When it comes to martial arts, Michael really has no right to compare with Leo. But if we're talking about 'talk', Michael could definitely take on ten Leos at once.
Just because he didn't want to have to walk far later, he started preaching to Leo so he wouldn't want to go that far just for grilled fish anymore.
Hearing that because he wanted to go eat fish, he'd end up becoming a rotten noble in the future, Leo was completely shocked. His whole body froze for a moment before he could move normally again.
His eyes suddenly became weirdly determined, which made Michael shiver when he saw it.
'Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling? Is Leo about to come up with some damn idea?'
His gut feeling recently seemed to have gotten way more accurate. Just as he felt uneasy, he heard a 'shocking' statement.
"Thanks. I get it now. I can't let greed corrupt me. So I've decided I'll run there every day to look at the fish but not eat them. You have to come with me too, so neither of us gets corrupted."
???
'What the hell are you saying? Is that normal thinking? If you're not gonna eat anymore, why the hell are you running there?'
Inside, Michael was screaming like crazy. If he could, he'd go back and shut his past self up so he wouldn't say something so stupid.
And Leo didn't seem like he was trying to mess with Michael—he was actually serious. This time, no matter how hard Michael tried, he had no chance to escape.
"You don't get it. What you need to do is not go there and just train obediently near home."
Even though he knew there was no way it'd work, Michael still tried one last time. At least this way, if he failed, he wouldn't regret not having tried.
"Hmph, I can't choose to run away. I have to face the negative side of myself. Only then will I have a chance to do what I couldn't in my whole past life."
Leo answered seriously without realizing Michael was just being lazy. The two of them hadn't known each other long, so he hadn't yet grasped just how lazy Michael really was.
"Fine, you win. Do whatever you want."
Michael sighed helplessly. He felt like crying again. Leo's brain must have some kind of grudge against him. Otherwise, why would everything he say be the complete opposite of what Michael wanted?
---
"Don't be so sluggish. We're almost there."
Leo gave a half-hearted cheer to get Michael moving again. As he said it, he didn't even bother slowing down or glancing at Michael.
They'd already walked a pretty long distance, but still no sign of Leo's house. Maybe it was because this area had too many trees, so visibility was really limited.
"How many times have you told me 'almost there' now? Got any water?"
Michael said it while gasping for air. His whole body was drenched like he'd just taken a shower. The problem was, ever since he got this body, he hadn't drunk any water at all, so now he was incredibly thirsty.
"Look at me. Do you see anything that holds water? Why didn't you jump into that stream and drink back then?"
Leo didn't think something this simple would let a genie die of thirst, so he ignored Michael's continued complaining.
"Drink that???"
Michael had always drunk water that went through a filtration system, never natural water like that.
That stream was pretty clear, but there was a high chance the water had animal and fish poop, weird microorganisms, or something dirty or toxic that he didn't know about.
"If you don't drink that, what are you gonna drink? If you want boiled water, bring a pot to cook it. I also don't know how to brew beer or any other drink."
Leo looked at Michael with extreme suspicion. He even thought the genie might have some unique way of drinking water that wasn't like normal people.
In his era, even nobles used water from wells or streams. They had more options so they could pick the cleanest source, but it was roughly on the same level as that stream earlier. Of course, they usually chose to drink light beer since it was safer.
"Fine, fine. Let me figure it out myself."
He'd seen methods for brewing beer, making wine, and filtering water. He only remembered bits and pieces, but there was still plenty of time to experiment.
'System, how far have we walked already?'
He felt like the total distance he'd walked walking around inside his house in the past month wasn't even as much as today alone.
[Almost seven miles. Leo's place is only one more mile away.]
Seeing that Leo had finally told the truth this time, Michael could breathe a sigh of relief. Just one more mile, he could still manage.
'System, do you know how to filter water?'
[Are you kidding me? Why would I teach you?]
Seeing that asking this got him nowhere, Michael switched to another question.
'So if I drink a lot of distilled water, will I lack nutrients? Will it harm my body?'
[…]
The system felt like it was being insulted because Michael was treating the current body like his weak old body back on Earth.
[This body is immune to common diseases. It can perfectly absorb any organic matter and water without leaving waste and without getting poisoned. That means you won't need to poop or pee your entire life. Also, it doesn't need sleep, but you can still sleep if you want.]
Actually, the system could go as far as making him able to eat any matter and energy, but doing that wouldn't be very human-like. Even the gods' bodies on this continent didn't reach that level.
Hearing this kind of explanation, at first Michael was stunned. Then he got extremely happy because this meant he'd never go hungry. But the more he thought about organic matter, the more he felt something was off.
'System, wait... Could I absorb stuff like petroleum and coal too?'
[Of course. As long as it's organic matter, you can eat it without any processing. Don't worry about taste, because you can turn off your sense of taste anytime.]
Michael's eyes lit up like he'd just hit the jackpot. With this kind of amazing physique, no matter where he went, he could live comfortably.