Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 65
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 65
He was right.
But it made so little sense that Lion hesitated to drink, and Freyania snapped at him sharply.
“Ugh, why are elves so suspicious?”
“You little—! Is that any way to speak to Lord Embrog?!”
“Hmph! Just drink it already! You won’t regret it!”
Seeing her talk back even louder…
‘She’s confident, then.’
When Embrog tried to examine the potion in his hand, a Lesser Wind Spirit sent a cloud to conceal the vial.
“Huh. So I’m just supposed to drink it?”
“It contains no poison.”
“…Lord Embrog. What shall we do?”
“If we delay here, we may run out of time.”
The elves, perhaps having sampled Lion’s Spirit Affinity for themselves, quickly rallied behind the idea that they should just drink up and go resolve the problem.
“Hmm.”
The whole situation felt strange, but since his subordinates had all reached the same conclusion, Embrog raised no objection.
Gulp—!
Embrog downed the Digestive Enhancement Potion in one go.
“…!”
The first thing he felt was a prickling sensation.
As if drinking a fermented liquor, carbonation bubbled and fizzed across his tongue.
After that, a sweet and refreshing fragrance stimulated his sense of smell, and a syrup-like sweetness spread over his tongue.
It was distinctly unique, yet nothing about its taste or scent was unpleasant, and before he knew it, he was gulping it down eagerly.
“Khh…!”
He even emptied the whole bottle in no time and let out a strange sound.
The other elves did the same.
Those who had needed a digestive potion hastily poured the spirit water into their bloated stomachs, and soon their expressions eased in a peculiar way…
I’ll leave the description at that.
In any case, the potion was clearly remarkably effective.
“That went down well.”
“It seems to have a tremendous effect on indigestion. The bloated feeling vanished completely!”
“Thank you.”
In truth, they wanted to express their gratitude at greater length, but now the matter truly had to be dealt with.
Just as Embrog was about to ask for their understanding—
“…Huh?”
One elf pointed a finger outside.
Beyond the door, the clouds that had been surging in were slowly dissipating!
“How in the world?”
It was absurd.
They had reached a point where a natural recovery would have been nearly impossible.
That was precisely why Embrog had taken the drastic measure of ordering Sylph and Undine’s summoning to be undone.
And yet.
“You’re wondering how it healed on its own, aren’t you?”
Freyania stood there, her expression and posture brimming with smugness.
“…No way.”
Only then did Embrog look at the potion bottle he had drunk.
Inside it, a stone that was presumably ‘formerly’ a Water Spirit Stone sat clinking loosely inside the glass.
Embrog raised his head again and looked at Lion.
“It would be best if you confirmed it with your own eyes.”
Lion cleared a path to the door and even kindly opened it for him.
The interior of the mansion, which should have been filled with billowing clouds…
Was, astonishingly, clean.
It was still a little damp, as if not everything had been fully resolved, but there were none of the glaring problems from before.
“Ah! What a relief!”
“The moisture is drying faster than usual, too!”
The servants embraced one another and sighed with relief.
And, most astonishing of all…
The spirits were each eating something!
“…!”
Spirits were capable of ingestion.
A water spirit drinking water, a fire spirit eating wood or oil—that sort of thing.
But this was a little different.
No, it was very different.
‘Isn’t that the potion we drank?’
Because it was the same kind of bottle Embrog held in his hand!
“What in the world did you do?”
“The spirits looked bloated as well, so I tried making a digestive remedy.”
“The very thing we just drank… and spirits can drink it too?”
“I didn’t expect they could either, but Miss Freyania told me about spirit stones.”
And so, Lion briefly explained, he had taken inspiration from that and created the potion.
‘Is that the sort of thing you can pull off with inspiration alone?’
No matter how accomplished one was in alchemy, if it were that easy to make, the Elf Nation would have invented it long ago.
Yet this was a potion Embrog had never seen nor heard of in his entire life.
Which meant that this was indeed Lion Asteri.
This exceptionally gifted prodigy had made it himself.
“Brother! So you were here?”
“Ah, Rickshel.”
“How are you? Are you feeling all right?”
“Of course. I’m fine.”
Rickshel, who had appeared at that very moment, checked over Lion’s condition and then stood before Embrog.
“I heard there was a bit of a disturbance.”
The smile he wore as he said it told Embrog that Rickshel already knew exactly how the trouble had started and by whose hands it had been resolved.
A victor’s smile.
No words suited it better.
“…There was a considerable disturbance, yes.”
“But you needn’t worry. My brother has resolved the matter. Our guests may simply relax and enjoy the evening’s fellowship.”
“…Thank you.”
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Rickshel, who had been about to move on with a light nod, added an offhand remark.
“You understand now, don’t you? My brother’s proficiency in alchemy runs ‘very’ deep.”
The meaning was clear: you’ve already received help with ‘alchemy’ to deal with your study-abroad business or whatever it was, so stop pestering him now.
“Then, I wish you a pleasant evening.”
“…”
A total defeat.
“Brother, you should go rest as well. Elvia said she prepared your bedroom.”
“All right. You worked hard.”
“Shall I escort you? The corridors are still slippery.”
Lion chuckled and declined, saying there was no need, then pulled a few more bottles from his coat and handed them to Embrog.
“These are for Endairon and the others here.”
Endairon, who had quietly remained behind Embrog through all the commotion, approached with elegant steps and sniffed at the potion in Lion’s hand.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Lion pressed the potions into Embrog’s hand—Embrog was still dazed, not quite grasping what had happened—gave a polite nod, and returned to his room.
“Truly a kind human being…”
Embrog watched Lion’s departing back, then fed the potion to Endairon.
His Endairon had no particular ailment, but it pleased him that they could share the same sustenance.
Thanks to one human, a day that nearly became a nightmare would likely be remembered as a rather heartwarming one.
That was what Embrog thought.
…Because he believed that was the end of it.
But the potion’s true worth revealed itself even more distinctly the following day.
The first to notice the potion’s effects was none other than Embrog himself.
And for good reason…
Endairon’s coat was positively sleek and glossy!
“What in the world… is this potion…!”
* * *
Around the time Embrog was reeling in astonishment, an elf stood at the front gate of the Asteri estate.
“Would you be so kind as to open the gate? I have come under the Elder Elf’s orders.”
It was the elf who had brought compensation for House Asteri.
The gatekeeper studied the elf standing before him.
‘Who is this person?’
Every elf he had seen so far had possessed an extraordinary presence.
Breathtaking beauty, smooth and lustrous hair regardless of gender. Pointed ears, and an appearance that was youthful yet carried the weight of years.
But this elf… felt like a figure of an entirely different order from them.
Even Embrog, said to be their leader, had not radiated this kind of aura.
The gatekeeper, who had served House Asteri for many long years, sensed at once that this was no ordinary individual.
“Ah, er…”
“Is something the matter?”
“N-no! You truly are here only to deliver a gift?”
The gatekeeper asked again, as kindly and inoffensively as he could.
At that, a faint smile crossed the elf’s previously expressionless face.
‘For a gatekeeper, he’s quite perceptive.’
He hadn’t fully grasped the situation, but it seemed he had roughly gauged Tialli’s ability.
Perhaps because he guarded the home of an Archmage, he possessed a sharp eye.
‘This place is fit to entrust the children to.’
The children. Tialli meant the elves who had already arrived.
The period of hostility would be brief regardless.
In that case, it was better that the elven children had a place where they could stay safely.
The elf smoothly drew one leg back and introduced himself with proper courtesy.
“Yes. I am High Elf Tialli, who once led the Elder’s personal guard. My kinfolk who are staying here reportedly departed leaving gifts behind, so I, being the swiftest of foot, have come.”
“S-such an esteemed personage! Please forgive my rudeness.”
The gatekeeper’s mouth fell open, and then he hurriedly sent for someone to serve as a guide.
He did not know the particulars of elven hierarchy, but an elf who had served as the captain of the Elder’s personal guard was surely a very high-ranking person—no, elf.
“My apologies for the inadequate reception. I shall guide you from here.”
Fortunately, a servant arrived quickly.
Perhaps having received word from the gatekeeper beforehand, the servant bowed politely and led High Elf Tialli into the mansion.
The mansion’s interior matched what Tialli had heard.
Human dwellings were cramped, stuffy, lacking in nature’s energy…
‘Hm?’
But something felt different.
On the journey here, Tialli had passed through countless human villages and territories.
They had traveled mainly along forest paths, of course, but in forests near human settlements, nature’s energy had dwindled so much that there had been few means to restore the spirits’ strength while on the move.
Elves could endure it well enough, but for the spirits, the journey had been quite taxing.
Hadn’t Silairon, perched on Tialli’s shoulder, suffered considerable damage to its wing feathers?
‘And yet here…’
Not only Intermediate Spirits but even Lesser Spirits were brimming with vitality.
The wind bird perched on Tialli’s shoulder spread its wings, as if pleased with the environment.
And that was not all.
‘What could have caused this?’
Some of them were in even better condition than they had been in the Elf Nation.
That was, practically speaking, impossible.
Was there some location here where nature’s energy was concentrated?
‘I’ll have to investigate.’
Tialli, a High Elf who had once been captain of the Elder Elf’s personal guard, had not come here merely for being swift of foot.
Embrog had likely resolved most matters…
But there was a decree from the Elder that had not been delivered to the other elves.
Of course, outwardly, Tialli was simply an elf who had brought a gift.
“This is the room where Lord Embrog is staying.”
“Thank you.”
The moment Tialli opened Embrog’s door and stepped inside, they asked:
“Embrog. What has happened in the meantime?”
“…”
Embrog gave no answer.
Instead, he was touching Endairon all over, wearing a deeply troubled expression.
‘Surely Endairon didn’t do something.’
If a Greater Spirit had expended its power, it was possible that the energy here had been purified by Endairon.
But Endairon’s destructive force ought to be considerable.
And yet Tialli sensed no traces of battle.
“Embrog?”
“What in the world is this…”
Embrog kept murmuring as if he still couldn’t believe it, staring fixedly at Endairon.
Apparently, he hadn’t registered Tialli’s presence, despite the sound and the voice.
It was an unpleasant habit Embrog had when he concentrated deeply.
Tialli had always told him not to do that.
“Hoo.”
Tialli sighed and sent the wind bird perched on their shoulder into the air.
Silairon spread its wings gracefully and flew over slowly…
Peck!
And gave Embrog a light peck on the back of the head.