Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 317

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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 Unknown, So I’ll Just Heal — Episode 317

‘I tried it on a whim, and it actually works.’

Lion smiled faintly with the Hero’s face and surveyed his surroundings.
Using Expert’s Eye, a subtle glow emanated from objects the Hero had frequently touched or carried.

[Currently, only a portion of ‘Expert’s Eye’ is available for use.]

It was limited, yes — but he’d take what he could get.
After all, hadn’t he already learned something useful from it?

‘It’s not in any visible place.’

He’d swept his gaze over the faintly glowing objects quickly, but none of them yielded any special information.

‘He wouldn’t have left it outside, surely.’

Had he laid out something so crucial in plain sight, the old man would have caught on long ago.

‘So where could it be…?’

He’d checked whether he could open his Inventory, but that proved impossible.
If so, it had to be hidden somewhere inside this house.

“Hmm.”

Lion drew a deep breath and closed his eyes.
The urgency of the time limit had him misusing Expert’s Eye.
Expert’s Eye wasn’t meant to locate specific places in the first place.
It was a technique that allowed one to perceive objects from an expert’s perspective, not a layman’s.
So rather than fixating on individual items—

‘I need to examine the structure of the house.’

What secrets might this seemingly simple cottage conceal?
An attic, perhaps. Or a door beneath the carpet leading to an underground vault.
And things like that—

‘I’ve done plenty of times before.’

Whatever the story might be, he’d been a veteran player of In the World back in the day, called a “hardcore” for a reason.
And play enough games, and you develop an instinct for these things.
Lion moved straight toward the bookshelf that dominated one wall.

Whoosh.

He held his breath and placed his hand against it, feeling something oddly cool.
Air was flowing through it.
There had to be additional space behind this bookshelf.
And sure enough, certain parts of the shelf gleamed with wear, polished smooth by frequent use.
Moreover—

“A lot of new books here.”

For someone who supposedly loved books enough to fill an entire wall with them, there were far too many unread titles.
Too unnatural for someone stocked with leisure reading for retirement.

“But these ones are old books, aren’t they?”

Lion withdrew several books without hesitation.
The pages inside were pristine, but the adhesive binding the covers and spines had come loose.
And…….

Click.

The bookshelf, lightened by the weight of the removed volumes, swung open like a revolving door.
As expected, there was a hidden passage.
Fortunately, it seemed this space also counted as “inside a room,” so entering presented no obstacle.

“Let’s see…….”

Just as he’d anticipated.
Lion found a weathered wooden desk sitting alone in the cramped, empty chamber.
And upon it.

“……A map.”

This map was made of entirely different material from the Ancient Map he’d seen before.
Lion approached it with measured steps and examined it closely.
And he could discern it.
This was a familiar geography.
The southern region of the Empire. More specifically, the sea at its farthest reach.

‘Pirate Coast.’

Even there, on a tiny island, a crimson X had been marked in blood-red ink.
And helpfully, text remained written beneath the map.

[Location of Mermaid Island. Do not go to the cave pool—proceed to the cliff’s edge instead.]

And one more thing.

[■■■]

Ink had been smeared over it as if something had been hastily written and erased.
But when held to the lamplight, the fountain pen marks became visible.

“……Damnit.”

[Time Limit Expired.]
[Return to your original location.]

“Not yet.”

He hadn’t finished memorizing the map.
The time allotted for exploration had been woefully brief.
He wanted to curse his luck, but there was no time for that either, so he made his choice.

‘I’ll endure it, even if I take a penalty.’

What was fortunate was that, perhaps due to his heightened mental strength, no penalty notification had appeared despite the time limit expiring.
It must be some sort of grace period.
Lion exhaled deeply and committed the map’s location to memory with absolute certainty.
A flood of thoughts and emotions threatened to overwhelm him, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on them.
One thing was certain.

‘I’ve obtained information.’

Hadn’t he obtained a way to travel directly to Mermaid Island, armed with nothing but the information that it lay somewhere near the Pirate Coast?

‘Don’t think about anything else.’

This path was one I’d chosen myself, so there was no point in turning back now.
And I still felt the same way.

‘If it seems like I can’t manage it, I’ll give up.’

Even if I’d used up every ounce of stubbornness and sheer nerve, if I couldn’t handle it, I’d quit.
I had no intention of throwing my life away.

“All right.”

Having used three items at once, I’d gained plenty.
The location of Mermaid Island. The Saintess’s resolve.
The knowledge that the Hero had taken the place of the Barrier’s core.
And a few other small details besides.
This was enough.

‘Time to go back.’

Even if the Time Limit was running short, I had plenty of time left to restore things to their original state.
Lion left the room.
I’m sorry, but there was no time to restore the room to order.
My vision swam.
I could feel it clearly — the Grace Period was ending.
Then.

“…the Hero?”
“……”

That same voice came from behind me.
The Saintess.

“…you’re not the Hero, are you?”

Before I could say anything, the Saintess saw right through me.
Lion considered extracting information from her, but abandoned the idea almost immediately.

‘No. No good.’

The Penalty was simply nullification.
I had no sense of what a strong Penalty might be.

‘Besides, the Archbishop and Boaresia still have their eyes wide open.’

This was too much to handle.
Lion did his best to ignore the Saintess and turn back to his starting position, but……

‘Wait.’

So far I’d encountered exactly two items in Story Mode.
The Hero’s Sword, which opened Exploration Mode.
The Fountain Pen, which had given me a hint about Mermaid Island.

‘One slot was empty.’

The Eternal Flame’s Proof.
I still hadn’t confirmed it in Story Mode.
And he didn’t think the Saintess, who had seen straight through him as he entered his main body, would speak nonsense.

‘…This. I have to endure it.’

Lion deactivated Expert’s Eye.
He mustered every last scrap of willpower.
He couldn’t feel it now, but his Mana Circle in his original body must be spinning ferociously at this very moment.
Because of that, perhaps.
He could endure.
Lion managed a faint nod, as if to signal he was listening.

[A Critical Error has occurred.]
[※Warning※ Never speak of your story under any circumstances.]
[A Critical Error has occurred.]

Error notifications flooded in relentlessly.
The Hero in ‘Story Mode’ would never have acted this way.
And the Special Exploration had already exceeded its Time Limit.

[The Time Limit for Special Story Mode has ended.]
[Terminating ■ing.]
[Terminating fa■ed.]
[■ritical Error has oc■■red.]

In an instant, noise began creeping into his vision, now thick with errors.
In temporal terms, it was an event unfolding in mere fractions of a second.
A disaster, he thought in that moment.
But through the noise-riddled vision, a green light blazed brilliantly.
It was different from the Holy Power that Licht had wielded.
If Licht’s power had been like breaching a vast dam of Holy Power contained within, this light before him now resembled something else entirely.
It was like a towering wall that burned itself away to shield everything around it.
Like, precisely…

‘The Great Barrier.’

That very form.
And remarkably, the error screens obscuring Lion’s vision began to clear.
The Saintess had unleashed a special power.
She must have spent her own life force to protect him.

“Listen carefully. You will experience two deaths from this moment forward.”

What?
Lion nearly blurted out a reflexive question.
He had assumed it was crucial information, but he never imagined it would concern his own life and death.
And besides…

‘Speaking of another person’s fate…

doesn’t that invite Heaven’s Secret Revelation and bring terrible karmic retribution?
Can the Saintess really do this?

“You must prepare for those deaths. I’m sor■, all I can tell ■ is ■■ ■■■……”

His consciousness flickered, then resumed again.

“And please… tell ■ to Lakenius. The Temple… is in dan■er……”

Snap.
Lion’s consciousness cut off there.

…….
…….
…….

* * *

“…….”

The Archbishop, locked in combat with the ancient elf who had finally descended into fury and unleashed a barrage of arrows, faltered—seized by a creeping, ice-cold sensation.

Thunk.

An arrow pierced the Archbishop’s shoulder and buried itself in the wood behind him.
Blood dripped. His white vestments bloomed crimson.

“Archbishop.”

It had happened in an instant.
Patrick rushed forward and cast Healing Magic.
Ordinarily, the Archbishop would have protested—a man of his station hardly accepting magical treatment—but this time he remained silent, as though entranced by something unseen.
Even Boaresia, furious at this impossible turn, lowered his bow.

“Lakenius.”

Boaresia could not comprehend it.
His arrow, loosed with genuine intent, had been stopped by the Archbishop’s Holy Power.
The barrier—no barrier he had ever witnessed was so formidable.
He had never imagined a blind strike could draw blood.

“Just now. Did you not… sense it?”
“Sense what?”
“Her Holy Power.”
…….

Patrick’s brow furrowed.
When the Archbishop spoke of “her,” he surely meant the Saintess.
But the Saintess’s Holy Power—it should have been imperceptible.
Of course it should.
Fifty years had passed since the Saintess departed from this world.
Yet how could……

“……!”

Impossible.
A single hypothesis crystallized in Patrick’s mind.
And if that hypothesis were true……

-Lord.

At that moment, a message reached Ricshel.

-It appears your brother has completed his task without incident.
-His body shows no signs of harm.

“Phew.”

Patrick exhaled in relief.
Given his history, dark thoughts had a way of taking root—for a moment there, he’d feared the worst.

“Right. Well done. You can withdraw now.”
-Yes. But……

Ricshel paused for a moment before adding something more.
Patrick’s eyebrows lifted when he heard the message, and he turned to face the Archbishop.

“……I understand.”

At any rate, they couldn’t leave things as they stood.
Patrick ended the call and looked toward Boaresia.

“Well. Does your heart feel lighter now?”
“Forgive me. I’ve been rash.”

At least one fortunate thing was that Boaresia, having seen blood, seemed to have come to his senses—his demeanor had grown noticeably calmer.
And it appeared he’d begun to recognize something wrong in his own actions as well.

“You must recognize it yourself. Your resolve isn’t what it used to be.”
“……”
“If you’re to be of any help to my grandson, you need to master yourself first, don’t you?”
“……Go on ahead. I need time to think. And I swear by the forest that I won’t interfere.”

The moment Patrick heard Boaresia’s words, he Teleported to the Estate with the Archbishop.

“Go in.”
“……Is what I’m sensing correct? Is that truly his aura?”
“I cannot say for certain…… but the boy should know.”
“……”

The Archbishop placed his hand on the doorknob.
No one knew that person better than he did.
He’d wanted to know about her—the one he’d raised like his own mother, like an elder sister despite the age gap, the one to whom he’d given his affection.
But now, standing on the threshold of reunion, something twisted in his chest, fluttering with uncertainty.
As he hesitated there—

The door flew open.

Lion’s hand shot out, seized the Archbishop, and pulled him inside.
Then, with a sharp click—
The door snapped shut so quickly and decisively that Patrick barely glimpsed his grandson’s face before it vanished.
What little he’d caught in that fraction of a second……

‘Relatively fine, it seemed.’

The boy looked somewhat worn, but there was nothing alarming about his appearance.
So why did it gnaw at him so?

“……”

Like a wound that won’t close, something about it troubled his mind.
Patrick opened the door again.
Inside there was……
no one.

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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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