Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 8

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

Succession? Not my concern. I’m just here to heal. Chapter 8

Whoooosh—

The silent exchange of glances didn’t last long.
The moment Lion raised his hand in a casual greeting, the children who’d been hiding burst forth with a clatter.

“Mister! What’s your name? I’m Golden Branch.”
“And I’m Jade Leaf!”

The two siblings, having introduced themselves, broke into matching grins.

“Did you heal the Spirit, mister?”
“Are you a doctor?”
“No, I’m not a doctor.”
“Then are you a pharmacist?”
“Not a pharmacist either.”
“Then what are you?”
“An aspiring man of leisure.”

Giggle. They both burst out laughing at the same moment, then peppered him with more questions.
They were at that age when curiosity knew no bounds.
Lion didn’t mind in the least, but Mudu’s wife, overhearing the exchange, let out a gasp of alarm and quickly pulled the children away from him.

“Oh my, you two! Go on outside and play! Don’t startle the young master!”
“So his name really is Young Master!”
“Young Master!”
“Just call me Lion, that’s fine.”
“But Young Master sounds much cooler!”
“Then we’re calling you Young Master!”
“Ha, all right then.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been around children, so it felt a bit awkward, but not unpleasant.
This leisurely moment.
Sitting in this humble cottage with the breeze drifting through and sunlight streaming warmly inside, his mind naturally grew calm.
And if he was being honest, there was something endearing about the two mischievous little things chattering away.

“All right, off you go! Play outside, and no running around the house!”

Despite their mother’s stern words, Jade Leaf—her hair tied in twin braids—stubbornly clung to Lion’s side.

“Thank you! Dad was so happy!”
“Just now he was laughing and even gave me a ride on his shoulders!”

So the hundredth Mudu was more of a family man than Lion had expected.
He’d been shouting orders at the Blacksmith Workshop, so Lion had assumed he’d be the same at home.
But that explained how the children had grown up so bright.
Lion found himself thinking of his younger sister.
His blood sister, that is—Lion Asteri’s younger sibling.
Rikshel Asteri.

‘If memory serves, she was rather sharp-tongued.’

She was the spitting image of Petrick—expressionless, cold, obsessed with achievement.

‘And above all, she didn’t seem to like me much.’

Well, she wasn’t a young child anymore, so as long as they didn’t run into each other, it should be fine.
While Lion’s attention drifted elsewhere for a moment, Mudu’s wife finally ushered the two children out of the house.
And so the two children…….
Splat!
This time they were pressed against the window, peering inside.
Their plump cheeks and noses left marks on the glass.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry. The children are just so lively……. Ah, I’m Lea, by the way.”

Lea, who had set before Lion a bowl of mushroom soup and boiled potatoes, apologized as though mortified.

“Truly, I don’t know how to repay such kindness…….”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ve given me a place to rest—that’s enough.”

Besides, Mudu would settle any debt of gratitude on his own anyway.
Lion answered without much concern and drank his soup.
There wasn’t a trace of pepper, but it tasted quite good.

“My, how can someone be so warm-hearted…….”

It was something Lea didn’t know, though.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Just as Lion was finishing the soup and potatoes, the door burst open and Mudu walked in.

“Honestly, why would you strain yourself when you’re so frail…….”
“He strained himself.”
“Strained himself?”

Golden Branch and Jade Leaf hung limply from either side of Mudu’s waist, and soot from the Blacksmith Workshop was smudged across his face.

“Ahem. Anyway, you’re awake and you’ve eaten, so let’s get moving. I’ve got everything ready.”

When they arrived at the Blacksmith Workshop.
Lion could see what Mudu’s “preparation” meant.
Unlike yesterday, the workshop was empty. And there was a new counter he hadn’t seen before.
It was marked: “Exclusive for Lion Asteri.”

“What’s this?”
“I told you. Whatever you commission, I’ll make first. When we’re both busy, just write the request on that counter and I’ll make it and deliver it. Well, that’s not the important part. Come further inside.”

Past the exclusive counter, deeper into the workshop, refined iron was stacked everywhere.

“Judging by your stamina, I thought you’d fall ill if you started from the smelting stage, so I prepared the materials.”

Lion picked up one of the iron ingots and examined it from every angle.

[Iron Made by Dwarf Descendant]
-Ore was smelted directly and refined into iron for practical use.
-Sturdy and durable.
-More than suitable as a base material.
[Uses- Blacksmith]
[☞Click to view recipe.]

Everything was indeed something Mudu had prepared.

‘So he’s teaching me for real?’

Whether Mudu read the look on Lion’s face or not, he crossed his arms and raised his keen eyes.

“What? Don’t tell me you were planning to just pretend and call it done?”

Learning from none other than this Mudu, the hundredth of his name?
The weight of those words was unmistakable.
Honestly, he hadn’t expected Mudu to reveal this much.

‘After all, it’s a master craftsman’s technique.’

If Lion were in Mudu’s position, he probably wouldn’t want to teach it either.

‘Besides, it doesn’t seem like he’ll ever take up blacksmithing anyway.’

Wasn’t he a grandson of the Asteri house?
Without the blacksmith’s art, he’d still live comfortably enough, and Lion detected no particular passion for it in him.
Yet Mudu seemed intent on teaching the craft in earnest.
Well then, he’d have to receive it gratefully.

“Not a chance. I’d be grateful if you’d teach me quickly.”
“That’s right. That’s the spirit!”

Throwing yourself wholeheartedly into whatever you do!
Mudu was delighted with Lion’s attitude.
At first he’d thought the boy was just some eccentric loitering about, but seeing with his own eyes that he could perceive Spirits and even restore Vitality, he couldn’t dismiss him as mere rumor anymore.

“Now, let me show you how it’s done.”

Mudu immediately thrust the iron into the roaring flames below.

“The temperature of the iron is what matters. It can’t just glow red. But if you heat it too much, it becomes molten, and that won’t do.”

Unlike yesterday, the fire burned strong with its full intensity now.
The iron quickly flushed red, then shifted to yellow. Just before it would turn white-hot.
Mudu withdrew it with tongs and carried it to the anvil, striking it at a steady rhythm.

Clang! Clang!

In mere hammer strokes, the iron rod transformed into the shape of a hoe.

“Here, controlling your strength is crucial. The blade edge must be thin, but the rest thick and sturdy.”

Once the basic shape formed, he refined the hoe’s contours more carefully and honed the edge with a whetstone.
Finally, he fitted the handle onto the hoe and…….

“Well? Quite simple, isn’t it?”

An ordinary person would naturally protest that this was anything but simple.
Mudu anticipated this objection and added quickly,

“Haha! Right, it’s not such an easy task. But don’t worry. This Mudu, the hundredth of his name, will help you…….”
“Can I use all of these irons, then?”

But Lion’s response came from a different angle entirely.

“Hmm? Well, yes. I made them for practice.”
“I see.”

See what, exactly?
Before Mudu could ask, Lion was already dumping the irons into the forge.
And then…….
Clang! Clang!
He began crafting without pause.
Of course, most of the iron never even took shape—it either crumpled or cooled lukewarm without being worked properly at all.
Every attempt was a failure.
Yet Lion did not stop.
His hand gripping the tongs trembled violently, and though he kept dropping the hammer as his body failed to adjust to the recoil, he continued swinging.

“Listen, I—”

Clang!

“—could offer some help—”

Clang!

“—but it seems I won’t be needed. Stubborn bastard.”

Mudu clicked his tongue. The concentration on display was nothing short of extraordinary.
True, at first it had seemed like mere flailing, but gradually—as if he were finding his rhythm—Lion’s movements were improving visibly.
And strangely enough, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

‘Well, well.’

To Mudu’s eyes, there was something both reckless and romantic about the sight.

“Youth. That’s what it is.”

The very wellspring from which anything becomes possible.
Sometimes foolish, willing to tumble through the mud—yet able to rise again instantly.
That, perhaps, was—

‘Well, I’m learning something myself here.’

Mudu did not try to stop Lion; he simply stepped back and lent his support from a distance.
When the forge ran low on iron, he added more; when unusable scraps accumulated, he cleared them away.
And as time wore on—

“—!”

At some point, Lion’s movements changed.
His hammer fell in steady rhythm, his tong-hand no longer wavering.
And his control of force—
Mudu’s eyes widened, nearly bulging from his head.
And then.
A smile began to bloom at the corner of Lion’s mouth.

‘Finally!’

The craft of the Blacksmith was no simple thing.

[Incomplete Hoe – Beyond Repair]
-Ah, this one would need to be melted down again if we’re to salvage it.

He hadn’t even completed a single proper piece yet, and the intermediate stages kept ending in failure.

[Incomplete Hoe – 15% Complete]
-It remains uncertain whether the hoe will be completed.

Still, Lion did not stop.
He knew better.
Keep repeating this process, and eventually one attempt would succeed.

[Unfinished Hoe – 40 Percent]
-Still an incomplete work. Once finished, it should be serviceable enough.

Right. Just like this.
Lion gripped the hammer again with trembling hands and swung it hard.
Physical pain was certainly present.
Yet Lion did not lose the rhythm.
Each time the white-hot iron met the hammer, sparks flew and heat seared his skin.
Before the sparks faded, another fragment scattered from friction, and more cold iron dust fell away.

[Unfinished Hoe – 52 Percent]
-Still an incomplete work. Once finished, it should be serviceable enough.

Countless failures accumulated, punctuated by the rarest of successes.
When Lion’s grip finally gave way and the hammer fell from his hands—

[★Unfinished Hoe – 50 Percent]
-This promises to be quite a fine hoe.

At last, one hoe emerged that pleased him.
In that same moment—

[Unbowed by countless failures, your eyes open to a new talent!]
[New Talent: Blacksmith]
[Blacksmith Proficiency has become Apprentice Lv.1.]

At last, the Blacksmith talent was his.

“That—that one! Try making it!”

Mudu, who had been watching from the side, cried out upon noticing that this hoe differed from ordinary ones.
Lion immediately turned to the remaining work.
With the Blacksmith talent acquired, what followed came naturally.
He whetted the blade, fitted the handle.

[★Asteri-made Hoe – 100 Percent]
-A masterwork from an apprentice blacksmith.
-Gathering speed is increased.
-Probability of obtaining higher-grade herbs when gathering is increased.
-Imbued with the essence of a Spirit of Fire.

“Done! You mad bastard! Not bad! You’ve got real talent!”
“Looks decent, does it?”

Mudu leaped on his short legs and shouted.

“More than decent! It’s better than what most blacksmiths would make!”

The fire had played its part, but this—this was the work of talent itself!

“Is that so?”
“It is! Which means you’ve every right to be happier about it—”
“Now teach me how to make a sickle.”

At Lion’s words, even Mudu could only shake his head in disbelief.
How could a body barely able to stand produce such strength!

“Ha ha ha! Your resolve is insane! All right, fine, you madman… I’ll teach you everything!”

Mudu laughed loudly, and together with Lion, worked deep into the night making sickles.
And the next morning at dawn.

“I really can’t thank you enough, Mudu.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s nothing.”

Lion and Mudu, having formed an unlikely friendship, shook hands lightly.
With the hoe and sickle now crafted, it was time to return to the mountain and till the soil.

‘For grandfather’s sake!’

……Of course, Lion still hadn’t grasped the truth of the matter.

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