Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 175

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

The Successor Doesn’t Matter, I’d Rather Just Heal — Episode 175

Lion swept his gaze across the pitch-black surroundings, exhaling a very deep sigh to himself.
Getting into Story Mode had been fortunate enough.
Truth be told, now that he’d gathered even a few fragments related to the Hero, he’d been hoping Story Mode would make an appearance eventually.
It would surely reveal something different from what emerged when he’d first obtained the Ability Blocking Accessory Set.
His best guess was that it might show the final memory held within the object itself.
In other words, the moment it changed hands from its original owner to someone else.
If that was the case, he suspected this Story Mode would yield rather crucial information.
The Shard of the Holy Sword.

‘An item only the Main Character possessed.’

Without ever viewing the Story Mode itself, one thing became certain.
The Hero of this world was indeed the Main Character that Lion had cultivated most carefully and earnestly.
That alone unraveled one thick knot of confusion.
……But small tangles still remained.

‘What happened to the Sub-characters?’

They had definitely existed on the same timeline as the Main Character.
The decisive proof of that lay with Nature and the Demon Beast Egg.
Especially Nature—she was the spirit of the Druid.
And she had recognized him.

‘At first, I even wondered if maybe there was some other world…….’

But that wasn’t it.
His grandfather had known about Nature.
Which meant——

‘……They definitely existed here.’

The Main Character and the Sub-characters unquestionably coexisted in this place.
Simply knowing this opened up vast new possibilities.
He could now begin systematically gathering information about the Hero and his allies.
But…….

‘The timing of it all…….’

Of all moments, he’d disguised himself to be unrecognizable, and it had to happen right in front of the Second Imperial Prince.
If Story Mode conveyed information through some form of dream-state, he’d abruptly obtain the Shard of the Holy Sword and collapse on the spot.

‘There’s a high probability the disguise would break too.’

Which would mean his identity had been exposed.
What would happen afterward was painfully clear to him.
The Second Imperial Prince would immediately summon Ricshel, and the situation would be reported.
He’d collapsed!
Then word would reach his grandfather as well…….

‘Maybe he’d confine me to recuperation for months.’

Imagine a grandson who’d been having a fine time suddenly fell unconscious.
And wouldn’t you know it? It had to happen right in front of the Second Imperial Prince?

‘He’d grow suspicious.’

Of the Second Imperial Prince, not of him.
And even if he were innocent, the fallout would likely reach the Second Imperial Prince.
Ricshel had made it especially clear that if problems arose from this affair, he would no longer assist the Second Imperial Prince.

‘Sigh……’

He hadn’t wanted things to spiral out of control because of him.

‘Stay calm, at least.’

The milk was already spilled.
There was no point trying to gather it back up—that much was inevitable.
So what was he to do?

‘Salvage what you can.’

Information about the Hero or the Demons, things like that.
But…….

‘It’s quiet.’

The last time, the story had begun before Lion even regained consciousness.
He remembered how frustrating it had been—unable to hear or see properly.
This time was the opposite.
Nothing had started at all.
It was pitch black, as though a summoning had been called but encountered an error.
Even Lion, who remained composed in most circumstances, had begun to wonder: ‘Is something wrong here?’
Then at last the suffocating darkness cleared, and the world came into view.
No—the body Lion inhabited had opened its eyes.
The ceiling of a dark room appeared overhead, and as his head turned, a bed sheet occupied one side of his vision.
Lion swallowed his curiosity about this person and focused instead on reading the situation unfolding before him.
Beyond the edge of the bed sheet, two figures knelt on one knee—one a boy who looked rather lanky, the other…

‘The Second Imperial Prince.’

He saw the Second Imperial Prince, but considerably younger than at present.
Judging by the baby fat still clinging to his cheeks, he appeared even younger than the current Ricshel.

‘Come to think of it, my vision is quite clear.’

Lion realized something.
The scene appeared more vivid than in the previous Story Mode.
Though the world remained monochromatic like a faded photograph, he could still make out people’s faces without difficulty.
And besides that……

“Life is something you live grandly once, and then it’s over.”

An old man’s voice—one that must have been quite spirited once—came through clearly.
At the same moment, Lion’s vision shifted again.
The body must have sat up.
From the way his vision destabilized with each breath, it was clear the owner of this body didn’t have much time left.
There was no pain, thankfully, yet even breathing alone revealed how heavy and aching this body had become.
The two before him made no effort to hide their agitation.
One’s trembling eyes soon resigned themselves to understanding, while the other turned away, unable to bear the sight.

‘……Ah.’

Lion could make one inference.
Someone connected to the Hero, linked to the Second Imperial Prince, and of considerable age.
Jack.
A member of the Hero’s party who had once defeated Demons alongside his grandfather, and one of those who constantly bickered with Grandfather Patrick due to his temperamental nature.
……but as time had worn on, Jack’s hands in Lion’s sight were marked with scars and creases.

“Have you sinned?”

But the words that left his mouth spoke to something else.
As though it were nothing at all.
Rather, as if the two of them standing there were the strange ones, he let the words fall out sharply and then laughed.

“Don’t speak from so far away. Come closer.”

But it was only a gesture—his body didn’t move at all.
Fortunately, the two obeyed without resistance.

“Kyle.”

Jack called the Second Imperial Prince—far younger than he was now—and drew something from his embrace to hand over.
Lion recognized the object at once.
The very thing the Second Prince had given him.
The Shard of the Holy Sword that had set this Story Mode in motion.

“Listen well.”

Jack explained to Kyle about this Shard of the Holy Sword.
There was no elaborate exposition—merely what Kyle himself had once explained to Lion.
And he offered rough-edged advice on several matters.
The Imperial Palace would be a stage for conspiracies unlike anything here…….

“You’ll have no allies there, no one you can truly trust. So survive as I have taught you thus far.”

Harsh words to speak to a child still soft with youth.
Perhaps he spoke so coldly on purpose, to avoid growing attached.

“……and if.”

Jack swallowed something with difficulty, his mouth closing before he continued.

“Should you come to live without this object, then—you must pass it on as repayment to whoever saves your life. Do you understand?”

Lion suspected that Jack’s ready-handed passing of the Shard of the Holy Sword to him stemmed from this very deathbed instruction.

‘Then it was mere chance.’

Coincidence upon coincidence had simply aligned by fortune, and the Shard of the Holy Sword had come back to Lion’s hands—there was no other way to make sense of it.
In that case, he had merely glimpsed the Second Prince’s past.
Intriguing though it was, it offered Lion no practical aid.

‘……For now, I’ll keep watching.’

The Story Mode showed no sign of ending, so Lion set his doubts aside and turned his gaze back to the screen before him.

“……Understood.”
“Tch. Don’t go being sentimental on me—call that other one over here.”

This old man who had done nothing but throw him off cliffs—what was he getting sentimental about now.
Tsk. His tone was gruff, even sharp, but there lingered a note of bitterness in the edges of his words.
And it only deepened as another figure approached.

“Why have you weakened so. Even if I emptied my pockets, I couldn’t stop you now.”

His voice was steady, yet its end trembled slightly.
Yet he continued to spill curses, muttering incessantly.
I suppose this was their way of showing affection.

“Jack.”
…….
“From this moment on, you are Jack. Do you understand?”

This boy must be the new leader of the Underworld.
The one who would come to be known as ‘Jack.’

“I’ve explained everything you need to know already, so there’s no need to tell you the rest.”

The old Jack chuckled and produced something from his robes, handing it over.
But then…….

‘……I can’t see it.’

Strange—the object itself appeared obscured, like static interference blocked my vision.
All I could discern was its approximate size: small enough to fit in a pocket.

“This was also taken from the same person’s pocket. Its purpose is…….”

Again, his voice crackled and cut off.

‘Taken from the same pocket, which means…….’

This must also belong to the Hero—in other words, to my Main Character.
I suspect that once I obtain this object, I’ll trigger another Story Mode and unlock new information.

“……Keep it safe. And you…… well, figure it out yourself. That’s enough. Now go.”

As soon as the explanation ended, the old Jack waved his hand dismissively.

“I need to rest.”

Then, stubborn as ever, he refused any support and lay back down on the bed.
I sensed this was the old Jack’s final moment.
The vision staring at the dark ceiling flickered slowly, slowly, then faded.
And a profound silence settled in.
I assumed the Story Mode had ended the moment Jack died.
The feeling was…… honestly, quite bitter.
Death—even that of a stranger—had never sat well with me. And with Jack, a character I’d grown genuinely fond of despite being a game, it cut deeper still.

‘No, get a grip.’

The old Jack’s death was, after all, ancient history.
Experiencing it directly through Story Mode must have made the emotions hit harder than expected.
Lion took a deep breath inwardly and gathered his thoughts.
Though he’d learned nothing directly about the Hero, he had uncovered something new.

‘Jack stole two items from the Hero’s storage.’

One was the Shard of the Holy Sword, and the other was something I hadn’t yet identified.
I could confirm what that object was through the Second Imperial Prince, but I need to think carefully about this.
Approaching the Second Imperial Prince now to dig into Jack would be quite dangerous.
He might draw a line and refuse to cooperate altogether, questioning whether that was my true aim.
So it’s better to wrap things up while still in disguise.
Simply discovering where the Main Character’s belongings are kept was already an enormous gain.
There’s no need to search this vast world endlessly.
But…….

‘……Why won’t I wake up?’

By now, I should have been stirring to consciousness, yet my vision remained dark and impenetrable.
I wondered if Story Mode had already ended, but that wasn’t it.
The sensation of waking was distinctly absent.

‘Which means I’m still…….’

Inside Jack’s body.
As that realization settled, something stirred at the edge of my hearing.
What began as mere noise gradually swelled in volume.
Lion understood instinctively what it was.
A memory.
Fragments of recollection, cascading one after another.
……Likely something vital.
Lion closed his eyes and sank deeper into the current of consciousness.
…….
…….
…….
A moment where breathing seemed to stop, then relief washed through.
From the distance came the faint echo of memory’s voice.

“The war is over now. Why did you summon me?”

Jack’s curt question opened the scene.
And the one who answered it was——

“There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

The Hero.
Lion’s first character, the one he had nurtured with the greatest care.

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