Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 206

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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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Successor, I Know Not / Let Me Heal Instead, Chapter 206

“Haha… quite so. Which means this is the last bottle of preserved flower petals, I’m afraid.”

The merchant with whom Lion had become acquainted through the flower petal preserve handed over one final bottle and offered some additional information.
The fruit that had been loaded onto the carriage had vanished entirely in the blink of an eye, and there were witnesses who had spotted an enormous bear at the forest’s edge, frantically devouring something.
The circumstances varied, but the essence remained the same.
A single bear was consuming every sweet food in sight.

“Hmm. That is indeed troublesome.”
“Which is why you must take care as well, Young Master. I hear you venture into the forest often.”
“Ha. Yes, I shall be cautious. Thank you.”

Lion accepted the merchant’s concern graciously and made his way to the Herbal Shop.

‘Hmm, though…’

Something told him this was no ordinary bear.
Even the largest bear shouldn’t be capable of consuming such vast quantities.

‘I have a suspicion, but…’

There was little Lion could do about it.
He had suffered no direct harm himself, and he lacked the authority to oversee such matters.

‘Still, I should mention it to Ricshel when I return.’

Ricshel, who clearly cared for his vassals, would surely devise a solution.
With that decided, Lion stepped into the newly opened Herbal Shop.
And in less than ten minutes…

“Sigh…”

He emerged, exhaling deeply.

“Well. Of course.”

There was no way medicinal herbs could be adequately stocked in such circumstances.
Even if rumors spread that the bear was after nothing but sweets, few people would believe it enough to venture into the forest to harvest herbs.
Supply shipments faced the same problem.
The caravan from earlier had suffered no casualties, but after word of the bear attack spread, deliveries would inevitably slow or cease altogether.
And mercenary rates had surely climbed considerably.

“Still, I managed to pick up the essentials.”

Lion opened his bag and examined the newly purchased medicinal herbs.
While nothing extraordinarily rare appeared among them, he had managed to acquire a decent selection of specimens not native to the Asteri Territory.

‘The quality is good.’

The fine roots had been preserved intact, and the stems and leaves remained fresh, suggesting they’d been harvested at the optimal time for growth.
Once this matter was resolved and he returned, he suspected far better selections would become available.
Why?

“You know herbs so well! Truly, the educated are different! I don’t have much right now, but this herb here…! And this one is easily mistaken for a mushroom, but it’s actually…!”

The Herbal Shop’s proprietor seemed quite attached to his wares.
The moment Lion recognized a few of the herbs, the shopkeeper had fetched his handwritten herb guide and launched into a passionate explanation, spraying enthusiasm with every word.

‘If anything, I was the one pushed back.’

It wasn’t easy to be out-quirked when eccentricity was already at a high concentration, yet that person was genuinely…… ‘real.’

‘Though I’ll admit my recent behavior has been pretty ordinary.’

If people started thinking I was just a regular person pretending to be eccentric, that would be problematic.
Now that my personality’s settled down, maybe I could start taking on lighter tasks one by one? The day I heard something like that would be…

‘Sigh.’

Not easy at all.
Did I need to study character work more thoroughly?
Lion made his way home with these light concerns on his mind.
More precisely, before heading to his room, he went to Ricshel’s office.

“Oh, Young Master. Good evening!”
“Yes. How have you been?”

Jake was filling in at the guard post.
He had been an apprentice until recently, if Lion remembered correctly, but now he seemed to have become a full-fledged member of the Asteri Knight Order.

“Thanks to House Asteri and our order captain, I’ve grown considerably. Though not quite as much as Barg, of course.”
“I see. Speaking of Barg—where is he?”
“That fellow is……”

Jake hesitated, then decided to be straightforward about it.

“Likely still making rounds at the training grounds.”

Still?
That was odd. Ricshel had definitely assigned Barg what amounted to a grueling punishment—no, training—for being disrespectful to a ‘guest’ of House Asteri.
Whatever the reason, the discourtesy had been the catalyst.
In fact, by using that breach of etiquette as a pretext to hush up the contract issue, it had been more punishment in name than substance.
Yet he was still at the training grounds?
Judging by Jake’s expression, something considerable must have happened on his end.

“Well then. You’ve worked hard, my friend.”
“Haha…… This much is nothing when it’s for House Asteri and a friend. And guarding the Young Masters, even as a reserve, is truly an honor.”

Jake finished speaking and opened the office door for him.
And inside was……

“……”

Ricshel, with a vacant expression more pronounced than usual, was buried beneath a mountain of paperwork.

‘Wow, he really does look just like grandfather.’

Even that particular atmosphere around him.
Lion stepped inside with an awkward smile.

“You’ve arrived, brother.”
“If you’re swamped, I can come back later?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s all stemming from one matter anyway.”
“Is it about the bear situation?”
“Word’s reached your ears too, it seems.”

Ricshel exhaled lightly and nodded.

“There’s no precedent for a situation like this, but it’s manageable.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We’re planning to mobilize the Knight Order for subjugation soon. If we wait much longer, I’m afraid the smaller merchants will start going under.”

……So it was eating that much?
Information from Ricshel was always reliable.

“Which is why I’d recommend you stay away from Mimur Forest for a while. There’s always a chance, after all.”
“Come on, you think it’d venture all the way out there?”

Unlike other forests, Mimur Forest was practically adjacent to the Asteri Family Estate.
Moreover, since Lion made a habit of coming and going as he pleased, security was tight, and above all, Elvia was keeping close watch herself.
And.

“This bear likes sweet things, doesn’t it? But there’s nothing sweet there. Just berries at best, and not many of those.”
“…….”

At that remark, Ricshel could only offer a very faint smile.
Lion’s subtle reaction sent a chill down the back of his neck.

‘What, what is it?’

Lion’s mind spun faster than usual.
Ricshel wouldn’t make that expression just because there were a few ripening berries.
And normally, when Lion said something so careless, he should have responded with a lecture.

‘……Wait, hold on.’

In that instant, a piece of information flashed through Lion’s mind.
It was——!

“No.”

That’s right!
Sweet, delicious things in abundance!

“My sweet potatoes!!”

Lion bolted up as if struck by lightning and tore out of Ricshel’s room.

“Sigh.”

Ricshel, who had anticipated all of this, let out a light breath.
It was something he’d find out soon enough anyway.
Besides, with Elvia watching over things, Ricshel didn’t need to worry about a bear.
Most of all…….

“It was probably already finished.”

Ricshel drew out a single sheet of paper he’d tucked away among the stacks of documents.
It was a report detailing the damage that had occurred in Mimur Forest.

* * *

“Uuuugh!”

Upon arriving in Mimur Forest, Lion clutched his head and groaned at the devastation before him.
He’d suspected it might come to this, but it was already too late.
The earth, clearly torn apart by the bear’s claws, was strewn with nothing but shredded sweet potato vines — not a single Banana Sweet Potato in sight.

“My… my sweet potatoes……!”

Lion crawled helplessly across the ground, his hands scrabbling through the dirt.
Of course there was nothing.
……He’d stockpiled some beforehand, and transplanted a few to the Labyrinth too, but

“This is where they originated!”

Though he’d never mentioned it to anyone, the Banana Sweet Potatoes were one of his quiet sources of pride in the territory.
More than anything, his family loved them so much that he’d found uses for them all over the place ever since!
Tears began to well up in Lion’s eyes.
It was an emptiness far deeper than when he’d logged into In the World and found all his characters gone.
And no wonder—In the World had been left untouched for ages, whereas these Banana Sweet Potatoes were something he’d been tending to with genuine care!

“Eee…… eeeek!”

His sorrow twisted into fury.
He’d never felt anger this raw since his possession.
It was primal, visceral rage.
But the culprit was a bear, so there wasn’t much he could make it answer for……

“……Wait.”

Lion snapped his head up, his tear-bright eyes now scouring the surrounding area.
Specifically, the bear’s claws and the traces left nearby.

[Bear Tracks]
-These appear to be bear prints.
-What’s this? They’re enormous!

[Crushed Banana Sweet Potato]
-Whoever it was managed to pick out only the tastiest Banana Sweet Potatoes before vanishing!
-And it even left the stems behind, saying they weren’t sweet!

The description kindled another surge of rage in his chest, but Lion forced it down.
There had to be a clue somewhere in this mess.
Gritting his teeth, Lion methodically gathered information, his thoughts churning like a cauldron.
And then…… he found it.
A faint trace, hidden among the bear prints.

[Faint Footprint]
-This is definitely a human footprint.
-It’s as if… a bear had transformed into a person, leaving an extra set of prints behind?

Once he’d found one lead, clearer evidence began to emerge.

[Humanoid Hair (★★)]
-Danger! These are Bear Humanoid hairs!
-Look at the shine—whatever’s been eating, it’s been eating well!
[Uses: Dyeing, Alchemy]

“Haha…….”

Covered in dirt, Lion’s shoulders heaved with laughter.
His eyes gleamed bright between the dust.

“Hahaha!”

Of course! It was a Bear Humanoid.
He had no idea how a Bear Humanoid—a species only ever seen in the kingdom where the beast-humans dwelled—had made its way here.
No, there’s no need to know.
What matters is this.

“I can hold someone accountable…….”

For devouring every last sweet thing belonging to the villagers, and most egregiously, for eating my precious Banana Sweet Potato!
Meanwhile.

…….

Elvia gazed down at her adorable little one—sprawled half-prone on the ground, eyes gleaming as it laughed.

‘I hadn’t expected such a reaction.’

She had deliberately allowed that hulking Bear Humanoid to come crashing into Mimur Forest and pilfer the Banana Sweet Potatoes, of course—all in anticipation of the amusement that would follow.
It posed no immediate threat to her little one, and if she played her cards right, she might even cultivate a rather fitting sort of reputation for her pet.

‘……well, it should be fine.’

Truth be told, she’d simply let it happen because it seemed amusing.

‘With that half-elf brat gone, things have been dreadfully dull.’

She had witnessed the Young Master storing Banana Sweet Potatoes away, and she’d overheard talk of seeds planted in the Labyrinth.
Besides, not all the Banana Sweet Potatoes here had been devoured.
That bear was remarkably gluttonous, yet it possessed a refined palate—it disdainfully left untouched anything that didn’t pass muster.

“Elvia.”
“Ahem, yes. You called for me, Young Master.”

Elvia composed her voice and expression as though nothing had happened, stepping to Lion’s side.

“Tell Ricshel I’ll capture this bear myself.”

And so Lion’s Bear Humanoid capture operation commenced.

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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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