Chapter 39

Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

That makes sense.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been fishing my heart out, but I haven’t caught a 3-star fish.

I was expecting even a single bite, but there was nothing.

Lion thought it was because his fishing level was low and his fishing rod was old… but it seems that wasn’t the case.

‘So, can I catch that fish with this?’

Lion pondered.

If I were to sell this as is at the Shilling Shop, I could probably get up to 20,000 Shillings by bargaining.

It even includes the fact that it’s bait for a rare grade fish.

But…

Lion gazed at the still lake.

He wondered if a fish caught with such bait would yield good drops.

If so, perhaps the fish bait would be of a higher grade too?

“…Alright.”

Lion picked up the fish bait and walked towards his fishing rod.

The calculation was done.

The immediate value was astronomically high, but he decided not to sell it.

I’m escaping soon anyway. There was no need to buy tools from the Shilling Shop anymore.

‘I don’t need to eat it either.’

A trace amount of mana.

One might say it’s the perfect bait for Lion, who has less than 1st circle mana…

But this wasn’t of much necessity either.

He had gained quite a bit of mana while living in the labyrinth.

Of course, he still hadn’t filled his 1st circle, but it was enough that he could afford to forgo the fish bait.

He decided it was better to do things he couldn’t do outside rather than a little money or a trace amount of mana.

It wasn’t like the probability of catching a fish was 100 percent, but if he didn’t try, the probability would be 0 percent, wouldn’t it?

More than anything.

‘Because this is more fun.’

Lion decided not to chase after money and stats.

He would simply pursue enjoyment.

Thus, Lion baited his hook with the fish bait and cast his fishing rod far.

The line stretched out, reaching deep into the water.

Now, all he had to do was wait for the remaining time.

—

At that time.

“We have two days left.”

Elvia said, looking at Petrick, whose nerves were even more frayed.

“I know.”

Petrick was, quite literally, suffering from a lack of grandson concentration in his blood.

Weakened mind and body.

He didn’t know how an Archmage’s mind and body could become weak, but regardless, Petrick was not in a good state right now.

‘It’s at least less so thanks to Rikschel, that child.’

Elvia recalled Petrick’s younger days.

That is, when he was a father, not a grandfather.

Petrick’s love for his daughter was immense, to the point that…

“The Crown Prince dared to propose to my daughter without knowing his place? I’m going to kill him right now.”

“…”

There was even an instance like this.

In comparison, he was handling the situation quite maturely now.

Although he was making the surrounding vassals miserable.

In any case, in a situation like this, he needed to be cheered up.

Elvia intentionally brought up a different topic.

“I believe we should prepare for your return.”

“For example?”

“Since you must have gone through a lot of hardship, how about renting out an entire luxury hotel? I heard Hotel Easter has become more luxurious after its recent reopening.”

“…That’s not a bad idea.”

If he returned in good health, such extravagance would be well deserved.

No, even buying him a hotel might not be a bad idea.

“Shall I make the arrangements?”

“Yes. And…”

Petrick looked at Elvia.

It was an expression that he had something he wanted to say.

The reason Silvia, now Elvia, had specifically sought out Petrick.

She too, knowingly or unknowingly, had become restless.

“…If you’re worried about the contract, you don’t have to.”

The labyrinth had collapsed.

It was obvious that Silvia’s contract would be even harder to find then.

In other words, she would have to serve the Asteri family until her death.

But Silvia… no, Elvia smiled.

“I’m quite enjoying myself these days.”

Although she regretted losing her freedom, she was spending her days quite enjoyably taking care of the young master, who was always stirring up trouble.

playlists”…Hmm.”

Petrick hesitated, as if he hadn’t intended to say only that, and then closed his mouth.

Petrick knew his grandson well.

Therefore… aside from his worry, he knew the scale of his grandson’s mischief.

A month’s time.

He would certainly not return ordinarily.

He wondered if he might return with ‘that’ in tow.

—

In truth, fishing with just an old fishing rod and a single bait was a ridiculous endeavor.

Fishing surprisingly requires a lot of know-how.

You have to miss a few bites and keep changing the bait.

That’s how you catch even fish that aren’t biting, so if any fishermen saw this, they might think he was the world’s biggest novice.

Indeed, Lion was currently staring at his motionless fishing rod for several hours.

It was silent.

Not even a fish was surfacing with a gulp.

It was as if no living creature resided there.

Or perhaps, like fleeing from a giant predator, the smaller fish weren’t biting.

As the sun set and the moon rose.

Lion continued to stare at his fishing rod, relying on the moonlight on the water and the campfire.

And finally.

A bite came.

It was rather a dull movement.

The rise was small, and the feeling of being hooked was different from other fish, but Lion knew.

This was a big one.

The predator of the lake.

A ‘rare’ grade fish.

It had taken the bait in one bite because it didn’t have to compete with other fish.

It was certain. This vibration, this pull.

His hands, seasoned by countless hours of fishing, keenly sensed the sensation.

‘From here on, there must be no hesitation!’

Lion swung his hand powerfully to set the hook.

Then, he felt something distinctly heavy caught on the hook!

He pulled, released for a moment, and then exerted force again, repeatedly casting, causing ripples to spread across the calm lake…

Flop!

For a moment, a giant tail appeared and disappeared.

Since it was an astonishingly large catch, Lion focused his mind and reeled in the fishing line.

If the line snapped, it would be an unbearable loss.

There was only one chance!

It was… now!

*Whoosh!*

Lion even threw his body back as he pulled the fish from the water onto the surface.

And then, as he dragged it over the lake and onto the ground where he stood…

『The fishing rod’s durability has been completely used.』

『The fishing rod is destroyed.』

The fishing rod vanished without a trace, and.

Simultaneously.

『You have caught the Labyrinth Rainbow Sturgeon (★★★)!』

-It is a rare sturgeon, one of a kind!

-Sturgeon roe is a famous delicacy, but this sturgeon seems to have something else instead of roe.

-Its eyes sparkle like topaz. It undoubtedly holds great value!

The sturgeon flopped on the muddy ground.

“…I caught this?”

If I had a camera, I would want to take a picture.

It was that big, and the harvest was astounding.

“Ah, now’s not the time.”

Lion quickly dismantled the sturgeon, placed it in a pot, and extracted the essence.

『Labyrinth Sturgeon Essence (★★★)』

『Labyrinth Sturgeon Fish Eye (★★★)』

As expected, a high-grade essence and jewel eye were obtained.

3-star.

Lion immediately replaced the essence of the carp he had caught earlier with the sturgeon essence, added the fish eye last, and quickly covered the pot.

The lid rattled with even greater force than before, and the duration was longer.

An hour passed.

Two hours passed.

…It was around dawn when the commotion subsided.

Lion, just in case, waited a little longer before opening the pot.

Like before, cloud-like steam rose, and above it…

Lightning crackled.

It was a vibrantly colored lightning, like a rainbow.

『Alchemist’s Rainbow Fish Bait (★★★)』

-It far surpasses the skill of a master alchemist!

-Made with ingredients unseen anywhere in the world, it has immense value. Consuming it permanently increases your mana by a significant amount of high purity!

-You could probably chew and swallow this. Of course, it’s possible, but not recommended.

-Additional Effect: Extends underwater breathing by 1 minute.

-Sale Price: 50,000 Shillings.

『Usage: Finished Product.』

『Alchemy Proficiency Lv. 2 has been achieved.』

“…Wow.”

He did it!

Lion gazed at the bait, which was transparent and shimmered with various colors like an opal.

In fact, it was smaller than before.

Perhaps about the size of a normal pill.

But it stated that consuming it would give ‘high purity mana.’

Until now, it was just mana.

Moreover, 50,000 Shillings was as good as a guarantee of its effectiveness.

‘This…’

I can’t *not* eat this, can I?

Lion popped the bait into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

Gulp!

The moment the bait went down his throat…

*Whoosh.*

Wind swirled around Lion’s body.

The mana circle in his heart began to swirl rapidly, accepting the new mana.

He felt an immense surge of energy from his body.

It felt like the vitality and power of the fish were entering his mana circle directly.

Lion didn’t resist the feeling of his body becoming lighter and concentrated solely on storing the new mana in his mana circle.

After quite some time had passed.

『Your Mana Circle is now full.』

『You have mastered the 1st Circle.』

『You have acquired 3 Basic Magic spells.』

『You cannot open a new circle at this time.』

『Unrefined mana will be automatically discharged.』

His 1st circle was full, and at the same time.

『Labyrinth Restoration is complete.』

『You can now freely exit.』

『The labyrinth, modified by the current master’s will, will remain as is.』

『The current master of the labyrinth is Lion Asteri.』

Finally, the long month had ended, and the time for escape had arrived.

Moreover, he had been told that the hut he had diligently built would remain even if he left and returned, so there was no worry about coming back.

Lion packed a simple bag and headed for the magic circle without hesitation.

『An item requiring master’s confirmation was found during restoration.』

『This item is not registered as property.』

“Hmm?”

It wasn’t registered as property?

Lion caught the object that fell from the sky.

“This is…”

It was parchment.

Lion opened it and examined the contents.

“…It’s not treasure?”

It was more like a contract.

Lion examined the writing more closely and soon identified its true nature.

It was a contract between Silvia and the previous Family Head.

“…So that’s what happened?”

He had suspected that Silvia… no, Elvia’s true identity was unusual, but he never imagined it would contain something like this.

A subordination formed in place of death.

Naturally, the terms were quite unfair.

It prohibited the use of magic above a certain circle, required daily transformation according to human aging, and stipulated the faithful performance of servant duties.

It also stated that breaking the terms of the contract would result in severe disadvantages.

The only thing Silvia gained was a single line.

-You can live as a human in the Asteri family.

There were no detailed clauses, just that one line.

After all, witches were treated as monsters.

…In any case, for some reason, it had been lost in the labyrinth, and since it wasn’t registered as property, no one could find it.

“I’ll take this with me.”

Lion unhesitatingly tucked the parchment into his clothes.

With that, after the final check, Lion stepped onto the magic circle.

“It’s time to go back.”

Life in the labyrinth wasn’t bad, of course.

But going out means hardship, doesn’t it?

He wanted to go back to his warm home quickly.