Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 62

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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 Manual Says Healing Only, Episode 62

Lion accepted a small stone and examined it slowly.
At first glance it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary pebble, but upon closer inspection, he could make out faint patterns etched into its surface.

[Intermediate Fire Spirit Stone]
-A substance occasionally produced by Salamander, an intermediate fire spirit, during skill casting. The cause of its emergence remains unknown.
-Humans cannot consume it.
-It is highly effective when fed to an ailing companion spirit.
-However, the spirit must be of the same attribute.

“Hmm.”

So it was an emergency medicine that the spirit created of its own accord.
As Lion stared intently at the Spirit Stone, Freyana suddenly gasped and hid the pebble behind both hands.

“T-this is something my Salamander has been producing ever since we formed our contract. Those creatures will recover on their own! And besides, when we return to the Elf Kingdom, Spirit Stones like these are so abundant you’d trip over them on the ground.”
“Really?”
“Yes! Since the intermediate spirits are causing such a fuss right now, they must be starting to fall everywhere, yes? I’m telling them to handle things themselves and feed the Spirit Stones to each other! Since Spirit Stones don’t appear that often, I can’t feed them to everyone, but at least I can restore those whose vitality has dropped significantly.”

As Lion listened to Freyana’s explanation, one question arose in his mind.

“Then what happens when a spirit runs out of vitality?”
“……They return to nature.”
“You mean they die?”
“In human terms, yes, but strictly speaking, spirits have no concept of death. The elements that compose their form simply disperse and seep into nature, and after a very long time passes, they are eventually reborn as spirits once more.”

Yet the way she gently stroked Salamander suggested that in theory this might be true, but far more Spirit Mages believed otherwise.

‘Even if that were the case……’

Lion recalled the time he had crafted the hoe.
The fire spirit was clearly suffering.
And when he resolved that problem, it rejoiced and gave thanks.
Perhaps that was why it even granted the hoe a special enchantment.
That meant that regardless of what anyone said, spirits possessed emotions.
They could feel pain.

‘And through no fault of their own. Poor thing.’

[Spirit Arts talent experience increased by 30 percent.]

Lion suddenly opened the door again.

“Freyana.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“We need to begin your first Alchemy lesson.”
“This suddenly……?”

Lion paid no mind to her reaction and walked out ahead.

“The content of the first lesson is this:”

After all, he had just seen the additional information.
That Spirit Stone.

[Usage: Food, Potions]
[☞Click to view recipes.]

It was far more useful than feeding them raw.
Especially in a situation like this.

“Collect the Spirit Stones.”

Lion dove straight into the chaos among the rampaging spirits.

“Oh no… Master!”

Freyana couldn’t bring herself to protest out of character and plunged into the mist after him.

“I can’t see anything!”
“The spirits belong to our Elf guests, so they should calm down soon!”
“But those guests didn’t look like they were in any position to control their spirits earlier!”

Inside the mist was pandemonium.
Even the servants had lost all composure.
The fog created by the water spirit made it impossible to see even a hand’s breadth ahead.
If this continued, every expensive painting and decoration hanging in the mansion would be destroyed.
The windows—they had to open the windows.

“Pardon me, coming through.”
“W-who… Young Master?”
“Good heavens, we can’t see anything! It’s dangerous!”

But then Lion Asteri entered the fray himself.
He was even bent over at the waist, peering at the floor as though searching for something.
If they accidentally stepped on him…

‘We’re finished.’

Whether by the Master of the House or the Young Master.
Or by Elvia, the maidservant who’d just arrived yet was already beginning to seize real power within the family.

“Everyone, press against the walls.”
“Y-yes! And let’s open the windows!”

The servants of House Asteri quickly regained their composure and pressed themselves backward.
Squeak—scrape—
They dragged their feet deliberately, taking care not to step on the Young Master, and not one of them blamed the others.
They made it as far as the windows, but…

“Th-the fog is outside too!”

The mist had already filled the garden beyond the mansion.

“S-still, it would be better to open them!”
“Yes! Everyone, move!”

Meanwhile.

‘Phew!’

Lion swept his gaze along the mansion’s sprawling corridors.
Fortunately, the eye of a professional was serving him well even in these circumstances.
The search became far easier now that the servants had withdrawn.

Glimmer!

In moments, he spotted shimmering stones scattered across the floor.
But then….

‘The amount is too small.’

He’d expected the spirits to waste their techniques and leave quite a few Spirit Stones scattered across the floor, but there were far fewer than he’d anticipated.
As Lion picked up what Spirit Stones he could find….

Whir.

A handful of spirits in relatively better condition hovered around Lion.

“Hmm?”

Now that he thought about it….
These were the ones he’d encountered in the village before.
The ones he’d given water and shelter from the heat before meeting Embrog.

“You’re all right?”

[Gnome nods.]
[Sylph flaps her wings with vigor.]
[The lesser water spirit affirms the question.]

They seemed to be faring well enough, perhaps thanks to the vitality he’d channeled into them earlier.

‘Hmm. Then something like this might work?’

Lion glanced around the corridor.
Freyana was sprawled on the floor, fumbling around searching for Spirit Stones, and the servants appeared to have cleared out entirely.
There were naturally no elves either.
This seemed like a perfect chance to experiment.

“Could you make Spirit Stones for me?”

The spirits, not entirely understanding what Spirit Stones were, tilted their heads or spun in circles around him.

“Oh, I mean this.”

Lion held up the Spirit Stone in his hand, and the spirits confirmed their understanding with various gestures.

“Would you create some for me without straining yourselves? I think it’ll help your friends recover.”

The moment Lion finished speaking….
Undine and Sylph spun around before dropping something onto his palm.
A Spirit Stone.

[Undine heeds your request.]
[Sylph listens to your plea.]

But that wasn’t all.
Gnome, the earth spirit, sank into the ground and emerged again, emptying a handful of Spirit Stones before Lion.
The surrounding terrain was so damp that the stones were slightly wet.
And as if the spirits were communicating with one another….
Wherever they went, the spirits in better condition would find their way back to Lion and offer him a single Spirit Stone before vanishing.
They looked exhausted, but they didn’t appear to have overexerted themselves.

[An uncontracted spirit has resonated with your noble heart!]
[Spirit Resonance proficiency has reached Novice Level 3.]

The tremendous experience points and level gain were a bonus.
Of course, it was a good thing, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

“Thank you.”

He thanked the spirits and turned back to Freyana, cradling Spirit Stones in both hands.
Just then, Sylph blew away the fog and cleared Lion’s vision.

‘Spirits are rather kind, aren’t they.’

He was beginning to understand why Spirit Mages loved spirits so much.
Meanwhile.

“Ugh, how am I supposed to pick anything up when I can’t see!”

Freyana was nonetheless obediently trying to gather Spirit Stones as Lion had instructed.
She’d missed a few because of the fog.

“Freyana.”
“Eek! I really was searching hard!”

Freyana scrambled to make excuses, convinced Lion was about to scold her.

“No, I didn’t mean——”

What on earth had happened while he was gone to make her so on edge?
Lion laughed softly and shook his head.

“I was just saying you’ve gathered enough. You can stop now.”
“Really? But I’ve only collected this much……”

Freyana held up a single small Spirit Stone from her hand to show him——
and her mouth fell open.
Lion’s hands were heaped—piled—with Spirit Stones!
True, it had been Freyana’s own prediction that the spirits would drop many Spirit Stones.
But she’d expected at most around ten.
Yet in Lion’s hands now……

‘That’s more than what our Salamander collected in his entire lifetime!’

How was that even possible?
There’s no way that many stones were lying on the ground.
Which meant the spirits had brought them to him of their own accord……

‘Did you already master the art of communicating with spirits?’

That alone would be astonishing.
But obtaining Spirit Stones meant he’d gone one step further—he’d actually asked the spirits for them!
And they’d agreed!

‘What kind of Spirit Arts talent is this?’

Wasn’t this beyond the level of a High Elf?
Perhaps it approached the realm of an Elder Elf.
Of course, if other elves heard this, they’d call it Sacred Blasphemy and launch into endless lectures, but to Freyana’s eyes…… that was what it felt like.

‘Is it really okay for me to teach you?’

Just a mid-level Spirit Mage like me?
I’m not even sure there’s anything I could teach.
He seemed to be at heights beyond reach with Alchemy alone, and now his Spirit Arts were like this too……

‘Maybe Embrog was right after all.’

Lion Asteri’s true talent lay in Spirit Arts.
Freyana squeezed the single Spirit Stone in her hand and muttered softly to herself.

‘Right. I should learn as much as I can before this man gets absorbed in Spirit Arts.’

That was the thought.
Lion, meanwhile, was not thinking any such thing.

‘Why isn’t she waking up?’

Could she have stumbled while following and twisted her ankle?
He wasn’t dwelling on that at all.
In truth, Lion’s mind was entirely fixed on the potion he could craft from this Spirit Stone.

“Are you hurt?”
“Oh, no. No, I’m fine!”

Freyana scrambled to her feet in a flurry.

“Would you share what you’ve gathered? It’ll help.”

The amount she’d collected was embarrassingly small, but Freyana carefully placed the single Spirit Stone she’d found atop the generous pile already accumulated, giving it a soft tap.

“Now, let’s go make it.”
“A-already? We’re making it now?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t we usually… calculate what materials to use and how much, measure everything out, and then begin? Isn’t that how it’s done?”
“Ah, right.”

That was true.
Lion recalled the books on Alchemy he’d read before his possession—before he’d become Lion.
Certainly, building from a solid foundation was the correct approach.
Of course, in Lion’s current case.
He simply had the recipe.

“It’s fine. We’ll just do it and see.”
“What?! How can you—! If a single teaspoon is measured wrong, the whole thing fails. That’s Alchemy! This doesn’t make sense!”
“It works when you do it.”

Now wasn’t the time to quibble over such things, and besides, he’d already shown enough to justify it.
Lion decided to lean into his persona as an Alchemy prodigy.

“First, we’ll make a Digestion Acceleration Potion. Have you made that before?”
“That’s a basic one, so I have made it… Oh! If it’s that one, I don’t need to calculate—”
“Then I’ll skip the explanation.”

Lion glanced out the window and added a note.

“The spirits seem quite uncomfortable, so we should move quickly.”

Watching Lion head into the room, Freyana was seized by a nagging question.
If he was making a digestive potion, why gather Spirit Stones?

‘Could he be planning to give the elves the digestive potion to restore them, and then feed the Spirit Stones to the spirits?’

If so, couldn’t he just source the Spirit Stones later and make the digestive potion first?
Surely not.
You’re not planning to feed a Spirit Stone to an elf, are you?

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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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