Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 186
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 186
Lion immediately spread a wrapping cloth on the kitchen floor and placed the soybeans on top.
Perhaps because he had made it larger than a standard cloth just in case, it was remarkably stable.
“I’m glad I went to the trouble of making the cloth.”
Normally, you’d work with the beans still in the burlap sack or plastic they came in, but there was nothing suitable here.
Of course, if he’d asked Andrie or Hoffman, they would have put great effort into making one, but it was faster and more reliable for Lion to just cut and sew it himself.
‘I had nothing else to do anyway.’
Because even if he just read a book, Elvia or Rickshel would show up and glare at him…
He thought it was a little excessive, but he could understand why, so he humbly accepted the situation and staved off boredom by sewing now and then.
Once he’d placed all the beans, Lion shaped them into a rough mound, then covered them with one more cloth, wrapping the well-steamed soybeans.
And for the final step…
Shhk.
Lion took off his shoes and snugly pulled on a pair of cooking overshoes.
The overshoes, made of a cotton thicker than ordinary socks, wrapped his feet cozily.
This way, he wouldn’t slip on the cloth and could also prevent any potential accidents.
“Right. Shall we begin?”
Lion carefully stepped onto the cloth.
The first thing he felt was the warmth of the hot soybeans inside.
The sensation of them being crushed under Lion’s weight tickled the soles of his feet through the overshoes.
“Oh, keeping my balance is actually pretty tricky.”
Now he understood why the old folks wore overshoes when making meju.
Working on top of a burlap sack full of damp beans was surprisingly slippery.
‘Let’s be careful not to fall.’
If the sound of a fall in the kitchen reached his family’s ears… embarrassment aside, he might get banned from going outside again.
‘It probably wouldn’t end in just a week.’
The moment he thought that, his movements became cautious of their own accord.
“Ppeep.”
As Lion’s actions grew more prudent, Nature, who had been spectating its master’s eccentric behavior from one side, flew over, snatched up Lion’s finger, and lifted it.
“Hm? You want me to hold on?”
“Peep, peep!”
The sight looked so much like she was offering him a steadying hand that Lion couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Right. I’ve got no one but you.”
Lion properly stretched out his arm to the side and received Nature’s commendable support.
And just then…
“Oh.”
Amazingly, keeping his balance became noticeably easier!
Nature must have been controlling the wind to help him somehow!
“You’ve gotten to the point where you can do this?”
This was a task that required far more delicate work than simply blowing a person away or confining them.
Because she had to calculate exactly when Lion was going to stagger and in which direction he would tilt.
It was no simple technique—it was only possible through sufficient communion with her master.
So he couldn’t help but be astonished.
“Ppee~.”
At Lion’s admiration, Nature spread its wings wide and chirped proudly.
The nuance felt as if she were saying, ‘I didn’t just spend my whole time at the hotel looking after eggs and resting,’ so Lion had no choice but to burst out laughing while he worked.
After that bout of laughter, making meju became even more enjoyable.
“Alright, let’s focus again.”
First, he pressed down firmly on the center, where the beans were piled highest, packing them down so they were easy to step on, then he worked on the edges.
Movements that had been awkward at first grew steadily more skillful as he went along.
He hadn’t realized it at first, but this wasn’t about just blindly stomping around trusting your body weight.
‘There was a knack to it.’
Lion evenly applied pressure with his heels and the edges of his feet to crush the beans, repeating the process of shaping them.
When the beans reached a state where the name ‘meju’ suited them better than ‘crushed soybeans,’ he moved on to the next step.
Lion stepped down from the meju, opened the cloth, and checked whether the beans were evenly crushed.
This was his first time making meju himself, but perhaps thanks to all his experience eating dishes made with meju, he could tell instinctively.
“Mm. This looks about right.”
Some parts were completely pulverized, while here and there the texture of intact beans remained, a good balance.
He’d also drained the water well initially, so it didn’t feel excessively wet.
This meant it would hold together well later when pressed into the mold, and the air circulation needed for future fermentation would also be good.
‘Of course, the part where you actually ferment the meju is more important than this.’
But in any kind of work, doesn’t a solid foundation reduce the chances of failure?
‘Still, I think this will go well?’
Perhaps because it was a project he’d been planning for quite a while, nothing felt blocked, even if some parts felt unfamiliar.
Lion transferred the beans to a rectangular wooden frame.
He pressed firmly with his hands, packing the meju—its texture now similar to clay—so that it would fill the wooden frame tightly.
Neatly, so there were no cracks or gaps.
Delicately, like a reclusive potter shaping a precious piece of pottery.
And the important thing here was…
‘Don’t be greedy.’
Bigger meju isn’t always better.
If you’re not careful, the meju won’t get proper ventilation during the fermentation process, which greatly increases the chance of problems arising.
‘So let’s make them a little smaller.’
Fortunately, the wooden frame was adjustable in size, so Lion shaped the meju to be slightly smaller than standard and repeated the process.
Pack them in firmly, smooth the edges so they aren’t sharp, arrange them neatly on the cloth.
As he focused like that, before he knew it, beside Lion sat meju that were rectangular but with rounded corners, finished quite prettily!
“Phew!”
Lion wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and smiled with satisfaction.
With this amount, he could certainly make everything he wanted and even age it.
Of course, if he went as far as the aging stage, he’d need fermentation crocks, but he had something in mind for that, so for now, let’s focus on the present.
“Heave-ho.”
Carefully holding the finished meju so they wouldn’t fall, Lion left the kitchen.
Originally, he’d planned to go toward the well located just outside the kitchen, but if he left the meju there, the servants might be somewhat inconvenienced.
‘Because it isn’t just a few days.’
Meju takes about a week just to ferment, and if you go through the proper drying process, you need at least a full month.
He didn’t want the servants to have to mind the meju all that while as they worked.
And above all…
‘Near the well is a bit… you know.’
Splashing water or rising humidity might cause the inside of the meju to rot.
Or some mold he’d never seen before in his life might form.
To prepare for those situations…
‘There’s no place like here.’
Exactly—the library.
More precisely, the cottage located at the end of the labyrinth, which you could call his hideout and secret base!
Lion stepped into the library without hesitation.
The end of the labyrinth welcomed Lion with the same appearance as always.
Grasses and leaves fluttered in the cool breeze, making a refreshing sound, and the sunlight was warm.
On top of that, thanks to all the things Lion had made and installed during his visits, the place now gave off a reasonably lived-in vibe.
Somewhere between camping and rural life, perhaps.
Anyway.
“This is absolutely perfect.”
Lion went straight into the cottage.
Unlike the wind outside, a cozy warmth rushed over him.
He’d been so used to it before that he’d never paid it any mind.
‘This cottage…’
He didn’t know exactly how it was made, but its temperature regulation method was similar to an ondol!
Well, it probably wasn’t actual fire—likely a warming magic cast on the floor.
Anyway.
There was no better place for meju to dry.
Lion spread the rice straw he’d brought from the kitchen on the floor and arranged the meju he’d labored over on top.
Now all he had to do was leave them on this straw and dry them well, turning them over from time to time.
“Phew!”
His work for today was done!
Lion looked at the meju with eyes full of pride, then stepped out of the cottage.
He could make the sauce even faster by using Fermentation Acceleration, but he decided to hold off for now.
Because as it happened, besides the meju, there were quite a few other things he needed to do here!
“This time, shall we try planting some mushroom seedlings!”
* * *
One morning, several days after Lion had holed himself up in the labyrinth.
“Eeek!”
Freyania had steam coming out of her ears.
It wasn’t because her teacher hadn’t come to see her even once after returning from Easter and having his grounding lifted.
Her teacher was still young, wasn’t he?
Of course he must have a great many things he wanted to do.
And with his talent overflowing on top of that, she could fully understand if he was somewhat neglectful of her.
‘If anything, I’m the one who should be clinging to him.’
So while she was truly, a little, just a very little bit disappointed, she wasn’t angry.
‘Because my kind teacher drops by about once a month!’
The reason Freyania was angry was something else entirely.
Namely, the Criminal Underworld.
And more specifically, because of Jack, the leader of the Criminal Underworld.
“Sssii…!”
Freyania clutched the letter that had come into her hands through a covert route and trembled.
Reacting to its master’s excitement, the Salamander perched atop her conical hat snorted blasts of hot air. ‘Huff, huff.’
“Return for an in-person regular report?!”
Since when did he demand face-to-face regular reports—was that why he sent this letter?!
And not to all the personnel in the Criminal Underworld, but singling out just me!
Following her personality, she would naturally ignore it cleanly and stay put here, but unfortunately, she’d received quite a lot of supplies supported by the Criminal Underworld.
So, anyway, she was in a position where she had been provided a place to live and had no grounds to refuse.
Fine. You gave me money and research funds, so if you tell me to jump, I jump.
But even so, isn’t this too much?!
“Why the sudden spite?”
Right! The problem was that this recall order itself stemmed from Jack’s spitefulness.
The matter of Freyania’s residence had already been decided between her teacher’s younger brother and Jack.
From the Criminal Underworld’s perspective, they could learn the internal affairs of Asteri, and her teacher’s younger brother gained a faster route to communicate with Jack.
It was Freyania who had been wedged between the two of them, mediating.
In other words, it didn’t mean she’d just been lazing about doing only what she wanted!
You could say the three of them had perfectly aligned interests!
On top of that, there wasn’t even any substance for a regular report.
He’d already interrogated her down to the last detail, so what was this!
“Eeng! I don’t wanna goooo!”
Unable to even hurl the letter away, Freyania crumpled it up in her fist and buried her face in the bed.
If she went back, the mountain of work would be waiting for her, wouldn’t it?
Above all, she’d have to deal with that twisted bastard Jack.
Salamander climbed down from her hat and patted Freyania gently—tap tap—with its tiny front paw.
After receiving Salamander’s comfort for several minutes, Freyania abruptly lifted her head.
“…But come to think of it, why specifically call me?”
Once her head cooled a little, a question remained.
If you had to pick, Freyania was currently the one in most frequent communication with the Criminal Underworld.
From matters concerning major undertakings to even the minor happenings within the Asteri household, Freyania was reporting everything she knew.
What’s more, that was something the Asteri side hadn’t particularly tried to stop.
So it shouldn’t be that a problem arose with Asteri; what in the world was the issue…
“No way…!”
Freyania shot upright.
There was one problem. Yes, there was!
The incident where her teacher had gone to Easter and ended up grounded!
‘That letter was sent by the Second Prince, wasn’t it?’
And as far as Freyania knew, Jack and the Second Prince were business partners.
If that’s the case…!
The reason Jack was acting spitefully… was it because of her teacher…?