Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 20
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 20
‘But somehow the ingredients feel familiar…’
Isn’t this similar to the mulled wine I made once in my past life?
Well, anyway, great.
“Either way, it’s a perfect match with these cookies.”
It would relieve fatigue and boost efficiency.
Plus, judging by the ingredients, it would probably be quite effective in preventing colds, too.
‘Though that depends on what grade it ends up as.’
Still, since my level’s gone up, it should be more useful than before.
And on top of that, excellent ingredients backed it up.
Lion went over to a nearby basket and fetched two oranges and a lemon.
[Fresh Orange (★)]
[Fresh Lemon (★)]
“Nice.”
Perhaps because it was produce supplied to House Asteri, the quality and freshness were exceptional.
Alright, let’s get started, then.
Lion washed the fruit thoroughly and sliced it neatly. A fresh, zesty fragrance burst from the peels, and a rich, juicy scent bloomed from the flesh.
The aroma alone was enough to make his mind feel sharply alert.
“Now for the star anise root.”
Lion picked up the star anise and inhaled its scent.
Unlike common star anise, the root carried a subtle sweetness alongside its sharp, spicy fragrance.
‘So that’s why there was no sugar on the required ingredients list.’
Lion placed the sliced oranges and lemon into a pot, poured in the Low-Grade Health Potion, and lit the burner.
‘You couldn’t let it boil hard.’
He kept the flame at a gentle simmer. Once the oranges and lemon were cooked to a certain point and their juice had rendered out, he added the star anise root.
Dumping it all in at once wouldn’t cause a problem, but it might bury the Aqua Rosemary oil’s refreshing note, so he held back.
As the potion simmered over a heat so low that only the tiniest bubbles rose to the surface, a rich aroma filled the kitchen.
It seemed like it was already finished, but this was the crucial part.
Patience.
Even a beautifully seared steak needs resting, and a braised dish gains deeper flavor when left to steep until the seasoning sinks in.
The same went for the Training Aid Beverage.
After this point, he had to wait until the fruit’s bright, tart flavor had fully infused into the liquid.
Lion dragged a chair over, sat down, and waited at his leisure.
‘This should be about enough.’
Lion strained the steaming beverage through a sieve.
Once every last tiny bit of fruit pulp had been filtered out…
Tk!
Finally, a single tiny drop of Aqua Rosemary oil—and it was complete!
[Alchemist’s Training Aid Drink (★)]
-A drink made by the ‘Alchemist’! A blurry line between a beverage and a potion! But it is classified as a drink.
-Drinking a cup while it is warm slightly increases the efficiency of swordsmanship, mana, and similar training.
-However, life-skill-related talents are excluded.
-A cold you happened to catch seems like it will vanish completely.
Along with a splendid aroma, a notification announced the successful creation of the Training Aid Beverage.
“Oh.”
Perhaps because it had gained a star, it also carried a cold-busting effect, just as Lion had expected.
“Shall I give it a taste…?”
Lion promptly poured the drink into a mug and took a sip.
His nasal cavity filled with the sweet-tart fragrance of the fruit and the subtle, spicy note of the star anise.
Unlike the wine-based mulled drink, the finish carried a distinctive herbal freshness and a cooling clarity.
The Aqua Rosemary seemed to be the reason.
“Ooh…”
The warm drink slid down his esophagus, supplying a full-body sensation of heat!
It seemed perfect for a chilly day like this.
“This is nice.”
Since it was potion-based, he had worried the taste might be off, but it was actually better than expected.
“Good. Now, shall we put it together?”
Having checked the flavor, Lion wasted no time. He arranged the cookies on an attractive tray with a proper plate, and poured the drink into a fresh cup.
[Lion Asteri’s Special Beverage Set (★★)]
-The cookies and drink made for family carry a warm flavor!
-Consuming the cookies and drink immediately reduces a certain level of fatigue and increases combat-type training efficiency. It also decreases post-training fatigue.
-Demonstrates exceptional efficacy against cold-related body aches!
[Created a set meal for the first time!]
[Achievement Unlocked: ‘Good-looking food…’!]
[Gained 3,000 Shillings!]
He had cleared an achievement and collected some Shillings, something that hadn’t happened in a while.
‘That makes roughly 80,000 Shillings, I think?’
Still short of the 100,000 needed to unlock the Shilling Shop, but even so, the increase in assets warmed his heart.
Indeed, true richness of spirit came from a peaceful environment and a well-padded wallet.
“Then, let’s go.”
Lion headed for the family head’s quarters, located on the highest floor.
His grandfather’s study.
Knock, knock.
Lion knocked, then poked just his face through a gap in the door.
His grandfather was, as always, buried in paperwork.
“Are you busy?”
“What is your business?”
If he was asking about the business, that meant he wasn’t busy at the moment.
Only then did Lion come right in, carrying the neatly arranged cookies and drink.
Petrick set down his pen and looked at the eldest grandson of House Asteri, who had brought a tea tray with his own two hands.
“…”
He was bewildered.
His grandson, who had never even held water, let alone a heavy book, was carrying a tray.
Why?
All of a sudden?
‘How did I raise that kid? Don’t tell me…’
Petrick recalled a rumor that had recently circulated around the mansion.
The rumor that the attendants were resigning because everyone said that Lion Asteri, his own grandson who was the apple of his eye, was about to die.
He had certainly thought that Elvia had taken measures during her work as ‘Head Maid Sylvia’…
“Don’t tell me the attendants refused to carry it for you, even when you had such a thing in your hands?”
‘The rumors haven’t been put to rest, it seems.’
As the family head, he would personally step in and deal with those fellows at once…
“No, that’s not it at all, Grandfather.”
“…”
It wasn’t, then.
Petrick’s expression, which had been set in pure coldness, softened the slightest fraction.
“I came to give you this. I made it myself.”
“You made it? You… with your own hands?”
“Yes.”
Lion calmly delivered the words he had prepared beforehand.
“In truth, this is a drink made with my potion. And I also thought it might go well together, so I baked some cookies. I topped the cookies with a hardy crop called a banana sweet potato that I discovered in Mimir Forest.”
“…”
“I thought it might be entertaining to demonstrate my results in such a way. Please, try some.”
“Hm. Give it here.”
At those words, Lion grinned and set the tray down on the desk.
Petrick stared vacantly at the cookies and the drink placed on the tray.
Cookies, their golden-brown dough dotted with yellow flecks.
A beautifully deep-crimson drink, gently warmed and wafting a delicate steam, exuding a luxurious aroma.
Petrick first took a sip of the drink.
As expected, there was no special reaction.
He then bit off a small piece of the cookie.
“…”
It was a quieter tasting than expected, with not a single word of praise or encouragement…
[Cooking Proficiency reached Apprentice Lv.4!]
‘He liked it.’
The requirement for increasing the Cooking Talent.
It was that the person eating it had to truly savor it in order to gain additional experience points.
Thanks to that, he could tell.
His grandfather was quite fond of these cookies and the drink.
‘Well, before this, you wouldn’t even drink a potion in front of me.’
This seemed like a significant leap forward, in its own way.
He felt rather proud.
“…With that said, you didn’t come here just to give me this, did you?”
Petrick, who had at some point neatly polished off the cookies and the drink, asked for the main point.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“The main point.”
“…”
His tone was still cold, but Lion knew better.
This very moment, when his rigid, wooden posture had relaxed and his perpetually sharp eyes and deeply furrowed brow had slightly softened.
Now was the opportunity!
“In fact, aside from demonstrating my results, I have a request to make.”
“A request?”
Petrick found himself quite curious about what kind of request his grandson would make.
Besides, just as Lion expected, Petrick was in a considerably more generous state of mind.
He had partaken in the cookies and drink his grandson made himself, and above all, seeing his grandson’s face in person had put him in a very good mood.
Of course, even if he weren’t in a generous mood, he was fully prepared to grant any request from the grandson who was the apple of his eye, and he was, in fact, already doing so.
Excluding anything dangerous, that is.
“I heard that my coming-of-age ceremony will soon be held again.”
Instead of bringing up Rickshel first, Lion mentioned the ceremony straight away.
“Yes. Since you couldn’t hold the ceremony, we must do it now, even if late.”
Typically, a coming-of-age ceremony was regarded as a party to show off how splendidly the family’s children had grown.
It was also a kind of debutante ball, announcing that the children who had been unable to participate in the family’s affairs up to this point would now step into aristocratic society by taking part in the party.
Of course, Petrick had absolutely no intention of burdening Lion with such troublesome business.
After all, it was a time when he was busy doing everything he’d missed out on while sick as a child.
He had no intention of forcing a tedious affair upon him, so Petrick was personally handling the attire, the venue’s decorations, and all the rest…
‘Surely he isn’t about to say he’ll take on all the work himself?’
“I would like Rickshel to rest comfortably until then.”
Rickshel?
“Why that child?”
“Aren’t family members required to attend the coming-of-age ceremony? And yet…”
Lion briefly explained that Rickshel seemed to have been pushing himself quite hard recently.
“So, perhaps you could lessen the intensity of his training, at least until the upcoming ceremony… I just think it would be nice for all of the family to attend with bright faces.”
“You wish for everyone to attend?”
“Yes. Of course. We are family, after all.”
Petrick nearly laughed out loud.
What a commendable child!
‘I thought the two of them were on poor terms.’
With Rickshel’s visit to Mimir Forest as a turning point, the two of them had apparently become quite affectionate brothers.
Truthfully, such warm relations were not common in noble households.
On the contrary, bloodshed was not unusual.
For the position of family head was a singular one.
‘Take that Sword Mastery Family, for example…’
But in any case, this was good news.
‘My list of things to be proud of has grown.’
Though it was wrapped up as something being done for the family, in the end, he had done this out of genuine concern for his younger brother.
Of course, this was a request he could grant.
“I shall see it done. Until the ceremony, he will be placed on self-directed study.”
“Thank you!”
“But is that all?”
“Pardon?”
“Is there nothing else you require regarding the ceremony?”
“No! Nothing else.”
A clean, decisive answer.
“…”
…Honestly, that boy.
Who had he taken after to be so utterly without greed?
There was one more important thing about a coming-of-age ceremony.
True, there was much to be done: announcing to the empire that this child had come of age, conducting the internal family rites, and so on…
But the highlight of the ceremony was, precisely.
The gifts.
It differed by the family’s scale, but for the heir of a marquess house—especially the scion of a Prestigious Mage Family that held power nearly rivaling the Imperial Court—the gifts received on this occasion alone would secure a lifetime’s worth of income.
If it were money, a sum vast enough to establish a merchant fleet; if it were jewels, a one-of-a-kind gem so rare that it could not be found in all the continent, let alone the empire.
And if even that were not desired, a seaside mansion and a villa could be received.
A full-option package, complete with its own estate management staff!
Because Lion was the eldest grandson of the great House Asteri!
And it was customary for the celebrant to receive the gifts they wished for…
‘He has no need for anything.’
In other words, he was telling Petrick to use his own discretion.
‘And this is…’
It was a difficult problem indeed. What kind of gift would match the tastes of that peculiar grandson of his?
Just as Petrick’s expression was beginning to turn grave, Lion gave a polite bow.
“Then, I will take my leave now.”
Click—
Staring at the cheerfully closed door…
He grew more serious.
Just what should he do for him?