Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 192
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 192
‘Whoa, that startled me.’
Lion jumped as if his own guilty conscience had given him away.
To think he would hear that voice here, of all places.
Awkwardly, Lion turned around.
And there, exactly as expected, stood Rickshel with his arms crossed, leaning slightly.
“Uh… what brings you here?”
“I followed you, Brother.”
“I—I see.”
“Brother. To my eyes, you appear to be about to enter that place. Would you kindly explain the reason?”
This time, Rickshel had thoroughly steeled himself.
His brother kept causing him grief with reckless actions, so this time, sibling or not, he was determined to give him a proper scolding.
As expected, Lion had no reply.
“Brother. The family head’s training ground is truly dangerous…”
Just as Rickshel was about to launch into his lecture.
Lion abruptly thrust something forward.
It was… the egg his brother had cherished so dearly.
Hadn’t he even refused to go to Easter without it?
And yet that egg…
Tok.
Was cracking in real time.
“…”
With his brilliant mind, Rickshel grasped the situation in a matter of seconds.
‘It’s hatching.’
He did not know the egg’s true identity, but he did know it was certainly no ordinary creature.
He had searched through books on his own, but information on an egg that looked like that did not exist anywhere.
What did that imply?
Either it was an exceedingly rare egg unrecorded even in literature, or it was a mutation.
‘Moreover…’
This was only a baseless guess, but since it was an egg his brother had brought, it was bound to be no ordinary creature.
Still, because his brother wanted it, and because they had no idea when it might hatch, they had decided to look after it at the mansion for the time being.
‘Provided, that is, that it was judged not to pose a threat to my brother.’
Hidden here was a fact Lion did not know.
If whatever emerged from that egg proved to be something dangerous that his brother could not handle—or should not have to handle—an agreement had already been made with the family head to “deal with it.”
He understood that a newborn life bore no guilt, but he could not permit his brother to fall into danger out of attachment to moral or ethical concerns.
Of course, even that conclusion had not come from a proper discussion.
It had merely been a remark exchanged between heir lessons and reporting on House Asteri’s affairs.
Because they had never imagined it would actually hatch.
And…
‘Nor did we imagine a problem like this would arise.’
Rickshel glanced briefly at the firmly shut door.
No one knew better than Rickshel how dangerous it was inside.
His brother had not experienced it firsthand, but he had seen Rickshel struggle, so he must have been sufficiently aware of the level of danger.
And yet, if he still intended to enter that place…
‘He needs a large amount of mana, then.’
That was the only possible conjecture for now.
If so, what should he do?
His mind was in turmoil, but the decision was simple.
Namely.
“If you must enter, then I will accompany you.”
He would help his brother.
In truth, it had been an obvious decision from the start.
They had said they would deal with it if it became a problem, but that applied only in a “problematic situation.”
If it did not become a problem, he intended to help his brother do whatever he wished.
Besides, that expression…
‘I’ve never seen it before.’
On his brother’s face, always so adept, he sensed urgency and bewilderment.
More than anything…
‘He’s happy.’
Well, it was only natural, since he had been waiting with desperate longing for that egg to hatch.
That must have been why he had tried to act on his own.
If it were otherwise, he would have asked Rickshel, or the family head.
Or at least asked Elvia.
‘Because it isn’t about my brother’s own problem, but another life’s.’
But he had not thought that far.
Rickshel did not mean to blame him, of course. On the contrary, Rickshel saw this as a great opportunity.
If he helped now, it might be stored even in his brother’s subconscious as “he is helpful.”
‘As for the disposition of that egg…’
It would be postponed.
If something tremendous emerged, it would not be something Rickshel could resolve anyway, so he would simply contact the family head immediately.
“Let us go.”
“…Thank you.”
Talking with Rickshel made Lion feel as though his reason was returning.
Perhaps because it was the moment a life was hatching in his hands, his rational judgment had grown clouded.
‘Pull yourself together.’
Lion reflected on himself.
If everything had gone according to plan, he would have been fortunate. But if not, the danger would not be his alone.
This egg, which had never yet seen the light of the world, and Nature would also be caught up in trouble.
‘And not only them.’
Rickshel standing before him. His grandfather.
Elvia, who always worked so hard for his sake. Even Freyania, who had made a great resolution.
Countless people flickered through Lion’s mind.
‘I was thinking too childishly.’
In this respect, Rickshel was, on the contrary, far more mature.
He had only thought of him as a younger brother, but in this aspect, he had a hundred things to learn from him.
“Hoo.”
Lion exhaled deeply and looked at the egg.
[The Demonic Beast Egg is about to hatch!]
[Please move to a location rich in mana!]
[The Demonic Beast Egg…]
Notifications kept appearing from the egg, indicating hatching was imminent.
‘Let me see with my own eyes.’
Ignoring the notifications, Lion calmly examined the egg.
The trembling he felt in his hands, the shell occasionally cracking.
It was unmistakably about to hatch soon.
The system notifications were telling the truth.
‘However…’
He would not deny that every second was precious.
Since it was the moment a life was hatching, it was better to resolve everything quickly.
Naturally, there was not enough time to bring his grandfather, who was away on business…
‘But at the very least, there is plenty of time to explain to Rickshel.’
Hadn’t this fellow even endured a place surrounded by divine power?
Of course, it was true that a smooth supply of mana would be needed to break this sturdy shell.
But looking at it coldly, there was no need to rush this much.
‘It’s because it’s my first life.’
So, he would admit it.
Lion was now considerably flustered, faced with a situation he was experiencing for the first time.
Even counting his life before possession, nothing like this had ever existed in Lion’s life.
On the contrary, he was far more accustomed to seeing things depart.
And on top of that, this creature was presumed to be the egg of the Demonic Beast that had once accompanied him when he raised the “Druid,” and so his characteristic composure had vanished.
‘I’m sorry. Just wait a little longer.’
Lion stroked the still-unbroken part of the egg with his hand, silently conveying his sincerity.
And he regained his calm.
“Rickshel.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“It’s thanks to you.”
“Not at all.”
Rickshel, who had roughly grasped Lion’s situation, smiled faintly.
As long as nothing had happened, it was fine.
Moreover, he had been able to help his brother.
“Please tell me the details I need to know.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll be brief.”
Lion began to explain what Rickshel needed to do.
First, that he must guard the area with protective magic during the hatching period.
Second, that this egg was expected to absorb a massive amount of mana.
“A concern is that once the mana absorption begins, it might create a variable that changes the flow of the storm.”
When a mage trained, there was a limit to how much mana the body could accept in a single breath.
An archmage could absorb an enormous amount of mana in one breath, but not to the extent of altering the flow of the storm in the training ground.
But this egg… was a Demonic Beast’s egg.
And because this was the process of hatching, it was highly likely to squeeze out every last bit of power, literally.
Therefore, the possibility of the unexpected occurring was also high.
“So if it becomes dangerous, you are to escape immediately.”
“That is…”
As Rickshel moved to object, Lion took something out from his coat.
It was exactly.
“I have the staff, so I’ll be fine.”
“Ah.”
Rickshel understood the meaning.
The staff of House Asteri was said to rescue its master in times of crisis.
Honestly, upon hearing the explanation about the variables concerning Lion, he had been debating whether to summon the family head, who was out at the moment.
‘With that staff.’
It would be able to protect his brother sufficiently.
“I understand your intention, Brother.”
“Good.”
Rickshel drew the staff from his coat.
“The moment you open the door, I will enter simultaneously and immediately deploy a protective magic. Please do not worry and proceed to the center of the training ground.”
The center of a place where a mana storm raged was relatively calm, like the eye of a typhoon.
Of course, that did not mean it was safe.
Because a single icicle that occasionally flew by at random could shatter a skull.
“Then… I’ll open it.”
Lion carefully stowed the egg in his bag and opened the door.
It was an unauthorized location, but he had been trained on how to act when entering here, in preparation for an emergency.
Whiiing!
A biting, fierce wind blew.
It was different from the wind he had felt in House Bydantis.
This was as if…
Yes. Though the degree was different, it seemed similar to what it would be like if the Labyrinth ran wild of its own accord.
In an instant, his hair streamed and fluttered.
“Nature. This won’t do. You come inside too.”
“Peep!”
Although it was a spirit and thus unlikely to face a major problem, he could not help worrying.
The scene before his eyes was literally the inside of a tempest.
In that instant.
Shwaaak!
An icicle formed of mana rushed straight toward his face.
The menacing ice, precisely aimed at his eye…
Pashk…!
Was ground into powder by Rickshel’s protective magic and vanished without a trace.
“Are you all right?”
“…I’m all right.”
Honestly, he had been startled.
‘It’s terrifying.’
Had he really thought about entering here alone?
He felt as though his danger sensor was increasingly refusing to listen.
Lion swallowed drily to himself and slowly moved his feet.
Even with the protective magic cast on him, the fluttering wind was unavoidable, making each step considerably heavy.
Even between lifting a foot and planting it, the heavy wind persistently hindered him.
“Hoo.”
Now he understood why it meant instant death for anyone unqualified.
‘Even so, I have to go.’
Slowly but steadily, Lion walked one step at a time.
The fortunate thing was…
‘I can feel it.’
Perhaps because he had acquired Spirit Arts?
Even in the midst of this clamor, he could read the flow of the wind well.
Where the wind began and where it ended.
In which grain of the wind his skin had been scratched and wounded.
And… where the clumps of mana so dense they were visible were heading.
He could see it all.
‘That’s a relief.’
It was said that people who were insufficiently trained would lose their way here, become lost children, and die, but that would not happen.
And on top of that.
Woom.
The closer he went to the right place, the larger the vibrations he felt from the egg inside his bag.