Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 128

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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 and I Just Want to Heal — Episode 128

Lion continued to conjure butterflies.
As he practiced, his technique grew faster and the butterflies’ forms ever more lifelike.
And the result……

“Good. Very good.”

Brilliantly colored butterflies fluttered through the Sanctuary, bringing pigment and life to the plants with tireless wings.
And in Lion’s palm rested the final butterfly, poised for flight.

“You’re the last one.”

Lion set down his brush, now dripping with water, and blew gently across the butterfly’s wings to dry them. Soon they began to tremble, and the creature soared upward to join its siblings.
The butterflies that had already taken flight circled around the newcomer in welcome, as if greeting their youngest.
The sight reminded Lion of Licht—forever sheltered, yet fiercely protected—and a faint smile tugged at his lips.
Not that he knew the full measure of that particular situation.
Still, the very fact that he could manage such charming little acts of defiance surely spoke to how close they must be.
In any case, these butterflies spared him from having to run across this vast space with a watering can.

‘The water level’s risen quite a bit.’

It was not yet complete, but the way the water now lapped gently at its boundaries made him think that if Licht pushed just a little harder, the Sanctuary’s completion would be a matter of time.

“Still, just to be safe, I should check if there are any spots the water hasn’t reached.”

Lion filled the Watering Can with water and began to stroll slowly through the interior.
The ground, which had once been as cracked and dusty as a plaster statue, had become soft and moist like fertile soil. The butterflies had worked so diligently that dewdrops now clung to the grass, and with each of Lion’s steps they sprang up and wet his shoes.

“Impressive work.”

There didn’t seem to be anything more that needed tending.
Lion saw no further need for supplementation.
The Watering Can in his hand suddenly felt superfluous.
Just as he was about to turn back……

“Hmm?”

Lion sensed something amiss.

‘The ground and all the plants here have already absorbed as much moisture as they can hold……’

Yet the butterflies would not rest.
They continued their flight through the air without pause.

‘If they’re still delivering water, that means there’s somewhere else that needs it.’

Lion looked not at the ground beneath his feet, but raised his gaze to follow where the butterflies traveled, and understanding dawned.
They were all converging on a single location, carrying water there again and again.
Not just a few—every butterfly he had created.

‘What kind of plant drinks that much water?’

From Lion’s perspective, the plants’ thirst far outpaced what the butterflies could carry in a single trip.
At least, that was how it worked within the Sanctuary’s logic.
Whatever the reason, the butterflies had to keep delivering water.
Yet even with all of them united, it still wasn’t enough?
Naturally, Lion’s feet drew him toward that place, and……
he discovered a location.
Should I even call it a discovery?

“This is…….”

So it was an ordinary tree.
But below the trunk sat a small burrow—the kind a small creature might crawl into.
And butterflies flitted in and out of it one by one, busily supplying water inside.

‘If water is life force in this Sanctuary…….’

In other words, they were providing food.
Lion gazed into the dark hollow beneath the tree’s shade, his eyes narrowing.

“So something’s definitely in there.”

The problem, though.

‘Burrows like this usually don’t house plants—they house animals.’

Raccoons, foxes, rabbits, that sort of thing.
But he’d never heard of anything other than plants living in the Sanctuary.
If animals inhabited this place, Licht would certainly have warned him before completing the Sanctuary—that much was certain.
Even the smallest wild creature could pose risks.
Bites, for instance.

‘Which means…….’

Licht doesn’t know about it either.

“So who are you?”

Lion crouched before the burrow, peering into its depths.
The butterflies that had been supplying water inside stopped at his arrival, no longer venturing into the hollow but instead drifting upward to rest lightly on the leaves above.
The moment their delicate wings stilled, silence descended on the entire grove.
Even Nature fell quiet.

‘All right, I’ll give it time.’

Whatever was in that burrow was clearly alive—an animal, in other words.
Yet the utter silence suggested it had frozen the moment it spotted him.
How small could a creature be, hiding in such a tiny burrow?
Probably not much bigger than Nature itself, he reckoned.
It was natural for something so small to panic at the sight of a human.
Lion simply dropped down onto his haunches.
However it got here, it had drifted into this place somehow.
Perhaps it had been unable to find an exit all this time and had hidden in the burrow until its strength gave out.
If Lion didn’t pull it out and rescue it now, it might well die here.
So the right thing was to calm the creature, rescue it, bring it outside, and set it free.
And yet.

‘Hmm…… it’s too quiet.’

The burrow was too dark for him to see what the creature looked like.
If it was suffering from severe dehydration, this wasn’t good.
Moreover.

‘Nature’s silence bothers me.’

It wasn’t the usual disinterest or peevish chittering he knew.

‘No way.’

Lion glanced toward where Licht stood, then poured Mana into his eyes.

[Expert’s Eye technique strengthens for a brief duration.]

‘Good.’

He’d wondered if it might be impossible inside the Sanctuary, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Moreover, no warning appeared this time like before.
Lion blinked several times and examined the cave interior carefully, spotting something peculiar.
There was no animal……
Only something round and enormous existed in its place.

‘This is……’

Lion reached into the cave and without hesitation carefully grasped the round object and lifted it.
It was…… an egg.
A strange egg at that—half white, half a deep indigo-violet hue.
Even a small flower pattern was etched on one side.
To anyone else, it would look like someone had carved ornamental designs onto a giant ostrich egg……
But Lion could see it clearly.

[Enigmatic Egg]
-What will be born from this?
-This location does not appear conducive to the egg’s survival.

“Hmm.”

True, the description read ‘Enigmatic Egg,’ but what this egg suggested was unmistakable.
Didn’t Lion have something he’d received from Barg before?
Demon Beast Baby Food, to be exact.

[Opening it may cause nearby Demon Beasts to be drawn by the scent and seek you out!]

And Demon Beasts weren’t the violent creatures of legend dwelling in the Demon Realm.
They were merely creatures with remarkable adaptability—capable of surviving even in the Demon Realm itself.
So theoretically, enduring in the Sanctuary should be possible for them as well.
If that were true…
Lion examined the egg once more.

[With the strengthening of Expert’s Eye technique, precise information pierces through.]

[Demon Beast Egg]
-An egg covered in Holy Power, belonging to a Demon Beast.
-It persists through sheer tenacity, but it appears the limit approaches soon. Please provide the egg with a new home.
-It may well be an existence that sought you out and arrived here.

“This is……”

Lion’s mouth worked soundlessly before he simply gathered up the egg without a word.
Indeed, it was a Demon Beast Egg.
And the information even stated it was an existence that had sought him out and come this far.

‘I had anticipated I might encounter one someday……’

But that it would be in a temple—and specifically within the Sanctuary—never crossed his mind.
How it had drifted all the way here, neither he nor the egg could say.
It had simply endured, waiting.

‘Once it hatches, I’ll find out, won’t I?’

Demon Beasts were said to possess considerable intelligence from birth, inheriting memories from their ancestors along with the egg itself.

‘Then this creature’s parents must have been…….’

Most likely, they were the Druid’s partner.

‘Still, for this thing’s sake, I should probably head back soon.’

The creature had stubborn vitality, so it wouldn’t face any major crisis overnight, but even so, it seemed wise to keep it as far from Holy Power as possible.
No matter how much of a survivor this one was, a sacred temple was still fundamentally hostile to its nature.
If it had been possible otherwise, there would be no reason to keep Divine Beasts and Demon Beasts separated in the first place.

‘And besides, even Nature doesn’t seem to have a solution.’

If she had, Nature would have sensed the disturbance first and flown here immediately.

“It’ll be all right.”

Lion stroked Nature, who still hovered listlessly above his head, and then wrapped the Demon Beast Egg in cloth woven from Flawless Disguise material before placing it in his inventory.
This way, it would suffer less exposure to Holy Power.

‘I can’t leave this place immediately anyway.’

Even after completing the Sanctuary, he would need to remain here for at least another day.
As he lifted his head with that thought…….

“…….”

Licht felt every trace of Holy Power within his body drain away as he slowly pushed himself up.
The premonition was good. The Eternal Flame seemed to have served him well again this time.
As he slowly opened his eyes, which had been closed in concentration…….

“Ah!”

Color bloomed across Licht’s face.
The spring water, which had been nearly parched, now flowed generously, filling the channels with its refreshing surge, and the gurgle of water spreading in all directions could be heard!
That wasn’t all.
The plants were verdant, and vitality and vigor surged forth in every direction!
The subtle, delicate fragrance of new shoots growing drifted through the Sanctuary.
It was the same as the other completed Sanctuaries!

‘The Master managed it too!’

It must have been an extraordinarily difficult time.
How much he must have suffered, wandering alone through this vast place.
……No, this isn’t the time for that!
There were surely still places that hadn’t been watered.
Licht filled the remaining Watering Can to the brim and turned his body in a circle, searching for areas still petrified.
But then.

Flutter——!

“……What is this?”

Something that shouldn’t appear in Licht’s field of vision had entered it.
It was a blue butterfly.
Living creatures cannot dwell in a Sanctuary.
Unfortunately, priests who borrowed the power of the divine could not create even moving living things within a Sanctuary.
And so the Sanctuary was a space for plants and priests alone.
But a butterfly?

‘To say it came from outside would be…….’

A Barrier of Holy Power had been erected, designed so that all living things would instinctively avoid it.

‘……surely not.’

A messenger of God? Could it be……?
Licht stared blankly at the butterfly for a moment, then slowly moved forward.
And Licht’s suspicion proved precisely correct.
Perched high in an unusually tall tree were butterflies of every hue, and among them stood the divine messenger, head bowed as though in prayer before slowly raising it again.
That figure—it matched the silhouette from the dream.
And the color of the hair spilling over those shoulders…….
Golden.

“……Lion?”

Licht called out to Lion as though enchanted.

“Ah, Priest. It seems you’ve finished.”

Lion, unaware of Licht’s state, tucked the egg into his inventory and turned around.
The problem was…….
The duration of the Flawless Disguise had expired.
Which meant.
The purple eyes of House Asteri were now fully exposed.

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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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