Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 87
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 87
Lion grinned for the first time in a while.
‘Ah, geez! I can’t keep my expression in check!’
Right now, to Lion, this Flame Grass was more precious than gold, than saffron—rumored to be more expensive than gold—or than white pepper.
“Hehehe…”
Despite his sinister laughter, his hands were diligently placing the Flame Grass into alchemy bottles.
Sizzle—!
As the oxygen was cut off, the flames on the leaves went out and their color turned red.
And they gave off a very faint glimmer.
It wasn’t that the fire was completely out; it felt more like it had subsided to a low flame.
This way, it would keep for a long time.
“Did you find a plant you like?”
“It’s incredible.”
Lion explained the Flame Grass to Elvia.
“Oh, a remarkable herb. I’ve never heard of it either.”
“Right?”
Lion began sweeping up all the Flame Grass in the area.
Strangely, once he picked one, two more would come into view; gathering those two, four more appeared.
Like that, twenty… thirty…
Just as he reached close to fifty…!
[Your Gathering Talent has broken through its limits!]
[Congratulations! Through endless curiosity for the new and the initiative to take risks, you have achieved a great breakthrough!]
[Gathering Proficiency has reached Skilled Lv.1.]
[From now on, even more dangerous plants can be gathered.]
[Gatherable types added: Mineral Vein, Poisonous Herb.]
“…!”
He’d done it.
Fortunately, there was no bright light like when he’d leveled Alchemy.
But he could feel it in his body.
The parts of his body needed for gathering had become more agile overall.
It felt optimized for more delicate work.
Lion clenched his fist and savored the joyful growth.
‘…But poisonous herbs?’
Well, to make something like an antidote potion with alchemy, he’d need to gather poisonous herbs in turn anyway.
It was dangerous, but now that his proficiency had increased, he’d manage somehow.
“Good. Good.”
In high spirits, Lion casually dug up a nearby Stone Mushroom with his hoe.
[You have obtained a Grilled Snow Mountain Stone Mushroom (★).]
-How did you grill a Snow Mountain Stone Mushroom?
-It’s normally inedible, but once grilled properly, it becomes chewy like meat!
-It has a faint smoky aroma and a salty, spicy flavor.
“…Oh?”
Under the influence of the hoe, the Stone Mushroom came out grilled.
Steam even rose from it, and the aroma was quite…
‘C-charcoal-grilled ribs!’
It smelled like charcoal, but with something more artificial.
Yes. This was…
It was a ‘hot bar.’
Grilled Snow Mountain Stone Mushroom smelled just like a hot bar!
“Wow!”
It was a scent he hadn’t smelled in a very long time.
In an instant, memories of Korean-style saunas flashed through Lion’s mind.
Those times when, after working overtime to the brink of death, he’d roast his body in the sauna, fill his stomach with a hot bar and eggs in the jjimjilbang, then pass out in the sleeping room.
Especially now, in a cold place like this, he suddenly missed the jjimjilbang so badly.
For some reason, it even felt like the real thing…
“Huh?”
Lion’s eyes went wide at the humid, hot air he felt on his cheek.
This wasn’t his imagination?
But that was absurd.
A hot spring in the middle of these rugged mountains?
‘Could it be because of the Flame Grass?’
Hadn’t there been more Flame Grass growing here than he’d imagined?
“Heh.”
A chuckle escaped Elvia, who had been watching Lion all along.
“Have you finally noticed?”
Elvia looked at Lion with amusement, then took the lead.
“Come with me.”
“No way…”
As if spellbound, Lion followed Elvia deeper into the snowy mountains.
And he could feel it getting closer.
The warm, steamy humidity!
‘Crazy.’
And then Lion saw it.
“A hot spring.”
“That is correct, Young Master.”
Unbelievable.
It wasn’t that hot springs didn’t exist in <In the World>.
As a story, maybe, but he’d visited every scenic spot in the game.
But he knew they didn’t exist in the Empire.
“There’s a hot spring in a place like this…”
“Yes, that’s right. As it happens, there was one nearby. I thought you would be pleased to see a hot spring, given the cold region.”
Though I hadn’t expected you’d gather Flame Grass for so long.
Elvia added, but Lion paid it no mind.
What mattered was that a steaming hot bath was right in front of him.
“Jackpot…”
Yes. It was beyond just liking it.
Hadn’t he been imagining roasting his body in a sauna just moments ago?
On top of that, he even had a mushroom that smelled like a hot bar in his hand… an urge to get in surged up.
Seeing this, Elvia was quite satisfied for the first time in a while.
Throughout this trip, it had been heartbreaking to watch our precious pup struggle; now at last, a nice spot had caught her eye.
‘Here, he’ll be able to relieve his fatigue for sure.’
No matter how fine the carriage and clothes, one must never disregard travel fatigue.
And didn’t he suffer warp sickness on top of that?
So seeing Lion this happy made her all the more proud.
“Young Master, please take a dip. I will stand guard separately.”
Elvia moved aside so Lion could bathe without worry.
‘I can’t resist this.’
Lion went right up to the hot spring and dipped his finger in.
The temperature was just right—pleasantly hot.
“Peep!”
Nature seemed quite pleased as well, flying ahead and plopping into the hot spring with a splash, then splashing around.
“You look just like a toy sitting there like that.”
It kind of reminded him of those rubber duck toys kids have during bath time.
Anyway, seeing Nature go in so comfortably made it clear the hot spring was genuinely good.
Lion took off his clothes, set them aside, and slowly entered the hot spring.
Kerplunk!
“Aaaaah…”
As he settled into place, a refreshing sigh escaped from his very core.
[You have entered the hot spring.]
[Stamina will recover faster than usual.]
The hot water raised his body temperature, and even the parts not submerged weren’t too cold, thanks to the abundance of Flame Grass around.
Still, whenever the chill crept in, he’d splash water with his hands, and it was sheer bliss.
Moreover, the water quality was so fantastic it was insane—his skin became as smooth as if he’d used bath salts.
‘Wow, Grandfather would absolutely love this.’
Someday, when time allowed, a family hot spring trip wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.
Lion leaned against a rock and leisurely enjoyed a half-body soak.
The water was so clean and clear that it naturally brought him peace and ease.
After roasting his body for a good while, he remembered the hot bar from earlier—no, the Grilled Stone Mushroom he’d gathered.
Fortunately, since he’d stored it in a herb gathering container, it had stayed warm.
Lion took out the Stone Mushroom and took a bite.
Crunch!
With a texture of mushroom grain, sweet and savory juices burst out.
“Oh.”
The texture was as if the best qualities of a mushroom and a hot bar had been pulled together.
A deep, savory umami with a charcoal aroma!
‘…This is no joke.’
Now it truly felt like he was at a proper sauna.
Of course, he did think of sikhye and roasted eggs, but the splendid hot spring and the mystical snowy mountain scenery more than made up for it.
After devouring the whole mushroom, Lion leisurely stood up.
[Stamina fully recovered.]
[You are currently in perfect condition!]
The notification that had appeared when he received a priest’s blessing popped up.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that priest since.’
Not just for lack of opportunity—it felt like he hadn’t come by the orphanage much either.
Was he caught sneaking out and being punished?
‘Well, we’ll meet again someday.’
Anyway, now that he’d enjoyed a thorough bath, it was time to get dressed and head back… or so he thought.
Sparkle!
Something glittered in the water.
Even when gathering, it was rare for something to sparkle this brightly.
“What’s that?”
Lion scooped up some water with both hands and examined it.
‘The water itself isn’t sparkling?’
The water was just clean.
Which meant…
Lion bent over and submerged his head fully into the hot spring.
[‘Expert’s Eye’ skill is enhanced.]
Soon, his blurred vision cleared right up, and he began to see the things underwater vividly.
“…!”
And he found it.
Embedded in the floor of the hot spring was some kind of sparkling stone.
[Hot Spring Luminous Stone]
-Flowing Tears that dried and dried until they finally became stone.
-While in possession, allows eyes to open underwater as if on land.
-When ingested by a special method, increases affinity with the Beastfolk.
-Only the skilled can gather Luminous Stone.
[Uses: Alchemy, Beast Taming, Cooking]
[☞Click to view recipe.]
“Pwah!”
Lion lifted his head back above the surface.
He’d never seen Luminous Stone before, but luckily a familiar term had appeared.
‘Flowing Tears.’
It referred to mermaids’ tears collected and stored in bottles before they dried.
Mermaids were already known to be extinct. Naturally, Flowing Tears had become priced at whatever the seller asked.
It was even said that only three existed in the entire Empire.
Well, setting aside its rarity, to sum it up in a word.
It was a high-grade crafting material.
So this Luminous Stone was likely a lesser equivalent at least.
‘This mountain range is no joke.’
Lion recalled the earlier description.
-Only the skilled can gather Luminous Stone.
It just so happened that after gathering plenty of Flame Grass, he had reached the Skilled tier.
And the notification had said he could now gather mineral veins.
‘I only focused on poisonous herbs when I first saw it.’
Mineral veins were something you typically had to visit mines or quarries to find.
At that point, you’d normally have to go where demon beasts appeared, so the proficiency requirement made sense.
“…”
Lion took out Mudu’s Tool Set from his bag.
She’d said she made all sorts of things, and indeed, it contained everything needed for basic mining.
The most essential pickaxe.
A chisel and hammer for precisely breaking attached stone fragments.
And even a brush for dusting off debris.
“Seems doable right now.”
Of course, the ones fully embedded underwater would be tough.
The water resistance would make it inefficient, and even if he tried, he doubted anything usable would come out.
‘Still, I can’t exactly ask Nature to drain all the water here.’
However!
That didn’t mean he could give up.
Lion focused on the sides enclosing the hot spring.
In other words, the stones that jutted above the water’s surface.
Since there were small bits embedded here and there, digging would surely reveal a decent amount.
“…First, let me put on some clothes.”
Lion dried himself with the towel Elvia had placed there before going on patrol, then got dressed.
He rolled up his pants and pushed his sleeves up to his forearms.
“Okay.”
In that state, he scanned the area around the hot spring again.
Sparkle!
As expected, there it was.
Glowing stone just barely peeking above the water!
“Hahaha.”
Lion laughed and raised the pickaxe high.
Luminous Stone!
You are coming with me to the Asteri territory!
Clang!
A crisp sound echoed through the mountains.