Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 124

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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 Isn’t My Problem—I Just Want to Heal. Episode 124

Lion watched Licht and An slowly, taking them both in.
The two of them bickered with each other, yet seemed quite close.
They moved in perfect sync at the most crucial moments.
It was like watching a grandfather and his grandchild.
Lion gazed at them with quiet warmth, then spoke softly.

“You two seem very fond of each other.”
“Heh heh. Does it look that way?”

An’s face lit up at those words.
He looked genuinely pleased.

……

Licht, too, bore no displeasure.
If anything, he seemed happy—only he couldn’t quite show it.

“Have you known each other for a long time?”
“Known each other for a long time? Well, Lion……”

At those words, An gazed at Licht with affectionate eyes—eyes that held so much within them.
It was much like how Elvia looked at Ricshel and him.

“……Yes. That’s right.”

An took hold of Licht’s hand and wrapped it gently in both of his, stroking it warmly.
Even as the headmaster of the Theological Academy, it was something he shouldn’t dare do given Licht’s standing as an Archbishop Candidate, yet Licht remained perfectly still.

“I’ve known this hand since it was ever so small.”

An’s eyes grew distant with memory, lost in the past.

……
Licht.
An unremarkable child from an unremarkable village.
Once it became known that within that small body dwelled Holy Power rivaling that of the Saint who had ended the war.
His entire life changed.

“I will! I will take this child! I’m his blood uncle, I tell you!”
“No! I shall be his grandmother! How pitiful he must be!”
“Come now, mother—say it. Say! Mom! Come on! I’m your real mother!”
“Smile like you did before! Go on, now!”

Those who had once ignored the child suddenly claimed kinship with him.

“How much would it cost to buy this child?”
“Come, let us sell this child to the Temple. Surely, as a child bearing the Archbishop’s power, the Temple will not turn us away!”

Those who treated him not as a person, but as merchandise, multiplied.
It was a tragedy beyond measure.

……

Caught in the grip of such greed, the child could only suffer great wounds at human hands.
And the one who somehow managed to save that child was An.

“Mmm…… It’s alright. Child. It’s alright.”

Ann comforted the child with awkward, stilted gestures as she made her way toward the Temple.
She’d been honest with her worries.
Could the child really adapt to life in the Temple?
After everything he’d endured?
What if the Temple proved no different?
She’d seen that horror with her own eyes and felt the fear crawl through her—what would the child feel?

“…Back then, my understanding was still lacking. I believed the Temple was simply a place where people lived.”

Ann murmured to herself with a wry smile.
Recalling what had happened in the village, the thought came naturally enough.
It had been the first malice she’d ever witnessed—there was no getting around that.
But then something unexpected happened.

“Is this the child?”
“My goodness. So small!”

Ann learned that if malice existed, so too did kindness.
High-ranking figures from the Temple—those who had held the title of youngest before this child’s arrival.
Perhaps even the younger children who would now have to share the affection that had once been directed solely at them….
They showed no shortage of love for Licht, the newly arrived child.

“Hello? Nice to meet you. So you’re going to be ‘Licht’?”
“Looking forward to it. I’m your sister now.”
“And I’m your brother!”
“Haha. I finally have a little sibling? How cool is that?”
“Now then, we should stand back a bit. The baby might be startled.”
“Yes!”
“Got it!”
“You all, back away now.”
“Awww!”

Ann understood then.
One could become family even without blood ties.
Not the love of a single person, but the warmth of all their love combined—that could build a true home.
Only then could Ann set Licht down with an easy heart.
And it seemed Licht, picking up on that atmosphere, had felt reassured as well….

“Well, ever since that day, I’ve had the strangest maps drawn all over my robes….”
“S-sir, Headmaster!”

Licht’s previously relaxed expression flushed crimson in an instant, cutting his words short!

“Hehehehe! In any case, since that day, Licht has grown up as the beloved youngest of the Temple, showered in affection by all.”
“Ahem! At any rate, he and I share a special bond of sorts.”

Licht wrapped up the conversation hastily.
Lion had no intention of teasing further either, so he decided to move to the main topic.

“Well then, shall we discuss something else? How did the investigation proceed?”
“Ah yes. Fortunately, while the honored guest drew attention, I was able to complete a thorough investigation. We’ve also identified the cause with certainty.”
“Oh.”

It was fortunate they’d managed to gather that understanding in such a short span of time.
Of course, identifying the cause and solving it were two different matters.

“So what is the cause?”
“That is….”

Licht glanced at Anne.

“Ha. So the old man’s been stubbornly clinging to his post all this time. Perhaps it’s time he got up.”

Anne rose from her seat and dusted off her waist, naturally making room. As she did, she set something down on the table with a soft tap.
She was pushing something across the surface with a casual flick.

“My, my. These days it’s all I can do to keep myself in one piece.”

With a playful nudge of her elbow, she slid the key toward the center of the table and walked away—the gesture clear: use it if you need to.

“……Really now.”

A small smile crossed Licht’s face.

“This is a key to the Sanctum. Only the Theological Academy’s headmaster is permitted to keep it, but it seems she’s offered it to us out of consideration, given what we’ll be discussing.”

It was her way of saying: use it if necessary.

“She’s a good woman.”
“……Yes. Truly so.”

Licht took the key and murmured softly to himself.

“Right. Where was I? In any case, here’s what I’ve learned……”

Lion’s eyes widened as he listened to Licht’s explanation.
So then.

“The Archbishop has been asleep due to a Premonitory Dream—is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s correct.”
“For several months now?”
“Yes…… It was something I didn’t know either.”

Licht exhaled deeply.

“He’s such an elusive figure……”

‘Can you even call an Archbishop elusive like that?’

At any rate, his ignorance seemed genuine.
It wasn’t just Licht—only a handful of other Archbishop Candidates, those he called brother and sister, knew of this matter.

‘……But that actually makes sense of the current situation.’

Once Licht explained it, the picture became clear.
There was a role only the Archbishop could perform, and one of those duties involved replenishing the depleted Holy Power—just as things now stood.
Specifically, it was about filling Holy Water through a ‘special method’ with maximum efficiency.
Holy Water.
Most people thought of Holy Water as being used for purifying cursed lands and cleansing corrupted objects.
But in reality, even fifty years after the war with the Demons had ended, Holy Water remained so precious that there was never enough to go around.
Because it was literally ‘water infused with Sacred Power,’ it produced beneficial effects in any application requiring water—far beyond merely vanquishing Demons.
It was a universal treasure, a strategic resource of the highest order!
The problem was that creating Holy Water required a considerable amount of Holy Power—something not everyone possessed……

‘Which is why the Archbishop kept running the operation all this time.’

It was more efficient that way.
But once the Archbishop fell asleep ‘several months ago,’ that operation began to falter……
The high-ranking officials and longest-serving candidates who supported him had taken over the duties themselves, but now, bit by bit, the cracks in that system were beginning to show.
Then what becomes of them?
The ordinary priests’ Holy Power would be squeezed dry, conscripted into making Holy Water.
For instance, suppose one Archbishop produced five bottles of Holy Water at a time.
But one day that Archbishop could no longer work.
What then?
Naturally, ten or twenty ordinary priests would have to swarm in just to produce a single bottle, wouldn’t they?

‘After all, Holy Water has to keep flowing.’

It’s essential, after all!
Then apprentice priests would have to fill the vacant positions of ordinary priests, and as you keep filling them that way…….
The damage eventually reaches Peter.

“……I suspect I would have been called upon soon as well.”

No matter how young he was, Licht possessed extraordinary Holy Power.
Since that reach had even extended to Peter in Asteri Territory, the youngest, who was so beloved, would surely have followed soon after.

‘Of course, given this man’s character, he’d probably rush in of his own accord.’

“Even if no word came to me, I would still wish to be of help. Just as I have received help from others.”
“Hmm…….”

Lion crossed his arms and regarded Licht.
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand.
Moreover, wasn’t this the youngest Archbishop Candidate, overflowing with Holy Power?
If it weren’t dangerous work, there’d be nothing wrong with helping.

‘Might as well ask.’

“Is there perhaps a way I could help?”
“There is, but…… hmm…… would it be alright if I explained as we go?”
“Of course.”

Lion moved along with him.

“Do you know, by any chance, how Holy Water is made?”
“I have a general idea.”

In the World, there were two ways to draw out Holy Water.
The first was the orthodox method—a priest extracting it on the spot, paying with mental fortitude.
And the second was using the Sanctum.

“Indeed, you’re sharp. Yes. A method discovered during the war against the vile Demons, where blessed springs and gardens of Holy Power exist.”

In summary, an Archbishop-level priest creates the Sanctum with Holy Power.
Then the concept emerged of cultivating tea there, harvesting and steeping it to make Holy Water infused with Holy Power.
While not quite as potent as directly made Holy Water, most of the Holy Water needed for ordinary purposes can be sourced this way.
Licht left the Theological Academy and headed toward the center of the Temple—the Garden.
As he went, white doors guarded by Holy Knights appeared…….

Clang!

“We honor the Archbishop Candidate!”

Upon recognizing Licht’s face, the guard immediately lowered his sword and stepped back.
Licht unhesitatingly opened the door with his key, confident and assured.

Click.

With a soft sound, the subtle barrier faded, and a transparent greenhouse of crystalline walls swung open to welcome them.

“Come now, step inside, my lord.”
“Ah……”

Lion entered and surveyed the interior.
It was a wonder he had never witnessed, even within House Asteri.
It held no ostentation.
Rather, it was quiet—profoundly so.
The space resembled a vast orchard, or perhaps a botanical garden, yet something about it remained unfinished, the leaves of its plants withered and parched.

“Welcome to the Sanctum.”

And at the very center, from a spring that bore all the marks of holiness……, water flowed—faint, crystalline, barely a whisper.

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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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