Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 96

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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? No Thanks. Just Healing for Me, Thanks. Episode 96

“Ricshel!”

Lion set aside what he’d been doing and rose to his feet.

“It’s been a while…….”

He’d meant to say more, but something in Ricshel’s condition gave him pause.

‘His body…….’

Lion’s expression shifted to one of immediate concern as he studied Ricshel more carefully.
For starters, he could barely move on his own—Patrick was supporting him with one arm.
That alone was worrisome enough.
But the wounds covering his entire frame looked as though he’d been slashed by something razor-sharp.

‘He came all this way in this state?’

Lion felt a flicker of regret about the decision he’d made a few days ago.
If Ricshel’s condition was this poor, shouldn’t he have been resting properly instead?
True, he could vouch for the Hot Spring’s efficacy, but wouldn’t the Magic Tower’s recovery chamber be the more fitting place for Ricshel?
The thought arose unbidden.

‘Should I send him back right now?’

“I wanted to see you. Brother.”

Just as Lion was turning these thoughts over, a single heartfelt sentence reached his ears.

“I didn’t want to show you me like this…….”

Ricshel gazed at Lion with an embarrassed smile, then looked away.

“But since it’s been so long since we’ve met, I was stubborn with Grandfather and insisted on coming.”
“…….”

Lion found himself at a loss for words—he hadn’t expected such a reply.

“Haha.”

Ricshel let out a playful laugh at his brother’s reaction, almost without thinking.
Wasn’t it strange how their positions had completely reversed?
He’d been the one worrying about pushing too hard, while his brother always laughed carelessly and brushed things aside.
Now, in this moment, it became crystal clear.
Now he understood why his brother smiled the way he did back then.

“You’re something else.”

Lion felt the same emotion and let out an involuntary chuckle, as if to say there was nothing to be done about it.
Looking at them now, they really did resemble each other quite a bit.

“But you have to tell me right away if it becomes too much?”
“Yes, brother.”

Patrick, still supporting Ricshel, watched the two grandsons with a shake of his head.
Neither the eldest nor the youngest—in matters like these, an old man couldn’t begin to keep up.

‘Troublemakers, the both of them.’

He wasn’t about to dwell on how much his grandfather had worried.

‘Better not to, really.’

They were young men in their prime. He hoped they wouldn’t let the thought of him weigh down their steps.
He wasn’t the sort to hold back his grandsons yet.

“So, is the Hot Spring finished?”
“Yes. I confirmed it just a moment ago. We were waiting to enter together. Come, let’s go.”

Lion took Ricshel from his grandfather and supported him instead, heading toward the Hot Spring.

“Ah, then I’ll return to the estate.”
“Thank you.”

Freyanya watched them go and, quick to read the moment, made her way back to the manor.
By then, nothing remained in Mimir Forest.
Save for the three of House Asteri.
For all its breadth and dense foliage, the forest had become remarkably private.

“Let’s go. Can you manage undressing on your own?”
“……Yes?”

Ricshel hesitated for a moment.
He’d certainly heard about the Hot Spring before.
The patriarch had explained it on the way here.
A special Hot Spring that Lion had created.
Of course he wanted to immerse himself in it too.
But……

‘I hadn’t expected to have to undress……’

An unforeseen obstacle had appeared.
Namely, that he’d have to strip down completely in the open air.
Ricshel had shed much of his aristocratic bearing thanks to Lion, but this was still embarrassing.
No matter that they were family—taking off everything……
He doubted the patriarch would be comfortable with it either, he thought in that moment.

“Hmm?”

Ricshel discovered Patrick already in the Hot Spring, settled in firmly.

“……”

Now things had become even more awkward.

‘That’s right. The patriarch had his own adventures back then.’

Perhaps he’d learned much in those experiences.
If so, then Ricshel should find his courage too.
While Ricshel steeled himself with quiet resolve.

‘Adolescence, I suppose.’

At that age, everything feels shameful.
Lion deliberated briefly, then decided to offer a small kindness.

“You seem rather unwell. Let’s get you in there.”

He was simply putting on a grave expression on purpose.
As if petty embarrassment meant nothing at all!

“Ah, yes.”

Just as Lion had anticipated, Ricshel hastily shed his clothes and slipped into the hot spring.

‘Since my brother is concerned, it’s better to get in quickly and hide my body.’

Though this reasoning differed somewhat from what Lion had envisioned.

“…It really is wonderfully warm.”

Once submerged, Ricshel uttered a soft exclamation.
Against his expectations, the water was precisely the right temperature—pleasantly hot.
Certainly, his fatigue seemed to ease somewhat.
Whether his body was truly healing, he couldn’t say, but simply being away from that cold, biting cavern and spending time with his family felt like a gift in itself.
But then.

“Hm?”

Ricshel’s eyes flew open at a peculiar sensation washing over his entire body.
Remarkably, his wounds were healing at an accelerated pace.

[Due to the hot spring’s effects, Ricshel Asteri’s body is recovering rapidly.]

‘Thank goodness.’
Lion exhaled with relief at the notification that materialized before his eyes.
He’d been worried the effect might be insufficient.
After all, seeing his younger brother wounded to this degree was a first in all his memory.

“How can it have such an effect…?”

Ricshel murmured in astonishment.
Not only were new tissues forming visibly, but his joints—which had screamed in protest from holding one rigid position for so long—were also mending with remarkable swiftness.
Such comprehensive healing as this, which neither a priest’s Healing nor the consumption of Potions had ever achieved!
It was extraordinary.

“I didn’t expect it to actually heal you. I only thought it would be nice to have warm water.”

Lion glossed over the matter of recovery and gave a brief account of the hot spring they’d discovered at Bydentis Estate.

“When it’s cold and you soak in warm water, your body just loosens up and you get drowsy. So I thought it’d be nice to have one at our estate too, and I had it built. And…”

Lion splashed the water lightly, his gaze settling on Patrick and Ricshel.

“Since I was enjoying something good, I found myself thinking of family. I wanted us all to enjoy it together.”

Ricshel’s eyes widened at those words.

‘To enjoy it together. My brother…’

Hearing it from no one but his brother struck deep.
Could it be that his brother wishes to share all good things with everyone?

‘If that’s the case…’

Ricshel fell into quiet contemplation.
To share good things with all. This need not be limited to family alone.
Consider the estate’s people, for instance.
Ricshel’s mind raced.

‘If we developed this for business, wouldn’t the Asteri Estate grow even more prosperous?’

Jobs would emerge. Something new that couldn’t be found anywhere in the Empire.
People soaking languidly in warm water.
If nobles and the wealthy were to visit the Asteri Estate and spend lavishly, the lives of the estate’s people would surely become far more comfortable.
It was an exceptional business opportunity, was it not.

‘Lion has taught me so much.’

Of course, he had no intention of revealing the Mimir Forest to the world.
He hoped it would remain something special, known only to them.
Created by him—by Lion himself—thinking of them.

‘I should ask him about the business side of things later.’

Though not yet a “miraculous spring that restores stamina,” a spa providing warm water could certainly be constructed with the Magic Tower’s support.
But at the heart of every idea lay Lion.
It was his achievement, and Ricshel was determined never to steal his credit.
Ricshel made this resolution firmly to himself.

“It truly is a miraculous spring, isn’t it.”

While his youngest grandson pondered, Patrick found himself fascinated by the spring itself.
He had bathed in hot springs before, even in those special rivers said to be crafted by fairies.
Yet no place had ever healed wounds quite like this.
This one felt as though his body were submerged in some vast potion.

‘Where does this boy’s limit truly lie.’

More than admiration—even he, now a Grand Mage, could not fully grasp the principle behind it.
Perhaps Lion possessed a mind and talent far beyond what he had assumed.
The Hero’s potion, the Hero’s spirit.
He had thought it merely the Hero’s power.
But this spring exceeded even that.

“Ha—I’m pleased you’re satisfied. Do visit whenever you grow weary. Deep in the forest, no one else will come.”

He also warned Patrick that it grew quite hot, and one mustn’t stay too long.

‘Lingering too long could bring on severe dizziness.’

He’d seen others stretch out flat in the dressing room, resting afterward.
In severe cases, they’d even been rushed to an infirmary.
Of course, his grandfather was a Grand Mage, so he’d be fine—but there was always a possibility.

“And you should also replenish water and nutrients properly…….”

As he spoke, his gaze fell idly upon Ricshel—and suddenly, as his wounds healed, a new truth revealed itself!

“Yes?”
“You!”

The boy had grown terribly thin in the short time he’d been away!

Nothing but skin and bones!?
For Lion, it was an utterly unacceptable state of affairs.
He’d always been on the lean side compared to his peers, but to have lost this much weight?
No matter how dedicated to training, no matter how focused on his studies!

“Don’t tell me you haven’t eaten anything while in the training chamber?”
“Well, that is… I…”

Ricshel flinched at the question and was about to deny it when—

“That’s right!”

Patrick cut in swiftly.

“Master?”
“Ever since you left, his diet has been absolutely abysmal—personal training chamber or not.”
“What!? Grandfather, is that really true?”
“Not only that. He’s been starving himself half the time and barely sleeping at all.”
“No, Master! I, I mean… brother?”

Ricshel looked between the two of them in bewilderment.

‘The Master knew all of this…!’

Touching though it was, there was a problem.
He couldn’t even imagine how worried his brother would be if this came out.

“And that’s not all. In his everyday life—”

As Patrick’s revelations continued, Ricshel tried splashing about frantically to distract him, but—
his opponent was the Grand Mage Patrick.
The grandfather deployed Shield Magic to hold Ricshel in place while meticulously cataloging every habit and deed of his wayward youngest grandson’s dissolute lifestyle.

………

Completely defeated, Ricshel went pale and glanced nervously toward Lion.

“I…”
“Mm-hmm.”

Lion, watching this unfold, planted his hands firmly on his hips.

‘This won’t do at all.’

He’d known Ricshel’s temperament well enough to suspect the boy had been skipping meals and sleep, but he’d never imagined it was this severe. If Ricshel weren’t a mage, Lion had no idea when he would have collapsed.
It was that dire.
But fortunately—
he happened to have food prepared just for this situation.

“Ricshel.”
“Y-yes, brother.”
“Come with me.”

Lion said this while nodding toward his grandfather—a gesture that said, trust me alone.

And yet, as she thought it over, she couldn’t help but admit that the household truly did need Lion to function properly.

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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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