Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 111

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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, I Know Not—But Let Me Focus on Healing (Episode 111)

“He fell from the sky?”
“Yes.”
“Right in front of a rampaging wolf-kin?”
“Precisely so.”
“But…….”

Lion’s expression was one of wounded innocence as he looked back and forth between Patrick and Ricshel.
Whenever he tried to say anything, Patrick raised his hand to stop him.
And in that gap, Ricshel laid out Lion’s misdeeds with absolute clarity.
All Lion could do in the face of this tirade was desperately interjecting excuses between the words.

“But Elvia cast Shock Absorption Magic for me, didn’t she?”

Each excuse he offered did nothing to improve the atmosphere, yet they all had their purpose.
In truth, Lion had merely gotten dusted with some Moonlight Ring Powder and was sparkling—there was nothing actually wrong with him.
So what was the problem?

‘I had no choice if I wanted to save even a second.’

From where he’d been in the sky, it wasn’t as though the moment had been anything less than critical.
The protective barrier was on the verge of tearing, and Rickson’s sword lay uselessly broken.
So he had chosen the most efficient and humane method available in that situation…….

“It was reckless.”
“Reckless. How could you have known what would happen?”

An explanation followed that Shock Absorption Magic merely absorbed a certain amount of impact—it did not block it completely.

‘Good grief.’

As their words came faster and faster, Lion gave up defending himself and sat quietly on the sofa.
After enduring such an enormous scolding, a lull finally settled over the room…….

“Mm-hm. Please, don’t be so hard on him. The young master must be absolutely exhausted.”

Elvia refilled the empty teacup with fresh tea, speaking in a measured tone.
Finally, my ally has appeared?
Yes. Elvia might actually understand!

“Even with the shock absorbed, his body must have been startled—goodness, from such a height to come tumbling down like that.”

Wait.

“And at one point, I nearly did away with that young knight myself. I’m terribly sorry—I nearly ruined the young master’s plan…….”

Ah.
She was not my ally at all.
Moreover, she had nearly ruined the plan…….
If things had gone a bit more awry, Barg’s head might have dropped clean off at some point.
Lion felt goosebumps prickling up his forearms and rubbed them.

“Still, in the end it turned out well, didn’t it? The young masters have gained such valuable experience.”

Elvia glanced at Lion, whose spirits had thoroughly sunk, and draped a blanket over his shoulders.
But Ricshel seemed to feel that his case against his elder brother was not yet complete.

“Valuable, you say. This is something that must never happen again. Your martial abilities, brother…….”

I nearly said “No,” but stopped myself and closed my mouth.

‘Could I really say it didn’t happen?’

He’d only recently begun working with spirits, yet he’d already mastered Flight. The fact that he’d never demonstrated it before meant he’d grasped it on the spot and cast it in real time.
And the medicine made from Evening Primrose, plus the powder still sifting down from his body right now.
He’d used each of those precisely as the moment demanded.
Just as he’d claimed, he must have deliberately dropped from the sky to ensure the powder spread wider and more evenly.

That Lion was simply doing what he was perfectly capable of doing.
The one nursing anxiety about all this was none other than Ricshel himself.
Maybe I’d been too emotional about it.

Then—tap, tap.
She tapped Lion’s back lightly with her index finger.
It was her signal: this was his chance.

He’d been momentarily caught off guard by the situation—it was unlike anything he’d faced before.
But from his younger brother’s perspective, wasn’t it natural to worry? His heart must have sunk with dread.

‘Right. Regardless of how it turned out.’

After all, wasn’t succeeding enough? That logic wasn’t wrong, exactly.

What mattered was that there were people who cared about him.
And if that were true, then when he’d acted recklessly, he owed those feelings an answer.

“I’m sorry. I was only thinking of myself.”

That was right. One had to know how to apologize.

“And thank you. Because of you, I was able to save Barg.”

And gratitude—when you felt it, you had to express it sincerely and with your whole effort.

“I…… I……”

Ricshel’s words caught in his throat as he watched his brother apologize with such genuine seriousness.

He’d just felt wounded that his brother didn’t understand his heart.
And so he’d acted childishly—there was no denying that.
He’d pouted emotionally without properly expressing himself.

“Ahem.”

Patrick covered his mouth with his fist and coughed at the sight of it.

“Grandfather must have worried quite a bit?”
“It won’t work on me.”

It did work, though.
That was precisely the problem.

‘Why does he throw himself into such reckless acts in exactly the same way that boy does?’

He seemed to have forgotten that he himself was the source of that bloodline.
Patrick considered it for a moment, then drew a deep breath.
As the two of them stepped back, Lion quickly added an explanation.

“The situation was so urgent that I couldn’t think of any other way. I promise I won’t do something like this again.”
“……Very well. But if you act so recklessly again, then I shall have to punish you.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful not to earn any punishment.”

Lion lifted the mood with a light remark at the end and drank his tea in a long gulp.

“Ugh.”

The tea was so bitter his tongue ached.

Witch’s Bitter Taste
-Did you know? A witch gives cookies to good children and terribly bitter tea to bad ones.
-But it’s good for your body, so shut your eyes tight and drink every last drop.

“…….”

Glancing at the cup, Lion noticed that his tea water alone was distinctly darker than the others’.
This wasn’t tea—it was practically medicine.

‘Can’t say he wasn’t warned.’

A touch of petty malice and an excess of concern.
……This wasn’t so bad after all.
Lion squeezed his eyes shut as instructed and drained every drop of the tea.
Surprisingly, the bitter aftertaste gave way to something sweet.

* * *

In any case, after receiving plenty of affectionate scolding from his family,
Lion headed out to the village, humming lightly to himself.
He carried with him some Malt, dried thoroughly in the sun and wind.

‘Barg said it will take several days to recover.’

Ricshel and Rickson said they’d be occupied for some time dealing with the fallen forest and matters concerning Barg.
As for grandfather—well, there was no need to say anything about him.

“So I’ve found myself with some free time, haven’t I.”

More than a month had already slipped by since he’d come down to the village.
Lion had accumulated quite a few tasks that needed attending to in the meantime.

‘Fairly busy in my own way, I suppose.’

First, he needed to go grind the well-dried Malt, and then visit the Orphanage to ask about that priest.

‘I need to learn about the Seal.’

He wasn’t sure why, but that priest named Licht had been more generous than expected last time, so he’d likely share something useful.
Of course, the most pressing matter was simple.
Telling Mudu how his family was doing.

‘He must be dying to know.’

Given Mudu’s nature, he’d probably pretend not to care.
But Lion could guess he’d be so curious he couldn’t focus on work.
Lion headed straight for the Blacksmith.
And…….

“Oh! You’ve come! Finally!”

Hand, the master blacksmith, spotted Lion first and rushed toward the back of the Blacksmith to call Mudu.

“Boss! The Young Master’s here!”

Patter-patter-patter!

Before Hand could even finish speaking, the sound of short legs striking the ground in quick succession echoed from deep within.
It was Mudu running toward him.

“You eccentric fool! Why are you so late!”
“Ha ha. There were several things I had to deal with.”
“Several things?”
“It would take a while to explain.”
“I see. Well then.”

Mudu took Lion’s hand and led him toward the back of the Blacksmith.

“So, nothing’s happened to the Village folk, has it?”
“Let’s sit first.”

Lion sat with Mudu on a low stool and began recounting what had happened in the Dwarf Village.
When he spoke of meeting Ricshel at the tavern——

“That bastard, even for a dwarf! Drinking like that!”

Mudu’s words came rough with worry for his brother, but when Lion told him their parents had taken in two children named Gaji and Ipari, his expression could not hide longing.

“They must have been so pleased. I’ll have to visit sometime.”
“And…….”

When Lion mentioned the Village’s troubles, Mudu fell silent, bitter.

“So such a thing happened.”
“But it was resolved.”
“What? How did those stubborn dwarves——?”

Lion gave a slight smile and pulled tools from his bag.

“It was thanks to the tools you made, Mudu.”
…….

For a moment, Mudu tilted his head as if he didn’t understand, then his eyes and nose flushed a bright red.
He understood.

“A man who once forged nothing but blades now crafts tools for the people—it stirred memories in him, or so I heard. Everyone’s been missing you.”
“Hagh! Hah-hah!”

Mudu laughed heartily, wiping his nose clean with a tattered rag dusted in iron powder.
The sight was so refreshing that Lion couldn’t help but chuckle along.

“In any case, don’t worry about the Village anymore. It’ll regain its vigor soon enough.”

Lion rose from his seat as he finished speaking.

“Leaving already?”
“I need to stop by the Mill.”
“The Mill? Now that you mention it…….”

Mudu’s eyes finally fell on the woven basket that had remained in Lion’s hands throughout their conversation.
Inside it lay…….

Barley sprouts?

“Did you learn brewing from the Bydentis Territory? That’s impressive for a Young Master.”

Mudu nudged Lion’s thigh playfully with his elbow.

“It’s a beer ingredient. I know a thing or two about alcohol myself.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Come now, you’re grown now—no need to be shy about it.”
“…….”

That was the second misunderstanding in a row.
Lion simply smiled without bothering to correct him.
Being misunderstood wasn’t what mattered.

“Anyway, I should be going.”
“Right, right. Timing’s important.”

Mudu chuckled and walked Lion to the front of the Blacksmith.
As he sent him off, something seemed to occur to Lion, and he let out a small exclamation.

“Oh—a crate will arrive at the Blacksmith soon.”
“A crate? For you?”
“No. For you.”
“What?”

Lion answered casually, as if it were nothing, at the bemused expression on Mudu’s face.

“Snowmountain Iron—House Bydentis standard. The Marquis of Bydentis arranged it.”

……He’d called it a bribe, but calling it a gift was fine too.

“I see… w-wait, what!?”
“Then I’ll be off.”

Mudu stared after Lion as he departed, his mouth hanging open.
Snowmountain Iron from House Bydentis!
It was one of the primary reasons the Dwarf Village existed in the Bydentis Territory.
It was a premium material that no one but those directly connected to House Bydentis dared even touch.
They said its hardness could withstand the Aura of a Swordmaster……!

‘H-he’s giving that to me?’

Mudu tugged at his beard, holding back laughter that threatened to burst free.

“Thank you! From now on, all your commissions will be made with this!”

Lion glanced at Mudu and let out a quiet chuckle.
He hadn’t actually planned this.
He’d only brought it along because he worried Mudu might feel lonely.

“That would be wonderful!”

There was no reason to refuse kindness.
Lion flashed a grin.

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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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