Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 215

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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’s Not My Problem, I’m Just Here to Heal — Episode 215

Clarentia wandered the Village in nothing but a loose robe draped over her shoulders.
Stamina, strength, money—none of it would be an issue.
If anything, she had too much of it.
But there was an unexpected pitfall she hadn’t foreseen.

Whoosh.

Clarentia stripped off the robe entirely and gathered her long hair up, tying it back in a tight knot.
Having spent her entire life in the Bydentis Territory, her body had never adjusted to Asteri’s climate.
Of course, at the level of a Swordmaster, she could condition her body to be indifferent to heat or cold if she wished.
Ever since Lion arrived in Asteri, Clarentia had adopted a rule of her own.

‘Except when fighting, experience things directly whenever possible.’

She was filling back in, bit by bit, the things she’d stopped feeling while hollow inside.
Not the sensation of sinking into some deep mire, but the gentle warmth of a bed that smelled comforting and sun-baked.
The sweetness of a treat on her tongue. Small things like that.
It still felt awkward, but having been empty for so long, there was plenty to fill.

“Most of all…….”

She wanted to hear directly from Lion about the amusing incidents he’d caused lately.
Clarentia turned slowly toward where she felt a gaze upon her.

“Long time no see.”
“…….”
“Surely you haven’t forgotten my face.”
“Haha… How could I ever forget the Marquis Bydentis’s face?”

Lion, on his way to Boutique Andrea, was considerably startled by the sudden appearance of Marquis Bydentis.
Not that he didn’t know she could vanish and reappear without warning.

‘But she’s a Marquis, after all.’

Should she really be wandering a foreign land alone like this?
He’d never have imagined encountering her in the marketplace, of all places, and not at some proper lodging.

“As far as I know, the carriage hasn’t arrived yet.”
“It was taking too long. And I couldn’t get a good look at things from inside it.”
“I see.”
“This works out well, then.”

The Marquis strode toward him without hesitation.

“Would you mind showing me around? I’d like to see more of the Village. A bit earlier than planned, perhaps, but still.”
“……Now, you mean?”
“Yes. You know this place better than anyone, after all.”

She wasn’t wrong.
Lion scratched his head.
By the original plan, it was supposed to be Ricshel’s job to show her around the Village.
Lion had meant to play along somewhat during that and then slip away quietly…….

‘No, wait. Is this actually better?’

It seemed the Marquis was quite interested in magical items.
Just now, hadn’t she shown keen interest in the Magical Street Lamp that illuminated the night?
At this rate, even if I meet Ricshel, it’s obvious we’ll end up talking shop the whole time and nothing more.

‘Right. I’ll show him around the Village, and take Ricshel somewhere nice.’

A high-end dessert shop, or something like that—nothing comes to mind immediately, but places that are decent and fairly luxurious, anyway.

‘And since we’re going sightseeing anyway.’

Might as well do it properly.
If I happen to spot a merchant or item that catches the Marquis Bydentis’s eye, I could even export it to Bydentis Territory.

‘……Wait, this is a complete opportunity, isn’t it?’

There’s a big spender right in front of me.
And a client who currently needs plenty of things and has managed to build up some financial stability, at that!

“Let’s start with Boutique Andrea! That outfit does look rather warm for walking around in.”

Lion’s eyes sparkled as he guided Marquis Bydentis along.

“Mm.”

A welcome response.
Clarentia nodded and followed where Lion led. Fortunately, Boutique Andrea wasn’t far from here, so they arrived quickly.

“Oh, Young Master! You came to pick up clothes yourself—eek! N-no, I mean, the M-Marquis Bydentis?!”

The moment they stepped through the door, Andrea greeted Lion with—somehow knowing he would arrive—bare feet instead of slippers.

‘Bare feet?’

The floor gleamed with a glossy sheen, as if she’d been dyeing fabric, and Andrea’s footprints were stamped clearly across its surface.

“The customer arrived a bit earlier than expected.”

Lion closed Andrea’s gaping mouth—which looked ready to drop clear to the floor—and stepped inside.

“The Marquis would like to see some simpler clothes to wear…….”

Lion skirted around the footprints and headed toward the sofa.

‘It’s grown since last time.’

Word of Andrea’s skill must have spread—Boutique Andrea was noticeably larger than before.
Marquis Bydentis, apparently finding the heat uncomfortable, quickly settled into a seat in the interior where Temperature Maintenance Magic was active.
Though his face showed no sign of discomfort, his posture had loosened somewhat—he clearly felt the heat keenly.

“Y-yes, of course! Please wait just a moment!”

Andrea quickly processed the situation in her mind, left fresh footprints as she hurried off somewhere, and returned shortly, now looking presentable.

“Would you like to choose from some clothes first, Marquis? I have many designs different from last time!”

She swiftly retrieved several outfits that would suit Marquis Bydentis and draped them across mannequins.

“Any of them will do.”
“You said you wanted to look around the Village.”

Lion gave Andrea a helpful nudge before she turned pale, then rose to his feet.

“Then this outfit—practical and unassuming—would be perfect!”
“Can you change into it right now? I won’t need an attendant.”
“Of course! There’s a fitting room over there! Let me show you the way.”

Bydentis took the garment and made straight for the fitting room.
While he changed, Lion studied the deep footprints scored into the floor and asked, “What were you working on?”

“So what were you doing, exactly?”
“Oh! I was actually preparing something to show you once you arrived, Young Master!”
“The project you mentioned before?”
“Converting fabric into specific colors under particular conditions—! Goodness, you’ve changed already. You certainly are quick. Ha, ha… anyway, if you have time later, I was hoping you might take a look at what I’ve been working on.”

Andrea said this while gazing wistfully around the room, her eyes tracing the line of footprints across the floor.
She clearly wished to demonstrate the work right then and there.

‘Fabric that changes color. Intriguing.’

Quite appealing, actually.
And if applied properly, it could have any number of uses.
Lion possessed the Coloring talent, after all.
Beyond that…

A glance.

Lion watched the Marquis, now dressed in comfortable clothes, sipping cool water contentedly.

“Would you like to observe as well, Marquis?”
“The fabric-dyeing process, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s do it.”
“Really?”

It was Andrea who was truly startled.

‘Was he always like this…?’

Andrea had experience visiting the Bydentis Territory with Young Master Lion.
He’d even commissioned her to create custom garments for him.
So she believed she understood the Marquis of Bydentis better than most.
Back then, he had seemed, on the whole…

‘Like a cold doll.’

Clever and elusive, yes—but he hadn’t seemed to enjoy frivolous pursuits.
Yet now, for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, he appeared almost eager.

‘…Ah, you fool, Andrea. You must be misjudging things!’

Still, he’s a bit unusual—but the Young Master beside him is the real treasure!
Andrea shook her head vigorously, then clasped her hands together and broke into a radiant smile.
“It’s still in the experimental stage, but… shall we go inside?”

Andrea followed the footprints and opened the door without hesitation.

Creak.

Despite the recent expansion, the hinges let out a piercing wail.
Lion followed Andrea through the threshold.
What lay beyond…

‘Put charitably, it’s vibrant. Put honestly, it’s chaos.’

Dyes in every hue imaginable were scattered across the workshop, splattered not just on the floor but across the walls in all directions.
And that wasn’t all.
What sort of experiments had she conducted alone in this place?

“There’s burn marks.”
“Indeed there are, sir.”

Black soot was visible on the ceiling.
Yet Lion did not turn back.
At first glance it looked like nothing more than a messy experimental space, but….

‘This is rather promising, though.’

Lion’s gaze settled on a collection of pigments arranged with meticulous care on one side of the chaotic room.

[Chameleon Pigment (Incomplete)]
-It remains a powder without any fixed color.
-But I can’t grasp exactly what situation should trigger what color! I’m completely lost!
-Still, if this could be completed, it would be revolutionary, wouldn’t it?

The powder was as pale as ash, ground finer than flour.
Yet even to Lion’s eye, no further details emerged beyond the hope that it would work once completed.
That meant the level of completion still fell far short.

“This still seems incomplete.”
“As expected of you, Young Master! You’ve recognized it at once.”

Andrea let out a long sigh and slowly examined the wall.

“In fact, every color you see here came from that pigment. It certainly possesses the potential to display multiple hues. But….”
“You can’t control it?”

Andrea nodded ruefully.

“May I ask why you decided to create it in the first place?”
“Oh! I hadn’t mentioned that yet.”

Andrea began explaining briefly.

“Young Master, are you familiar with the Magical Tool Shop?”

…Why is that man coming up now?

“Yes, I know of it.”
“Actually, I… visited that Magical Tool Shop a few months ago, looking for inspiration. That’s when this pigment caught my eye!”

Andrea added the clarification that it was specifically the recipe for making the pigment, then continued on.

“The moment I saw that recipe, it was like I’d been struck by lightning. Oh! Imagine it — how beautiful would clothes be if their color changed to suit the occasion and season! What if it could shift with one’s mood! Then it would truly be…! Ahem!”
“….”

Andrea curtailed her enthusiasm and continued the explanation.
In any case, following that recipe, the pigment had turned into gray powder, but the moment you dissolved it in water, it transformed into a riot of colors!
The problem was, as she’d mentioned, not understanding the underlying principle of the recipe.
Moreover, though Andrea was certainly skilled, she was ultimately a seamstress—dyeing was rather outside her wheelhouse.
Her knowledge of actually coloring fabric was purely rudimentary.

‘Magic or Alchemy would normally be necessary for something like this.’

So it was clear she’d been waiting for Lion.

“This is the recipe.”

Lion accepted the recipe and examined it.

‘Certainly…….’

The recipe was only a fragment.
Based on his experience, it amounted to perhaps ten percent—if that—of the total completion specifications.
But then.

‘I could actually make this, couldn’t I?’

He couldn’t produce a finished product on the spot, but given a few days, he felt confident he could bring it to completion.

‘Still, what in the world is that Magical Tool Merchant…….’

One thing was items, but recipes as special as this just kept emerging?
It seemed certain the merchant was no ordinary person.

‘……I should look into it eventually.’

While Lion was lost in thought, Clarentia gazed silently at the gray-tinged pigment.
Exactly how it could be completed remained uncertain.

‘……I want it.’

If it could be finished, she wanted to possess it.

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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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