Chapter 272

Chapter 272
## Chapter 272: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

I decided to simply enjoy the moment.

It was the easier path for both of us.

“Young Master, is this enough?”

By that point, Lepios had his arms completely filled with chestnuts.

“Yes. This should be plenty.”

“By the way… are you not interested in anything else? The glass apples are exceptionally popular among the mages here.”

Lion nodded at the mention of how the researchers occasionally competed to see who could most delicately carve the glass to exquisitely shape the pulp.

‘Hmm, I actually saw something similar in a video once.’

Of course, experiencing it live would be an entirely different matter.

Elvia, who tends to apple trees, might also find the glass apples fascinating.

However.

‘It has to be chestnuts.’

The moment he laid eyes on the glass chestnuts, Lion immediately knew it was the ideal gift for Elvia!

“This is all I need.”

“I see. Understood.”

Lepios nodded and subtly motioned to the surrounding mages.

‘I will have them packaged as souvenirs for their departure.’

It seemed he already had a course of action in mind.

Lepios stared at Lion with sparkling eyes.

In his view, Lion was nothing short of a genius.

And it wasn’t just because he had earned praise from the Grand Master.

According to the prevailing rumors, Lord Lion constantly uncovered brilliant uses for things that everyone else completely ignored.

‘Especially that beverage…!’

While it did not actually contain any rare or mystical ingredients, it mysteriously aided concentration and cleared the mind, did it not?

It had become an absolute lifeline for the research mages, to the extent that those who hadn’t managed to get any were paying premium prices to acquire it.

That trend hadn’t changed at all, even after quite a bit of time had gone by.

Lepios cast a glance around the room.

There were quite a few individuals casting envious glances toward Lion.

‘These people…!’

How shameless of them to target someone who was still recovering!

Besides, he was the eldest grandson of the Asteri household.

“Where would you like me to escort you next?”

“Is there perhaps a kitchen area I could use?”

“Certainly! The Magic Food Engineering Department within the Magic Tower is fully outfitted with the most modern cooking apparatuses!”

Lepios promptly guided Lion forward.

Leaving the sky garden and taking the elevator down to the lower level revealed an entirely different environment, defying the traditional layout of the ‘tower’.

This area, resembling the neatly organized interior of a spacious mansion, was…!

‘Whoa! An office!’

Lion thought back to his past life, feeling a sudden throb in his temples.

Naturally, if an organization of this scale, employing individuals on a steady payroll, didn’t have such facilities, that would have been far stranger.

“The mages stationed here possess incredible creativity and theoretical knowledge. And…”

Lepios lowered his voice to a near-whisper right beside Lion’s ear.

“Many individuals hold Young Master Lion in high regard, so I will move quickly to ensure you are not disturbed.”

With that, Lepios swiftly led Lion past several doors until they reached the innermost room.

Then, with a few precise words and gestures, he cleared out the occupants and ushered Lion inside as though everything had been flawlessly arranged.

“Everyone has just been granted a brief recess, so you need not fret about interruptions.”

He seemed to anticipate Lion’s concerns with remarkable accuracy.

‘I can certainly see why Hoffman is fond of him…’

He was perceptive and exceptionally competent.

Still…

‘This hardly feels like the demeanor of a mere newcomer.’

Though he had figured Lepios had largely moved past his junior status by now.

To this extent, however…

“Lepios, are you perhaps overseeing this entire floor…?”

“Ah, hahaha… I suppose it was rather obvious.”

Lepios offered an embarrassed chuckle and scratched the back of his neck.

“Indeed. I am in charge of the underground development division. Please feel free to make yourself completely at home.”

Taking pride in maintaining immaculate conditions through an automatic tidying enchantment, Lepios stepped directly into the ‘Magic Food Engineering Department’ he had mentioned moments earlier.

And upon entering…

“Oh…”

It was literally packed with the newest culinary technology produced by the Magic Tower.

Some of the devices were identical to those found in the kitchens of Easter or the Asteri estate.

“What is this?”

“As expected, you recognize it instantly.”

Lion halted before a rather unassuming pot, which looked far simpler than the surrounding equipment.

It resembled a traditional cauldron and bore a very familiar aesthetic.

It was…

“It is a tool modeled after Lord Lion’s personal alchemy pot. While the exterior is plain, its durability is top-tier.”

It bore a striking resemblance to the alchemy pot Lion usually carried.

Naturally, having hauled his own pot everywhere, he couldn’t possibly mistake it.

‘Which reminds me, I really need to repair my own pot as well.’

He never would have guessed he’d end up needing to fix his own body before his equipment.

‘At any rate, this will do nicely.’

Familiar instruments always felt better in one’s hands than foreign ones.

This held especially true when preparing traditional recipes.

“May I make use of this space?”

“Of course! I will just leave these chestnuts right over here.”

Lepios neatly rolled the glossy glass chestnuts to one side, bowed politely, and exited the department.

“*Sniff* This strikes me as something Rikschel would appreciate.”

Lion silently commended Lepios’s efficiency before inspecting his surroundings.

“Everything I require is right here… Excellent.”

Lion immediately rinsed the glass chestnuts in pristine water.

Even though they gleamed like polished crystal, washing them offered greater peace of mind.

Clink. Clink.

The sound of the glass surfaces clicking together in the water chimed clearly.

“Ah. Come to think of it, it has been quite a while.”

Actually preparing something entirely with my own two hands.

Lately, he was constantly surrounded by crowds, so quiet moments like this weren’t entirely unwelcome.

More than anything else.

‘It has also been ages since I made a genuine gift.’

Not something crafted merely for show, but an offering prepared to genuinely convey one’s feelings.

Lion dried the glass chestnuts, which now gleamed even more brilliantly with moisture, using a nearby towel.

Right at that moment.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind magic surged from the towel, miraculously evaporating every last droplet of water from the chestnuts’ surfaces in an instant!

『Wind Towel』

* Capable of instantly drying any moisture clinging to a surface!
* Even tears shed by exhausted mages suffering from chronic research fatigue and late nights, homesick for their families…

“……”

It felt as though he were staring directly into the blood, sweat, and tears of the resident researchers.

Lion deliberately forced his gaze away from the wind towel.

Regardless, true to the standard of Magic Tower craftsmanship, the towel had effortlessly handled the washing and drying phases before hanging itself neatly back in its proper place.

Before his current situation, he would have likely tried to pocket it on the spot.

“Well, regardless, this worked out conveniently.”

Inspecting the glass chestnuts, he found them completely dry and perfectly textured.

‘Good.’

The recipe called for an entirely dry ingredient, making this outcome ideal.

Lion immediately reached into his pocket to retrieve the necessary components.

Namely…

Spirit Stones.

“Hehehe…”

Fortunately, there had been a helpful advisory included with the glass chestnuts.

It noted that they would shatter if subjected to conventional cooking methods.

That being the case, wouldn’t it simply require an unconventional, specialized culinary approach?

Roll.

Lion tossed both the glass chestnuts and a water-attribute spirit stone into the pot.

Ordinarily, this would have demanded the assistance of a Salamander or a nature spirit, but by now, his culinary arts and spiritual techniques had advanced to a point where he could manage this much independently.

Naturally, the foundation supporting all of this was…

“Alchemy, of course.”

Lion secured the lid of the pot and ignited a flame beneath it.

Unlike a dedicated research vessel, an alchemy pot required external heating just like this.

‘If I had used a fire-attribute spirit stone directly, it would have blown up.’

A single spirit stone might have been manageable, but containing two opposing elements simultaneously seemed risky.

‘Still, this is ultimately for cooking.’

Even though it was styled after an alchemy pot, replicating its exact internal functions for food would take some time.

“Speaking of which, I really do need to fix my actual pot…”

Ah well, he would be heading home for a single day prior to the Emperor’s birthday celebrations, so he could handle it then.

Bubble bubble.

Fortunately, Lion’s intuition had been spot on.

A rich, savory aroma began to drift from the pot.

It carried a sweetness, but above all else, it possessed the deep, comforting fragrance of premium roasted chestnuts.

“Oh.”

It smelled precisely like the roasted chestnut carts found lining the streets during late autumn or winter.

After a brief interval,

Lion slowly lifted the lid.

Puffs of warm white steam billowed outward…

“They cooked to absolute perfection.”

The glass chestnuts were thoroughly tenderized and split open neatly just like regular chestnuts.

Though, upon closer inspection, there was a subtle difference.

‘The outer shell…’

Lion picked up a chestnut with a gloved hand and rolled it gently.

The exterior, which had originally been hard as glass, had softened into a jelly-like consistency, jiggling plumply under his touch.

“……”

Lion observed the phenomenon intently for a moment.

*Pop.*

He tossed the warm chestnut straight into his mouth and bit down!

“……!”

The initial sensation was, naturally, the warmth.

Following that came the soft, delicately resistant, plump outer layer.

After only a couple of chews, it crumbled and melted away on his tongue just like yanggeng.

Then came the robust fragrance reminiscent of roasted chestnuts, paired with the subtle, natural sweetness radiating from the yellow center!

Without a doubt, even chestnut preserves crafted by a master chef over the span of several days couldn’t rival this flavor.

The inherent quality of the raw ingredients, entirely unassisted by artificial additives, was genuinely astounding.

Gulp.

Lion swallowed the mouthful of chestnut and muttered in deep contemplation.

“……Do I even need honey at this point?”

The original recipe he had mapped out incorporated honey, but the ingredient itself was already more than sweet enough.

“The texture seems pliable enough to shape using just this outer layer as well.”

Having adapted the recipe on the fly within his mind, Lion promptly transferred the hot chestnuts into a deep, rounded bowl and began mashing them down with a muddler.

While the mashing process could easily be accelerated using magical instruments…

Because this was a dish meant to convey genuine sentiment, he preferred to put physical effort into it.

That was precisely why he had chosen this specific confection.

Lion pressed and pulverized the chestnuts before rolling them into smooth spheres with his hands.

Since bare hands weren’t an option, he slipped on a pair of sanitary gloves he had manufactured in his hospital room over the past few days.

He rolled the portions into neat spheres between his palms before tapering the ends into familiar points.

Yes, recreating the exact silhouette of the original chestnuts.

“Still, it turned out resembling Yulan quite well, didn’t it?”

Yulan is a traditional style of Korean confection made by mashing chestnuts.

Typically, it calls for honey, cinnamon, and sesame seeds, but the chestnuts were already sufficiently sweet and savory to render honey entirely optional.

*Swish.*

‘And conveniently, I have something to use in place of cinnamon.’

He pulled out the leftover cookies Elvia had baked, which he had casually grabbed before leaving his room earlier.

Though the human-shaped biscuits wore comical, frowning expressions, they were packed with a rich, buttery fragrance.

Among them, one particular element stood out…

*Crunch.*

‘That distinct cinnamon note.’

Lion broke off half of a cookie and nibbled on it, then finely pulverized the remaining half into a powder.

Sprinkling that dusting over the rounded portion of the chestnut confection…

And just like that, a remarkably adorable little treat was finished!