Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 290

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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? No Thanks, I’d Rather Heal – Episode 290

“Hah.”

[Item Re-binds.]

A notification flashed before Lion could even follow that thought through—a wedge driven home.
Meaning this wasn’t some similar item that could be crafted at the Temple, but the actual thing the Saintess had once handed to the Hero.

“…….”

Lion turned the worn emblem over in his palm, fingers tracing its edges.
The Flame Emblem wasn’t really an item of great influence.
To summarize: in the World, when the Hero first reached the Temple, the Saintess had given it to him as a gift.
She’d said it would surely be needed on his travels, since the numbers of Demons had been growing of late.
Being something handed over early in the journey, it could absorb the miasma that mid-tier Demons exhaled, and ward off a degree of Contamination.
Though it only worked if activated before the Contamination made contact—a somewhat ambiguous item, really.

‘So that’s why…….’

Lion knew from his memory that it had already discolored beyond use long before the Hero even reached the Dragnas Grand Duke’s Residence.
In any case, what mattered here was this:
the emblem wasn’t among the Hero’s most precious possessions.
And the Archbishop’s skill would never fail to see through that.
Yet he’d buried the thing anyway, as if putting it on display.

‘So he’s worked it out to this point?’

It meant he knew everything.
The secret Lion had never let slip to another soul.

The ability to enter Story Mode.

‘Of course, he probably doesn’t know exactly what it entails.’

What the Archbishop had likely grasped more precisely was this:
that moment of vulnerability when Lion enters Story Mode and then tears free from it.
In those flashing seconds, he’s defenseless, and if the information gathered exceeds a certain threshold, he can sustain severe internal wounds.

‘So that’s why he left it here.’

Confirmation. And warning.
A response to the threat as well.

He wouldn’t wait around with his mouth open for grapes to fall from the sky.
He’d provoke Lion by any means necessary, and for his purposes, he could resort to tactics like this.
That’s what this message amounted to.

‘I thought he was no pushover, but…….’

Lion gripped the emblem and let out a short laugh.

‘He really is formidable.’

Honestly, it sends shivers down his spine.
Through all the informational chaos of the Underworld and House Asteri.
And to have unearthed Lion’s secret—the one he’d hidden even from them—meant he deserved proper recognition for both his ability and his obsession.

‘A double-edged sword, at that.’

The Archbishop would prove invaluable if they could cultivate a cordial relationship.
But what the Archbishop wanted and what Lion desired diverged considerably.

‘Until the truth about the previous Archbishop comes to light, he’s an enemy.’

For now, the Archbishop remained more like a weapon pointed at Lion’s throat than an ally.
Lion didn’t believe the Hero had driven the Saintess to her death—though people’s definitions of such things varied.

‘This isn’t simple.’

Still, the fact remained that the Archbishop had been preparing an enormous trap for Lion.
Had Lion’s condition been sound, he would likely have stumbled straight into it.

‘I nearly became the protagonist of a Chaos Era.’

But there was one thing.
One thing the Archbishop had overlooked.

[Current items cannot be accessed.]
Reason: Insufficient qualifications

This was Lion’s current state.
A body this heavily Contaminated did not qualify to view Story Mode.
It was fatal for information gathering, but it had one definite advantage: no “surprise situations” would occur for Lion.

‘As far as I’m concerned, this is my own safety mechanism.’

Having experienced Penalties before, he’d shifted his thinking.

“Hmm, there’s nothing here at all?”

Lion smoothly claimed the Flame Emblem and tucked it into his robes, then moved elsewhere.

“You didn’t find anything?”
“Hmm?”
“I thought I sensed something there…….”
“Ah, it’s probably residual Holy Power the priests used during that incident at the Imperial Palace.”
“I see…….”

Peter couldn’t hide his disappointment.

‘I wanted to help him.’

It seemed they hadn’t found much of anything after all.

“Disappointed?”
“I wanted to help you…….”

Lion reached to ruffle Peter’s hair, but noticed the dirt smudged on his gloves and simply smiled.

‘The boy doesn’t need to know yet.’

In truth, it was Peter who had given Lion the resolve to walk into the Archbishop’s trap with open eyes.

‘If Peter didn’t exist, I would’ve agonized and backed away.’

He’d noticed that his grandfather and Ricshel were working tirelessly to resolve his Contamination, and he wouldn’t have deliberately made problems worse.

‘But there’s no way my nature would let me leave something like that alone either.’

I suspect that after the Contamination was resolved, I wouldn’t have come back here again.
I wouldn’t have collapsed in a place crowded with all manner of people, but by then the Archbishop would’ve found another way, and I’d have ended up dancing to his tune regardless.
It was a situation that could have spiraled into the worst possible outcome.
And I solved it thanks to Peter.
In a real sense, he’d accomplished something extraordinary.

“I don’t know when we’ll meet again…… so I wanted to be helpful.”

But if Peter were to understand all of this, the situation ahead would become quite complicated.
No matter how clever a child is, his expressions are easy to read.
It unsettled me to think of the boy being used without his knowledge or consent.
Perhaps that’s why memories of my own childhood kept surfacing.

“Well. We can see each other again whenever. Ah, come to think of it—isn’t it about time you entered the Academy?”
“Yes…….”

He seemed to be thinking that once he entered the Academy, it wouldn’t be easy to visit Lion for a while.
Moreover, Peter had now been confirmed to possess Holy Power, so the Theological Academy would surely come courting him as well.

“You little rascal. Already turning into a model student?”

Lion deliberately touched Peter playfully to lighten the mood.
Pus noticed it too and wrapped around Peter’s feet, spinning in delighted circles.

“If you miss me, just say so. I’ll let you skip school legally.”
“Skip school legally…….”
“Hmm, should I even be telling you this…….”

Lion exaggerated a glance around as though harboring a great secret, then leaned in and whispered to Peter.

“The thing is, the Academy has what they call an Experience Learning Program.”

Lion had never attended the Academy himself, but his younger brother Ricshel had once enrolled there.
Of course, even then he’d had to fulfill succession lessons and important schedules alongside their grandfather, so he’d had no choice but to miss Academy classes frequently.
The reason his attendance record had remained unblemished was precisely thanks to this program.

“And someone of my standing can get away with skipping once or twice.”

Though it would be their grandfather who’d have to step in, not Lion himself…….
Let’s spare the details of how adults manage these things.

“Brother……!”
“Hm-haha. What do you think? Your brother’s pretty cool, right?”

Lion knew perfectly well how appealing legal truancy was to a student.
True, he’d become that uncle—no, that older brother—who teaches a kid who hasn’t even entered the Academy yet how to skip school, like some dissolute layabout.
But what of it?

‘Kindness repays kindness!’

As long as Peter was happy, that was enough…….

“I can’t use shortcuts, no matter what.”
“Huh? Oh?”
“But I will miss you, so promise me we’ll spend time together when I have a break.”

……Peter was more level-headed than he’d expected.
Lion had known he was mature and intelligent for his age, but.

‘I never thought it’d come to this.’

Lion had become an incompetent adult.
Ha ha ha.

‘There’s nothing for it.’

I’d have to prepare a different gift instead.

“Y-yes, that’s right. I understand.”
“Promise?”

When dirt clung to the gloves and Peter hesitated, he hooked his fingers first.

“You’re worried I’ll hate getting dirty, aren’t you?”
“Tsk.”

Lion tried to ruffle Peter’s hair with the dirt-covered gloves, but Nature stopped him in his tracks.
While they were exchanging such trivial banter—

“F-found it! Our Pinky found it!!”
“Oink! Oink!”

—Oh, a Pearl Necklace!
—Pigs really do have the best sense of smell, don’t they?

The person who’d won first prize let out a cry of shock.
Just as Tieramatrak had said, the grand prize winner was a nobleman who kept an enormous, glossy pig as a companion.
All eyes instantly turned toward him, and the crowd offered their congratulations.

“Now then, there are still second and third prizes to be claimed, so please continue to enjoy yourselves. By the way, the third prize is an Imperial-Marked Stationery Set. If any of you or your children are still enrolled at the Academy, it would be quite appealing, wouldn’t it?”

The host announced the identity of the remaining prize to stoke the excitement further, and the participants reignited their enthusiasm.
And then—

“That one!”

Fire blazed in Lion’s eyes.

‘Yes! Writing supplies!’

Isn’t that precisely what you need most when entering the Academy?
And if the writing implements bore the Imperial seal, they’d draw every Academy student’s gaze.

‘If I just add a little “something extra” of my own…!’

Wouldn’t that create quite an impressive set of writing instruments?

“Peter. If your brother really wants that third prize, will you help me out?”
“Um…”

All of a sudden?
But if Lion wanted it, Peter wanted to help.
Besides, wasn’t a Treasure Hunt something Peter was quite good at?
Certainly better than those noble heirs who’d never gotten their hands properly dirty!

“O-okay! I’ll help!”
“Pus, you’re ready too?”
“Growl? Squeal!”

Though Pus didn’t understand the reason, he seemed to think this was finally his moment to shine—his tail wagging as he planted himself with a decisive thump right in front of Lion.

“All right. Our target is third place.”
“Sounds good!”

And so Lion joined the Treasure Hunt late into the competition.
With a few… well, not quite fair tactics—or rather, with Pus’s help—he managed to claim the third-place prize without hesitation.

“Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha!”

To all outward appearances, it was simply an odd fellow doing odd things—and the second evening of the Emperor’s Birthday celebration drew to a close.
Lion waited until Violetta, Ferguson’s wife, came to collect Peter, then he returned to his room.

“Phew. That was quite the interesting day.”

Only once Lion had made certain the door was firmly shut could he finally undo his shirt buttons and peel off the confounding Gloves.
Such tight-fitting clothes just to move around—it was hardly bearable.
The Contamination made things extraordinarily inconvenient.

“Chirp.”
“Yeah, I know it was reckless, but nothing went wrong, so we’re fine, right?”
“Chirp-chirp!”

Nature sighed as though to say he was hopeless, then brought fresh Gloves.
Lion changed into lighter clothes and, resisting the urge to collapse onto the bed, settled himself on the sofa instead.

‘It should be about time soon.’

Only one day remained until the Emperor’s Birthday.
And in this final hunt, a great many things were certain to unfold.
The Lepicent Family would commit some tremendous deed, and House Asteri would need to publicly resolve it alongside the Second Imperial Prince.
And in the midst of all that, Lion would have to—

“Erase this.”
“So you noticed after all.”
“You’ve arrived.”

Lion pulled on his new Gloves and rose to greet Patrick.

“The Spirit King seems to have cared for you well.”

Relieved to see that Lion’s body appeared intact, Patrick exhaled with quiet relief.

“…….”
“…….”

Yet before Patrick could even finish his breath, he noticed something unusual in Lion’s silence—and his eyes grew uneasy as he regarded his troublesome grandson.

“……Not, though?”
“Half…… of it, perhaps?”

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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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