Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Successor in Question — Let Me Just Heal | Chapter 113

Ordinarily, when preparing Sikhye, one adds a tablespoon or two of sugar.
The enzyme reaction in the malt accelerates, allowing the mixture to ferment quickly and evenly.
But this time, Lion had decided against using sugar.
Partly because he possessed the Maturation Acceleration Skill.

“Nature.”
“Chirp.”
“Would you mind heating this pot for me? Not too high—just slightly lower than what you’d use for sausages.”

That was precisely why he needed Nature’s assistance.
Having loitered about with nothing to do, Nature seemed delighted to finally have a task, and soared high above the kitchen before unleashing flame from her beak as if she were a dragon breathing fire.

Whoooosh…….

Tiny sparks spilled from Nature’s beak.
It was a peculiar flame that, even when it touched his hand, wasn’t hot—she was clearly regulating the temperature.

‘Or maybe it’s because I’m her master that it doesn’t burn.’

“Wow, impressive! Nature!”
“Chirp, chirp.”

Looking even more pleased with herself, Nature circled the pot once.
Soon the pot became too hot to hold bare-handed.
It had reached precisely the temperature of a rice cooker’s warming setting.

‘With sugar, even six minutes would have been overkill…….’

Since there was no sugar in it this time, he decided to let it steep a bit longer.
Lion praised Nature while counting silently.
After about two minutes, he opened the lid once to stir, and again before the full six minutes elapsed.
It was necessary to ensure even fermentation throughout.

“Now it’s just a matter of waiting.”

Lion closed the lid again and waited out the remaining time.
And after the planned six minutes had passed, he opened the lid to check…….

“Oh.”

He’d worried it might go wrong, but the Sikhye had fermented beautifully!
A few grains of rice floated on the surface, and the liquid had taken on that characteristic cloudy hue of proper Sikhye.

“Perfect.”

He’d been afraid it might over-ferment and spoil, but it had developed just right!
With fermentation complete, the hard work was essentially finished.

‘All that’s left is adjusting the concentration and sweetness.’

Lion lifted the pot and poured the Sikhye base into a larger cauldron beside it, then lit the fire.
Once it came to a boil, he strained out the impurities and tasted it.

‘This is already good as is.’

Certainly it lacked the sweetness of one with sugar, but for a batch without it, it was remarkably sweet and flavorful.

“That’s fascinating.”

And there was something about the grain’s natural sweetness that set it apart.
It had a depth and refinement to it that ordinary sugar simply couldn’t match.

‘If I layer in some sugar on top of this, the sweetness would gain complexity, wouldn’t it?’

Lion grinned to himself, added a bit more fresh water, filtered out the impurities once more through careful straining, then washed the ginger and sliced it before tossing it into the pot.
Too much and the spice would overpower everything, but a modest amount like this would complement the Sikhye’s distinctive fermented notes while leaving the finish clean and bright.

‘The rice merchant told me that as a tip back then.’

Of course, at the time he’d given that advice, it hadn’t seemed particularly relevant — Lion never imagined he’d actually find use for it one day.
Once the ginger’s fragrance began to bloom, Lion fished it out with a strainer.
And now, the final touch!
He retrieved the Cotton Sugar, spooned some into a ladle, and sprinkled it in.

Whoosh—

True to its name, it felt like lifting a handful of soft down.
Delicate, with particles even finer than ordinary sugar.
A quick taste revealed something unexpected: not the flat, one-note sweetness of refined white sugar, but rather the subtle complexity of unrefined sugar, with layers of flavor unfolding on his tongue.

‘No wonder the nobility are so mad for this stuff.’

The brilliance of it was immediately clear.
Lion stirred with the ladle, ensuring the sugar dissolved evenly, and the moment it was fully incorporated, he removed the pot from the heat and set it carefully aside.
If he’d left it boiling any longer, the color would have deepened to a syrupy brown.

“Nature, is it possible for you to chill this?”
“Peep peep.”

Nature chirped over indignantly, as if questioning why he’d even need to ask, and hopped straight to the pot, tapping the rim with her beak.

“Wait — not ice-cold. Just cool enough that a thin crust of ice forms on top.”
“…Tsk.”
“You get the first taste when it’s done.”
“Peep~!”

Nature’s simple face cycled through an impressive range of expressions before she immediately pecked at the pot.

Tap-tap! Tap!

With each contact, the heat radiating from the pot noticeably lessened, cold energy gradually rising to take its place.

“Thank you.”

True to his word, Lion poured the Sikhye into a small bowl and a cup.
He set Nature’s portion before her, then gazed upon the finished drink with an expression of profound nostalgia.

[Nostalgic Sikhye (★★)]
-Perhaps this tastes even better than the memory?
-Being handmade, it carries a depth the mind had almost forgotten.

[Personal impression added to the memory.]
[Cooking experience increases by fifteen percent.]

“I actually pulled it off.”

Lion gazed at the Sikhye before him, then let his mind drift back over the entire journey that had brought him to this moment.
What a long journey for just one cup!
The first barley went straight into Barg’s belly.
In the process, I noticed he had Eclipse symptoms, so I even grew flowers in the Labyrinth to help him.

‘I wonder if he’ll like this Sikhye too?’

Once I hear he’s come to his senses, I should visit him with this Sikhye in hand.
Lion thought this to himself and took a long drink of the cold Sikhye, thin ice crystals floating on its surface.

“Ahh! Now this is it.”

The fragrant aroma of rice mixed with a complex, subtle sweetness that washed across his entire mouth in relentless waves!
And the delicate, understated help of ginger that perfectly balanced what could otherwise have been cloying sweetness!

“How is it? Worth helping out, right?”

Nature had already drained the liquid from the Sikhye and was now pecking at the softened rice grains.
Yes. That’s the real treat.
Lion stirred his cup and took another sip with the rice grains, feeling the grains crumble dryly as they released all their starch-turned-sweetness.
He’d heard that some people genuinely disliked these rice grains.
Foreigners apparently even found them off-putting.
That’s why so many commercial products now came without rice grains at all.
Of course, Lion’s preference was decidedly in favor of them.

‘Even if tastes differ, it feels incomplete without the grains.’

Lion finished the cold Sikhye and carefully divided it into smaller glass bottles.

“I should share this right away.”

Sikhye didn’t keep long.
At room temperature it spoiled in just four days, and even in the cold storage it lasted only about a week.
‘Freezing might extend it to a month or two, but…….’

Still, freshly made, chilled Sikhye tasted best, so he’d better distribute it quickly.
Lion gathered the cold bottles and left the kitchen.

“Young Master. Did you finish already?”

Alex was lingering outside the kitchen, apparently ready to rush in at the first sign of trouble.

“Yeah. The drink turned out really well. Try some.”

Lion handed Alex a bottle of Sikhye and headed straight outside.

“Huh? It’s cold?”

Alex stared at the chilled liquid in the glass bottle.
There clearly weren’t any ice cubes in it. And it should have taken quite a while to chill after cooking, shouldn’t it?

‘Moreover…….’

Alex looked at the rice grains settled at the bottom of the glass bottle.
For the rice to be this plump, wouldn’t it need at least an hour or more, and then to be chilled on top of that?
Unable to contain his curiosity, Alex poured some Sikhye into a cup and drank it.

“Hm? W-whoa?!”

At first, he tasted the unfamiliar flavor of grain.
It felt like drinking rice that had been made into bread and then soaked.
And yet… there was something oddly appealing about it.
One sip, and another followed of its own accord.
It quenched the thirst beautifully, and the sweetness had layers to it—the mark of real care taken in its making.

“How… how did you complete this so quickly?”

The hotteok, at least, had been quick to prepare.
That’s why he’d been able to taste it and recreate it.
But by Alex’s understanding, it should have been impossible to achieve such depth of flavor in such a short span of time.

“Blast it… Young Master. How did you manage this either…!”

Alex called out hoarsely after Lion, who had already vanished into the distance.

“Sigh. Where do I even begin? Right then. Let’s start by growing barley.”

Alex cradled the precious new food ingredient—no, rather, the Sikhye that the Young Master had crafted—and moved forward.

* * *

The first person Lion offered the Sikhye to was none other than Elvia.

“You’ve created another curious dish, I see.”
“Yes. It’s called Sikhye. Try it.”

Elvia gazed at the pale liquid in the bottle.
She’d wondered what he might make with the barley sprouts, but something entirely unfamiliar had emerged.

‘His originality truly is remarkable.’

Elvia opened the bottle and tasted the Sikhye carefully.

“Hmm.”

It was strange yet not unfamiliar—a curious flavor.

“Well?”
“It seems to excel at quenching thirst. The texture is quite different from that Spirit Water. May I ask how you came to craft such a unique beverage?”
“I thought of it while at the Hot Spring.”
“The Hot Spring?”
“Yes. You know, the one I made.”

Lion began his explanation.
He’d imagined stepping out of the Hot Spring, body flushed with warmth, throat parched—and how a single sip would flood his mouth with sweetness and satisfy his thirst completely.

“I thought it would pair well with roasted eggs too.”

Elvia nodded at his words.
She could see how the dry yolk of an egg would go well with a sip of this afterward.

“So, Elvia.”

Lion handed her another bottle of Sikhye.

“I’m going to stay at the Estate from now on, so go enjoy the Hot Spring for a while.”

‘He was concerned about me, after all.’

In the Bydentis Territory, too, only Lion used the hot spring.
The same held true for the one in the Mimir Forest.
It couldn’t have been otherwise, could it?
So there was nothing particularly to regret—but our adorable puppy found himself dwelling on it all the same.

‘How should I bring this up?’

Truth be told, Elvia preferred watching over Lion’s safety and observing what he undertook to the hot spring itself.
How to put it?
High professional satisfaction?
Compared to the monotonous past, it was a far better life.
But then.

‘I shouldn’t refuse him.’

Lion Asteri. The puppy, cute as a grandchild, placed considerable importance on rest.

‘If that’s the case, I ought to accept his kindness gratefully.’

Elvia was about to consent when a pleasant idea occurred to her.

“Very well. But I’d find it rather lonely alone, so I’ll bring the Young Master’s apprentice along.”
“Hmm?”
“When you’ve lived as long as I have, loneliness comes unbidden.”
“Ah…… yes. If Freyanya agrees, let’s do it that way.”

One of the Sikhye bottles had indeed been Freyanya’s.
She’d lent a hand in making the hot spring, after all.
And she seemed quite interested in it, besides.

“Then would you take this along too? Ah, and she’ll prefer it chilled.”
“Understood.”

Elvia accepted even Freyanya’s share, bowed respectfully, and vanished into shadow.

‘So Freyanya has grown on me more than I realized.’

Though the person in question seemed rather frightened of her.
Lion tilted his head thoughtfully, then continued on.
There were still many others to give bottles to.
That Freyanya let out a shriek when Elvia appeared so suddenly remained, unfortunate to say, unnoticed by anyone.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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