The Miracle of Equivalent Exchange: Diet Turns to Abundance
The Imperial Court Veterinarian’s verdict fell like a death sentence.
He lifted his glasses, measured the area he presumed to be my waist with a tape, then shook his head with finality.
“Obesity.”
“Happiness pouch… you said, right? Medically speaking, it’s pre-morbid obesity. If we let it continue, your joints will suffer. A tiger might turn into a seal.”
“A seal?! How agile is our Blanc supposed to be!”
Princess Kailian flared up, but the veterinarian stabbed my belly with a blunt finger.
The fat yielded with a dull thud, then was shoved back.
“Your Highness. We received a report that the Divine Beast fell from the bed yesterday and could not get back up, sleeping on the floor.”
“……”
“It’s not that he was too lazy. He simply could not rise because his body was too heavy.”
Cryaoo…
He got caught…
Kailian’s pupils trembled as if the earth had cracked beneath them. She stared at me with a face full of shock.
I tried to act as if I didn’t notice, grooming myself. But my tongue couldn’t reach the back of my thigh because of the belly.
Cryaoo…
Damn it.
In the end, Kailian made a resolute decision, tears brimming in her eyes.
“Blanc… I’m sorry. It’s all for you.”
With her declaration of resolve, the premium sirloin steak in front of me vanished.
In its place sat a handful of wilted vegetables and a single dry chicken breast.
The hellish trainer stood before me.
“Divine Beast-sama! Your lower body won’t betray you! Come on, stand up again!”
Saintess Lina, dressed in simple clothes, shouted without pause.
This was the special training zone prepared just for the Divine Beast at the corner of the Imperial Training Ground.
“Final sprint! Ten seconds!”
Krr…!
Already called the last one earlier!
I ran the training ground nonstop at Saintess Lina’s command.
This is punishment. It’s definitely punishment.
How dare they make a tiger chase a ball!
My legs trembled. The muscles in my thighs felt as if they were burning.
“One more lap! You can do it! Burn that belly fat and you’ll get to eat pheasant!”
Kyaaak!
Be quiet!
I roared in protest, but Lina took it as motivation.
“Good! That spirit! The tiger’s will! Five more laps!”
That woman was clearly a demon wearing the Saintess’s skin.
Kailian stood on the distant terrace, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, her face turned away as if she could not bear to watch.
Butler… was our bond really this thin?
I shot her a pleading look, but she seemed to have made up her mind.
I’m hungry…
After exercising, my stomach felt even emptier than usual.
Delicious food floated through my mind.
Succulent T-bone steak, honey-glazed whole roasted chicken, butter-poached lobster…
Meat… I need meat… a lot… a lot…
Extreme physical pain dulled the mind.
Half-conscious, I instinctively craved something.
Deep inside my belly, a hot warmth stirred.
I’m hungry! Give me food! Give me meat!
Uracha chacha!
Kyaooooo!
At the moment I summoned every last bit of strength to stand on my hind legs…
Paaat—!
A brilliant golden wave exploded from my body.
The light raced straight across the training ground, heading exactly toward the kitchen ingredient warehouse where the delicious scent seemed to come from.
“Eh? That just now… sacred energy…? Did you awaken your sacred energy?”
“……”
Ky… u…
Lina rubbed her eyes and asked, but I had no energy left to answer.
It was strange.
The pain in my thigh muscles that had been about to burst moments ago had vanished.
Not only the pain—my entire body had become feather-light.
It felt as if the energy inside me was draining away like a receding tide.
I staggered and collapsed onto the floor.
“Divine Beast-sama? Divine Beast-sama!”
Lina came running in panic, only to freeze as she tried to pick me up.
“Eh…? So light?”
The real event wasn’t here—it was exploding in the Imperial Kitchen.
“No, today’s lunch is chicken breast salad! Do not handle the meat!”
The head chef roared, and the chefs set down their knives with gloomy faces.
It was painful that the Divine Beast’s diet declaration made them unable to see their cooking blessed by him.
Ever since the Divine Beast’s diet announcement, the kitchen atmosphere had turned into a mourning house.
Nothing but the scent of grass instead of greasy odors.
“Check the stock. How much chicken breast is left?”
“Yes, I’ll check the warehouse!”
The youngest chef rushed off to open the ingredient warehouse door.
But before he could even turn the handle, a heavy thud, thud echoed from inside.
“What’s that? Is someone inside?”
The youngest chef twisted the handle, curious.
And the moment the door opened…
Urrurru— bang!!
Uwaaaak!
With the youngest chef’s scream, the warehouse door burst open as if it would fly away.
The head chef’s eyes bulged.
“W-what is this?!”
What poured out from the warehouse was not chicken breast.
Premium marbled ribeye, sausage bundles as thick as my arms, giant turkeys, and smoked whole pork belly covered the kitchen floor like a snowstorm.
The warehouse had been completely empty that morning.
Yet now it was stuffed to the ceiling with meat, as if vomiting it up.
“H-head chef! The meat… the meat is multiplying!”
“What did you say?!”
“Look! The sausages are growing right now! Ham is dividing!”
A piece of ham on the floor emitted a golden aura, then split into two with a ponk! sound.
A wilted cabbage in the vegetable basket suddenly swelled, turning fresh and plump enough to rival a human head.
“T-this is black magic! A curse! A curse has fallen on the Empire!”
The head chef writhed beneath the mountain of meat and screamed.
Just then, Lina and Kailian, who had come running at the commotion, arrived at the kitchen entrance with me tucked in Lina’s arms.
“What happened! Enemy attack… ugh!”
Kailian couldn’t finish her sentence.
Before her eyes stretched a sea of meat.
But the more surprising sight was the figure Kailian had been carrying.
“B-Blanc?”
Kailian’s mouth fell open.
She blinked in disbelief and stared at me.
I staggered when I landed on the floor.
There was no other choice.
Because the belly that had been dragging on the ground moments ago had completely disappeared.
Not only had it vanished—it had become so slim that the outline of my ribs was faintly visible.
The puffy rear fat was gone too, leaving the skin hanging loosely.
“L-Lina! Why is Blanc like this?! Is he hurt somewhere?! Why did he suddenly turn into half his size?!”
Kailian ran over screaming and stroked my now-flat belly.
The happiness pouch had disappeared. The fat she had wanted to remove so desperately… and now it was gone, Kailian looked as if the world was collapsing.
“This is…”
Lina looked alternately at the mountain of meat and my slim figure with a serious expression.
And, wielding the Saintess’s knowledge to the fullest, she reached a conclusion.
“The Miracle of Equivalent Exchange.”
“Equivalent exchange?”
“The Divine Beast-sama has performed a massive miracle. A power on the level of creating something from nothing. That immense energy…”
“No way?”
“Yes. You burned your own body fat to replenish it.”
A silence fell over the kitchen at Lina’s words.
Meaning the mountain of sausages and steaks was the result of my belly fat being converted.
My fat had transmuted into meat. This was true alchemy!
Wasn’t this truly great for a white tiger like me?
“In this world… how hungry must you have been…”
Tears welled in Kailian’s eyes. She pulled me into a tight hug.
“I’m sorry, Blanc! It’s all my fault! You don’t have to lose weight! If our Blanc dies from hunger, how am I supposed to live!”
Cryaoo…
I buried my face in her arms, pretending to be powerless.
Exactly as planned.
My belly was slim, and meat mountains loomed right in front of me.
No situation could be more perfect.
“Your Highness! Now is not the time to be touched!”
Lina shouted urgently.
“The Divine Beast-sama’s life force has rapidly turned into body fat and been lost! You must consume high-calorie food immediately, or shock may occur!”
“W-what? Then what do I do?”
“Eat! Whatever is available!”
Lina shoved a large piece of smoked pork belly into my paw.
The very meat that, in normal times, would have been confiscated for being too high in calories.
Cryaoo.
How am I supposed to catch it… I don’t even have a thumb… I can’t hold it.
Lina coughed discreetly as if pretending not to notice, then changed the subject.
“Eat, Divine Beast-sama! Hurry! This isn’t food—it’s medicine!”
Medicine.
How sweet a word that was.
Kyaaaaan!
I tore into the pork belly without hesitation.
Fatty richness filled my mouth. Yes—this was living!
As I devoured the meat greedily, Kailian shouted at the chefs.
“What are you doing! Bring more meat right now! Bake! Stir-fry! Fry! Make everything Blanc wants to eat!”
“Yes, understood!”
The chefs moved with perfect coordination.
The multiplied meat sizzled on the griddle.
I held chicken legs and sausages in both paws and began my happy feast.
No guilt came with every bite.
On the contrary, every time I took a bite, Kailian and Lina sighed in relief, saying, “That’s right, eat well.”
Burp.
A burp escaped naturally.
My belly ballooned again.
The happiness pouch had returned. Yet no one pointed it out.
Instead, Kailian stroked my now-bulging belly and wept.
“Thank goodness… the belly came back… you’re healthy again, Blanc…”
I licked the sauce from my lips and grinned.
If I get fat again, I’ll just use the Miracle of Equivalent Exchange!
After using it a lot, I’ll even share the meat with the citizens.