Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 51
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 51
Petrick recalled a distant past.
The early days of the journey, before those deep bonds with his comrades had even begun to form.
“…You expect me to stay in this filth?”
Damp earth, a floor riddled with jagged rocks, and trees bearing the unmistakable claw marks of a colossal monster.
The stale stench and his battle-torn robes only added to the misery.
If one were to paint a picture of a truly wretched, filthy predicament, this place would be its perfect likeness, he was certain.
The young Petrick’s face reflected that sentiment with brutal honesty.
“Haha, there was no suitable place to camp. It can’t be helped.”
“If the young master finds it too unbefitting to sit, he’s welcome to sleep standing.”
The white-haired woman, then a low-ranking priestess, smiled kindly and asked if she should at least offer her own outer robe, while the petty thief from the criminal underworld plopped down carelessly on the ground and sneered.
“…”
Petrick himself wasn’t exactly an exception.
The grueling battle had drained his mana to the dregs, and he was so exhausted he felt he might collapse at any moment.
And yet, in a place like this…
“Still, when else are you going to have an experience like this?”
As Petrick’s face contorted in pure disgust, the man kindling the firewood abruptly spoke up.
“We can’t change it, so we might as well enjoy it.”
Just enjoy the moment, he meant.
Of course, Petrick had retorted at the time that “there are experiences one doesn’t need to have,” but even those words had paled before the whitish, bubbling stew.
Hunger being the best sauce, he had wolfed it down in a daze.
…Looking back now, he thought, it had been truly enjoyable.
Had he ever been that free at any other point in his life?
“…”
Petrick chuckled inwardly.
Sitting here brought to mind memories of that distant past, of his youth.
He’d wondered why his grandson had deliberately chosen the labyrinth as the location—perhaps this was the reason.
“I believe this is a good place, Family Head.”
“It is.”
Petrick conceded without resistance.
He had never once dreamed he would come to a place like this with his grandsons, yet it had turned out to be a profoundly good experience.
That was precisely why he had kept silent, knowing Rickshel would be horrified.
And so the two of them savored a sense of leisure they had long forgotten.
It was not a long stretch of time, but it was just right for a bit of personal space.
“Now, you’ve waited long enough, haven’t you? It’s all ready, so come on over!”
Lion emerged from the hut and called to the two of them.
Come to think of it, an aroma that stirred the appetite had been drifting from the hut.
To be precise…
From the makeshift kitchen set up in front of the hut!
Soon, a chicken dish glistening red was placed on the table.
Its sharp, pungent scent was quite distinctive—probably from a generous use of spicy seasonings.
“This is… made from the ingredients you bought earlier at the market?”
“Yeah.”
Lion handed over wooden bowls and utensils.
“You went to the market?”
“Ah, yes. I went to the market with my brother during the day. Thanks to that, I learned many things—the prices for commoners, how merchants ply their trade, and so on.”
“…”
Lion stirred the nearly finished spicy stir-fried chicken with a spatula and glanced at Rickshel.
‘What was that… he learned?’
How to haggle?
Well, that could be.
Lion decided not to think about it too deeply.
“There, it’s all done now, so eat up. It’s hot, so just transfer the meat and vegetables from the pot lid to your bowls. Eating straight from it is fine too.”
“Hmm. This is a dish I’ve never seen before.”
Rickshel gauged Petrick’s reaction.
Ordinarily, it was standard practice to portion out a fully prepared dish into separate bowls before eating.
Of course, he himself was in no position to mind such things, having already eaten fire-roasted banana sweet potatoes—but still… he worried the Family Head might be a little uncomfortable.
“Hm?”
Contrary to Rickshel’s expectation, Petrick showed no reluctance, helping himself generously to the chicken on the pot lid.
And that was not all!
Without the slightest hesitation, he used the somewhat rustic utensils to pick up meat and vegetables and eat.
‘…Did he always have that side to him?’
Or perhaps his brother’s efforts were so commendable that he was doing his utmost to play along.
Rickshel wavered briefly before he too scooped some meat into his bowl and put it in his mouth.
The very first sensation was, naturally, an intense spiciness.
‘Sp-spicy!’
It was spicy, but delicious!
The chicken, grilled in a thick, red, heavily-spiced sauce, yielded softly under his teeth.
What’s more, without bones, it was incredibly easy to eat.
So that was why, earlier, when preparing the chicken, he’d only taken the boneless cuts!
“Sssip.”
Even after just one bite, it was spicy enough to redden the corners of his mouth.
And yet, his hand went back for more anyway.
‘Let’s try the vegetables this time.’
Rickshel piled a heap of vegetables, thoroughly cooked, into his mouth.
They were mixed indistinguishably into the red sauce, so he couldn’t even tell what they were…
First, there was cabbage, softened and pickled in the seasoning, and next—.
“Banana sweet potato!”
“Oh. That’s right. It’s sweet, so it tones down the heat, right?”
Indeed, the sweet flavor of the banana sweet potato gently soothed his stinging mouth.
“Yes. It is truly delicious.”
The food his brother made was always so unique.
That beverage, and the dessert from yesterday too.
And now this chicken dish.
Thinking his brother’s skill was truly remarkable, he reached for another serving—
“Huh?”
A considerable amount of the dish had already disappeared.
His brother was still only on his first serving, though?
Could it be?
Rickshel’s head whipped around to look at Petrick.
The Family Head was placing food in his mouth with the utmost elegance.
Neat, with no superfluous movement whatsoever, as though he were seated at a formal banquet.
However…
The speed at which he ate was quite fast.
At that pace, he might polish off the entire batch of food before long, Rickshel thought.
A sense of urgency crept over him, and he heaped his bowl to the brim and threw himself into battle-ready eating.
Watching the two of them, Lion smiled contentedly.
‘It’s nice that they’re eating well.’
In truth, spicy stir-fried chicken was a somewhat unfamiliar dish to the people of this world.
Spicy, stimulating, and all thrown together in a jumble like that.
But Lion had really wanted to eat it with his family.
Ever since that moment he’d reached Apprentice Cooking Lv.7.
The memory dish.
“Truth be told, I really wanted to eat this together.”
“It really is delicious, brother.”
“The flavor is quite good. Did you learn this from the head chef?”
“Haha… I learned it from someone I knew.”
Someone he knew.
Meaning, it was someone he’d met quite a long time ago, even back in his days not as Lion, but as Baek Yi-hyeon.
The spicy stir-fried chicken was a dish he’d first learned from the mother of a friend who knew Baek Yi-hyeon’s circumstances all too well.
“Yi-hyeon, I made way too much chicken. Would you like some dinner before you go?”
The young Baek Yi-hyeon, putting aside any sense of shame, had dug in and devoured the purposely overabundant chicken—more than enough to eat without feeling any burden.
He had needed to.
Once he went back, all there was to eat was instant noodles.
His friend’s mother had casually given him tips on how to make it and even made him his own batch of the sauce.
He felt that was the first time he’d truly experienced an adult’s kindness.
Even after becoming an adult, Baek Yi-hyeon often made the dish for himself.
It couldn’t be anything but a food heavy with memories.
…But—
In truth, ever since eating it at that friend’s house—a friend whose name he now barely recalled—he’d always had this thought.
‘I want to try eating it with my own family too.’
And as it happened, he’d developed an ability to recreate food by recalling its memories.
So he figured he might as well grant his own wish.
Scratching his cheek, Lion resumed speaking in an even tone.
“The truth is, we didn’t get to have a coming-of-age ceremony as a family. So I thought I’d prepare one. I’m glad it suits your tastes.”
“…”
Petrick stared at Lion in silence.
‘A coming-of-age ceremony spent together as family, he says.’
Inwardly, he was quite taken aback.
Because it was something Petrick himself had secretly felt regret over, too.
Even for House Asteri, holding another lavish coming-of-age ceremony a second time was difficult for the sake of appearances, and having guests come was a bother.
He had settled on the idea of just being satisfied with a relaxed family time sometime, but…
As if having read his mind, Lion had been the one to first suggest they have dinner together.
After a brief hesitation, Petrick mustered his courage and spoke.
“Thank you.”
And he added the words he had only ever swallowed inside, never spoken aloud until now.
“For growing up healthy, and doing something like this for me.”
Petrick carefully stroked Lion’s head.
The touch was quite awkward and halting, and indeed it was tremendously awkward for that Petrick to be doing such a thing…
But the sincerity behind it was conveyed so clearly that Lion burst into a smile.
In that instant.
[You have created a new memory with a Memory Dish!]
[You have achieved the ‘Memories Carry Memories’ Achievement.]
[You have acquired 20,000 Shillings!]
That wasn’t all.
[You have realized the true meaning of cooking!]
[Cooking Proficiency has reached Apprentice Lv.9.]
In the blink of an eye, his Cooking level had jumped by two full stages!
It was an enormous gain, but Lion paid it no mind.
There was something far more important left to do.
He had to see this through to the end as a good memory.
“You two, you’re not full yet, right?”
“Pardon? There’s something more?”
“We have to finish this off properly, don’t we?”
Lion opened the pot he had set aside.
Along with a cloud of white steam, glossy rice revealed itself.
“We have to fry the rice.”
It simply wasn’t the true completion of spicy stir-fried chicken without fried rice at the end!
“Ah, and for the record, we also have to eat the hotteok.”
“…”
Rickshel and Petrick exchanged furtive glances.
The chicken had been so delicious that they’d both, without discrimination, gorged themselves silly…
And now there were still two more menu items to come.
And looking at Lion’s face…
They felt that by any means necessary, they had to give it their absolute all and devour every last bite.
* * *
“I, I cannot eat another bite.”
“…I think that’s more than enough for me.”
Having stubbornly polished off even Lion’s hotteok to the very last, the two of them clutched their full bellies and panted.
Petrick was mentally rifling through his past, wondering if he had ever committed such an act of gluttony in his entire life.
“Mm!”
Lion, for his part, beamed brightly at the sight of them.
“You have to eat like this once in a while.”
It had always troubled him to see them put down their cutlery long before they were full, but today, he felt they’d been fed with pure satisfaction.
Hadn’t they achieved a result that practically summoned the word “prosperous” to mind all on its own?
Wearing an expression of deep satisfaction, Lion cleared the bowls away.
“Let me help you.”
“Would you give me a hand, then?”
“I’ll help as well.”
The three of them tidied away the tableware and then gathered around the fire.
With full stomachs and the warmth seeping into their bodies, the tension naturally drained out of them, replaced by a pleasant drowsiness.
And on top of that, the Lion they were most worried about was this healthy.
They had not a single care in the world.
Except for one.
The mana shock.
Right. The mana shock that could befall Lion at any unknown time.
Though it was simply called a mana shock, it also meant his life was at risk at any moment.
As Petrick’s and Rickshel’s expressions turned somber, Lion was the first to speak.
“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Brother…?”
“It’s about the mana shock.”
Lion wasn’t unaware of the matter either.
In truth, it was because he knew it so very well that he had even arranged this gathering.
‘I just didn’t have the right timing.’
The news of reaching the 1st Circle.
Meaning, the timing to say that they needn’t worry about things like mana shock anymore!
And this moment, right now, was the perfect opportunity.
“You don’t have to worry.”
“Whew… Yes, you don’t need to worry either. Whatever means it takes, I will make sure to…”
“No, I don’t mean that. I mean you don’t have to spare it a single thought. Because there’s no longer any chance of a mana shock happening to me.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Could it be… you have attained mana?”
“Now, now, I’ll explain. Please, calm yourselves.”