Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 255

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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 or Not, I Just Want to Heal — Chapter 255

“Yes.”

Lion answered lightly to Licht’s sharp question.

‘I don’t want to deceive a good person.’

But what else could he say? The whole thing had stemmed from the potion, after all.
And Licht right now was clearly…….

‘He seems to know something and is speaking deliberately.’

The saving grace was that he didn’t appear to know everything precisely.

“Is that truly so?”
“It truly is.”

In that case, it was better to choose his words carefully.
Not to press him on why, and not to be overly firm either.
No matter what he said, Licht would interpret his answer in his own way regardless.

……

As expected, Licht fell silent for a long time after hearing the answer.
Lion simply didn’t prod him, and instead sat beside the bed, patiently waiting out the moment.

“……I understand.”
“Was that answer sufficient?”
“Yes. It was.”

Licht nodded with a faint smile playing at his lips.
He thought he had some sense now of what Lion wanted.
And what choice he himself needed to make had also become clear.

“Then I’m relieved. I was nearly about to contact the Temple directly if you hadn’t awakened today.”
“Ha, ha……I was shocked myself to collapse so suddenly. I’m sorry for causing you worry.”
“Accidents tend to happen without warning, after all.”

Like mine did.
Lion shrugged lightly and rose from the seat.
Now that Licht had awoken, it was time to be on his way.

“Ah, would you wait just a moment?”

Licht sprang up from the bed and retrieved an enormous bag that lay crumpled to one side.

“It’s a gift. I had meant to give it when we first met, but things turned out this way.”

-Holy Water?

Before Lion could even ask what the gift was, Tiamatrak peered at the bag’s contents from thin air and informed him.

-But do priests just hand out Holy Water these days without restriction?
-I thought back in the old days it was supposed to be forbidden or something.

Probably the same rules still applied nowadays.

“Is this something I’m permitted to receive?”
“Of course. Truth be told, I’d originally planned to prepare less, but the Archbishop insisted I bring more.”
“The Archbishop did?”

Then there was no reason not to accept it.

‘Holy Water is always useful to have.’

It was an item with broad applications across many situations.
Especially now, with reports and traces of Demons surfacing from all corners—it would prove invaluable.

‘But the Archbishop gave it to me directly.’

Certainly, there was the implication of asking me to look after Licht, whom he treasured like a youngest son.

‘Seems he’s genuinely curious.’

Whether I could wield Holy Power.
Or what mechanism lay behind the strength that emanated from me.

‘He’ll never find the answer, no matter how hard he looks.’

Lion himself only vaguely understood that his power stemmed from the talents and abilities purchased from characters he’d raised in the past.
And even if the Archbishop discovered the truth, it would change nothing.
Because Lion had absolutely no desire to play the role of a Hero or anything like that.

‘If anything, I’m only becoming more convinced that this is all just hard labor.’

Looking at where the Hero—the main character—had ended up, it hardly seemed appealing.
And he himself was not the type to grind his body to dust for fame.
Lion absolutely did not want to work.
Investigating the main character now was precisely to prevent a massive snowball of trouble from rolling his way later.

‘Anyway, I just hope the Archbishop doesn’t develop some strange misunderstanding.’

Or so he’d thought.
But Lion knew better.
The Archbishop’s misunderstanding was inevitable—it would come to pass.
So he could only hope.
Please, let it not be a major one.
Well, that was a problem for the future.
For now.

“Thank you so much. I’ll put it to good use in my Alchemy work.”

He had to accept the gift he’d been given.
Lion wrapped both arms around the enormous bag.
It was quite heavy, packed full of Holy Water as it was.

“Well then, since you’re awake, I’ll be on my way.”

Lion waddled out of the room, wrestling with the massive bag.
Through the gap of the not-quite-closed door came the sound of flustered voices.

“Y-Young Master, please let me carry it!”
“Hm? No, it’s fine. My room isn’t far—what’s the fuss?”
“B-But… wouldn’t it be difficult for your delicate arms and legs to climb the stairs…?”
“……You do have a point.”

It was Barg—the creature Lion had shunned days ago—speaking in that stammering, hesitant way.
The two bickered for a moment longer before their voices gradually faded into the distance.
It seemed Barg had emerged victorious.

“……Yes.”

Licht closed the door slowly, then murmured to himself.
He didn’t know if hiding this was the right thing to do.
It felt like something he shouldn’t do toward the Archbishop, who had always been so kind to him.
A sense of guilt gnawed at him—guilt rooted in his station as a priest.
Though he hadn’t yet fully recovered the dream itself, all these circumstances were insisting on a connection between the Premonition Dream and Lion.
But from today onward.
Licht had decided not to dig further to verify this Premonition Dream.
Once he confirmed it, he would surely have to report everything to everyone—contrary to Lion’s wishes.

* * *

The Archbishop received Licht’s report through the communication channel.
In truth, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
Signs of Chaos still needed investigation, and the incident at the Imperial Palace had been agreed upon for the Temple to handle alone.
And furthermore…….

-That concludes my report.
“You’ve worked hard.”

The Archbishop, having heard the brief report, cut off his own train of thought.
There was no need to dwell on such things in the present situation.

“Good. You’ve been doing well, then?”
-Yes. And you’re keeping healthy as well, aren’t you?
“Hah. I’ve been swamped with work lately, but I’m being careful with my health just as you advised, so don’t worry.”

At the concern in that voice, the corners of the Archbishop’s mouth curved upward.
His already kind, gentle expression grew even warmer.

‘I suppose we should share a few words.’

For all that happened, Licht held a peculiar place in the Archbishop’s heart.
He was the youngest among the children he had personally raised.
But more than that, it was because the boy worried him with his almost rigid sense of righteousness.
At his best, he was good-hearted.
At his worst, he lacked flexibility.
It was almost as though…….

‘He takes after the Previous Archbishop.’

The Archbishop summoned the memory of that beloved face—now so faint that even his voice had begun to fade—before collecting himself.
Indulging in sentiment was pleasant enough.
But the real reason he’d wanted to hear the regular report today was precisely for this ‘chat.’
Everything that Licht was not supposed to know, had no reason to know.
Everything that boy had unconsciously uncovered.
The Archbishop’s eyes grew calm and measured.

“And you—it can’t be easy adapting outside the Temple…… Are you in any pain or discomfort?”
-……Everyone treats me kindly. There’s nothing troubling me.
“I see.”

A brief silence followed the reply.
Licht was not skilled at lying.
That was how he had been raised.

“Hah. I wonder what I’d do if you liked it so much there that you decided to stay, even after the mission ends.”

—Your Majesty, I would never do such a thing. I have already resolved to dedicate myself to the Temple and to you.

“Still, compared to the boring Temple, that place has no shortage of stimulating things, does it? Perhaps there’s someone of the opposite sex who catches your fancy?”

—That’s… that’s impossible! It shouldn’t be that way!

“Why not?”

The Archbishop feigned foolishness and spoke in jest.

“As long as no one finds out, what’s the harm?”
—……
“Am I not the same?”

Licht is a clever boy.
He surely sensed some part of what I’m planning.
Though he doesn’t know exactly what it is.
So the Archbishop let that thread drop.

—That’s… different, isn’t it?
“Different?”
—Isn’t it all for the sake of preventing Chaos? Something like that?
“Ha ha ha. Chaos. Yes, that’s right.”

The Archbishop gently caressed the communication stone with his fingertip.

“Ah, I would have liked to talk more, but it seems urgent matters have arisen. I must go.”
—……! Yes. Don’t worry about this end.
“Thank you.”

The Archbishop said as much and cut the connection.

“Hmm.”

Something had certainly happened at the Asteri Family Estate.
More precisely, to Lion Asteri.
That boy.
His reasoning was clear.
Licht had deliberately avoided mentioning Lion Asteri, and had subtly let slip that this matter differed from his own plans.

“Different, indeed.”

For the sake of preventing Chaos, he had said.
The question itself had been somewhat off the mark.
Still, this much was enough to know for now.
For him, and for Licht.
He could look for more concrete evidence himself.

‘Lion is sharper than I gave him credit for.’

So direct pressure was best avoided.

“The time draws near in any case.”

In times of Chaos, a Hero is born.
If it goes as it should……

“Hmm, at this rate I really will be late.”

No matter how much of a discard he might be, one simply could not make someone of the First Imperial Prince’s rank wait.
The Archbishop rose to his feet.

* * *

Several days had already passed since Lion had been turned into a child.
Now restored to adulthood, Lion conducted a thorough examination of his body and was relieved to confirm that all his abilities had returned to normal.
The Mimur Forest and the Labyrinth, which had been off-limits for some time, were now open to him once again.
So Lion spent his leisurely days tending to the banana sweet potato patch in the Mimur Forest as usual, watering the moonflower beds in the Labyrinth, savoring each quiet hour.
He took walks with Nature and Foos, and did not neglect guiding Freyanya in her Alchemy studies.
In short, it was the peaceful everyday life Lion had always wanted.
The kind of tranquil routine where he woke late like today, did as he pleased, and drifted into lazy sleep……

Neigh!
Clatter.
Clunk!

……A horse?
A horse?

“Huh?”

Lion’s eyes snapped open at the unfamiliar clattering and commotion.
What in the world was happening?
Before he could even make sense of the situation——

“You’re awake.”
“……Grandfather?”
“The horse’s neigh woke you, did it? Hmm. We still have some time before we arrive.”

Arrive where?
Lion scrambled up and looked around hastily.
As he’d suspected, he was inside a carriage, and Patrick sat in the front seat reviewing documents.

Blink. Blink.

As Lion tried to piece things together, one memory surfaced.

—Next time I go on an outing, I’ll have to bring you along.

“I mean, if I’m going on an outing with you, couldn’t you have woken me first……?”
“Was there any need? I simply moved your bed and all.”
“……”

Lion had no idea how Patrick had managed to fit his actual bed inside the carriage.
He’d probably used Magic to reconfigure it somehow.
The sentiment was kind enough, but……

“Ha, haha…… It was just so sudden.”

At those words,
Patrick set down his documents and regarded Lion with a steady gaze.
His eyes conveyed a silent question: you’re the one calling something sudden, after all you’ve put me through?

‘……Fair point.’

From his grandfather’s perspective, wasn’t every moment a whirlwind of the unexpected?
And this time, on top of everything else, he’d been turned into a child.
His grandfather must have been terrified.
The fact that he hadn’t been scolded was……
Lion found himself recalling the memory of the second day.
He’d pulled out every trick in the book to ease his grandfather’s worries—really, every last bit of charm he could muster.
At least it was his grandfather, so the embarrassment stung less than it might have.

“Ha ha ha. A spontaneous trip sounds wonderful! And going with just you, Grandfather—this is actually our first time, isn’t it?”

Lion laughed, shifting the subject smoothly and naturally.

“Heh heh. I’m so glad you’re in good spirits, Young Master. Breakfast is ready here.”
“Thanks, Elvia.”

Elvia?
Lion watched as Elvia handed him a sandwich, her expression bright and warm.

“You’ve lost so much weight these past months—I’m sure you haven’t been eating well enough. Do have plenty.”
…

Oh.
Lion understood at once.
This trip.
No—this business trip with his grandfather was going to be far more complicated than he’d bargained for.

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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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