Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 64

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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’s Unknown, or So I’d Like to Heal – Episode 64

“Ah!”

I had no idea how it actually worked.
Yet the two liquids mixed together and gave off a transparent brownish hue.
Bubble, bubble.
Even as it did, that peculiar bubbling remained unchanged.
Lion had shown me everything without hiding a thing, and yet……

“All right, thanks for the help. I’ll handle the rest from here.”
“Oh, of course!”

Freya stepped back and watched as Lion finished the work.
The liquid in the cauldron would grow thick and resistant, then suddenly flow again like water, cycling endlessly.
There was clearly substantial effort involved—Lion’s arm trembled slightly with the strain.
And then, the moment it cleared once more.
Lion swiftly transferred the liquid from the cauldron into the Distiller and called out sharply:

“Extraction.”

Flash!
The Distiller gleamed softly, and a garnet-tinted translucent liquid began filling the potion bottle!

“Excellent.”

Lion held up the first completed potion and swirled it side to side, the same way he had with the Spirit Water Essence.
Small round bubbles rose as the potion’s color shifted with each movement—first one shade, then another.
Clear, then crimson, then back to garnet.

‘This would be excellent as is, but there’s still one thing missing.’

And that was.
Lion picked up the Spirit Stone of water, which he hadn’t used until now, and simply dropped it into the potion.

“E-e-e-eh?!”

Freya couldn’t help but make a strange sound as she watched, stunned until now by its completion.
Why would he drop a rock into a finished potion, Spirit Stone or not?

“Huh? What…?”

But it wasn’t as though he were dropping in just any Spirit Stone.
The Spirit Stone Lion had placed appeared to lodge in the middle of the potion bottle, acting like a filter!

“Master, why did you add that?”
“Well, I wanted to try using all Four Elements, you see?”

More precisely, it was about wrapping the remaining powerful elements with the water Spirit Stone to create harmony.
But explaining it step by step would only deepen questions about how Lion knew this in the first place, so I held my tongue.

‘Besides, Freya will understand it herself eventually, as she keeps practicing.’

Either way, Lion gazed at the completed Spirit Water with satisfaction.

[Lion’s Special Spirit Water (★★★)]
-A potion that both Spiritists and Spirits can drink!
-Vigor enhancement for our little ones, nutritious snack for Spiritists!
-When sipped, it delivers a sparkling carbonation that’s remarkably effective at promoting digestion.

[You have created a potion that does not exist in this world!]
[You have achieved the ‘Lost Puzzle (1)’ Achievement!]
[You obtain 3,500 Shilling.]

Since I’d created something I’d never seen before—not a recipe that already existed in the world—a new Achievement appeared.
But that wasn’t all.

[You have become a master and shown your disciple a new path.]
[The ‘Disciple’s Diligence’ bonus has been applied. You gain additional experience.]
[Your Alchemy Proficiency has advanced to Skilled Lv.3.]

‘Oh ho!’

My Proficiency level had jumped this much in the Skilled tier?
That’s quite surprising.
The gap in experience pools between advancing a few levels in the Apprentice tier versus the Skilled tier was enormous.
If you had to make a hundred potions to reach the next level in Apprentice, the Skilled tier demanded at least ten times that.
Yet the Disciple’s Diligence effect had triggered, showering me with an experience bonus……

‘Teaching a disciple might not be a bad idea after all.’

If there were benefits like this, it was certainly worth doing.
While Lion stood there looking between the potion and the system messages, turning the thought over in his mind.

“……That’s incredible.”

I’d lost count of how many times I’d been amazed.
I’d come to realize that my master’s Alchemy was on a level I couldn’t possibly match.
I’d even participated directly, questioned every puzzling detail, and my master had answered my questions with considerable patience—yet I understood almost nothing of what was happening.
So I couldn’t even fathom what realm my master had reached.
With Spirit Magic, at least, I could get a clearer sense of things.
First, Spirits were clearly classified by grade, and my master had immediately succeeded in communing with a High-Grade Spirit—so if he pursued that path seriously, even conservatively estimating……

‘He could contract even a Supreme-Grade Spirit.’

He might even summon an Ancient-Grade Spirit, the kind only the Elder can call forth in special environments.
The so-called final frontier.
I’d formed the judgment that Lion Asteri’s talent would surely let him reach beyond even that.
But Alchemy?

‘I can’t see it.’

What would be the pinnacle of Alchemy?
Creating the legendary Elixir that the Hero carried fifty years ago?
Or brewing a lethal poison so potent that a single drop could taint an entire great river?
That was what Freya had always believed the ultimate truth of Alchemy to be.
But……
I was beginning to think it might be something else entirely.
What if my master could casually whip up something far more remarkable?
Such anticipation bloomed in my chest.

‘And this person is my master……’

It was an opportunity born from coincidence piled upon coincidence.
And he was still only my provisional master, at that.
This was an opportunity I had to seize.
One of those rare chances that came only a handful of times in a lifetime.
No—perhaps it was the opportunity of a lifetime!
Freya stood before Lion and bowed her head deeply.

“That’s incredible, Master! From now on, I’ll serve you with all my heart!”
“Huh?”

Only then did Lion snap back to reality from the sweet rush of experience points, his response awkward.

‘Did I really teach that well?’

Truth be told, he’d barely done anything.
His whole approach had been: well, try it this way, or that way, or just wing it—see what works.
Why couldn’t she grasp it?
……That’s the sort of irresponsible genius mentor he was, and he’d never once worried about it.

“Look, I’ll be honest—I don’t have any talent for teaching.”
“That’s plenty! I’ll figure out the rest myself!”
“I have a feeling I’m going to keep explaining things like this going forward?”
“As long as you’re willing to teach me, or even just show me—no, wait, even if you just glance at what I’m doing once in a while, that’s more than enough. Please, won’t you accept me as your formal disciple?”

Well…… if she wanted it that badly.

‘Definitely not for the experience points.’

Honestly, who wouldn’t want to keep someone nearby who praised him so lavishly whenever he did anything well? The first moment had felt odd, but that unease had long since melted away.

“Thank you so much…!!”

Lion gathered the potions he’d made and stepped outside.

“Yes!”

“I-I’m sorry…… Sob!”
“Is it really so difficult to manage a simple exchange? Honestly, I can hear the honor of the elves crashing to the ground from here……”

They freed these creatures, and this is how they repay the favor?

If something like this had occurred in the Elf Kingdom, it would have been resolved in no time.
There was plenty of medicine, and no shortage of Spirit Stones—they could’ve calmed the spirits first, canceled their summons, and then had the offenders run ten laps through the forest patrols as punishment. No problem.
But now.
There were no Spirit Stones.

There was nothing for it. Lion would have to swallow the shame and wait in silence for this mess to pass.
At least the High-Grade Spirits hadn’t run wild yet.
If they had……

‘Not just clouds like this……’

There would have been a tempest raging through the Asteri Family Estate itself.
If that happened, the exchange, Lion’s standing, everything would be finished.
And he didn’t even want to imagine how furious the Elder would become.
Embrog shuddered.
The Elder was ordinarily gentle and good-natured, but once angered, he saw things through to their bitter end.
That was why he had marched to the front lines himself, bearing a king’s body, against the Demons.

“……Sigh.”

No—now was not the time to lose himself in thought.
Embrog shook his head once, then spoke.

“How many Spirits are currently causing serious disturbance?”
“Five Low-Grade Spirits, one Sylph, and one Undine, sir.”
“Tell their contractors to dissolve the summoning.”
“Sir?”
“B-but if we do that……”

If the summoning were dissolved in an unfamiliar place, they might lose the contracted Spirits altogether.
And if the bond were still fragile, the Spirits might abandon them forever.

“If we leave it as it is, the clouds will spread over the village. And if that happens, even if House Asteri tries to cover it up, the Human Empire will have to intervene.”

Of course, such a thing would never happen.
The master of this place was none other than Patrick Asteri.
But Embrog himself did not know the depths of human political hierarchy.
And so he moved with deliberate extremity.

“……”

And the other elves did not know it either.

“There’s no helping it.”

Embrog murmured bitterly.
He was, after all, one of the elves who cherished Spirits dearly.
Why else would he dedicate himself so completely to training the next generation of Spiritists?
But involvement with the Human Empire had to be avoided at all costs.
The elf who understood Embrog’s heart and purpose clenched her eyes shut and lowered her head.

“Then I shall tell the owners of the Sylph and Undine to dissolve the summoning……”

Creak!

Before the words could even finish.
The firmly closed door suddenly swung wide.

“Ah, you’re all here, I see.”
“……!”

And the one who entered was none other than Lion Asteri.

‘Troublesome.’

Lion’s visit wasn’t something Embrog disliked.
If anything, he’d come of his own accord, which should have been cause for celebration—but.
The situation was not good.
And hadn’t he just made a difficult decision?
Embrog himself was in poor spirits; the other elves would be even worse off.
If things went wrong, the backlash could easily fall on innocent Lion. Better to send him away for now.

“Lion, I’m grateful you came to see me, but the situation right now is…….”
“That’s precisely why I’m here.”
“Why you’re here?”
“How many people are in this room altogether?”

Lion swept his hand through the air, and…….

“……!”

Low-Grade Spirits of the wind pooled their power, cleaving the clouds and opening the view!

“Wh-what in the world!”
“Well now.”

Despite the gravity of the moment, the elves’ mouths fell open as they witnessed with their own eyes just how extraordinary a human’s affinity with spirits could be.
In that span, Lion counted the elves in the room and distributed potions to each.

“Nothing major—just something you might want to have now. It’s a potion with digestive properties, and a beverage besides.”
“……Yes, Lion, I’m truly grateful for your concern given the circumstances, but unfortunately even if the Spiritist recovers, the spirits won’t regain consciousness quickly.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Freya explained it to me.”

Only then did Freya enter Embrog’s field of vision.

“Then why are you telling them to drink it now?”

Embrog asked, puzzled, and Lion simply smiled.

“The situation’s already happened anyway. Consider it a small consolation and give it a try.”

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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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