Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 93
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 93
…Of course, not right now.
Lion was quite tired.
Not even a full day had passed since he’d returned from Bydantis.
On top of that, he hadn’t even gotten to see Rickshel’s face yet.
‘I also have to let Mudu know.’
He wondered what Mudu’s face would look like when he heard the news about his family.
Lion lay down on the bed and let out a deep breath.
‘It’d be really nice if things stayed like this from now on.’
His exhausted body fell asleep quickly.
* * *
The next morning.
Freyania followed Lion and walked diligently toward Mimir Forest.
She stole a glance.
‘I definitely felt an enormous power yesterday.’
It was an aura of nature unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life.
A colossal presence that dared not be approached.
She couldn’t know the exact reason why such a thing had happened, but she suspected it was definitely related to her teacher.
After all, the usually lively ancient spirit was, for some reason, fast asleep.
If so, that meant something really had occurred yesterday.
‘Then my teacher must be physically tired as well.’
Freyania kept sneaking glances at Lion before finally mustering the courage to speak up casually.
“Teacher. Are you sure it’s all right for you to be moving around so soon?”
“Hm?”
“It hasn’t been long since you returned from your trip…”
Lion shook his head at Freyania’s worried question.
Admittedly, yesterday his eyes had hurt and his head had throbbed, so he’d had a rough time of it — but after one good night’s sleep, he was perfectly fine again.
It might have been because the vessel capable of holding a 2nd Circle had formed inside his body. Or perhaps.
[Spirit Art Proficiency has become Apprentice Lv.6.]
It might have been a synergy effect with his increased spirit affinity that had blown away his physical fatigue.
Still.
‘I must never do anything reckless again.’
Seeing Nature in that sleeping state left him uneasy.
Lion resolved to at least prepare various countermeasures for next time.
“…”
Meanwhile, Freyania’s expression was oddly dissatisfied.
‘A lie.’
From Freyania’s point of view, it was an absurd tale.
How could anyone withstand that
sort of power and be perfectly fine!
Looking at him now, wasn’t there an uncomfortable aura hovering in his normally spirited eyes?
Clearly a trace of fatigue.
But as his disciple, she could not just tell him, Stop talking and go sleep more!
Moreover…
‘A new alchemy, he said.’
She had no idea how her teacher had gone all the way to Bydantis Territory and trained his alchemy, but since he had called it a new method, it was bound to come to her as a revelation — a whole new world.
“Ahem, even so, isn’t there no need to rush like this?”
At the suggestion, which was a touch more subtle than before, Lion laughed inwardly.
‘She really is eager to learn.’
At first, he had wondered how he would teach if he got a student, but seeing her struggle to absorb every single thing however she could was quite gratifying.
And that was not all.
“Teacher! Please check this potion!”
“All right. Mm… oh?”
Before heading out together, she had even gotten him to check the potion she had made in her spare time!
Her self-directed learning was perfect as well.
“That’s decent! Looks like it could score a 40!”
“Wow!”
Of course, she still had a long way to go, but her score was steadily climbing.
The halfway mark of 50 points was now right in front of her!
At this level, it seemed she would be able to accept a new demonstration to some extent.
And while he was at it, he’d also get a little help from Freyania.
‘Ah, is this why professors all pick teaching assistants and sla… er, graduate students?’
Having gained a new insight, Lion finally answered Freyania’s question.
“The thing is…”
Lion did have reasons to hurry.
The first was, naturally, because of Rickshel.
Wouldn’t it be too pitiful if his stamina were already halved at that age?
He was a young man with so much to do and so much he wanted to do in the future!
And the second was…
‘The Flame Grass is wilting faster than I thought.’
Even though it hadn’t been long since he had gathered it, the color of the Flame Grass inside the bottle was turning as pale as dying charcoal.
“This time, speed seems to be critical.”
“…?”
Freyania tilted her head at Lion’s unexpected answer.
What on earth did that mean?
“You’ll see when you look.”
Lion went deep into Mimir Forest.
It felt like it had been a while since he’d come here.
‘If I turn around here…’
Summoning old memories, Lion pushed through the forest without hesitation.
He also marked the trees along the way just in case something unexpected happened.
And then…
“Whoa!”
Right before his eyes, a small spring appeared, its clear water trickling.
The area was circled by thick, round boulders, and the stones themselves were not sharp but rounded, so it didn’t look dangerous.
The size was good, too.
It was large enough that about five people could comfortably enjoy it.
‘Just right.’
Lion set down his luggage and drew water into a potion bottle.
[Clear Water (★)]
-Water free of any contamination.
-It remains cool at all times because it is located in a place full of nature’s energy.
“A place like this in the forest…!”
Freyania looked around as if amazed.
“Careful. The stones might be slippery.”
“Yes? Ack!”
Crash!
Oh dear.
Only after landing hard on her backside did she finally settle down a little.
“This place is as pristine as the ones in the elf village. How amazing.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I think Nature would like it too, wouldn’t you say?”
Lion looked at Nature, who was still sleeping as if knocked out inside his coat.
‘I hope so.’
Nature was peacefully snoring away, but Lion couldn’t help worrying.
“Wait just a moment.”
Lion carefully set Nature down to one side and even built a special nest out of a handkerchief, and Freyania sat down beside it.
The Salamander in Freyania’s arms quietly came out and rustled over to Nature’s side.
It cautiously extended a foot onto the handkerchief, then soon mustered the courage to stick close beside Nature.
Lion couldn’t tell whether it was trying to guard Nature or wanted to be friends, but it looked peaceful, so he decided to leave it be.
‘Still, you ought to have at least one spirit friend.’
Though if Nature had been awake, it would have sent a look that said, “This body does not associate with intermediate spirits.”
“By the way, what sort of potion are you going to make this time?”
“It’s not a potion.”
“Pardon?”
If it wasn’t a potion, then what was he trying to do in this forest?
“What I intend to make is a hot spring.”
“…Eeeeh?!”
Blinking, Freyania looked once at the spring and once at her teacher.
Then, as if realizing something, she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
‘D-Don’t tell me he means to perform Nature Transmutation?’
Nature Transmutation!
Even among alchemists, it was known to be possible only in theory.
The very alchemy that completely alters a portion of the natural environment!
This was on a completely different order from mere “construction,” such as digging earth and moving stones.
In other words… exactly as her teacher had just said, “changing a place where cold water flows so that warm water flows instead” — that was Nature Transmutation.
‘Even for my teacher, wouldn’t this be difficult?’
It was absolutely no easy task.
Because one had to be proficient not only in the understanding of alchemy but also in the understanding of nature.
One had to grasp the flow of mana dwelling in all creation and precisely wedge into its gaps, and beyond that, one had to be able to interfere and rearrange it at will.
Wasn’t this something that even great alchemists — even the alchemists of the Magic Tower — had failed to achieve?
And he was going to do that now?!
“You can help, right?”
Lion asked in a calm voice, as though it were nothing at all.
“O-Of course! Just tell me what to do. I’ll be of help however I can!”
Simply being present at this moment was an immense honor.
As Freyania answered with a flushed expression…
“Then would you dig a bit of earth near that spring for me?”
“Excuse me?”
“The tools are over there.”
Sure enough… there were a pickaxe and a shovel. Everything was there.
But digging earth?
She had never done that before…
“Is it too hard?”
“Oh, no! I’ll do it!”
Freyania’s hesitation vanished instantly at Lion’s single question.
Freyania picked up a shovel nearly as big as she was, sprang to her feet, and dug.
She dug as carefully as possible,
determined not to disturb her teacher’s concentration!
Thunk!
Fortunately, the soil gave way softly.
So much so that her resolve in lifting the shovel had almost been unnecessary.
The earth, which carried a soft, cool fragrance, was moistly damp.
‘Could Flame Grass be planted here…’
Though she didn’t know the details, Flame Grass did not grow well in fertile soil because of its unique energy.
If anything, planting it in soil like this, brimming with moisture, would more likely cause its roots to rot and make it wilt quickly.
‘No. If it’s my teacher, he must have a plan.’
Hadn’t the spirit water also been like that!
Freyania trusted her teacher.
Meanwhile, after setting up his alchemy equipment perfectly, Lion took out the bottle containing the Flame Grass.
[Snow Mountain Flame Grass (★★)]
-Hot grass like a flame that blooms only on snowy mountains.
-Caution: it can actually cause burns.
[Uses — Cooking, Potions]
[☞ Click to see recipe.]
It was gradually losing its flame, but it still radiated searing heat.
“Good. The condition is still all right.”
Next, what he prepared was the fire spirit stone.
“Huh…?”
Freyania’s eyes widened at the sight of Lion taking out a fire spirit stone.
‘A spirit stone suddenly appears here?’
Lion put his hands on his hips and examined the topography of the spring.
Thick stones surrounded the spring, and beyond them was damp soil.
Fortunately, the environment seemed reasonably suitable for living things.
‘As long as they adapt well to the environment.’
Living things — especially plants — are more sensitive to their environment than one might think.
Even a slight deviation from where they originally lived causes them to wither quickly.
And that is not all.
If they adapted in strange ways, the plant’s characteristics could sometimes change.
This Flame Grass, though, was a particularly resilient specimen compared to ordinary Flame Grass.
After all, weren’t these the ones that had survived tenaciously even on a ‘snowy mountain’?
Even on days when blizzards poured down and snow piled up high enough to cover their bodies, they had stubbornly taken root and bloomed their own flames.
‘Vigorous fellows, they are.’
So with just a little help, they would perform their respective roles splendidly.
Thus, from now on, he intended to first stabilize them so these plants could adapt well.
Snikt!
Without hesitation, Lion cut the Flame Grass’s roots.
As most of the lateral roots, except for the core part, were cut away, the Flame Grass’s flame shrank dramatically.
It was wilting rapidly.
But this was exactly what Lion had wanted.
Lion pushed all the cut roots into the cauldron and picked up the mortar.
And then.
Crunch!
He applied strong force and ground them!
The Flame Grass roots did not crush easily.
Unexpectedly, they tangled together and blunted the impact.
‘That’s actually for the better.’
Only roots this tough could have survived on that snowy mountain.
Lion continued to pulverize the roots.
Even for Flame Grass as tenacious as this, there was little it could do when harassed so relentlessly.
Traces of the roots vanished, and they began to clump stickily into a single mass.
At the same time, a cloudy sap oozed from the mass.
Strrretch.
The sticky sap clung to the mortar, stretching out like sugar confectionery before snapping off.
‘This is it.’
Lion poured the spirit stone into the sticky, goopy cauldron with a clatter.
Since the aim was not to heat it, the spirit stone and root sap simply mixed together in a disorderly jumble.
It looked as if a failed alchemy experiment could summon a slime at any moment!
And yet, Lion’s movements showed no hesitation at all.