Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 203
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 203
[You have created an Ultimate Dish. Cooking Experience increases by 40%.]
It hadn’t been long since his cooking level had gone up, and now he’d gained an enormous amount of bonus experience to boot.
It was truly impressive, and the experience was quite substantial, but Lion’s eyes didn’t even register the notification.
All that filled Lion’s bright violet eyes was the doenjang stew right in front of him!
‘This is insane.’
He kept gulping down saliva.
His stomach, which had been quiet just moments ago, began to thunder.
‘Really…’
Lion was so moved he couldn’t even string together a thought.
He simply savored the overwhelming emotion.
How long had it been since he’d last eaten doenjang stew?
It must have been the service doenjang stew at the barbecue place during the team dinner back before the possession.
And even then, he hadn’t been able to eat his fill.
But now, this whole pot of richly simmered doenjang stew was all his!
There was so much that even if he ate his fill, some would definitely be left!
It was an indescribable emotion.
“Peep.”
Nearby, Nature watched him and imitated clapping with its wings.
“Keehing?”
Seeing this, Pooch, who had been watching as well, must have realized it was a happy occasion, for it hopped around Lion and shared in his joy.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Feeling a sting of emotion, Lion pretended to wipe away tears and sat down.
He scooped some rice he’d made earlier in the morning into a bowl, raised the glossy new wooden spoon he had carved, and was just about to scoop up a large spoonful of the broth—!
“Brother.”
From a distance, Rickshel appeared.
“…Huh?”
Lion stopped with the spoon laden with doenjang stew mid-air.
If Rickshel had come all the way here, it meant something had happened.
And not just any ordinary matter…
At the very least, it meant something had come up that required Lion’s personal attention.
But—
Lion looked at the glorious feast before his eyes.
To anyone else, it might appear a humble spread with just a single pot of doenjang stew, but to Lion right now, it was a more appetizing and magnificent table than any sumptuous delicacy…!
‘Can’t be helped…’
Just as Lion was about to set his spoon down.
“Ah, you were in the middle of a meal. I’ll report after you’ve finished.”
“It’s not urgent…?”
“Even if it were serious, it could hardly be more urgent than my brother’s meal.”
And since whatever it was had already occurred… Rickshel muttered to himself before adding,
“You may hear it after you’ve eaten comfortably.”
“…!”
At those words, Lion’s face lit up.
The world had not betrayed him!
Under normal circumstances, he would have checked the matter first, but this once, he wanted to follow Rickshel’s advice.
And besides…
“Have you had lunch?”
“Not yet.”
“Perfect timing.”
Wasn’t eating together always better than eating alone?
Lion gestured Rickshel over to sit, then ladled a generous serving of the stew into a soup bowl for him.
Rickshel, who customarily helped himself to rice, did so now…
He flinched.
But he hesitated a little, which was unusual.
It was because he had caught an unfamiliar scent.
It was like cheese that had been aged too long and turned pungent.
The unfamiliarity of it was enough to suddenly remind him of the first time he had encountered banana sweet potatoes.
“It’s called doenjang stew. Try it. You’ll like it.”
“…I see.”
Yet Rickshel lightly suppressed that initial aversion and accepted the bowl.
Then, with an objective eye, he examined the dark-colored soup.
The various vegetables were recognizable, and though it was thinly sliced, the meat was familiar too.
The one slightly unfamiliar thing was a soft, white cube that had delicately taken on the stew’s color…
‘It looks like pudding.’
Maybe because it was cut into nice, neat pieces, it didn’t look bad at all.
Moreover, even the scent of the ‘doenjang stew’ was only intensely salty at the very first moment; once he grew accustomed to it, he could detect a positive richness within.
Most importantly…
‘If my brother made it.’
His mindset of trusting anything his brother made played a substantial part.
And so far, nothing had ever tasted bad.
“If you want more after trying it, just say so.”
“This looks like it will be enough.”
Indeed, Rickshel’s soup bowl was already heaped full of ingredients like meat and tofu.
“Ha ha.”
Lion laughed at that remark and filled his own bowl to the brim with doenjang stew.
He’d made a large batch just in case, and he was glad he had.
There was enough for the two of them to eat their fill.
And the truth was… he was so excited he felt he would have been fine with any reaction from Rickshel.
His heart was pounding. He had purposely not checked the seasoning midway, afraid the anticipation might cool.
How long had he been working toward this one spoonful…!
‘Now, then…!’
With a flushed face, Lion scooped up a spoonful of the still-steaming doenjang stew and slurped it down.
And then…
“…Kuuuuh!”
It was perfect.
This was it!
Any anxiety that the flavor might be off because he hadn’t tasted it was washed away in an instant.
‘It came out perfectly…!’
The collaboration between the deep flavor of the doenjang and the meat fat was as devastatingly good as he’d always known it to be, and the spicy kick from the chili peppers added even more impact.
The well-cooked vegetables were tender, and the potatoes crumbled softly.
The mushrooms added a chewy texture distinct from the meat throughout, lending diversity.
But above all else…
“Ha-tteutteu!”
The flavor of the tofu soaked with the hot broth stole the show.
The mild, soft hand-made tofu harmonized perfectly with the doenjang.
Of course it did—both the doenjang and the tofu were made from the same soybeans.
And not just any soybeans, but the incredibly high-quality soybeans specially sourced by House Asteri!
‘I can’t hold back any longer.’
That was the end of his taste evaluation.
Lion could restrain himself no more and began to eat in a frenzy.
He poured his rice into the stew bowl, roughly crushed the tofu, and ate with abandon.
It might have looked slightly undignified, but didn’t that method taste absolutely amazing?
The broth coated every grain of rice, and the broth thickened from the starch released by the rice.
And so, Lion put on a practically broadcast-worthy eating show right in front of Rickshel and immersed himself in his meal.
‘…Was he that hungry?’
The one who was a bit taken aback by this was Rickshel.
His brother always ate earnestly, but today the intensity was on a different level.
‘It’s as if…’
Yes. Hadn’t Rickshel felt a similar sensation when he emerged from training in the family head’s cave, on the verge of enlightenment?
Caught between the elation of reaching a new realm and the utter exhaustion of his body, he had craved one specific thing that flashed into his mind.
He wanted to eat something his brother had made, regardless of what it was.
Even something simple like a roasted banana sweet potato would have been fine—anything!
Maybe he had simply needed that sense… that feeling of eating in the most stable and peaceful circumstances he knew.
His brother’s current demeanor was exactly the same.
He was clearly eating with a deeply heartfelt emotion.
‘Just how good does it taste…’
Thinking that way made the single bowl in front of him suddenly seem precious.
The sense of distance from the unfamiliarity was long gone; watching his brother only brought on his own hunger.
Rickshel followed his brother’s lead and ate the doenjang stew with relish.
It might not compare to the profound emotion his brother was feeling, but the flavor was superb.
So much so that Rickshel, who was normally a picky eater,
polished off an entire bowl.
After that hearty meal, Lion patted his full stomach and asked,
“So, what’s going on outside? Did Jack say he found an answer?”
“Ah.”
Having wiped his mouth elegantly, Rickshel paused for an instant, “Hm…” and then answered.
“…It might be best for you to see it for yourself. I believe it’s not over yet.”
“…”
Not over yet—what was that supposed to mean?
Now that he had eaten, his mind was slowly turning back on.
What in the world had happened outside?
* * *
“Ha ha.”
“Y-Young master. That is…”
“Fuuuu…”
Lion looked at the two of them, shielding his forehead with one hand, and let out a deep sigh.
Both of them looked an absolute mess.
‘Of course they would. They’ve been fighting like that.’
Lion reflected on the situation after leaving the labyrinth.
Rickshel, saying it would be better for him to see it directly, had led him to the training grounds, letting out a brief sigh along the way.
If the ever-composed Rickshel was sighing, then trouble had clearly erupted.
‘But why the training grounds?’
Before that question could even resolve, the people standing near the training grounds came into view:
the knights watching the center of the training grounds with expressions that asked,
“Is this really okay?”; especially the Knight Commander Rickson, sighing while pressing hard on his temples; and Jake, slapping his own forehead repeatedly with a look of utter despair.
“…Move aside for a moment.”
When he pushed through them and checked the scene before him…
It was Varg, quite literally being beaten one-sidedly by Jack.
“They’ve been sparring like that for days now.”
“Is that what you call sparring?”
Just by the look of it, it seemed like Jack was taking out his frustration on Varg.
“Varg also calls it sparring.”
“Really?”
“…He even seemed happy.”
“…”
Why would he enjoy getting beaten until he was covered in dust?
Lion stared at the training grounds as if staring into the distance, then exhaled deeply.
He had only been gone for a few days. Why had it come to this?
“They say they made a deal.”
Perhaps noticing Lion’s state of mind, Rickshel briefly explained the circumstances.
“Haaaa…”
It was only natural for a deep sigh to escape from Lion’s lips.
“Yikes~ You’ve already lost ten rounds today as well. You’re a slower learner than I expected.”
Jack, who had Varg’s back pinned under his knee, spoke as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
Varg, excited by the fight, glared with bestial eyes and let out a low, growling beast’s cry, but Jack didn’t so much as blink.
Quite the opposite.
“Shall we go again?”
As if that phrase was some kind of signal between the two, Jack released his hold, and Varg immediately lunged.
Just as Varg unsheathed his sharp claws and began to swing them,
“Stooop right there!”
Lion, who had been watching them, shouted at the top of his lungs.
Jack, who had already noticed Lion’s presence, stopped at once, while Varg—unaware that Lion had arrived—belatedly retracted his claws.
As a result—
Slash!
a sharp, blade-like cut appeared on Jack’s cheek.
As the blood trickled down, Jack wiped it with the back of his hand practically as a display and murmured,
“The first wound Sir Varg has given me stings quite a bit.”
“…”
…Well, that had happened a little while ago.
Having finished his recollection, Lion stared at Jack with a flat, displeased gaze.
‘As if you didn’t dodge that on purpose.’
Lion remembered the moment perfectly.
While staring intently this way, Jack had deliberately turned his head just enough to leave a scratch.
‘…I’ll deal with that guy later.’
Lion shifted his gaze away from Jack and looked at Varg.
He looked as filthy as a dog that had rolled in a mud pit, but there were no visible wounds.
If he had taken any, he had probably already healed them.
‘The problem is…’
Lion deliberately opened his mouth in a sterner voice.
“Varg.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Explain.”
At the unusually low tone, Varg hunched his body and let out a small whine.
“Sniff.”
But Lion had absolutely no intention of letting it slide.
He knew well that at times like this, you had to scold sharply to prevent future foolishness.