Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 71

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Successor? No Thanks, I’ll Just Relax — Chapter 71

A normal person would have naturally recoiled at the madness radiating from those two, but…….

“Shh.”

His counterpart, Lion, was no less eccentric.
He raised his index finger to his lips as if to lower their voices, calming them both.

“It seems they’re still sensitive from just waking up. I’m fine since I’m their master, but…….”
“Ah! I see.”
“We’ll be as quiet as possible.”

They nodded vigorously.

“Then come inside.”

Lion effortlessly sealed their lips and ushered them into the room.
The existence of an ancient spirit would inevitably become known someday, so he had no particular intention of hiding it…….
But if he didn’t do this, it was certain they wouldn’t even think of returning to the Elf Kingdom.

“The ancient spirit is…….”
“They’re in that blanket over there. Should I wake them?”
“No, no! Just feeling the aura emanating from this place is more than enough.”

Embrog sensed the overwhelming aura permeating Lion’s room.
The presence of nature itself — something he had never experienced even in the Elf Kingdom.

‘Yet the density of the aura itself is remarkably thin.’

This must be a measure of consideration from the ancient spirit.
That noble being had actually adjusted their presence to match their summoner’s level…….

“Embrog.”
“Ah.”

Catching Tiali’s hint, Embrog snapped to attention and stepped forward before Lion.

“How is your body feeling, if I may ask.”
“I’m fine, though I am a bit tired.”
“Haha, that’s fortunate indeed. When a powerful being from another dimension crosses over, it consumes an enormous amount of mental energy.”
“Mm.”

So that’s why there was a nosebleed.
Fortunately, the fairy dust and spirit water seemed to have balanced it out somehow.

“You should rest for a while, and if possible, it’s best not to dismiss the spirit. The mental strain of summoning them again would be even greater.”
“Understood.”

The two of them took turns rapidly lecturing him on tips regarding Spirit Summoning.
But that wasn’t all.

“And I think you’ll find this useful to review with Freyanya.”

They had handed over an entire bundle of texts on Spirit Summoning.
Despite the cover bearing a large warning: “Restricted Distribution — Internal Use Only.”

“I’m grateful for your consideration, truly. Thank you.”
“It’s your rightful privilege. Had you chosen to study abroad, the Elder Elf might well have instructed you directly.”

In other words, he’s reached a level where he takes an emperor as a teacher rather than merely a friend.
Lion felt a fresh wave of relief wash over him.

‘I made the right call not going there.’

If he had gone, new troubles would have opened up inevitably.
They weren’t showing him favor out of kindness.
They had places to use him, which was why they were treating him this way.

“Ah, one last thing…….”

The two elves hesitated, then brought forward Endairon and Silairon before Lion.

“Well, um. I’m sorry to bother you when you must be tired…….”

They stammered through an explanation, but the gist was simple enough.
Could you share some of your essence with our children?

‘What’s so difficult about that?’

Lion reached out without hesitation to pat both their heads when——

Whoosh!

The blanket covering something flew up in a gust and tumbled to the floor.
And from beneath it, a round little chick.
Nature came toddling out, its face brimming with displeasure.

“Eek!”

Both elves’ eyes went wide. Their pointed ears flushed crimson.
To think they would lay eyes on the Spirit King, whom they thought they would never see!
Lion, however, felt little excitement and focused instead on Nature’s expression.
Its yellow face was utterly crumpled with irritation.

“……Don’t tell me.”

Was it jealous?
The spirits sensed this aura keenly—Endairon’s tail drooped and curled inward, while Silairon discreetly buried its face into the fur of its chest.
Cute as it looked as a mere chick, that aura surpassed that of a high-ranking spirit.

“……My Endairon. How could this be.”

Embrog muttered as he came to his senses.

“Oh dear.”

Lion went to the bed and scooped up Nature, tucking it into his pocket.

“Don’t get angry at the guests, now.”

As he spoke, he rubbed its head gently with his index finger.
Fortunately, its anger seemed to subside, and the turbulent aura calmed.

“Oh, no, no! Before the Spirit gets any angrier, we should probably take our leave.”
“What? But you said you’d receive the essence…….”
“No, it seems we have plenty as is!”

Just reaching out to touch was already causing such anger—if they’d actually dared to pet it, they’d definitely fall out of favor.

“I see. So you’re returning to the Elf Kingdom now?”
“Yes, I am. But I promise I’ll visit again soon.”
“Whenever you like. Friends ought to see each other often.”

The three of them exchanged warm farewells.
Now that he thought about it, Embrog’s manner of speech had grown quite formal.
He’d always been polite, but…… the professorial tone had vanished.
Perhaps becoming the master of the Spirit King had changed the way he spoke.

“Then, we shall take our leave.”

The two elves bowed deeply with all due respect and departed the room.
After Embrog left, Tiali followed behind him to the door and paused…….

“Ah, one more thing. Lion.”
“Yes?”
“Was that necklace a gift you received?”
“……What?”

A necklace?
Lion turned his head in the direction Tiali was pointing.
There, on the table…….

‘That’s the one Freyanya left behind.’

[The Noblewoman’s Lost Necklace]
-A noblewoman is desperately searching for this necklace.

It was an unclaimed item.

“Do you know who owns this necklace?”
“Hmm, so it wasn’t a gift after all.”

It wasn’t something he could call a gift.

“I’m not sure how it came into your possession, but that necklace…… belongs to House Bydentis.”

House Bydentis—that would be…….
A renowned swordsmithing family?

‘Is that why it ended up in the underworld?’

From what Lion understood, the succession struggle there had been quite fierce.

“Thank you for telling me. But how did you know that…….”
“Centuries ago, House Bydentis produced a Spirit Summoner once. I went there personally to recruit him, and at that time, the family head possessed that necklace.”

Tiali added that the memory stuck with him because of its unusual aura, then quickly apologized.

“When I found it in your room, I wondered if perhaps House Bydentis had fallen.”

Ah, so you thought our family had destroyed them?

“Haha, my grandfather dislikes troublesome matters. This is simply a lost item.”
“I see.”
“Freyanya gave it to me.”
“Ah.”

Tiali let out a long sigh, as though he’d finally understood.
I’m starting to see the picture now.

“I’m terribly sorry. We’ve raised our child poorly, and it seems you’ve had to deal with the consequences.”
“Not at all. Thanks to you, I’ve come to know my master. I can simply return it when the opportunity arises.”
“You may well receive quite a substantial reward for this.”

Tiali offered a peculiar smile, offered his final respects, and then left the room.

‘A substantial reward?’

When even an elf spoke of a substantial reward, it was hardly likely to be an ordinary item.
But then again…….

‘Last time I looked, there was nothing there at all.’

Lion walked straight toward the Necklace.

“Even now…….”

He was about to conclude that nothing had changed.
When Nature, who had been nestled in his pocket, suddenly fluttered into the air and began pecking at the Necklace with her small beak.
And then…….

“Hmm?”

[Hidden information about the Necklace has been updated.]

The Necklace’s information had been updated!

[The Lost Necklace]
-A Necklace passed down as a family heirloom of House Bydentis. It seems someone was desperately seeking this Necklace.
-Though you cannot return it to the one who sought it, wouldn’t it be better to return it to where it originally belonged?

Lion’s eyes widened in surprise at this unexpected turn.
Regardless of how Nature had managed this…….

“This is a Hidden Quest, isn’t it?”

A Hidden Quest.
Quests in In the World that could only be progressed by meeting specific conditions.
Generally, they were undertaken to raise an NPC’s affection…….
But occasionally.

‘There were quests that offered special rewards.’

Exactly like this situation, where something was clearly suspicious.

“Someone was looking for this, that’s certain.”

Yet the description says it can no longer be returned.
What could that possibly mean?
It must mean the person seeking it had passed from this world.

‘In truth, I don’t really need any special reward in my current situation.’

He was wealthy, beholden to no one, and had even gained an adorable companion spirit.
When he wanted to play, no one stopped him; when he wanted to try something, everyone encouraged him with one heart and one mind.
What more could he possibly need?
Back when he was playing the game, he would have seized such an opportunity without hesitation.
So in reality, he could have simply passed this Necklace along through his grandfather and been done with it.
But…

‘There’s something off about it.’

Until now, it had been nothing more than a necklace of unknown origin, but after acquiring Nature, the ancient spirit, new information had begun to surface.
Even Nature had pecked at him repeatedly about it, for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom.
So these suspicions were taking root.

‘Could it be connected to my character somehow?’

If that were the case, he couldn’t simply feign ignorance.
He had questions about his own abilities, about the Hero, about the vanished character—but more than that.
There was something in him that rebelled against blindly trusting only House Asteri and burying his head in the sand, no matter how desperately he wanted to.

“Come to think of it, you said you helped my grandfather when he was trapped in the Labyrinth.”

And without asking for anything in return.
It had apparently made quite an impression—Ricshel had even brought it up when they were together in the Labyrinth last time.

“Remarkably, you helped without expecting anything in return. You don’t seem like a bad person.”

“Ah! Could it be?”

In that moment, Lion’s eyes gleamed.
Now that he thought about it, the sword-art House wasn’t in the most stable position at the moment—it was caught in a bitter succession struggle with blood being spilled over the heir’s seat, and the family’s influence had been shaken.
True, the current Marquess, Clarentia Bydentis, was displaying remarkable ability and gradually bringing stability, but.
For them to spend time helping House Asteri in such an uncertain situation… that could only mean one thing.

‘They wanted to build a friendship!’

With our House… no, with Ricshel!

“Oh no, I’ve been insensitive. I just accepted the tailoring commission without understanding.”

Lion cursed his own dullness.

“And I didn’t even realize it.”

Marquess Clarentia was close to his age, certainly, but at a difference of years like Lion and Ricshel’s, society practically considered people friends anyway.
Their positions were even similar. Ricshel was still the heir apparent, but once he came of age, he would inherit his title.
So then…

‘They’d make the perfect friend!’

House Asteri had no interest in crossing swords with the sword-art House anyway.
And the sword-art House didn’t seem interested in challenging the magic House either.
Regardless of the current Marquess’s strength, it seemed nearly impossible as long as his grandfather was alive.

‘So there’s nothing wrong with the two of us getting along well!’

And if the two of them happened to see eye to eye…

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————