Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 147

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Successor Eludes Me, So I’ll Just Relax – Episode 147

The skin yielded with a pleasant give, while the flesh within was impossibly soft.
It was like dried persimmon, yet also like jelly — a texture that drew you in.
And the flavor and aroma! How exquisite they were.
The subtle yet rich fragrance and bittersweet taste created the illusion of enjoying a picnic in the shade of a grapefruit tree, hidden from the sun.
And then came the lingering sweetness, fading pleasantly into a satisfying aftertaste.
The other fruits were equally remarkable.
The apple and orange had such a refreshing tang that children would surely adore them.
As for the lemon, its tartness had been softened to a point where even adults would enjoy it without reservation — particularly after a meal, when it would surely invigorate the palate.

“Delicious, isn’t it?”
“Squeak!”
“Ha. I never knew it would taste this good.”

Lion chewed the Fruit Preserves thoughtfully, lost in peculiar contemplation.
Strange, wasn’t it?
When he’d paid money for nostalgia before, it had never tasted like this.
No matter how much fanfare a place received for its delicacies, his appreciation rarely went beyond “it simply tastes good.”

‘How to explain it…….’

That was it — it hadn’t stirred his heart.
But this was different. With each bite, as he chewed and swallowed, it felt as though something sweet was gently soothing the scar within.
Lion smiled faintly.
Fruit Preserves.
Now that he’d made them, he understood.

‘This was no ordinary snack to prepare.’

Though Lion had made them relatively easily, truly proper results required pouring immense time and care into each single bite.
One had to clean the fruit carefully, boil it repeatedly, dry it, and shape it with precision.
Kind words called it “devotion,” but honest ones admitted it was tedious and demanding work.
If these were only for his own mouth, he might have skipped the careful shaping.
But since there was someone to feed, he couldn’t cut corners.
He wanted to give the smoothest, most evenly formed pieces he could manage.
Even if they were slightly rougher and less polished than commercial products.
And when he was a child…….
Hadn’t he longed to receive the softest and gentlest pieces, carefully selected just for him?

‘Back then, I only felt envy with a child’s heart…….’

Now he could empathize with the feelings of whoever made such things.
Wasn’t that better?
He could experience both sides — receiving the snack and giving it.
Just as he’d told the street vendor, he’d created a memory better than anyone else could offer.

“Good. It was a delicious snack.”

He was grateful to have learned this, even now.

‘But…….’

Lion stared into empty space.
By this point, he should have received notification that the Hidden Quest was cleared, yet oddly, no message came.

‘Isn’t this enough?’

There might be some other condition he was missing.

‘A pity, but there’s nothing for it.’

Even without the Hidden Quest, it had been a genuinely rewarding experience.
Nature had eaten well, too.

“Chirp.”
“That’s right. Don’t worry—I’ll make you something even tastier next time.”
“Chirp-chirp!”

Nature flapped her wings as if in frustration, then fluttered up into the empty air.
That was when it happened.

“……Huh?”

[Create the finest snack for your Familiar Spirit ‘Nature’.]
-Make a delicious snack (Complete)
-Soothe an old, faint childhood scar with something sweet (Complete)

[‘Finest Snack’ quest cleared!]

“……!”

The Hidden Quest had been cleared.
It had been so quiet that I’d thought the quest wouldn’t complete at all…….

[You have achieved one of the specific conditions.]
[Upon meeting all conditions, you may advance to a new Realm.]

At the same moment, Lion heard something creak and grind.
His instincts recognized it at once—the sound of chains.
More precisely, the sound of the Restraints that had been binding Nature’s true form breaking free.

[The Seal on Ancient Spirit ‘Nature’ releases one stage.]
[A fierce presence emanates from beyond the veil.]

Lion’s breath caught in his throat.
An immense pressure crashed down on him.
There was nothing there, yet an overwhelming force bore down upon him.

Whoosh!

Before that presence could crush him, Nature’s form exploded in brilliant light.
The Kitchen flooded with radiance…….

Bang!

The tightly shut door to the Kitchen burst open.

“Brother!”
“Young Master!”

Ricshel and Barg came racing in, startled by the sudden surge of power.
And yet, even though that door had swung wide…….

“Chirp-chirp-chirp-!”

……Nature glowed like a firefly.
She chirped triumphantly through her tiny beak, savoring the rush of liberation.

“……Hah.”

Lion found himself laughing without meaning to at the sight.
That was right. Even if Nature’s presence had grown, Nature was still Nature.
And if danger came, wasn’t there people who would rush to him like this without hesitation?

“Haha.”

It was different from when he was alone. He didn’t need to be afraid.
Lion caught Nature descending from the sky in one hand and wiped away the tears that had trickled down with his finger.
Then he looked at the two bewildered figures and spoke.

“Perfect timing. I made some snacks. Want some?”

* * *

“……That’s how it happened.”

The two chewed on the Fruit Preserves as they listened intently to Lion’s explanation.

“So you’re saying you were engaged in a form of training activity to attain Enlightenment in Spirit Arts, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“And you happened to see results by chance.”
“Exactly.”

Lion explained that the light streaming from Nature’s body earlier had been a form of practice.
He added that fortunately, it had borne fruit.

“I see.”

Ricshel could only nod at those words.
If someone else had said they were training an Ancient Spirit—not even an ordinary Familiar Spirit—like this, he would have firmly cut them off as talking nonsense; but his counterpart was his older brother, who possessed an extraordinary talent for Spirit Arts.

‘This might actually be a good thing.’

Since learning that his brother possessed tremendous talent in Spirit Arts, Ricshel had looked into various aspects of the discipline.
And he had discovered one unfortunate fact.
That training in Spirit Arts was far more grueling than one could imagine.
So much so that he hadn’t wanted to mention it to his brother.
Practical experience.
That is to say, one had to directly practice synchronized combat and mock battles with spirits.
So while it shouldn’t be the case, he had stayed silent with his brother about it.
But……

‘If it’s this kind of method.’

Perhaps it wasn’t so bad.
But at the same time.

“…….”

Ricshel fell into deep thought.
The joy of growth could give a sensation so intense that nothing else could compare to it.
But……

‘Isn’t he pushing himself too hard?’

His older brother Lion was taking it to an extreme!
To the point where he seemed utterly intoxicated by that state called “Dopamine” that occasionally came up in their conversations!
No matter what, he’d barely left the Temple and now he was pushing himself like this again……!

‘If he hurts himself doing that, what then?’

The worry gnawed at him.
It had been like this just now too.
No matter that an Ancient Spirit served as his brother’s familiar—its presence was something an ordinary person simply couldn’t withstand.
Even Ricshel had been taken aback.
Part of him wanted to say, “Please, just rest for a while”—but he held his tongue.

‘He won’t listen anyway.’

He was certain of it.
So instead of speaking, Ricshel simply watched Lion.

“…….”

His brother, decanting fragrant fruit syrup into a separate container, turned his head under the weight of that steady gaze.

“……What is it?”

He seemed to be pushing himself too hard, but if asked directly, he would surely deny it—and probably mean it.
Not a lie, exactly. His brother simply didn’t see it himself.
In that case, perhaps burdening him with concern wasn’t the answer at all.

‘Better to give him a chance to rest instead.’

The way his brother had done for him.
Ricshel gathered his thoughts and spoke at last.

“Ah, the Hotel matter is nearly wrapped up, actually.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. So I was thinking it might be best to move on as soon as possible—but if you’re still busy with Spirit Arts, I’m happy to wait.”
“…….”

Barg, munching Fruit Preserves beside them, cast a sidelong glance at Ricshel.

‘Ah.’

He was definitely laying it on thick.
Barg had wanted to say the Young Master worried so much, but somehow he sensed that would earn him disfavor, so he kept quiet.
Barg wanted things to go smoothly between himself and the Young Master he currently served.
……He’d learned well enough by now how thoroughly one could be ground down for rubbing him the wrong way.

“Hmm? No, I was planning to get this done before heading to the Hotel anyway, so we can leave whenever.”
“Are you sure it won’t be too much?”
“Of course not. If you want to go, I could even leave tomorrow.”
“Would tomorrow afternoon be alright for departure?”
“Hmm?”

Tomorrow? Already?
True, there was no schedule in the way.
He had plans, certainly, but an extra day or two wouldn’t resolve those sorts of things anyway—

‘There must be something pressing at the Hotel.’

Seeing his usually composed younger brother grow impatient suggested the Hotel business had shifted up in priority.

‘And once we’re there, I won’t get a proper rest anyway.’

Lion clicked his tongue inwardly.
Neither the Underworld nor the Second Imperial Prince seemed to have anyone who could do their job properly.

‘I’ll have to make sure he gets proper sleep once we reach the Hotel.’

Lion had made a firm resolve in his heart.
During rest hours, he would let his brother sleep as peacefully as a child in a new kingdom.
The two brothers shared the same unspoken thought.

“Well then, I should head off to bed.”

Just as Lion was about to rise and tidy up—

“Sir, please let me clean up in return for the meal.”

Barg lifted a hand and scrambled to his feet with surprising speed.

“There’s no need for that.”

He’d made plenty anyway, and it felt wrong to burden Barg with chores when he’d only recently recovered from his illness.

A sidelong glance.

Barg rolled his eyes, looking once at Ricshel and once back at Lion.

‘Ah.’

Only then did Lion catch on to what Barg was really after.
Of course—why else would Ricshel have come to the Kitchen at this hour?

‘The boy’s embarrassed, that’s all.’

It was hard to say out loud, and at his age, he was hardly starved for attention.
And besides…
If Lion just sent him off to his room now, there was no doubt he’d skip sleep entirely and work until tomorrow afternoon.
It was obvious how much Barg, who was charged with Ricshel’s protection, must be losing sleep over it.

“Actually, would you mind doing me a favor? I’d like to take my brother to his room myself tonight.”
“Of course, sir!”

Barg answered eagerly and stared openly at Ricshel.
His expression screamed ‘Didn’t I do well?’—leaving Ricshel with no will to argue back.

‘What does he think I am, anyway?’

He couldn’t tell if his guard captain was perceptive or simply clueless.
Still.
This time, he had to admit it wasn’t so bad.

* * *

A deep yawn escaped him.

Lion sat on the edge of the bed, mouth stretched wide, and stared blankly ahead for a moment.

‘Gods, I’m exhausted.’

By the time he’d brought his brother to the bedroom and returned to his own room, dawn was already breaking.
Elvia had drawn the heavy curtains against the morning light streaming through the windows and suggested he might as well get some rest—so he’d closed his eyes for a while.
But he was still drowsy.

“If you’re tired, would you like me to tell Ricshel that we should depart a bit later?”

Elvia asked gently as she wiped Lion’s face with a warm cloth.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll rest once we’re there anyway.”

So he said, but his true thoughts ran differently.

‘I need to look exhausted, actually.’

That way, Ricshel might insist he rest, even if only for his sake.
To be clear, Lion had only one objective this time.
To pull Ricshel away from overwork.
And if the chance arose…….

‘I need to see what sort of people they are. Get a look at their faces, at least.’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————