Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 103

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Successor? I’m Just Here to Relax — Episode 103

The young apprentice servant found himself at a crossroads today.
It was because of the malt sitting right in front of him.
Lately he’d wondered why the Young Master kept making trips to the Well, and now he understood—the Young Master was producing malt, the primary ingredient in beer.

‘I’m not sure why he’d do it himself, but….’

After asking around for several days, he’d learned that the eldest Young Master was quite the eccentric.
He’d lived far from gossip until now, when he’d become an apprentice servant to House Asteri—only then did he learn the truth.
And yet….

‘This looks like it went wrong.’

The barley had grown far too well.
It seemed as though good barley simply grew even better than expected.
The problem was that the Young Master didn’t seem aware of such details, cheerfully insisting it had grown splendidly.

‘Should I tell him the truth?’

From what he could see of the man’s character, he didn’t seem difficult—if he spoke carefully, the Young Master might accept what he had to say.
In the end, the apprentice servant spoke honestly about what he knew.

“Um… Young Master, I’m sorry to say, but for beer-making this would be a bit too long….”

Before he could finish saying “would be better,” Lion answered first.

“Ah, it’s not for beer.”
“It isn’t?”
“No. But you seem to know beer well.”
“Ah. My friend’s father runs a brewery. I learned a little by watching over his shoulder.”
“Interesting. What’s your name?”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem displeased.

“Ah, my name is Buck. Yes.”

Lion’s eyes gleamed with unsettling brightness.

‘This might turn into a very useful connection, actually.’

Buck didn’t notice that gleam in his eyes and continued examining the sprouted barley.

‘But if this isn’t malt, then what on earth is it?’

By his understanding, he couldn’t think of what else it could be.

“You seem curious.”
“Yes, yes. My friend—I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Hehehehe…… if it turns out well later, I’ll give you a taste.”
“What? Ah….”

Nothing’s going to come from that.
He’d be lucky if it didn’t spoil.

“Anyway, could you watch over the barley while it dries out completely?”

Right. No matter how unusual the Young Master was, he wouldn’t hand him something spoiled to eat.
The apprentice servant bowed his head and gave his answer.

“Of course, Young Master—I’d be honored! Trust me completely!”
“Good. See you next time, then.”

Lion entrusted the barley to Barg and departed as swiftly as he had arrived.

“Hmm? But he didn’t leave any food today, did he?”

As Barg straightened from his bow, he realized that Lion hadn’t brought any meat dish this time.

‘Was it some sort of special ritual?’

A young servant appeared beside the pondering Barg and jabbed him in the ribs.

“They say trying to guess what the higher-ups are thinking will only bring you trouble.”
“Ah, you’re right.”

Barg nodded and returned to his duties.
Yes—in the end, all that mattered was doing his own work well.

* * *

That night.
Barg slowly opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.

‘Everyone seems to be sleeping soundly…….’

Moving only his eyes to confirm that all were truly asleep, Barg rose with utmost silence and slipped out of the barracks.
He crept quietly toward the door to open it—

“Nnngh…… where are you going?”
“Ah!”

Jake called out to him in his sleep.

“T-the, the restroom.”
“Mm-hmm.”

Still half-asleep, Jake murmured something about closing the door, then sank back into deep slumber.

‘Phew.’

He was no ordinary warrior, that much was certain.
Barg exhaled carefully and quietly shut the door behind him as he stepped outside.

“Shhh.”

He drew a long breath.
Tonight the moonlight was uncommonly bright, causing Barg to furrow his brow slightly.

‘The full moon must be soon.’

It was said to be the night when a demi-human’s wild instincts grew stronger—but for Barg, it was far from pleasant.

‘Whenever I see the moon, my body just… doesn’t feel right.’

His mood darkened, and his nerves grew strangely sharp.
The ears and tail he kept hidden would thrust out unbidden, and his muscles would tense with such violence that his bones seemed to scream.

A faint, keening whimper escaped him.

Barg flexed his aching arm with a wince, yet continued forward.
His destination was the very place where Lion had always left meat for him.

‘Nothing today.’

Perhaps Lion had simply grown weary of it.
And meat was precious food, after all. It wouldn’t have been strange if the gifts had stopped at any time.
Still, he felt a pang of loss—as if the matter had ended without so much as an apology.
And so Barg decided, in his own way, to repay the kindness.

Softly, he placed something down.

In that same spot, Barg set a small, round orb.
It gleamed with a soft luminescence, as if imitating the face of a full moon.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to prepare lunch as well, but things didn’t work out.”

With a twig from nearby, Barg traced words across the earth as he spoke.
The letters were crooked and would likely vanish by the next day, but still—he wanted to repay what he owed in the best way he could.
The very best compensation within his means.
Moon Essence.
A treasure of immense rarity, which only demi-humans connected to the moon could craft.
With Moon Essence, one could recover from even grievous wounds and enhance one’s own abilities with ease.
But.

‘I don’t need it.’

Strangely, anything tied to the moon seemed to weaken Barg’s power.
The strength would surge, true enough—but it would drain away just as quickly, leaving him hollow and spent.
Without understanding why, he’d simply written it off as growing pains.
There were no other demi-humans nearby to ask, and the Red Wolf Tribe was nowhere to be found.
So he’d painstakingly crafted this Moon Essence over several nights, drawing only on moonlight itself.
It was terribly small, admittedly—but he wanted it to mean something in return for Lion’s kindness.

“Should have been faster about it.”

As he rose to his feet, blaming himself for no good reason…….

A bright, clear chirp rang out from somewhere.

‘Hmm…….’

And somehow, his body felt at ease. Struck by the strange sensation, Barg looked around.

No, this was…….

‘It’s not a bird……?’

Instinctively, Barg understood: this creature was no bird at all.

‘A spirit?’

The question surfaced briefly, then faded. He had no more knowledge to go on.

“Chirp-chirp.”

The yellow bird grasped the small Moon Essence Barg had left with one clawed foot, then lifted lightly into the air as if bidding him to follow.

Normally, Barg wouldn’t follow anything suspicious, whether human or animal, but something about the spirit’s aura drew him forward as if enchanted.
Step by step, he found himself walking naturally out of the estate.

“Wait….”

He hadn’t expected Nature to lead him outside the manor.
This wasn’t merely a matter of skipping lessons, was it?
They were just leaving on a whim—this was desertion, actual desertion!
Barg hesitated for a moment.

Tap.
Tap-tap.

Nature pecked irritably at Barg’s nose bridge like a woodpecker.
In fact, she even opened her beak to bite.
Though the effect was negligible.

“All right, all right.”

Barg resumed walking and soon arrived at Mimir Forest.

‘This isn’t right….’

He’d surely face harsh punishment for this.

“Hmm?”

But something felt strange.
As soon as he reached the forest, the resistance his body had felt against the moonlight faded rapidly.
Was it the leaves blocking the moon’s rays?
That wasn’t all.
Barg’s keen nose caught the scent of something pleasant.
And then.

‘Is that… meat?’

Meat at this hour of the night?
And in the middle of a forest, no less?
Caught between curiosity and confusion, Barg moved forward of his own accord.
Now that he’d come this far, he couldn’t bring himself to turn back.
Some instinct told him he needed to see what this was about.
And fortunately, his instinct proved right.
When warm moisture brushed against his skin—

“You’ve arrived.”

Someone sat comfortably to one side, welcoming him.
A familiar face.
The Young Master who’d stolen his barley, and the one who’d given him delicious food all this time.
Lion Asteri.
He was here.
It was a genuinely wondrous sight.
The forest was clearly dark, with moonlight blocked piecemeal by leaves, yet the spot where the Young Master sat and the hot spring glowed softly.
Moreover, strange fragrant plants grew lushly nearby.
Yet despite such splendid surroundings, the Young Master somehow outshone everything else in the place.
Strangely so.
It was dreamlike—as if he were lost in sleep.
Had he simply fallen asleep there in the early hours?
As that thought crossed Barg’s mind—

Sizzle.

Some curious sound had reached his ears.
Lowering his gaze slightly, he saw…….
The Young Master was grilling something on a stone plate.
It was a sausage skewer.

“Ah. A dream, then.”

Barg felt relief wash over him.
The scene was too absurd to be real!
He’d followed a bird-like spirit into a dreamlike space, where the very person he’d wanted to apologize to had appeared.
And there he stood, grilling something delicious with his own hands.
This could not possibly be real.

‘Well.’

Better a dream than nothing, he thought.
Barg walked slowly toward Lion, taking comfort in his solitude.
At least in a dream he could see his face and apologize!

* * *

A few hours before Barg would meet Lion.

“Whew.”

Lion had finished all his preparations.
The meticulous setup to finally lure that wolf demi-human in.

‘Operation: Wolf Fishing.’

Grand name aside, the plan was simple enough.
First, when that wolf demi-human appeared, Nature would step in as bait.
A Red Wolf Tribe demi-human would surely have an instinctive affinity for an ancient spirit like Nature—they stood a real chance of awakening druidic abilities after all.
He’d guide them smoothly all the way to Mimir Forest.
And from there, lead them here to the hot spring…….

‘That’s where we meet.’

Just a plain meeting seemed boring, so this time he’d prepared something more special.
And that something was this sausage skewer.

‘I was able to prepare it quickly thanks to Alex’s help.’

This sausage business turned out to be far more troublesome than expected.
The casing, specifically, was the problem.
Before the reincarnation, he’d mostly used edible plastic casings, but here he had to use pig or sheep intestines.
He didn’t mind intestines—he ate chitterlings and other organ meats readily enough—but freshness was the real obstacle.
One moment of carelessness and they’d spoil.
Especially if you were serving them fresh, without curing.
Usually sausages came from butchers or slaughterhouses.
But where was he, exactly?
The House Asteri—second to none in all the Empire.
Fresh intestines had been meticulously prepared and cleaned by Alex.

“I could do it myself…….”
“Absolutely not! No matter what, I cannot allow the Young Master to handle such things!”
“But…….”
“Not under any circumstances.”
“Th-thank you?”

In truth, she’d spent so long in the Labyrinth gutting fish that she wasn’t sure why this mattered—but she couldn’t very well say that, so she accepted the kindness gracefully.
What remained was simply to stuff the neatly cleaned skin with the finely minced filling.
But without proper tools, the work proved far more difficult than she’d anticipated.

She drew a sharp breath.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————