Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 207

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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 Successor and Healing, Part 207

“But…….”

Before disappearing into the shadows, Elvia asked quietly.

“You’ll need to explain how you intend to catch him so that Young Master Ricshel understands. He worries about such things.”
“I’ll use what he likes best as bait.”

Lion chuckled softly, brushing dust from his clothes as he stood.

“I’ll prepare bait he won’t be able to resist. Tell the Knight Order to gather beforehand.”
“Understood.”

Elvia vanished into the shadows at once, and Lion set off as well.
He knew well what the bear beast-human craved most.
Honey.
Evening Primrose Honey, to be exact.

* * *

Meanwhile, Barg sprawled across the Training Ground where he’d been exerting himself.

“Huuuugh.”

Soaked in sweat, he collapsed in the center of the arena.
Usually, after working up a good sweat like this since recovering his health, he felt invigorated. But today felt different.

His muzzle twitched.

Barg’s snout protruded slightly, almost in defiance.
It wasn’t from the scolding over the contract, and it wasn’t punishment from Young Master Ricshel.

‘It’s not enough…….’

It was hunger—a craving.
The memory of that Sparring session played before his eyes.
That particular match where he’d shed some of his guilt about attacking others.
Despite losing every bout, each Sparring session had been remarkably brief, yet with each one Barg drew closer to a new Insight.
How to move his body, how to manifest his own nature.
And above all…….

-You deliberately avoided targeting my neck.

That voice echoed in his mind.
It was something he’d been actively pushing aside.
Barg’s claws were exceptionally sharp.
A mere brush could draw blood.
In fact, during that last Sparring session, he’d left a wound on Jack, hadn’t he?

‘The others must have known.’

At least Young Master Ricshel and the Captain would surely have noticed.
But they hadn’t given him such advice.
He understood well enough why.
Barg was still being treated as someone who needed to be protected here.
It wasn’t that he disliked it.
The fact that they’d included him in this group meant everything, regardless of the reason.
But.

A low rumble escaped his chest.

Barg clenched his fists and stared up at the sky.
He wanted to become someone who could protect others, not someone in need of protection.
There it was. If he had to sum up Barg’s state in one phrase.
Growing pains.
But unaware of his own condition as he was, Barg felt only a dull, persistent irritation—a frustrating sense of constraint.

‘If there were another beast-human around, I could ask them.’

Without thinking, Barg let out a small whine, then quickly slapped both cheeks with his palms.

“No. I can do this on my own.”

Don’t lose heart!
Muttering this to himself, Barg tried to push himself up to his feet.

“Do what, exactly?”

Had a familiar face not suddenly filled his entire field of vision in that moment—

“Eek!”

He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed the approach.
Barg scrambled to his feet in a panic, his pounding heart still settling, putting distance between himself and the newcomer.

“Y-Young Master!”
“Why the startle? You scared me half to death.”

That’s what Lion said, though he hadn’t been startled at all.
He’d read Barg’s state in a glance.
Not that the comparison was perfectly apt, but—Lion had seen this before. Many times.

‘A newcomer just finishing out their first year.’

Why did everyone reach this point eventually?
No longer a raw newcomer, yet lacking the confidence to do anything alone—having learned something but nothing feeling truly mastered.
That fragile stage where asking your mentor feels dangerous, where pride plummets like a stone.
To Lion’s eye, Barg was the very picture of it.

‘Probably thinking something similar, too.’

It was a sympathetic situation, in truth.
Barg had weathered a serious illness and was now experiencing rapid growth in skill and physical capability.
But his mind hadn’t grown at the same pace, and without a mature beast-human nearby to talk to, that gap felt all the sharper.

‘Hmm.’

Lion thought of something as he regarded Barg, then shelved it for the moment.
That idea would require looking into several other things first—best to set it aside for now.
Anyway.

“So you finished today’s chores?”
“Yes! I just finished a moment ago. Is there something you need help with, Young Master…?”

The slump-shouldered, pouty expression from moments before had vanished entirely from his face, replaced by animated attention.
Lion barely suppressed a smile and nodded.

“As a matter of fact, there is.”
“What, what is it?”
“Revenge.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, I…… what?!”

Barg stiffened abruptly, creaking as he stared at Lion.
He had never imagined such a word would escape the lips of the kind and generous Young Master he knew.
When his expression suggested he must have misheard, Lion nodded with a bright smile.

“Revenge.”

Now that he thought about it, the Young Master’s eyes seemed to glitter more intensely than usual.
Normally they held that particular half-lidded quality, but today there was an extra brightness besides…

‘What kind of bad person could it be!’

The Young Master was absolutely not the sort to speak of revenge without reason!
If he said such a thing, it surely meant his opponent had committed some grave wrong.
What that wrong might be, he didn’t know—and the Young Master seemed unwilling to say.

“In any case, I truly need your help for this.”
“I’ll do it!”

But as far as Barg was concerned, he needed no further explanation.
He was delighted, in fact.
His benefactor was allowing him to take part in his revenge!

“Come then, let’s go.”
“Yes!”

Barg answered eagerly and followed Lion.
There was no need to ask where they were headed.
It was the Kitchen.
Whether Lion had cleared the space beforehand or not, the Kitchen was empty.
Except for one.
Nature, sitting there bold as day.

“Nature, while I’m making this, keep the scent from spreading around.”
“Chirp-chirp.”

With that, Lion closed all the windows in the Kitchen.
Normally one shouldn’t do this in a kitchen, but it would be finished quickly enough.

“Barg.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Stand here and watch to make sure the scent doesn’t leak outside. It absolutely cannot.”
“Yes…”
“I’ll be using this.”

Lion drew a bottle from his pocket and gave it a light shake.
A viscous, golden liquid!
The color and consistency seemed even richer for being sealed in the bottle.
Barg understood at once what it was.
Evening Primrose Honey.
The very substance used to treat Eclipse Symptoms, and that went into the preserved fruit confections the Young Master made.
But he meant to use it for revenge?

‘Ah, could it be that?’

Even while serving as Ricshel’s escort, Barg’s station was secure.
Naturally, he was well aware of the recent bear problem.

‘Could it be that he’s actually using that to catch a bear…?’

No matter how sweet Evening Primrose Honey was, catching a beast-human bear whose location he didn’t even know seemed like it would be rather difficult.

“Hehe… don’t worry about that. Just check if there’s a scent, will you? I’m counting on you!”

Lion, somehow having read his thoughts, grinned wickedly and ushered Barg out of the kitchen immediately.
Then came a click.
He shut the door firmly behind him.

“…….”

Barg still didn’t understand.

“All right. Preparations are complete.”
“Chirp.”
“Ready to open it?”

Lion’s expression turned solemn as he uncapped the jar of Evening Primrose Honey he’d retrieved earlier.

Pop!

The moment he removed the lid, an overwhelmingly rich fragrance flooded through the kitchen in an instant.
Lion’s nose stung from the intensity of it.

‘Did I concentrate it too much?’

Lion covered his nose lightly with the back of his hand, gazing at the honey that gleamed deep orange.
In fact, he’d prepared the Evening Primrose Honey in advance upon returning from Mimur Forest, then condensed and refined it as much as possible.
The result was a viscous, intoxicating essence—so fragrant it seemed to reek of the underworld itself, far more potent than ordinary honey by several orders of magnitude.
Of course, even this alone wouldn’t be enough to lure that bear beast-human.
The scent and taste would be sublime, but the quantity was simply too small.
That was why he’d thought of Brittle Candy.
He planned to mix various nuts and dried fruits into this concentrated essence.
Once combined, the nutty and tangy aromas would be added as well, creating an irresistible lure that the bear beast-human wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Right. Let’s get this done efficiently.”

Lion immediately set his plan in motion.
First, he placed fragrant nuts into a dry pan and roasted them to drive away any raw flavors.
Walnuts, almonds, and peanuts sizzled in the dry pan, releasing their characteristic nutty richness into the air.
The walnuts in particular released their oils, which accentuated the best qualities of the other ingredients.
Once the nuts deepened in color, he removed them from the pan, melted butter generously, and poured the Evening Primrose Honey over it lavishly.
The golden liquid cascaded down with a glossy sound, as if it had been heated on fire itself.
Normally, one might add something like rice syrup here for additional sweetness.

‘No.’

The Evening Primrose Honey was already plenty sweet enough.
Instead, he needed to adjust the consistency.

Splash!

He adjusted the thickness with hot spring water from Mimur Forest to the proper degree.
Lion regulated the heat beneath the pan and waited until the butter and honey mixed and came to a gentle boil.
Just as fine bubbles began to rise delicately.
Lion poured in the roasted nuts he’d prepared and stirred vigorously with a wooden spatula.
The thick caramel-like honey and nuts began to bind together into a unified mass.
This alone already looked sufficient, yet Lion did not stop here.

‘A simple bear would be caught easily enough with just this.’

But the opponent was a beast-human bear.
There was one thing people here occasionally misunderstood—that beast-human bears were dull and stupid.
This was a grave misconception.
Bears were far more cunning than they seemed.
Which meant they certainly knew how to be suspicious.
A humanized bear would be even more so, never less.

‘So I’m making food that a beast-human bear can’t help but cross over for.’

Lion withdrew a small bottle from his pouch.
It was far too beautiful for a typical steel flask used for oils—clearly an elegant vessel meant to hold a fine gift.
And the stopper bore the mark of Ester Hotel.
One of the countless gifts that Willie, the manager of Ester Hotel, had given him—and which Lion had only discovered during his period of confinement.

Dried Mushberry (★)
-Resembles a dried poisonous mushroom.
-The taste and aroma are exquisite, but the appearance discourages eating.
-Consuming too much may cause cavities.

It was Dried Mushberry.
He’d been wondering how to use it given its appearance, and now the opportunity had presented itself.

“Haha.”

Lion took a handful of Mushberry from the bottle and scattered it generously over the sticky Brittle Candy, mixing it thoroughly before spreading it flat on an oiled plate.
For people to eat, it would need to be cut into small pieces. But his target was a bear, larger than an ogre.

“Nature. Dry this out crisp for me.”
“Chirp!”

And so from Lion’s hands came the bait to hook a bear—crafted with considerable care and the finest ingredients.

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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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