Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 73
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 73
The tools were noticeably better in quality than the ones from the Shilling Shop.
“Hmph, do they please you?”
“Of course. Thank you, truly.”
“Hoh, it’s too soon to be impressed. Look at this as well.”
With a triumphant expression, Mudu drew an object from his belt.
And that object was—
“…”
[Mudu’s High-Quality Dagger (★★)]
-A well-forged dagger. Mudu’s name is engraved on the blade.
-It could be used on a person, but it also looks useful for cutting tough weeds or rope.
It was a dagger, of all things.
‘I’m grateful, but…’
Not a staff, not a wand—a dagger, all of a sudden?
No matter how you looked at it, he was still the eldest son of a Prestigious Mage Family.
If it had been anyone other than Lion, it might well have come across as high-grade mockery: ‘You can’t use magic, so at least take this!’
When Lion looked at him quizzically, Mudu grinned and answered.
“Didn’t you say you were going to Bydantis Territory? If so, you must carry a sword at your side.”
“Because it’s the Sword Mastery Family?”
“That is one reason, but the atmosphere there—people look down on a man without a sword.”
Bydantis Territory had one peculiar custom of its own.
Namely, regardless of gender or age, everyone had to carry a sword at all times.
“I imagine it’s a culture that arose because there are many monsters there and the humans are rough as well.”
“I see. I didn’t know that myself. It’s fascinating that you know it so well.”
“That would be because it’s my hometown.”
“…!”
He hadn’t known that either.
That Mudu’s hometown was Bydantis Territory.
“Had I not told you?”
“I only knew that you wandered here and there before settling in this place.”
Mudu scratched his head with a rust-stained finger.
“Then what did you think I’d called you for?”
“Didn’t you just call me over? I didn’t think much of it.”
“…”
Mudu knitted his brows sharply, as if dumbfounded.
“Be that as it may, would I have called the young master of the territory for no reason at all? So make sure to wear that dagger at your hip—goodness, why is there so much already at your hip? At any rate, wear it at your hip or wherever it’s visible. Those fellows over there, they’ll steal a man’s sword before they steal anything else.”
In short, he’d been worried enough to even forge him a blade.
Lion grinned.
“Thank you.”
“What’s there to thank! Ahem…”
Mudu stroked his mustache, then hesitantly broached the subject.
“That is, if you’re truly grateful, on your way back. If you can stop by the dwarf village, deliver my regards to the chief. He’s my younger brother.”
“You’re doing someone a favor, after all. Is there nothing you need delivered?”
“Why fuss with something so sentimental?”
“Truly nothing?”
“…”
Only then did Mudu fish an old ring out of his pocket and hand it over.
[Old Ring]
-A plain, old ring. It’s covered in scratches here and there.
“The first ring my younger brother ever made.”
That alone explained everything.
“I’ll see it delivered without fail.”
“Good. That fellow won’t send you off empty-handed.”
Mudu laughed heartily and waved his hand.
“I’ve kept you far too long! Off with you now!”
“I’ll be back.”
Lion placed the ring into his Inventory.
Whatever else happened, he had the sense that this was the one thing he must not lose.
‘But still…’
The feeling was stranger than he’d expected.
He’d always thought of travel as simply setting off and returning.
Having someone worry about him and tell him to come back safely—that was a first.
Was it because he’d received so many gifts? Or because of the new clothes?
Somehow, his body felt full and warm, as though it had been filled.
Walking back to the mansion, Lion smiled without realizing it.
‘Not bad.’
* * *
“…Is this much really necessary?”
The day of the journey.
Lion murmured in exasperation at the carriage waiting at the mansion’s main gate.
True, there was no family crest to be seen.
But… wasn’t this clearly not the sort of carriage an ordinary person would ride?
“Confirm that nothing is missing and that all magic circles have been inscribed.”
“Yes!”
Despite Lion’s murmur, Rickshel once more ordered the inspection to be repeated.
“Brother. Had it been possible, I would have liked to accompany you, but I could not, as I seem close to achieving a magical breakthrough.”
He should have realized a few days ago, when Rickshel had spoken with such regret.
That if Rickshel couldn’t come along, it meant Rickshel would make preparations that were absolutely thorough.
“Wow…”
Lion decided to simply accept it now.
That his younger brother’s care for him was this tremendous.
And that this was what it meant to be House Asteri!
Lion opened the carriage door and stepped inside.
Some magical treatment had made the interior considerably spacious, and the seats were as plush as a bed.
And not only that—a lavatory and a bath…
‘No, why are these here?’
“Don’t we only need to reach a village near Bydantis Territory? Weren’t we supposed to use Teleportation Magic?”
“That’s correct. So I prepared everything as plainly as possible.”
“…”
This is plain?
Is it plain so long as you leave off the family crest?
Not even a full minute had passed since he’d resolved to accept Rickshel’s heart, yet that resolve already felt as though it had been smashed to splinters.
Rickshel smiled at Lion’s reaction.
He’d known that someone so naturally frugal would of course feel burdened.
But there was a reason he’d prepared so excessively.
“Brother, do you know whom bandits ordinarily target for robbery?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“People who are moderately well-off.”
“…Ah.”
In other words, if they instead rode in something plastered with dazzling finery, most ordinary bandits wouldn’t dare come near it.
That made sense—it would allow Elvia to move around comfortably as well.
“Understood. Thank you, little brother.”
“It was nothing. To be honest, it was your disciple who gave me the hint.”
“Freyania?”
“Yes. When she heard you were going away briefly on business, she came to me and told me this and that. And on top of that, she handpicked the coachman and brought him.”
“Oh.”
Now that he thought about it, wasn’t Freyania a fairly high-ranking person in the Criminal Underworld?
She was so amiable and courteous that he kept forgetting.
If a Freyania like that had handpicked the coachman, it meant he was no ordinary person.
Likely a figure trusted in the Criminal Underworld.
“But even so, is it all right?”
“Yes. It’s fine. He is indeed someone trustworthy.”
…How do you know that?
No, more than that, he’d meant was it all right to be entangled with the Criminal Underworld.
‘Well, I suppose it’s fine to this extent!’
Lion decided not to press the question.
In any case, he was simply grateful to be looked after.
When the child must be busy with his own work, at that.
“I only regret that I cannot accompany you on the journey.”
“Let’s definitely travel together later.”
“…Yes!”
Lion exchanged a few more words of farewell with Rickshel before boarding the carriage.
“It’s spacious even on second look…”
Elvia said she would sit on the coachman’s seat to guard against enemy attack, and Andrie had positioned himself in the luggage compartment to prepare for any unforeseen situation.
If his clothes got wrinkled or fell, that would be unacceptable, or something to that effect.
‘Well, I suppose it’s understandable, since his first outside commission in a while is from the Sword Mastery Family.’
He had reason to be nervous.
While Lion was examining the carriage, the coachman called out that they would soon depart.
Their first destination was a village below Asteri Territory, owned by Count Lungen.
Lion sat down and looked out the window.
Perhaps because the carriage was moving somewhat quickly, the scenery outside passed by quite rapidly.
At first, a few ordinary houses were visible, then grassland appeared, and now they were passing through the woods outside the territory.
‘It’s quite pleasant, actually?’
To be honest, it was an extremely luxurious carriage, but he hadn’t expected the journey to be this comfortable.
He could clearly tell the carriage was moving, but he felt no jolting sensation whatsoever.
Nor did there seem to be much noise.
With a bit of exaggeration, it felt comparable to a high-end sedan.
But…
“Hmm.”
As expected, it didn’t feel like traveling at all.
He was grateful for the comfort itself, of course.
‘There’s no one else around now, so it should be fine.’
Lion pulled his hood down low and moved to the coachman’s seat.
“Young master?”
Elvia, who had been gazing outside with a complex mixture of emotions in her eyes, looked at Lion quizzically.
“Why have you come out? There is no magic cast here, so you will be quite uncomfortable.”
“I’ll only be out for a moment.”
Still, shouldn’t he at least feel like he was traveling?
If he were going to stay only inside, he might as well not have come out at all.
Lion savored the cool scent of grass and the scenery that slipped through the gaps of his hood.
The ride quality of the coachman’s seat, however, was exceedingly poor.
His backside grew sore, and whenever they hit a large stone, it jolted so hard his whole body bounced.
He had the thought that he might nearly bite his tongue.
And yet.
‘I was right to come out.’
The wind brushing past his cheek, the sound of horse hooves.
And the long, straight road, naturally packed firm by the passage of people.
There was a romance here similar to the travels he’d vaguely imagined as a child.
Riding a carriage aimlessly like the Hero in the game, journeying wherever his feet took him, pioneering the way—a sense of freedom.
The courage not to fear an unknown world.
It was one of the things the young Lion—no, the young Baek Yi-hyeon—had yearned for while playing the game.
Perhaps that was why he couldn’t let go of the game.
The fun of growing, the raids he did with others, none of it was bad, but more than anything…
This moment, wandering peacefully without a single worry or care.
The reason he’d loved <In the World> lay in exactly this kind of ease.
And then.
Lion looked at Elvia, who couldn’t tear her eyes away from the outside.
‘As I thought.’
She looked happy.
Indeed, how long had it been since her last outing?
Ever since becoming trapped here, the furthest she could go was back and forth between the house and the village.
And even that, it was as head maid—or as a servant.
The reason she’d sat on the coachman’s seat was likely to see the outside with her own two eyes.
So as not to disturb that experience, Lion quietly admired the same scenery as Elvia for quite a long while before casually voicing a question.
“How is it?”
“It’s quite novel.”
Elvia reached out and felt the resistance of the rushing wind.
“To be honest, it’s a perfectly ordinary road, yet perhaps because it isn’t a landscape I’ve seen all my life. Hoho…”
Saying that, uncharacteristically, she’d felt enjoyment, Elvia let out a laugh that mingled many emotions.
“Me too.”
Lion chuckled softly and agreed with Elvia’s words.
“I’d wanted to try a journey like this.”
“…”
Elvia did not look at Lion’s face, merely kept her gaze fixed on the scenery.
How much had he suffered because of that frail body?
He might never have stepped outside the territory even once and breathed his last.
But now, having grown like this…
‘To think we’re traveling together.’
A few months ago, it was something she couldn’t even have imagined.
Young children often grew in sudden bursts, but she’d thought Lion alone hadn’t grown at all, even past twenty.
Yet, starting from one day, he grew more unrecognizably with each passing day.
‘When did our puppy grow so big?’
If he hadn’t drunk the potion Lion had given him back then.
If Petrick hadn’t offered him that potion.
Even seeing this growth with his own eyes, he’d have felt no stirring of emotion.
He might well have been worn away by such a dull lifetime.
“Indeed, you have to live and see.”
“That’s right. You have to live and see.”
The odd conversation between the two young people continued.
“…”
The coachman merely drove the horses onward in silence, as if he could hear nothing at all.