Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 94
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 94
Freyania tilted her head as if she didn’t quite understand.
“Master, isn’t this… not mixing?”
“It’s not.”
It’s not?
At Lion’s matter-of-fact answer, Freyania’s head tilted now like an owl’s.
Lion purposely ignored that and looked at the cauldron.
Nothing had gone wrong.
That the spirit stone had turned into a lump of raw fluid was exactly what Lion had been aiming for.
A root of Snow Mountain Flame Grass, which had a strong fire nature, and a fire spirit stone.
The two ingredients were well matched.
To be precise, the spirit stone effectively suppressed the dangerous nature of the Flame Grass.
-Caution: may explode when gathered!
Lion hadn’t forgotten the description he’d checked when he first discovered the Snow Mountain Flame Grass.
Snow Mountain Flame Grass was a rather dangerous plant that would go off like a bomb if you handled it carelessly.
And the cause of the explosion lay in the root.
‘This thing is practically a lump of gunpowder.’
It was like a stick of dynamite: when the flame from the leaves reached the root, it would explode.
Of course, since he had known that, he had thoroughly separated the root and used only it.
Lion took out a mortar, covered the pot, and left it alone for a moment.
“Eep.”
Freyania quickly backed away from the cauldron.
But then…
‘It’s quiet…?’
Naturally, because nothing had been heated or otherwise processed, it made no sound at all.
Even though the spirit water and concentrate had been so noisy before.
“Hmm.”
Could it be that Master was failing?
‘Right. Even someone like Master can make mistakes.’
As Freyania nodded to herself, she decided to think about how to prevent her master from feeling embarrassed.
Lion had noticed Freyania’s reaction, but he said nothing.
After all, she’d see it soon enough.
A little while later…
Ssshhh.
Lion abruptly straightened up again and opened the lid.
And from inside… a fresh fragrance wafted out.
It almost felt like aromatherapy, soothing the mind, yet there was also a raw, grassy note, as if it weren’t fully cooked yet.
It was a strangely, persistently enticing scent.
Freyania, who had been jotting down encouraging phrases in her notebook, lifted her head at this unfamiliar fragrance and sniffed the air.
Beside Nature, Salamander imitated its owner, sticking out its head and glancing around.
Lion calmly removed the spirit stone from inside.
The spirit stone, which had once radiated an unmistakable energy, had now become an ordinary stone.
All the spirit’s energy had drained out.
“Whoa. How?”
It had clearly been nothing but a spirit stone and a clump of sap.
It really hadn’t looked like they would mix!
But now… the two ingredients had combined seamlessly, as if to prove him wrong.
“Freyania. In the elf lands, what happens to old spirit stones?”
Old spirit stones?
‘Well, they’re naturally absorbed back into the surrounding nature… Ah!’
Only then did she begin to grasp what Lion was trying to do.
“Could it be…!”
“Looks like it’ll make a pretty good plant supplement, doesn’t it?”
Freyania’s head bobbed vigorously.
If you planted a full spirit stone as is, its power would be so overwhelming that it would clearly poison the Snow Mountain Flame Grass, whose current environment would be completely altered.
You know how, if you dump a ton of nutrients into a plant hoping to help it grow well, it often withers instead?
It was the same principle.
But what if you mixed it with the familiar root sap beforehand like this?
The soil, rich with water energy, would be filled with the fire energy that the Snow Mountain Flame Grass needed to thrive, and on top of that, you’d get the dual benefit of continuously feeding it nutrients.
‘He calculated all of this?’
Freyania’s jaw dropped.
She’d already realized that her master knew a great deal about spirit stones, but applying their inherent properties this way was another matter entirely.
Besides, hadn’t he first seen spirit stones not long ago?
Even Freyania, who had seen enough spirit stones in the elf lands to trip over them, had never thought of this.
To use alchemy to release the power of nature dwelling in a spirit stone back into nature itself.
As expected, Master was amazing!
“Looks like it turned out well.”
Unbothered by Freyania’s gaze, Lion poured the thick, sticky liquid into a bottle.
[Plant Supplement — Fire (★★)]
-Takes full responsibility for nourishing fire-attribute plants. Revives wilting roots and even severed stems!
-Helps minimize the stress of adapting to a new environment.
Just as expected.
A pretty decent plant supplement was complete.
Lion took the bottle and sprinkled the supplement into the hole Freyania had dug.
The moment the supplement touched the ground, it was quickly absorbed like water.
Then he planted a single, vibrantly alive Snow Mountain Flame Grass there and carefully covered it with soil so that the straight root wouldn’t be bent.
And then…
Whoosh!
The leaves, which had been ashen like burnt-out coals, shook off the white powder and burst into brilliant bloom!
It was a success.
“Wow!”
Freyania clapped her hands at the sight of the leaves painting a shimmering heat haze of flame.
“It worked!”
“It did. That’s a relief.”
Even as he said that, Lion kept his eyes fixed on the Snow Mountain Flame Grass.
With the right supplement, it seemed likely to produce an even better effect.
And just as Lion expected…
“Oh?”
The Snow Mountain Flame Grass began to grow even longer than it had on the snowy mountain.
The stem shot upward visibly, and at the tip, it budded!
And then, finally…
Fwoosh!
Delicate petals bloomed, shining in a multitude of colors like the hues of a flame.
That was truly tremendous growth!
‘Once it grows well later, I’ll have to pull a few stalks.’
A Snow Mountain Flame Grass that had flowered.
It would certainly become an excellent potion ingredient.
But the priority for now was the hot spring for Rickshel and the family, so he decided to leave it be for a while.
“It’s so beautiful…!”
Freyania gazed at the petals with her mouth hanging open. It felt as if the tiny flames clinging to a lit match had become flower petals.
It was more dazzling and captivating than any flower she had ever seen.
“Haht!”
This wasn’t the time to be staring.
Wasn’t what Master was attempting Nature Transmutation?
Then the water must have changed, right?
She wanted to check right away.
Her body moved before her mind, and she poked the water with her finger.
‘Huh?’
Freyania was a little startled.
The water was still cold!
Of course, the energy of the Snow Mountain Flame Grass had made it a bit warmer, but…
The cold water had only turned lukewarm.
You couldn’t call this Nature Transmutation.
‘Maybe it’s not over yet?’
She wondered what her master would do next. Right at that moment of curiosity—
Clang!
A very clear sound rang out.
“Hmm?”
Startled, she whipped her head toward the sound and saw her master smashing a rather smooth stone!
And he was doing it with the same pickaxe he’d used to dig up the dirt earlier!
“M-Master?”
“Hoo. The stone here is a bit hard.”
Despite his disciple’s call, Lion kept moving his body without a care.
No, he seemed so focused he couldn’t even hear it.
In fact, Lion was moving urgently.
The structure of the small spring, the distance to the Snow Mountain Flame Grass,
and the positions of the places that needed to be connected—all of it was calculated for him automatically.
‘I just need a small gap.’
Having seen the hot springs on the Bydantis estate, Lion had decided he needed two things:
Snow Mountain Flame Grass to raise the water temperature,
and an item to connect it all together.
That item was… the Hot Spring Luminous Stone.
‘Since I’ve already mined plenty of luminous stones, I can connect them perfectly.’
Lion had been able to plan this entire hot spring project thanks to the luminous stones.
When he considered why the source material of the luminous stones, ‘Flowing Tears,’ was used in high-grade craftsmanship, the answer was simple.
Its mana conductivity was superior even to magic stones!
And the luminous stones formed when those tears dried had properly inherited that unique mana conductivity.
‘If I can just link them properly, it’s definitely possible.’
In fact, placing these luminous stones in the right places was more important than planting the Snow Mountain Flame Grass.
Fortunately…
Whether it was thanks to the recipe or his alchemy, the spots where they needed to be installed were clearly visible to Lion’s eyes.
It was a fortunate thing.
‘I thought it’d be quite a struggle.’
Ah, of course, the area that needed the treatment wasn’t small, so he’d have to eat and sleep here for a couple of days.
‘That way I’ll be able to finish around the time Rickshel comes out.’
To an outsider’s eyes, creating a hot spring in just two days was still an incredible speed.
“Freyania.”
“Yes, Master!”
“From now on, all I’ll be doing is digging. If you get bored, you can go back.”
“…In that case, shall I go and bring you some food and maybe a sleeping bag?”
Having figured out Lion’s personality to some extent, Freyania focused on seeing to her master’s comfort instead of telling him not to push himself.
‘He’s probably doing this for his family again.’
To be honest, Freyania still couldn’t fully accept that kind of feeling.
She was an elf, even if only by half, and she had a rather independent personality.
But because it was the most important thing to her master, she was trying hard to understand.
‘It’s probably hundreds of times greater than how much I care about my master.’
She thought, vaguely considering it.
“I’d be grateful if you did.”
“Yep! Just leave it to me!”
Freyania immediately got up and dashed away.
“…!”
Salamander, who still hadn’t attached itself to Freyania’s body, started in alarm and followed after her at a pace that made its paw pads sweat.
Even during that brief moment of quiet, Lion’s work continued.
First, he carved gaps at specific points to slot the stones into.
“Hoo.”
Lion wiped his forehead, heated by the Snow Mountain Flame Grass, and approached the alchemy cauldron.
Inside, there was still some of the plant supplement left.
‘I should use this up too.’
Lion lit a fire under the cauldron.
He intended to boil the remaining supplement down until it became a sticky paste.
While the supplement was reducing, Lion took the chance to do more pickaxe work, and he also ate the snack Freyania had brought him.
And before he knew it, an entire day had passed!
“Hrkk…!”
Startled by the heat that had risen in just that short time, Freyania backed a little farther away from the forested area.
‘It got this hot in just that amount of time?’
It felt like being in a smithy.
The intense heat and moisture made the air stiflingly hot.
“From now on, you can just leave things there and I’ll come get them.”
True, it would be a bit tough to come here without any protective gear.
“A-Are you really all right!?”
“This is nothing.”
It was partly thanks to the travel clothes made from ‘Parental Devotion’ material, but Lion could easily withstand this level of temperature.
Thinking of it like a sauna, it wasn’t bad at all.
On top of that, the water was still lukewarm, so he could cool off in it.
Clang!
Clank!
By the time Lion finished his pickaxe work, the sun had already set on the next day.
“It’s more comfortable now that the sun’s down.”
Now that it was night, the flames seemed to diminish a little, and the temperature became just right.
A cool breeze blew through the forest from time to time, making it absolutely perfect.
By then, the Snow Mountain Flame Grass supplement had also boiled down completely, becoming so sticky he could pick it up with his hands.
Lion took out the glowstone powder from his inventory.
He held the powder in one hand and a hammer in the other.
And then…
Thwack!
He pounded the glowstone, which was already close to powder, turning it into even finer particles!
He pounded it so diligently that it became fine enough to be blown away by a breath.
“Now, then…”
Lion dumped the glowstone powder into the cauldron and mixed it, kneading it with his hands as if making dough for rice cakes.
The sap and powder mixed together and soon turned into a squishy clay.
[Asteri-Made Luminous-Stone Clay (★★)]
-Glowstone and a strange plant matter have mixed to become clay.
-No special use can be found. Why was it made to such a high grade?
-It does seem good for filling in gaps.
“Mm. Well made.”