Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 34
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 34
It was insufficient.
“It’s only the First Circle, but something’s strange.”
The First Circle could not hold much Magic Power. No matter how pure the Magic Power placed inside it, the circle itself was simply too small.
That was why everyone meditated at dawn, trained, and memorized spell incantations to expand their mana vessel as they advanced to the Second and Third Circle…
“It’s kind of big.”
The amount of mana his First Circle could store was absurdly large.
He’d had his suspicions inside the labyrinth, but after confirming it somewhere safe, it was even stranger.
He’d calculated the ratio using his knowledge from playing In the World and the common sense Lion currently possessed, and the discrepancy was enormous.
Normally, more than half of the First Circle should have been filled with mana.
But right now… it was so paltry he could barely call it a fraction.
“I’ll just chalk it up to a good thing.”
Because it meant he had an absurdly high-quality mana vessel.
Of course, if it happened to come to light through some unintended incident, things could get seriously messy.
“Luckily, I can keep it hidden, so that’s a relief.”
After all, these were the Hero’s belongings.
Items that had been casually scattered around in the game were, in this world, treasure-grade artifacts of a kind you’d rarely find in a lifetime.
“I’m having quite the coming-of-age ceremony.”
He hadn’t expected to receive such a surprise gift.
Anyway, it seemed not too much time had passed, so he needed to get out of here quickly.
Lion immediately headed for the magic circle, and…
“…Huh.”
Unfortunately, he couldn’t get out.
Lion glanced around without hiding his bewilderment.
He was right in the middle of the labyrinth?
And inside, the labyrinth was far more of a mess than he’d anticipated.
Had the whole structure shaken? Every book on the shelves had fallen to the floor, and the spotless library floor was now littered with loose pages torn from the books.
[Reading is currently impossible without the library owner’s permission.]
[The current library owner is Lion Asteri.]
“…?”
On top of that, notifications with completely different content from before he’d entered popped up.
“I became the owner?”
Was it because he was the only one who had cleared the labyrinth?
‘Come to think of it, the founding head of House Asteri only created it; he probably never cleared it.’
The family records stated that no one had ever conquered this labyrinth, so it made sense somehow.
But…
“Sss, that wasn’t my plan.”
Lion scratched the back of his head furiously.
He’d thought he’d be able to get out, but instead he’d been dropped back into a labyrinth so wrecked it would take years to tidy.
[The labyrinth entrance is damaged. Auto-restoration in progress…]
[Do you wish to move to the labyrinth’s final location?]
Fortunately, the labyrinth, attuned to its owner’s mood, suggested relocation.
‘So I can travel there later after all.’
That was a relief, but…
‘If it stays this wrecked, I’ve got a bigger problem.’
Suppose time passed, the entrance repaired itself, and Lion went outside.
“By the way, the labyrinth’s a mess.”
If he said that,
what would people say?
“You wrecked the labyrinth, so take responsibility!”
Wouldn’t that be the response?
Especially if it was Petrick Asteri.
“I said you could cause whatever trouble you liked, and you’ve already pulled a disaster this big!”
Wouldn’t he yell something like that?
Lion absolutely did not want to hear that kind of scolding.
He’d rather solve it alone than…
‘Ah, wait.’
If I’m the owner, can I handle the restoration too?
[Would you like to reset the labyrinth? Currently bound items will also return to their original positions.]
“…”
“Currently bound items” definitely meant this pendant and bracelet.
And “reset” meant…
All the books that had entered since the labyrinth was built would vanish.
That wouldn’t do.
“What else?”
[Would you like to manually adjust and restore the labyrinth? Some of the entrance’s restoration resources will be diverted, extending the time required.]
Fortunately, there was another option.
“Manual adjustment” sounded like the concept of editing a save file.
Nice that it was easy to understand.
“Let’s see, the last time a new book entered the labyrinth was…”
Exactly one week ago.
“Excluding the artifacts I own, revert it to one week ago. How long will it take?”
Still, if he only had to roll back a week, it should be resolved quickly.
At most, it probably wouldn’t take more than a day, right?
[Approximately 672 hours are required. You will be unable to exit the labyrinth.]
“…How many hours?”
[672 hours are required.]
Lion pressed his lips shut.
It seemed the time included restoring countless scattered books and shelves to their proper places.
“I can stay at the end of the labyrinth in the meantime, right?”
[The library owner may move anywhere within the library.]
“Is there a way to send word outside while it’s restoring?”
[A currently unused book deposit slot remains.]
“That’s something, at least.”
If he summarized the situation and sent it out, it would ease his family’s worries.
[Proceed with restoration?]
“Alright. Restore it.”
[671 hours and 59 minutes remaining until labyrinth restoration is complete.]
Lion watched the books find their own way back to their shelves, then moved to the end of the labyrinth.
Pahhhht!
Instantly arriving, he looked around.
The end of the labyrinth was exactly as he’d left it after digging up the ground.
“So, from now on, I just need to survive for a month.”
Lion decided to look for something useful in the Shilling Shop.
But something caught his eye first.
“A pond? No, should I call it a lake?”
Far off in the distance, there was a pond the size of a small reservoir.
* * *
“A month. A month…”
Petrick Asteri sat in his office and let out a deep sigh.
The news that Lion was safe was so joyful and reassuring that he’d thanked a god he’d never once sought out in his entire life, but having to leave Lion alone in that place for a whole month worried him terribly.
‘How will he endure with that frail body?’
Even if he managed to hold out for a month somehow, Lion’s physical condition when he came out wouldn’t be good.
‘I wish it could have been me instead.’
Why did the innocent, fragile Lion have to go through such hardship…!
While Petrick agonized inwardly…
Rickshel examined the note on the table once more.
‘This is definitely my brother’s handwriting.’
It had been scribbled in haste, but it didn’t look like it was written with failing strength.
Most importantly, there was no staining like blood.
That meant there was clearly no major problem yet.
Besides… the brother he’d observed until now was far more resourceful than one would expect.
‘He even found banana sweet potatoes in Mimir Forest and roasted them himself.’
To be honest, even an ordinary commoner, not a noble, would never think of digging up an edible root in that dark, damp forest and roasting it on the spot.
But his brother, who had grown up without any real hardships, had pulled it off…
He had a strange conviction that, wherever you dropped him, his brother wouldn’t starve to death.
What worried him more was the family head—no, his grandfather.
Rickshel could not forget the way his grandfather’s hands had trembled back then.
He had never, in all his life, seen such a vulnerable side of his grandfather.
Petrick Asteri had always been a strong person.
Strict, cold, and upright; he’d thought of him as an immovable mountain you could never surpass.
And indeed he was.
But the figure he was showing now was not the family head, Petrick Asteri.
He was simply a grandfather who couldn’t sleep for worrying about his grandchild.
Rickshel closed his mouth for a moment, then slowly spoke.
“Grandfather. My brother will be fine.”
He’d never tried to soothe or comfort anyone, so saying this felt profoundly awkward.
“There’s no bloodstain, no contamination. It looks hurried, but the fact that he knows how long it’ll take might mean he already understands a significant part of the labyrinth. So…”
How should he finish?
What would his brother have done?
“…Please don’t worry, Grandfather.”
Yes. That’s definitely what his brother would have said.
“…”
Petrick raised his head and looked at Rickshel.
‘I made a mistake.’
Too focused on worrying about Lion, he’d failed to look after the even younger Rickshel right in front of him.
Yet this child had comforted him with such maturity.
Saying he trusted his brother. Saying not to worry.
“Yes. You’re right.”
When had they grown so much? His grandchildren.
Just days ago, they surely hadn’t even reached his waist.
“…Yes. I’ll trust that.”
“Yes, Head of the Family.”
“…”
So he still wouldn’t call me Grandfather again?
Petrick felt a little disappointed.
* * *
“Hmm.”
Lion slowly examined the surroundings of the enormous pond.
‘No danger, and the pond is calm.’
Occasional rippling waves suggested there were fish inside.
[Many creatures live in the lake.]
Oh. So it’s a lake.
“Explain in detail.”
[Representatively, bilaterian aquatic animals and decapod organisms live.]
“…Can you explain more simply?”
[Edible fish and crustaceans live in large numbers. If you attempt fishing, you may catch fish from the ‘Common’ and ‘High-grade’ categories, up to ‘Rare’-grade specimens.]
Hmm, so from one-star to three-star fish?
“How many rare-grade fish are there?”
[Only one lives.]
[By the authority of the Library Labyrinth’s owner, lake fishing is unlocked.]
“Even if fishing is possible…”
I don’t have a fishing rod right now.
“…No, wait.”
There was a way.
Lion immediately opened the Shilling Shop.
[Welcome, valued customer.]
[Would you like to view the products?]
“Show me the types of fishing rods. Bait too.”
[Searching for fishing rods and bait.]
[Standard Fishing Rod]
-400,000 Shillings (MD Recommended!)
-Automatically baits the hook and increases the chance of catching fish.
-Includes all options.
The first thing that appeared was this Standard Fishing Rod.
‘Yeah. I had zero expectations for this.’
There was a reason it hadn’t shown up even when I’d searched for items under 105,000 Shillings.
However…!
[Old Fishing Rod]
-40,000 Shillings
-Its appearance is shabby and it wouldn’t be surprising if it broke any moment.
-Bait sold separately, float sold separately, line sold separately.
-The rod’s durability is worn over 90%. Repair is needed.
[Beginner’s Fishing Tool Set]
-10,000 Shillings
-A fishing set that’s easy to sell off to beginners.
-Rod sold separately. Still, there’s nothing better, right?
-Free gift included!
“…”
Alternatives did exist.
The Old Fishing Rod he’d glimpsed, and a set with an annoyingly phrased description. And…
[Groundbait]
-1,000 Shillings
-Made from potatoes, barley, etc. Dispersion is poor, but the binding strength is decent.
-99 uses.
Plus bait that looked more or less usable.
Lion was especially pinning his hopes on the groundbait.
If he could catch fish with it, nothing could be better.
But if it didn’t catch anything and was useless, then he could simply eat the bait itself to survive!
Truly the last bastion.
Lion steeled himself and spent a small fortune.
[Proceed with purchase?]
“I’ll buy them all.”
[Items purchased!]
[Permanently binding ‘Old Fishing Rod’ and 2 other items.]
[You lost 51,000 Shillings.]
[Current balance: 48,100 Shillings.]
Lion sorted out the items he’d bought from the Shilling Shop one by one, then began setting up.
And the very first thing he did was…
set up a chair and the fishing rod by the lake.
Amazingly, the Beginner’s Fishing Tool Set included a chair!
Maybe this wasn’t such a bad purchase after all.