Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing

“Ziii—”

The exchange of glances did not last long.

As soon as Leon raised his hand in a light greeting, the children hiding nearby came running out.

“Hyung! What’s your name? I’m the Golden Branch!”

“I’m the Jade Leaf!”

The two siblings introduced themselves with wide grins.

“Hyung, did you fix the spirit?”

“Are you a doctor?”

“I’m not a doctor.”

“Then are you a pharmacist?”

“I’m not a pharmacist either.”

“Then what are you?”

“A wannabe unemployed person.”

The children burst into laughter at the same time and fired off more questions.

It was natural for kids their age to be full of curiosity.

Leon found it amusing, but Mudu’s wife was alarmed and quickly pulled the children away from him.

“Oh dear, kids! Go play over there! You’re bothering the young master!”

“His name must be Young Master!”

“Young Master!”

“You can just call me Leon.”

“But ‘Young Master’ sounds cooler!”

“Yeah! We’ll just call you Young Master!”

“Haha, sure.”

It had been so long since he had been around children that it felt a little awkward, but not unpleasant.

This peaceful moment.

A simple home with a gentle breeze blowing and warm sunlight streaming in—it naturally put him at ease.

And honestly, watching these tiny little things chatter away was kind of cute.

“Sigh, go on and play already. And no running in the house!”

Even at their mother’s scolding, the girl with twin braids, Jade Leaf, stubbornly clung to Leon’s side.

“Thank you! Daddy was so happy!”

“He was laughing just now and even gave us airplane rides!”

Apparently, Mudu was more of a family man than Leon had expected.

Given how he constantly yelled in the forge, Leon had assumed he was the same at home.

But seeing the children’s bright and cheerful nature, it made sense that their father was different at home.

Looking at them, Leon suddenly thought of his younger sibling.

That is, his biological younger sibling— Richel Asteria.

‘If I remember correctly, he was pretty prickly.’

A boy who looked exactly like Patrick. Expressionless, cold, obsessed with achievements.

‘And above all, he didn’t seem to like me very much.’

Well, it’s not like they were little kids anymore. As long as they didn’t run into each other, there wouldn’t be a problem.

While Leon was lost in thought, Mudu’s wife finally managed to shoo the children outside.

But then…

Splat!

The two of them pressed their faces against the window, watching from outside.

Their chubby cheeks and noses flattened against the glass, leaving imprints.

“Oh my… I’m so sorry, Young Master. The kids are just so energetic… Oh, my name is Lea, by the way.”

Lea, who had placed a bowl of mushroom soup and boiled potatoes in front of Leon, bowed apologetically.

“Really, I don’t know how to repay this kindness…”

“It’s fine. You gave me a place to rest, so that’s enough.”

Besides, Mudu would surely repay the favor in his own way.

Leon answered nonchalantly and took a sip of the soup.

There wasn’t even a pinch of pepper, but it was still quite good.

“Oh my, how can you be so kind…”

It seemed Lea was unaware of a certain fact.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Just as Leon was finishing his soup and potatoes, the door burst open, and Mudu entered.

“Geez, you’re so fragile, yet you overexert yourself…”

“Apparently, I did.”

“Overexert?”

Mudu had the two children clinging to his sides like ornaments. His face was smudged with soot, probably from stopping by the forge.

“Ahem. Anyway, now that you’re up and have eaten, let’s go. Everything’s ready.”

And so, when they arrived at the forge…

Leon realized what Mudu had been preparing.

Unlike the previous day, the forge was empty. A new counter had appeared.

A sign read: “Leon Asteria Exclusive.”

“What’s this?”

“I told you, right? I’ll always prioritize your requests. If we’re both busy, just write down what you need there, and I’ll make it and deliver it to you. But that’s not the important part. Come on in further.”

Leaving the exclusive counter behind, Leon followed Mudu inside the forge, where piles of refined iron awaited him.

“Judging by your stamina, you’d get sick if you started from smelting, so I prepared the materials in advance.”

Leon picked up one of the iron ingots and examined it.

[Iron Crafted by a Descendant of the Dwarves]

-Refined from iron ore, making it easier to use.

-Sturdy and durable.

-A reliable base material.

[Usage: Blacksmithing]

[☞ Click to view recipe.]

Mudu had prepared everything.

‘He’s really going all out.’

Perhaps noticing the look on Leon’s face, Mudu crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

“What? You weren’t just planning to copy a few techniques and call it quits, were you?”

This was an opportunity to learn from none other than the Hundred-Millionth Mudu!

His words carried weight.

To be honest, Leon hadn’t expected Mudu to teach him this thoroughly.

‘It’s a craftsman’s skill, after all.’

If he were in Mudu’s position, he probably wouldn’t want to share the techniques so easily.

‘Not like I plan on becoming a blacksmith anyway.’

As an Asteria family member, Leon had no need to learn blacksmithing to survive, nor did he have a burning passion for it.

Yet, Mudu was still willing to pass on his craft.

Well, in that case, Leon would gladly accept.

“Of course not. I’m ready to learn.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Doing Everything with Passion!

Mudu really liked Leon’s attitude.

At first, he thought Leon was just some weirdo hanging around. But after seeing with his own eyes that Leon could see spirits and even restore vitality, he couldn’t just brush it off as mere rumors.

“Alright, let me show you a demonstration first.”

Mudu immediately pushed the iron into the roaring flames.

“The temperature of the iron is crucial. It’s not enough for it to just turn red. But if you melt it too much, it’ll just turn into molten metal.”

Unlike the previous days, the fire blazed stronger than ever.

The iron quickly heated up, turning red, then yellow, and right before it shone with a white glow—

Mudu grabbed the iron with tongs and took it to the anvil, striking it at a steady pace.

Clang! Clang!

With just a few hammer strikes, the iron began to take the shape of a hoe.

“Controlling your strength here is important. The blade needs to be thin, but the rest must be thick and sturdy.”

Once the basic shape was formed, Mudu carefully refined it, sharpening the blade with a whetstone.

Finally, after attaching the handle to the hoe…

“What do you think? Pretty easy, right?”

Any normal person would have immediately said, “How is this easy?”

Anticipating that response, Mudu added,

“Hahaha! Yeah, it’s not actually that easy. But don’t worry! This Millionth Mudu is here to help you…”

“Can I use all this iron?”

Leon’s response was unexpected.

“Huh? Well, yeah. I prepared it for practice, so go ahead.”

“Alright. Got it.”

…Got what, exactly?

Before Mudu could ask, Leon dumped all the iron into the forge.

And then—

Clang! Clang!

Without stopping, he began forging.

Of course, most of the iron either crumpled into shapeless masses or cooled down before it could even be worked on.

All failures.

But even so, Leon didn’t stop.

His hand trembled from gripping the tongs, and he kept dropping the hammer due to the recoil—yet he continued striking.

“Hey…”

Clang!

“Do you need me to…”

Clang!

“…Never mind. You crazy bastard.”

Mudu clicked his tongue. That level of focus was unbelievable.

At first, it just seemed like he was randomly hammering away, but before long, he was improving—learning the technique.

And oddly enough…

He seemed to enjoy it.

“Damn.”

To Mudu’s eyes, Leon’s passion seemed reckless yet romantic.

“Ah, youth. Such youth.”

It’s the essence of being able to do anything.

Sometimes, it leads to recklessness and failure, but they always get back up.

That’s what youth is…

“Heh, looks like I’m learning something today.”

Instead of stopping Leon, Mudu simply stepped back and assisted him.

When the forge ran low on iron, he refilled it.

When unusable scraps piled up, he cleaned them away.

And as time passed…

…!

At some point, Leon’s movements changed.

His hammer strikes became steady.

His grip on the tongs stopped shaking.

And his control over strength…

Mudu’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Then—

A grin appeared on Leon’s face.

“Finally!”

Blacksmithing wasn’t easy.

[Unfinished Hoe – Unrecoverable]

-Oh dear, you’ll have to melt this one down again.

Even though he hadn’t completed a single decent tool yet, he kept failing and trying again.

[Unfinished Hoe – 15%]

-It’s uncertain whether this hoe will ever be completed.

But Leon didn’t stop.

Because he knew.

If he repeated the process enough times, he would eventually succeed.

[Unfinished Hoe – 40%]

-This hoe is still incomplete, but it could be usable once finished.

Yes. Just like this.

Leon tightened his trembling grip on the hammer and swung it again.

His body ached from exhaustion.

Yet he refused to let go of the excitement.

Every time the glowing-hot iron met the hammer, sparks flew, and the heat burned against his skin.

Before the previous sparks even faded, new ones burst forth, while cooled iron dust crumbled away.

[Unfinished Hoe – 52%]

-This hoe is still incomplete, but it could be usable once finished.

Many failures piled up.

Only a few showed promise.

And when Leon finally dropped the hammer—

[★Unfinished Hoe – 50%]

-This could turn out to be a fine hoe.

At last, one worthy hoe emerged.

At the same time—

[Despite countless failures, you have unlocked a new talent!]

[New Talent: Blacksmith]

[Blacksmithing Proficiency – Apprentice Lv.1]

Leon had finally obtained the Blacksmith talent.

“That one! Try finishing that one!”

Even Mudu, who had been watching intently, could tell—this one was different from the others.

Leon immediately started working on the final touches.

Now that he had the Blacksmith talent, everything felt natural.

He sharpened the blade.

Attached the handle.

[★Asterize Hoe – 100%]

-A masterpiece from a beginner blacksmith.

-Harvesting speed increased.

-Higher-grade herbs are more likely to appear.

-Infused with the energy of the Fire Spirit.

“It’s done!”

“You crazy bastard! You actually did it!”

“Looks pretty decent, huh?”

Mudu jumped up with excitement.

“Decent?! This is better than what most professional blacksmiths make!”

Sure, the fire’s strength played a role, but this was purely a matter of talent!

“Really?”

“Really! So you should be proud—”

“Now teach me how to make a sickle.”

At those words, even Mudu was left speechless.

He could barely stand—where was this energy coming from?!

“Hahahaha! You’re insane! Fine, you crazy—no, you madman! I’ll teach you everything!”

Laughing loudly, Mudu forged sickles with Leon deep into the night.

And by dawn—

“Thanks for everything, Mudu.”

“Thanks for everything, Mudu.”

“Don’t mention it. It was fun.”

A strange friendship had formed between them.

Now that the hoe and sickle were ready, it was time to head back to the mountains.

“For Grandpa’s love!”

…Of course, Leon still hadn’t realized the full truth behind it all.