Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 310

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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, I Couldn’t Care Less — Just Let Me Heal | Episode 310

The rewards for completing a hidden quest tended to be quite sweet indeed.
But.

‘To swallow it whole without thinking it through…’

There were quite a few dangerous elements involved.
And then there was this, staring me in the face right now.

[The following content will be revealed after accepting the quest.]

Sign the contract first, check the conditions later.
It reeked of a swindle from a mile away.

‘Looks like they deliberately stuffed in extra clauses.’

The one recommending the Priest’s Path to Lion had clearly pulled out all the stops.

‘Caution really was necessary after all.’

I was nodding to myself and mulling over a suitable deflection or refusal when—

Bang!

“Excuse us for a moment, please.”

The restaurant door swung open and a crowd of people streamed in.

“Huff… huff…”

The two I hadn’t seen in ages had barely kept pace, their hands planted on their knees as they caught their breath.

‘Those two…’

Elves I recognized.
Professor Embrog and Thiali, the high elf who’d once served as Boaraeshia’s bodyguard.

“I was wondering how you’d arrived alone, but it seems you shook off all your subordinates before coming.”

Patrick, now that he’d sized up the situation, crossed his arms and fixed Boaraeshia with a sharp stare.

“I simply pushed the pace by one day’s worth out of curiosity. Yet you still arrived quickly. Are your skills improving?”

Boaraeshia acknowledged the fact calmly, his expression one of quiet approval as he regarded the two elves.
He seemed utterly indifferent to the fact that his actions were making his grandfather’s blood boil.

‘One day’s worth of speed…’

Those two were far from ordinary elves themselves, yet they couldn’t even keep up when Boaraeshia had merely picked up the pace.
Embrog looked ready to collapse at any moment.
His partner Entairon was panting so hard he had foam flecking the corners of his mouth.

“Cheep…”

Nature regarded them with considerable pity.

“Yes. Indeed. It is our fault for failing to match the Elder’s pace. We were careless. Please forgive our rudeness, Elder.”

Fortunately, Thiali recovered her composure first and stepped forward, offering apologies on Boaresia’s behalf.

“Thanks to you, we received the goods quickly—wasn’t that good?”
“Well, yes, that is…”
“Haha…”

Lion trailed off and laughed awkwardly.
If only two elves had rushed into the restaurant, he could have steered the mood with some easy banter.

…

But there was someone leaning against the far wall, watching with a skewed expression—someone whose presence demanded careful words.
While the two elves explained the situation to Patrick on Boaresia’s behalf,
Lion ventured a quiet remark to that figure.

“Say, Ricshel?”
“Yes, Lion.”

Ricshel withdrew his fierce, almost menacing gaze and approached with the gentle expression of a meek lamb.

“I imagine this sudden proposal must have startled you greatly.”
“It did catch me off guard.”
“I do hope you haven’t taken ill.”

Of course not to that degree.
Lion had sat through meetings with far more off-putting clients, and he hadn’t gotten indigestion even then.

‘Though I did take some antacid afterward.’

In any case, this was manageable.
But Ricshel clearly wanted a different answer.

‘This works out nicely, actually.’

He had no intention of giving his answer here and now.

‘My schedule’s gotten complicated anyway.’

Lion did have his own plan, after all.
First, he’d raise his Crafting Level to solidify his foundation, then he meant to review all the Story Mode content he hadn’t yet confirmed.
But if Boaresia’s questionable recruitment and five hidden quests came through before that, it would complicate things.

‘…Honestly, if I hadn’t gathered so many clues, I might have accepted.’

But the result of proceeding carefully—or rather, without overreaching—was that quite a bit of information had accumulated.
In this situation, there was no need to accept Boaresia as a companion and expand the board so dramatically.
Besides.

‘She still seems a bit unstable.’

From the notification moments ago and what might happen after he brought Boaresia before the Hero—he wasn’t sure how it would unfold or whether it would help him.
So he’d let himself drift naturally with the flow.

“Now that I think about it, I did eat too much—my stomach’s a bit uneasy.”
“In that case, perhaps we should end our talk here for today. Why don’t you return and rest? Lion.”
“The Successor’s words make sense. Boaresia.”
“Yes. You’re still young, after all. I imagine you wish to proceed carefully.”

The other elves seemed to have coordinated with Ricshel beforehand—both threw their weight behind his suggestion.
Ricshel’s handlers were apparently these two.

“Hmm…….”

With so many objecting, Boaresia seemed to be reconsidering whether she could indulge her ambitions after all.

“Then I’ll have you remain here until Lion Asteri makes a decision. That should be acceptable?”
“……Very well.”
“Master.”
“One cannot simply turn away an Elder Elf at the gate. However.”

Patrick crossed his arms and regarded Boaresia.

“If you’re only going to sit idle, you’ll grow bored. I’d appreciate your help with a few matters.”
“It shall be done.”
“I thought you’d refuse. But as grandfather, I ought to verify first whether you’re truly suited to become Lion’s companion……wait?”

Patrick trailed off mid-sentence.
The old schemer had clearly fallen hard for his grandson.
Not that he was the sort to withdraw his cooperation halfway through or suddenly disappear—far from it.

‘This is no fool squandering his years.’

Though Lion himself was quite skilled at navigating such matters, Patrick didn’t wish to burden the boy further when he already faced a long, arduous road ahead.

‘Better to instill some discipline beforehand.’

And Elvia had been itching for just such an opportunity.

“Then, Master. We shall take our leave.”
“Very well. I’ll inform you once matters are settled. And……you’ve worked hard.”

Ricshel bowed lightly at those words, then stepped outside with Lion.
In fact, the moment the Master informed them that an Elder Elf had arrived, Ricshel immediately contacted Tiali and Embrog, tracked her down, and brought her to the Asteri Family Estate via warp scroll.
On top of that, he’d made the trip to the Bydentis Territory to collect certain items, so he was thoroughly exhausted.
Yet exhaustion was something he could easily overcome.
There was only one thing that troubled him.

“Brother.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you considering taking the Elder Elf as a companion?”

That was it—his worry that his brother might be swayed by unwarranted sympathy toward the Elder Elf.

-Your brother seems to be worrying over nothing?

Well, perhaps.

‘But it feels like there’s more to it than just that.’

He knew his brother’s protectiveness all too well.
Always fretting and fussing, forever anxious that something might happen to him.
He had such deep affection for family, and the strength to actually protect them.
Which made this strange.

‘By Ricshel’s standards, someone like Boaresia should pass.’

Perhaps that’s why even Grandfather, though displeased, hadn’t voiced his opinion at the Restaurant.
Greedy elf or otherwise.
One way or another, she was certainly a force greater than that.
Besides, she’d said nothing about taking Lion back to the Elf Kingdom—only that she’d help as far as her power could reach.
Yet Ricshel seemed strangely opposed to Boareshia, his expression making that abundantly clear.
Had he picked up on some detail I’d missed?

“I’m wrestling with it.”
“But why, sir? Because he’s strong? Of course, as your ally and king of the elves, his power is proven enough. Still—”
“You don’t like him, do you?”
“No, sir. I do not.”

Ricshel stopped walking and laid out his reasoning with remarkable composure.
In short.

“You think he’s using you?”
“Yes. In truth, he hasn’t accomplished anything by his own hand, has he? Though I could be mistaken, of course.”

He didn’t sound entirely certain.
But still.

‘Sharp instincts.’

I had to agree with his assessment.
Boareshia claimed to be lending me all his ability in support.
But that was all it was.
In the end, it amounted to nothing more than: “You seem best suited for this, so I’m betting on you.”

‘That’s not what an ally does.’

There was a reason I’d hesitated to accept Boareshia as a true companion.
The moment he’d decided I wasn’t a Druid, he’d treated me like a precious chess piece.
The kind of piece that gets you to checkmate fastest and easiest.
Of course, if it helped, I couldn’t complain.
But here’s the thing.

‘What happens after?’

Say I managed to reach the Hero and stood before him.
Would Boareshia protect me as a companion from that point forward?
Or would he prioritize his own agenda?
The latter seemed far more likely.

‘I don’t know what he really wants.’

Not knowing what he planned to do once we found the Hero—handing him my back was a recipe for betrayal.

‘And it’s strange that he hasn’t asked, either.’

An elf of his age and standing should naturally have asked at some point.

What he wanted to do once we met the Hero.
Whether he had plans concerning the end itself. That sort of thing.

Yet Boareshia had deliberately sidestepped those questions entirely, jumping straight to asking me to take him as a companion.

‘…Though I don’t think he’s a fundamentally wicked elf.’

Trusting his intentions alone and then formalizing a Deal, binding him to me as a companion—that felt risky.

‘For that, the terms of the Deal would have to change.’

I’d need to recalculate the balance and introduce new conditions.
And in order to set those conditions.

‘I’ll have to open a new Story Mode,’ he thought.

Lion turned to face Ricshel, gripped his shoulder, and smiled—preparing himself for an even more grueling grind.

“Don’t worry, Ricshel.”
“Brother…….”
“Thanks to your counsel, I can make better judgments. For now, let’s proceed carefully, step by step, just as we’ve planned.”
“…….”

Normally, when Lion smiled like that, Ricshel’s first instinct was to worry about what scheme he was about to unleash. But this time, something reassured him.
In fact, the moment he’d seen his brother’s face while discussing the Elder Elf, he’d already felt that reassurance.

‘He knows everything already.’

He felt almost embarrassed for voicing needless worries and complaining like that.
Yet his kind brother, rather than making him feel foolish, had said that his counsel had been helpful.

“Brother……!”
“That’s right. Your brother.”

Ricshel’s anxiety dissolved in an instant.

“The materials from the Bydentis Territory have arrived, by the way.”
“Ah, good. Speaking of which—”
“…….”
“I’m going to start the grind work starting today. Would you feed me once a day by throwing some meals into the Labyrinth?”
“…….”

Why had things turned out that way?

‘But you said you’d proceed carefully……?’

And why only one meal a day?
Was he planning to eat just once?

Lion’s words became kindling, and Ricshel’s anxiety—which had just died down—erupted again in full flame.
Whether Lion knew it or not.

“Look, I’ll explain the whole plan since I know you’re worried. On the first day, I’ll turn all the materials from Bydentis into potions, and…….”

Lion began explaining in detail a plan that Ricshel neither particularly wanted nor needed to know.

‘……I don’t think this is what your brother was asking for when he wanted you to explain it beforehand.’

As Lion launched into his explanation with characteristic eccentric enthusiasm, even the normally talkative Tieramatrak couldn’t bring herself to voice this observation—she could only look between the two of them, back and forth…….

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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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