Chapter 289

Chapter 289
Chapter 289

Lion’s eyes widened; he brushed the dirt from his gloves and took a brisk step forward.

“Wait, what are you doing here?”

“My father received an invitation, so I came along.”

Peter looked so drastically altered that Lion nearly failed to recognize him at first glance. Where the boy had once been skeletal and hollow-cheeked from avoiding the sponsors’ meals, his build now displayed the healthy plumpness typical of his age, and his attire matched the pristine elegance of any young aristocrat.

*More than anything else…*

Lion smiled broadly at the casual remark Peter had just made.

“Mr. Ferguson must be treating you quite well.”

“The constant fussing gets a bit old, but… I suppose so.”

Peter rolled his eyes, scuffing the dirt with his shoe tip for no apparent reason.

*He’s actually cherished.*

Both his facial expressions and his tone of voice carried a warmth entirely absent in the past, offering a clear glimpse into the genuine care the Fergusons poured into raising him.

“By the way, Big Brother, what on earth are you up to out here?”

“Hmm? Oh, you know—just doing some digging.”

Faced with that unashamed reply, Peter closed his mouth. Well, Lion had always been uniquely eccentric. After all, this was the same person who had once shown up at the orphanage wearing a disguise with ordinary hair and eyes just to volunteer.

*That bread was genuinely amazing, though.*

The fruit that followed had tasted just as wonderful, and Peter had truly cherished the various toys Lion occasionally sent over. On top of that, whenever Lion had a spare moment, he visited the orphanage remarkably often, always arriving with his hands loaded down with fresh food. He used to claim he had reached some mysterious level of mastery where cooking massive quantities was effortless, and letting them go to waste would be a shame.

Now that Peter was no longer living in poverty, he understood it completely. People who possessed even a sliver of breathing room felt no hesitation about discarding such trivial amounts. *He mentioned once that, to certain individuals, the time spent pondering how to get rid of surplus items was far more valuable.* The higher a person’s fortune and status soared, the greater that ratio became. His adoptive parents, who never grew tired of performing charitable acts, had echoed the exact same sentiment.

Thus, when Peter finally discovered Lion’s true identity, he had been utterly thunderstruck—especially upon realizing that Lion had quietly assisted the orphanage in countless other ways he had never known about.

“Why are you digging anyway? Are you whipping up another project?”

“Mm, something like that.”

As Lion squatted back down beside the excavation site, Peter dropped down right next to him, inspecting the soil with half-closed eyes. The dirt looked high in quality, yet entirely ordinary. Compared to the earth back at the orphanage, the only noticeable distinction was the total absence of bugs. Still, couldn’t House Asteri easily acquire dirt of this caliber whenever they wanted?

“You really are a strange older brother.”

“What? Hahaha.”

Lion burst into a hearty laugh at Peter’s thoroughly bewildered murmur. Only Peter noticed how the nearby bystanders twitched at the sound and quickly backed away—though he didn’t care.

*It isn’t as though I’ll ever need to cozy up to nobles.*

His parents had assured him he didn’t even have to try, telling him to ignore them entirely unless he happened to click with someone specific. But in the first place, Peter had just a single objective: to see Lion again. And besides…

“There has to be a specific reason my parents and I were invited here.”

Peter was remarkably clever and sharp for his years, possessing a clear and analytical mind. No matter how expansive his father’s trading enterprise was, Peter knew it wasn’t enough to warrant an explicit invitation to the Emperor’s birthday gala. *Even stretching the imagination, that is an event my father would ordinarily attend alone.* Yet the summons had been delivered to their entire household, implying that someone behind the scenes had pulled invisible strings. Still, that was the absolute limit of what his current knowledge could deduce.

While he was wrestling with that quiet inkling of unease, someone had approached him directly—Lion’s younger brother, the official heir of House Asteri, Lord Rickshel Asteri.

*”It has been a while. I assume you know who I am.”*

*”I have a favor to ask of you.”*

Pressured by a hectic schedule, the heir had delivered a single, concise request and vanished just as quickly. And that exact task was—

“Did Rickshel ask you to keep an eye on me and stop me if I do anything weird?”

“…!”

Peter jumped nearly out of his skin, stumbling backward in a panic. “How on earth did you figure that out? I thought that was supposed to be kept strictly confidential.”

“Oh, come on. I just have a hunch.”

Realistically speaking, who else could have possibly arranged for Peter to attend this event? It clearly served a dual purpose: a surprise reunion and a subtle babysitter.

*Honestly, this is getting ridiculous…*

First nature, and now Peter. It was glaringly obvious that his family was orchestrating something massive behind his back. He had intended to play dumb and pretend to remain oblivious for as long as possible, but circumstances made that difficult.

*House Lepisent is almost certainly just a diversion.* Not that the chaos they planned to stir up would be fake, but given the formidable intelligence networks wielded by House Asteri and the criminal underworld, how could they possibly miss it? The underlying strategy was to exploit the situation to drive the Lepisent faction straight to their doom while managing House Asteri’s internal affairs under the cover of the uproar. And if it was a matter that House Asteri needed to handle in total secrecy… *It has to involve the Hero.*

To deal with that threat, they first needed to neutralize Lion’s ongoing contamination. If his deductions stretched this far, Peter’s presence here made complete sense. Even so—

“The fact that the Archbishop left him alone in all this is deeply suspicious.”

Peter held a faint trace of divine power, making him undeniably tied to the Temple. If the Archbishop had truly wished to intervene, he could easily have prevented Lion and Peter from crossing paths. *He certainly would have realized that our side intentionally brought Peter here.* While the previous incident involving the depletion of holy power might have made it politically awkward for the Archbishop to meddle with Peter directly, the religious leader simply did not possess that kind of luxury right now. Therefore, his inaction meant he had deliberately permitted Peter to attend.

*Just as I thought—he wants to lead me right into his trap.* An ambush the Archbishop had meticulously prepared in plain sight.

“I—I’m going to do whatever you say, Big Brother.”

“Hm?”

Interrupted mid-thought, Lion blinked as Peter suddenly blurted out the declaration—likely because Lion had just questioned whether Rickshel had given him instructions.

“I know the Heir probably didn’t mean it maliciously, since you tend to act like an untamed foal sometimes, Big Brother.”

“Ouch… that honestly hurts.”

Children possessed a terrifying talent for striking straight to the heart with blunt honesty. Fair enough; Lion conceded the point. He did occasionally behave like a man whose brakes had completely failed. There was always a valid objective behind his actions, and he acted with the confidence of his sturdy safety nets, but he understood how reckless it looked to everyone else.

“I—I mean, there’s always a good reason for it.” And because every single one of those reckless stunts ultimately served a righteous purpose, he felt too embarrassed to voice the sentiment aloud.

Peter vividly remembered that day: how Lion had pressed the freshly baked bread against his chest to shield it from the chill, waiting patiently until Peter’s guarded heart finally opened up. Swallowing hard, Peter lowered his tone to a faint whisper.

“When the treasure hunt begins, I will guide you.”

“To where?”

“A—aren’t you searching for a location saturated with divine power?”

Lion let out an awkward chuckle. That happened to be entirely correct, but…

“You’re going to get severely scolded if you do that.”

“I only have to endure getting scolded once. But it feels like you’re the one about to lose something irreplaceable.”

“Can you really be that certain?”

Peter nodded firmly without a hint of hesitation. “Because I have never once seen you do a bad thing, Big Brother.”

“Hm…”

Confronted by Peter’s unwavering faith, Lion found himself entirely speechless. Where was he even supposed to start? Part of him felt deeply touched by the boy’s high opinion, while another part wanted to lecture the kid that trusting people so blindly would inevitably get him scammed once he grew up.

“Shall I take you up on that favor, then?”

“…! Really? Then I’ll meet you during the treasure hunt shortly.”

Yet Lion’s own circumstances left him precious little leisure time, though one fact remained absolute: *Peter will not be put in harm’s way.* Desperate as the Archbishop was to manipulate people, he wasn’t the type to treat them as disposable tools—not yet, at least. Especially since Peter was a young priest the Archbishop deeply valued as the very first child Licht had ever saved. From the religious leader’s perspective, the emotional attachment ran far deeper.

*Still, the fact that he can already sense the precise coordinates of divine power…*

People had explicitly stated that Peter’s innate holy power wasn’t particularly potent—a fact verified before God’s Flame, meaning it had to be accurate. Yet in an environment this densely packed and chaotic, he could pinpoint divine power instantly? A priest’s holy capacity was not a metric that could be artificially inflated by consuming buffs or potions. *His potential for growth must be exponentially greater than anyone ever imagined.*

—If you’re this curious, why don’t you just check for yourself? You certainly possess the capability.

Lion gave his head a subtle shake, just enough for Tiamatrak to register. As she pointed out, activating his Expert’s Eye would easily reveal Peter’s true talent. But—*What good would that knowledge do me, and why would I burden him with it?* It would only serve as an obstacle to Peter’s peaceful life. *He can discover it naturally when he’s older.* By then, he would possess the autonomy to choose his own path.

“Well then, until the treasure hunt officially kicks off, shall we do a bit of harvesting?”

“Ppyuu…”

“Kiiiing…”

Hey, since my hands are already dirty, a bit of casual farming sounds therapeutic, doesn’t it? The Empress’s Garden was bound to be completely uprooted and transformed before long anyway. This cloying floral fragrance and every single flawless, pest-free blossom were destined to vanish entirely. *Better to recycle them while I still have the chance.* The plants hadn’t committed any sins, after all. Hahaha.

Disregarding the curious stares directed his way, Lion industriously gathered the blooms and tucked them neatly into his inventory. He even scored an unexpected bonus item:

[Chives]

-Cultivated within an exquisitely regulated greenhouse, though the flower buds failed to blossom properly.

-As a result, the stalks appear exceptionally packed with nutrients!

[Usage: Cooking]

[Click to view recipe.]

“Oh.” He had inadvertently acquired the primary ingredients for chive pancakes.

“Nature. I’ll whip you up a nice snack with these later, so cheer up.”

“Grrrr…”

“And as for you, little fox…”

Do foxes even eat chives?

“Kiing!”

Wait, was this creature starting to pick up attitude traits from Nature? How did it manage to lodge a complaint the exact second Lion entertained the thought?

“Fine, fine. You get some too.”

Demonic beasts weren’t picky eaters, anyway. They belonged to a species capable of swallowing raw magic stones that would instantly kill an ordinary human. Regardless, while Lion reaped satisfying farming rewards, dusk began to blanket the sky, and the long-awaited time for the treasure hunt finally arrived.

“The time limit lasts until the sun completely dips below the horizon. The treasures are hidden strictly within the garden grounds, so we kindly ask all guardians to keep a close watch on our young participants.”

“And—begin!”

A lively voice signaled the start, prompting companions, children, and aristocrats pretending to remain indifferent while brimming with suppressed excitement to scatter toward likely hiding spots.

And then…

Nod.

Alongside Peter, Lion strode directly toward the zone where divine power pulsed.

*Well, well.*

The closer they drew, the sharper a cold sneer settled across Lion’s lips. He had anticipated it, but still… *Right in the absolute center of the garden.* Evidence had been deliberately left in a spot where every single attendee could witness the spectacle unfold. Furthermore, Peter’s inclusion had been intentionally approved precisely so Lion would have no way of missing the holy signature.

*It appears the blow he suffered at the Great Barrier truly rattled him to his core.* And that was before the real conflict had even begun.

“Peter. I’ll search this sector. You head over there.”

“Understood. Make sure to check carefully between those flower beds.”

Following Lion’s instructions, Peter nodded and briskly trotted off in the opposite direction. Once Lion confirmed that Peter was safely out of range, he reached out toward the source of holy energy glowing right before his eyes. Digging his fingers into the neatly smoothed mound of earth, his grip closed around an object buried beneath.

And pulled it out to reveal:

[Token of the Eternal Flame]

An artifact Lion instantly recognized. This had belonged to the former Archbishop—ranking among the most crucial relics the Saintess had originally entrusted to the Hero.