Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 95

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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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Forget about being the heir—I’d rather just relax. Chapter 95

Lion pushed the Luminous Stone into the groove he’d dug beforehand, then packed clay around it.

“Good. Perfect fit.”

Thanks to the clay, the Luminous Stone seated itself snugly in place.
As if it had been embedded there from the start.
Lion continued installing stones around the water and near the Flame Flower.
One, two.
With the final Luminous Stone positioned beside where Nature rested, he reached out and drew a thread of Mana upward.

Hummmmm—hummm—

The Luminous Stones responded to one another, glowing as they began to channel the warmth from the Flame Flower beside them into the Hot Spring.
But that wasn’t all.
The scent of the Flame Flower petals traveled along with the heat, and a soft, fragrant aroma rose gently across the entire forest.

[Time remaining until completion: 5 hours and 20 minutes.]

“All right. This is going to take a while.”

Lion settled down beside Nature and rested, watching the water gradually warm.
It had taken not two days but nearly three.
Yet no word had come from Ricshel.

‘Nothing’s gone wrong, has it?’

Lion paused for a moment, then shook his head.
He shouldn’t entertain such thoughts when nothing had actually happened.

“Why don’t you go get some rest now? You’ve worked hard running errands for me.”

At Lion’s words, Freyanya, who had been watching from a distance, opened her mouth in surprise.

‘He’s being so calm about this?’

Freyanya had spent days observing the environment transform in real time.
It was astounding enough that the Hot Spring, once so cold, had grown warm—but to think he’d even captured the flower’s fragrance in it.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you went back to the Estate and rested?”
“No. Anything could happen. I’ll stay here a while longer.”
“Then I’ll stay too.”

Lion regarded Freyanya, who spoke with such determination.

‘I appreciate it, but…’

A child her age really ought to be in bed early, he thought.
And despite what she pretended, Freyanya had been raised in comfort and plenty at the Estate. She wouldn’t prefer sleeping out here in the wild.
On top of everything, hadn’t she spent the last two days dashing about on his errands, working up a sweat?

“There’s something you need to do at the Estate.”

So Lion decided to use a little strategy.

“What—what is it?”
“When Ricshel comes out of the Training Grounds, bring him and Grandfather back with you.”
“Pardon?”
“A Spirit Mage would speed recovery considerably. He’s had a rough time of it—go with him and bring him back.”
“…….”

Freyanya hesitated for a moment, then nodded her consent.

‘That terrifying woman will be there, and the ancient spirit as well. It should be fine.’

And if anything went wrong, Patrick Asteri would step in.

“Understood. I’ll bring your brother back safely, Master!”

Of course, the Asteri Family people still frightened her a little, but when the Master spoke, one obeyed—that was simply how it was.
Freyanya added a final caution and left the forest.

* * *

At that very moment.

“…….”

Ricshel Asteri sat alone with his eyes closed.
Breathe in, pause. Draw the Mana into myself, then release it.
He’d lost count of how many times he’d done this.
His tightly shut eyes trembled.
He was reaching his physical limit.
Instinctively, passages from his earlier studies surfaced in his mind.

He concentrated on himself so intently that the outside world ceased to exist.
The spring of Mana within his body—he drew new Mana toward it, forming a single lake.
That lake followed the Channel of the Circle, becoming a river, then a sea, then waves.
The water vapor that rose evaporated into raindrops, which were reabsorbed into his body, returning once more to the spring.
……Thus would his path and Enlightenment open before him.

‘Just a little more.’

Ricshel continued to concentrate, forging the vessel of the 5th Circle.
He sat in lotus position within the Training Chamber, eyes closed, deaf to all distraction, his awareness turned wholly inward.
His once-pristine clothes were torn and tattered by the howling wind and ice shards that cut like blades.
Whenever his focus wavered, the knife-edged winds sweeping through the personal Training Grounds attacked his body.
One moment of lost concentration meant death.
Eyes closed, he kept his focus steady, but never allowed himself to slip into sleep.
Without channeling his Mana, he would be shredded where he sat.

Shriek!
Ting!

A razor-sharp icicle crashed against the Mana-sheathed body and ricocheted away, shattering into fragments.
Even those fragments became wisps of Mana, which were absorbed into Ricshel’s body.

Gulp.

‘How dreadful.’

Another threat—he’d lost count of how many.
Honestly, each one made his blood run cold.
But such was the training.
Drive yourself to the very edge of your limits and transform danger itself into your own strength.
And there, in that crucible, forge the small vessel you possess.
One might call it a crude method.

‘If things were different, I wouldn’t have felt afraid at all.’

Ricshel was born with extraordinary talent from the start.
There were no obstacles; everything he desired, he achieved.
His training as Heir was no exception.
By the time he reached the 4th Circle, he had already decided that the 5th Circle would have to be achieved here, in this private Training Chamber.
After all, danger was a natural part of achievement.
It seemed like a rational decision.
He was someone who understood his own worth well.
And yet…….

‘Now that I think about it, I was completely wrong.’

He had only believed it was a rational approach—he had never considered what he might lose.
He hadn’t known.
That there were people who worried about him.
That there existed someone who thought of him not merely as an Heir, but as a person.
He had been arrogant.

‘If something goes wrong here…….’

They would grieve.
His family would.
He understood it now, clearly.
How much worry the Family Head—no, his grandfather—had been carrying.
And his brother as well.
With that thought, his chest ached, yet he could feel warmth even in this cold, harsh Training Chamber.
It was as though his body were immersed in warm water.

‘I want to go back.’

And yet, Ricshel still had to come here.

‘Assassins.’

The moment his brother left the estate, assassins came flooding in.
True, Elvia and the Underworld’s agents had managed to suppress them, but this was undoubtedly because he, as Heir, fell short of his grandfather’s stature.
Ricshel could not accept that.
So he had dealt with the assassins and come straight here.
His goal had always been singular.
To protect his family and his people.
To become as remarkable a person as his grandfather, and to protect his brother.

‘I want to see them soon.’

Even in this danger, Ricshel smiled faintly.
He wanted to be praised more, to eat his fill of the food they made for him.

‘What I desire is nothing grandiose.’

The titles that came with being Heir of a great magical house held little appeal for him, honestly.
He simply wanted to be with his brother.
As his brother’s younger sibling, as his grandfather’s youngest grandchild, he only wanted to fulfill his part.
Yes. He did not wish to reign in solitude.
There is nothing left standing upon loneliness.
He wanted to be together.
He wanted to see them.
His brother, his grandfather, everyone.

“……!”

It was around the moment he thought this.
The Mana that had been spinning wildly without a vessel in his body began to gather in a circular formation around his heart.
Mana, once gathered, always follows the clearest will.

A brilliant flash of light tore through the darkness.

As Ricshel slowly opened his eyes, the Training Chamber blazed with light, and the raging storm of Mana subsided in an instant.
Thus, at an age not yet come of age,
Ricshel’s heart bore the fifth Circle.
It was a feat that would shake the entire Empire…… but.
For Ricshel, the 5th Circle was nothing so remarkable.
What mattered most to him now was…….

“Has Lion returned yet?”

Whether Lion had come back.
Ricshel sprang to his feet and rushed from the Training Grounds.

* * *

A sharp intake of breath.

The scent of deep green and verdant foliage reached Lion’s nostrils.
Lulled by the fragrance that seemed to calm both body and spirit, Lion slowly lifted his eyelids.
Dense tree leaves filled his vision.

“Mm.”

Lion rustled in his sleeping bag and sat up.
He must have dozed off at some point while keeping watch over the remaining time.

“Chirp!”
“Hmm?”

Lion, who had been rubbing his drowsy eyes, snapped them open at the welcome sound.

“Nature?”
“Chirp-chirp!”

Nature, who had been sleeping deeply, was now aloft with vigor, perching on his shoulder!

“You’re awake! Are you all right now?”

Nature fluffed her wings proudly and preened her feathers with her beak.
It felt like a rebuff—as if to say don’t talk to her like that.

“That’s a relief.”

Lion exhaled deeply. He’d been anxious the whole time, wondering if she’d pushed herself too hard.
Wait…….
His shoulder felt damp.
Now that he looked, Nature’s wings seemed ruffled, as if wet from something.

‘What does that mean?’

Lion turned his head to look ahead.

“…… It worked.”

The notification showing the remaining time had vanished without a trace!
Lion hurried toward the hot spring.

Splash!

The moment he dipped his hand into the water, a pleasant warmth crawled up his fingers.
Lion decided to fill a potion bottle with the water and examine it more closely.

[Deep Mimir Forest Hot Spring Water (★★★)]
-Crystal clear, immaculate water! With a refreshing fragrance! Surely there is no one who would dislike this scent.
-When bathed in, stamina recovers rapidly.
-The more frequently one bathes, the more one senses that something wonderful will occur.

“Hmm.”

Even though he’d merely scooped the water, it bore three stars.
That meant stamina recovery was guaranteed.
Lion considered taking a bath right then, but shook his head.
Though he felt somewhat weary, it seemed more meaningful to soak together with the others.

“Then…”

Lion stretched and glanced around.
Fortunately, it was still morning—Freyanya hadn’t yet reached Mimir Forest.

‘I might as well make some snacks while I wait.’

Freyanya had passed along various items, so he had quite a collection of ingredients.
Among them, what Lion had specially requested was…

‘This, of course.’

Lion picked up the blue-shelled egg.

[Blue Egg (★)]
-Larger than ordinary eggs! Distinctive blue shell!
-The more you bite into it, the more the rich, savory flavor of the yolk rises up.

“Soft-boiled eggs.”

Lion dropped several eggs into the Alchemical Cauldron and poured in a moderate amount of the hot spring water he’d just collected.
Then he sprinkled salt over them and covered the lid.
…An alchemical cauldron is still a cauldron, isn’t it? Should work just fine.
Besides, controlling the heat is perfectly manageable.

‘A high-end rice cooker, essentially.’

After adjusting the flame appropriately, Lion pulled Mellow Grass from his pocket.

‘After soaking in the hot spring and getting tired out, they’ll crave something sweet.’
It’s morning now, but they’ll arrive around lunchtime, so it won’t be too heavy to eat.
Lion roasted the soft Mellow Grass berries on Flame Flower leaves.
Soon the outer surface of the Mellow Grass, white as fresh snow, began to take on a subtle brown hue and slowly soften.

‘Now!’

Lion placed the roasted Mellow Grass berry on a Cracker, topped it with Chocolate, then added another Cracker on top—and crafted a perfect sandwich.
As he busily made portions for each of the family members…

“Brother.”

I sensed a presence alongside the voice I’d been longing to hear.

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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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