Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Successor Is Beyond Me—Let Me Just Heal Chapter 106

Is this really happening?
It felt like waking from a drunken stupor—those shameful memories from the night before suddenly gone, then flooding back all at once.
Barg, you idiot! What a mess!

‘No, no—not now.’

As Barg recalled all the reckless things he’d done in the dream—all those embarrassing acts he’d felt safe committing because he thought it was fantasy—he lurched upright again.
He thought he might have to drive his skull into the floor to properly express his mortification.
Just as he was about to press his head against the still-hot stone floor—

“Oh, by the way—what’s this?”

Lion tossed the Moon Essence to Barg with perfect timing, raising a question.

Catch!

Barg caught it by instinct, then slowly sank to his knees and stammered out an answer.

“That’s… something I made…”

Now that this was real and not a dream, he had no idea where to begin or what to say.
Had he already told him he was a Beastman?

“It’s…”
“It’s okay. Take your time.”

The Young Master of House Asteri really was a kind person.
His tail, drooping low, swayed gently from below.

“I’m actually a wolf Beastman, so… I can create Moon Essence. It’s my most special ability.”

He added that he’d wanted to repay him somehow, his head bowed deep.

“Surprised? That I’m a Beastman…?”

He’d heard rumors that some humans in the world didn’t take kindly to Beastmen.
So no matter how kind the Young Master was…

“You know what?”
“Yes?”
“Your tail’s been showing this whole time.”
“Gasp! Wait, how did—!”

Barg hastily tucked his tail away and pressed his wolf ears down with both hands, neatly concealing them.

“I’m so sorry! I should have hidden them!”

It was one of the tricks he’d picked up living among humans.
There were other things too—like fetching a thrown disc—but… no, this wasn’t the time to think about that.

“I’ve already accepted your apology, so don’t worry. And I got a pretty stone out of it too.”
“Did… did you like it?”

Thank goodness. He didn’t hate him!
Barg pressed down hard on the feeling that his ears and tail might spring right back out, and took a step forward with cautious enthusiasm.

“Would you… like me to make more for you?”
“You can make more?”
“Well, recently I’ve lost the knack of producing it quickly, but I can still make it. About one a week…! No, I really want to make it for you!”

Barg was sincere.
This human gave him such delicious food, and even forgave his mistake.
Of course he felt obligated to repay that kindness.
Or rather, if he was honest—he even felt a strange urge to be loyal!

“…”

Watching this, Lion smiled awkwardly.
Of course, being able to receive Moon Essence would be wonderful…but.

‘I have a feeling Nature has something to do with this.’

No wolf beastman would throw himself at someone so zealously just for a few meals.
He suspected the spirit’s presence was playing some kind of positive role.
After all, he knew full well that Nature was a spirit.
And yet…

‘It’s really awkward to refuse this.’

If he was being purely practical about it, he wanted to just say thank you and accept.
But.
The fact that Barg couldn’t make Moon Essence as easily as before.

‘Eclipse Syndrome is definitely it.’

If producing something as small as that essence took a full week, then the illness had likely crept in on Barg without his knowledge.
The more he made Moon Essence, the more the condition must be accelerating…

‘The fact that he doesn’t realize it suggests he grew up without beastmen around him.’

Moreover, Barg clearly wanted to repay this favor by any means necessary.
If Lion refused, would the wolf stop making essence anyway?
He’d probably sneak off and leave it somewhere.
If that happened, nothing would be solved.
Lion thought it over and hit upon a solution.

“Then let’s do this. When you make the essence, I’ll repay you by cooking something delicious.”
“But…I’ve already received so much.”
“I’m someone who likes giving. So what do you say?”

Barg paused at those words.
Someone who likes giving.

‘That’s…exactly like me.’

Barg also loved giving—he just hadn’t had the means yet to share with others.
…Though he certainly enjoyed receiving too!
But at minimum, he wanted to do what he could.
That’s why he could understand perfectly what the Young Master meant.

“I understand, sir.”

Barg nodded solemnly.

“Then come to the forest every night in secret.”
“Yes, sir!”

Lion extended his hand, and Barg placed both his hands over Lion’s before catching himself and gripping it lightly in greeting.

“See you tomorrow, then.”
“Yes, Young Master!”

Barg hurried back toward the Knight Barracks.
Watching him dash away at such speed, Lion couldn’t help but think — yes, he’s definitely a wolf beastman.

A low hum escaped his lips.

Lion folded his arms across his chest, his mind still on Barg as he disappeared from view.

‘If my thinking is right on this…’

He might actually be able to solve Barg’s Eclipse Syndrome.
Of course, he couldn’t be certain yet…

‘Still, I have to try.’

Lion returned to the estate with Nature at his side.

* * *

What he needed first was a Moonflower.
And the perfect place to cultivate Moonflowers was deep within the Labyrinth, but Lion didn’t head there immediately.

‘I don’t have enough materials.’

He could make Moonflower Nutrient using the Moon Essence Barg had given him.
But the quantity was far too small.
If the flower stopped growing halfway, there would be no greater disaster.
On the day Lion had fed Barg the sausage.
Nature, who’d returned with him, performed another silent pantomime on Lion’s bed.
In essence: Barg’s Eclipse Syndrome was far more severe than expected, and it was approaching rapidly.

‘If there were more time, perhaps… but give it up.’

With a steadfast flutter of her wings, Nature’s eyes conveyed that very message, driven home with unmistakable force.

“Is it because Moonflowers take too long to grow?”
“Chirp.”

She nodded, confirming his guess.

‘Hmm…’

Lion fell silent, thinking.
Yes. The entire problem came down to one thing: not enough Moon Essence to make the Moonflower Nutrient.

‘Is there no way to get it from outside?’

House Asteri could probably procure Moon Essence from other beastmen somehow if necessary.
But far fewer beastmen possessed Moon Essence compared to those with Sun Essence.
Which meant that even with their resources, gathering it would take considerable time…

“And if Barg Rampages in the meantime, it’s all over.”

He could have simply asked the Lion Beastman Kingdom for aid — the place where the sun never sets, where Sun Essence was constantly generated.
Wait. Hold on.
…Eh? Hold on a moment.

“That’s it! How could I have missed this?”

Lion sprang from his seat.
The Lion Beastman Kingdom, where the sun never sets!
A sun that never sets meant the power of the Sun Essence was that much stronger.
Then all he had to do was strengthen the Moon Essence just as much.

“Nature.”
“Chirp?”
“I think I might be able to copy the Moon Essence.”
“Chirp-chirp?”
“Let’s go.”

Lion gathered Nature and hurried forward with sudden urgency.
To his grandfather’s office, of all places!

* * *

“That concludes my report.”

Rickson, commander of the Knight Barracks, stood before Patrick and finished his routine briefing.

“Mm.”

Patrick signed the report without a word, offering only a crisp nod of acknowledgment.

“What’s become of that wolf cub?”
“Barg is…….”
“Beyond saving?”

At Patrick’s question, Rickson bowed his head deeply.

“The symptoms are manifesting with increasing severity. I fear he won’t last much longer.”
“We’ve yet to find any solution.”
“……Even drawing on the resources of the Magic Tower and the Beastman Race combined, the Eclipse Syndrome cannot be arrested.”

Rickson’s brow furrowed with quiet anguish.
Barg was a wolf beastman Patrick had rescued barely a month ago, at his own command.
The Red Wolf Clan, one of the Hero’s allies, had been annihilated by the war; word had come that a rare red wolf beastman had been found in a slave market in the Underworld.
And Barg had indeed proven to be a true red wolf beastman.
He had lived disguised among humans, concealing his tail and ears as much as possible, but the Eclipse Syndrome had awakened his bestial nature so violently that he’d been dragged away.

……

Patrick exhaled softly, unseen by others.

‘Is there truly no way?’

Patrick wanted to save that little one called Barg.
More than that—he was determined to save him, by whatever means necessary.
After all, wasn’t he the blood of ‘that Druid’?
Red wolf beastmen were not common.

‘But there is no way.’

There was no time to devise one.
Not for himself, but for that child, Barg.
The pen in Patrick’s hand tensed for an instant, then went slack.
If he could not save him…….

‘I’ll have to choose.’

Not as Patrick, desperate to save his comrade’s family, but as Patrick Asteri, Marquis and head of House Asteri.
If Barg showed signs of Rampage, he would step in and end it himself.
He had to.
He couldn’t let innocent people in this place die so that one child might live.
And he didn’t want to burden that child with guilt.
He wouldn’t let him become merely a slaughterer under the guise of Rampage, ravaging all around only to meet the most agonizing death.

‘I hate this.’

His mouth tasted bitter enough to make him retch.

“My lord…….”

Rickson sensed something in Patrick’s reaction and hurried to speak.

“Barg—that boy has a good heart.”

An ordinary knight captain, a knight sworn to protect his lord, shouldn’t have said such a thing.
Certainly not shifted the burden onto him.
But pity had welled up in him.
Perhaps it was the memory of his own son, dead in childhood.
To die without ever truly experiencing the world—wasn’t that the cruelest fate?
At least, he wanted to give him as much time as possible.
Shouldn’t the boy create one good memory, living among others, fitting in?
In the end, Rickson couldn’t bear his anguish and began to plead.

“He has great power, yet fears harming others, so he holds himself back instead. I wish that boy could live in this world a little longer. So allow me to find every possible way to extend his time.”

He was asking—please, just a little more time.

“…….”

Rickson dropped to one knee.

“If that boy shows signs of Rampage……then I will handle it myself.”

A long silence fell.
Both Patrick and Rickson understood.
This wasn’t a problem that stubbornness could solve.
Normally, Patrick would have coldly refused the plea.
But…….

‘This is difficult.’

As time spent with Lion and his family grew, doubt crept in, unshakeable.
Even as he knew it would bring calamity later.
Just as Patrick tried to steel his heart against sentiment——

Creak!

The door opened.

“There is a way!”

Lion appeared.

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