Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 201
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 201
“Sparring.”
“Y-yes. Sparring. No holding back.”
Varg clenched his fists under the table.
‘D-don’t be a coward.’
Hadn’t he been thinking about it ever since he met that person called Jade?
He’d known it instinctively.
That person, Jade, was immensely strong.
Stronger than Young Master Rickshel, whom he was currently guarding.
Of course, he had deep grievances against the Criminal Underworld.
How could he not?
They had kidnapped him when he was trying his best to blend in among humans and live quietly.
If it weren’t for House Asteri’s rescue, he would have spent his whole life being mistreated somewhere he’d been sold off to.
And if, in that time, his Eclipse symptoms had caused him to rampage…
‘I might have had to survive in that arena.’
That was one of the things he’d overheard while living as “merchandise.”
A place also called the Criminal Underworld’s Fight Club.
The arena.
There, those who needed money or freedom climbed onto the stage.
And they fought until one of them surrendered.
The rule was that anything was allowed; you could even kill or cripple your opponent.
Naturally, there were quite a few who didn’t step up willingly.
In other words… they were brought by the wealthy—rich people who had money to burn and wanted to watch an entertaining fight.
The slave traders were like salesmen offering them fine “merchandise.”
“You could have demanded something else. Why?”
Jade, who knew Varg’s situation well, asked back without hiding his curiosity.
“That’s…”
He was right.
Varg detested the slave traders.
The treatment he’d suffered then was one thing.
But the vile act of capturing the weak, holding their lives hostage, and selling them as a spectacle for others—it made him sick to his stomach.
He had even thought about wanting… revenge.
Maybe even now, similar victims were being made, and that weighed on his mind.
However.
‘With my current skills, I’d fall short.’
Right now, Varg was undergoing tremendous growth.
Compared to the short time he’d been training properly, it could only be called explosive.
But even so, did he have the strength to sweep away those deeply entrenched slave traders in the Criminal Underworld?
No, he did not.
For now, he carried the fine-sounding title of “Escort to the Asteri Heir,” but if you stripped that away?
Varg still lacked the military might to take on an entire organization.
Of course, if he were to say to the person in front of him right now, “Please eliminate the slave traders,” they might just listen.
But that wasn’t the revenge Varg wished for.
Above all, there was something he now held more important than vengeance.
‘Protecting the young master.’
Repaying the benefactor who had saved his life.
That must take priority over revenge.
For now, he had no choice but to grow strong enough to repay that kindness, not to pursue revenge.
Of course, if the young master heard this, he would wave his hands and say there was no need, that taking care of Pooch and protecting Rickshel was more than enough—but as a beastfolk, this was an instinct he simply had to follow.
‘In my own way.’
And the person needed for that was right in front of him.
He could get training that was close to real combat even within the Knight Order.
Especially lately—hadn’t the Knight Commander even started instructing him personally?
It was the perfect environment for honing his technique, but…
‘It’s not enough.’
Being a beastfolk who possessed the instincts of a beast, not a human,
he understood that even a hundred sessions of realistic training could never match someone who had experienced real battle once.
This wasn’t to say House Asteri’s way was wrong.
It was just that Varg needed a slightly more… wild method.
“I thought that sparring with you would be the greatest gain.”
“You should know.”
“Even if I lose in a single exchange.”
“Hmm.”
Jade rested his chin on his hand and looked at Varg with interest.
He had assumed the beastfolk was merely a competent guard and a playmate for his animal, but Varg was sharper than expected.
If Varg had stayed in the Criminal Underworld, he was the sort Jade would have taken under his wing.
‘It’s not a bad offer.’
No, it was rather a good one.
Lion Asteri was quite fond of the fellow called Varg.
According to the intel, he had even cured the incurable disease Varg had been suffering from.
If Jack himself couldn’t figure out that damned “anxiety,” he would have to find another way around it, wouldn’t he?
‘It even serves as insurance. Mm…’
Jack finished his rapid calculations and offered a gentle smile.
“It seems a single sparring session makes this too unfavorable a bargain for you, doesn’t it? How about this instead?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you can endure until I leave, I’ll keep sparring with you.”
“…!”
It was an exceptionally unconventional offer.
Didn’t Varg’s body possess a monstrous regenerative ability unlike others?
That meant, as long as Varg had the stamina, he could essentially cling to Jade at any time.
Not only was that good for improving his own skills…
‘It means I can keep him from harassing the young master, too…!’
But at the same time, a question arose.
Was a deal… normally this easy to sweeten?
Varg whined internally before cautiously asking.
“Then, wouldn’t your advantage be cut short?”
“Well, the immediate gain does shrink. After all, something meant to end once will have to be repeated over and over, and I’ll have to risk potential injuries.”
“Then why…”
“It’s nothing much. I’d like to earn a bit of favor myself.”
“…”
Unable to parse Jade’s statement, Varg ended up tilting his head in confusion.
“I’ve never been a house pet, so I can’t seem to get the hang of it.”
Oddly enough, it had turned out rather well so far.
Having said his piece, Jade drew a sheet of paper from his coat and transcribed the details of the deal.
Jade would spar with him as many times as necessary until he departed, and Varg would, “during that sparring time,” explain this anxiety to him.
‘Well, what I’m asking for is close to an abstract concept, so it won’t be of much actual use.’
Since it was a rather trivial deal compared to the contract itself, it hardly mattered.
“Check it over.”
Varg took the paper and slowly read through it, tracing the words with his eyes, until he spotted something odd.
The contract had no signature line.
“Ah, you must not have known this part. This contract is written in blood, not names.”
After all, in this world, there are far more than a few figures without names.
Jade spoke cheerfully, drew a dagger from his coat, and cut his palm without hesitation.
The moment the well-sharpened blade sliced the skin of his palm, bright red blood dripped onto the contract.
The surprising part was that the contract absorbed the blood as it was.
“Shall I lend it to you?”
“I-it’s fine.”
Gulping, Varg swallowed his dry saliva, bared his sharp fangs, and bit into his forearm to draw blood, then let it flow onto the contract.
Once both parties’ blood was absorbed, the contract gave off a subtle crimson glow and vanished smoothly.
And at the same moment, both of their wounds healed, and a distinctive mark arose.
Jade glanced once at the flustered Varg, then leisurely wiped off the blood and replied.
“Don’t worry. Only we two can see them.”
“I see… That’s a relief.”
If the young master had seen it, he might have been startled.
He didn’t want to cause needless worry.
‘Although if it’s that young master, he might be able to see them.’
Jade deliberately swallowed the rest of his words and gave a soft smile.
“Then, come find me anytime you’re ready. As for today… the new day is about to begin, after all.”
“Ah.”
Now that he thought about it, quite a lot of time had passed.
If he headed back now and got ready quickly, he could only just barely avoid being late.
Varg scrambled out of the room.
“Thanks to this, I’ve got an excuse to stay here longer.”
House Asteri had told him to stay as long as he liked, but Kyle was starting to make him self-conscious.
Whenever it concerned Lion Asteri, the first thing Kyle did was suspect him.
It truly pained Jack.
“Even though it’s all for you.”
Chuckling to himself, Jack murmured this and rose to his feet.
Now that he had a lead on his assignment, he felt like loitering around the guy once again.
‘Is he in the Labyrinth again today?’
Lately, the frequency of him coming and going from the Labyrinth had increased.
It wasn’t that he was particularly avoiding Jack by going inside; he was clearly up to something in there.
Yet the servants—and Rickshel—just wore expressions that said, “There he goes again,” without any worry at all.
“Well, whatever.”
He wasn’t in there all day anyway, so if Jack loitered around the library floor, he would run into him eventually.
Or at least the people around him.
* * *
For the few days during which Jack had been squarely thwarted and stayed away from this side,
Lion had been busy with something important of his own.
Namely,
“Heh heh heh…”
Well, as everyone knew by now, fermenting soybean paste.
“It’s fermenting nicely.”
Lion opened the lids, inspected the contents of each, and gave a very satisfied, sinister smile.
His hard work during the period Jack wasn’t annoyingly clinging to him had paid off.
The first day Jack didn’t appear had been the busiest.
He had lightly washed the well-dried meju, and using Mimir Hot Spring Water and the most expensive salt obtainable from House Asteri, he adjusted the brine concentration until an egg floated to the surface. He even went to Mudu’s Smithy to make charcoal himself and added it along with chili peppers.
For the gochujang, he removed the chili pepper seeds, dried them thoroughly, ground them, and added malt and meju powder without leaving anything out.
‘In the meantime, I even gathered materials for Pooch’s toys.’
Thinking that it might be better to use ingredients from the Labyrinth, he had scurried around the forest while the pastes fermented and secured some suitable materials.
Thanks to that, the one who truly struck it rich was Pooch.
He rolled around in the Moonflower field he had been curious about, and shuffled over to peek at Lion while he made the pastes.
“Kying!”
“No.”
“Keong!”
Of course, he’d been dragged away because fur could get into the paste, but still.
And in between it all, applying Fermentation Acceleration little by little was a bonus.
‘Come to think of it, I really was busy.’
But since it had been a time where he could immerse himself in what he wanted without Jack’s interference, his mood had been excellent.
It was like his body was busy, but his mind was completely serene.
And today was no different.
No, today was a day that required a bit more care.
Precisely…
‘Because it’s the day to separate the paste.’
Normally, you would need to age it for about two months to make proper doenjang, but by skillfully applying Fermentation Acceleration in between, he had managed to compress the time considerably.
And the paste hadn’t gone bad.
And…
‘I can’t hold out any longer.’
Constantly smelling that savory, earthy aroma, he truly couldn’t endure it anymore.
So he made up his mind.
Today, he would separate the paste and cook up a Doenjang Stew.
‘Jack will probably be struggling for a few more days.’
Lion was certain Jack wouldn’t be able to find the answer that quickly.
No, even if he realized it, he might not admit to that answer.
After all… Jack’s pride was unimaginably high.
How could a guy like that admit he was “anxious his little brother would abandon him”?