Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 7
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 7
Millionth Mudu clasped his hands together, a hint of unease in his expression.
That was because he had no way of solving it.
Fire spirits.
Dwarf descendants had the peculiar ability to perceive a fire spirit’s aura.
But that was all.
They were dwarves with abysmal spirit affinity, so communication was fundamentally impossible.
They merely found a place with a fire spirit and worked at smithing or crafting there.
That was precisely why Millionth Mudu had settled in the Asteri territory and made his home in this smithy.
The fire spirit here burned with the strongest heat of any place!
While settling and working like that, he met a woman he loved, and even had two children.
Most importantly, he had inherited this smithy and grown it into the largest and finest in the territory!
Yet, over the past few years, the blaze had gradually begun to weaken.
So far, he’d managed to prevent any decline in quality through sheer skill, but the wares of ordinary blacksmiths had started to show problems little by little.
If things continued this way, the spirit would lose its strength, and they’d face a crisis where they’d have to work the forge with nothing but artificial fire.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible to work with artificial fire, but…
There was a decisive difference between ordinary fire and fire produced by a spirit.
‘If that happens, high-quality goods will be impossible.’
If the quality could no longer match the past, the smithy would undoubtedly decline.
They couldn’t recruit a spirit mage—there were only a handful on the entire continent, let alone in the empire—and they certainly couldn’t set out to find elves on the brink of extinction.
So he’d been racking his brains lately…
He glanced.
Millionth Mudu looked at that clear, unreadable face.
After the handshake, Lion had been sticking close to the furnace, muttering something to himself.
Wasn’t it hot?
Even granting that he himself, as a great dwarf descendant, was immune to fire, ordinary humans complained of pain before a flame until they got used to them.
‘But this guy…’
The eccentric. Lion Asteri.
Just as the rumors of frailty claimed, he was scrawny and pale.
If he hadn’t witnessed what had just happened, he would never have imagined that this matter could be solved.
But Mudu had witnessed it.
He saw Lion Asteri looking at the source of the fire!
This eccentric fellow could see spirits.
And most likely, he could even communicate with them about what was wrong.
There he was, looking at him now.
“Ah, so if I give that…”
Wasn’t he muttering something alone?
He had to be conversing with the fire spirit.
‘He can definitely solve this.’
No, at the very least, he should be able to thoroughly figure out where the problem lay.
That was why he’d put forward an unprecedented condition:
no matter what request came in, he would craft it first.
Of course, he also had his own ulterior motive.
‘A person from a prestigious mage family wouldn’t place an order with a blacksmith.’
At most, it would end with him asking for a couple of interesting items.
If the spirit could only be fixed, it was something he could do any number of times.
“So, what did the spirit say the exact problem was?”
He asked Lion, who had finished his muttering and was approaching step by step. Lion answered nonchalantly.
“It says it’s thirsty.”
“…The fire spirit is thirsty?”
“Spirits are living beings too.”
Well, strictly speaking, they were living beings. They were born and they vanished, so they were alive.
But they weren’t ordinary living things, were they?
Was it really okay to sprinkle water on a fire spirit?
“Then should I just bring water?”
“Tut-tut. What do you think would happen if you threw water onto fire?”
But it said it was thirsty!
“Then what am I supposed to do!”
“Calm down. You should give it something it can drink.”
“…”
Millionth Mudu thought to himself: When I talk with this guy,
the one who ends up looking like a fool is definitely me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything.”
“…Fine. Just fix it, you eccentric nut.”
“Then I’ll give you anything, be it my masterpieces or whatever.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Millionth Mudu had mumbled it absentmindedly.
And Lion had quite definitely heard him, and he grinned.
Hook, line, and sinker.
* * *
Late at night, after all the blacksmiths including Mudu had gone home.
“Even after coming here, it’s overtime work.”
Lion’s expression as he said that was somehow bright.
It was the difference between involuntary overtime and voluntary overtime.
“You’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you?”
Lion asked, toward the furnace whose fire had weakened.
[The Lesser Spirit complains of thirst.]
[Due to long labor, the Lesser Spirit’s spirit energy is drying up.]
[Quench the Lesser Spirit’s thirst!]
“Alright. I’ll make it for you soon.”
Lion took out the items he had prepared, one by one.
The Lesser Fire Spirit was currently in a dehydrated state.
Normally, merely spewing fire in a smithy wouldn’t exhaust it to this degree, but the problem was that this was the largest smithy in the Asteri territory.
On top of that, after a skilled dwarf descendant had settled here, orders had surged abnormally, as they’d said.
So it must have had to keep breathing fire without pause.
‘It certainly said it was thirsty…’
Regrettably, dwarves couldn’t understand a single word of spirit speech, and this fire spirit was only a Lesser Spirit, so it hadn’t been able to convey its will properly.
Even now, direct communication was impossible.
‘In any case, I’ve found out what the problem is, so it’s fine.’
And fortunately, it was a solvable problem.
Lion opened his inventory and took out the herb.
[Aqua Rosemary]
- Unlike ordinary rosemary, this herb is rich with the scent of the sea.
- When consumed raw, it has a salty taste akin to swallowing seawater.
Yes. A potion made from this Aqua Rosemary was what was needed.
Lion looked at the leaves, which were wavy, unlike ordinary rosemary.
The basic description stated that when consumed raw, it had a salty taste, but upon opening the cooking recipe, something slightly different came up.
[Aqua Rosemary Oil Recipe]
- Required ingredients: Aqua Rosemary ×1, Oil ×1
- It brims with a refreshing sensation enough to replenish moisture lost throughout the entire body in an instant!
- When added to meat dishes, it enhances the flavor.
The point was that when made into oil, the saltiness disappeared and a refreshing sensation emerged.
In other words, it became a beverage the fire spirit could drink.
After all, it was oil!
‘Mudu said I could use anything here, right?’
Fortunately, all the basic cooking tools were there.
Lion immediately placed the Aqua Rosemary and oil into a mortar and began grinding them finely.
Once they had mixed with the oil to some extent, the briny smell like seawater vanished, and gradually a cool freshness like a sea breeze began to spread.
Lion placed the mixture of leaves and oil into a cloth and caught the pure oil in a bowl.
As the oil filled a small dish…
[Asteri-Made Aqua Rosemary Oil]
- It is still ambiguous to call it cooking. It is a cooking ingredient that seems to have been made by an ‘alchemist’.
- It emits a refreshing scent.
- Surprisingly, when consumed on its own, it slightly quenches thirst.
[Usage - Food, Potion]
[☞Click to view the recipe.]
It wasn’t of a particularly amazing level, but since it was a Lesser Spirit, this was enough.
Moreover, thanks to the Potion Crafting Specialization trait, it seemed to have some slight potion-like efficacy as well.
Lion immediately took the collected oil, approached the fire vent, and began sprinkling it little by little.
Then the flame, which had been somewhat subdued, flared up greatly as it met the oil—
[The Lesser Spirit’s thirst is partially quenched.]
[The Lesser Spirit’s attribute and the Aqua Rosemary Oil match exquisitely!]
[The spirit’s thirst is not yet fully quenched.]
That was the correct answer.
The experience from <In the World>, which demanded unique creativity, wasn’t for nothing.
“Okay, okay. I’ll make more for you.”
Lion smiled contentedly and continued making the oil.
Just as the refreshing scent had spread through the smithy, which was full of the smell of iron, reaching even the nearby houses—
[While creating simple ingredients yourself, you awaken a new talent!]
[New Talent: Cooking]
[Cooking Proficiency has become Apprentice Lv.1.]
A notification appeared that he had gained a new talent.
Simultaneously.
Whoosh!
The spirit spewed flames on a level entirely different from before.
[The Lesser Spirit’s thirst is fully quenched.]
[The spirit’s spirit energy is fully restored.]
[The spirit is grateful.]
[Spirit Communion talent experience increases by 30 percent.]
“What are you thanking me for?”
Honestly, he had only known the solution; it had been nothing difficult.
And hadn’t he gained quite a lot?
A talent he hadn’t purchased had unlocked on its own.
‘Then I’ll probably be able to learn not only blacksmithing-related talents but others as well.’
The more talents, the better.
And when it came to cooking…
‘I might even be able to use the seasonings from the Shilling Shop.’
Couldn’t he even make and eat foods that didn’t exist in this world?
For example, kimchi jjigae.
“Wow, just thinking about it makes me hungry.”
Lion held his rumbling stomach and looked up at the sky.
Before he knew it, the sun was already rising again.
And from far away…
“You eccentric nut! You did it~!”
Millionth Mudu was running over, shouting loudly enough to wake the whole village.
Seeing that he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, it was obvious he hadn’t slept a wink out of worry for the spirit.
“Huff, huff, oh dear, I should cut down on the drinking.”
Lion draped an arm affectionately around Mudu’s shoulders as he came up to him panting.
“Huh…?”
Mudu flinched for a moment.
Lion’s expression and demeanor were no joke.
What on earth was he going to demand?
Surely he wasn’t planning to take the spirit…!
“A hand hoe.”
“Huh?”
“We agreed to make them together, didn’t we? A sickle and a hand hoe.”
“Oh, uh? That’s right. But you…” “You have a nosebleed?”
As he wiped his nose with his hand,
a nosebleed really was flowing.
“Ah, it’s from staying up all night. It’s nothing.”
Nothing? How could it be nothing!
What would that make Mudu’s position?
He’d have made the frail eldest young master of the Asteri family work overtime while he himself slept soundly—no, he’d be a dwarf who did that!
“It’s fine, so let’s start with the hand hoe first.”
“…Fine. I understand. I’ll make you the hoe and everything else, so let’s go rest first.”
“The sickle together.”
“Agh, I said I’ll make whatever you want! Let’s go, hey! My hand! Help me move this young master… Young master? He’s already fallen asleep?”
Millionth Mudu looked at Lion, who had fallen asleep half-standing, and decided to head back home first.
“What on earth happened, dear? You didn’t sleep and just… Oh my?”
It was only natural that Mudu’s wife jumped in surprise when she saw Lion carried in on Mudu’s back, his legs dragging along behind.
* * *
Lion opened his eyes to the morning sunlight and the chirping of birds.
Creak.
When he raised himself from the ordinary bed used by commoners—not the high-grade ones in the mansion—it let out a squeaking noise.
“Ah, you’re awake, young master!”
“Mmm…”
“I heard you went through a great deal because of my husband. It’s modest compared to the mansion, but I’ve heated water, so wash up and have a meal first.”
Come to think of it, a savory aroma was filling the air.
What a peaceful morning.
Lion tied up his long hair, washed up out of instinct, and sat at the table.
Then… Sparkle!
Two small children were hiding behind the wall,
watching him with bright, shining eyes.
Ah, now he understood.
This was Mudu’s house.