Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Gaining back

Chapter 17: Gaining back

Thomas stepped on the scales again, thinking he had not seen right. There, the arrow pointed at 108 kilograms and 100 grams. He had gained weight. But, why?

He didn't understand. Everything he ate was in the zone. So, why was he gaining weight? He even had more exercise now, as he spent his days standing up, instead of sitting behind a receptionist's desk.

Was it the bread? Or, the extra sugar from the fruit? Maybe it was the cheese? It was in the red zone. Or, was it all three of them? He got off the scales and placed them back in his bottomless bag.

If he eliminated all three of these things, then, he should end up with less weight. After all, fewer meals meant less food in his stomach, which should mean less fat on his behind.

With a determined look, the dark-haired man walked to the farmhouse for breakfast. Rina and Owen were already inside, sitting on the table. Thomas sat down as well, and looked in his plate.

There was cheese inside, an egg, a slice of bread, olive oil was poured over it all. He took the egg and ate it. Not wanting to touch the cheese and bread, in case he was gaining weight because of them.

"You'll drop if you just try to go on with one egg," Owen spoke, and Thomas looked up from his plate.

"Cheese is in the red zone," he murmured.

"I don't know anything about any zones, but I do know that no one can go around on one egg until lunch," Owen persisted. "I will get you some ham when I go and sell your loot. Until then, eat."

Thomas looked at the cheese. It smelled great to him. The bread was still warm. He was tempted, oh so very tempted.

"If you don't eat, find another ranch that will have a farmer that will see you starve and not bat an eye. I won't suffer such things in my home," Owen snapped. Thomas wanted to protest, but this was his employer, not a family member. So, reluctantly, he took the cheese, and placed it on the bread. "That is a good man."

They finished the breakfast, and washed up. Thomas took his harp, while Rina took a bucket of paint. They worked for the entire day, then, Owen called them both for dinner. Their lunch being eaten outside.

There was chicken on the table, this time. Thomas appreciated the gesture. He measured half a chicken breast, and placed it on his plate.

"Do you feel full after eating so little?" Rina asked the summoner.

"Well, not quite full. More like, not hungry," Thomas told her. He did not reach out towards the bread, and this time, Owen didn't make him eat it.

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Thomas poured some olive oil over his chicken breast, and then sprinkled it with red ground pepper. It was tasty, and the meal reminded him of happier days. When he had been just a country bumpkin, leaving on a farm.

"I will be calling some laborers to get the wheat off the field," Owen told them. Thomas nodded. There was a lot to be harvested — now. He had covered at least fifty acres.

"Will you replant a crop?" Rina asked between bites of her own chicken.

"The land needs to rest. I will place manure over it, and give it a month before I plant again," Owen said, then, he looked to where the harp was resting by the door. "Do you think that this can feed the land, as well as make crops grow?"

"I don't know. Owen, do you want me to try it out on the empty patches left behind from Karl?" Thomas suggested. It simply wouldn't serve, if all the harp would do was to make the fields be filled with weeds.

"Do that. I want to see if something will grow without being planted," Owen agreed. He reached out towards a nectarine and placed it before Thomas. "Eat some fruits. It is good for you."

"But," Thomas tried to protest, but Owen then glared at him, and the summoner took the fruit. Just one, he told himself. Surely, he would have lost some weight by the morning.

He did not lose anything. Worse, he was now 108 kilograms and 300 grams.

"I don't get it. I eat three blocks per meal, twelve in total. Just as it is written in the booklet," he said to himself in frustration. "I knew that I shouldn't have eaten that cheese. The bread probably didn't help. And that nectarine went straight to my butt for sure."

With a huff, Thomas placed the scales back in his bag. He needed a change of plan. He was no longer in Orestria, where he had access to the markets. Now, he was at a ranch, and he needed to eat what a ranch could provide.

No matter what Owen said, he was cutting out the cheese, fruit and bread. Six hundred grams worth of cucumber were equal to one block of carbohydrates. Olive oil would work just well with them. Plus, he could eat...what? It was not like Owen was going to butcher all of his chickens for him.

Maybe eggs? The booklet had said that eggs were a good source of protein. Yes, eggs would be just fine. No chicken would need to die, and he would have enough protein, so he wouldn't start metabolizing his own muscles.

This new variation of the zone sounded suspiciously like an egg diet an adventurer had tried to tell him about, back when he had been on the fruit diet. How many kilograms had she lost during the egg diet? Maybe twenty? He couldn't remember.

He dragged his feet to the kitchen, and pointedly got the cheese and bread out of his plate. He helped himself to two more eggs, got olive oil on them, and then red pepper. Sitting down, he took a knife and fork.

"If you drop from hunger, I will tan your hide, boy," Owen promised. Thomas didn't respond. As they ate, Rina reached out and took the cheese and bread that Thomas had not wanted to eat. She was not on a diet, and would need all the energy she could get.

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