Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 304

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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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I Don’t Know About Successors—I Just Want to Heal | Episode 304

The Magic Orb flickered several times before a voice—delicate enough to seem almost ethereal—filled the room.

-I knew you’d reach out again, but this is impressively quick.

“And it seems you’ve been waiting by the device just as eagerly.”

Patrick let out a hollow laugh.
An elf by nature.
An Elder Elf, no less—fundamentally slower in their tempo than humans.
For contact to arrive in the span of a few flickering Magic Orb pulses was something he could count on one hand over fifty years.

‘Last time, a Half-Elf was involved in the situation.’

But the fact that this one answered immediately told him something.

“You’ve been gathering intelligence through other elves already, it seems.”
-Ha-ha. Your grandson is the sort of talent we require as well, you see.

The Elf Kingdom had not yet abandoned its plan to take Lion with them.
Hardly surprising—he was the one who had summoned the Spirit King itself. From the elves’ perspective, it was only natural.

-Yet you seem to have forgotten my counsel just as thoroughly.
“…….”

Patrick closed his mouth.
The truth was, he remembered every word of Boaresia’s advice—the Elder Elf’s counsel—without omitting a single detail even now.
Never sacrifice Lion. That was what had been said.
A hard-won insight gained when his brief but dearest friend, the Druid, had been lost.
Patrick had stood at his side in that moment, and so he had no words to offer against it.
And this time, that person in question was his own grandson.
He found himself dwelling on the words as though blaming himself.

-I was only jesting. You take things far too gravely.

Lazy laughter drifted through the Magic Orb.

-In any case, the fact that you’ve reached out to me suggests something is no ordinary matter.
-Would you explain what has transpired in the meantime?

“Yes, well. You ought to know as well.”

Patrick gathered himself at the sight of the Elder Elf masking sincerity with jest, steadied his voice, and relayed the events of recent days in abbreviated form, selecting only what was essential.
Certainly there were details missing or deliberately withheld.

-I see…… So it is thus.

Boaresia’s voice had shifted—subtly, but perceptibly from before.
He sounded almost pleased, and yet somehow coldly composed all at once.
What mattered was that he had seen through even the parts Patrick had intentionally concealed.

‘This is why elves are as they are.’

A hallmark of the long-lived species.
They accumulated direct experience and possessed keen discernment precisely because events so often defied expectation.

‘Or perhaps…….’

Perhaps he had anticipated everything from the moment the Elf Kingdom sent their delegation.
The fact that he’d offered such counsel made it clear.

“So I reached out because I’d like to obtain some rare materials from the Elf Kingdom.”

—Rare materials, I see. Very well. Since you’re my grandson and the Spirit King’s contractor, I’ll have the finest ones prepared and sent to you. How soon do you need them?

“As quickly as possible would be ideal.”

Patrick finished his answer, then caught himself and added hastily,

“By human standards.”
—I see.

The elves’ notion of “soon” and humans’ were rather different things.
It could take months. Perhaps even years.

‘That would be too slow.’

His grandson would hardly wait that long.
Lion had inherited his impatience—he had a temperament that couldn’t sit still.

—So I’ll select someone discreet, aware of how grave the matter is, and quick to act?
“I’d be grateful if you would. What payment do you want in return?”
—I’ll instruct the one I send directly.
—The materials will be sent before sunrise tomorrow.

By elven standards, it was shockingly swift.
Moreover, elves didn’t even prefer Teleportation Scrolls or teleportation, so this meant purely…

‘He’s sending someone skilled enough to arrive here in the blink of an eye.’

Likely the Elder Elf wanted to assess the situation firsthand as well.

‘There’s no need to hide anything from the elves.’

They were actually far more trustworthy than most humans.
They shared the same enemy.
The Demons.
Elves despised the Demons with utter loathing—creatures that ravaged nature itself.
The Elder Elf had even lost one of their dearest friends to them, so the hatred ran deep.

‘It was wise not to mention the corruption.’

He couldn’t even begin to imagine what this seemingly gentle elf might do if provoked.

‘In any case, that one won’t move directly.’

Boaresia had finished all his vengeance and entered a period of calm.
Or perhaps he’d grown weary of everything connected to the mortal realm.
It was understandable enough.
Those who had traveled with the Hero had each obtained various things.
Jack, once a common thief, had gained the strength and authority to command the Underworld.
The Saintess, once a novice priestess, had risen to Archbishop and attained a remarkable level of Holy Power.
And he himself had seen House Asteri grow stronger still.
But the elf Boaresia…

‘…had gained nothing.’

Of course, he’d recovered the peace of the Elf Kingdom and the verdant beauty of nature.
But as an individual.

‘I lost something instead.’

I lost my first true friend, not merely a comrade.
Revenge had succeeded, yet the sense of loss was far greater.
Judging by how he hid himself in that forest even now, it was plain enough.
Living long held no blessing.
Only longer years of grief that refused to fade, endlessly turned over in the mind.

‘Tch. What am I worrying about?’

Even acting like a withdrawn hermit, he was still the King of the Elf Kingdom, wasn’t he?
That was what the royal guard was for.
Though his companions in those distant days held a place in his heart, Patrick’s grandchildren mattered most of all.

“Understood. Come to me first when you arrive.”

—I shall do so. Then.

The glow of the Magic Orb faded, and Patrick immediately reached out to elsewhere.
There were many things that needed to be procured from places beyond the Elf Kingdom.
And as soon as Patrick took action himself, all manner of local delicacies, precious minerals, and rare plants from every region began arriving at House Asteri.
Before Patrick had even finished making all his arrangements.

Rustle.

A figure pressed lightly across fallen leaves, steadying himself against a towering trunk while surveying the surroundings.

“Much has changed in the meantime.”

An Elf of ethereal, almost dreamlike beauty gazed across Mimur Forest with half-lidded eyes.
Far away, he sensed the presence of his old companion.
And nearby, he felt a formidable force of nature itself.

“Since he hasn’t arrived yet, this should be fine.”

The Elf directed his steps not toward the estate, but toward a hot spring nestled in one corner of Mimur Forest.

“It would be better to deliver the goods in person, wouldn’t it?”

Discreet of tongue, swift of foot once grasping the weight of a matter.
The fitting choice for this task.
King of the Elves. Boaresia himself had come to make the delivery.

* * *

“No smell anymore, right?”

Sniff sniff.

“Squeak!”

Lion, who had reeked of charred metal from the aftermath of repairing the Alchemy Cauldron, had finished bathing and even received confirmation from Pus.
Fortunately, Pus wore none of that strange expression from before.
Nature, apparently deeming the smell undetectable, made a pose with her wings that resembled a thumbs-up.
……How on earth does she manage such gestures?

“Phew! Thank goodness.”

A long soak in the hot spring and a thorough scrubbing—that was the answer.
Once she’d changed into fresh clothes from her bag, she looked presentable again.

—Eggs and sweet potatoes could taste this good?

Tieramatrak was experiencing genuine emotion while eating snacks boiled in Spirit Water.

“Next time you help me out, I’ll make you treats again.”

—Really?! Good. So I just need to use my position, then?

“…”

Was that really how it worked?
Well, he’d benefited from Tieramatrak’s position this time too, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Lion decided not to correct the misunderstanding.
It wasn’t as if he was coercing anyone into anything that would harm others, so it should be fine.
His body felt thoroughly relaxed now, at least.

“Should we head back soon?”

The moment Lion spoke—

—Hmm? Lion. Are there elves in Mimur Forest?
—I’m sensing an elf’s distinctive aura.

“Freyanya?”

—Nah. That half-elf brat doesn’t give off a feeling like this.
—This one feels like a true elf, through and through.

A true elf?

‘Did Grandfather ask the Elf Kingdom to bring him materials?’

But even if he had, they wouldn’t arrive this quickly, would they?

—Huh. They’re coming this way.

“Chirp?”

Now Nature sensed the aura too, fluttering over to fix his gaze in that direction.
Lion turned to look as well.

“…So you really did form a contract with the Spirit King.”

A familiar face appeared in the distance.

“W-what???”

Golden hair, long and fine as threads of sunlight and flower petals, danced on the breeze.
A straight, unmarred brow and elegant nasal lines. A delicate jawline.
Features so perfectly placed that gender seemed impossible to determine—a beauty so surreal it made your breath catch.
Just seeing that face was enough to make his heart skip a beat in shock.
Of course, Lion’s surprise had a different cause.

‘…That’s an Elder Elf.’

An Elder Elf who served as king of the Elf Kingdom—someone who had once been his grandfather’s comrade and an ally of the Hero.

‘Boaresia. Was it him?’

A familiar face, after all.
And someone he’d thought he might never see in his lifetime.
From what Grandfather and other elves like Tiali had told him, Boaresia never ventured outside at all.
Given that the Druid incident had occurred, it seemed plausible enough.

‘I’d thought I’d only see him if I went to the Elf Kingdom.’

So why was such a being here in Mimur Forest?
Had he made the delivery himself?

‘……If so, there’s only one reason.’

Honestly, it couldn’t be anything else.

‘He came to see me.’

Just as Lion reached that conclusion.
Boaresia approached him swiftly, studying him intently.
More precisely, he lowered his gaze and swept his eyes around, as though sensing the aura in the surrounding space.

“I knew only of the Spirit King’s presence, yet you travel with a young beast as well. And one that is like that…….”
“Over here.”
“And…….”

Boaresia looked to one side as if he’d missed something, tilting his head in puzzlement.

-……That one almost sensed me?

Tieramatrak rose higher into the air, making no effort to hide his alarm.
He’d known elves possessed keen sensory abilities.

‘He nearly pierced through the Ability-Suppressing Accessory?’

Lion maintained an awkward smile.

“How strange. The aura of the spirit feels so thick here, yet I sense nothing from you at all. Do you perhaps carry something belonging to the Hero?”
“……You’re Grandfather’s friend, aren’t you?”

He managed to cut off the sharp questioning and ask instead.

“Friend, you say. I would call it more of a colleague.”

Boaresia offered a faint smile and straightened from his bow.
As an elf, his stature was remarkably tall.

‘Yet Freyanya is so small.’

Would she grow to his height when she matured?
Lion briefly imagined Freyanya grown taller, stretched out to his proportions, then shook his head.

“First, shall we head to the Estate?”
“Ah, Patrick asked me to find him first when I arrive at the Estate, so that won’t be possible.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Here. A gift.”

Boaresia handed Lion the enormous bag he’d been carrying.

“Oof!”

She’d tossed it over so casually that Lion hadn’t thought much of it—until he caught it and nearly staggered under its weight.
It felt like solid wood blocks packed inside, heavy as stone.
Lion fumbled with the bag as he steadied himself.

She was gone.
“Phew. In all my years, I’ve never met an elf quite so terrifying!”
“That’s what you get for living long enough, I suppose.”

You’re a ghost, though…….
Lion swallowed the quip before it escaped his lips and stared toward the spot where Boaresia had vanished into the distance.

“Quite the unusual elf.”
“Sigh.”

Nature exhaled softly, her expression conveying a sense of resigned acceptance.

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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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