Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 226
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 226
Lion reached out and examined the gem.
[Cosmic Crystal (★★★★)]
- A precious synthetic gem that casts a light more brilliant than the stars themselves.
- Good heavens, a gem of this quality would captivate even the most tasteless fool, wouldn’t it?
- This item is not yet complete.
The radiant jewel resting in his palm was as overwhelming as its appearance suggested.
The first thing to note was that it had four stars despite being incomplete.
‘This was the first time I’d seen a case like this.’
Four-star items had sprung to life from Lion’s hands a fair few times now.
The very first had been the formal suit he made with Andrie, and a recent example was the Beef-Brisket Doenjang Stew.
But a four-star material item…
‘Not even once.’
Lion swallowed hard.
If he used this, it was clear something incredible would be born.
Though he wasn’t sure what form it would take.
“Should I ask others for advice first?”
Rather than working alone, it seemed better to show them this crystal and put their heads together.
Lion reached into the cauldron to retrieve the two remaining gems.
“Hm?”
Then he discovered something and furrowed his brow.
“I kind of figured, given the awful noise it made…”
Lion slowly ran his fingers along the inside of the pot.
Until now, despite the natural wear and tear, it had never shown any noticeable scratches.
But perhaps because of the recent alchemy, scrape marks had appeared here and there inside the cauldron.
“Hoo. Looks like it’s due for some maintenance.”
It would be best to set aside a day for it after his trip to the Imperial Court.
With that thought, Lion exited the Labyrinth and headed for the dining hall.
He intended to have a hearty meal first before moving again, but…
“Brother!”
The moment he saw Lion’s state, Rickshel stopped eating and rushed over.
“Ah.”
Only then did Lion check his own condition.
Nothing was broken or seriously injured, but he had tumbled over from a high place, so his appearance was a mess.
He was covered in dirt, and more than anything, he was bruised all over. It was enough to cause significant worry to anyone who saw him.
Realizing his predicament, Lion hastily opened his mouth to make an excuse, but-
“This is serious.”
“…”
It ended before he could even begin, shut down by Marquess Bydantis’s firm statement.
“Hahaha… you probably won’t believe me at first, but do you want to hear me out?”
Despite everything, Lion smiled bravely and tried his best to convince his brother and the Marquess, but naturally, he failed.
* * *
“Whew.”
Lion wiped his forehead with his bandaged hand.
He had broken out in a cold sweat trying to stop Rickshel from reporting this recent incident to their grandfather.
Fortunately, his brother calmed down once Lion promised to receive his treatment quietly.
“Brother. Exploring is important, but please, take better care of yourself.”
“R-Right. Understood.”
He felt he’d have to hide the incident of vomiting blood at the Easter for the rest of his life.
“And on days you’re unwell like today, please come back early.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll come in early today and get plenty of rest.”
Anyway, after escaping Rickshel’s clutches and eating a filling meal, Lion was able to head outside.
The first place Lion visited was Andrie’s shop.
“Young master…!”
Andrie, who seemed to have been expecting him after hearing the pigment was complete, greeted him with an unbelievably bright expression—then instantly fell into shock upon seeing Lion’s state.
“What in the world happened to you…!”
Andrie fretted, not even daring to touch Lion’s wounds.
He muttered to himself things like, ‘A perfect body like the young master’s…’ and ‘There’s a chance he could be the greatest artisan, but what if he falls seriously ill!’
‘But is it really a perfect body?’
His face was admittedly worth acknowledging, but his body was a bit… ‘perfect’.
If anything, Varg, who had recently started bulking up from intense training, seemed closer to perfect.
“Now, now, calm down. Let me explain.”
Lion explained what had happened: he had completed the recipe and executed it,
but then, ‘coincidentally,’ that high-grade material had come out.
“This is it.”
“My goodness…!”
Andrie examined the gem and his mouth fell slightly open.
The brilliant light of the crystal reflected and sparkled on Andrie’s face and eyes.
“So, turning this into pigment is a bit…”
“Absolutely not!”
“Pardon?”
“Shattering this beautiful object to turn it into pigment?! That’s out of the question!”
With that, he quickly brought over a sketchbook and began scribbling something rapidly.
The speed was so fast that Lion’s bangs fluttered with every stroke.
Riiip!
Then he tore the page out and politely offered it to Lion with both hands.
“Young master.”
“Yes?”
“I happen to know that there are dwarves from the Bydantis territory at Mudu’s Smithy right now. I’ve heard that a gem-crafting artisan is also there.”
“Ah, right.”
“Please show them this design along with the gem. They will surely have an answer.”
“…”
Lion silently accepted the design and examined it.
Right. Even Lion thought it would be better for the gem to become a shining accessory in its own right, rather than being ground into pigment.
But still—
“Are you really sure about this?”
The reason Andrie had specifically asked him to make the pigment must have been because he had an idea for a specific garment.
Not only that, but if the pigment had been completed, Andrie might have achieved even greater fame than he currently had.
“It’s fine. No, in fact, it’s better this way.”
Andrie murmured, practically snorting.
“Because when this gem is newly reborn… it will grant me inspiration far greater than any pigment could…!”
“Andrie…!”
“Young master…!”
Smack!
The two high-fived in the air, just like that one time before.
“I just have one request. Would you please let me see it at least once when the piece is complete?!”
“I’ll need to design the outfit to match the gem first.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Hohoho!”
The two laughed like third-rate villains cooking up a scheme, then let go.
“Well, I’ll be off then.”
“Yes. Take care.”
With that, they exchanged brief farewells and parted ways.
‘Alright. I have Andrie’s consent and his sketch…’
Lion headed straight for the smithy. He plopped the gem down among the dwarves, who had been having an amiable discussion about ‘What does it mean to forge?’ with a pack of beer beside them.
“T-This is…!”
“What in the world? I’ve never seen a gem like this in my life.”
The moment they saw the gem, the dwarves’ eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
Then they all swallowed hard and looked up at Lion.
The fact that Lion was the eldest son of the Asteri family was no longer the point.
The point was whether the owner of this gem would give them a chance.
That was all.
And Lion knew this very well, so…
“I’m looking for someone who can work this.”
He tossed the words out, almost indifferently.
With that, it erupted.
The dwarves’ dopamine, that is!
“I’ll do it!”
“No! I’ve set just as many gems as I’ve smelted metal!”
Not just Mudu’s family, but the dwarven craftsmen who came along from Bydantis territory all raised their hands and touted their skills.
“I’ll leave it to you to decide who takes it on.”
“Huh?”
“Then whoever touches it first claims it, right?”
Lion didn’t resolve the dwarves’ questions but simply said he’d return in the evening before leaving.
And it took less than an hour after Lion left for the dwarves to realize exactly why he had acted that way.
This crystal… it was no ordinary stone!
* * *
And that evening.
Thud.
Even the last dwarf, deeply versed in gem-crafting, dropped to his knees.
“This can’t be…”
The dwarf shook his head in vain.
It couldn’t be. This just couldn’t be!
“I understand.”
“I felt the same…”
The other dwarves offered their condolences.
They stared at the Cosmic Crystal sitting in front of the cutting tools.
The crystal, shining like a star in that sky, astonishingly, did not budge under any tool.
Not to the cutter they’d braced themselves to use, nor to any piece of equipment in the eldest son Mudu’s smithy!
“This is impossible!”
At first, they thought their own hands had simply grown far too dull.
It had been a while since they’d stepped away from crafting, after all.
But that wasn’t it.
Even when another dwarf came to cut the gem, only the edges of the tools chipped; the gem itself took not a single scratch.
“How…”
As the dwarves’ voices trembled, Mudu, who had been watching, waved his short arms and spoke up.
“Now, now, don’t be too heartbroken. It’s just that oddball always making strange things, so…”
“That’s not it.”
“It’s not?”
The despairing dwarves slowly raised their heads.
Then they calmly put on a magnifying lens and inspected the gem again.
And then… they laughed.
Very brightly, at that!
“How did something this incredible come to be?!”
“My thoughts exactly!”
“The most durable things are always the most beautiful.”
“Once we manage to craft this, what magnificent refractions will it show?”
Mudu’s arms, which had been raised to comfort them, dropped limply.
‘…Huh.’
Then he scratched his head.
Well, of course.
Weren’t dwarves a race that didn’t fall into despair so quickly just because they failed at something?
Rather, they challenged themselves, felt euphoria in failure, overcame despair, and somehow crafted something in the end.
‘Good grief.’
He had forgotten.
It seemed he had been away from the dwarf village for so long that this culture had slipped his mind.
“Hohoho. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the engravers regain their energy like this.”
It was Mudu’s mother, ‘Careful Fingertips’.
“Ah, Mother.”
“I had times like that too.”
She gazed at the gem and the dwarves with eyes full of reminiscence, as if old memories were rushing back.
Seeing this, Mudu scratched his head vigorously and then asked gently,
“Mother, why don’t you give it a try as well.”
“Me? Oh, my.”
“Yes. Didn’t you say that before you married, you were quite the hotshot engraver yourself?”
“That was true, but…”
Fingertips hesitated a little.
“I’m getting on in years, and it’s been so long since I’ve touched the crafts, I don’t think I’d be of any help.”
“Even if you don’t succeed in the cutting, your knowledge will surely be needed.”
“She’s right.”
“There was never a genius quite like our sister, was there?”
Just then, the dwarves who had been rekindling their passion chimed in to support Mudu’s words.
“Now, now. Come over here.”
“It’s just giving it a taste, right?”
Then they led Fingertips over, put the magnifying lens on her, and sat her in front of the gem.
“If you insist, shall I take a little look…?”
Fingertips pretended to be unable to refuse and examined the crystal.
Truthfully, she had been too embarrassed to step forward because of her age, but she really wanted to do it.
Because she, too, was a dwarf.
As she carefully, slowly stared at the crystal, Fingertips seemed to realize something and let out an ‘Ah,’ of exclamation.
“Have you figured something out?”
“I’m not certain, but… I recall seeing a gem of this form in a book long ago.”
“If it’s a book…”
“You know, that book said to be written by the Dwarf King.”
Mudu gave an awkward smile at his mother’s words.
The book written by the Dwarf King.
Mudu knew that book too.
No, not just Mudu; his children, Branch and Leaf, probably knew it as well.
Because it was a fairy tale book.
“Oh. That’s an interesting story.”
Lion, who had just returned to the smithy, lit up at the intriguing tale.
“Can you tell me more?”