Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 245

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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 Headache, or Perhaps Some Healing — Chapter 245

The moment Lion was about to sink into contemplation, Tiamatrak opened his mouth with a sly air.

-But human. Or rather, Lion. Why do you need this?

“Hmm?”

-I was just wondering if I really need to hide my aura. After all, the other humans won’t be able to tell if it’s a dragon’s power or something else anyway.

There was truth in what he said.
In fact, it might be better to simply let this level of aura radiate freely.
No—he’d receive far better treatment than if no aura were felt at all.
People might even start saying, “At last, the eldest son of House Asteri lives up to his name.”
……Yes. There was the problem.

“If that happens, I’ll have to work.”

He’d already received countless recruitment offers from various quarters.
Not just from Marquis Bydentis and the Second Imperial Prince, but even the Elf Kingdom had shown interest.
He’d only managed to carve out a comfortable life by drawing a line at his brother and grandfather, but if people started sensing this kind of aura……
Lion’s entire body shuddered.
Ugh, I hate it!

-…….

Faced with such an intense refusal, Tiamatrak fell silent for a moment before nodding slowly.

‘Right. Idling about is the best.’

And besides, letting this peculiar human run wild as he pleased was more entertaining for him than having him bound to work alone.

-True. Humans do seem to make the competent ones toil.
-Now that I think about it, your grandfather was being forced into labor as well, wasn’t he?
-With that unusual group of humans, I mean.

Tiamatrak muttered to himself, recalling how that human too had possessed remarkable and fascinating abilities, yet spent his days dullly going through the motions of his duties.
Lion slowly parsed the comment, then something clicked, and he asked back.

“If you’re talking about grandfather…… are you talking about the Hero?”

-Hm? You already knew?

Normally he shouldn’t know, but there was no real reason to hide it from Tiamatrak.
The dragon couldn’t spread word anywhere even if he wanted to, and besides, Lion would naturally come to know the full story soon enough.

“Well, I’ve heard bits and pieces here and there? But I’ve never gotten the full account.”

Tiamatrak’s eyes widened at Lion’s words, then he grinned like a mischievous student.

-Then shall I rest a bit while I tell you this story?

“Why not?”

He’d been meaning to stop soon anyway.

‘It’ll be tough going until I can fashion some auxiliary tools.’

Since things had come this far, it was better to rest a while and hear that story.
It was information she was hearing from an entirely new perspective, after all.

“What was the Hero like?”

—Exactly as the title suggests. He seemed to find the role tedious.

Tiamatrak began sharing his impressions of the Hero he had observed in considerable detail.
When he was with his companions, he was the very embodiment of what humans envisioned as a Hero, or so it seemed.
Righteous and kind, courageous. The type who stepped forward first to protect his allies.

—But there was something underneath it all. Some kind of hidden agenda.

“Hidden agenda?”

—Yeah. How do I put this… a hidden agenda in a good sense? I didn’t sense any malice in it.
—Anyway, that’s what fascinated me, so honestly I paid more attention to that aspect than to his combat strength.

Probably those veiled intentions had piqued Tiamatrak’s curiosity.

‘Then my prediction was correct after all?’

Not long ago, when I glimpsed Jack’s past, there were several things Lion had theorized.
One of them was precisely this hidden agenda.
A plan the Hero had made that his grandfather and Jack knew nothing of—but the Saintess did.

‘So he began preparing around this time, it seems.’

The timing fit perfectly.
In the World shifted its atmosphere gradually before and after the Dragon Lair story arc.
While the early narrative focused on a coming-of-age saga where an adventurer rose to be called both a Hero and a legend, the middle portion centered on that same Hero standing at the forefront of a war against Demons and striking down evil.
I hadn’t examined the story closely, but I knew the general flow well enough.

“Was he someone who used Holy Power, by any chance?”

—Huh? Yeah, that’s right! What the—you already knew this story?
—Were you just giving me a chance to rest?

Tiamatrak, thinking Lion’s question stemmed entirely from consideration, let out a laugh that was rather straightforward for a dragon.

—Ahaha. Well, anyway, that’s how it went. And I bet that Map that followed you was one of the things they left behind too, wasn’t it?

“There were other items they left behind?”

—Well… broken Daggers, half-eaten Emergency Rations, that sort of thing? So I actually figured the Map was something similar.
If I’d known it was a flying Map, I would’ve claimed it for myself. What a shame!

“Haha….”

It must have been hidden among the rubbish, which is why he didn’t recognize it.
And given that he’d been in a spectral state, cleaning was the furthest thing from his mind.

‘…Though it seems he doesn’t care much for cleaning even apart from that.’

In any case, once I dealt with Tiamatrak’s existence one way or another, I’d need to examine that Map as quickly as possible.
And to do that…

‘There’s actually one sure method for it.’

Lion withdrew a single item from the depths of his inventory, something that had been sleeping there.
It was the Bracelet that came as a set with the Ability-Blocking Pendant.

‘I was keeping it for situations like this, just in case……’

Now that he thought about it, this was exactly the kind of unforeseen situation he’d been preparing for.
The problem was that he now needed to make this item permanently invisible.
The most reliable way would be to ask Grandfather……but.

‘He’s stepped out right now.’

Then there was a second option.
Someone as safe and dependable as Grandfather himself.
Elvia.

‘I feel bad always asking her for favors……’

But there was no help for it this time either.
Lion cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“Elvia.”

And then.
From the darkness, Elvia……
……did not appear.

“Huh?”

Lion tilted his head in confusion.

“Elvia?”

Silence.

-If it’s that witch, she won’t be able to come for a while.

Tiamatrak, who had been listening to Lion’s call all this time, scratched his cheek and answered.

“Why?”

-Well, there’s a human with Holy Power in the Manor. Ah, though they’ve gone a bit farther away now……but still, she’d definitely sense them.

A human with Holy Power?
Lion’s eyes widened as he deduced what this meant.
So in other words……
Someone had come to the Manor, and that person was a Priest?

-You didn’t know?

He didn’t. Not at all.

-Good grief. You’re slow……anyway, that witch won’t be able to use her powers for a while.

Not being able to use her powers wasn’t the problem!
If things went wrong, they could end up in real trouble.

‘I shouldn’t give the bracelet to that guy……’

I should give it to Elvia!

“Oh no, Elvia!”

Lion tossed the bracelet to Tiamatrak with a quick flick of his wrist, then strode straight out of the half-demolished room.

“Oh. So you’re just giving it to me? Thanks!”

Tiamatrak slipped the bracelet on, pleased with the gift, and scurried after Lion like a puppy on his heels.
Fortunately, the bracelet’s power was functioning well enough—his presence had dimmed considerably.

Floating… floating…

The invisibility remained incomplete, however; the bracelet drifted visibly in the space around Lion, as if suspended in air.

* * *

Contrary to Lion’s anxieties, Elvia was spending a peaceful day.
In truth, she had lived through such situations before.
For instance, when the previous Saintess—the former High Priestess—had visited.
And there had been other occasions when priests had called upon House Asteri.
Each time, Elvia had…

Exhale.

“Tranquil.”

She had suppressed her abilities entirely, living the life of an ordinary person.
It took a toll on her body, certainly, but she had devised her own methods to manage it.

‘After all, it only costs me a few years of my life.’

A small price compared to the trouble it would cause.
Elvia finished her leisurely tea and rose from her seat.
The servants had surely evacuated that small priest when the loud crash sounded moments ago.
It had been a precaution, lest the priest disturb the dog with his presence.
Since things had grown quiet on that front, the servants would bring the small priest back, just as instructed.
She could simply say one of her magical components had been acting up.
With that thought, Elvia rose slowly from her chair.
In any case, she had taken what amounted to a vacation—for the next few days, or perhaps months.

“Now then. What shall I do next?”

Since the priest would likely be staying for a while, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bake a Special Apple Pie—the kind that brought drowsiness—and enjoy a long sleep.

‘Though it does bother me that I haven’t been able to watch over the dog these past days…’

Elvia found herself smiling at the thought, almost laughing aloud.
When had a witch ever concerned herself with protecting someone? It seemed that barely twenty years was enough to form a habit.

“But one mustn’t coddle too much, either.”

Elvia shook her head lightly, picked up the bright red Apple Basket from her desk, and left the room for the Kitchen.
Walking on two legs, as she normally did not, made the distance feel quite far…

“Hmm?”

Elvia drew out the Simple Communicator she always kept with her.
It was one of the few devices that connected directly to Patrick.

“What is it, sir?”

-…My apologies.

“There’s nothing to concern yourself with, if it’s related to ‘time off.'”

-My grandson bolted before I could even contact him.

“…….”

Elvia understood what that meant and simply smiled knowingly.
She hadn’t mentioned to Patrick that Elvia was taking leave, and my pup surely must have called for me at least once.
Only, as always, I wouldn’t have answered.

‘That talkative dragon must have informed him right about then.’

The priest had arrived, and so the witch had gone into hiding.
The chattering dragon wanted to score points with the pup, after all.
And the result was…….

“Confirmed, Patrick. We’ll see once you return.”

Elvia ended the communication curtly and tucked the device away.
At that same moment.

“Elviaaaa!!”
“…….”

The voice of the pup searching for her so desperately reached her ears.
Though her plan had fallen through, Elvia’s lips did not turn downward.
If anything, they rose a touch higher.
This grandson-like creature was going to such lengths for her sake—of course she was delighted.

‘Even the priest proves useful after all.’

Thinking that there’s wisdom in a long life, Elvia continued on toward the kitchen, her original destination.
Since things had come to this, she’d make the time off something a bit more special with her pup.
Satisfied with her revised plan, Elvia headed toward the kitchen with a lighter step.
And then, she stopped short.

“Elvia. Are you unwell? Where is Lion?”

An unexpected figure had appeared.
It was the priest, Licht.

“I thought you’d evacuated.”
“Yes, I had evacuated.”

But he’d grown worried and come back.

“But……you didn’t evacuate, Elvia?”

Licht asked, eyeing the bright red apple basket.
These apples had a lustre and fullness beyond ordinary fruit.
And the leisurely manner in which she stood—it didn’t match the loud crash from moments ago.
Besides, she was Lion’s attendant, was she not?
Why was she standing here alone like this?

“Mm.”
“And it seems Lion is searching for you so desperately…….”

Elvia wore a smile that seemed artfully drawn.

‘This young priest has quite the keen instincts.’

He must have unconsciously sensed the witch’s presence.
Now, how was he going to explain this……
While he was still deliberating.

“There you are!”

Lion took a breath to compose himself and opened his mouth.

“We were supposed to make that special apple pie together, but I’m running late. Right?”
“……Yes, we were.”
“Haha. Good thing I’m not too late. Here, give that to me. I’ll carr—— hm?”

As Lion naturally took the apples from Elvia as well, he turned to look at Licht with an expression of feigned surprise, as though he’d only just noticed him.

“Wait—isn’t this Licht? What are you doing here?”
“…….”

Watching his performance unfold so convincingly, Elvia narrowed her eyes and let out a soft laugh.
My puppy………
So this is how he goes around causing trouble.

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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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