Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 239
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 239
Kyle looked around the lair, inspecting it here and there.
Under ordinary circumstances, this being a dragon’s lair, he would have had to take every step with utmost care, but the situation didn’t allow for that now.
The reason, of course, was Lion Asteri.
‘He needs to be made to rest.’
And he needed to be fed, too.
Left like this, he was clearly going to keep moving until he finished that sculpture.
Kyle shoved aside the gold coins that clattered underfoot and rummaged through the place.
A crown that some king might have worn, a sword so finely forged that any swordsman would drool over it.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
As he flung those worthless objects far away…
“…!”
In one corner, he spotted the only thing that didn’t gleam.
Of course, it was wrapped in precious cloth, but inside…
“Preserved food.”
Whether it had been left behind by those who came before or arranged by the dragon, it was edible regardless.
And it hadn’t even spoiled!
‘How?’
A question popped into his head.
Clearly, dragons had gone extinct quite far back in history.
Moreover, it was said that when a dragon died, the magic it had cast disappeared, starting with the weakest.
So this preserved food should have spoiled long ago… no, it should have vanished without a trace.
The fact that it was still preserved meant…
‘It’s related to those bones, then.’
The Second Prince looked at the Dragon Remains and soon shook his head.
There was no need to bother with how that dragon’s magic had remained.
What mattered was that his benefactor, Lion Asteri, was starving—and so absorbed in his creative act that he wouldn’t even think of eating.
“Sigh.”
What kind of person even was he, truly? But what could he do.
The one who was in need had to be the one to beg first.
The Second Prince brought a generous amount of preserved food and returned to Lion’s work area.
…And in the meantime, the sculpture’s form had already changed again.
Kyle opened his mouth to say something but stopped, gazing quietly at Lion.
Honestly, he wanted to force him to stop working and eat right away, but seeing that expression, he simply couldn’t bring himself to apply force.
Because Lion Asteri hadn’t lost his smile the entire time he was carving.
Some might call him an eccentric for grinning like that while obsessively working day and night, but Kyle, who prided himself on knowing Lion Asteri a little better than others, didn’t see it that way.
Wasn’t another name for an eccentric a genius?
Right now, Lion Asteri was exerting his utmost to escape from this place.
So Kyle had decided to feed him once he’d used up some of his concentration… but.
“…”
Kyle gave a sidelong glance at Lion, who had been obsessively carving the exact same spot for an hour.
Well, what had he expected…
“That’s enough.”
-Yes! Good timing, you finally stopped him! You wretched human, try to hold him back!
It was only after hearing the Earthbound Dragon’s additional nagging that Lion finally pulled away.
“Phew.”
As his concentration broke, his body began to ache.
His shoulders were hunched, his back was stooped, and the back of his neck felt stiff, as if a rock had been placed on it.
Still, there was something he needed to check.
Slide.
Lion backed up quite a distance and looked at the sculpture.
‘I need to see the overall shape.’
He had started with a solid grasp of the form, but sometimes focusing too much on a single area could diminish the overall harmony.
“Hmm!”
Fortunately, it looked quite satisfactory to Lion’s eyes.
-Enough already, hurry up and eat, human!
“Since things are progressing smoothly, it would be a good time to start looking after yourself as well.”
Finishing his words, Kyle retrieved Lion’s carving knife and pointed to a water source in the corner.
“Go wash up.”
“Am I that dirty?”
“…”
Kyle looked him up and down as if to ask whether he really needed it explained in words.
Even when he himself had rolled around in the criminal underworld, he had never been that covered in dust.
“Hahaha…”
Only then did Lion awkwardly examine himself.
He thought he wasn’t that bad, but apparently the Second Prince’s standards were different.
‘It’s only this bad because he’s been looking after me from time to time…’
-Filthy. While you’re at it, drink some water too!
“…I’ll go wash up a bit.”
Lion forced himself not to get annoyed and headed toward the water source where clear water was gushing.
“Really… you’re the furthest thing from a noble.”
The Second Prince shook his head at the sight and tidied up a spot.
He swept away the dust so it wouldn’t scatter, then spread out the cloth that had been wrapping the preserved food.
It couldn’t be called splendid, but considering this was a dragon’s lair, it made a fairly decent dining spot.
“Wow, where did you find this?”
“I rummaged through the lair and it was in a corner.”
“Looks like the dragon prepared and left quite a lot.”
Lion tore off some dried jerky and popped it into his mouth as he spoke; the Second Prince nodded in agreement.
“Yes. It doesn’t seem to torment us without reason.”
-Of course. Of course. I’m not trying to kill you!
-I just want to have fun, that’s all.
As Lion started eating, the Earthbound Dragon, seemingly relieved, chimed in excitedly.
Even though communication was one-sided, it kept talking without losing spirit.
‘Its self-esteem sure is impressive.’
Ah, and the jerky that had been made as preserved food tasted quite excellent.
Perhaps because it used high-quality beef, the more he chewed the dried jerky, the more a savory, salty richness rose up.
‘Delicious.’
Jerky was one of the drinking snacks he had enjoyed quite a lot even before his possession.
‘Though when you try to buy it, it’s pricey and you don’t get much.’
So when jerky came as a holiday gift, he could never be happier.
Just tearing open vacuum-packed jerky and shredding it along the grain was tasty, but there were also methods to make it even more delicious.
‘If only I had some cooking tools…’
Thinking that, Lion froze mid-tear of the jerky.
If this dragon had gone all out to prepare for its own enjoyment…
“By any chance, were there any cooking tools?”
“I’ll search.”
At Lion’s question, the Second Prince, who had been eating the preserved food, sprang up and unhesitatingly rummaged through the lair.
-That guy, he did it once and now he’s just ransacking the place…
-But what’s he trying to do now? Why cooking tools? Is he going to make stew with jerky?
Unfortunately, that wasn’t it.
Actually, it wasn’t even cooking—it would be closer to simple preparation.
“Here’s something usable.”
Kyle, who had been searching among the jewels, brought over a grill grate and a cutting board that was clearly made of a rare special metal.
“It seems to have an auto-heating function. Will this do?”
Perhaps he had already tested it, because faint steam was rising from the grill grate.
“It’s more than enough.”
Lion took the grill grate and placed the torn jerky on it.
“Are you planning to grill it?”
“Yes, just lightly until the oil surfaces.”
Lion turned the grill grate as if flipping it over the fire a few times lightly.
Even without a fire, the grate’s self-heating function activated again, and soon gentle beads of oil appeared on the jerky caught between the grate’s bars.
‘This is just right.’
Dried jerky becomes tough if grilled too long.
Lion took the warm jerky off the grill and placed it on a jewel-studded bowl the Second Prince had fetched from somewhere.
And!
‘Huhuhu…!’
Lion smiled a knowing smile and pretended to rummage through his bag as he pulled several items from his inventory.
“What’s this?”
“I happen to always carry things like this.”
It was the gochujang he’d portioned out, Pungent Fruit, and various seasonings!
Lion immediately started preparing the Pungent Fruit.
He split the garlic-like flesh apart and removed the pepper-like seeds inside.
Then he finely ground them on the cutting board.
He ground the pepper as finely as possible, but left the garlic slightly chunky for texture.
…As a side note, since there was no proper kitchen knife, he used the smallest dagger among the countless treasured swords stuck around.
-Hey, weird human! What’s that fruit? And what’s that sauce? No, why are you carrying all this around?
It was a habit he’d picked up after accidentally falling into the labyrinth.
Lion spooned the portioned gochujang onto the well-ground garlic and pepper.
Then he added a bit of sugar and vinegar, made an impromptu sauce on the cutting board, and poured it smoothly into a small bowl.
“Done!”
“…Fast.”
The Second Prince was genuinely impressed.
He’d already seen how quick his hands were when carving, but how should he describe this…
A state where he’d made it so many times it was ingrained in his body?
Moreover, the lightly grilled jerky still had heat rising from it.
“How do I eat it?”
“Tear off some jerky and dip it in the gochujang.”
Gochujang…
He wasn’t sure, but apparently that type of sauce was called gochujang.
“Try it.”
“Okay.”
The Second Prince tore off some jerky without hesitation, dipped it generously in the gochujang, and put it in his mouth.
“…!”
The first thing he sensed was the characteristic deep richness of the gochujang and the pungent aroma of pepper and garlic.
And the spiciness that rose as soon as the sauce touched his tongue!
The stimulation naturally made his mouth water.
The Second Prince chewed the jerky.
Grilling it once certainly made it less tough and more oily.
The condensed oil had subtly surfaced from the heat, and it paired with the sauce far better than he’d imagined.
“How is it?”
“The harmony with the sauce is excellent.”
“It is, right?”
He honestly thought there was no way to dislike this.
Lion grinned and chewed his jerky.
‘This is it!’
That spicy yet sweet flavor, with oiliness and saltiness circulating all around, and then the vinegar cleanses the palate at the end!
‘Honestly, it’s a combination that’s delicious even just mixed with plain rice.’
Although, of course, it truly shone in a camping-like atmosphere like this.
-Looks delicious… Ah, no. Hmph. It’s just grilled jerky, no need to make a fuss.
The Earthbound Dragon, seeing this, swallowed its saliva, then quickly changed its tune and grumbled.
Well, it was only natural.
However much it could speak and see, it couldn’t make direct contact.
Unable even to touch, it certainly couldn’t taste.
‘That’s a bit sad.’
Lion felt a little sorry for the dopamine-addicted Earthbound Dragon for the first time, but…
‘Still, I can’t let my guard down.’
Until he’d proven himself, he had to avoid acting like he knew anything.
Because that guy definitely had the power to trap Lion here.
He didn’t know how, but…
Glance.
‘Seeing that the protective magic at the lair entrance hasn’t disappeared…’
Perhaps even as a spirit, it had some degree of power.
In other words, it could use magic.
“Now that I’ve filled my stomach, I’ll get back to work.”
-Eh?
“…”
The Second Prince and the Earthbound Dragon simultaneously looked at Lion with the same expression.
“You only ate half a piece of jerky.”
“What?”
Lion was rather taken aback.
This might be called one piece of jerky, but it wasn’t the pitiful amount he’d seen before his possession.
‘At least, it’d be about three packs.’
Wasn’t that a feast?
-You eat less than a single one of my scales and move around like that?
Well, that was because a dragon’s scale was as big as both hands of an adult man.
“You didn’t sleep either.”
“I’m naturally not a good sleeper.”
-Liar. Your dark circles are so dark!
“Rest.”
“…’Kay.”
With the Earthbound Dragon and the Prince both attacking him at the same time, he had nothing to say.