Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 33

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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 Heir’s Reluctant Healing – Episode 33

Small though it was, something unmistakably traced a circle, turning endlessly.

‘Fascinating.’

So this was the Mana Circle that only mages were said to possess.
Lion guided that power to flow before his eyes as fully as he could manage.
It was no easy task, but Lion maintained his concentration without wavering.
This was the moment his inadvertent training in focus bore fruit.
After quite some time had passed.
Lion opened his eyes.

Gleam!

His violet irises blazed like jewels, suffused with mana.

The Expert’s Eye technique strengthens for a brief period.
Current duration: 10 minutes and 30 seconds.

“Perfect. That’s it.”

Just as Lion had anticipated, he could now briefly enhance the Expert’s Eye technique using mana.
With this enhancement, it became clear.
The intricate Mana Threads that wove this place together.
As expected, most of the ground surrounding the three plants was trapped.
Some spots had no threads at all, while others were rigged so that cutting them wrong would trigger an entirely different spell.
He still couldn’t determine what those spells were exactly…….
But there was no need to find out now.
Lion moved swiftly.
Following the tangled threads in order…….

[■Rare ■■■…….]
The Expert’s Eye technique reveals hidden properties!
[Source of Illusory Mana Thread]

What crackled into view was not a flower, but the wellspring of magic itself.
If he had never learned to craft potions.
If he hadn’t spent every day digging herbs like a madman within the Asteri Family Estate.
If he hadn’t hammered, baked bread, and sewn — this discovery would have eluded him for a lifetime.

“It’s buried underground.”

Lion pulled a Hoe from his inventory and began digging forcefully around the colorful plants.

Thunk, thunk!

Unlike the soft grass, the soil was coarse and unyielding.
Sharp grains occasionally flicked against his skin from the blade’s edge, but he paid them no mind.

1 minute remaining until Expert’s Eye technique enhancement ends.
Technique enhancement expiring soon.

Just as urgency was beginning to creep in, with so little time left.

Click!

The hoe’s tip caught on something — metal, distinctly different from soil.

“Hm?”

Lion dug broadly around that spot and pulled something out.
A box.
A Reward Box festooned with Mana Threads like cobwebs.
From its shape, it looked identical to the boxes that dispensed rewards in dungeons.

[Reinforcement concludes in 10 seconds]
[9]
[8]
…….

Lion immediately slashed through the empty air with the Scissors.
Snip—the Mana Threads hanging around the box went limp and severed in one clean cut.
Fortunately, as he’d expected, anything he could see with magical sight came right apart under the blades.

At the same moment.

[Expert’s Eye technique reinforcement has concluded.]

Whoosh!

A strange sound rang out, and the Reward Box shot upward into the air.

[Will you receive the reward?]

“Yes.”

Lion answered without hesitation, and the box hanging in the air opened of its own accord.
And then…….

Brilliant light blazed out.

The glow engulfed Lion’s body once more.

[Item is being rebound to you.]
[Item has been stored in inventory.]
[You cannot check the item at your current location.]

‘So I check it once I’m out?’

Just as well.
He had no strength left to inspect anything anyway.
He’d drained every drop of magical power from his Mana Circle, leaving him utterly exhausted.
Still…….

“At least I got out fast.”

Lion pushed strength back into his trembling legs and rose to his feet. Before his eyes, the same magical circle appeared that had manifested before he was pulled into the Labyrinth.
Layer upon layer of complex equations drawn over a basic spell formation—so intricate they were nearly impossible to decipher.

‘I can make it out.’

He’d just get out and tell them he’d safely completed the trade.
Just as Lion was settling into that reassurance.

[Entering Story Mode.]
[This memory cannot be skipped.]

‘What?’

A voice echoed in his mind, and Lion’s consciousness flew away to some distant place.

* * *

The front gate of the Asteri Family Estate swung shut with a creaking groan, locking firm.
Between the ornate iron bars hung a lock so strong that a sword wreathed in aura could not cut through it.
A Temporary Lockdown seal hung beside it.
It was a highly unusual decision, yet not a single person voiced objection.
It was a command from Patrick, after all.
Thus the Asteri Family, in unprecedented fashion, locked that great door and convened a “family meeting.”

……

The atmosphere was grim.
The Library Labyrinth—the pride of the Asteri Family, perhaps the most secure and impregnable place in all the world—had been shaken. Naturally, the mood reflected that tremor.

‘That is, of course, the official reason.’

Hoffman, a distant branch of House Asteri and First Tower Master, cast a sideways glance at Patrick Asteri.
The patriarch’s expression was as cutting as the bitter winds of the North.

“The reason I have gathered all of you here today is……”

Every eye in the hall turned toward him.

“You all understand what happened, I assume?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, patriarch.”

The incident that occurred at the Asteri Family estate—
more precisely, the incident in which Lion Asteri was pulled into the Labyrinth.

“How was the aftermath handled?”
“It was attributed to confusion caused by an earthquake. No further disturbances have been reported since.”
“The royal princes?”
“Both princes have agreed to cooperate. The patriarch of the Swordmaster’s House, Bydentis, has also promised to ensure no rumors spread.”

Indeed, the Swordmaster family’s patriarch had supported the Asteri Family without condition.
Because of that, no additional casualties occurred—only a handful of minor injuries.
Moreover, when the Swordmaster patriarch testified to the other nobility, no further gossip arose.
Thus the rumor was smothered before it could even take root.
Such was the power of the Asteri Family.

“What does the Emperor say?”
“It seems the First Prince informed him, but there is nothing to worry about.”
“His incompetence is useful at times like this.”

Had anyone else spoken such treason about the Emperor, they would have faced severe consequences. But the speaker was Patrick Asteri, so everyone maintained their composure.

“The Holy Temple and the Underworld have not received word, according to our sources. At the very least, they will not know of my brother’s whereabouts.”
“Well done.”

Those two places especially could not be allowed to learn the truth.

‘The Holy Temple and the Underworld.’

In matters concerning the Hero, there was the mad Archbishop; and the Underworld, a force built by the Hero’s ally into a power unto itself.
The two were different.
They possessed the intelligence networks to reach the heart of this matter.
Perhaps Lion might notice that the boy possessed some special power.
And in truth, the Hero and Lion were connected in some way.
Two coincidences had already occurred.
The Hero’s potion.
And when Lion entered the labyrinth where the Hero’s relics were enshrined, something went wrong.
Neither Patrick nor anyone else knew.
There was something that even Lion himself did not understand.
Until he discovered what that was, he absolutely had to conceal the information.
Patrick maintained his composure and opened his mouth.

“And?”

Moreover, there was still the matter of Lion’s rescue to discuss.
That was the operation to save Lion.

…….

A different silence from before wrapped around the chamber.

“Currently, the labyrinth permits no one to enter. However, it is possible to place objects inside. We have been sending in pouches containing provisions and fresh water, but they are being ejected again within a short time. Perhaps the rescue itself….”

…might be nearly impossible.
Hoffman, who had been reporting, fell silent.
There was no need to spell it out further.
What mattered was that Lion’s survival still had not been confirmed.

“We will attempt to send in as large a quantity as possible. At least one of them should get through.”

As Hoffman was adding to his words—

Bang!

The conference room door flew open and a Mage rushed in, shouting.

“A message! A message has come through!”
“……!”

Everyone in the room, Patrick included, leaped to their feet.
Good news had arrived!

* * *

While an important meeting was underway elsewhere.
Lion was…….

‘Where am I?’

If his last memory was correct, Lion had truly lost consciousness and then entered a place called ‘Story Mode’.
And this was likely inside someone’s memory.

‘Is it because of the reward?’

As Lion pondered, the monochrome world shifted bit by bit.

‘I’ve entered someone else’s body.’

Because it wasn’t his own body, he couldn’t easily make out who the person in front of him was.
Just as Lion felt a frustration like noise interference and was about to sigh inwardly, someone spoke to him.

“……is no longer needed…… Patrick, you take over…….”

Patrick? Is he the grandfather of this body’s owner?
If so, this must be the scene where the Hero entrusts his treasure to Patrick, his grandfather.

“It hasn’t even……finished yet, so why would he give it to me now……?”

Lion concentrated with all his focus.

‘Damn it. I can’t hear any of this properly.’

Since at least this was Patrick’s memory, the grandfather’s words came through a little clearer, but that wasn’t nearly enough to extract any useful information.

“Someday……you’ll need…….”
“Understood. I’ll keep it safe for you.”

Young Patrick accepted the treasure box from the Hero, and his vision clouded over again.
He thought he caught the sound of the Hero’s laughter at the very end, but there was nothing there from which to draw any conclusions.
And so Lion was forcibly torn from the dream and jolted awake.

…….

Upon waking, nothing but dissatisfaction remained.
It felt like he was shown something important, yet the information he’d actually gleaned was almost nothing.

“Someday he’ll need it, and the point when he gave this to grandfather……”

It must have been during the war with the Demon Clan in In the World.

“So that’s when this thing was no longer needed? It’s an essential item, though.”

Lion fingered the familiar pendant and bracelet as his thoughts trailed off.
The Hero’s treasure enshrined in the Labyrinth was none other than this Ability Concealment Accessory Set.

[Ability Concealment Accessory Set (Measurement Impossible)]
-The wearer’s information will be set to private.

This set was one of those items sold in the Cash Shop with the “private information” function attached.
Even so, they were cheap, and during events later on, they were even given away for free, so people who didn’t want their stats exposed often used them.

‘From what I remember, that wasn’t all this function did.’

Making information private was the original item setting, but back when he was still actively playing, there was a sweet bonus feature—just holding it would grant additional combat experience—so Lion remembered keeping one for each of his characters…… but.
Now that feature didn’t seem to exist.

“So you can’t identify whose item this is.”

What he did know for certain was this: there was no longer any need to hide additional experience or combat power.
It must have been late in the war with the Demon Clan.

“……Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

Besides, strictly speaking, the items were ones I provided in the first place.

In fact, it was a relief.

“It means I can hide my magical power.”

Lion closed his eyes and examined the Mana Circle encircling his heart.
Sure enough, a single ring was there, brimming with magical power and revolving around his heart.
But.

[The residual magical power in the current Mana Circle is critically depleted.]

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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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