[2]

Ethan, who had been punished with confinement, returned to the annex.

It was a treatment he fully understood. Given the misdeeds and incidents he had caused, this level of punishment was something he had to accept.

'Though, this is rather luxurious for a punishment.'

Despite being a place of confinement, the facilities lacked nothing.

It was evident that, as the continent's premier swordsmanship family, even their punishment buildings were of significant scale.

While there were no luxurious items, the accommodations were more than enough for Ethan and a few attendants.

'This might actually be fortunate.'

Ethan steeled himself. The water had already been spilled. Denying reality and running away wasn't in his nature.

Since it had come to this, he had to avoid the worst and achieve the best possible outcome.

'I can't die early on.'

He had no intention of becoming a mere extra. If Ethan was originally an insignificant villain, he now intended to increase his significance.

'I need to get this body in shape first.'

Ethan looked down at his body, a sigh escaping him.

'I can't even see my legs.'

It was hard to comprehend. No matter how much weight he had gained, this was beyond belief.

Soon, walking wouldn't be an option; he would have to roll around instead. Before executing his plans, he had to transform his body.

Ethan stood in front of a mirror. He couldn't know his exact weight, but he could estimate.

"Height is around 175 cm, weight around 150 kg."

He let out a sigh.

Though he was used to losing weight from his long years as an athlete, he didn't know where to start with this.

'In this body, I can't do anything.'

No matter how well Ethan knew the contents of the novel, that information was useless if he wasn't in a condition to act on it. With his reputation in the gutter and his body in shambles, his knowledge was worthless.

"Hey, you."

Ethan called out to an attendant.

Normally, Ryu wouldn't have spoken so harshly, but perhaps due to the mix of memories from the original body, a sharp, irritable tone came out.

"Yes, you."

The attendant's face turned pale.

"Y-yes, Young Master?"

He approached, trembling. Clearly, he was terrified.

'...Great.'

A headache was already starting. Just how much of a tyrant had he been that this was the reaction?

Ethan sighed and asked.

"Where is the training ground?"

"Th-the training ground?"

"Yes, the training ground."

The attendant began to dart his eyes around nervously.

"Y-Young Master, I am deeply sorry!"

The attendant suddenly prostrated himself, leaving Ethan looking dumbfounded.

"Why are you doing that?"

"I don't know what I did wrong, but please, anything but that… sob."

"No, I mean, why are you doing this?"

The attendant timidly lifted his head.

"Y-you're not planning to punish me at the training ground?"

"...Why would I?"

"Just because I displeased you..."

"...Have I often beaten you up for no reason?"

After a moment's hesitation, the attendant nodded.

"Good grief."

Ethan ran a dry hand over his face.

It seemed his plans would be harder to implement than expected.

***

At the training ground.

"You're suddenly going to start working out?"

Naid asked with a slightly surprised expression, and Ethan nodded.

'This is strange.'

Something had changed. The usual Ethan would have spent the day indulging in alcohol and women instead of training.

'Is this just a whim?'

It was a reasonable suspicion. Given the severity of Ethan's past actions, it wouldn't be surprising if it were dismissed as a whim.

'But then, there was that move...'

Naid remembered the technique Ethan had used in the chaotic tavern.

It was a move he had never seen before. Despite priding himself on knowing most martial arts and combat techniques, it was the first time he encountered a technique that used an opponent's force against them.

'It might be worth believing him, at least once.'

After all, he wasn't asking for much. Besides, Naid didn't have the authority to deny him the use of the training ground. A swordsmanship family member wanting to train their body was perfectly reasonable.

"But I would recommend against going to the main house."

Naid smiled gently, but Ethan frowned.

"Don't worry about that. I have no plans to leave here for a while."

That was actually perfect. If he could live within this estate without needing to leave, that was ideal.

Ethan intended to transform his current miserable body.

'This is similar to a fight camp.'

A camp designed to get an athlete into peak condition before a match. Upon reflection, it wasn't much different. He was familiar with this closed environment.

A smile crept onto his face despite the gravity of the situation.

Ethan started moving.

Slowly at first. He needed to warm up so his muscles wouldn't be shocked.

As sweat began to flow and his body loosened, he gradually increased the pace. The slow pace eventually turned into a jog.

'Damn. This is worse than I thought.'

He hadn't expected it to be this bad. He had only just started running, at a very leisurely pace. It was embarrassing to even call it jogging.

In his athlete days, Ryu could have run like this all day without breaking a sweat. But this wretched body started signaling distress as soon as he began.

His joints creaked and groaned, and his muscles screamed in protest. His heavy body jiggled violently with each step.

He wanted to give up and collapse on the spot. But Ethan didn't stop. This was just the beginning. If he gave up now, he wouldn't even get started.

Systematic training? Conditioning programs from his athlete days? Those were luxuries for later.

First, he had to get rid of this excess fat. What kind of training or exercise could he do when he couldn't even manage his own body?

Huff, huff.

Ethan panted as he ran, and Naid watched him with a peculiar look.

'He really started exercising.'

At first, Naid had doubted him, but Ethan was truly moving his body. It was a pathetic, grueling effort, but it was something. Ethan, who wouldn't even walk without his personal attendants and carriage, was now running.

Naid felt a strange emotion.

'Perhaps I should prepare tonight's meal.'

There was a chef who usually handled meals, but Naid thought he might step into the kitchen himself for the first time in a while.

Ethan's effort, strangely, seemed deserving of reward.

***

Four hours. It was a full four hours. That's how long Ethan ran without rest.

For an average adult male, even an hour of running leaves them breathless.

But Ethan, who had never exercised before, ran non-stop for four hours. Dragging his 150-kilogram body purely with willpower.

The training ground was drenched in sweat. Ethan's clothes were soaked through with sweat and other bodily fluids.

Ethan's body, collapsed on the training ground, heaved with every breath.

"Huff, huff."

His head spun, and he felt like he might vomit at any moment. It was painful; he thought his chest was about to burst. The physical agony was intense, and the struggle to breathe was even worse.

But Ethan didn't make a sound. He focused on calming his breathing. Breathing too quickly now could lead to hyperventilation.

Ethan suppressed the pain. After all, humans don't die from just this. This kind of pain was bearable.

Ethan slowly caught his breath and stood up. The sweat-soaked floor was slippery.

'It's not as bad as I thought.'

Ethan looked at his body with a new expression. At first, it felt like hell, but as time went on, it wasn't as bad as he had expected.

It wasn't a delusion. His body was actually adapting quickly.

'Even as an underachiever, having the blood of a swordsmanship family is something.'

He laughed.

To have such talent and waste it, creating a body like this. That was a kind of talent in itself.

But Ethan had no intention of leaving his body as it was. Even though Ethan's current body was pitiful, and his reputation was in the gutter, he did not despair. He planned to rise above it.

'I have something to work with, at least.'

Ethan knew the future.

To be precise, he knew the general storyline of the original work.

'At least I won't die a dog's death.'

In the original work, the swordsmanship family of Blante perishes.

***

Ethan staggered down the hallway. His body felt like a waterlogged rag. But Ethan knew this was an incredible condition.

Considering he had just run for four hours for the first time, he had gotten off lightly. He wasn't about to complain about something like this. Ethan gritted his teeth and kept walking.

At that moment, a maid appeared in front of him.

"What is it?"

He looked at the maid, who was trembling in fear.

The maid, who seemed terrified at the sight of Ethan, spoke in a barely audible voice.

"...I-I've come to assist you with your bath."

"...Hah."

Ethan shook his head in disbelief and started walking again.

"I don't need that. Don't bother coming to assist me with baths in the future."

"...R-Really?"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

At the irritation in Ethan's voice, the maid nodded quickly, her face pale.

"Then go. Oh, wait."

Ethan called out to the maid who was slowly retreating.

Her face instantly turned ashen. She seemed to think, 'Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.'

"...Where's the bathroom?"

The annex was quite large.

***

Ethan undressed in front of the bath. With his bloated body, even the simple act of undressing was challenging. His sweat-soaked clothes clung to his body like a leech.

'What a sight.'

Despite his miserable body, his clothes were excessively luxurious. This must be what they mean by a pig adorned with pearls.

Ethan let out a small sigh and threw his clothes aside.

'I need to ask for comfortable clothes from now on.'

From now on, Ethan's sole focus was training. Luxurious decorations wouldn't help at all with movement.

Ethan, now fully undressed, looked at his body.

Fat.

That was his first impression. His white body was generously covered in fat.

"..."

Ethan couldn't help but stare at his body in silence. He missed the body he had during his athlete days.

Back then, Ryu's body had been as tough, strong, and flexible as an animal's. Ethan couldn't get used to his current pudgy body.

"There is one good thing..."

Ethan approached the mirror set up by the bath. His abundant fat jiggled, almost as if it were dancing. It was disgusting to look at, but he needed an objective analysis.

Standing in front of the mirror, Ethan carefully examined his body.

His reach, frame, and build. There was so much fat it was hard to analyze precisely, but even at a glance, his body had great potential.

Ryu had exceptional physical attributes for an Asian, but compared to Ethan, there was no comparison.

'To have this potential even while obese...'

It hurt his pride.

"Sigh... I should get in the bath."

Ethan, as if trying to hide his body, slipped his white, heavy frame into the warmed bath.

As he submerged his body, the water overflowed like a tidal wave.

"...Damn it."

He felt utterly miserable.