Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 198

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

Successor or Not, I Just Want to Heal — Episode 198

In any case, it was better to follow Young Master Lion.

“Um, Young Master…….”
“Hmm?”
“You must be tired, aren’t you?”

Lion’s eyes widened at those words, and he touched his face with his hand.

“Do I look tired?”
“No, that’s not it…… it’s just a feeling. If that guest is troubling you, I’ll report it to Young Master Ricshel right away……!”
“No, there’s no need for that.”

And if anything, from now on it would be Lion doing the troubling, wouldn’t it?
Jack would do his utmost to keep Lion satisfied for whatever time remained.
But what could Lion possibly need in the House Asteri?
With just a snap of his fingers, everything would be taken care of.

“Thanks for worrying about me. It’s actually quite reassuring.”
“Yes? He-hehe…….”

At the small compliment, Barg immediately wagged his tail bashfully.
Ever since his true nature as a beastkin was revealed, his ears and tail appeared far more frequently.
It was likely because he’d come to understand that being in his natural, comfortable form was acceptable here.

“Ah, perfect timing.”
“Yes?”
“There’s someone I want to show you.”

* * *

“Wow……!”

Barg covered his mouth with both hands, gazing at the small creature before him.
Fluffy fur and tail, bright intelligent eyes, and teeth that were sharp but still smaller than the barley he’d once stolen……!

“It’s so cute! Will you be raising it from now on?”
“Yeah. That’s the plan. His name is Pus.”
“Pus…… that’s a cute name.”

But the expression on his face was a bit odd.

“What is it?”
“Well, it’s…….”

Barg gently touched Pus’s relatively large front paw with his finger.

“Arf!”

Disliking the touch from someone unfamiliar, Pus snapped irritably and jerked his paw away.

“I, I’m sorry.”

Barg apologized almost reflexively, then turned to Lion.

“It’s just…… that…….”

He glanced at Pus, then leaned close to Lion and whispered in the smallest voice possible.

“Looking at his paws, I think… he’s going to grow quite a bit. Quite a lot, actually…!”
“Mm……”

Seeing Barg say this, it seemed the creature really would grow larger after all.
Lion hadn’t failed to anticipate it, but hearing it aloud made it feel more real somehow.

“It’s fine. As long as he’s happy with it.”

With that, Lion scooped up Pus and gently stroked his bridge of nose with his thumb.

“Is there anything else he might need?”
“Oh!”

Barg suddenly realized why he’d been brought here.

‘He doesn’t seem to be a beastkin, but….’

There was a subtle aura about him that only another beastkin could sense—not a creature to be called merely an animal.
It didn’t have quite the clarity of a spirit, but there was something uncanny and strangely familiar about it.

‘Probably, originally….’

Though he’d lived alone since very early in life and lacked the knowledge other beastkin possessed, there were still things he could know by instinct.
Things like these, for instance.

“I think… it would be good to let him meet as many people as possible. Even now……”

As Barg extended his finger again, Pus let out a small whine.

“His loyalty to you is admirable, but if he’s not careful, he could cause an accident. Stronger individuals have a harder time controlling their strength when they’re young.”

It was the same with me.
Before he knew it, Barg was muttering to himself, then startled, he waved his hand hurriedly.

“Not anymore, though! The Eclipse Symptoms are almost gone!”
“Right. Keep going.”

Barg calmed down at Lion’s composed reply and continued.
His tone wasn’t one of absolute certainty, but his words aligned to some degree with the knowledge of Beast Taming.
The treats that could be given as rewards, the training that was essential, how certain behaviors expressed certain emotions—things like that.

“Socialization Training……”
“Yes. It would be ideal if his parents or another beastkin could teach him, but if that’s not possible, then through training like this… um?”

Barg stopped short as he met Lion’s persistent gaze.
Then, pointing at himself with a finger, he asked.

“……Me?”
“It could be dangerous for anyone else.”
“That’s true, but……”

He wanted to object, but he had nothing to say.
The truth was, from the moment he first saw Pus, he’d felt it instinctively.
If that child needed someone to serve as a playmate or teacher, that role would be his—he’d sensed it then.

“Can I really do it?”

Rationally, he knew he could do it better than almost anyone else, but worry was winning out.
He’d received almost no education from his own parents, after all.
When Pus was first born, he must have been under his parents’ protection, but sadly I have no memory of it.
As I grew, I had little choice but to squeeze out whatever understanding I could through sheer effort.
And even that knowledge—I can’t be certain it matches what other beastkin would know.

“Perhaps it would be better to invite another beastkin instead…….”
“No.”

Lion shook his head firmly.

“You’ll know better than anyone.”

Lion said this and handed Barg the wrapper that had contained the infant formula.

“Because Pus ate the formula you gave him.”
“…….”

Barg didn’t immediately grasp the meaning of those words.
Though he had possessed the item, it wasn’t easy for him to understand that it was infant formula, or that it meant he had fed it to Pus.
But there was one thing he could comprehend instinctively.
The Young Master trusted him most of all for this task.

‘……Barg! This is your chance!’

Hadn’t he wanted to be useful to the Young Master?
He’d undergone training for it, done his best to recover completely.
He’d even risen to the position of protecting the Young Master’s brother, Ricshel.
Yet it was hard to say that had truly helped Lion in any substantial way.
It was only…… coming closer to him.
But this task?

‘……Yes! This is something only I can do.’

Barg clenched his fists tightly.
The kind and merciful Young Master must have judged that the things I’ve learned through all my struggles held value.

‘I thought I’d only barely figured things out, that it was still lacking.’

But from the Young Master’s perspective, that wasn’t the case.
If so, then from Barg’s own view too, this wouldn’t this be an insight of considerable worth?

“I won’t steal away from your training time. Just drop by every few days and see how well Pus is doing…….”
“I’ll do it!”
“Hm?”
“I will pass on everything I’ve learned to Pus…… no, to Lord Pus!”
“…….”

Well, thank you.
But is that really something to get so fired up about?

‘Did he actually want to teach someone?’

True, inside the Asteri Family Estate, people swarmed everywhere while animals were almost nowhere to be found.
For a beastkin like Barg, it must be a rather suffocating environment.

‘Ah.’

Especially since he’d been surrounded by humans since childhood, eating quietly in the background…… he might be even more delighted by this.

‘And besides…….’

I hadn’t told Barg directly, but the nine-tailed fox Pus was undeniably connected to the red wolf humanoid known as the Druid.
Perhaps they were drawn to each other by instinct.

‘Pus doesn’t seem to dislike him, either.’

He’d turned his head away dismissively and even barked, but I could see through it.
His claws never extended, and he didn’t so much as attempt to bite.
Every time Barg spoke, his ears perked up in response.
That meant genuine interest.

“So tomorrow afternoon, would you mind playing with Pus in the garden? We don’t want him worn out before training starts.”
“Of course! I’ll prepare well!”
“Try not to be so tense about it.”
“Right!”
……

His fighting spirit had suddenly flared up.

‘Ah… well, I’ll be there with him anyway, so it should be fine, right?’

While watching them play, I planned to craft toys and items perfectly suited to Pus.
I’d seek Nature’s advice along the way, too.

“See you tomorrow, then.”

Barg bowed with an excited expression and left the room.
Then he dashed off somewhere, exclaiming “That’s right! Oh yes!” — apparently having forgotten to report something about Jack to Ricshel.

“Chirp-chirp.”
“You think Barg will bully him rather than teach him?”
“Chirp-tweet.”
“Mm… that’s fair.”

Lion gazed down at Pus, nestled in his arms and brimming with affection, and spoke softly.

“Look after Barg for me, alright?”
“Squeak!”

Both of them always gave solid responses, anyway.

* * *

“The Hero, then.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And my brother?”
“He showed no particular reaction, sir.”
“I see.”

Ricshel’s mouth curved into a smirk.
From Barg’s report, it seemed Jack had taken quite the blow.

“He underestimated them.”

His brother simply preferred not to be involved in such affairs — but he was hardly unskilled at rhetoric.
In fact, the accounts suggested he sometimes displayed a sophistication rivaling the family head himself.

‘But then…’

Why had his brother not simply cast Jack out and instead kept him at the estate?

‘Can’t say for certain.’

Truthfully, Ricshel found this fellow Jack deeply disagreeable.
The sheer audacity of invoking the Hero in the same breath as his brother was nothing short of offensive.
Lion didn’t need Jack’s help to earn that reputation—he was more than capable.
That he hadn’t claimed the title came down to one simple fact: he’d never wanted it.

“……Hah.”

Ricshel exhaled softly and shook his head.

‘Not my affair to worry about.’

His brother would handle it capably enough on his own.
No need for him to involve himself.
Ricshel’s role was simply to support from behind.

“Right. I’ll see to it.”
“Yes, and…….”
“Hmm?”

Barg hesitated, then fumbled for words.
After hearing the full account, Ricshel fell silent in thought before answering readily.

“Go ahead with that.”
“……Thank you so much!”

With his report delivered and permission granted, Barg bowed deeply and took his leave from Ricshel’s chambers.
Ricshel caught sight of Barg’s tail swishing briskly as he departed and let out an amused sigh.
If he was being honest, Barg’s nature rubbed him the wrong way.
The cowardice, the anxiousness, the way his feelings always played across his face—it all grated on him.
And yet, the reason he’d chosen him as a guard was……

‘……That power back then.’

He’d felt it during that brief standoff under the Eclipse Symptoms.
Barg.
No—the Red Wolf Humanoid’s strength transcended imagination.
Even then, he’d lost his senses and entered a berserker state, all while weakened by the Eclipse Symptoms themselves.

‘If we clashed again now…….’

The thought that suddenly surfaced made Ricshel furrow his brow.
Despite his own steady growth, if he faced Barg in a proper fight, victory wasn’t guaranteed—not by any measure.
It irked him personally, yet as his brother’s sibling, it brought him satisfaction.
Another being capable of protecting Lion had come into his circle.
Besides……

‘Barg’s loyalty is absolute.’

He seemed unaware of it himself, but that devotion bordered on the obsessive.
Normally, when one serves a lord, one silences one’s own thoughts.
Yet naturally, doubt blooms from within that silence.
Is this the right command?
Can I follow it? Such doubts take root.
But Barg harbored no such concept.
If his brother said this is how it is, then from that moment on, it became the law of the world itself.
Even hunting hounds rarely matched that caliber.
In truth, it was a personality that could prove dangerously problematic……

‘If that person is Lion.’

The decision came easily.

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