Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 107

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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 Doesn’t Know, But I’d Love a Healing Break — Episode 107

Everyone was startled by Lion’s sudden appearance.
Patrick was shocked, of course, but Rickson—awkwardly kneeling as he was—felt it even more acutely.

‘Why is the Young Master here of all places…?’

Wait—hadn’t he just mentioned a method a moment ago?
Does he know something about Barg?
How could he?
Rickson studied the Young Master’s face carefully, unsure if he’d misunderstood.
And then it struck him.
Those eyes—they held the light of someone who knew everything.
More than that: they burned with a fierce, purposeful gleam, as though he’d either made some profound decision or been seized by sudden inspiration.

‘The Young Master, with that look in his eyes…?’

Though Rickson had not been constantly at his side of late, he knew better than anyone that the Young Master had undergone considerable change.
He was, after all, commander of the Asteri Knight Order.
It fell to him to remain ever cognizant of the family’s major and minor affairs, the movements of its direct heirs, and their accomplishments.
So it was no surprise to him that the Young Master had grown far healthier and had come to possess considerable ability.
But this—

‘That look in his eyes. That confidence.’

Lion had been lavishly protected by House Asteri, though few spoke of it openly.
In his youth, his body had been frail; after he’d grown somewhat, his behavior had become unpredictable as well.
Because of that, troops had always been stationed throughout the domain to ensure his safety wherever he wandered.
And so, until this very moment, the Lion Asteri that Rickson knew was the most delicate and precious of the family—a figure in need of protection.
But now, this expression. This quiet assurance.
And those eyes—the deep amethyst gaze so distinctly Asteri, so reminiscent of the patriarch himself—who would dare think of him as merely someone to be shielded?
Rickson’s eye, honed by decades commanding the Asteri Knight Order, did not deceive him.

‘Then…’

Before Rickson could move, Patrick spoke first.

“A method, you say? Are we speaking of something regarding Barg?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But… might I inquire what this method is?”
“For now, I’m afraid I cannot explain it.”
“I beg your pardon?”

Lion’s curt reply left Rickson taken aback.
He couldn’t explain the method?

‘Is he employing some sort of secret technique?’

He assumed it was likely Alchemy at most.
The Young Master had proven far sharper than expected and possessed an inventive mind; naturally, he must have devised some approach now as well.
That alone was remarkable.
To find a solution where none had seemed to exist.
Yet he could not explain it?
That was…

‘The patriarch would never permit it.’

To know something and yet be unable to voice it suggested that one’s mastery of that knowledge remained incomplete.
It was like the difference between wielding a sword and teaching another to wield it.
Rickson bowed his head again.

‘I was wrong.’

The Patrick he knew would never authorize an uncertain method—that much was clear.

“Very well. What do you need me to do?”

……He should have refused, shouldn’t he?
Rickson’s lowered head lifted sharply.
He’d granted permission?
Had Patrick ever consented so readily before?
Without even hearing an explanation?
Why?
Simply because he was the eldest grandson, whom Patrick held dear?
No, that couldn’t be it.
Patrick cherished his family dearly, but that very love made him all the more rigorous in matters of business.
It was no different even when dealing with Ricshel, the heir, in an official capacity.
If there was any gap or weakness in a report, he would not hesitate to ask pointed questions.
Ricshel, for his part, seemed to consider it only natural to provide additional answers or supplement the gaps without complaint.
This had been the case since Ricshel was very young.
Once, when the young heir seemed worn down by it all, Rickson had tried to offer him comfort.

“Does it not distress you?” he had asked.

And the answer that came back was far more composed and dispassionate than Rickson could have imagined.

That was the sort of man Patrick was.
That was the sort of family this was.

‘If there had been something I shouldn’t know, he would have sent me out before offering any reason at all.’

But he had done no such thing.
This spoke to an immense faith and trust in Lion, of course—but it also meant something far deeper.

‘He has accomplished impossible things before.’

More than once, it seemed.
The specifics, Rickson couldn’t say.
But one thing was certain.
This was Barg’s last hope.
Rickson moved quickly.

“Young Master. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will give my all.”
“Thank you. This is something that can only succeed if everyone buys us time.”
“Time, then… Yes. I understand.”

He clearly meant the time someone would need to restrain Barg during his rampage.

‘The duration is… still undetermined, it seems.’

Well, this was the first attempt at a method that had never existed in the world before.
The Young Master couldn’t very well guarantee the timeframe himself.
Then there was nothing for it but to believe.
……Truthfully, if the Patrick had not consented so promptly, Rickson would have harbored doubts.
But Rickson did not yet fully understand Lion’s capabilities.
I know only that something is there.

“Ah, and you’ll need to make sure he eats well in the meantime. If his condition worsens, his appetite will fade first. Force-feed him if you must.”
“Yes. I understand.”

Rickson rose from his seat, looking between the two of them.
Then he turned to Lion and bowed with proper courtesy.

“I’ll do my best. Please rely on me. I will do all that I can. And…….”

Rickson fell silent for a moment before continuing.

“Even if things go wrong…… that won’t be your fault.”

Lion offered a slight smile at those words.

‘A good man,’ he thought.

Had he not heard many things when speaking with Barg?
Among them were stories about Rickson.
While he didn’t know all the details, from what was said, Rickson was something like a lifesaver to him.
And apparently, whenever Barg’s condition worsened, Rickson had quietly looked after him.

“Even if it might be rude to say so…… I’ve always thought of you as a father figure……!”

It wasn’t mere sympathy.
Lion realized that perhaps Rickson regarded Barg as a son.
For such a man to speak these words to him—it was no casual sentiment.
And so Lion found himself wanting to say this.

“Don’t worry. There’s no reason we should fail.”

Lion spoke those words to Rickson’s back as he turned to leave.

“……!”

Through the gap in the doorway, Rickson’s shoulders trembled slightly.
Watching this, Patrick felt a quiet warmth bloom inside him.

‘The boy surpasses me,’ he thought.

When choosing between ideals and reality, Patrick was a man who chose reality.
That conviction would not change in the years ahead.
And yet, watching his grandson now, Patrick sometimes wondered if learning to compromise between ideals and reality might not be a bad thing after all.
A new understanding had dawned on him.

“……So, tell me what you need me to arrange.”
“Right.”

Lion waited until the door had shut completely before speaking.

“I’ll need the highest-grade Magic Stones.”

Magic Stones?
The highest-grade Magic Stones were so rare and expensive that their names alone commanded their price.
Even the mages in the Magic Tower might see one only once in a lifetime, if at all……but.
Such logic did not apply to House Asteri.
If Lion, the eldest son of House Asteri, desired it, he could procure even the rarest Magic Stones by the crateful without effort.
Lion was surely aware of this.
Which meant Patrick himself would need to do something with those Magic Stones.

“What am I supposed to do with a magic stone?”
“Please drain all the Mana from inside it.”

At Lion’s words, Patrick let out a short laugh.
Draining all the Mana from a Supreme-Grade Magic Stone!
It was practically impossible in reality.
Ordinary mages, even if they devoted decades to the task, couldn’t fully deplete the Mana contained in a Supreme-Grade Magic Stone.
For one thing, the stone held an enormous amount of Mana, and the Mana within could only be drawn upon at the rate of a mage’s circle.

“It wouldn’t be possible for another mage, but you can do it, can’t you, Grandfather?”

That was true.
A Grand Mage could manage it.

‘I can’t imagine how many magic stones I’ve used in my younger days.’

The staff passed down through the family, at least, he had cherished carefully enough not to completely destroy it—though he’d used even that until it was nearly ruined.
But what Lion wanted was a magic stone with its form intact but its contents completely hollowed out.

“The reason you said you couldn’t explain the method to Rickson is because you plan to use your own ability. Is the location the Labyrinth?”
“That’s correct. And you’ll need to apply Sealing Magic to that empty stone as well.”

A precaution to prevent any other force from entering it.
Patrick drummed his fingers on the desk as if thinking, then something seemed to dawn on him—a flicker of realization crossed his face.

‘Could he be thinking of capturing Moonlight Essence inside a magic stone?’

It was quite a clever idea, though not entirely far-fetched.
A hollowed-out magic stone would become a sort of vacuum, and if sealed in that state, that condition would be maintained.

‘If a sealed magic stone were released in a place brimming with Moonlight Essence…….’

Natural essence and Mana would mix in, but the stone would rapidly absorb the Moonlight Essence for a time.
It would be inferior to what a Beastkin could produce directly, but either way, it would be possible to create artificial Moonlight Essence!
But wasn’t Moonlight Essence poison to Barg, who was caught in an Eclipse?
What would happen after that remained unclear, but if it was his grandson, he surely had a special method in mind.
Patrick opened the door of a display cabinet and picked up a fist-sized magic stone that had been carelessly arranged beside the potion bottle Lion had first created.

“This should do nicely.”
“That is…….”

[Supreme-Grade Magic Stone (★★★)]
– It pulses softly, like a living heart.
– The Mana is as rich as that of an ancient dragon’s heart, and its conductivity is truly extraordinary!
– It can hold any manner of essence, making its uses limitless. Anyone would covet this stone.

Even from the description alone, one could tell it was a stone of extraordinary power.
A force defying any single color pulsed vibrantly through the stone’s interior.
It seemed almost inconceivable that any human could fully absorb such power…….

Crack.

Patrick gripped the stone without hesitation and began absorbing its Mana.
The stone’s essence was drawn through Patrick’s hand and blood vessels, rushing through his Mana circuits.
An otherworldly light erupted, followed instantly by a tremendous wind that swept through the room.
Documents scattered everywhere—pens, heavy paperweights that held papers in place, all caught in the torrent of magical force.
Minutes passed. Or was it hours? Only then did the stone gradually lose its radiance, and the documents drifting in the air began to settle back to the floor.
When it was done, the interior of the magic stone had become translucent, hollow as if emptied.

“Hmm. Not bad, considering how long it’s been.”

Patrick smiled faintly, savoring the fullness of power coursing through him once more.
For an instant, he resembled his former self at the height of his strength—but the moment passed.
He reversed the flow of the absorbed Mana, releasing it outward to weave Sealing Magic around the stone.
Gradually, a barrier enveloped the stone entirely, and in his other hand materialized a key capable of undoing that very seal.
Patrick handed the Sealed Magic Stone and the key to Lion.

“Is it done?”
…….

His voice was steady, almost too steady to believe he had just accomplished something so extraordinary.
Not a single bead of sweat adorned his brow.

‘He truly is remarkable…….’

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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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