to get there?"
"We're not even halfway there."
As expected of a marquis's house, it was ridiculously huge. Just getting to the training ground felt like it could count as my workout for the day.
"Are we still far?"
"We're almost there now."
"Ugh!"
I had plenty of fat but no muscle, so moving was exhausting. I wanted to collapse right then and there. But the pride of a fifth-year Korean reservist wouldn't let me stop.
"We've arrived."
"Pant, pant!"
What would have been a single line in a novel—'They arrived at the training ground'—took me nearly an hour of walking in reality.
"How does anyone get to the training ground if it's this far?"
"Normally, we would arrive much faster, but I moved slowly today because I didn't think you would be able to keep up, my lord."
"Ack!"
It was infuriating, but she was right. Reservist or not, if she had moved any faster, I definitely would have collapsed halfway there.
"There's no one here."
"It's currently the regular training hours. Most of the knights will be at the first and second training grounds."
"There's more than one training ground?"
"There are four in total. This is the third one. Did you not know?"
"Ah, of course, I knew that. Haha."
I had no idea, but I pretended I did as I caught my breath.
After steadying my breathing, I began to walk briskly around the training ground. Resting would have been easier on my body, but I knew it would be harder to start again, so it was better to keep moving despite the fatigue.
"It's nice that no one's around."
Arin stood still as a statue, watching me, but her gaze seemed a little different than before.
"Pant, pant! Ah, seriously! My body is so heavy!"
My original body wasn't muscular, but I had walked consistently for an hour or two every day, so I was confident in my walking. But moving in Yuren's body felt like I was dragging dozens of sandbags, and it was unbelievably hard.
After pushing my mental fortitude to its limit and walking until I could no longer move, I collapsed to the ground. As I was struggling to breathe, a shadow fell over me.
"Huh?"
I lifted my head to see who it was. The sunlight made me squint, but I could clearly see his status window.
[Favorability: -91 (Urge to Kill)]