Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 133

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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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I Don’t Know About the Succession, But I’d Like to Relax — Episode 133

“You’re welcome to ask for what you want, or you can hear my gratitude first. Either way is fine.”

The Archbishop smiled gently and offered Lion the choice.

“If I were in your position, I imagine this situation would feel rather burdensome.”

Certainly, if they were ordinary people, they would likely feel considerable pressure in such a situation.
Even with that gentle expression and smile, the fact that the man before him was the Archbishop of the Order didn’t change.
Though Lion himself wasn’t feeling much emotion about it.

‘I’d have to have actually done something wrong for that.’

If anything, it was Lion who should be receiving the Archbishop’s gratitude, wasn’t it?

“I’m not particularly burdened, but since you’ve been kind enough to summon me, I’ll hear what you have to say.”
“Ah, you have a way with words, don’t you.”

With that, the Archbishop picked up his cup and took a brief sip.

“First, let me express my sincere gratitude. Thanks to you, I was able to learn what unfortunate incidents have been occurring in the Temple.”

By unfortunate incidents, he surely meant the indiscriminate rooting out of priests.

“You weren’t aware of it?”

The Archbishop simply smiled in response.

‘So he wasn’t entirely ignorant of it after all.’

Not that he’d been turning a blind eye. He’d probably needed concrete evidence.
After all, one careless step could cause chaos within the entire community of believers.

“I won’t make excuses. I knew. When one becomes the greatest servant of God, one paradoxically loses sight of smaller things.”
“I understand. You bear the responsibility, after all.”

So he intended to gather more solid evidence, root out the problem entirely, and establish a new framework.
Lion understood it well enough, but that didn’t mean he accepted it.

“That’s painful to hear.”

At Lion’s words, the Archbishop’s eyebrows lifted.
To strike at the heart so directly.

“…In any case, I intend to take measures so that such things never occur in the Temple again. I stake my oath upon the God I serve.”

The Archbishop did not grow angry at Lion’s attitude.
On the contrary, he approved.

‘That’s right. That’s the kind of resolve one should have.’

The reason was simple — the young man matched the ideal of humanity the Archbishop envisioned!
Kind and gentle, yet in certain circumstances, as firm and unyielding as steel and unwavering in principle.
And the youth before him embodied that ideal perfectly.
Where had Licht cultivated such a connection?

‘That child has grown so much.’

Licht inevitably came to mind.
Perhaps because I’d watched him since he was so small, I kept him confined, raising him in isolation without quite realizing it.
The wounds that child carried were simply too deep.
And so from that time forward, I’ve made my own efforts, hoping no one in the Temple would suffer.
But then again…….
Nothing ever unfolds as we wish it to.
And now, in my position as Archbishop, haven’t second and third versions of Licht already come into being?
Watching them, I wonder how much resentment that boy Licht must harbor toward me.
I have no defense, deserved or otherwise—yet the thought that a child I’d raised like a youngest son could resent me gnawed at my heart.
Yes. The Archbishop…….
Is feigning composure right now, but deeply anxious.
That’s why he reached into dreams to summon Licht’s friend—to grasp what was happening.
Of course there were other reasons too, but the Archbishop’s desire was precisely this.
Lion, seasoned in the ways of salesmanship, had already read that longing long ago.

‘……He just wants to know how angry our boy is.’

Quite the roundabout way to ask, really.
Lion, moving slightly faster than the Archbishop’s urge to say more, offered the answer he sought.

“Licht harbored no resentment toward you, Archbishop.”
“……!”

In an instant, the Archbishop’s composed and gentle face flooded with bewilderment.

“Father Licht simply wished to help others by his own strength. I merely provided a small catalyst to set him in motion.”

Lion finished speaking and broke into a quiet laugh.

‘Why does this feel like a parent-teacher conference?’

You know how it goes.
At school conferences, the teacher says how wonderfully your child is growing, so dignified and well-mannered.
Even before his possession, Lion had experienced such moments.
Though not with his own parents—he’d simply overheard other students’ conferences by chance in the Teacher’s Office.
And by further chance, he’d glimpsed the parents’ expressions.
It was an emotion beyond words.
Moved, yet happy all at once.
That expression—more flustered and thrilled than by any praise of themselves—was…….

‘Envious enough to ache.’

Just a vague longing.
And perhaps Baek I-hyun was always meant to live without ever awakening to that feeling.
Until that day.

“Come here, I-hyun.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You need a conference too.”
“But……”

The teacher overseeing young Baek I-hyun at the time took his small, delicate hands firmly in both of hers, looked him in the eyes, and spoke gently yet firmly.

“Your guardian is you. That’s fine.”

You’ll be treated the same as everyone else.
The teacher seated Baek I-hyun and spoke to him as she would to the other students’ parents, offering this and that.
His character, his strengths.
And even the areas where he would need to grow through his own efforts.
Young Baek I-hyun hadn’t been able to offer any answer back then.
Yet that scene remained vivid in his mind, etched there still.
The quiet Teacher’s Office, the bittersweet aroma of instant coffee, the white fluorescent light and the wheeled chair where his teacher had sat.
And beside it, the small stack of letters home and printed materials.

‘It was nice.’

Nice as it was, he’d simply inherited the moment, grasping the oversized school uniform sleeves with red-flushed cheeks, managing only a nod.
He’d been too young to answer such kindness.
That was it.
Through that teacher’s small gesture of consideration, he’d come to understand the feeling.
And with that single word, he never had to feel inferior again.

‘Now that I think about it, around that time…….’

So moved by the incident, he’d even changed his future aspiration to become a teacher.
He’d vaguely thought that someday he too would become someone capable of saying such things.

‘As it turned out, circumstances prevented me from pursuing that path.’

Still, it was a good memory.
Perhaps because of the similar situation, old memories came rushing back now.
And……only by stumbling into a situation like this did he finally understand the heart with which that teacher had seated him and offered counsel.
A simple heart and a gentle gaze.
That’s all it was—because this is true, because someone ought to know it.

“……This is the first conversation of this sort I’ve ever had.”
“If I was rude, my apologies.”
“No. Rather……I’m grateful for it.”

The Archbishop’s expression softened considerably, more natural than before.

“Here I am, the one who ought to be offering thanks, and instead I’m receiving comfort too.”

What was to be done.
The Archbishop, troubled yet seeming quite pleased by the situation, contemplated in a slightly buoyed state before letting out a soft laugh.

“When I wake from sleep, I’ll have to visit you.”
“……There’s no need to go to such trouble.”
“Don’t feel burdened about it. Haha. It’ll be a good opportunity to see Patrick’s face again after so long, I think. Oh, and.”

The Archbishop turned his gaze toward Lion, raising one hand alone as he murmured something inaudible.
Small sparks flickered in the empty air, forming some sort of symbol before vanishing directly into his palm.

“Do you have questions about anything? How I invited you into this dream, perhaps, or what the Sanctuary is. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“……Are you certain it’s alright?”
“I don’t wish to break the trust between us.”

Then, with a haha, didn’t I seem like quite the mage just now? he added with a jest.

“In any case, you may trust me. Appearances aside, I’m the Archbishop, after all. I’ve heard much, and I’ve been taught much.”

So set your mind at ease—if there’s anything you wish to ask, ask freely. I’ll answer with all sincerity.
Lion nodded at the Archbishop’s heartfelt words.
In truth, even if he were to remember this, Lion intended to ask about the Seal.

‘……It’s dangerous to show the vessel directly.’

-No ■■ belonging to this world will ever learn of this vessel’s existence.

I’ve definitely seen a passage like this before.
I didn’t know what that broken section meant, but it clearly indicated that the people of the world were unaware of the vessel’s existence.
In fact, when I took the time to search through the books in the Library afterward, there wasn’t a single volume containing passages like ‘sealed vessel’ or ‘old vessel.’
It was the same when I saw them while organizing books in the Temple.
The only thing I could reasonably infer was information about sealing that I already knew.

“I would like to ask how to break a seal.”
“……A seal?”

The Archbishop answered somewhat slowly to the unexpected question.

“Just in case, if you happen to be holding something belonging to the Demon Race, it would be better to burn it right now rather than breaking the seal to satisfy your curiosity.”
“That’s not it.”

I didn’t even know if it truly belonged to the Demon Race.
Perhaps…… it seemed like a far more serious problem.
For now, since even Lion couldn’t be certain of that, I’d set it aside.

“So it’s not that either, yet you ask about seal-breaking methods. Li…….”

The Archbishop fell into deep thought before slowly opening his mouth.

“Very well. If problems arise, Patrick would step forward before I could, so I’ll answer your question.”
“Thank you.”

The Archbishop first explained the fundamentals briefly.
First, whoever casts and breaks a seal must be absolutely stronger than that seal itself.

“Whether that power is Mana, Holy Power, or even brute strength—a seal shatters only when the force exceeds that of the sealed subject.”

Which meant that the stronger a seal was, the fewer people could break it.

“Currently, I can release seals up to the third tier.”

That meant he could break all known seals in existence.
He had received special privileges because of his nature as a priest.

‘But this vessel is fifth tier…….’

Lion exhaled silently, keeping his expression neutral.
If even the Archbishop’s limit was breaking third-tier seals, how could anyone break a fifth-tier seal?

‘……Wait.’

Looked at another way, didn’t that mean whoever cast the seal was stronger than the Archbishop currently was?

“May I ask how capable the Saint is in this regard?”
“Hmm?”

The Archbishop’s eyes shifted in an instant.

“Yes. The Saint does possess the ability to cast seals beyond the third tier. The Great Barrier currently blocking the Demon Realm’s intrusion is proof of that, wouldn’t you say? However, we cannot measure that precisely either. As you know, it’s a collaborative work between the Saint and Patrick.”

In other words, there was nothing to learn from the Archbishop’s official answer.

“But it seems you didn’t know that.”
“…….”

“When you’re about to break a seal, the first thing you need to ascertain isn’t whether you’re stronger or weaker than it—that’s not it at all.”
“Then what must I confirm?”
“You need to determine which direction the seal is facing.”
“……!”

Was it blocking something from bursting out from within?
Or…….

‘……Was it blocking an invasion from without?’

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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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