Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 185
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 185
“W-Where did you obtain something this precious?”
“I received it as a gift after I became the Magic Tower Lord. I took the one that was decorating my home.”
Hoffman added,
essentially meaning that since he needed magical tools, didn’t he need toys to tinker with to pass the time while he was at home?
‘No way…’
Well, he wasn’t exactly wrong.
After all, Lion had been checking if there might be even better items.
But…
‘Flowing Tears aren’t exactly toy-grade.’
Even the items sold in magic shops weren’t priced like ordinary toys.
But he’d asked for them anyway, thinking what was the harm when they had a silver spoon!
He truly never dreamed that what would come back in return would be something that couldn’t be converted into money.
“May you really give something so precious to me?”
“Haha.”
Hoffman simply burst into laughter at Lion’s repeated question.
He had expected this sort of reaction, but he was still quite pleased.
It wasn’t because he wanted to take credit, but because he once again felt that Lion truly had a kind and gentle heart.
To think he’d react so free of greed.
‘No, that’s not it. Where in the world is there a person without greed?’
He simply knew how to put others before his own desires.
In reality, the value of Flowing Tears was immense.
Outwardly, it was known as a rare treasure with only three in the entire empire, and internally—
that is, from the perspective of mages and researchers…
‘It’s a precious catalyst that can prevent the collision of any substance.’
Researching Flowing Tears was probably a dream-like pursuit for many mages.
But despite that, experiments on Flowing Tears had not continued.
The reason was simple.
The remaining resources were so extremely limited that they couldn’t be tampered with freely.
If they made a mistake and wasted one or two, they could never obtain them again!
Wasn’t the fact that Flowing Tears could serve as an incredible catalyst also discovered through theory?
‘Hence, when I got my hands on Flowing Tears…’
Even Hoffman had strongly felt the urge to properly explore its properties.
After all, unknown objects always sparked immense curiosity.
However.
The life of a Magic Tower Lord was not so easy.
There were countless spells needed in the world, and the work to be done was proportional.
As time passed like that, Flowing Tears had become a decorative piece before he knew it.
Hoffman had even forgotten it existed.
But recently, he suddenly had this thought.
‘If it’s that child Lion, he would research this substance for me.’
Even if not, he had a strong feeling that something wonderful could be made from it.
‘Of course, if I were to say that…’
That child Lion would certainly feel burdened, so he wouldn’t voice it.
“No matter how precious something is, if you look at it for a long time, it begins to feel like a mere pebble.”
That was why Hoffman decided to phrase it a little differently.
“It is no longer an important item to me, so you may accept it with a light heart.”
In a way, it might sound like he was passing off something useless, but if the item’s identity was ‘Flowing Tears,’ the implication changed drastically.
Lion, having understood the meaning well, respectfully accepted the finely crafted glass bottle.
“Thank you very much.”
“What’s there to thank.”
Hoffman was about to continue the personal chat but closed his mouth.
It was because he noticed Lion’s eyes kept glancing longingly toward the Flowing Tears.
He didn’t feel bad.
Instead, he felt good, as if the item had gone to its rightful place.
‘Ahem, I’d better make myself scarce at an appropriate time.’
Hoffman cleared his throat inwardly and rose from his seat.
“Then I shall take my leave now. When I learn the current status of that mage, I will contact you again.”
“Yes. Travel safely.”
Hoffman said there was no need to see him off and left the room.
And Lion…
“…Wow.”
Promptly picked up the Flowing Tears and examined it from every angle.
[Flowing Tears]
-Tears shed by a mermaid, stored in a bottle before they could dry or dilute in the sea.
-They have a salty taste, but ingestion is not recommended.
-Be careful, as they evaporate quickly.
[Usage - Alchemy, Dyeing, Fishing]
[☞Click to view recipes.]
A liquid resembling a cup of pearlescent, jeweled sea sloshed slowly within the bottle.
Everyone was captivated by this antique beauty, using it as a decoration rather than a catalyst.
However, the true value of Flowing Tears was revealed in crafting.
A prime example was the ‘Scroll Made from Flowing Tears.’
‘How powerful is that, you ask…’
It’s quite complicated to explain in detail, but simply put, using this, you could make an ‘Elixir’ capable of reviving even someone who had dipped their foot in the Three Paths River.
Because of this, it is said that there were so many mermaid kidnappings in the distant past that it became a serious problem.
As a result, mermaids are now extinct, and recipes using Flowing Tears have effectively died out, leaving them usable only as decorations.
‘Well, who would use something as a consumable when the price itself is astronomical.’
Even if you tried to use it and failed, you wouldn’t just end up with nothing; you’d only incur an astronomical financial loss.
‘Of course, I happen to know how, though.’
Anyway, acquiring such an item so easily could certainly be called a very fortunate turn of events.
Lion grinned and carefully stored the Flowing Tears in one side of his inventory.
“But it seems I can use this for other purposes.”
He could understand using it for Dyeing—it was a unique ability that let you make dye—but Fishing? What was that about?
What on earth would you fish up?
‘Well, since I’ll be using it for crafting, it won’t matter.’
Lion shrugged his shoulders and got up.
In any case, he had received the second check-up, and even his lingering internal injuries were perfectly healed.
“Since Grandfather said I could move around once I was healed…”
Even if he couldn’t go out to the town in good conscience, he could at least go to the kitchen, right?
Lion grinned, flung the door open, and headed for the kitchen with excited steps.
And there, at that place…
“It has not been a full week yet, so please return. Young Master.”
None other than the Knight Commander was standing guard…!
“No, I’m just thirsty.”
“The dining hall is over there.”
“…Tch.”
“Even so, you may not.”
In the end, Lion only managed to enter the kitchen after resting thoroughly for the remaining two days.
* * *
And the morning after those two days had passed!
“Finally!”
Lion stepped into the kitchen with a deeply moved expression.
How long had it been since he’d last come into the kitchen!
“I missed you so much!”
Of course, he’d frequented Easter’s kitchen to take his meals even before his convalescence, but this felt different.
The dishes placed in familiar spots. The kitchen tools that fit perfectly in his hand.
And above all, the cooking fires that were even more delicate than the ones at Easter’s!
“This is it. This is it!”
It felt like getting out of a sickbed and reclaiming daily life.
And above all…
He could finally do it.
‘Jang.’
The soy sauce, chili paste, and soybean paste Lion had been constantly longing for!
And he could make the meju that formed their very basis!
Gulp.
His mouth watered just thinking about it.
Countless Korean dishes that could be made with these sauces already flashed through his mind.
Among them, the most desperately wished-for…
A soybean paste stew loaded with beef brisket…!
When he crushed some tofu into the bubbling stew, mixed it with rice, and took a huge bite…!
Keu-eu. Just thinking about it was intoxicating.
“Phew, just a little more patience.”
Lion headed toward the basin where high-quality beans were soaking, glistening.
In fact, he had secretly summoned Alex the day before and had already completed the process of soaking the beans in advance.
“Good. They’re well soaked…”
Lion checked the state of the beans and transferred them from the basin to a pot.
The plump, round beans, resembling Nature, rolled and settled into the pot, and he poured plenty of water over them.
The important thing here was not to fill the pot too full of water.
The beans had to be boiled for a long time, and a moment of carelessness could cause them to boil over entirely.
If that happened, the water would overflow, lowering the water level inside the pot, and the mishap could cause the beans to burn.
“Heave-ho.”
Lion placed the large pot on the cooking fire, covered it, and adjusted the heat.
Originally, it was supposed to simmer gently over a low flame, but you had to use a high flame at first so the outer skin cooked quickly and the heat could reliably transfer to the inside.
‘Of course, I could have asked Alex to do it up to this point.’
Alex was a renowned chef in the empire.
He might not have ever boiled beans in such a large quantity, but he would have produced well-cooked beans quickly once he got the hang of it.
However.
Isn’t the ‘hand-taste’ important for meju?
Since he was making it to eat anyway, he wanted to go through the process as much as possible with his own hands.
And when else would he get to have this experience?
Lion chuckled as he watched the beans boil.
After a little time passed, the water began to boil bit by bit, and after more time passed, as expected, the foam threatened to boil over.
‘Now!’
Lion quickly opened the lid and adjusted the heat to kill the foam completely.
Now that the initial boil was done, he just had to simmer it over a gentle flame, stirring it from time to time.
So, about… more than two hours.
He could finish it in an instant if he used Fermentation Acceleration, but perhaps because the week-long confinement had just ended, even this felt like a kind of satisfaction.
‘I really must have been bored…’
In the past, he would have thought he could laze around in bed for a month.
He felt anew how much he had changed.
Lion pulled up a chair that Alex had brought in at some point and sat in front of the cooking fire.
And as he stirred the beans occasionally, he fell into a cooking trance for the first time in a while.
The kitchen was slightly cool but felt the warmth of the fire, leaving his mind at ease, and time passed swiftly and well.
The savory smell of the beans added to it.
When a little over two hours had passed like that.
“Oh.”
The hard, glossy beans had turned slightly golden and were properly cooked.
Lion carefully took out a bean and gently pressed it with his hand.
As expected, the bean crushed smoothly without resistance.
“Peep.”
Nature, who had been sitting quietly until now, fluttered over and hovered curiously around Lion’s hand.
‘Well, it’s a bird, so of course it would like it.’
Lion blew on the well-cooked bean to cool it down, then placed it in front of Nature.
“Want to have a taste?”
In response, Nature pecked at the well-cooked bean with its beak to confirm it was soft, then swallowed it in one gulp.
“Peeep!”
It must have been more satisfying than expected, as it even pecked off and ate the bean remnants stuck to Lion’s hand.
If Nature reacted this much, the beans must have been boiled just right.
“Great. Then the next step is…”
Lion strained the beans from the pot, placed them in a colander to drain the water thoroughly, and let them cool.
The beans, which had been steaming, eventually cooled to a moderately warm temperature…
Finally, at the moment the long-awaited main work was to begin, Lion took out the items he had prepared over the past week from his inventory.
It was none other than!
[Waterproof Wrapping Cloth]
-A wrapping cloth that catches waterproofing and hygiene all at once!
[Cooking Overshoes]
-The era of sanitary cooking gloves is gone! Now, it’s time for overshoes too.
It was the equipment for stomping the meju.