Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 157
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 157
Besides, what he’d gotten wasn’t only Egg Coins.
[Achievement ‘Egg, Money, Me!’ completed.]
[You have obtained 1,000 Shillings!]
Maybe because he’d obtained so many Egg Coins, an achievement was completed.
[Fishing Proficiency has reached Apprentice Lv.6.]
His Fishing Proficiency also rose from 5 to 6!
‘Whoa…’
That was so thrilling.
“Haha.”
Lion smiled contentedly, like a lion that had eaten its fill.
No matter how he tried to control his expression, a smile naturally leaked out—that was something he couldn’t help.
“Does he only smile once the game is completely over?”
“Wow… Brutal, absolutely brutal!”
Of course, a few guests watching from afar clicked their tongues, but unfortunately, their words were swallowed by the lively noise and never reached Lion.
“Two Egg Coins! That’s truly amazing!”
The employee, who’d been gasping in amazement alongside him, clapped and hurried over.
It was the first time a guest had fished up this many Egg Coins!
And besides…
‘If my instincts are right.’
The employee carefully ventured a guess based on his intuition from working here.
That guest could have obtained three Egg Coins if he’d set his mind to it.
But he hadn’t.
Probably, if he had, he would’ve drawn far too many eyes—that was likely why.
“It was a fun game.”
“Th-thank you so much for saying that! Then, will you move on to the right side now?”
“Do I have to move on right this moment? I liked it here and I’d like to enjoy it a bit more.”
“Oh my!”
That one line instantly lifted the employee’s mood.
The truth was, ever since he was assigned here, he’d felt a faint sense of rivalry toward the right zone.
Of course, feeling rivalry didn’t solve anything.
Because guests seeking thrilling entertainment naturally didn’t stay here long.
On the contrary, they wanted to quickly sweep up Egg Coins and head to the right zone.
The employee thought that was a shame.
If you looked closely, this left zone had tons of incredibly fun amusements!
…But per the rules, he couldn’t stop anyone.
So he’d been quietly upset about it, and now this guest right in front of him had said this place was more fun.
Of course, if he tried the right zone just once, he might change his mind.
‘Anyway, this is a chance!’
A chance to plant the awareness in guests that the left zone was plenty fun too!
And…
‘A, a chance to use this.’
With an excited expression, the employee pulled something out of his pocket.
Then he cried out in an exhilarated voice.
“May I see your invitation? Since you enjoyed the fishing game more than anyone, I’ll stamp it for you!”
“Stamp?”
Lion tilted his head.
“Yes. It’s like a certification that you enjoyed this facility more than anyone. Ah! It’s nothing special, but if you take it to the bar, they’ll make you a more special drink.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
Worried that Lion might refuse because it seemed like a bother, the employee swiftly pressed an egg-shaped stamp onto the invitation and then said goodbye.
“Then I hope you have a wonderful time in the ‘Left Playground’!”
Lion gazed at the invitation.
On the fancy stationery, a somewhat cute and intricate stamp had been pressed firmly.
‘A stamp, huh…’
Lion stared at the stamp and sank into thought.
That short conversation had contained a surprising number of hints.
First, that far more thought had been put into the left facilities than Lion had initially assumed.
It wasn’t simply a structure where you earned some coins and moved to the right.
‘Well, of course—they can’t have everyone go to the right side.’
It was surely a setup for people who simply wanted to enjoy things in a wholesome way.
And second, this stamp itself.
The stamp system.
Usually, in places like this, stamps were a sign that something good happened when you collected a certain number.
You could win prizes, or get a special experience.
In other words, truly clearing the left zone might lie in filling up all these stamps.
‘I don’t know what they’ll give me…’
But since Easter had prepared it, it probably wasn’t an ordinary item.
Lion had intended to sweep up every coin in this place anyway.
If he was just going to milk it for all it was worth, the stamps would come as a bonus.
‘Hehehe. Then shall I take a proper look around?’
Lion inwardly chuckled with a sly grin and began wandering the arcade in earnest.
“No way, he splits firewood this well?!”
“How does a young man who’s never struggled do that?!”
“I’ve never seen firewood split so perfectly in half! I’ll stamp your card.”
He cleared the axe game with the wood-splitting skills he’d honed in the labyrinth.
“Isn’t that a Luminis Deer plush doll?! Wasn’t it unbeatable because of its antlers?”
“How did you win it!”
He cleared the plush doll game with the skills he’d used at company dinners back in his old days.
Lion swiftly and efficiently—
yet while enjoying himself—completed every amusement facility.
Surprisingly, it took far less time compared to the fishing.
Well, rides were more fun if you kept them short anyway, weren’t they?
“Hoo!”
Anyway, in the end, the invitation bore a total of five stamps.
Collecting stamps as a grown man was a bit funny, but once he’d collected them, he felt a quiet sense of pride.
‘So this is why I was crazy about amusement parks as a kid?’
Swish.
Lion lifted the pouch holding the Egg Coins he’d gathered so far.
There were so many that they no longer even made a jingling sound.
Egg Coins: nine. And Egu Coins: three.
Which meant… converted, it was effectively ten Egg Coins.
It seemed he’d collected every coin that could be gathered here.
Then what remained was…
Lion turned his gaze toward the bar located in the center.
Brightly colored drinks and snacks were still being served for free.
‘My throat’s dry too, so perfect timing.’
That worked out.
Lion immediately walked over.
“Welcome.”
Unlike the lively arcade, the central bar was quieter than expected.
He suspected they were using the same magic tools from the dining hall here as well.
Thanks to that, his ears, weary from the noisy clamor, were soothed.
In the bar, quiet as if a curtain had been drawn, a dignified-looking bartender was stationed.
Lion naturally took a seat.
“Did you enjoy the amusement facilities?”
“It was fun. I had so much fun I even forgot my thirst.”
The bartender’s nicely groomed mustache twitched upward slightly. He must have been smiling.
‘It seems all the employees here are satisfied with their jobs.’
Easter’s work was quite strenuous.
Enough that even Lion, here as a guest, could tell.
Of course, that might have been because of a sense of kinship he felt from having run around as a salesperson before his possession… but!
What mattered was the employees’ satisfaction, wasn’t it?
Not a single employee here wore a forced smile.
Moreover, they were tremendously attached to their own facilities, and they felt immense satisfaction when guests genuinely enjoyed them.
Perhaps because of that, even while receiving top-tier service, his heart felt perfectly at ease.
‘The pay and performance bonuses must be good.’
Lion nodded. Job satisfaction shouldn’t stop at personal pride, should it?
“So, I’ve collected some stamps.”
“Ah. May I see them?”
The bartender took Lion’s invitation and slowly counted the stamps. His eyes widened slightly.
‘Five…?’
That meant he’d practically collected every stamp in the place!
The bartender looked at Lion with a slightly different gaze than before.
‘I don’t know who he is, but he’s no ordinary person.’
One might think I’m being overly complimentary just because he did well at some games, but there was one secret about the amusements here.
Namely, the variety of genres.
An ordinary person might fish and split firewood.
But wasn’t this a place where only so-called ‘silver spoon’ types gathered?
While they might fish as a hobby, plenty of people had never swung an axe.
Especially not younger guests!
Yet this young guest had done all of it.
‘And yet he’s this relaxed…’
It was truly astonishing.
In that case, he had sufficiently met the ‘requirements’ to enjoy the bar.
All that remained was the guest’s will.
The bartender politely returned the invitation and asked.
“…Do you have a drink you’d like?”
Lion pretended to think for a moment, resting his chin on his hand, then asked.
“I heard you have a special drink you can only enjoy here.”
“That’s correct. Shall I make you a drink using Easter’s special ingredients?”
“Hmm. Could I try making it myself?”
“…!”
At the bartender’s surprised look, Lion lifted the corner of his mouth.
‘As expected.’
While enjoying the other facilities, Lion had realized a few things.
First was that all the facilities here were designed for ‘experiencing’.
Even the relaxation facilities!
So he’d tried shifting his thinking.
Then what was the purpose of this bar?
Simply to grab a drink when you’re thirsty or peckish?
Was the only thing you could do ‘the experience of drinking a special drink’?
At this ‘Easter’ place?
Of course, up to that point, the service was already sufficient.
But Lion slyly incorporated a hint he’d heard earlier.
“If you take this to the bar, they’ll make you a more special drink.”
Yes. That’s what the employee at the very first fishing game had said.
If a guest who’d collected a lot of stamps went there, would it be the same?
The answer had already come from the bartender’s reaction.
“…Yes. If you wish, it’s possible. But the taste might differ from what you expect. Would you still like to try?”
In other words, a warning that if he made it wrong, he could ruin his palate.
But—
‘I’m confident, though.’
The genre might be a little different, but Lion was also pretty good at mixing liquids and creating something new.
Namely, alchemy.
“Making it wrong would be a memory too.”
“…I see. I understand your intention. Please wait a moment and I’ll bring the ingredients.”
It seemed Lion’s guess had been correct.
But—
“Huh?”
Lion was a bit flustered.
I mean…
‘It’s a bit different from the ingredients I imagined for making a cocktail, isn’t it?’
He’d thought it wouldn’t be the same as what he’d seen in the modern era, but this was quite a lot different.
I mean, this…
“It may look rough, but it’s perfectly safe, so don’t worry.”
Lion stared at the liqueur, which contained a mushroom puffing out suspicious spores.
If he had to say, they were closer to alchemy ingredients.
‘So I have to use that, huh.’
Now he sort of understood what the bartender’s warning meant.