Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 133
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 133
“You may ask what you wish, or you may hear my thanks first—it matters not.”
The Archbishop smiled gently and handed Lion the choice.
“If I were in your position, I imagine this situation would be rather burdensome.”
Indeed, if it were ordinary people, they would probably feel quite burdened by the situation.
Even though he wore such a gentle expression and smile, the fact that the man was the Archbishop of the Church did not change.
Lion, for his part, felt no particular emotion about it, though.
‘It’s not like I did anything wrong.’
Rather, as the Archbishop himself said, wasn’t Lion the one who deserved thanks?
“I’m not uncomfortable. Since you invited me here, Your Excellency, I’ll hear you out.”
“Heh heh. You have a way with words.”
The Archbishop said that, lifted his cup, and wet his throat briefly.
“First, allow me to express my formal gratitude. Thanks to you, I was able to learn about an unsavory incident that occurred within the temple.”
By unsavory incident, he must have meant the indiscriminate selection of priests.
“Did you not know?”
The Archbishop smiled without a word.
‘Seems he wasn’t entirely unaware after all.’
It wasn’t that he had stood idly by. He had probably needed solid evidence.
Because, if mishandled, it could have thrown the entire community of faith into chaos.
“I won’t make excuses. I did know. Having become God’s greatest servant, I found I could no longer see the small things.”
“I understand. You have your responsibilities, after all.”
So that was why he wanted to seize clear evidence, cut it out at the root, and lay down a framework.
I understood that well enough, but that didn’t mean I accepted it.
“That stings.”
At Lion’s reply, the Archbishop’s eyebrows drooped.
To strike the heart of the matter in a single breath.
“…In any case, I shall take measures so that such an incident never occurs again in the temple, using this as a lesson. I swear it on the name of the god I serve.”
The Archbishop did not grow angry at Lion’s attitude.
Quite the opposite; he liked it.
‘Yes. That’s the kind of fortitude one must have.’
The reason, naturally, was that Lion matched the Archbishop’s ideal of a person!
He believed one should be kind and gentle, yet in certain situations, as unyielding and upright as steel.
And the young man before him suited that image perfectly.
Where had Licht found such a connection?
‘That child has grown so much.’
Naturally, his thoughts turned to Licht.
Perhaps because he had watched the child from a very young age, he realized he had unwittingly raised him in a cage.
The little one’s wounds had been too great.
So from that time onward, he had striven in his own way, hoping that no one in the temple would suffer.
And yet…
Things never go entirely as one wishes.
As a result, now, under his own tenure as Archbishop, hadn’t second and third Lichts sprung up?
Watching that, how resentful must that child Licht be toward him?
Even if he could not say a word in his defense if resentment came,
the thought that the child he had raised like a late-born son might resent him made his heart ache quite badly.
Yes. The Archbishop… was feigning calm now, but he was quite anxious.
That was why he had called Licht’s friend into a dream to assess the situation.
Of course, there were many other reasons, but such was the Archbishop’s desire.
And Lion, with his wealth of experience as a seasoned salesman, had long since discerned that feeling.
‘…Why not just ask if my kid is very angry?’
He was really beating around the bush.
Before the Archbishop, who seemed about to say more, could go on, Lion gave him the answer he wanted.
“Licht did not resent you, Your Excellency.”
“…!”
In an instant, the Archbishop’s composed, gentle face filled with bewilderment.
“Priest Licht simply wished to help others with his own strength. I merely gave him a small push so that he could move.”
Lion finished and gave a slight laugh.
‘This feels like a parent-teacher conference, somehow.’
You know, the kind where, at a school parent-teacher conference,
you say, ‘Your child is growing up so well, so maturely.’
Even before he possessed this body, Lion had experienced such a scene.
Of course, it wasn’t with his own parents; he had simply overheard a conference for another classmate in the faculty room.
And by chance, he had also been able to observe the parents’ expressions.
It was an indescribable emotion.
It was moving, and it seemed happy.
That look—more ticklish, heart-pounding, and flustered than receiving praise yourself…
‘I was envious to the point I didn’t even know I was envious.’
It was just a vague feeling.
And perhaps Baek Yi-hyeon would have lived his whole life without ever truly realizing that emotion.
That was when.
“Yi-hyeon. Come here, child.” “Me?” “Yes. You need to have a conference too.” “I…”
At that, the teacher in charge of young Baek Yi-hyeon took his still-small hands—like delicate fern sprouts—firmly in both of hers, looked into his eyes, and spoke gently yet firmly.
“Your guardian is you, so it’s all right.”
“I’m going to do it just like for everyone else.”
With that, the teacher sat Baek Yi-hyeon down and spoke about this and that, just as one would to other students’ parents.
His character, the things he excelled at.
And even how he had to grow on his own in certain aspects.
Young Baek Yi-hyeon could offer no reply to any of it.
However, that scene was so vivid that it still lingered before his eyes.
The quiet faculty room, the sweet scent of instant coffee. The white fluorescent lights, and the wheeled chair the teacher sat on.
And next to it, the stack of home correspondence sheets and handouts piled neatly.
‘I had liked it.’
Even though he liked it, he could only clutch the oversized hand-me-down uniform sleeve, face flushed, and nod.
He was too young to respond to that feeling.
Yes.
It was through that teacher’s small consideration that he realized that emotion.
And with that single sentence, he didn’t have to feel inferior.
‘Come to think of it, around that time…’
Deeply moved by that incident, he had even changed his future dream to becoming a teacher.
Vaguely thinking that one day, he too should become someone who could say such words.
‘In the end, due to circumstances, I couldn’t pursue that path of study, but…’
Anyway, it was a good memory.
Was it because the situation was similar? Old memories came trickling back.
And… having chanced to experience this situation, he now understood the heart with which that teacher had sat him down and counseled him.
A simple heart and a tender gaze.
Simply because it was the truth, and she wished someone would know.
“…This is the first conversation of this kind I’ve ever had.”
“I apologize if I was rude.”
“No. On the contrary… it’s because I’m grateful.”
The Archbishop’s expression relaxed far more naturally than before.
“My, my. I’m supposed to be expressing thanks, and here I am receiving comfort as well.”
What was one to do?
The Archbishop looked troubled but also seemed quite pleased, fretting in a slightly buoyant manner before grinning.
“When I wake from this dream, I shall pay a visit.”
“…You needn’t go that far.”
“Don’t feel burdened. Ha ha. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Sir Petrick’s face, and it seems a good opportunity in many ways. Ah, and.”
The Archbishop looked at Lion, raised his hand, and murmured something.
Then a small spark leapt up in the air, formed into some sort of seal, and disappeared directly into his palm.
“Do you perhaps have any questions? How I invited you into a dream, or what the sanctuary is. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“…Are you sure it’s all right?”
“I don’t wish to break the trust between us.”
Then he joked, “Ha ha, didn’t I seem rather like a mage just now?”
“In any case, you may trust me. I may not look it, but I am the Archbishop, after all. I have heard many things, and I have received many transmissions of knowledge.”
So, at ease, ask whatever you wish. I will answer with all sincerity.
At the Archbishop’s heartfelt words, Lion nodded.
In truth, even if he would remember this event, Lion had intended to ask about ‘seals.’
‘…Showing the bottle directly is dangerous.’
-No ■■ in this world would know of this bottle’s existence.
He had definitely seen such a phrase.
He didn’t know what that broken part was, but it meant that people of the world did not know of the bottle’s existence.
In fact, after that, when he took the time to search through the library, not a single book contained anything about a ‘sealed bottle’ or an ‘old bottle.’
It had been the same when he had sorted books at the temple.
The only thing he could infer was the information about seals he had already known originally.
“I would like to ask about how to break a seal.”
“…A seal?”
At the unexpected question, the Archbishop answered a beat late.
“Just in case, if you happen to possess a demonic object, it would be better to burn it immediately rather than break the seal to satisfy your curiosity.”
“That’s not the case.”
Because he didn’t even know exactly whether it was a demonic object or not.
Perhaps… it was an even more serious matter.
For now, Lion couldn’t be sure either, so let’s move on.
“So you are asking about the method of breaking a seal when it’s not that… hmm.”
The Archbishop fell deep in thought, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Very well. If any problem arises, Sir Petrick would step forward before I could, so I shall answer.”
“Thank you.”
The Archbishop first explained the basics concisely.
First, the entity trying to impose or break a seal must absolutely be stronger than that seal.
“Whether that power be mana, divine power, or even brute strength, a seal can only be broken if it is stronger than the sealed subject.”
Thus, the stronger the seal, the fewer the people who could break it.
“I can currently break up to a third-level seal.”
This meant he could break all currently known seals.
It was also due to the unique traits of a priest that he received such a benefit.
‘But this bottle is a fifth-level seal…’
Lion sighed inwardly without showing it.
Even the Archbishop’s limit was breaking a third-level seal—how could one break a fifth-level seal?
‘…Wait.’
Thinking about it the other way, didn’t this mean the one who placed the seal was stronger than the current Archbishop?
“If I may ask, what about the Saintess?”
“Hm?”
The Archbishop’s gaze flickered for an instant.
“Yes. The Saintess… did possess the ability to cast seals above the third level. Is not the Great Barrier that blocks the invasion of the Demon Realm proof of that? However, it cannot be measured accurately either. As you know, it is a joint work of the Saintess and Sir Petrick.”
In other words, nothing could be learned from the Archbishop’s official answer.
“But it seems you didn’t know that.”
“…”
Lion looked at the Archbishop, hiding his disappointment.
“When breaking a seal, the first thing to determine is not whether you are stronger or weaker than the seal.”
“Then what must be checked?”
“You must check which direction the seal is oriented.”
“…!”
Was it to block something from getting out…
Or…
‘…Was it to block something from getting in from the outside?’