Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 142

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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 May Be a Mystery, but I’ll Just Heal | Episode 142

Click!

Upon reaching his room, Lion immediately locked the window shut, then drew the curtains as well, cutting off the outside world from the interior entirely.
Next, he pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote out a warning in bold, thick letters.

※Experiment in Progress※
Absolutely No Entry

“There, that should do it.”

He’d done it partly out of concern that someone might wander in and come to harm.
Of course, none of the servants in the House Asteri ever casually came and went from Lion’s room, but since unexpected situations always had a way of appearing, it was better to be overly cautious.
Lion drove nails through the paper with loud taps, securing it firmly to the door.
The elegant door of the Asteri Family Estate bore deep punctures from the nails, but Lion paid no mind.
In fact, looking a bit crude might be just the thing to make everyone steer clear.

“This ought to keep everyone out.”

Satisfied with the nail-studded notice, Lion stepped inside and locked the door behind him.

Click.

And the servants who’d been watching Lion’s actions……

“We should let the other servants know, yes?”
“Yes. And let’s tell them to avoid anywhere near this area, just in case.”

They were remarkably calm about it.
Really, it made sense.
The servants had grown quite accustomed to Lion’s eccentricities.
Besides, eccentric though his actions often were, they’d never actually harmed the servants — not once.
If anything, he’d been helpful.
When those spirit summoners and spirits from the Elf Kingdom had caused an uproar, it was Lion himself who’d resolved the situation.

“Even thinking of that day, my heart still races.”
“Indeed. Had it not been for the Young Master, we would surely have suffered for at least a month.”
“We’d have been living with sore muscles the whole time.”

To the servants, that day had been like a nightmare.
A nightmare in which hardship stretched out endlessly before them!
They’d nearly had to discard everything in the estate and replace it all—a massive undertaking—but……!
The First Young Master had spared them that ordeal.

“Let us absolutely not interfere with the Young Master’s work.”
“Agreed!”

What Lion hadn’t realized was that the servants’ loyalty ran deeper than he’d imagined, but……
In any case, entry had been restricted exactly as he’d wanted, so it made no difference to him.
The servants exchanged nods and swiftly withdrew from the vicinity of Lion’s laboratory—well, his room.
Unaware of exactly how entry had been restricted, Lion began withdrawing materials from his possession one by one.

“Let me see……”

As Lion surveyed his materials, he reviewed the recipe in his mind once more.
The process was fairly complex, to be sure, but he didn’t think he’d fail.
As he’d mentioned earlier, Alchemy was his main specialty, after all.
The step with a genuinely high failure rate was crafting the potion bottles themselves.
That was why he’d made such clever use of the Sealing Shop.

‘And even the Artisan’s Touch has grown.’

In the bargain, he’d even succeeded at the enchantment.
Experience points had accumulated in a single burst.

‘Good thing.’

Lion did not let himself grow arrogant.
Hubris had a way of ending in a broken nose—he knew that much.
Besides, this potion existed for one purpose: to free the beast egg from suffering.
Until the potion was complete, he had to keep his mind steady.
Self-congratulation could wait until after the egg was perfectly stabilized.

“And once I finish, I won’t have time to celebrate anyway.”

Lion began pouring his ingredients one by one into the Mortar and Pestle that came with his Alchemy tools.
The first thing he added was none other than a Luminous Stone.

[Uses: Alchemy, Beast Taming, Cooking]

Since it was used in both Alchemy and Beast Taming, it was essential to this recipe.
In truth, since he’d be crushing it anyway, powdered Luminous Stone would have worked fine—but he wanted to use quality materials for this.
Besides…….

‘The description matters.’

When he’d failed to mine a Luminous Stone, the resulting dust had carried a different description entirely.

-It has lost its value as a Luminous Stone.

Surely a failed mining attempt and a perfect stone that he then crushed himself would be treated differently.
The second ingredient was something he’d obtained when finishing the potion a moment ago.

[Abyssal Slag]
-A byproduct of Argrundt Iron smelting. Jet black. Contains more obsidian and other residue than actual iron.
-A faint trace of witch’s Mana is detected, but it poses no danger.
[Uses: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Dyeing]
[☞Click to view recipes.]

By the description alone, it was what you’d call a junk item—but its true value wasn’t worth dismissing as such.
Just looking at the uses, it applied to three different crafts!

‘Dyeing, though? That’s interesting.’

Probably because it was as black as coal, it could be used as a dye or pigment.
Now that he thought about it, this recipe followed a similar principle.
Though it was more like the process of making cement than making a dye…….

‘Either way, I should definitely stockpile this stuff.’

Lion nodded with satisfaction, then poured the slag into the mortar with a soft clatter…….
And began grinding.

Thud!

Lion brought the pestle down hard.
Fortunately, the Luminous Stone crumbled fairly easily—but the slag was another matter.

“Ugh.”

The hand gripping the pestle trembled with the impact.
This was why he’d warned himself not to get careless.
Even with other materials mixed in, this was Abyssal Slag containing the legendary hardness of Snow Mountain Iron.

‘At least it’s an Alchemy Mortar and Pestle. I got lucky there.’

If it had been an ordinary mortar, even Lion’s strength wouldn’t have shattered it.
The mortar itself might have cracked instead.

‘It’s working.’

Lion grinned to himself.
Most of the slag remained intact, but several chunks had cracked or crumbled at the edges.
The finest Alchemy tools hadn’t been defeated by the slag!

“Gear really does make all the difference.”

Lion flexed his aching hand lightly, then pulled on gloves and slipped them on.
After that, he wrapped his wrist tightly with bandages to prevent it from bending unnaturally, then resumed pounding with the pestle.
Truthfully, if he activated the crushing function built into the mortar, the slag would be reduced to dust instantly—but Lion had decided against that approach.
The reason stemmed from knowledge he’d gained through his Cooking talent.
Which tasted better: a herb sauce made with a mixer, or one ground by hand in a mortar?
Most of the time, the one ground manually came out superior.
Was it just because of the chef’s care and devotion?
That played a role, certainly, but the real difference lay in the subtle details.
With herbs, there was the difference in aroma and texture, but what Lion had noticed was something else entirely: the effect of heat.

‘It’s ambiguous.’

If he used the crushing mode, the Luminous Stone and slag would inevitably be ground away at high speed.
That was the only way to ensure the finest powder.
But that high-speed process would necessarily produce uncontrolled, inconsistent heat treatment.

‘I could still finish it that way, of course.’

But Lion wanted the highest possible quality potion.
So he had no choice but to handle each step manually, controlling every detail.
Besides, it wasn’t as though it were impossible.
Even now, with each strike of the pestle, the material was being crushed steadily.

Thud! Thump!

After striking repeatedly, the thick gravel-like chunks slowly became fine sand.
The grains crumbled into finer particles that clung to the bottom and sides of the mortar.
Each time the pestle struck, fine dust scattered into the air with a soft puff.
By then, nearly everything had been broken down into small fragments.
Lion sifted the fine and coarse particles through a sieve to separate them.
Even ground by hand this way, he’d achieved quite respectable fine powder.

“Phew.”

Lion exhaled slowly and shallowly, careful not to disturb the powder.
His shoulders and arms ached—there wasn’t a part of him that didn’t—but at least the physically demanding work was finished.
Lion poured the fine powder directly into the Alchemy Cauldron.
Now he had to bake this powder at extreme heat, then freeze it.

“Nature. I’m counting on you.”
“Chirp-chirp.”

Nature seemed to sense Lion’s intention, parting her small beak to unleash a fierce flame.
The jar grew hot, and the powder inside steamed in the heat, fusing together into another mineral—Clinker.
Nature didn’t stop there. Against the Clinker, now softened and clumped like sugar in the heat, she fired a blue flame this time.
Unlike before, Mana drained away sharply.
Though it took the form of fire, it froze at absolute zero rather than high temperature, and it seemed to consume far more Mana.
Fortunately, since advancing to the 2nd Circle, his Mana reserves had grown, and he wasn’t fatigued yet.

‘Nature’s working hard today.’

I’ll have to make her a really delicious snack.

“Chirp.”

Having perfectly frozen the Clinker, Nature looked at Lion and puffed out her chest with obvious pride.
Of course, with her round shape, another person might not have noticed…….

“As expected! Only you, Nature!”
“Chirp!”
“There’s no spirit in the world as clever and magnificent as you!”
“Chirp-chirp!”

Lion, her master, recognized it immediately and clapped his hands, showering her with praise, while Nature chirped in a higher pitch as if demanding more.
Each time, Nature’s feathers fluffed up softly, and by the end she was even humming gently with little chirps……!
……It was adorable.
A potato so pleased with herself she was singing.

‘I hadn’t missed my phone, but today I wish I could record a video.’

Lion was the type whose smartphone buzzed constantly with business calls.
So he’d actually thought this place without a phone was better, but right now……damn, he just wished he had one.

[Spirit Summoning Proficiency Apprentice Lv.8 has been reached.]

On top of that, thanks to their well-synchronized breathing, his Spirit Summoning Proficiency jumped two levels!

“Good. We’re almost there.”

Lion retrieved the Mortar and Pestle again.
Of course, he wouldn’t be crushing it himself this time.
The Clinker was already frozen solid at absolute zero.
Even automatic grinding wouldn’t cause any major problems.
Lion carefully transferred the Clinker to the grinder, mindful of frostbite…….

Whirrrrr!

The Mortar and Pestle trembled, and in an instant, fine powder was created.

[Abyssal Cementum (★★★★)]
-A powder refined through heat greater than lava and cold deeper than a frost giant’s breath.
-It clings tightly to items imbued with Holy Power and absorbs their essence. Dissolve in water before use.
-Thanks to a master alchemist’s remarkably precise control, it causes no contamination!
-It does not adhere to items without Holy Power.

‘Excellent!’

Noting the number of stars, Lion clenched his fist tightly!
His overworked knuckles tingled with pain, but a far more thrilling sensation coursed through his entire body!
At the same time.

[Alchemy Proficiency Rank 5 reached.]

It had been some time since Lion’s Alchemy proficiency climbed to the next level.
Lion smiled with satisfaction and tapped the notification away.
Then.
Another notification bloomed before his eyes.

[Spirit Summoning Proficiency Apprentice Rank 9 reached.]
[Upon achieving specific conditions, you may advance to a new realm.]

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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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