Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 199

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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 Heir? No Thanks. I’ll Just Heal Instead – Episode 199

Besides, in a situation like this, Barg would prove quite useful indeed.
After all, the House Asteri currently had a ‘special guest’ staying within its walls.

‘The one Barg hates most.’

A guest from the Underworld.
And the leader himself, no less.
Barg, ordinarily so docile he seemed almost simple-minded, underwent a subtle shift whenever he encountered someone from the Underworld.
His usual gentleness and obtuseness vanished, replaced by the instinctive alertness and acuity that came naturally to the Beast-kin Race.
Though he’d never directly told Barg that Jade was the leader of the Underworld, the mere connection to it would certainly have raised the monster’s guard.

‘And for good reason.’

After all, Barg had nearly been caught by an Underworld slave trader and sold off — if only for a moment.

‘He’ll be the first to notice if anything goes wrong.’

Through the raw instinct of a beast.

Of course, given Jade’s nature, he seemed unlikely to actually threaten Lion within the Asteri Family Estate.
No, in fact, it would be the opposite.
He’d stay crouched at Lion’s side like a dog, not making a sound until he’d won his favor completely.
Until he’d burned the message ‘I will never harm you’ deep into his own mind.

‘Though I doubt Brother would fall for it anyway…’

Brother had never dealt with someone as cunning as Jade before.
If someone set out to deceive him, he could slip through his guard without him even realizing it.
And Jade was precisely the sort who could exploit that narrow opening to strike.
But.
What if Barg were there?
Against such fearless, unconditional loyalty, even if that beast fawned as much as he pleased…

‘There’s a fundamental difference that can’t be overcome.’

It would be good if Brother and Barg stayed close for a while.
As his younger brother, he judged such assistance to be appropriate.

* * *

Just as Ricshel had worried and Lion had anticipated, Jade continued to linger near Lion’s side in the days that followed.
Of course, it wasn’t direct contact.
He merely observed from a distance—watching when Lion came into view, or exchanging polite nods whenever their eyes happened to meet.
It was far more cautious than how he’d behaved in the Reception Room.
One might even have called it dispirited.

‘He’s gathering information.’

Lion saw through Jade’s state at once.
He was watching from afar like a predator assessing its quarry before the hunt.
A man raised his entire life in the Underworld wouldn’t suddenly have a change of heart.

‘Well, let him do as he likes.’

Lion need only maintain consistent indifference.
A polite nod when their eyes met, and complete disregard when Jade kept his distance.
He would provide him the courtesies due a guest, but show no genuine interest—nothing more.
Over there, they might call it a mind game, but for Lion…….

‘It’s convenient.’

If Jade doesn’t find a breakthrough and leaves, that’s a gain. And if he can be properly disciplined so he doesn’t climb as high as Lion wants him to, that’s an even bigger gain.
There was no need to hide his daily life.
Hadn’t they already investigated everything anyway?

‘Belly be damned.’

Truth be told, he wasn’t fond of dismissing people so blatantly, and eventually he’d need to get his hands on whatever the Main Character item that creature possessed was.

‘But I’ve already made the effort to improve relations.’

Lion had no choice but to reciprocate.
Of course, in his own way.

‘And…….’

Lion turned his gaze away from Jade, who watched from a distance, and looked ahead.
Right now, something far more bewildering than that creature was sitting squarely before his eyes.

“……Wow.”

Lion couldn’t help but let out an exclamation.
Before Lion’s eyes sat a massive wolf with russet fur, perfectly docile and still.
One couldn’t have guessed from appearance, but this was unmistakably Barg.

‘Is that why he wanted to change locations?’

As soon as Barg arrived at the appointed place, he’d suggested it might be good to move to Mimur Forest instead.
At the time, Lion thought it was because of Jade, but now he understood the real reason.
Yet…….

“Why did you come like this?”

At Lion’s question, Barg—still in wolf form—gently picked up a letter he’d prepared beforehand in his teeth and placed it in front of Lion, his massive tail, as thick as Puus’s body, swishing gently.
He looked every inch a wolf, but his behavior was that of a well-trained large dog.
Moreover, his fur was so fluffy it put even the water-type senior spirit Endairon to shame, and without thinking, Lion’s hand reached out…….

‘No, get a grip.’

Right now he might be in the form of a wolf, but that’s Barg.
Strictly speaking, a Beastman is closer to human.
No matter how much he is Barg, this would be quite rude.
Lion naturally lowered his hand, picked up the letter, and read it.
The contents went like this.

“This form seems better for educational purposes, and Ricshel approved it?”

It wasn’t wrong.
Truth be told, Lion had himself thought about asking for this once, if the opportunity came.
But the reason he’d refrained from doing so immediately was simple and singular.
Asking the Beast-kin Race to revert to their inherent form was quite a grave discourtesy.
It was on the level of casually touching an elf’s ears or asking a dwarf their exact drinking capacity.
So he’d thought to ask sometime later, eventually…….

Tap.

Barg didn’t stop there—he brought his forehead gently to rest against Lion’s knee.
Then he looked up at Lion with eyes bright and alert—hardly wolflike at all.

“Pant, pant.”

Was this really a wolf?
Or just a dog?
In any case, the expression clearly conveyed permission—do as you please, it’s fine—so Lion hesitated only a moment before reaching up slowly and awkwardly running his hand over the creature’s fur a few times.
The texture was far better than he’d expected.
Perhaps because it wasn’t in human form, the change was visibly apparent.

“It’s really recovered well.”

Back when Barg had devoured all the barley that was set out for him, the fur Lion had discovered then had been in poor condition.
Split and bristling in all directions—one glance told you the creature’s health was failing.
But now, looking at him like this…….

“Thank goodness.”

The Moonflower Honey must have been remarkably effective.
Lion ruffled Barg’s head vigorously the way one might tousle a younger sibling’s hair, then nodded in satisfaction.

“Then I’ll count on you to stay like this.”

With that, Lion opened the bag he carried at his side.
Puus, already antsy to get out, scratched frantically at the bag with his forepaws before suddenly going still.
His head swiveled this way and that, catching a new scent, as he scanned his surroundings.
And then he spotted it.
The enormous Barg……!

Gulp.

Lion swallowed hard.
He wondered what reaction Puus would have—or whether he’d be frightened by something so much larger.
Puus, escaping from the bag……!

“Squeak!”

He bounded about with delight, circling Barg again and again.
It seemed he felt a strong affinity for this creature, neither human nor bird, but closer to his own kind than anything else.

“Phew.”

Lion and Barg each released a breath of relief, exchanged a look, and nodded.

“Puus, play with your brother here, all right?”

Barg followed after Puus, who scampered off first, then paused to glance back at Lion.
It seemed to be on account of Jade, who had tracked them this far.

“Don’t worry about that.”

Lion waved his hand gently, smiled, sent Barg on his way, then settled himself on a moderately elevated tree root.
He drew out the paper and pencil he’d brought and began to sketch, watching Puus play with Barg, his hand moving steadily across the page.

“…….”

And Jade, watching all of this from atop a distant tree,

“Well, well. This is trouble.”

He hummed cheerfully on purpose, but found himself stymied by Lion’s unyielding wall.
Only a day had passed, yet Jade had already grasped just how thick that barrier ran.
Lion Asteri responded to matters that held no interest for him with complete indifference.
In other words, no matter what action one took, he would simply pretend not to have seen the situation and move past it.

“I may have to settle in this place for a while yet…….”

He’d already secured employment as a merchant, so there was nothing he couldn’t do.
Jade was not one to give up so easily.
There are always trees that won’t fall no matter how hard you strike them.
So then, should he simply strike one a hundred times instead of once?

‘No, that’s not it.’

If a tree wouldn’t fall even with Jade’s strength after a single strike, that alone made it worthy of attention.
He would have to move slowly, plan carefully, and then uproot that tree gently, transplanting it where he desired.
All with delicate precision, so the tree wouldn’t be damaged or lose its value.
A week or a month of indifference he could certainly endure.
But a year? Ten years?
No matter how stubborn Lion Asteri might be, if Jade pestered him for that long, he would have to respond—if only for his brother’s sake.
So if Lion Asteri insisted on indifference, Jade would simply grit his teeth and become the cicada clinging to the branches nearby!

“Hmm?”

As Jade turned his gaze from Lion, he felt eyes upon him and looked toward their source.
There stood an enormous wolf playing with a small multi-tailed fox.
More precisely, it was Barg, a creature under Ricshel Asteri’s care.
Even while entertaining the little fox, the beast kept one eye on this spot, vigilant and wary.

‘Has the beast become a watchdog for the household.’

When it had been in the Underworld’s slave markets, it had been quite savage indeed.

“A prodigy at Spirit Summoning—so they handle beasts well too, then.”

Well, no matter. Either way, it was fine.
That beast seemed occupied with other duties anyway, and Lion Asteri had no one at his side for the moment.
So there was no harm in lingering now.
Jade descended from the tree soundlessly and walked over to Lion without a footfall, settling beside him.

“May I sit here?”
“Yes, suit yourself.”

Lion granted Jade no glance as he replied.

‘Still no surprise, as expected.’

He must have already known Jade was there.
Yet Jade had no intention of making a direct appeal just now either.
Even if he pressed forward, he had nothing that would capture Lion’s interest or goodwill.
So then…….

…….

Jade would simply follow Lion’s gaze from beside him, watching what he watched.
To attempt anything at all, he first had to understand the world this peculiar man saw.
Jade sat a respectful distance away at Lion’s side, sharing his view of that world.
The first thing he sensed was:

‘……Peace.’

What struck him now was how genuinely peaceful and comfortable this moment felt.
Leaves filtering the sunlight, beasts playing in the distance far away. Lion Asteri, sketching something while watching them.
The scratch of graphite against the rough paper, the soft rustling sound it made, even the breeze drifting past.
Dreamlike in its peacefulness and wonder, was it not.
If one could live in such a world.

‘Of course I could only be a foreign element in it.’

And then, quite suddenly, another thought came to him.
If Lion Asteri possessed the strength to protect this peaceful world……
Wouldn’t it be better for Kyle to remain here as well. Or so he found himself thinking.
It was a tender thought he had never allowed himself to entertain once before.

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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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