Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 228
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 228
Do you happen to remember this item from the Shilling Shop?
[Dwarf King’s Drink]
- One beer transforms you “temporarily” into a Dwarf King.
- Surely, *hic!*, you could enhance any item, couldn’t you?
- 70,000 Shillings
Right.
It was one of the items I’d agonized over alongside the “Bubble Mold.”
In a way, the description seemed to focus on enhancement, but the true value of this item lay in the phrase “transforms you into a Dwarf King.”
The Dwarf King!
The ancestor of all dwarves, a craftsman of such staggering skill that his legend was passed down through folktales and storybooks for generations!
By using this item, you could temporarily mimic his power.
And now that item was in Lion’s hands.
He had bought it the moment he returned to the mansion after finishing the fingertip intensive training.
“It’s hefty.”
The wooden tankard was massive enough to overflow even a sturdy man’s grip, let alone a dwarf’s.
Lion held the tankard and looked up at the sky.
He had definitely gone out in the early evening, when the sun was just about to set, yet now it was the deep hours of early morning, with only the moon shining bright and clear.
“Drinking in the middle of the night, huh.”
If Rickshel saw this, he would absolutely have a fit, so Lion had hurried straight into the Labyrinth.
And this was really an unavoidable situation.
‘…Rickshel will understand. Probably.’
Lion took the crystal out of his coat.
Despite everything it must have been through, it remained without so much as a single fine scratch.
Heh.
A deep smile spread across Lion’s face as he recalled the fairy tale his fingertips had told him.
“The power of a special spirit and the Dwarf King.”
Fortunately, Nature, who qualified as that “special spirit,” was right beside him, so half the problem was already solved.
‘The trouble is that I’m not actually the Dwarf King.’
If this were an ordinary item, it wouldn’t be an issue.
In that case, he could cut to the chase, use the Dwarf King’s Drink straight away, and begin the gem cutting.
But whenever you bought something from the Shilling Shop, you always had to read the description carefully.
‘And this one, especially, the description is a bit…’
Unlike other item descriptions, the Dwarf King’s Drink description had a slightly peculiar quality.
It was oddly, unmistakably drunk.
Given the name and the content… it clearly meant you were supposed to end up completely plastered.
‘Which means I won’t be able to drink potions either.’
And just imagine possessing the Dwarf King’s skill and decisiveness in that state.
“…Something’s going to go flying, isn’t it.”
Even if he succeeded in the gem cutting, whether his body could stay safe while he was dead drunk was an open question.
That was why he had asked to learn the fundamentals.
So that he could at least sync up a little while intoxicated.
And fortunately, thanks to his life-oriented skills and the manual dexterity he’d honed over time, he had been able to pick up the basics remarkably fast.
Of course, the fact that this gem’s hardness far exceeded that of other rough stones was still a problem.
“But I’ve got you.”
“Peep, peep.”
Fortunately, Nature, who had a track record of handling gems similar to this one, was right there beside him.
“We can do this, right?”
Without a word, Nature curled a wing into the shape of a hand giving a thumbs-up.
‘How did you even do that?’
Am I already drunk?
Anyway, Lion had finished every possible preparation.
Now he just had to follow the enclosed instructions.
First, to begin with…
1. Fill the tankard until the drink overflows, and drink ten tankards.
As expected, the first step was to enter a state of total intoxication.
Drinking ten of these huge tankards was a fairly daunting task, but he’d spent whole nights chugging potions for potion-making before, so it would probably be fine.
And as for the alcohol itself.
“I happen to have something perfect.”
Lion walked straight over to the pomegranate wine cask.
Even after steeping the ruby, plenty of wine remained, so he planned to reuse it.
‘Besides, it tasted good.’
Ever since the Mushberry Fizz, he’d developed a quiet taste for sweet drinks.
Lion poured wine from the cask until it spilled over the rim of the tankard.
Crimson alcohol surged over the edge and wet his fingers.
Then he promptly gulped it down, mouthful after mouthful.
“Pwah!”
Luckily, the flavor was good, so it didn’t seem like it would get cloying.
Like that, two tankards. Three. Five…
‘Huh, was the alcohol content always this high?’
Seven tankards. And then ten.
By the time he’d chugged until his stomach was bloated with drink, his throat burned warmly and his head felt hot and fuzzy.
“*Hic*. N-next is…”
Before the total intoxication could set in, Lion swiftly read the instructions that followed.
2. Once total intoxication begins, you will briefly lose memory, but do not worry. You have simply become the finest dwarf.
3. After that, your body will handle everything on its own.
4. However, we take no responsibility for any danger that arises after total intoxication.
5. Complete the object you desire! If it is an object the Dwarf King once made! And if the conditions are met! Anything will be completed!
6. Enjoy this time! *Hic*! Though you won’t remember it.
The moment he finished reading to the very last line, Lion’s body collapsed forward.
Plop.
It was exactly the same as when he’d face-planted into the lawn just the day before, though fortunately this time it wasn’t enough to cause injury.
At the same time, Lion’s body gradually began to change.
His limbs shortened while his hands and feet grew larger.
Thankfully, his outward appearance seemed to stay largely the same—his beard didn’t suddenly sprout all the way down to his chest.
That was a relief, at least.
“Ughh…”
Whether he was already utterly drunk or a hangover was kicking in early, Lion groaned as he pushed himself upright.
His line of sight was lower, his hands and feet felt thick, and his senses sharpened… though.
Wobble.
“Whoa. The ground’s spinning…”
It seemed his body wasn’t cooperating with his mind, just as the instructions said.
Still, he had somehow managed to cling to his initial objective, because he was gripping the crystal tightly.
At that moment,
An array of equipment materialized around Lion.
The distinctive branding burned into one end of every tool confirmed without a doubt that they belonged to the Dwarf King.
And then, slowly,
Lion’s head, which had been lolling forward, lifted little by little.
The difference from usual was that a weight of seasoned authority and charisma now emanated from his gaze.
“Let’s have a look…”
Lion—or rather, the drunkard who had become the Dwarf King—hummed to himself as he examined the Cosmic Crystal in his hand.
Though his vision was clearly swimming with intoxication, the crystal itself remained perfectly sharp and clear in his sight.
“I never thought I’d lay eyes on a gem this beautiful again… Mm, yes. So that’s the design you’re after.”
Muttering to himself, Lion nodded, then turned his head to look at Nature.
“Nature.”
“Peep.”
Nature, who had been wary for a moment, fluttered up at the sound of its name and settled onto Lion’s shoulder.
From long ago until now, Lion was the only one who called it by the name Nature.
It meant that even though something of the Dwarf King had briefly intervened, Lion’s fundamental self was still intact.
“You remember how we worked together before, don’t you?”
“Peep.”
“Good. Just like that time, please.”
Lion thought he had spoken quite clearly, but Nature let out a sigh—pi-hyu.
Her young master’s tongue must be numb from the drink, because all that came out was a mumble.
Still, the bond they’d built let Nature understand exactly what he meant, and it began to release its power.
The refreshing force of wind and the cool, cutting force of water.
Because such strong power had to be wielded with extreme precision, she had no choice but to draw deeply on her master’s mana.
“Yes. That’s it.”
Fortunately, perhaps because Lion’s mana reserves had swollen considerably over time, he seemed to be holding up.
And so, the pair’s joint work began to take shape.
Nature used the power of wind to make the cutting wheel spin faster, and sharpened water to enhance the cutter’s abrasive force.
Lion, without so much as a preliminary sketch, brought the Cosmic Crystal straight to the cutting wheel.
Despite being dead drunk, the moment he resolved to make something, his movements became unnervingly lucid.
Before long, the initial cutting to establish the basic form began.
The astonishing part was this.
Shrrrk.
The crystal that no dwarf had managed to scratch, no matter how hard they tried, was slicing away like soft clay.
“The first crystal, *hic*! Should definitely show off its innate deep clarity.”
He trimmed the gem into a rectangular shape, then split and added facet after facet to the surfaces in between.
He took care not to upset the symmetry, and was careful that nothing became too sharp.
The important thing was that this cut had to emphasize the crystal’s characteristic light and the gem’s own beauty.
So that light could enter, refract, draw the eye deep into its transparent, smooth interior, and let everyone feel the gentle glow spreading naturally outward!
Yes! So beautiful that it wouldn’t even need secondary fabrication into a piece of jewelry!
For a split second, an artisan’s madness blazed in Lion’s eyes.
“Hahaha! This feeling! This sensation!”
The sweet premonition and feeling that everything was being executed flawlessly, without a single mistake, lifted his spirits, and adrenaline and dopamine erupted like an explosion inside his alcohol-heated brain.
He proceeded with the polishing, and only after checking the refraction and proportions under a light Nature created and the moonlight did he finally stop.
“Hoo!”
With an expression of satisfaction, he set the gem down onto a soft cloth.
Clearly, a notification sound—*Ding!*—had chimed to signal the completion of something, but in his current state, it didn’t register with Lion at all.
What mattered was how to cut the remaining two crystals to best bring out their strengths.
The deliberation didn’t last long.
Lion kept on cutting the gems.
Until the sun rose, the alcoholic haze faded, and even his mana ran dry!
The fortunate thing was…
“Heh, hahaha… It’s finished. Finished…!”
…that he had completed all the pieces within the time limit.
Groaning from a brutal hangover, Lion still carefully tucked the gems into his coat and immediately exited the Labyrinth.
And then…
Plop.
Having downed alcohol by the barrel while injured, it was only natural that he would collapse on the spot.
The slight problem was that quite a few people witnessed it.
“…”
Ah, and one of those people was Rickshel, who had been waiting for his older brother, who simply would not come out of the Labyrinth.
“Elvia.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“As Acting Family Head, I hereby give the order. Escort my brother to his room, and forbid him from going out until he has completely recovered.”
“Understood.”
Elvia accepted the order without protest.
Later that afternoon,
Lion opened his eyes, bracing himself for a monstrous headache.
After pouring down that much fruit wine, the hangover was bound to be no joke.
It might even be worse than the Easter incident, he thought—
“Huh…”
Lion’s eyes flew open at the feeling of a perfectly clear head.
No hangover?
‘Did the pomegranate wine have some effect like that?’
It didn’t, though?
Flustered, Lion started to sit up.
“Good afternoon, Brother.”
The moment his eyes met Rickshel’s, who was seated at his desk working, Lion stretched right back out on the bed.
‘Wow. Shit…’
If I’d had a hangover, at least I could have just chugged a potion and been done with it, but how the hell do I fix this?
Lion struggled to stay calm as he tried to retrieve the memories from after he’d started drinking.
6. Enjoy this time! *Hic*! Though you won’t remember it.
Unfortunately, he truly couldn’t remember a thing.
…I didn’t, you know, drunkenly torment my little brother, did I?