Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 224
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 224
Be that as it may, Lion kept rummaging around inside Pooch’s mouth.
Heaven forbid there were any leftovers still in there.
After a thorough search of that tiny mouth, it seemed that, fortunately, no crumbs or anything of the sort remained.
“Phew.”
Lion let out a relieved sigh and released Pooch.
Pooch, who had just been subjected to an impromptu cavity search, still seemed dazed. One front paw was raised, frozen stiff and angular.
“Hey. Sorry about that. But if you’d done something wrong, it could’ve been serious, so you know.”
“Peep. Peep.”
Nature cheeped as if in agreement.
“But seriously, what were you trying to swallow?”
Lion stroked Pooch’s head a few times to soothe it, then finally turned to inspect the object that had been slammed onto the floor.
…Ah, so what I threw wasn’t some ordinary pebble?
“This is…”
Lion picked up the raw stone and brought it right up to his eyes.
[Labyrinth Blue Jade (★★)]
-A blue jade found only within the labyrinth.
-A faint magical power, though sparse, can be sensed from within the raw stone.
-It is still close to an ordinary rock, but with special processing, it would become a truly magnificent jewel, wouldn’t it?
[Uses - Alchemy, Tailoring, Painting]
[☞Click to view recipe.]
Along with the description suggesting it would be useful in many areas, the Labyrinth Blue Jade Refining Method naturally entered Lion’s mind.
“That’s pretty impressive…”
Earlier, he’d been so focused on Pooch that he hadn’t even paid it any attention, but this was a far better raw stone than he’d expected.
‘Maybe I can use this instead of the aquamarine at the tent.’
Lion tucked away the blue jade and looked at Pooch.
“Don’t tell me the reason you brought me all the way here was because of this?”
“Kying!”
Only then did Pooch sit with both front paws together and lift its head proudly!
At the same time,
an additional notification appeared.
[Your Companion Demonic Beast ‘Pooch’ has imitated the actions of its beloved master!]
[From now on, ‘Pooch’ will seek out and bring various items.]
[Currently possible items: Small Minerals, Damp Herbs]
“It says he’ll seek out and bring items?”
Lion’s eyes widened at the unexpected notification.
After all, this was content he’d never even seen in <In the World>.
A companion demonic beast bringing things?
And on top of that, ‘useful items’ at that?
Whether Lion was surprised or not, Pooch approached with a dignified, aloof air—tip-tap, tip-tap—and pressed its forehead lightly against Lion’s shin.
It meant he’d done a good deed and wanted to be praised for it right away.
Lion instinctively stroked Pooch’s head and continued his train of thought.
‘No, wait. If you think about it, it’s not even an impossible thing.’
To begin with, demonic beasts were extraordinary creatures with high intelligence and the ability to use magic.
Those guys watch their master’s actions, learn from them, and pick things up fast.
Within <In the World>, that learning would have been limited to ‘attacks.’
Because it was an unpeaceful era, with the war against the demons in full swing.
But now?
‘Honestly, it’s incredibly peaceful.’
There had been a few unsettling corners, but regardless, he’d been spending remarkably peaceful days.
He hadn’t fought anyone. It was a life of always roaming through nature, digging up herbs and the like.
And ever since it hatched, Pooch had been watching Lion live that kind of life.
[Pooch wants to help you!]
Lion looked at Pooch, his heart unexpectedly moved.
The fact that this tiny little guy was making an effort to do something was genuinely touching.
Of course, this was only possible because Lion had raised Pooch with all the care he could give and doted on it, but wasn’t that simply how the one doing the raising felt?
You end up feeling, for no good reason, like an endlessly inadequate owner.
‘I haven’t even done that much for it…’
Lion was no different.
[Your Companion Demonic Beast ‘Pooch’ wants praise from you and Nature!]
“…You little punk!”
Lion praised Pooch, ruffling its fur vigorously with both hands.
As if it had been waiting for exactly that, Pooch flopped onto its back and basked in Lion’s touch.
Nature scurried over too, cheeping without pause and meticulously grooming Pooch’s fur.
“Kying!”
Its tails wagged and fluttered without pause.
Whenever Lion so much as paused his hands, Pooch rolled its eyes and waved its front paws.
“Oh my, whose son are you to be this clever? Hmm?”
Lion lavished praise on Pooch until its fur floated through the air around them.
And that wasn’t all.
‘On a monumental day like this, we absolutely cannot skip the treats!’
Lion immediately opened the Shilling Shop.
Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he purchased the item he’d spotted earlier!
[Demonic Beast Feed]
-60,000 Shillings ☞ 59,000 Shillings (1,000 Shillings off!)
-※Caution※ Absolutely inedible for humans.
-Please take care to prevent your pet demonic beast from becoming obese.
-☞A free gift (squeezable treat) promotion is currently underway!
At first, he’d thought it was nothing more than simple feed, but the last line had seemed suspicious, so he’d examined the detailed description.
As a result, Lion had realized that this wasn’t just basic fodder.
If he had to compare it to something, it was more like a special wet food can!
And as if the timing couldn’t have been better, the treat packaged in a long pouch had also arrived in his inventory alongside it.
‘Wait. Isn’t this a Juroop?’
It looked remarkably similar to that snack—the one where you squeeze it out and they slurp it up.
‘Then I’ll save the special feed for tomorrow and give him this treat today.’
Lion checked his inventory with a pleased smile, then scooped Pooch right up into his arms.
“Of course, before that.”
“Kying…”
Lion aimed the most harmless and gentle smile he could manage at Pooch.
It was a smile that promised he wouldn’t do anything wrong at all, so there was nothing to worry about.
But something was off.
Just as Pooch’s expression, which had been innocently bright, began to fade, a bolt from the blue rang out.
“Our Pooch did something very praiseworthy and wonderful, but…”
“Ky, kyi…”
“He still has to take a bath, doesn’t he?”
Lion held Pooch snugly so it could not run away and returned to the cabin at the center of the labyrinth.
Fortunately, there was no need to inch along slowly.
“Let’s go get all lathered up and wash you nice and clean? Perfect timing—I just finished making the companion demonic beast shampoo, too.”
Because, thanks to the authority of the labyrinth’s master,
he could exit straight to the outside.
Which meant… Pooch had no way to escape.
Lion moved without any wasted motion.
He arrived at the spot where the tent was set up, retrieved the aquamarine, and placed the blue jade that Pooch had picked up in its place.
Right after that, he exited the library directly and made a beeline for his private bathroom.
With a firmness that bordered on merciless, he shut the door, prepared the basin, and turned on the water.
He also remembered to put on the companion Demonic Beast shampoo cap he had prepared to keep water out of Pooch’s ears.
Soon.
Whooosh!
Water at the perfect temperature poured down.
“Kyiiiiing!!”
Scritch-scritch-scritch!
“Hahaha. Refreshing, isn’t it?”
Scritch-scritch-scritch-scritch!
And for quite some time, the sounds of claws scratching against the door and Pooch’s plaintive cries echoed from Lion’s private bathroom…
* * *
After that, Lion had fallen asleep a little earlier than usual with a soft-scented Pooch—and he snapped his eyes open before the morning sun had even risen.
Nature was resting soundly in the new nest, while Pooch slept deeply, smacking its lips as though still eating its post-bath treat in a dream.
‘Upsy-daisy…’
Lion got up from the bed as quietly and stealthily as possible and headed for the labyrinth.
Today, he had just as much to do as yesterday.
“Young master. Your clothing is too thin.”
Somehow having noticed that Lion was up, Elvia was waiting for him in front of the labyrinth, an outer garment in hand.
“You’re up this early?”
“Heh heh. The elderly naturally tend not to sleep much, you see.”
“Seems like you’ve taken quite a liking to that butler?”
“If I teach him one thing, he grasps two or three, which does make teaching rather enjoyable.”
“Hahaha…”
Lion laughed awkwardly as he put on the outer garment.
Still, since it sounded like the man was indeed learning, he decided to consider it a win-win.
“Ah, speaking of which, a letter has arrived saying that the half-elf child will also be arriving within a few days.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It seems it will coincide with the end of your schedule, young master.”
“That’s a relief. It’ll be less boring now.”
“…”
At those words, Elvia deliberately offered no reply, simply maintaining her smile and courteously stepping aside to clear the path.
“I’ll be back before breakfast.”
“Yes. I shall inform the second young master.”
The moment Elvia’s words ended, a magic circle materialized beneath Lion’s feet, and soon after, he disappeared.
Watching this, Elvia brought a finger to her chin.
“It seems our puppy is laboring under a certain misconception…”
Of course, it was true that the days had been more languid than usual in the absence of that little half-elf.
But that didn’t mean she felt dull or bored.
To borrow our puppy’s words, while he did say he was rather fond of that half-elf child, from Elvia’s perspective, she was nothing more than a snack.
A snack is nice to have from time to time, but you can do without one, can’t you?
What matters is the main course.
And the adorable puppy was more than fulfilling that role, but…
“Heh hehfu. There’s no real need to clear up the misunderstanding.”
Because if the misunderstanding lingered, even if just a little, a few crumbs would fall her way.
Even now, things were enjoyable enough.
‘Seeing the butler of House Bydantis has brought back memories, bit by bit.’
Memories of the travels she’d undertaken long ago.
Who knows? Our puppy just might treat her to a bit of luxury once again.
‘I’ve truly become human.’
Elvia curled her hand into a loose fist and laughed lightly, then melted smoothly into the shadows and vanished.
* * *
“Mm. This should be plenty, don’t you think?”
As expected, setting up the tent had been a good choice.
Just last night, there hadn’t been any water collected here, but now, upon his arrival, the dawn dew had gathered, bead by bead, clustering around the blue jade while it was still in its raw-stone state.
Swiish.
When Lion stretched out his finger and gave the dew a light, tapping touch, it burst outward in the shape of his fingertip, spreading wide.
A coolness, crisp enough to feel almost bracing, met his fingertip.
Looking at it like this, it was nothing more and nothing less than pure, clear dawn dew.
It was obvious that with this clear, inviscid dew, there would be no way to shape a blue jade or anything else.
So did that mean he had failed?
“To some extent, yes?”
Lion grinned as he channeled mana into his hand.
‘Actually, I’ve been mulling it over ever since I first received the recipe.’
Namely, how on earth was he supposed to craft aquamarine out of dew.
But then one day, a good idea had suddenly struck him.
What if he gave the dew a viscous form?
Normally, you’d have to add extra chemicals and process it to create viscosity, but…
“There is one other way.”
A method of making pure dawn dew gain viscosity just as it is.
Namely.
That thing that pops out when an alchemy attempt fails…
He could turn it into a slime!
If someone else had been around—any ordinary alchemist.
No, even if just Freyania had been here, she would have shrieked, ‘Master, you can’t do that!’, but.
Fortunately, no one else was present right now.
“Hahaha!”
This is the real thrill of alchemy!
Lion deliberately drew the alchemy circle incorrectly, then, for the first time in a while, shouted out:
“Extract!”
A bright light flashed briefly, and soon, a thick, foul smoke began to billow out.