Chapter 54

Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

“Th-this!”

Who was trying to plagiarize anything?

Besides, how on earth had he figured out that the work was stolen?

She had even taken care to disguise her theft by applying subtle alterations…!

Lion Asteri.

He truly proved to be a far more dangerous alchemist than she had initially calculated.

“I cannot allow this to continue.”

Turning away from the brewing results that bore dismal marks, Freya shifted her attention to the stack of dossiers resting nearby.

These were the intelligence files compiled during the comprehensive background check on Lion Asteri.

Rustle!

Every detail concerning Lion Asteri had been painstakingly cataloged both before and after his Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

“Hmm?”

“Is… is something amiss?”

The Information Guild executive inquired in a hushed tone, offering a nervous glance.

“….”

Without a word of reply, Freya flipped to the next leaf.

‘This details simply do not align.’

Just to be thorough, she had cross-referenced every scrap of data obtainable through both underground networks and the Information Guild.

Yet, discrepancies remained.

The records spanning the previous month felt peculiarly altered.

‘A deliberate smokescreen.’

Rumor had it that the Asteri Family had retreated into isolation following Lion Asteri’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

Could that explain the gaps?

‘To uncover the truth about him, I must dig into older archives.’

Freya cared nothing for the Asteri Family as a whole.

Her focus rested solely on Lion Asteri!

What did the rest of them matter to her?

“Do you have records predating this period?”

“B-before this, you mean…”

Hesitantly, the guild executive reached into his pocket and produced another thick roll of parchment.

“We do possess some, though the historical records are rather sparse…”

“Hand them over.”

“Yes, milady.”

Snatching the documents directly from the executive’s grip, Freya scanned the pages.

Indeed, the information proved far more meager.

He had either remained confined within the estate or occasionally ventured out to the nearby settlement.

A blacksmith?

That too seemed entirely irrelevant.

And then her eyes landed on a specific entry…

“Mimir Forest?”

“Indeed. It is a wooded area situated close to the Asteri Estate.”

“Hmm.”

A forest.

Simply a forest.

A faint smile touched the corners of Freya’s mouth.

“Of course. Why did that possibility not occur to me sooner?”

This was the answer.

‘Right, I can simply seek him out in person!’

Mimir Forest.

She would go there herself.

—

Pulling the brim of her conical hat low, Freya kept a wary watch on her surroundings.

It had been ages since she last ventured outdoors unaccompanied, let alone deep into a woodland devoid of any escorts.

For a half-elf to feel out of place in a forest might seem absurd, but what choice did she have?

Having spent her entire life immersed in the upper echelons of the underworld ever since she was old enough to comprehend her surroundings, her existence stood worlds apart from nature and trees.

Perhaps that explained the sensation…

This particular Mimir Forest.

‘It radiates an intensely unsettling aura.’

A thick canopy of branches and leaves blocked out the sunlight, casting the pathways into deep, oppressive shadows.

Though reason told her massive predators did not roam here, an intrinsic chill made her instinctively shrink back.

‘It feels as though someone is observing my every move.’

Who could possibly be lurking in such a place? Yet, the biting cold persisted along her spine.

As she pressed deeper into the interior, the ambient temperature seemed to plummet further.

“Wh-who goes there? Is anyone present…?”

Freya muttered aloud, entirely abandoning her initial intentions of stealth.

“….”

The forest offered no reply, remaining dead silent.

“Th-that is correct! There is nobody here.”

Exhaling a shaky breath, Freya cautiously navigated toward the heart of the woodland.

Then.

“….”

Elvia, who had been tracking Freya’s movements from the shadows, watched as her eyes glowed like faint wisps of fire before gradually dimming.

—

By the time she reached the central clearing where Lion Asteri was frequently spotted.

Swish!

“Eek!”

Something darted past her field of vision at incredible speed.

It appeared to be a flying entity…

Surely it was not some monstrous insect?

‘Abhorrent!’

Why on earth did Lion Asteri have to frequent a place like this! What madness brought him here!

“Ugh…”

Clenching her fists tightly, Freya forced herself to advance deeper into the undergrowth, step by hesitant step.

The vegetation grew thicker, and gnarled roots broke through the soil surface in jagged formations.

Sssshk-

Sssshk-

An eerie sound drifted to Freya’s pointed ears.

“Eek…!”

Instinctively, Freya pressed her back against the trunk of a broad tree for cover.

Thump-thump.

Hadn’t the reports stated there were no large beasts?

Did that rhythmic scraping not sound precisely like the claws of a massive creature!

Could it perhaps be a familial beast tasked with guarding Lion Asteri?

‘It remains a distinct possibility.’

If that proved true, remaining entirely undetected was her only option.

Holding her breath, Freya peered cautiously around the edge of the tree trunk.

And what met her eyes…

A colossal beast reared by the Asteri household… No…

Wait.

Sssshk- Sssshk-

Pop!

“Phew! It has been quite some time since I last harvested one of these!”

“….”

That was no beast.

It was not a beast at all, but rather…

‘Lion Asteri?’

Armed with a small hoe and a sickle, Lion Asteri was quietly digging up vegetation from the soil.

Anger failed to materialize.

She was simply left in a state of profound bewilderment.

She had journeyed to Mimir Forest anticipating some grand mystery.

Naturally assuming he maintained a hidden private laboratory, she had never in her wildest dreams pictured him kneeling in the dirt to farm weeds.

In this gloomy wilderness, chuckling quietly to himself!

And he was the esteemed eldest grandson of the Asteri lineage.

‘It is not as though he lacks the means to acquire quality components, so why subject himself to manual labor out here?’

Even though she was trespassing in secret, an intense urge arose to confront him directly.

What is the meaning of this!

Her startled heart brimmed with lingering resentment.

However, at that moment.

“Oh, another one resides over here.”

“These specimens have developed quite significantly already?”

“….”

…He genuinely appeared delighted?

Stepping out from her hiding spot behind the tree, Freya revealed herself.

She wanted to witness what expression he would wear upon discovering her presence.

It felt as though remaining concealed would result in him ignoring her indefinitely…

“….”

Glance, flick.

Lion cast a casual look toward Freya, then immediately dismissed her and returned to his task.

“Huh?”

It was not a deliberate snub; rather, he simply displayed an utter lack of interest.

Merely the reaction one might give to spotting a squirrel darting through the trees.

The exact same level of indifference.

Utterly flabbergasted, Freya took the initiative to speak.

“Hey. Do you realize who I am?”

“Do you realize who I am?”

“Ah, you?”

Admitting recognition aloud would only complicate matters for her.

Very well. From this moment onward, she knew nothing.

She was entirely unacquainted with Lion Asteri.

“….”

Following that brief exchange, Lion resumed his work without missing a beat.

He continued unearthing medicinal roots and gathering wild berries.

With only one minor difference.

Perhaps his pace had slackened just enough for her to observe and mimic his motions?

‘C-could it be that he intends to pass down a secret technique?’

Whatever reason brought him to this remote spot, was he perhaps demonstrating his clandestine methods as a gesture of consideration toward her?

Indeed, the dossiers on Lion Asteri described his temperament as remarkably gentle, making such a scenario plausible!

‘Heh heh! Excellent! I shall absorb every drop of knowledge available!’

Seizing the chance, Freya diligently mirrored Lion’s actions.

She attempted to unearth rosemary using the small hoe she had brought along, and even plucked stems resembling wild sweet potatoes.

Given her half-elf heritage, she possessed a respectable affinity for handling flora.

‘Do these not look nearly identical?’

Naturally, with only minor flaws!

Aside from a few truncated roots and tattered stems, externally her harvest bore a strong resemblance to the items Lion Asteri had collected.

Above all else, however!

‘What connection does any of this possess with true alchemy?’

The nagging suspicion that she was wasting precious hours never truly faded.

If ingredient freshness held such paramount importance, would establishing direct contracts with professional foragers not prove far more efficient?

That approach would guarantee superior materials without requiring arduous physical labor.

Would the potency of a crafted potion genuinely shift simply because an alchemist personally gathered the raw components?

“Hmph.”

Surely he was not engaging in this tedious labor purely as a ploy to exhaust and drive her away?

Soon enough, Freya’s patience wore thin.

The process was excruciatingly dull.

Freya’s sole passion remained the art of alchemy.

‘Still, since Lion Asteri appears invested, I shall endure a little longer.’

One hour drifted by in such a fashion.

Then two hours.

…

“Why refuse to yield from the soil!”

“Ah! Secured at last!”

And thus, a week slipped away.

“This represents the proper technique for extraction!”

“Phew! My aching spine!”

…Before she realized it, three additional days had passed, bringing the total to ten.

“Huh?”

This felt distinctly abnormal.

Why had she spent ten consecutive days unearthing roots like a common laborer?

She, Freya, acknowledged as a prodigy alchemist of the underworld?

“N-nngh!”

Thump!

Finally, on the tenth day, Freya slammed her bundle of gathered herbs directly onto the ground.

The carefully cultivated plants scattered haphazardly across the forest floor.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

‘Indeed. Th-that individual must have orchestrated this.’

Otherwise, no logical explanation existed for Freya spending her days tearing weeds from the earth.

Lion Asteri! What have you subjected me to!

Crash!

Dropping her gardening tool onto the earth, Freya pointed an accusing finger straight at Lion!

“Y-you! What mischief have you wrought upon me!”

“….?”

Lion turned his gaze toward the half-elf, whose distinct ears protruded from beneath her conical hat while her face burned a fiery crimson.

More accurately, his attention drifted to the valuable herbs she had just discarded and scattered across the dirt.

‘Such a waste, yet those specimens remain entirely usable…’

Why subject oneself to the effort of foraging only to cast the results aside in such a manner?

Once dropped carelessly onto the forest floor like that, their market value plummeted instantly.

Which equated to a direct loss of quality stars.

“Such a regrettable loss.”

Granted, those specific plants lacked any established star ratings, yet the principle remained.

Would they not be categorized as ‘compromised’ following such rough treatment?

-Aqua Rosemary (Mashed)

Wince.

Hearing Lion’s muttered observation left Freya blinking in utter confusion.

‘H-he spoke?’

Throughout the extended hours spent here, Lion had not uttered a single audible word.

Aside from his internal thoughts, naturally.

Even while Freya labored diligently by his side.

Even when she fumed in frustration over her repeated errors.

He had never offered remarks such as “You have returned today” or “Shall we forage together.”

“….”

An unbidden shiver ran down her spine.

Perhaps because the individual who had maintained absolute indifference finally reacted, only to witness a blunder?

Under normal circumstances, she would have loudly protested against any implied criticism, but having observed Lion’s meticulous handling of herbs over the past ten days, such arrogance failed her.

“Th-that…”

Should she perhaps retrieve the scattered plants from the ground immediately?

While she hesitated, Lion Asteri approached with measured, heavy footsteps.

Then.

Sshhk.

Bending down, he retrieved the hoe Freya had discarded and proceeded to brush the soil from its blade.

The dirt clinging to the metal was tapped away, and the stained wooden handle was briskly wiped against his own attire.

“Unfortunate… hmm.”

His silent disapproval proved far more intimidating than any outburst of anger would have been.

She felt akin to a child caught misbehaving without justification.

Gulp.

Swallowing hard, she cast a nervous, sidelong glance.

Surely her error had not been that monumental, she reasoned internally, yet…

‘It carried the weight of a severe miscalculation…’

She engaged in a moment of quiet self-reflection.

Yielding to a tantrum as per her usual habits had been a distinct error in judgment.

“Pardon me…”

Placing the hoe back into its empty receptacle, Lion handed the tool back to Freya and finally broke his silence.

“Resume harvesting.”

“Yes, milady.”

Instinctively adopting a polite register, Freya bent down to collect the scattered herbs once more.