Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 57

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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—Let Me Just Heal | Chapter 57

“……Well then, I’ll promote this Half-Elf to guest status as well.”

With the report concluded,
Patrick’s phantom form vanished, and Ricshel shook his head slowly.

“Sigh.”

He’d thought it was just one stalker-kidnapper, but now armed forces from the Elven Kingdom were coming.

“I’d better prepare thoroughly.”

It was fortunate he’d been training ahead of time.
He’d nearly been caught off guard by this emergency.

‘No—even if I wasn’t ready, I’d have to protect him.’

He’s my only brother, after all!

* * *

“So that’s what happened.”
“…….”

Lion, returning from the forest, had just received a brief account of everything from Ricshel and Elvia.
The gist of it was that the little one in the pointed hat was actually a Half-Elf, and moreover, one of their parents happened to be a High Elf.
He thought that was the end of it, but it turned out the child could command Spirits, so the Elven Kingdom had dispatched an elite unit.

‘They could use Spirits?’

That was something Lion hadn’t known at all.
Well, he hadn’t summoned any Spirits, so how could he have known?

“So I need to be careful?”
“Yes, sir. That’s correct.”

At any rate, they should be cautious because the atmosphere could be quite tense when they first arrived.
As for more details, Grandfather would explain after he came, so Lion wisely nodded his understanding.

“But that kid’s on that level?”
“So it would seem, sir.”
“Where’s the child now?”
“Simply asleep. They appear to have been quite exhausted.”
“…….”

Something had clearly happened, but there seemed little point in pressing the matter.

‘Then that’s fine.’

At least it didn’t seem the child had been hurt.
If they had been, the situation would have escalated, and Lion would’ve been sent somewhere other than the estate for a time.

“In any case, since the Head of House is returning, all I need do is handle things well until then.”

There had been some small complications, as Ricshel said, but the guardians knew each other well enough that they could manage smoothly enough, surely.
And besides, since House Asteri was protecting and would be returning a runaway Half-Elf who’d fallen into the underworld, Lion didn’t see any major problems with the situation.
……Or so he thought.

“…….”

Lion strolled through the village as he did most days, only to stop short at the sight of spirits drifting lazily through the air before him.

[Sylph is struggling in the heat.]
[☞Click to confirm the spirit’s complaint.]

[Undine is parched and searching for a well.]
[☞Click to confirm the spirit’s complaint.]

Each of them had grievances, it seemed.

“……No, wait.”

Lion cast a hurried glance around the village.
No matter how hard he looked, he saw neither elves nor anyone with pointed ears.
It was just an ordinary village, nothing more.

‘Elves take such pride in their heritage they’d never resort to disguise…….’

Which meant the elves hadn’t arrived yet. Or perhaps they’d gathered somewhere out of sight.

“Did we miss them?”

Then why were the spirits still lingering in the village?
And why did they all look so discontented?
Lion paused mid-stride, lost in thought, when——

Whoosh.

Undine, a mid-tier water spirit, drifted subtly toward Lion from her wandering.

“Hm?”

She clasped her water-formed hands together pleadingly, fixing him with an intent stare.

[☞Click to confirm the spirit’s complaint.]

He didn’t need to check what her complaint was.

“You’re thirsty, aren’t you?”

Nod, nod.

Her transparent water-form rippled and sloshed with the motion.
Giving her water was simple enough.
And yet…….

‘When I think about it, they’re guests too, aren’t they?’

If anything, he felt sorry for the spirits.
They’d lived in the Elven Kingdom with its pristine waters and crystalline air, only to be dragged along by their masters to this human settlement,
and on top of that, those masters hadn’t even bothered to look after them—they’d simply vanished somewhere.

‘If this had happened before the possession, it would’ve been a disaster.’

Think of them as beloved pets, for a moment.
Their owners would be despicable.

“Wait here for just a moment.”

Offering a stranger a sip of water was something anyone could do without much effort.
What did a spirit the size of a palm want that he couldn’t provide?

‘It’s not like last time, when a fire spirit was dying of thirst.’

Lion pulled out the water flask he carried with him and unscrewed the cap.
Then……

A gentle rise.

A single mouthful of water from the flask floated into the air, then flowed smoothly into Undine’s form.
At the same moment.

[Undine’s thirst has been quenched.]
[Spirit Vitality returns in a fixed amount.]
[The spirit is pleased.]

“Huh.”

Just one sip was enough to do it?
Undine spun in a grateful circle around him, sprinkled a few droplets of water, then vanished as suddenly as she’d appeared.
Likely she’d gone to follow her master.

‘Ah, so I lost her because I couldn’t keep up with the pace?’

Either way, it was excessive.

“No matter how busy things get——”

Lion was muttering to himself when……

Whoosh.

……this time, Sylph appeared, worn down by the heat.

“Come here, all of you.”

How much must they have suffered?
So Lion gathered the low-level spirits who’d fallen behind unable to keep pace with their master, and addressed each of their grievances one by one.
In truth, none of it was particularly difficult.
He let Sylph rest in his shadow, and placed Salamander on the crown of his head so she could bask better in the sunlight.
For Gnome, whose sensibilities had been dulled by the grueling march, he drew a pretty flower from his bag and handed it over.
And then……

[You have not ignored the needs of lesser spirits and have helped them. All spirits across the world take notice of your existence!]
[New talent acquired: Spirit Arts]
[Spirit Arts proficiency has reached Apprentice Lv.1]
-Lesser spirits will heed your requests.
-Intermediate spirits will listen to what you have to say.
-Greater spirits will grant your requests in exchange for a price.

A refreshing energy, distinct from Mana, flowed through Lion’s body.
It was a sensation unlike anything he’d felt when his Mana Circle formed, so Lion had to stop helping the spirits and examine himself.
He’d suspected it might happen since he gained the Spirit Resonance talent, but he never thought it would come so easily.

“Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anything noticeably different.”

Unless something special like this happened, he’d rarely encounter spirits anyway, so there was no need to worry about it.
……or so he thought, at that very moment.

“Oh my.”

An exclamation came from behind me.
A chill ran down my spine, and when I turned around, there stood a handsome young man in unfamiliar clothing.
The clothes were one thing.
The problem was that his ears were pointed.
And beyond that.
There was an enormously massive water spirit standing behind him.

“Mm.”

At a glance, this was clearly one of our “guests” who knew what he was doing.

“…Hello there?”

Lion greeted him first.
Truth be told, he’d planned to just offer a polite hello and hurry back out.

Stride.
That was, until the guest took a step forward.

“Oh my. How extraordinary! You are unmistakably human, yet how is it that spirits flock to your side?”

The man, despite his youthful appearance, spoke in an archaic manner and naturally moved closer to Lion’s side.

“Tell me—can you see the child behind me?”
“……”

Lion glanced upward and gazed at the magnificent water wolf formed entirely of liquid that stood behind the elf man.
It was certainly made of water, yet oddly enough, it bore fur like a real beast.

‘I can hardly tell him I can’t see that…’

Moreover, this fellow—despite adding the word “perhaps”—was clearly asking with absolute certainty.
So then what……

“A wolf made of water, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Indeed, indeed!”

The elf clapped his hands with delight. His movements were decidedly not those of a modern person.

‘Wait. This feeling…’

Lion briefly reflected on his past before the reincarnation.
There had been someone who’d reacted to him in exactly this way.
Which meant……

‘A university professor.’

Before the reincarnation.
Quite some time ago, there had been a period when he was studying that field with passionate dedication in order to pitch to a certain university professor.
Not knowing what was right or wrong, he simply threw himself into learning whatever came his way so the conversation would flow.
Naturally, he’d gotten plenty wrong.
But that professor’s expression when pointing out his mistakes—

‘It was exactly like that.’

“What is your name, young man?”

Yes. That was the same pattern.
He clearly knew my name since I’d given him a business card, yet he said something like that out of sheer instinct.
I suspect that opening line had led many students into his laboratory before.
But!

‘This time it’s different!’

Lion was confident.
Confident he wouldn’t fall for it.
Because his name was, after all…….

“Lion.”

Before Lion could proclaim his name with pride, Ricshel appeared.

“I was just about to—Ricshel?”
“There you are. I trust your walk went well.”
“Yes. Well, it did, didn’t it?”

He’d clearly rushed over in haste—his usually immaculate clothes were disheveled.

“Why did you come in such a hurry?”
“I noticed your return was running late, so I came to meet you. But quite by chance, I found you were already with our family’s guest.”
…….

The young-looking elf’s expression had become strangely hollow.
Like a hunter who’d failed to capture his prey.
In any case, it was a relief.

“Given the circumstances, allow me to make a proper introduction here. This is Lion Asteri, a ‘direct’ member of the Asteri Family. He is my ‘blood brother.'”

He seemed to emphasize certain words—”direct” and “blood brother”—with particular weight.

‘Well done, Ricshel……!’

In any other circumstance it would have been burdensome, but Lion found himself cheering Ricshel on.
If he’d misspoken, he might have been swept away entirely by that person—by that elf.

“Ah. A direct member of House Asteri. Come to think of it, there is a resemblance in the air. I am Embrog.”
“Welcome to House Asteri. Shall we go, then?”
“But still…… of all families, it had to be Asteri…….”

While Embrog muttered something under his breath, having taken a step back, Ricshel seized Lion and began leading the way ahead.

* * *

Dragged half-bodily by Ricshel’s grip, Lion realized the household looked quite different from usual.
Ricshel must have rushed Lion back to the manor precisely so he could witness this.

‘It’s complete chaos.’

The Asteri Family Estate, usually so quiet, had become a playground for spirits.

[Sylph darts about in delight.]
[Undine bobs up and down.]

‘Quite the uproar.’

Had ordinary people witnessed this, they would have been shocked beyond words…….
Unfortunately, ordinary folk could not perceive spirits, so they remained oblivious to what was unfolding before them.
Lion walked carefully down the garden stairs, weaving between lesser spirits who slid down the stone steps as if they were a playground slide.
Of course, spirits couldn’t exert physical force without a Spirit Arts practitioner’s aid, but Lion found the sight unsettling all the same.
Meanwhile, Ricshel drifted naturally through the throng of spirits and asked in a low voice.

“Are there many spirits here at the moment?”

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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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