Chapter 107

Chapter 107
Chapter 107: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

Everyone was taken aback by the sudden entrance of Lion.

Petrick was shocked, but Rikson, who remained awkwardly knelt on the floor, was even more astonished.

‘Why is the Young Master here…?’

Worse still, hadn’t he just spoken of a potential solution?

Does he actually know about Barg?

How is that possible?

Rikson carefully studied the Young Master’s features, wondering if he had somehow misheard.

Then, realization dawned on him.

Those eyes clearly showed a deep understanding of the situation.

Furthermore, his gaze shone with intensity, as though he had reached a firm conclusion or found sudden inspiration.

‘The Young Master has that kind of look in his eyes…’

Though he was not constantly by his side, he knew better than anyone that the Eldest Young Master had gone through remarkable changes.

After all, as the Knight Captain of the Asteri Knights, keeping track of major and minor family affairs, along with the positions and achievements of the direct bloodline, fell directly under his duties.

Naturally, he was aware that the Young Master had grown much healthier and had developed extraordinary capabilities.

Even so.

‘That kind of expression and absolute confidence?’

Lion had always been shielded by heavy, visible and invisible layers of protection within the Asteri household.

He had been sickly during his childhood, and as he grew slightly older, his behavior remained unpredictable.

Consequently, guards were constantly dispatched to guarantee his safety whenever he wandered the territory.

Because of this, Rikson had always viewed Lion Asteri as the most fragile and delicate member of the family.

Yet, here he stood, radiating assurance and self-possession.

Looking into his amethyst-like eyes—so distinctively Asteri and so reminiscent of the Family Head—who could ever mistake him for someone who needed safeguarding?

Rikson’s instincts, sharpened by decades of commanding the Asteri Family’s Knight Order, did not fail him.

‘Then.’

Before Rikson could react, Petrick spoke up first.

“A method? Are you referring to Barg?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Could you… explain what this method entails?”

“It would be difficult to go into detail right now.”

“Pardon?”

Rikson was startled by Lion’s blunt response.

He cannot explain the method?

‘Is he employing some sort of secret art?’

Rikson had assumed it would be alchemy at most.

The Eldest Young Master was cleverer than he seemed and possessed out-of-the-box ideas, so Rikson had figured he must have engineered some clever approach.

That alone would have been impressive—finding a path where none existed.

Yet, he could not explain it?

This was…

‘The Family Head would never allow such a thing.’

Being incapable of verbally explaining a concept also implied that the knowledge itself lacked completeness.

It was akin to the difference between wielding a sword and teaching someone else how to wield it.

Rikson lowered his head once more.

‘Was I mistaken?’

He was certain that the Family Head he knew would never endorse an unverified method.

“Understood. What do you need me to do?”

…He should have forbidden it?

Rikson’s deeply bowed head snapped back up.

He permitted it?

Had the Family Head ever approved of anything so readily before?

And without even demanding an explanation?

Why?

Simply because Lion was his cherished eldest grandson?

No, that could not be it.

While the Family Head deeply loved his family, he was even more uncompromising when it came to professional matters.

He acted precisely the same way when dealing with business affairs alongside Rikschel, the heir apparent.

If a report contained even the slightest gap, he would relentlessly press with sharp questions.

Rikschel, for his part, would answer and make corrections without hesitation, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

That dynamic had persisted for a very long time.

Rikson had once offered words of sympathy to the young successor out of pity.

“Are you not frustrated?”

he had asked.

Yet, the reply he received was composed and mature beyond his years.

“It is because I must protect it.”

It was a startlingly grounded and sober answer for a child.

That was the kind of man the Family Head was.

That was the standard of their household.

‘So, if this were something I had no business knowing, he would have dismissed me and demanded an explanation.’

Yet, he had done no such thing.

This was not merely the result of immense faith and trust in the Eldest Young Master…

‘He has pulled off impossible feats before.’

And those attempts must have succeeded more than once.

Though Rikson remained unaware of what those successes were, one fact was crystal clear.

This represented the final hope to save Barg.

Rikson sprang into action.

“Young Master. If there is any way I can assist, I will give it my all.”

“Thank you. This task requires everyone to buy us time.”

“Time… Yes. I understand.”

It was an obvious reference to the duration required to hold Barg back if he lost control.

‘The timeframe… appears uncertain.’

After all, Lion was attempting something that did not yet exist in the wider world.

Even the Young Master could not be certain of the outcome.

Under those circumstances, all Rikson could do was place his trust in him.

…Truthfully, had the Family Head not agreed so quickly, Rikson would have harbored deep suspicions.

Rikson still did not fully comprehend the extent of Lion’s abilities.

He only knew that *something* extraordinary was there.

“Ah, and you must ensure he eats properly throughout this process. Should his condition deteriorate, his appetite will vanish first. Force him to eat if you must.”

“Understood. I will see to it.”

Rikson glanced between the two of them before rising to his feet.

He then bowed deeply and respectfully to Lion.

“Please handle this, Eldest Young Master. I will do whatever is asked of me. And…”

Rikson hesitated for a second before speaking again.

“Even if things go poorly… it is not your fault.”

Lion offered a faint smile in response.

‘He is a good man.’

During his discussion with Barg, he had learned many things.

Among them were stories regarding Rikson.

Although Lion did not know every detail, based on those accounts alone, Rikson had been a savior to Barg.

Barg had also mentioned how Rikson quietly looked after him whenever his health took a turn for the worse.

“It might be disrespectful to the Knight Captain, but I thought of you as a father…!”

It went beyond simple pity.

Perhaps Rikson, too, looked upon Barg as a son.

For Rikson to voice those words to Lion, the sentiment had to be entirely genuine.

For reasons he couldn’t quite name, Lion felt compelled to reply.

“Do not worry. There will be no failure.”

Lion called out to Rikson’s back as the captain walked out after finishing his farewells.

“……!”

Through the slightly ajar door, Rikson’s broad shoulders trembled momentarily.

Watching this, Petrick smiled inwardly with quiet satisfaction.

‘He is far better than I am.’

When faced with a choice between ideals and reality, Petrick was a man who chose reality.

That mindset was unlikely to change as he aged.

Even so, observing his grandson often made him feel that learning to compromise with ideals was not such a terrible path after all.

It was a fresh realization.

“…Now, tell me what you need me to prepare.”

“Ah.”

Lion spoke up once he was certain the door was firmly shut.

“I need the highest grade of magic stones.”

Magic stones?

Top-tier magic stones were exorbitantly expensive and exceptionally rare, carrying whatever price tag a seller wished to demand.

Even senior mages within the Magic Tower would rarely lay eyes on one in their entire lifetime… however.

That rule did not apply to the Asteri Family.

If Lion, the eldest scion of the Asteri House, desired them, he could easily acquire multiple chests filled with the rarest magic stones in existence.

Lion would certainly know that.

Consequently, it meant Petrick had a specific role to play regarding those stones.

“What am I supposed to do with the magic stones?”

“Please purge all the mana contained inside them.”

At Lion’s request, Petrick let out a dry huff of disbelief.

Stripping away every trace of mana from top-grade magic stones!

It was an undertaking bordering on the impossible.

Under normal circumstances, even a seasoned mage who spent decades in meditation could not drain all the dense mana stored within a supreme-quality magic stone.

For one, such stones held an overwhelming density of energy, and drawing it out was typically limited by a mage’s own circle capacity.

“It would be impossible for other mages, but Grandfather, you can pull it off.”

Indeed.

An Archmage was capable of it.

‘I wonder how heavily he relied on magic stones back in his youth.’

The family heirloom staff had been preserved without breaking, but even that had been pushed to its absolute limits in the past.

Yet, what Lion required was a magic stone that remained structurally intact while being entirely hollowed out on the inside.

“The reason you withheld the explanation from Rikson was so you could utilize your own abilities, wasn’t it? And the location for this will be the Labyrinth?”

“Correct. You will also need to cast a sealing spell upon that emptied magic stone.”

The measure was necessary to prevent outside forces from interfering.

Petrick tapped his desk thoughtfully for a moment, his eyes suddenly brightening as the pieces clicked into place.

‘Could he be planning to manufacture Moon’s Essence using magic stones?’

It was an astonishingly clever concept, yet not entirely unfeasible.

An empty magic stone would create a vacuum state, and sealing it immediately would preserve that condition.

‘If that sealed magic stone is opened in an environment saturated with Moon’s Energy…’

While natural ambient energy and mana would also mix in, the stone would temporarily absorb Moon’s Energy at a blistering pace.

Though the yield would fall short of what a natural Beastman could produce, it remained a viable method for creating artificial Moon’s Essence!

However, for Barg, who was currently suffering through an Eclipse, Moon’s Essence acted like lethal poison.

Petrick could not guess what his grandson intended to do next, but he trusted that Lion had a specific strategy in mind.

Petrick reached into his cabinet, pulling out a fist-sized magic stone that had been left casually beside the potion bottle Lion had previously brewed.

“This one should suffice.”

“That is…”

『Top-grade magic stone (★★★)』

-It pulses softly like a living heart.

-It boasts mana density and conductivity rivaling the heart of an ancient dragon!

-Capable of containing any form of energy, its applications are limitless. Anyone would covet such a treasure.

Even a glance at its description revealed it to be a monstrously powerful artifact.

An unidentifiable energy, shifting through countless hues, surged violently within the stone’s core.

It felt like a mortal could never hope to fully absorb its contents, but…

*Squeeze.*

Without a moment’s hesitation, Petrick closed his fist around the magic stone and began drawing out its stored mana.

The energy within the stone flooded into Petrick’s palm, racing through his blood vessels and mana pathways before…

Accompanied by a strange luminescence, a fierce gale whipped through the room.

Loose documents, along with the heavy paperweight anchoring them down, fluttered wildly in the sudden turbulence.

After a few minutes—no, several tens of minutes—the magic stone slowly dimmed, and the swirling papers drifted down to settle upon the floor.

At last, the interior of the magic stone turned clear and translucent, emptied of all power.

“Hmm. Not bad for someone who hasn’t stretched their legs in a while.”

Petrick chuckled softly, feeling the resurgence of vitality after so long.

His appearance briefly resembled that of his youth, though the transformation faded almost instantly.

He then channeled the harvested mana to weave a complex sealing spell around the exterior of the stone.

A moment later, a barrier completely wrapped around the magic stone, accompanied by a small key materializing in his other hand to unlock the warding spell.

Petrick handed the sealed magic stone and its key across the desk to Lion.

“Is this sufficient?”

“……”

His voice remained steady and calm, an astonishing feat given the magnitude of the miracle he had just performed.

Not a single bead of sweat dampened his brow.

‘He truly is a monster…’