Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 254
Splash.
Lion dipped his ankles into the steaming hot spring water.
‘Maybe it’s because I’m a kid now.’
He had thought the temperature was absolutely perfect, but now the water felt a mite too hot.
Still, it wasn’t so hot he couldn’t get in, so Lion boldly slid all the way into the hot spring.
“Ahhh, this is wonderful.”
“We should have come here sooner.”
Rickshel had to suppress another laugh as he watched his pint-sized older brother make a sound like an old man while melting into the bath.
And nearby, Licht, who had been observing the scene from an inch away, let his mouth fall slightly open.
“…You’re telling me you made this yourself?”
To be frank, the scale of the thing was absurd.
He had single-handedly created a hot spring large enough to easily accommodate three people!
‘And furthermore…’
Hadn’t he also mentioned that it possessed restorative properties for the human body?
Licht bent down and scooped up some of the hot spring water with his hand.
‘It really is.’
It was slow, but the body was unmistakably being restored.
There was no sense of divine power, yet it was genuinely demonstrating an effect similar to holy water.
‘How in the world…?’
The situation defied intellectual comprehension.
Yet, even as it did, one thing fell neatly into place.
First, his current inability to remember his prophetic dream was connected, to a certain degree, with the phenomenon of Sir Lion transforming into a child.
And the second was—
that he absolutely had to keep Sir Lion’s abilities under wraps as much as possible.
The Temple had already been watching closely because of the sanctuary incident, but this was an entirely different matter.
‘The Temple would surely…’
judge this phenomenon to be a “Fragment of a Miracle.”
‘And I happen to agree.’
A miracle.
Although not directly linked to divine power, priests often gave that name to events whose entire chain of cause and effect pointed toward God.
This hot spring could easily fall under that category.
No—even if this phenomenon were genuinely achieved through alchemy, the Temple would undoubtedly deem it a miracle.
Because it would be advantageous for them to do so.
‘No one must know.’
This choice certainly strayed from the path of a priest.
But this was a matter of trust.
The fact that Sir Lion had readily shown him this place was testament to how much he trusted him.
Betraying that trust would be wrong.
At least, that was how Licht saw it.
Once he had settled the matter in his heart, he realized Lion had already finished bathing and changed into fresh clothing.
“It seems the water was a little too hot for you, Elder Brother.”
Rickshel diligently fanned Lion’s cheeks with his hand, the skin flushed red from the heat of the hot spring.
“It’s all right. I got out quickly anyway.”
The truth was, it had been hot.
If only his abilities weren’t sealed, he would have asked Nature for a cooling breeze…
‘It can’t be helped.’
Still, washing up in a hot spring gave him the feeling of having played in the water, and left both his body and mind feeling light.
“If you say so, that is a relief… but…”
Rickshel’s worry seemed far from trivial.
Just then, Licht whispered discreetly.
“…If you’re worried, may I examine him for a moment?”
“Would you?”
“Yes. It is no difficult matter for me.”
It was a good opportunity.
“Let us go.”
“Yes.”
While Lion was still basking in drowsy contentment, Rickshel finished the exchange, then scooped Lion up lightly and started back toward the mansion.
“Yaaawn.”
Lion, who hadn’t quite caught their exchange, yawned lazily and lay relatively still in Rickshel’s arms.
If his mind had been a little clearer, the realisation that being carried around everywhere was becoming too comfortable might have hit him hard. Regrettably, he’d played his fill, eaten his fill, and even washed up in toasty warm water—so he was simply too sleepy.
* * *
“I’m fine, can’t I just go to sleep?”
“I am asking because I am worried, Elder Brother. Would it be all right if I asked just this once?”
“…”
Lion barely managed to lift his drowsy eyes and nodded.
In truth, anyone in the family would have reason to be worried at the sight of him.
And besides, who was asking? It was none other than the younger brother who had fussed over him all day.
Even exhausted, he had no choice but to agree.
And besides…
‘Nothing’s going to show up, anyway.’
Lion’s abilities and body might have developed a problem, but the pendant’s function remained continuously active.
As if that weren’t enough, it had even adjusted its size to perfectly fit the wearer’s current body.
Thanks to that, Lion didn’t feel any discomfort, either.
“I will check as quickly as I can.”
Licht also approached Lion cautiously, not bothering to hide his apologetic expression.
“There’s no need for you to feel that sorry, Priest.”
“Hahaha…”
Licht forced a laugh to gloss over it.
The truth was, while genuine concern for Sir Lion had driven him to volunteer the examination,
he did have another motive.
The prophetic dream. In any case, Licht had a duty to recall this dream.
Therefore, under the pretext of checking whether there was a problem with his body, this was no different from conducting a direct investigation.
At least, that was how Licht felt, and it burdened him with a certain guilt as well.
‘It’s not certain, but the timing of my losing the dream memory coincides with Sir Lion being rejuvenated.’
Perhaps…
‘I might find a clue.’
After all, he was checking directly via divine power.
Surely he would be able to grasp at least a small lead.
“I will hold your hand for the examination.”
“All right.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lion held out his hand and placed it lightly onto Licht’s.
“I’ll begin.”
As he spoke, a soft green light emanated from Licht’s body.
The energy traveled up Lion’s hand, swept over his entire body, and then exited through his opposite hand back into Licht.
“Nothing special, right?”
It was only to be expected.
I wasn’t actually injured, just de-aged!
And on top of that, after a soak in the hot spring, what could possibly be wrong?
“I would have said so if I was in pain.”
“…That is.”
Rickshel had plenty to say on that front.
Even when he was hurt, even when he’d caused an incident, his elder brother preferred to hide it as much as possible.
But seeing as the priest remained this quiet, it seemed there genuinely was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Priest. What do you make of it?”
“It’s fine, isn’t it?”
There was no answer.
“…Priest?”
Lion cocked his head and quietly pulled his hand away from the touch.
Even so.
“…”
Licht’s body remained completely still.
It didn’t make the slightest movement.
As if he were deep in sleep.
“Huh…”
Lion’s half-closed eyes blinked wide open, and he looked at Licht once, then at his younger brother once, back and forth.
It was only then that Rickshel sensed something was amiss. He drew closer and gave Licht’s shoulder a couple of light taps.
And then, with that—
Plop!
Licht’s body slowly collapsed to the side and slumped onto the carpet!
The two were momentarily startled, but they quickly understood.
This was…
“He’s fallen asleep.”
“…Has he?”
“I’ve heard it’s not common, but there are occasional cases of suddenly falling asleep like this. He might wake up if we touch him, so let’s leave him as he is.”
“Just like this?”
Isn’t the carpet floor a little too much?
After mulling it over for a while, Lion pulled out one of the blankets Pooch favoured and draped it over Licht’s body.
It was a bit… quite small, but it would at least keep him from taking a chill.
Then, he gently dropped one of his pillows to the floor beside Licht’s face.
Though he might cut himself if he tossed and turned later…
‘I’m sorry, Priest.’
If I could, I’d give you my own blanket to use, but I’m afraid there are limits to what a child’s body can manage.
Of course, I could just kick the blanket off the bed with my foot, but I was worried that might accidentally wake him.
And besides…
“Yaaaaawn.”
The earlier start had chased a bit of his drowsiness away, but now sleep was crashing over him again in terrifying waves.
It was only a little past ten in the evening, and yet he was this sleepy.
“Don’t worry, Elder Brother. If the priest wakes up, I will see to him myself.”
“Mm…”
All right. I’m leaving it to…
Lion couldn’t even finish the thought before he was completely out.
Having watched one man fall asleep on the floor and the other on a bed far too large and high for a single person, Rickshel gave a slight shake of his head.
‘It’s not easy.’
A prophetic dream, was it.
As the priest had suggested, this phenomenon might very well be connected to divine power.
‘Still, judging by his attitude, he doesn’t seem likely to simply report it.’
That, at least, was something he could feel plainly, from the priest’s demeanour and the way he treated his elder brother.
‘And Elder Brother seems to be all right as well.’
Then wasn’t that enough for now?
And even if something did happen.
‘The Family Head is here.’
So he was less worried.
Rickshel pulled his gaze from the pair and looked outside.
It seemed the Family Head had arrived.
He ought to go and greet him in person, but even though the two were asleep, leaving them alone didn’t sit right.
So Rickshel stood to one side and thoroughly enjoyed the sight of his elder brother sleeping.
Without really noticing, Rickshel had come to resemble Lion’s easygoing nature, just a little.
Given his inherently meticulous character, this degree of flexibility might well be a healthy improvement.
* * *
“Mmnn…”
Beneath the slant of the morning sunlight, Licht slowly stirred from his slumber.
A room still slightly unfamiliar met his eyes, but he grew accustomed to it quickly and immediately sat up.
“Ah, you’re awake!”
“…Sir Lion?”
When he turned his head toward the familiar voice, there was Sir Lion, restored to his original form.
And in that moment.
“Ugh…”
He felt a slight headache.
As he shut his eyes tightly against the dull throbbing sensation—
‘…This is.’
A certain memory surfaced in his mind.
No—rather than a memory, it was closer to a single spoken line.
-…If that is what you desire, then though it is a sight not permitted to you, I shall show you the future, on the condition that you forget.
An uncanny voice for which he could not even begin to guess an age or gender.
Its tone was dry, yet he could detect a touch of pity and kindness woven through it.
And if he were to reconstruct the conversation, the owner of this voice was…
‘The Great One.’
His own lord—the god who wields the eternal flame.
Anyatras.
He had met that being in a dream.
And he himself had implored that being to allow him to see what he ought never to dare look upon.
Why would that be?
Sadly, he could not remember even that much.
But one thing was certain…
“Priest? Does your head hurt very much?”
“…Ah, I’m all right. I must have slept for a little too long, that’s all.”
Licht did his best to smooth over his face, which had been about to crease into a frown, and asked calmly:
“When did you return to your original form, Sir Lion?”
“Ah, well, today makes exactly three days. When I opened my eyes this morning, I’d returned to normal.”
“I see.”
Licht nodded and gazed out the window.
The sun wasn’t yet at its zenith.
Which meant it was still morning.
Which also meant there was little difference between the time Sir Lion had returned to normal and the time he himself had awakened.
‘…Curiously coincidental.’
Both dreaming a dream he couldn’t remember, and recovering a portion of that memory—
it was deeply connected to Sir Lion’s abnormality.
The thought he’d entertained before falling asleep was now solidifying into certainty.
No—perhaps it was evolving into a thought and imagination beyond that.
“May I ask you one question?”
“Yes. Well, if it’s something I can answer, I will.”
In response to Lion’s reply, Licht paused to take a breath, then slowly asked:
“Forgive my bluntness, but—is it truly because of a potion that you were rejuvenated?”
“…”
It was a fairly sharp question, as if he had some inkling of the truth.