Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 292

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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 Can Wait; I Just Want to Heal — Episode 292

‘That voice……’

Lion turned his head with a reluctant expression.
As expected, Jack was leaning against a tree, grinning to himself.
The only unusual thing, perhaps, was that the merchant-lord Jade wasn’t dressed in his usual attire.

“Have you come to protect the imperial prince?”
“Eh? Ah, well……I do want to look after him as his brother, but.”

Jack trailed off and glanced toward the Second Imperial Prince, and an answer came back immediately.

“Not needed.”
“As you can see, he seems to be enjoying himself.”

He’s got a difficult personality in his own way, unlike some others.

“……?”

Had he just insulted Ricshel as smoothly as flowing water?
No, honestly, compared to Kyle, Ricshel was practically an angel.
His temperament was a touch sensitive, but where else would you find someone so gentle?

“Then why have you come here?”
“Well, I’m here to earn my keep, as one does.”

And Jack stared intently at Lion.

“……You can’t be serious.”
“Ha-ha! As sharp as ever, I see!”

Jack pushed himself off the tree and walked slowly toward him.

“I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous. This is the first time I’ve undertaken something so intriguing.”

Lion exhaled deeply.
So the guide was Jack after all?
Which meant the place where I was to resolve the Contamination was……

‘The Underworld.’

At least he understood that Grandfather had made quite a decision.
Honestly, it was the rational choice.

‘For something that needs to happen in secret, there’s no better place.’

How they’d persuaded Jack was beyond him.
Still, if the family had all agreed on it, Lion was willing to comply willingly.
Even for someone like Lion, carrying around a time bomb in your body that could detonate at any moment wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“We’ll attract too much attention if we just move about like this.”
“Quite right, but there’s no need to worry. Would you hold onto this for a moment?”

Jack handed Lion a scroll.
It was surely a scroll that could take them to one of the most heavily guarded places even in the Underworld.

“Feel free to examine it. I’ll be back shortly.”

Jack flashed a businesslike smile, then promptly vanished from sight.
And then.

Crack.

Fallen leaves scattered through the forest, and the sound of branches snapping echoed several times over.
The poison arrows that had been raining down from the grass stopped coming.

—Oh, he’s more adroit than that Imperial Prince.

Tieramatrak offered a light murmur of admiration and drifted over to examine the scroll.

—So we just head to these coordinates!
—Hm, it’ll take a while to get there, won’t it?

It seemed he was preparing in advance, perhaps because he’d been left behind alone the last time they’d used a Warp Scroll.

“Can you keep up?”

—Come now, what do you take me for? As long as I know the coordinates, I can go anywhere.
—Of course, you’ll have to give me permission! Ahem. You will give it, won’t you? Yes?

“Of course.”

No matter that Grandfather had allowed it, or that Jack was technically operating as a partner now—there shouldn’t be any problems.
Bringing along even one person he could trust would be far better than going alone.
And besides…….

‘He’s actually rather useful.’

The chattering Tieramatrak had pointed out things Lion himself had overlooked.
True, most of it was just him babbling excitedly about whatever caught his fancy, but information was never a burden to have in abundance.

‘The Underworld, then…….’

With luck, he might even verify the items the previous Jack had given him.

“Disagreeable temperament aside, he’s trustworthy.”

Kyle had finished subduing the creature in front of him and now brushed the blood from his blade lightly as he approached.

“At least he won’t breach a deal.”
“I see.”
“And despite appearances, he doesn’t seem to dislike you all that much…….”
“Well then, since we’ve lost the light, shall we make our departure?”

Jack reappeared midway through Kyle’s sentence, cutting him off with a wave of his hand.
Though he had clearly disposed of a considerable number of people, his clothes and hands remained immaculately clean.

“One cannot present a soiled appearance before our distinguished guest! We mustn’t risk giving you such a dreadful fright, now can we.”

There was a mocking edge to his tone, but Lion found himself unmoved.

‘I’d rather not see blood anyway.’

Despite his rather spectacular life of late, he’d been an ordinary citizen before the Possession—bloodshed had been nothing more than the occasional nosebleed.

“You have excellent service.”
“……Well, I was paid quite generously.”

Jack seemed somewhat disappointed by Lion’s lukewarm response.

‘Like a child,’ he thought.

That man’s way of expressing himself was indistinguishable from a mischievous elementary schooler.
The type who showered people they were interested in with excessive pranks.

‘But didn’t he dislike me?’

Given how freewheeling his nature was, he might well have taken a liking to Jack without even realizing it himself.

“Hmm, I’ll give you the details in a quieter, cleaner place. Shall we go?”
“Of course.”
“Oh, before that—”

Jack withdrew a potion bottle from his pocket and offered it to Lion with ceremony.

“It wouldn’t do if you suffered motion sickness, now would it?”

Upon inspection, it was indeed a Motion Sickness Potion similar to the one Lion had crafted.
And the maker was…….

[Disciple’s Warp Motion Sickness Prevention Potion (★)]
-A potion painstakingly crafted by the disciple for her master.
-While its potency falls short of the original, it should serve admirably for travel across the continent.

It was Freyanya.
So this was what she’d been researching so intently all this while.
No wonder she’d been holed up in the laboratory and kept so quiet ever since that matter.

‘She even got a star,’ he mused.

It felt like only yesterday she’d been concocting utterly worthless potions.
An odd warmth bloomed in his chest.

Gulp.

Lion drained the potion bottle at once, and Jack tore open a Warp Scroll.

“Don’t worry about things here. Have a safe journey.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Do take care yourself.”

The Second Imperial Prince smiled brightly and turned away as Jack and Lion’s forms vanished without a trace.

* * *

Blink.

Lion opened his closed eyes.
Fortunately, Freyanya’s potion worked quite well—he felt no nausea whatsoever.
And…….

‘We came straight here.’

It was a place Lion recognized.
The place he’d seen in the previous Jack’s final memory.
What had been a lavishly ornate room even in those faded yesteryears now struck him as exponentially more extravagant.
Bright. Excessive.
A magical tool was even emitting pleasant music.
Anyone seeing this would think the Underworld’s master possessed wealth rivaling that of a dragon, not a criminal overlord.
If there was just one flaw.

‘No windows.’

There were decorations that substituted for windows, but not a trace of sunlight or moonlight filtered through.
Because of that, even having arrived here, there was no way to know his exact location.

“Welcome. It’s my first time extending a direct invitation to a distinguished guest. Usually they’re dragged here.”

Images from noir films he’d once seen flashed rapidly through Lion’s mind.

‘Grandfather…….’

No matter how much he worried about his grandson causing trouble, confining him to the Underworld leader’s chambers was hardly a solution.
And Ricshel had agreed to it too.

‘They really are something.’

Though honestly, Lion would have done the same if he’d been in their position.

‘And they probably knew he wouldn’t lose his nerve in here either…….’

Objectively speaking, Lion was no ordinary eccentric, nor did he crumble under pressure.
They’d probably just thought he’d cause a little less trouble this way…….

‘Ah, forget it.’

He’d just let loose anyway.
Could it not be smoothed over as simply ‘Lion being Lion’?

“You seem worried about boredom.”

Before Lion could answer, Jack smiled wryly and offered him a seat.
As Lion sank into the surprisingly plush sofa, Jack poured a fresh, warm tea and handed it to him.
It was clear and bitter, reminiscent of green tea in flavor.
It was likely a different variety made from tender leaves.

“The Marquis of Asteri instructed me never to let you grow bored, you see.”
“My grandfather’s affection for his grandson is a bit excessive.”
“No, sir. He said that if left alone, you’d cause even greater trouble.”
“……Well, he’s not wrong about that.”

Jack’s eyebrows twitched slightly at Lion’s brazen admission.

‘What am I to do with this troublemaker.’

Though he treated Lion with the utmost courtesy and familiarity, Jack was internally quite exasperated.
In fact, it had been so since his very first transaction with Patrick of Asteri.

‘Contamination.’

Even Jack, who had witnessed every horror the Underworld had to offer, could not help but be astonished.
The mere fact that someone existed who carried contamination was something close to a miracle.

‘He shows no symptoms.’

But what was even more extraordinary——

“——it could be resolved.”

Patrick replied with confidence.
There is no one who can resolve contamination.
Even the clergy can only prevent the weakest contamination before it takes hold.

‘If the contamination were severe…….’

There was no choice but to amputate the affected part.
Even a moment’s hesitation would allow demonization to progress.

‘In any case, if this young master thrashes about and the contamination spreads, that would be troublesome. So one of the conditions was to maintain him in the best possible state at all times.’

Patrick had made three demands.
Secrecy.
A safe location.
Lion maintain optimal condition.

The first two weren’t particularly difficult.
The last one was the problem.
Looking at his expression, the man seemed ready to leave the room that very moment and start tearing through the Underworld.

‘Fearless, that one.’

It would’ve been simpler if he were the type who could be intimidated into staying put.
Jack sighed inwardly even as he laid out a simple schedule for Lion.

“So once the materials and people arrive to help you, you’ll proceed immediately, and I can leave once I confirm your condition has stabilized.”
“Precisely. And you won’t have much time to be bored, I assure you. Ha ha. I’ve prepared quite an extensive collection of Alchemy texts.”

Jack gestured toward the books piled mountain-high beside the bed, but Lion simply buried himself in the sofa with evident disinterest.

“I’ve read all of those. I have a modest library of my own, you see.”
“…….”

Jack chuckled silently in response.
This young master—no, Young Master—seemed to have already grasped his situation quite well.

“Since you’ll likely have considerable time to kill before the personnel arrive, wouldn’t it be better if I showed you around the grounds?”
“If I politely declined on the grounds of safety?”
“I’d understand perfectly and simply slip out on my own.”
“……But! I can hardly leave my charge languishing like this. Where would you like to start? The black market where they sell everything? The Fight Club? Just name it. I’ll have you treated as VIP.”

It seemed Grandfather had slipped him something substantial.
Jack tried his best to hide his reluctance and treated Lion with the utmost courtesy.

‘I’d prefer to stay quiet too…….’

When would Lion ever get another chance to visit the Underworld?
One should take advantage while one could.

‘Hmm, I think I made the same argument back at the hotel.’

And likely he’d felt something similar at the Great Barrier as well.
……But anyway!

“Shall we start with the black market?”

Lion decided to make excellent use of his standing as an Underworld VIP.
And at that same moment.

“Archbishop.”

Patrick left the matters unfolding at the Imperial Palace in Ricshel’s hands for the time being, and made his way to the Temple alone.

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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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