Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 291

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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’d Rather Just Heal — Episode 291

Upon hearing that half of what happened constituted an accident, Patrick thoroughly dusted off his grandson, and fortunately, Lion quickly revealed what he’d been hiding.

“So that Archbishop bastard buried this thing?”
“Yes.”
“And you discovered it?”

Lion nodded with the most innocent expression he could muster.

“Nothing else happened after that.”

Thankfully, the Contamination had prevented him from collapsing or entering Story Mode!
Since it wasn’t a lie, Lion earnestly defended himself by insisting it was a “relatively minor accident.”
And as a result.

“Sigh…….”

Fortunately, Patrick didn’t grow angry with Lion.
Lion felt relief wash over him as he watched his grandfather exhale deeply.

— Wait. This doesn’t feel like the time to relax.

Just as Tieramatrak, witnessing the scene, was about to add his own comment.
Patrick’s eyes blazed with surging Mana.

“This insane bastard……!”
“No, Grandfather! Please, compose yourself!”
“Don’t stop me. I’m going to go kill that Archbishop myself.”

His grandfather unleashed a torrent of vulgarities he’d never once uttered in front of Lion before.

— Wait, he could swear like that?

It was almost certainly language he’d picked up from Jack during those days of adventure with the Hero.
Lion was immensely grateful his younger brother wasn’t present, and he awkwardly smiled as he tried to calm his grandfather.

“Of course I intend to take revenge. Regardless, he’s crossed the line this time.”

In truth, he’d crossed it long ago.
Had he not continually gotten under Lion’s skin?

“Lion.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“Now you understand what that wretch’s true goal is, don’t you?”
“Yes. I believe he wants to make me into a Hero.”
“What do you wish to do about it? Do you want to become a Hero?”

Lion fell silent for a moment at his grandfather’s question, then answered slowly.

“To be honest, I’ve given it some thought lately. Everything seems to point toward someone wanting to turn me into a Hero.”

Especially — the pace of it all was accelerating.
Of course, it was partly because Lion himself had begun seeking out the Hero’s belongings more actively than before.

— How should I put this…….

He also felt that the items were approaching him of their own accord, as though guided.
Particularly the main character — the Hero’s location and hidden stories seemed to carry an undertone that they couldn’t be ignored.
An ominous premonition kept gnawing at him—that something terrible was about to happen.

‘As long as it stays confined to me, it doesn’t matter.’

He could simply grit his teeth and pretend not to see it.
Or he could turn his back on everything entirely and retreat to some remote island to spend his days in leisure.
There was a time he would have done exactly that, but lately, without fail, the faces of family and loved ones kept surfacing in his mind.
An unwelcome sense of responsibility had stirred within him.
He possessed none of the strength required to be a true Hero, yet he felt capable of doing something.
And perhaps… if Lion truly set his mind to it, he could fulfill that role to some degree.

“Lion.”

Thump.

Patrick’s weathered hand patted Lion’s shoulder gently.

“Set down all this burden you’re carrying and tell me what it is you truly want.”

That way, your old grandfather will know which direction to guide you.

“I know you’re capable of solving anything. But there’s a difference between what you can do and what you want to do.”
“I… well.”

Lion smiled faintly at his grandfather’s heartfelt counsel.
It seemed his grandfather understood that he was drowning under an enormous weight of burden.
Most people would have felt the same way.
That creeping anxiety—what if he made the wrong choice? What terrible consequences might unfold?
It was a weakness everyone shared, regardless of age.

‘Not just me.’

The grandfather standing before him, the Second Imperial Prince as well.
Even the Archbishop, bristling with hostility and needling him at this very moment.
And yet.

‘My answer is already fixed.’

Living as Lion.
No—even before taking possession of this body, there was only one thing.
One vow that Baek Yi-hyeon had made.
And that was.

‘To do only what I want.’

Without wavering, without conflict.
To walk his own path, regardless of right or wrong.
He had grown tired of being swayed by others—and he’d learned countless times that it brought no joy.
Above all else.

‘Because of that, I feel secure.’

Here, his family protected Lion.
And so the answer Lion had chosen was.

“For now, I’d like to investigate as much as I can handle. Most of all, I’m curious.”
“Curious about what?”

To most people’s eyes, it might be dismissed as merely a game character, but for Lion it was something different.
In the World. And the characters he had raised with care had held him steady during his time of wavering.
How one sees it…….

‘That’s right. I could be a hero too, couldn’t I?’

They didn’t know exactly what those people did, but the world glimpsed through their eyes and their path added just a glimmer of hope—maybe a day’s worth—each and every day.
Life back then was honestly…….

‘Something I don’t even want to remember.’

If childhood was deprivation, adolescence was a memory worth excising.
The only thing worth keeping was that crafted world, barely twenty inches across.
Only this place.

“To be precise, I too have been helped by the Hero.”

……He’d said it at length, but there was nothing grand behind it.
He was simply doing what he could, as far as he was able.

“Of course, if I sense it won’t work, I’ll flee at once. Haha.”

Those meant to live should live, after all.
And if I die, there would be far too many people grieving—I can’t have that.

“……I see. Then you intend……”

To walk the path of a hero from here on.
Patrick’s eyes, holding that thought, clouded with a faint sorrow.
He knew how difficult that path was.
Just before Patrick could sink deeper into that emotional whirlpool—

“Oh, but before that, I realized there’s something I want to do first. Grandfather.”
“Ahem. And what’s that?”
“Revenge. I need to give the Archbishop a proper thrashing.”

Lion’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.
At the strange expression on his grandson’s face—peculiar as he was, yet upright in conduct—even Patrick’s body gave a start.

“Truth is, I wanted to go straight after him, but I held back.”

He’d held back and given one warning, and now he meant to deliver a proper blow. Until he’d found that evidence, he’d spent his time wondering if he might yet turn the Archbishop to his advantage, but the more he thought about it—

‘You’re finished.’

Not someone you could work with.
So then—nothing for it but to let him destroy himself.

“……So you have a method, it seems.”
“Yes. And Grandfather, you must help me!”
“Tell me.”
“While I dispel the contamination, show this to the Archbishop. Recovery will take care of itself.”

Lion withdrew an item from his breast.

“This is……!”

Patrick’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of it.
To look at, it was merely an old, weathered vial, yet what emanated from around it…….

‘Such a powerful seal. This is…….’

Stronger than the Great Barrier itself.
So intricate that even Patrick couldn’t begin to decipher it.
And yet… familiar.
This presence.
It was hers.

“I haven’t been able to examine the interior myself yet. I doubt even the Archbishop knows what’s inside.”
“…So I can land a proper blow after all.”

If the Archbishop—obsessed as he is with the Saintess—saw this, he’d probably foam at the mouth.
And if he dwelled on the fact that he’d failed to discover something so powerful for decades, it would only make things worse.

‘The damage will be considerable.’

And he’d deeply regret it.
Daring to move against Lion.

“An excellent tool for causing internal decay. I see.”
“Thank you. Shall we discuss what happens tomorrow?”

Patrick nodded as he watched Lion smile with complete satisfaction.

‘Truly my grandson.’

He’d seemed too good-natured to plot revenge properly, yet here he’d hidden away an item like this.

‘He was simply showing restraint.’

He’d held back all this time out of consideration for the Archbishop’s circumstances.

‘A man who deserves a Meteor Strike without hesitation.’

The Saintess’s eye for her successor was remarkably poor.
Patrick briefed him briefly on the events to come. Certainly some disturbance would occur in the middle of the Hunting Competition, and at that moment, Lion would be positioned near the Second Imperial Prince.

“Ah. So I’d slip away for treatment in that confusion? The Magic Tower seems too risky to be discovered… would it be the villa where Elvia stays?”
“You’ll be moved, yes, but I can’t tell you the location. As I said before, when the time comes, I’ll send you a guide.”

Lion nodded in understanding.

“Good. When it’s over, I’ll send someone to fetch you. Rest easy until then.”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Without him as a brake, Grandfather and Ricshel would just work endlessly…

“Yes, Grandfather.”
“We worry about you more than that.”
“Ha. That’s what family does—worry about each other, right?”
“Just because you’ve recovered doesn’t mean you should go causing trouble. Understand?”

“…….”

Truth be told, I’d been planning to slip into Story Mode the moment things settled down——

‘Well, it shouldn’t be a problem, should it?’

Grandfather wouldn’t send me anywhere truly dangerous.
At worst, it would be some place House Asteri ran in secret. Nothing more than that, surely.

“Lion. Answer me.”
“Haha. Of course. I will.”

Patrick’s brow furrowed at Lion’s wishy-washy tone.

‘He’s planning to cause trouble again.’

One thing.

‘This time won’t be so easy.’

Patrick barely suppressed the smile of victory creeping across his face and rose to his feet.

“Then I’ll see you at home next time.”
“Yes.”

Patrick offered a farewell that was both a farewell and not quite one, then left the room.
He suspected he’d say his proper goodbye to Ricshel tomorrow morning.

“Well then, I suppose I should rest a while.”

Lion collapsed onto the bed with a feeling of relief, blissfully unaware of exactly what special place his grandfather had arranged.

Lion let out a low exclamation at the peculiar atmosphere settling over the Hunting Competition before it had even begun.

“Quite impressive.”

He’d been curious what sort of tricks Lepicent would employ in the hunt, and it appeared the Marquis had prepared considerably more than he’d anticipated.

‘These aren’t even animals. They’re closer to magical beasts.’

Whatever drug they’d been given, the creatures rushed forward with crimson eyes, drool streaming from their jaws.

Screee!

Poisoned arrows or something like them streaked through the air on erratic trajectories——quite an impressive touch.

‘And yet he looks so delighted.’

His eyes gleamed with exhilaration, as if the moment had finally arrived.

‘……But when am I going to be called in?’

If the assault had already begun, shouldn’t something be happening to me by now?
Lion found himself lingering awkwardly at the edge of this vast whirlwind, merely observing from the sidelines.
It felt oddly like being left out—a peculiar sensation, truth be told.
As he continued blindly trailing after the Second Imperial Prince,

“My, you must be bored stiff?”

A familiar, grating voice came from behind him.

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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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