Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 73

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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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I Don’t Know About a Successor, But I’ll Heal Chapter 73

The tools were far superior in quality to what he’d bought from the Shilling shop.

“Hmph, do you like it?”
“Of course. I’m really grateful.”
“Hold on, don’t be surprised just yet. Look at this too.”

Mudu pulled something from his waist with a confident expression.
And it was—

……

[Mudu’s Fine Dagger (★★)]
-A well-honed dagger. Mudu’s name is engraved on the blade.
-While it could be used against people, it also appears useful for cutting stubborn weeds or rope.

A dagger. Just a dagger.

‘I’m grateful, but…’

Not a staff or a wand, but suddenly a dagger? No matter how he looked at it, he was the firstborn son of a Magic Noble Family. If he were anyone other than Lion, this could look like cutting mockery—a high-handed way of saying “You can’t do magic, so use this instead!”
Mudu grinned widely as he stared at him with confusion.

“Didn’t you say you were going to the Bydentis Territory? Then you need to carry a sword with you.”

“That’s part of it, but those people look down on anyone who doesn’t carry a blade.”

The Bydentis Territory had one peculiar custom all its own.

“I’d guess it’s a culture that grew out of there being a lot of monsters and the people themselves being rough.”

“Well, that’s my hometown after all.”
……!

Another thing he’d missed. Mudu’s hometown was the Bydentis Territory.

“Didn’t I tell you before?”
“I just knew you’d wandered around here and there before settling here.”

Mudu scratched his head with his rust-stained fingers.

“I just thought you called me? I didn’t think much of it.”

Mudu’s eyebrows shot together as if exasperated.

“Thanks for what? Ahem……”

Mudu stroked his mustache and let out a soft sigh.

“Look, if you really want to thank me, stop by the Dwarf Village on your way back. Give my regards to the Village Chief, will you? He’s my brother.”
“Whose request is this, then? Is there anything else you’d like me to pass along?”
“Why are you making such a fuss about it?”
“You’re absolutely sure?”
……

Only then did Mudu rummage through his pocket and produce the Old Ring.

[Old Ring]
-A modest, well-worn band. Quite scratched and marked in places.

“My brother crafted this ring himself, long ago. His very first.”

That alone said everything.

“I’ll make sure he receives it.”
“Good. That stubborn fool won’t have sent word himself, I’m sure.”

Mudu laughed heartily and waved his hand.

“I’ve kept you here far too long! Off with you now!”
“I’ll be back.”

Lion placed the ring into his inventory.
He found himself thinking he absolutely could not afford to lose this one.

‘And yet……’

The feeling was strange, somehow.
He’d always imagined travel as simply departing on a whim and returning when it was done.
This was the first time someone had worried for him, the first time he’d heard words like “return safely.”
Was it the abundance of gifts? Or perhaps the new clothes?
Something inside him felt full, warm in a way he couldn’t quite name.
As Lion made his way back to the manor, he found himself smiling without quite realizing it.

‘Not bad at all.’

* * *

“……Do we really need to go this far?”

The day of departure.
Lion muttered with evident exasperation as he beheld the carriage stationed at the manor’s front gate.
There was no family seal upon it, certainly.
But surely anyone could see this was no ordinary carriage for common folk to ride in.

“Check that nothing is missing. Verify all the magical arrays have been inscribed.”
“Yes, sir!”

Ricshel issued the order for a final inspection despite Lion’s grumbling.

“Brother, I would have liked to accompany you if circumstances permitted, but it seems I’m on the verge of a magical breakthrough and cannot join you this time.”

He should have understood it then, days ago, when Ricshel had spoken with such regret.
If Ricshel couldn’t go, it meant Ricshel had prepared everything with meticulous care.

“This is……”

Lion had decided to simply accept it now.
That his younger brother cared for him this deeply.
And that this was Asteri.
Lion opened the carriage door and stepped inside.
Through some kind of magical arrangement, the interior was remarkably spacious, and the seats were as plush as a bed.
And that wasn’t all—there was a lavatory and a bathing chamber…….

‘What on earth? Why is this here?’

“Don’t we just need to reach the village near Bydentis Territory? Weren’t you going to use Teleportation?”
“Indeed. That’s why I prepared everything as modestly as I could.”
…….

Modest?
Was it considered modest simply because the family seal wasn’t stamped on it?
Less than a minute after deciding to accept Ricshel’s feelings, Lion’s resolve shattered like glass.
Ricshel smiled at Lion’s reaction.
He’d known that someone as frugal as his brother would naturally feel burdened by it.
But there was a reason he’d prepared so lavishly.

“Brother, do you know who bandits typically rob?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea.”
“People who are doing reasonably well.”
……Ah, I see.

So the idea was that by dressing the carriage in splendor, even ordinary bandits wouldn’t dare approach.
True enough—that way Elvia could travel without worry.

“I understand. Thank you, little brother.”
“You’re too kind. In truth, it was your disciple who suggested it.”
“Freyana?”
“Yes. When you mentioned you’d be away on a brief business trip, she came to me and offered all sorts of advice. She even handpicked a coachman for us.”
Ah.

Now that he thought about it, Freyana wasn’t exactly a nobody in the Underworld.
He’d simply forgotten, given how polite and proper she always was.
The fact that Freyana had personally selected a coachman suggested this wasn’t an ordinary hire.
She’d likely brought someone of considerable trust within the Underworld.

“But you’re certain it’s all right?”
“Yes. It’s quite fine. He’s trustworthy.”

……How could you possibly know that?
Actually, what Lion had meant was whether it was acceptable to involve themselves with the Underworld at all.

‘I suppose this much is acceptable after all!’

Lion decided not to press the matter further.
After all, being looked after like this was more than enough to be grateful for.
The boy was already busy enough with his own affairs.

“It’s a shame I can’t accompany you on the journey.”
“Let’s make sure to travel together another time.”
……Yes!

After exchanging a few more parting words with Ricshel, Lion finally climbed aboard the carriage.

“Even seeing it again, it’s quite spacious…….”

Elvia positioned herself on the coachman’s seat to prepare for any enemy attack, while Andrie settled into the cargo hold as a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.
Something about not letting her clothes wrinkle or tear.

‘It’s been a while since I took on an outside job, and it’s for a Sword Art Noble Family, no less.’

The tension was warranted.
As Lion examined the carriage, the coachman’s voice called out that they would depart shortly.
Their first destination was a village owned by the Count Runggen, situated beneath the Asteri Territory.
Lion settled into his seat and gazed out the window.
The carriage moved at a brisk pace, and the landscape outside the window rushed past quite rapidly.
At first, he caught glimpses of houses, then the Grassland opened before them, and now they had passed through the forests beyond the territory’s border.

‘Surprisingly pleasant, this.’

While it was certainly an extravagantly luxurious carriage, he hadn’t expected the journey to be quite this comfortable.
Though he was acutely aware that the carriage was moving, there wasn’t the slightest jolt or rattle to it.
Nor did it seem to make much noise.
To exaggerate slightly, it felt comparable to a high-end passenger automobile.
And yet…….

“Hmm.”

Still, it didn’t feel like traveling at all.
Not that he wasn’t grateful for the comfort.

‘There’s no one around now, so it should be fine.’

Lion pulled his hood down low and climbed onto the coachman’s seat.

“Young master?”

Elvia, who had been gazing out at the landscape with a mixture of emotions in her eyes, looked at Lion with evident confusion.

“Why have you come out? The driver’s seat isn’t enchanted, so it must be quite uncomfortable for you.”
“Just for a bit. I’ll head back inside in a moment.”

But shouldn’t there be some sense of actually traveling?
If he’d meant to stay cooped up inside, he wouldn’t have come out in the first place.
Lion savored the cool scent of grass and the passing scenery that filtered through the gap in his hood.
However, the ride on the coachman’s seat was far from pleasant.
His backside bounced with each jolt, and whenever the wheels hit a large stone, his whole body would lurch upward—enough to nearly make him bite his own tongue.
There were moments he thought he might actually do just that.
And yet.

‘I made the right choice coming out here.’

The wind brushing against his cheeks and the sound of hoofbeats.
And the long, straight road stretching ahead—worn smooth by the passage of people and wagons.
There was a romanticism to it, faintly reminiscent of how he’d imagined travel as a child.
The freedom of riding in a carriage like a hero in a game, wandering wherever the road led, blazing trails by sheer impulse.
The courage to face an unknown world without fear.
These were things that young Lion—or rather, Baek I-hyeon—had yearned for while playing games.
Perhaps that’s why he could never put the game down.
The joy of progression was good, and raids with others weren’t bad either, but more than anything…….
These moments of wandering peacefully, free from all worry and care.
That was the true reason he loved In the World.
And.
Lion found his gaze drawn to Elvia, who couldn’t tear her eyes away from the view outside.

‘As I thought.’

She looked delighted.
How long had it been since she last ventured out?
Ever since being confined to this place, she’d done nothing but shuttle between the house and the village.
And always in service—as a handmaid or attendant.
Perhaps sitting beside the coachman was her way of seeing the world with her own eyes.
Lion, unwilling to break the spell of her reverie, spent a long while quietly admiring the same view beside Elvia before gently posing a question.

“How do you find it?”
“Quite refreshing, actually.”

Elvia extended her hand, feeling the resistance of the wind as it rushed past.

“The road itself is unremarkable, but perhaps because I’ve never seen this view before—heh heh……”

She spoke of feeling an unexpected joy, and her laughter carried the weight of many emotions.

“I wanted this too.”

Lion chuckled softly in agreement.

“A journey like this—I’ve always wanted one.”
……

Elvia didn’t look at Lion’s face, only gazed at the passing scenery.
How much he must have suffered because of that fragile body.
He might never have set foot beyond the Territory, might have met his end still confined within it.
And yet, here he was, grown so tall.

‘To think we’re traveling together now.’

A few months ago, such a thing would have been unimaginable.
Children grow suddenly, true—but she had thought Lion would never manage it, even past twenty.
Then one day, as if a mark had been made, he began changing visibly every single day.

‘When did my puppy grow so big?’

If she hadn’t drunk the potion Lion gave her then.
If Patrick hadn’t offered it to her.
She never would have witnessed this growth, never would have felt its weight.
She might have worn away her entire life in such emptiness.

“Well, you can only know life by living it.”
“That’s true. You have to live to see.”

The two young people continued their curious exchange.

……

The coachman simply drove on, as if hearing nothing at all.

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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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