Chapter 271

Chapter 271
## Chapter 271: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

To Young Master Lion.

Are you well? I heard you went through quite an ordeal.

If I had been by your side, it would have been a problem that didn’t need to happen; it is this old one’s fault.

If something like this happens again, please do call for me.

I will be more careful so that this does not happen again.

From Elvia.

“…….”

Lion could not suppress an awkward smile as he scanned the neatly penned lines.

This was, in every sense, a protest disguised as a letter.

Consequently…….

-This is the 13th one.

Indeed.

Throughout the several days Lion spent recovering inside the Magic Tower, Elvia had dispatched a steady stream of identical missives.

“I honestly thought he would be furious right after the first note…”

The crimson-eyed crow, having ascended past the heavy blanket of clouds to the absolute peak of the Magic Tower, delicately deposited the parchment into Lion’s palm.

Given that any familiar breaching the tower’s formidable security must belong to Elvia, Lion handled the paper with utmost care.

He had fully prepared himself for a severe reprimand.

Yet, that was never the case.

‘I assumed it was just a standard wellness check…’

Plagued by a quiet sense of guilt, Lion had previously attempted to summon Elvia directly to the Magic Tower.

It was an environment secure enough for her to visit without hazard.

However.

‘She refused to come.’

Instead, the moment the summons left his lips, a second letter arrived by air.

It explained that a direct visit might project an unfavorable influence.

‘So I figured she would scold me if I eventually returned to her…’

Ever since that day, the faithful bird had faithfully delivered a fresh dispatch nearly every morning.

True to form, the text remained largely unchanged.

The messages focused entirely on anxiety for his physical condition and deep regret over her inability to tend to him personally.

By now, however, Lion finally decoded the underlying message.

This was her way of saying…….

‘She is asking, “Why didn’t you summon me, resulting in such a disaster?”…’

Elvia must have obtained a complete account of the incident.

Yet, even under those circumstances.

No, precisely because the situation was so dire, the letters insisted he should have called upon her without hesitation.

“Sssip.”

He could certainly sympathize with her frustration.

Lion tilted his head to observe the messenger bird.

When first encountered, its plumage had possessed an immaculate sheen, and its eyes burned with the brilliance of polished rubies…

-Do crows actually breathe through their beaks like that?

Due to the relentless delivery schedule, its feathers were ruffled in every direction, and its eyes drooped half-shut as it panted heavily.

Worse still, it was not alone; three companions accompanied it!

One carried the correspondence, while the remaining trio hauled various provisions in woven baskets.

Naturally, the collection included the Witch’s intensely bitter tea, alongside a mystery medicinal powder touted for vitality.

And then there was…

“She looks quite displeased, doesn’t she?”

-Wouldn’t any reasonable person be furious?

Lion chewed the inside of his cheek while studying a cookie shaped into a comically angry human face.

“This is genuinely problematic…”

Had Elvia ever displayed her feelings with such persistence before?

Never once.

“Indeed, sitting idle will resolve nothing.”

Lion extracted the warm pastry from the basket, laid it carefully aside, and stood up from his cot.

A few additional days of rest, supplemented by Elvia’s ‘special remedy,’ had restored his vitality at a remarkable pace.

‘The corruption… remains entirely unaffected, however.’

He glanced down instinctively at his darkened hand, prompting Pus to whine softly from his post nearby.

“No, I am quite well.”

“Kiying…”

Pus had remained profoundly melancholy ever since their reunion.

A large part of his sorrow stemmed from the inability to take vigorous walks.

-Naturally. Even if it originates from an evil entity, how is a mere cub supposed to absorb such corruption?

“Grrr!”

-Hey! Even when I take your side, you react like this? Come on, then!

“Ruff ruff!”

What an absolute circus.

At any rate, the dog’s low spirits also reflected a sense of uselessness in the current crisis.

Still, watching the two bicker suggested things were stabilizing.

Lion observed their ongoing tug-of-war, then dressed himself and pulled on his gloves.

Even within the confines of the Magic Tower, allowing knowledge of his corruption to leak outward remained a terrible idea.

‘At the very least, my physical strength has bounced back.’

His sensory perception had returned to normal, and his blurred vision had cleared up considerably.

Of course, the internal strain caused by excessive magic use required continued compliance with his recovery schedule.

‘Who knew a sudden nosebleed could stem from something other than basic exhaustion.’

It felt like an entirely different category of spitting blood.

Regardless, granted permission to move about the lower and middle tiers of the Magic Tower, he could finally stretch his legs.

Word of his mobility had presumably reached the staff… or rather, the resident mages.

Which meant.

‘I can craft a proper offering to soothe her temper.’

Naturally, direct manipulation of mana was out of the question…

Fortunately, Lion retained a wide repertoire of tasks executable without any magic whatsoever!

“Keep yourselves occupied. I will return shortly.”

Lion stepped directly into the tower’s elevator and descended.

Waiting for him at the arrival point was…

“I-I have been waiting for you, Lord Lion!”

“Ah, if it isn’t Lord Lepios?”

A familiar face materialized before him.

Lepios was the junior mage who had initially shown Lion the ropes upon his first arrival at the Magic Tower.

‘He seems to have accumulated some considerable tenure since then.’

Though less than a year had passed, he carried himself with professional assurance.

“Please, speak to me as an equal! More importantly, you actually remember me! Oh, thank you so much…”

“There is no need for thanks. Besides, your standing here appears to have risen significantly…”

“All thanks to you, Lord Lion!”

“Thanks to me?”

What on earth had he done?

As far as he remembered, he only asked for directions.

“Following that day, the Grand Master took a personal interest in my progress and assigned me duties matching my exact aptitude. Ha, that single encounter changed everything.”

“Ah.”

That certainly explained the outcome.

How many individuals within the entire Magic Tower ever managed a genuine conversation with Hoffman?

Thanks to Lion, Lepios had carved out a memorable first impression.

It was a stroke of astronomical luck for a low-ranking mage, yet.

‘Even so, seizing that opportunity required genuine competence.’

Hoffman was never an indulgent figure.

Nor did he tolerate mediocrity in his subordinates.

Even with a strong initial impression, a lack of skill would have seen Lepios expelled from the tower in short order.

Clearly, Lepios possessed the underlying talent to back it up.

“The position you hold now is a direct result of your own capability, Lord Lepios.”

“Hahaha… No, no. Without you, Lord Lion, none of this would exist.”

Lepios briefly recounted his recent trajectory.

He had been on the verge of resigning due to the overwhelming friction of his initial department…

“I lacked any reliable means of livelihood and could barely endure the pressure… But now, I can pursue my research to my heart’s content. It is truly wonderful!”

He proudly noted that he currently headed the magical tool technology division.

“What was your assignment prior to this?”

“Ah… I handled various duties, but to summarize it briefly, my background is in sales.”

“…You must have endured a tremendous amount of hardship.”

Lion offered a genuinely sympathetic look.

Survival in sales requires an entirely different temperament from someone who prefers locking themselves away to study arcane theory.

Lion only managed it because he did not mind interacting with people.

“Indeed, I understand you also possess a deep passion for research, Lord Lion.”

Unaware of Lion’s current predicament, Lepios chuckled, assuming it was shared professional camaraderie.

“…Indeed. Is there a quiet area nearby where I might catch some fresh air?”

“Ah, you must have ventured out because the sickroom grew stifling, but I have kept you chatting far too long. Follow me.”

Lepios politely ushered Lion forward, explaining that his presence here was explicitly to serve as a guide.

Their destination turned out to be…

“Oh? Did a place like this exist within the Magic Tower?”

It was a sprawling sky garden situated in the mid-to-high altitude tiers of the tower!

Nestled safely beneath the stratospheric sea of clouds, basking in brilliant sunlight and clear skies, an array of exotic flora thrived with extraordinary vigor.

“Please enjoy the scenery at your leisure. I shall remain right here.”

“Are you not abandoning your duties?”

“I utilized my accumulated annual leave specifically for this assignment.”

He flashed a confident thumbs-up, urging Lion not to fret.

…Was this procedure entirely orthodox?

‘Well, since he has secured his administrative standing anyway…’

There was little point in questioning it.

Besides, having a familiar face nearby beat dealing with an arbitrary stranger, so he decided to look the other way.

Lion shifted his attention toward the vibrant vegetation.

‘Every single one of these is an edible crop.’

Corn, tomatoes, and winter carrots.

Even apple and chestnut saplings grew among them.

It was bizarre enough that seasonal boundaries seemed irrelevant here… but another detail proved even stranger.

The fruits themselves gleamed with a glass-like luminescence.

“Ah, those are specialized preserved-food specimens commissioned directly by Lord Petrick! Feel free to harvest as many as you wish!”

Lepios’s voice echoed cheerfully from a short distance away.

Wait, his grandfather was experimenting with preserved goods?

‘…Could this possibly be related to me?’

Hadn’t he recently been swallowed up by various spatial anomalies?

Labyrinths, for instance.

Since he had never inspected such facilities previously, the connection seemed entirely plausible.

‘Though it still appears to be an active academic trial.’

Plucking produce directly from an active test bed felt slightly unethical.

Lion paused before a chestnut tree and looked down at the earth.

Fortunately, several fully ripened burrs had detached themselves naturally.

The complication lay in their physical composition: the shells possessed a glassy hardness, and the sharp husks lay half-shattered against the dirt.

“Oh.”

This made retrieving the internal kernels remarkably straightforward.

Lion picked up a chestnut that shimmered like a polished brown perfume flask.

Glass Chestnut (★)

-A superior glass chestnut boasting vastly enhanced nutritional density and sweetness compared to standard varieties!

-Completely resistant to decay, ensuring effortless preservation.

-The primary drawback lies in its incompatibility with conventional culinary preparation methods.

Even without active mana, his expert appraisal skill easily parsed the item data.

‘It likely holds a single-star rating purely because cooking it is so troublesome.’

Based on his accumulated field experience, writing off the glass chestnut as a mere one-star ingredient would be foolish.

Catching the sunlight directly, the surface radiated a clear, vibrant polish.

Furthermore, its physical dimensions exceeded those of any wild counterpart.

“…This might actually work.”

He had been searching for an ideal offering to appease Elvia’s lingering irritation, and this item fit the criteria perfectly.

Lion crouched down without hesitation to collect another fallen burr when—

“Allow me to gather that for you!”

Noticing the movement, Lepios bolted forward with the speed of a wind spirit, using a subtle spell to retrieve the burr and present it directly into Lion’s open palm.

He had even cleared away the sharp outer thorns!

“Hahaha. We cannot risk injuring your hands. Of course, I am well aware of the defensive wards surrounding your person, but… just to be safe. Just to be saaaaafe!”

At that moment, Lion experienced a sudden realization.

‘What would happen if I sustained an injury here…?’

Regardless of context, Lion remained the primary heir of the Asteri lineage, did he not?

In modern terms, a privileged scion of wealth and power.

While a simple prick would mean nothing to Lion himself, the consequences for Lepios would likely be catastrophic.

The fallout would be severe.

‘…I see how it is.’

Lion made a silent internal adjustment.

Since the dynamic was already established, he might as well lean fully into his status as a magical dynasty’s favored grandson.

No, it was time to enjoy the full perks of elite lineage.

‘At any rate, Lepios’s current security is entirely dependent on this.’

Hoffman had likely granted the annual leave precisely with this outcome in mind.

A subtle warning translated to: *Do not cause any unnecessary trouble.*

And frankly…

It was undeniably convenient!