Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 163
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 163
“…My room number? Why?”
“I have my reasons.”
At that brief answer, the Second Prince seemed to waver for a moment…
“Fine.”
Unexpectedly, he nodded without protest.
That put Lion off balance.
‘Wait…’
Of course, since permission was granted, that was good.
But wasn’t he agreeing a little too easily?
‘He doesn’t seem like someone who’s naive about the world.’
It was a surprisingly breezy reply.
In the end, Lion couldn’t resist and asked.
“What makes you trust me enough to allow it straight away?”
“My instincts.”
“…”
That was a clean hit.
The prince was throwing Lion’s own earlier words back at him.
“I may not look it, but shouldn’t a future Emperor be able to take the measure of at least one person?”
“…Understood. Then I’ll call on you tomorrow evening.”
“At exactly what time?”
“That is at my discretion.”
“Hah.”
The prince let out a sigh of exasperation, as if at a loss for words, rested his chin in his hand, and studied the figure before him.
He definitely felt like he was being handled, but it didn’t leave an unpleasant feeling, strangely enough.
Maybe it was because it had genuinely been a favorable deal.
‘I haven’t given him a single thing, yet he’s solving a long-standing torment of mine…’
Lion had certainly said he had an objective, but what Kyle sensed, more than that, was an enormous goodwill.
Yes. Perhaps it was because, as the Temple called him, he was God’s Messenger.
‘A strange feeling… but not a bad one.’
But he had said evening.
For the time being, Kyle would have to endure nothing but daytime schedules and then go back to his room.
At this rate, wouldn’t he have to postpone checking up on Lion Asteri?
‘Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.’
After all, he had met someone far more intriguing than that person.
Having delivered his message, Kyle watched the figure stand and move toward the door.
But… Ke-tilt.
Whether it was the alcohol or something else,
the man was swaying heavily now, unlike before.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Though he didn’t seem to realize it himself.
“…”
He really was a unique, peculiar fellow, Kyle thought, and a small laugh escaped him.
* * *
Lion managed, luckily, to return to his room before sunrise.
“Hic.”
…This was not the sort of hiccup that comes from being drunk.
But, that… became a problem.
“Brother.”
“…”
Rickshel had already risen and was waiting for him.
Who would have guessed he’d be up this early?
No matter how you looked at it, it was still before dawn wasn’t it…
‘Ah, meditation time.’
Mages wake in the small hours to meditate and feel the purest mana.
Rickshel would be no exception.
And so… he was caught red-handed, like a stray cat sneaking off with a fish.
“Th-this is.”
Lion hurriedly opened his mouth to offer an excuse.
His state was exactly like a fresh young adult who’d snuck out for a night without permission.
Worse, he’d been caught wearing a disguise.
Lion fumblingly removed the mask.
As he did, his face, flushed bright red from drinking, was laid bare for the world to see.
“You’re intoxicated.”
“Little brother. The thing is, I can explain this…”
“The smell of alcohol is very strong.”
“That is, you see…”
Without quite meaning to, Lion glanced warily at Rickshel.
Rickshel seemed to be quite angry.
Well, he had every reason to be.
‘He told me I should sleep, I went to sleep, and then I cut him out and went off to have fun.’
He might be sulking… no, he had every reason to be angry.
‘Wait, would coming clean honestly make it worse?’
Truth was, I went to meet your workplace colleague in disguise—no, the Second Prince—and scammed him.
It’s for a good cause, so hear me out.
Even if I said that…
‘Hmm, I wouldn’t want to hear that either.’
Once his thoughts reached that point, the end of his sentence naturally trailed off.
“I won’t hear it now.”
Luckily, Rickshel seemed inclined to let it slide.
Or maybe he was just letting it go for now because Lion was drunk…
“First, do get some more rest.”
Rickshel draped Lion’s arm over his shoulder, supported him to his room, and just as before, tucked the blankets over him.
“Th, thank you.”
Burdened by guilt, Lion lay down meekly in bed.
And only then did he feel the ceiling spinning round and round.
The alcohol had fully hit.
‘I can still keep thinking…’
His eyelids fell shut of their own accord, and a chuckle crept out.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No reason. Just, it’s comfortable.”
When he’d lived alone, even if he was dead drunk, had anyone ever tucked him in like this?
In his previous life, he hadn’t even gotten to his bed—more often than not, he’d collapsed right at the front door, barely managing to kick off his shoes.
But to be supported like this, laid down—it was unbelievably comfortable.
And so, a silly smile kept slipping out without his noticing.
“A little brother really is the best.”
“…Sleep well.”
Rickshel watched Lion like that for a moment, then put out the light in the room.
As his vision went dark, Lion fell into a deep sleep.
…
…
…
How long had he conked out like that?
“Unnnhhh.”
Lion opened his eyes to a splitting headache.
‘What time is it…’
The curtains were drawn, but he could tell that the sun was high.
“Good grief…”
Because he’d had to knock back hard liquor one after another with that Second Prince, both his head and his stomach were a complete mess.
Lion pried his unwilling eyes open and took a Hangover Relief Potion from his inventory.
He’d made several bottles of it during the dwarf village business—a good thing he’d prepared them.
The problem was…
Took.
He didn’t even have the strength to open the bottle.
Lion dropped the potion bottle he’d barely retrieved onto the bed.
It was a sensation reminiscent of the morning after a company dinner.
Of course, back then he’d dropped his smartphone, and now it was a potion bottle…
“Peep.”
As Lion groped around the bed, Nature flew over and nudged the potion toward his hand with its beak so he could grab it.
Then, with a flutter, it clamped its beak onto the stopper sealing the bottle and yanked it out with all its strength!
Pop!
The crisp sound of the seal opening rang out, and the cool, distinctive scent of the hangover cure reached his nose, giving him at least a little more consciousness.
“Thanks…”
“Hmph!”
As if disgusted by its owner’s groaning state, Nature alternated between an indignant “Hmph!” and a disgruntled “Tch!”
It was unmistakably scolding him: “Just what did you get up to in that half-day you left me behind?!”
‘Honestly…’
Now even a chick was getting on his case.
“Peep!!”
“All right. All right…”
Lion let out a weak laugh and downed the Hangover Relief Potion.
A cool fragrance and a sweetness like honey water spread through his mouth.
Soon, his lingering headache and intoxication vanished cleanly.
“Hoo!”
His mind returned in an instant.
While listening to Nature’s ceaseless scolding, Lion shuffled upright and opened the curtains.
As expected, brilliant sunlight flooded the room.
A pleasant breeze drifted in as well… it was perfectly high noon.
“Rickshel… did he go out on business?”
There was no sign of anyone in either the room or the sitting room.
Instead, a single sheet of paper lay neatly placed on the table…
-I have a matter to attend to and will be out for a while.
-I have arranged for a meal service, so please be ‘sure’ to eat.
-P. S. I will not report this to the Family Head.
“…Haa. Thankful for that.”
Things would indeed get really difficult if it reached Grandfather’s ears.
Lion gave a weak laugh, put the note down, and looked at the table in the sitting room.
There was a fine silver cover there that he hadn’t seen the night before—breakfast, apparently.
“Let’s see what’s on the menu.”
He lifted the cover to find steaming clam chowder, fluffy hotcakes, bacon, and a fried egg that was visibly fresh.
It was no exaggeration to call it a perfect brunch.
More than that, it was still piping hot as though temperature-controlled, as if freshly made…
“Siiiigh.”
At the sight, Lion put his hands on his hips.
There was nothing wrong with the food.
It looked delicious.
Honestly, he’d never seen hotcakes that fluffy with such flawless browning.
Even the maple syrup on the side gave off a rich, high-class fragrance.
If there was a problem, it was that Lion had drunk himself unconscious the night before.
‘…I’m aching for some bean sprout soup.’
Specifically, a clear and refreshing bean sprout soup with thinly sliced cheongyang chili peppers.
Or if not that, a version with a slightly reddish tinge from added kimchi would also be perfect.
A hot broth that would soothe his upset stomach, and fully cooked bean sprouts crunching and releasing their juice…
Grrrowl!
The moment he recalled bean sprout soup, his absent appetite came roaring back.
And with it, the brunch set in front of him now looked very appetizing indeed.
‘Yeah.’
It wasn’t every day he didn’t have to fix his own meal.
‘First, let’s eat.’
Besides, he wasn’t likely to get bean sprout soup here anyway.
Lion picked up the tray of food and headed out to the terrace.
“Still, this sort of thing really is best eaten outside.”
Sunshine bright enough to be almost dazzling, and a peaceful view of the outside.
Savoring that leisure, Lion took a spoonful of the clam chowder first.
Creamy, savory richness spread out, and fresh chunks of clam had a chewy bite.
The clams’ briny juice mingled with the cream, creating a distinctive savor without any hint of fishiness.
‘Not bad at all, actually.’
It was hot—almost too hot—which in its own way helped settle his stomach.
Now that he thought about it, in the West they sometimes ate things like this to cure a hangover…
Lion followed up with a bite of the sweet pancake, then dunked a strip of salty, crisp-fried bacon deep into the egg yolk.
Finally, he looked outside as he drank some strong, hot black tea, and the whole experience was, in its way, rather pleasant.
Sip.
The tea’s bitter notes soothed the greasy feeling that might have otherwise lingered.
“Hoo.”
This was nice.
A lazy afternoon moment.
Peaceful enough that last night could have been a dream.
“But it wasn’t.”
After emptying even the teacup, Lion blankly gazed outside for a while and took time to collect his thoughts.
‘The deed is already done.’
All that was left was to handle the aftermath.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too daunting. Lion was well experienced in scooping up spilled water.
Hadn’t he cleaned up after the higher-ups at his company countless times?
The only difference this time was that he was the one who had caused the trouble.
And moreover…
‘Well, as long as I keep my wits about me, it can be resolved quickly.’
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and there was still some time left until evening.
In that case…
‘First, sorting things out.’
Lion stood up and looked around.
-We have placed a special gift in your room. Please check it at your convenience.
They had clearly said they had left a special gift.
Fortunately, the gift was packed in a nice box and placed neatly beside Lion’s bed.
‘This feels a bit like unboxing a package.’
Lion sat down on the floor, untied the ribbon on the gift box, and opened the lid.
And inside…!
“Huh?”
A Luminis Deer key ring.
‘A special…’
A boxed set of 12 chocolate bonbons.
‘Gift…’
Of course, these were items you could only get at Easter, but…
Something about it felt off.
Sure, it was special, but… was ‘modest’ the word?
Clicking his tongue, Lion tore open the long box that was also in the gift box.
“…! This is.”
Mushberry Liqueur.
And inside was the recipe a bartender had devoted a lifetime to researching!
The moment Lion picked up the recipe—
[You have acquired ‘Bartender’s Recipe’!]
[Cooking Proficiency has reached Skilled Lv.2.]
[You can now craft cocktails.]
As a new branch of cooking opened up, his level rose along with a large amount of experience points.