Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 184
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 184
Lion asked Nature to kindle a small flame.
The spark that bloomed in the darkened chamber barely revealed the diary and Lion’s hand as he turned the pages.
Rickshel hesitated a moment, then sat down close beside Lion and gazed at the diary.
Since his big brother was already here, his original goal would be difficult to achieve.
And how should he put this…
The inner thoughts of the Family Head had always been something he wanted to know.
Though he had never dreamed the means would be sneaking a look at a diary like this!
‘I was curious.’
What sort of things did the Family Head write about?
Did he have worries, or did he vent his frustrations?
If not that…
Perhaps he might have set down the private anguish he could never tell another soul.
The Family Head was an outstanding mage, a noble, and the hero’s ally.
He could hardly help finding those who fell short of his standards unsatisfactory.
Perhaps…
‘I might be found lacking as well.’
By average measures, Rickshel was exceptional.
But when compared to the Family Head, that was not the case.
Just barely touching the hem of his robes would likely take all the effort he had, wouldn’t it?
Even if he lived another ten years, could he ever obtain the power to protect the world the way the Family Head had?
‘And it’s already hard enough to earn his big brother’s trust.’
Maybe that was why his curiosity quickly died away and unease settled in its place.
“Rickshel.”
At that moment, Lion reached out and lightly patted Rickshel’s shoulder.
It was only a light touch, but that small gesture filled Rickshel with an inexplicable sense of comfort.
‘…Right.’
Everything would be fine.
Even if he fell short of the Family Head’s expectations, the Family Head would not find him disappointing or shameful.
The same was true of his big brother.
Rickshel nodded his head slowly, and only then did Lion carefully open the diary’s first page.
And inside it was…
“This is.”
“Yeah.”
Contrary to the tension they had felt, the entries recorded events far older than Rickshel had imagined.
-A child was born. Decided her pet name would be Lala.
In other words, it started with the birth of Petrick’s daughter—Lion and Rickshel’s mother.
Rickshel was left speechless and simply stared blankly at the neat handwriting.
And the same was true of Lion.
He knew it was his grandfather’s diary, but he had never dreamed this sort of content would appear.
‘The thing is…’
He had snuck in and searched here and there, hoping there might be something about the hero or fragments of the past.
But there was not a single piece of personal material, let alone anything about the hero, and just as he was wondering what to do, he’d gotten his hands on the diary.
Not that he’d ever dreamed Rickshel would come in.
‘For a kid who lives by rules and principles, well, he’s growing up.’
Of course, sneaking into someone else’s room and reading a diary were not proper conduct, but in any case, it felt like Rickshel had broken one more of his own rigid molds, so it wasn’t bad.
And then.
‘I never knew Grandfather kept a diary.’
Wasn’t that what the world thought of Petrick Asteri?
A cold-blooded man who would probably jot down only the objective facts of an event, even in a diary.
Even if things had grown considerably warmer in recent times.
Lion stared for quite a while at the single short line visible between the flickering flames.
Was it because of the fire? That one dry line held a sense of vitality so vivid it felt almost hot.
“I’ll keep going.”
“Yes.”
Lion turned the pages slowly.
The diary had not been written in continuously.
No—it felt closer to notes than what one might call a diary.
From the look of it, the entries seemed to be nothing more than a single nonchalant line penned on each special day.
An archmage who had memorized every formula in the world could hardly lose the memory of such an important day, so this was surely the joy he could not contain.
And it made sense.
Because the contents brought a smile of their own.
-Why does Mama know how to talk but Papa doesn’t?
-I brought her a whole armload of toys, and only then did she say it.
-Today was my daughter’s third birthday, but a petty thief’s prank made her burst into tears, so we had to wrap it up early.
Every so often stories of his former companions appeared, but they were treated as comrades or friends, not as the hero or his allies.
-Was caught mobilizing the magic tower’s personnel for her first debutante and received a tongue-lashing from my wife. But the pressure I placed on the Imperial Court has not yet been discovered, so we proceed as planned.
-After the debutante, the Crown Prince’s eyes toward my daughter are nothing short of insolent.
…There was such grave and scathing profanity that one couldn’t possibly imagine Grandfather writing it, and Lion hurriedly flipped the page.
Now that he looked again—and on top of that—parts of the diary were even burned, perhaps from being unable to control his magic power.
-Resolved it.
“…”
This was a first, feeling dread while reading someone else’s diary.
Of course, reading someone else’s diary was also a first.
Both Lion and Rickshel lost sight of their original purpose as they read on.
The years raced by as quickly as the short entries.
Lala. Their mother met someone she loved, married, and had a child.
The more that happened, the clearer the pressed ink became.
-A grandson was born. They asked me to give him a name, so I named him Lion.
“…”
And so Lion Asteri came into the world.
-I decided to focus the research I do at the magic tower on the medical side.
-A second grandson was born. They asked me to give him a name again, so I named him Rickshel.
Lion was about to turn to the next page when he paused.
That Rickshel was born meant they were soon reaching the end of this book.
Lala—their mother—had left the world not long after giving birth to Rickshel.
“It’s all right.”
Rickshel spoke in a calmer voice than before.
“Okay.”
Lion turned the diary to the next page.
The pages of the diary, only a few remaining, were empty.
Traces of attempts to write something could be seen.
The fine paper was warped and tear-stained.
“This seems to be the end.”
“There’s still some left.”
When Lion turned past the blank pages, there was a new line penned.
It looked like the very last entry, and it was the only piece that contained their grandfather’s personal monologue.
-I want to teach the children everything that Lala was unable to give them.
The paper was deeply indented, as if the words had been written by pressing down harder than any other line.
Lion slowly traced the ridges of the characters with his fingertip, then closed the book.
A multitude of emotions surfaced.
The Petrick Asteri he knew was the hero’s companion and Lion’s grandfather.
He had also known that his love for his family was bottomless.
But… he had seen a side he had never even considered.
That he, too, was a father, that he had loved his daughter, and that he was someone who had to send his child on ahead.
What made it all the more striking was that not once in all this time had he revealed that side of himself to them.
‘He truly is like a great tree.’
He was like the World Tree that symbolized the Asteri family.
Immense, offering a place to be held and shade to rest under.
But he never showed his growth rings on the outside.
‘…That wasn’t what I expected to find.’
Lion idly rubbed the cover of the book, then closed it for good.
In truth, Lion had snuck into the Head’s study for another reason.
He’d been hoping, that is, to find material about the hero or his companions.
Still, somehow, his heart felt good.
“So why did you sneak into the room?”
“…Huh?”
Rickshel had been lost in thought; only now did he regain his senses and give a belated start.
“I can say I came in because I was bored, but that’s not the case for you.”
Rickshel racked his brain as hard as he could.
He had assumed the warmly settled mood would let it slide quietly, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘Well, if I were Big Brother, I would ask too.’
If it were Big Brother, who could say, but for himself to pull a stunt like this—wasn’t it a truly out-of-the-blue situation?
Rickshel was about to answer but hesitated briefly.
‘…Wait. I don’t have to answer.’
Wasn’t that right? When Big Brother received a difficult question, he wouldn’t answer it and would just let it slide naturally.
In that case, wouldn’t it be all right for me to do the same?
“It’s a secret.”
“What?”
“I do not wish to tell you. Do you not do the same, Big Brother?”
At Rickshel’s resolute reply, Lion let out a hollow laugh.
He’d thought the kid was nothing but mild-mannered, but it seemed he’d gotten a little sulky during their last conversation.
“Fine. You’re allowed.”
“…”
He was letting it go?
Rickshel was the one who ended up flustered.
“You’ll be an adult soon, and you’re right at the age for adolescence, so of course you’re perfectly allowed to have secrets. Yup.”
Rickshel wanted to argue that it wasn’t like that, but he felt that if he did, he would have to spill every last secret he had, so he simply kept his mouth firmly shut.
He had thought he was fairly eloquent himself, but his big brother’s rhetoric was truly unbeatable.
Completely defeated by Lion, Rickshel heaved a deep, long sigh and stood up.
“Since I am a mere adolescent, I shall go and confess my wrongdoing in full detail to my guardian.”
“Huh?”
“Perhaps because I am not yet an adult, I cannot overcome this guilt.”
“Hey. Hey. Wait.”
“I will take my leave, then.”
Rickshel even gave a polite bow and exited the room.
And Lion saw it.
Rickshel’s lips were protruding by a full handspan.
‘Wow, is he seriously going through puberty?’
He had thought he had Rickshel’s personality completely figured out, but it felt as though the distance had widened again, just a little.
Minors. They really are tough.
* * *
Fortunately, Rickshel’s voluntary confession was delayed a bit.
This was because their grandfather’s business trip had grown even longer.
And now only two days remained of Lion’s confinement.
Which also meant the second day of Hoffman arriving with his ‘toys’ for the checkup had come around!
Lion entered the guest room, which was still transmuted into a magic tower.
There…
“Hooooo.”
For some reason, a glum-looking Hoffman sat there with a despairing expression.
“Did something bad happen?”
“Well, you see…”
Hoffman sighed once more and opened his mouth.
“To grant your request, I sent a pupil of mine to that magic shop. She must know it well since she came from the academy.”
“Yes.”
“But… it was gone.”
“Pardon?”
“The entire shop was emptied out. Not just the goods—even the shopkeeper had vanished.”
What, a magic shop that had been running just fine had simply disappeared?
“So I had the kid poke around here and there, thinking of placing a personal commission, but well… no information came up except that he headed east.”
“East, you say.”
“Exactly. The lawless zone where the Criminal Underworld’s influence is strongest.”
“Hmm.”
He smelled something fishy here.
The Criminal Underworld, of all places.
‘Is this Jack’s doing?’
It might be a petty act of revenge for the blow I dealt him.
Lion chose not to volunteer that fact and simply nodded his head.
“I am sorry. I promised to grant you anything, yet I could not even do this for you.”
“Not at all. Please don’t worry about it. I consider everything you have done in looking after me to be more than enough.”
“Is that so. I am grateful you say that. Should that fellow ever resurface in the light, I shall obtain it for you somehow at that time. And, as a substitute of sorts, I’ve brought this.”
Hoffman produced a bottle of exquisite glasswork.
Inside it, a liquid that displayed several colors rippled and swayed.
“To me, it is a mere decoration, but it will surely be useful to you.”
“This is…!”
Lion recognized the liquid and his mouth fell wide open.
‘It’s Flowing Tears!’
A luxury item said to number only three in the entire empire, and a high-grade material!
And now it had appeared right before his very eyes!