Chapter 120

Chapter 120
Chapter 120: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

“I’m glad you’re safe, but… if it feels too heavy, you have to let me know right away. Understood?”

“Yes, Older Brother.”

Lion observed Rikschel and mentally shook his head. His main weakness was his excessive gentleness, which meant he would never voice a complaint.

Knowing full well that the load was burdensome, they should have headed straight for the orphanage first rather than making a stop at the magic shop. They could have dropped off the belongings and then gone wherever necessary.

Lion quickened his pace.

Along the way, he made sure to secure a hairpin properly.

“Hm? Oh, Young Masters! It’s been quite a while!”

As they drew near the sanctuary, the Orphanage Director, who happened to be outside alongside a few of the youngsters, caught sight of Lion and Rikschel first and hurried over wearing a radiant grin.

“Goodness me! Lugging such a heavy pack all this way…”

“Ah, I happened to whip up some fresh beverages, so I brought some along to share with the kids.”

“My goodness…”

Such a thoughtful soul, especially when feeling unwell!

The Director’s features softened with profound emotion as an open hand reached out.

“Let me take that off your hands. Please, hand it over.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright. I’ve managed it just fine so far. Let’s keep moving. Besides, didn’t you mention having some good news?”

“Ah, you mean about Peter? I can fill you in once we get inside.”

Bathed in this cozy atmosphere, Lion finally reached the orphanage grounds.

Without missing a beat, he set the luggage down onto the floor, unzipped the bag, and began handing out portions of sikhye to the eager children.

“Whoa. A glass bottle!”

“Is it really glass?”

Fascinated by the glass containers, the children clutched them tightly in both hands, turning them over to inspect every detail.

“What’s inside, though?”

“There’s something down at the bottom!”

“It’s a beverage made from rice. It’s called sikhye, and it has a nice, sweet flavor.”

“Ooh… it’s a drink!”

The youngsters murmured excitedly among themselves.

Their faces radiated eager anticipation for this unfamiliar treat.

Lion watched them with an affectionate smile before offering a gentle warning.

“Be careful, now. If you shatter it, you could easily cut your hands. You know that, right?”

“Yes!”

After answering with bright enthusiasm, the children carefully passed the bottles of sikhye down the line to one another.

A few impatient ones couldn’t wait, popping open their caps and gulping down the sweet liquid.

“It’s sweet! This is so good!”

“Slurp! It’s got a tiny kick to it! But I like it because it’s sweet!”

『Cooking experience increases by 5 percent.』

It was certainly a unique taste, but the sweetness clearly won them over.

“By the way, where is Peter?”

“Ah, about that…”

After taking a sip from Lion’s offering and blinking in surprise, the Director snapped back to reality at the mention of Peter’s name.

“He seems to be stressing quite a bit over this upcoming adoption.”

“Why? Are his prospective parents strange people?”

“No, not at all. Actually, the issue this time is that they’re almost *too* wonderful.”

Too wonderful? What sort of dilemma was that?

Faced with Lion’s bewildered look, the Director managed an awkward smile before speaking up.

“If you have a spare moment, wouldn’t it be best to speak with him and hear the whole story firsthand?”

“Yes, that sounds like a good plan.”

Hearing it directly from Peter himself seemed like the wisest course.

Lion walked purposefully toward Peter’s usual spot.

And that location was, naturally…

The backyard of the orphanage.

Whenever Peter needed some time to himself, he always retreated here to lie flat on his back and zone out.

The only silver lining was this.

Sip.

He was currently drinking the sikhye Lion had prepared without the slightest hesitation.

Yet, watching him consume the beverage in such complete isolation…

*He gives off the exact vibe of someone chugging soju in a dark alleyway.*

Still, he was clearly troubled about something.

A soft smile touched Lion’s lips as he tucked the box behind his back and settled down comfortably beside Peter.

“How does it taste?”

“……You made this yourself, didn’t you? It’s delicious.”

Peter looked up, greeted Lion with a faint smile, and shifted sideways to clear some room.

“Sit here. You need to stay in a warm spot, Older Brother, or you might catch a chill.”

“Haha, I’m not that fragile!”

“Hmph! Whenever I ask your Younger Sibling why you haven’t visited, he always insists you’re too sick to leave bed.”

“…….”

Ah, so Rikschel had been holding down the fort and looking out for the place while he was away.

*You absolute rascal…*

He always acted indifferent, but he cared far more deeply than anyone else.

Lion offered a sheepish grin in response to Peter’s comment.

“Did you miss me that much since I couldn’t visit as often?”

“No, it’s not that. You must have been genuinely unwell.”

Peter sounded entirely convinced.

Wait, why are you so utterly certain?

“Your complexion looks like you’ve been sick.”

“…….”

Lion opened his mouth to offer an excuse, then thought better of it and snapped it shut.

He felt a bit hard done by, but trying to untangle the misunderstanding would only drag the conversation out needlessly…

Fine. Let’s just roll with being sick.

“Anyway, I caught wind of the news. Sounds like some wonderful developments came up?”

“…….”

At those words, a slow, genuine smile spread across Peter’s face.

It was the look of a child who was truly, deeply happy.

*Looks like he genuinely likes his prospective parents.*

It didn’t feel like an unwanted arrangement being forced upon him. A smile like that wouldn’t exist under coercion.

“What kind of people are they?”

“……Kind and very considerate. They’re genuinely good folks. They even told me I don’t have to rush into calling them Mom and Dad right away.”

Peter spoke carefully, doing his absolute best to maintain his composure.

*…Well, he couldn’t very well broadcast all of this to the other kids here, either.*

Peter possessed a very tender heart.

Out of consideration for the other children living at the orphanage, he probably felt he couldn’t boast about it too much.

*It’s fine. They seem like decent people.* That was likely the extent of what he had shared with the others.

“They sound like good people, don’t they?”

However, in front of Lion, he felt free to let his guard down.

“Right? Oh, and also…”

Perhaps because of that safety, his voice—previously strained with restraint—grew lively and excited. His expression transformed into the bright, animated face of any normal kid.

It was clear he was smitten with his new family.

In truth, the adoptive parents Peter described were exceptionally affectionate individuals.

They exercised endless patience and constantly prioritized Peter’s emotional well-being.

They had even pushed through the complex maze of adoption paperwork and legal steps with remarkable speed.

*Peter must have gone through a lot of quiet hardships himself.*

The fact that a young boy was so acutely aware of those legal documents meant he was investing an immense amount of emotional energy into the whole process.

At any rate, the procedural side of the adoption was running smoothly.

If a snag had developed there, the Director would have stepped in to iron things out somehow.

*Then why on earth is he stressing out?*

As Lion listened quietly to Peter’s chatter, the boy eventually let out a heavy sigh: “Euh.”

“So, I figured that if I get adopted this time, I’ll finally settle in nicely. And honestly, I thought if things went south, I could always come back here, but… well…”

“But what?”

“……It’s the temple.”

Peter tilted the remaining sikhye in his container and drained the rest in one go.

*Kkeu.*

*…That wasn’t fermented sikhye, was it?*

Only after letting out a world-weary sigh that felt far too heavy for a child did Peter lean back against his support and spill the rest of his worries.

To put it briefly.

“So you’re saying that because you possess divine power, you’re expected to walk the path of a priesthood?”

“Yeah. That’s what they keep telling me.”

“…….”

Lion wore a complex expression.

*Can they actually do that?*

Regardless of whether Peter manifested divine power or not, was it right for the temple to swoop in and claim total custody over the child’s life?

*They don’t pull stunts like that down at the Magic Tower Orphanage.*

There were plenty of instances where children displayed magical aptitude, or where late-blooming mana shocks forced them toward the path of a sorcerer.

Yet, would the tower authorities rip such children away from their parents—or their adoptive guardians?

That simply never happened.

*They merely offer support.*

It always ended with helping them gain entry into the Magic Academy or gifting them a foundational spellbook.

Uprooting a child entirely to force them into the clergy, the way the temple operated, made zero logical sense.

At least, that was Lion’s perspective on the matter.

“What’s your take on it? Concerning the temple, I mean.”

“Well, of course, the temple’s welfare system is what kept a roof over my head and food in my belly. I survived because of their charity. So I’m grateful to the divine. If nobody had ever wanted to adopt me, I might have seriously considered it. But…!”

Peter clenched his tiny fists tightly as he voiced his true feelings.

“I don’t want to be separated from them! In fact, I want to move into their home right this instant!”

Lion smiled warmly at Peter’s declaration.

That settled it. That was all that mattered.

Regardless of what outsiders thought, Peter’s heart was entirely set.

In that case…

Lion had just the right strategy up his sleeve.

“It’s fine. Divine power isn’t something that awakens easily or floods out overnight. It hasn’t happened up until now, has it?”

“Th-that’s true, too!”

Realizing he might be borrowing trouble, Peter flushed a deep shade of red.

“There won’t be any massive crises. There’s a reason the ratio of ordained priests is so much lower than that of mages.”

“Is that really how it is…?”

“And even if something did manifest, would they really exile you away forever? You’d probably just live like a student commuting back and forth from the Academy. Right?”

“……Mmm. I suppose that’s true.”

Peter nodded slowly. Come to think of it, Lion was treating the whole concept of becoming a priest like it was no big deal.

His unusually frantic heartbeat gradually slowed down to a normal rhythm.

Maybe it truly wasn’t the end of the world after all.

Commuting back and forth sounded manageable enough.

“More importantly, do you want to see what I brought?”

*Ta-da!*

Lion supplied his own sound effects and produced the wrapped gift box from behind his back.

“What is that?”

Peter’s eyes widened as he stared at the rigid, polished packaging he had never laid eyes on before.

“Go on, open it. You just need to lift this little groove right here.”

As they peeled back the packaging together…

“……!”

A collection of vibrant, colorful blocks designed to snap together was arranged neatly by shade!

“W-whoa…!”

“I put this together because I heard you were getting adopted.”

Lion then handed over a small sheet of paper detailing how the pieces could be arranged.

“This was my absolute favorite pastime when I was your age. I hope you enjoy it.”

“I-I definitely will! I’ve… I’ve never owned a proper toy before in my life!”

“…….”

Lion smiled softly at the boy’s honest admission.

“You can play with these outside, but they might collect dust, so it’s probably best to use them inside your room. I need to go check on my Younger Sibling for a moment, so you go on and play. Alright?”

“Yes! Thank you so much, Older Brother!”

Peter carefully folded the packaging back down, clutched the box tightly to his chest, and bolted toward his room.

With his worries cleared away and a brand-new gift in hand, his spirits were flying high.

Lion watched Peter dart off down the hall with a content expression before his features suddenly hardened.

*Now I know exactly what kind of countermeasure I need to prepare.*

As Lion brushed a bit of dust from his trousers and stood up, Rikschel, who had been waiting at a discreet distance, slowly stepped forward.

“Older Brother.”

“Did you get a clear reading?”

“About that…”

Rikschel lowered his gaze slightly at the inquiry and gave a slow shake of his head.

“I can definitely sense the divine presence.”

“You’ve been picking up on it for a while now, haven’t you?”

“Yes. It isn’t an overwhelmingly oppressive force yet, but once that power fully blossoms, it will easily clear the threshold required for an Official Priesthood.”

As a practitioner of the 5th Circle, Rikschel possessed the sensitivity to identify individuals gifted with divine resonance.

It was an entirely foreign energy signature, standing in stark contrast to the flow of mana.

“……If things are left to run their course, that boy Peter is inevitably going to be dragged into the temple’s grip by force.”

“Younger Sibling.”

Lion stared in the direction of Peter’s room for a beat before turning his attention back to Rikschel.

His expression was so intensely grave that Rikschel instinctively understood.

*He’s formulated a plan!*

He felt an absolute certainty that his Older Brother had engineered a practical solution.

Straightening up, Rikschel answered with fierce determination.

“Yes, Older Brother!”

“Tell me, do you have any stomach for doing something a little underhanded if it ultimately serves a good cause?”

“Huh?”

Rikschel locked eyes with Lion once more.

Those eyes, usually so composed and steady…

Looked faintly, almost strangely, warped at the edges.

*…Older Brother?*