Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 158

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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 Heir Apparent? No Thanks—Just Healing for Me 158

Screee-eek!

“Shrieeek!”

An arrow drove deep into the monster’s skull.
With its vital point pierced cleanly through, the creature’s body collapsed where it stood.

‘Good heavens……’

The Staff Member watching the scene gaped openly.
Even though they released only large, weak monsters to suit the guests’ preferences, piercing that thick hide and bone was no trivial feat.
And at night, no less—relying on nothing but moonlight!
The Staff Member swallowed hard.
In all his time working at this Hunting Ground, he’d seen nearly everything.
He’d even dealt with guests who knew their way around a sword.
Yet even those guests hadn’t brought down this creature with a single arrow.
This was on an entirely different level.

‘This isn’t someone hunting for leisure.’

And the most striking thing was……
The mercy of it.
Having dealt with many guests, the Staff Member understood well how merciful a swift, single death truly was.
Most guests became so absorbed in the sport that they deliberately left killable monsters wounded, kept them alive in desperation, and only then took their lives.
Having endured the sight of such baseness, witnessing this instead stirred an odd reverence in him.

‘Just who could this person be?’

From the moment this guest had arrived at the Hunting Ground in Disguise, there was no way to discern their true identity.

‘……No, I shouldn’t try to know.’

There was one Unwritten Rule for staff who wished to work at Ester long-term: never be curious about guests’ personal information.
Especially not those who came deliberately concealed.
Daring to inquire could mean losing the job—or far worse.
The Staff Member produced an Egg Coin and bowed.

“Congratulations. You’ve shown the finest performance at the Hunting Ground. Please accept this Egg Coin.”

The guest took the Egg Coin without a word.

“And also……”

The time was just barely before midnight.
Since no more Egg Coins could be earned at this hour, the Staff Member drew an Invitation from his pocket and presented it.

“…….”

Whoosh.
The man seemed to examine the Invitation briefly, then immediately used the Egg Coin and vanished before his eyes.

“Phew……!”

The Staff Member exhaled in relief.
For some reason, mere presence alone had made breathing difficult.
And yet he hadn’t sensed even a trace of hostility directed toward him.

“Well, it’s hard not to be uneasy about it.”

The staff member turned to gaze down the path the guest had come from.
In the darkness, monster corpses lay scattered along the trail.

“All of them in a single shot…….”

The staff member murmured while pulling an arrow from one of the monsters.
Though at first, it seemed like they weren’t very skilled with a bow…….

“Ah. Must’ve been my imagination.”

With such masterful technique.
They were surely some renowned knight.

* * *

“…….”

Lion found himself genuinely taken aback by the grotesque ingredients before him.

Shhhwoooo—

When the bartender uncorked the liqueur, something like mushroom spores came pouring out in a rush, like a troll’s belch.

‘……The visual is absolutely something else.’

It was such a visually appalling spectacle that even Lion, who’d grown inured to most things, had to concede the point.
Lion glanced around cautiously.
He was troubled.
The problem wasn’t using this—it was that if he handled something this repulsive without hesitation, wouldn’t his entire disguise fall apart?

‘I’m definitely getting caught. With this.’

Picture it: someone mixing and swirling around a clearly revolting liquid as though it were delightful—wouldn’t anyone think, ‘Oh, that person’s genuinely eccentric’?
Especially when most of the guests here would recoil at the mere sight of such a liqueur, and the idea of making something to drink with it…….
There would only be two people in this hotel: the bartender and himself.
Even so, gaining one more Egg Coin wasn’t worth having his identity exposed.
What kind of rumors might start.

‘What should I do.’

As he deliberated and continued surveying his surroundings, something struck him as odd.
Surprisingly, no one around them seemed particularly interested in what was happening!
As if answering his unspoken question, the bartender spoke up.

“You needn’t worry about the other patrons’ gazes. To their eyes, you’ll simply appear to be enjoying a cocktail.”
“I see.”

A few glanced over, but even then, their expressions were little more than ‘Ah, they must be making a cocktail~’.
He suspected the ingredients themselves had some sort of Illusion Magic cast upon them.

‘Really, their security is impeccable.’

In that case, his anxiety lifted.

“Good. I was a bit self-conscious about the stares.”
“…….”

The bartender rolled only his eyes, glancing once at the ingredients, then once at the guest before him.
I knew you weren’t an ordinary guest, but to show no great reaction upon seeing these materials—that’s bold.

‘A daring sort, indeed.’

But making a cocktail wasn’t something that could be accomplished by sheer audacity alone.
Of course, if the guest enjoyed it, that would be ideal, but……

‘Should it turn out poorly made, I won’t be stepping in to help.’

Anyone who’d come this far, I’m confident, possesses an extraordinary sense of adventure.

“If you’ll simply follow along with my technique, that should do nicely.”
“Right. I understand.”

The Bartender set about preparing the cocktail at once.
He carefully poured the Mushberry Liqueur—whose visual effect resembled poisonous mushrooms releasing spores—into a glass already filled with prepared ice.

Shhhhh—

The liquid, thicker than one might expect, flowed from the bottle with an eerie sound.

‘I think Freyanya made something like this once.’

The slime she’d conjured while claiming to do Alchemy homework.
If you squinted charitably, it had an almost mystical appearance—but to be honest, the color and texture made one uneasy at the thought of it entering one’s mouth. The murky indigo-violet liquid was dotted with white particles suspended throughout.
To anyone’s eye, it looked distinctly unsettling.
And yet.

‘This……is actually quite refined.’

Lion’s eyes gleamed softly as he recognized the true merit of the Liqueur.

[Mushberry Liqueur (★★)]
-A special Liqueur devised in Ester. It has a grotesque appearance as though made from poisonous mushrooms, but in fact it’s crafted from special berries, not fungi.
-Don’t worry about what’s floating inside. It’s a sweet and fragrant orange-flavored powder that brings a ‘good mood’ the moment you taste it.
-Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to health.
-Upon consumption, one tends to feel a slight uptick in good fortune.

For all its ghastly—no, distinctive—appearance, the Liqueur itself was made of ingredients entirely harmless to the human body.
And it was berries, not mushrooms, after all.
And truly.

“The aroma is excellent.”

Surprisingly, it carried a tangy-sweet fragrance that was genuinely exceptional.
It wasn’t the scent of a Liqueur at all—rather, the fresh, clean aroma one gets when squeezing raw fruit flesh in one’s hand.
The Bartender’s mustache rose again at those words.

“Indeed. Its appearance tells only part of the story.”

He seemed pleased that the true nature of the Liqueur had been recognized.
The Bartender proceeded to halve a lemon and lime, squeeze their juice into the glass, and then poured syrup from a separate vessel in a smooth, graceful arc.

“The signature quality of this Liqueur is that its flavor becomes truly excellent when paired with smooth milk.”

As he spoke, the Bartender produced a bottle of milk.

“This is Snow Cow Milk, procured from the Bydentis Territory. It possesses a smooth, creamy character that’s simply exquisite.”
“Mm.”

Lion marveled at the drink.
He knew the taste of Snow Cow Milk well enough.
House Bydentis had made hot chocolate with it countless times.
But this….

‘I’ve heard it doesn’t come cheap.’

A luxury hotel lived up to its reputation, truly.
The Bartender didn’t stop there—he scraped the seeds from a Vanilla Bean and dropped them into the shaker.

“Shall we try following along to this point first?”
“I’m with you.”

Nothing difficult so far.
Lion selected ice and packed the glass full, then added the Mushberry Liqueur according to the Bartender’s recipe, squeezing in a generous amount of lime and lemon.
He didn’t forget the syrup and Vanilla Bean either.

“Excellent work.”
“The hard part comes next, doesn’t it?”
“……! You have keen insight, sir. Yes, indeed.”

The Bartender showed no sign of surprise, answering with composure.
The customer was right.
In truth, while mixing the ingredients according to recipe was important, the blending process itself was more crucial still.
Depending on how one held the glass and how one stirred, the taste would subtly differ from person to person.

“Allow me to demonstrate, then.”

The Bartender placed the shaker over the glass and shook it up and down.
It looked like ordinary shaking, but….

‘This Bartender’s technique is no joke.’

It was different.
On closer inspection, while it appeared to shake up and down, the side-to-side motion was actually far more frequent.

‘Impressive.’

There wasn’t a wasted movement in the whole sequence.
Lion had assumed that an older Bartender would naturally have depth of experience, but he hadn’t expected this level.
The motions were as clean and precise as the arc of a seasoned swordsman’s blade.

‘It looks easy.’

He knew it well enough—when something someone else does looks easy, it usually means that person possesses tremendous internal mastery.

‘A truly extraordinary master.’

He’d thought of it as moderately entertaining play, but now he realized he was receiving instruction from quite a formidable Bartender.

‘All the better then.’

Lion watched intently, his eyes bright, taking in every detail.
After some time had passed, the Bartender strained out the ice and continued shaking the shaker without it for quite a while longer.
It seemed he was trying to make the milk inside as smooth and creamy as possible.
Once the blending was complete, the Bartender poured a small amount of Mushberry Liqueur into a freshly chilled glass, then slowly poured the cocktail from the shaker over it.
And just like that, the ghastly color from before vanished—replaced by an elegant drink with a pale violet-tinted cream, releasing a sweet blueberry-like fragrance.
Then, after a moment had passed.
Pop!

“…!”

Bubbles rose in a gentle simmer from the Mushberry Liqueur, gliding up and across the cream in a smooth ribbon!
It was like…… watching a mushroom grow.
The bartender placed a mushroom-shaped Meringue Cookie on top as the final touch, then handed the drink to Lion.

[Mushberry Fizz (★★★)]
-A cocktail where the foam that rises reminds one of a mushroom’s cap!
-Each sip releases a sharp, fruity aroma throughout the palate—truly exquisite!
-Be careful; the alcohol content is higher than it seems!

It looked like a work of art.
That such a suspicious, off-putting mushroom liqueur could be transformed into something so beautiful was remarkable.

“Appearances aren’t everything.”
“I’m glad that came through.”

The bartender bowed respectfully and began to clear away the glass.
But then……

A sidelong glance.

Toward Lion.
Not a look demanding a quick shake, but something else entirely.

“……Would it be all right if I tasted it first before learning the technique?”
“Of course. By all means.”

Lion had anticipated as much.
After all, every craftsperson felt the same way.
That desire to see someone enjoy something made fresh.
Besides, to let such a painstakingly crafted cocktail sit untouched would be disrespectful.

‘……I came here to enjoy myself, after all. Might as well take a sip.’

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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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