Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 217
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 217
“Huff, huff. Ugh, my poor body’s aching all over!”
Having reached Lion, Mudu braced his hands on his knees and panted, then thumped himself on the lower back with his hammer.
The fact that he could hit himself like that without throwing out his back was impressive in its own right.
“Anyway, it looks like you wanted me. What’s the matter this time… Hm?”
Mudu frowned and stared openly at Marquis Bydantis.
Those sharp, resolute features felt familiar—who was she?
“Tch, not here, though.”
Mudu scratched his head vigorously, then stopped dead as if something had clicked.
“Uh, uh?”
He definitely remembered.
No, not because of the woman in front of him—because of that sword she carried!
Isn’t that the Holy Sword of Bydantis!
The very sword said to have been created to destroy demons and protect people!
He could tell even without seeing the blade.
‘T-then, this person is…?!’
Right. Seeing her now, he knew.
The little girl from House Bydantis he used to see on festival days.
The one who always hid shyly in the arms of the Marquis Bydantis or holding her mother’s hand—that very…!
“Clarentia… Bydantis.”
“Aigo, Brother!”
When Mudu muttered without thinking, a hand flew up in alarm and covered Mudu’s mouth, shaking him gently.
“Please watch your words! I want to enjoy your company for a long time, Brother! Alright?”
Even as she did that, she was equally startled.
He’d thought she was someone extraordinary, but to think she was the marquis of that Sword Mastery Family!
“That’s right.”
Though Clarentia herself had simply given a flat, one-word confirmation.
“Ahem, pardon me. Anyway, what brings the marquis of another territory here?”
“There, there—looks like things are more or less sorted. Why don’t we head over there and finish chatting?”
Lion grinned, pointing toward the back of the smithy.
“Because this is news that’ll surprise you.”
Mudu couldn’t hide his puzzlement at that.
He had lived in Bydantis territory after all, but that didn’t mean he was acquainted with the current marquis.
All he’d done was know that sword and see the marquis’s childhood, wasn’t that all?
‘If that eccentric fellow says it’s surprising news, it must be real.’
What on earth was it?
Half doubtful, half hopeful, Mudu headed toward the back of the smithy.
And then…
“Wha, wha—!?”
His voice rang so loudly it echoed beyond the smithy to the nearby houses.
“Ow.”
Lion touched his stinging ear lightly, then looked at his hand.
No blood, right?
“You eccentric punk! Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“I-is it really?”
Marquis Bydantis nodded lightly.
“I accompanied them as a technician.”
“Why, why is that? If it were your younger sibling, I’d understand, but even your parents…!”
“It was not a difficult thing for me, and it was a good chance to earn points with this one.”
“Hahaha. Marquis, if you put it that way, Mudu might misunderstand.”
“It’s the truth.”
“…”
Lion was about to retort but closed his mouth.
Because Mudu’s fierce eyes had reddened as if tears might fall at any moment.
“Damnit, I should have paid my respects sooner…!”
Mudu rubbed his face roughly with his forearm.
He clearly didn’t want to be seen crying, so Lion pretended not to notice and waited.
“Anyway, they’ll arrive tomorrow, so I figured you’d need about a day to prepare.”
“Sniff, right. I’d better buy some meat on my way home today.”
“No.”
“Huh?”
Mudu had been wiping his face with his apron and lifted his head at the firm reply.
“Now, Mudu. Think about it. When the family gets here, they’ll likely spend a lot of time at your house, won’t they?”
“That’s right.”
“And see your cute grandchildren and daughter-in-law?”
“Right.”
“But the one they most want to see is you, isn’t it.”
How well you’ve grown up.
Mudu nodded at Lion’s words, then froze.
Wait, that meant.
“They’ll obviously visit your smithy too.”
Silently, Lion looked at Mudu’s work clothes.
Even though Leah practically raced to wash the clothes he wore underneath every day,
the quietly devoted Mudu, not wanting to burden her, always left his apron at the smithy when he came and went.
And what did that mean?
It meant Mudu’s apron was a sight to behold.
Well, that much he could handle—take a beating to the back and move on.
But the real problem was… Mudu’s parents were dwarves.
Of course they were; Mudu was a dwarf.
The problem was, among dwarves there was no one who wasn’t a master craftsman.
And they were coming as ‘technicians,’ no less.
‘He’d better pay some attention to this.’
It was probably going to be quite daunting.
For Mudu, wasn’t it comparable to the day a division commander came to visit?
“T-this damned! When are they coming?”
“Tomorrow.”
“They’ll likely stop by the Asteri mansion first, so they’ll be free around evening.”
Mudu’s reddened face went pale.
“Damn. Damn! Anyway, thanks for telling me!”
“Ah, one more thing.”
Mudu was about to dash off to put the smithy in order when Marquis Bydantis stopped him.
“I’d like you to take a look at this together with the Bydantis technicians.”
She handed him the sword from her waist.
“It’s nothing short of perfect for use against demons, but it’s too blunt to handle anything else.”
However urgent the matter, Mudu had no choice but to come to a complete halt when he received the Holy Sword of Bydantis.
Gulp.
His throat went dry instinctively.
“M-May I examine it right now?”
When Clarentia nodded lightly, Mudu carefully drew the holy sword from its scabbard.
Then he let out a low murmur.
“Hmm…”
Frankly speaking, the condition of the sword was far from worthy of being called the Holy Sword of the Bydantis family.
At a glance, you might say it was about the level of a sword an average blacksmith would turn out.
It was a miracle the blade wasn’t more heavily damaged.
“How long has it been since the blade was sharpened?”
“Never.”
“…”
Mudu dug at his ear with his pinky as if he’d heard something absurd, then asked again.
“In other words, you’ve never handed this sword to a blacksmith?”
“Correct.”
Smack!
Mudu clapped his palm hard against his forehead.
If he hadn’t quickly redirected the impulse, he might have said something terrible to Marquis Bydantis.
“…”
He looked at the holy sword once more.
He’d thought it looked shabby, but now he saw—because it was a holy sword, it had endured this much.
“But…”
Why had she brought it all the way here instead of commissioning it in the Bydantis dwarf village?
There were many master craftsmen in the dwarf village.
What’s more, most of them were weapon smiths.
Sharpening or repairing a blade was something they could do with their eyes closed.
‘…There must be a story behind it.’
Mudu had been about to ask but shut his mouth.
“Tch, understood. I’ll hold onto this and repair it together with the technicians.”
“I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Yes. Because you are the Marquis, but also because you’re a friend of this eccentric fellow—I’ll attend to it with extra care.”
Mudu cradled the sword preciously and hurried into the smithy on his short legs.
Soon, along with a loud reprimand, the commotion of a group cleaning something erupted.
‘A friend, huh.’
The corner of Marquis Bydantis’s mouth lifted faintly, then settled back into place.
“Touring the inside of the smithy will have to wait until next time.”
“Hahaha. Indeed. Well then, since you’ve seen a little of the village, shall I escort you to the mansion?”
“No. The butler will worry, so I’ll head back. Let us meet formally tomorrow.”
“Is that alright?”
Ordinarily, once a guest arrived—no matter how early—you weren’t supposed to let them leave again.
A rumor that you’d shooed a guest out could easily spread.
But Lion simply agreed.
‘She says he’ll worry.’
Anyone who had met the butler could tell he cherished Marquis Bydantis and poured his whole heart into everything.
At the time, though, Marquis Bydantis hadn’t realized it.
‘She’s grown so much.’
It gave him a sense of pride for no reason.
How to put it? Wouldn’t seeing a little sister come into her own after a long time feel something like this?
“Then I shall see you tomorrow.”
He gave a light bow toward the Marquis, and with a slight breeze, her figure vanished in an instant.
“Hmm, now that my business is done, I’ll be heading back.”
He’d gotten his hands on an interesting pigment too, so he planned to do some research on it before tomorrow.
Ah, before that, he needed to contact the Magic Tower.
To tell them that the big spender had purchased far more items than expected.
* * *
The First Magic Tower of the Asteri Marquisate.
Today too, the mages in the technical department were screaming over their work.
-Y-you ordered all of this?
-No, a flood of orders first thing in the morning! At this rate we’ll have to work through lunch!
-What in the world happened?
While crying out at the excessive workload, the people who were secretly gossiping via familiars figured out the cause.
That is, the reason for the flood of orders!
-Well, I heard while taking a half-day off yesterday to shop…
That Marquis Bydantis had placed an enormous commission with Young Master Lion!
“But isn’t Bydantis the Sword Mastery Family?”
“That’s right.”
“Th-then why so many magical tools like this… Don’t they have a strong anti-magic stance there? I heard they’re struggling to maintain the territory with swordsmanship alone; is that why?”
“Magician Avelis.”
When the rookie magician muttered with disbelief, the senior magician called him stiffly.
“Yes, yes. Senior Lepios.”
“Don’t get swept up in useless gossip and concentrate.”
“I’m sorry…!”
The rookie immediately sealed his lips and started calculating formulas again, and Lepios finally resumed moving his hands.
-Magician Lepios is especially passionate today.
-Really, how much incentive will we get if we make this many?
-It’ll have a huge impact on our careers, too!
The familiars flew busily as bird-shaped document carriers, but Lepios didn’t even glance at them.
‘A commission connected through none other than Young Master Lion.’
Though no one knew it, Lepios personally believed he owed an enormous debt to Young Master Lion.
The reason was simple.
Back when he was a rookie, he happened to run into Lion, and somehow ended up giving him a tour of the Magic Tower.
In truth, it was a time when he had struggled badly to adjust to the tower’s atmosphere, and through that opportunity he met the tower’s overseer, Grand Master Hoffman.
‘My idol…!’
What’s more, he even remembered his name, and ever since then he had even received greetings from him from time to time!
That was what allowed him to properly settle in here.
The fact that he now held a title, however clumsily, and was even serving as a senior instructor—he believed it was all thanks to that day.
Of course, he had also worked his hardest so as not to disgrace that stroke of luck.
In any case.
‘Young master. I have not forgotten that debt…!’
And so he intended to produce the finest items with the utmost—no, with something beyond the utmost.
This would later become one of the achievements Lepios, then a senior staff member, accomplished before he was promoted to team leader of the Magic Tower Magical Tool Technical Department.
Lion, of course… had not the slightest idea!