Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 256
Lion ate the sandwich Elvia handed him and gazed out the window.
Even though they had been traveling for quite a long time, dense trees still flickered past his eyes.
“By the way, what brings you to travel by carriage?”
Didn’t he normally use teleportation?
For the Marquis of House Asteri and an archmage, travel time was a luxury.
Even if it consumed some mana, it was far more efficient to use magic to arrive at the destination in an instant.
‘And he even gave his aides…’
Didn’t he provide them with an unlimited supply of warp scrolls made by the Magic Tower for official business?
“Hoo-hoo.”
At Lion’s question, Elvia let out a strange laugh and looked at Petrick.
Her expression said she had a great deal to say but was holding back for now.
“Ahem.”
Petrick, looking somewhat sheepish himself, cleared his throat and answered belatedly.
“You do have warp sickness. Sleeping or not, it would still affect you, so I judged it better to use it as little as possible. And…”
As his voice trailed off, Elvia naturally picked up the thread and explained.
“I once told him about my journey to the Bydantis territory, and it seems it left quite an impression.”
“Hmm? Ah-ha!”
Only then did Lion grasp his grandfather’s feelings.
So, his grandfather had secretly been envious!
Envious of the idea of escaping work to enjoy a leisurely holiday.
‘Well, who actually wants to work?’
Lion nodded.
As mentioned before, his grandfather could move anywhere instantly.
It truly was a comfortable and efficient ability.
But no matter how much of a workaholic someone was who hated wasting time, there were bound to be moments when they wanted to take it easy.
His grandfather would be no different.
‘It had been a period where an ordinary person could’ve slacked off several times and no one would’ve batted an eye.’
Hadn’t he devoted himself to the empire for decades?
What’s more, the Imperial Family was a group that did nothing but cause trouble without offering any real help.
In other words, even if he wanted to rest, there was no one to replace him!
And knowing his grandfather’s personality, he would never take a vacation without a proper reason.
‘But I conveniently showed up!’
To be precise, his warp sickness did.
It was the perfect excuse that they had no choice but to travel slowly.
And in the meantime, he could ease up on work a little.
‘And I had no idea…!’
He should have tagged along with his grandfather sooner.
He’d been so busy running away from what he thought was just work, and he felt quite sorry now.
“Grandfather…!”
“Ahem, yes. Elvia is right. Since things turned out this way, this old man shall…”
“I should have realized sooner! Ugh!”
“…”
Petrick twisted his eyebrows in an odd way at his grandson’s passionate reaction.
His grandson was always a bit odd, but today he was odder than usual.
‘It seemed the boy was misunderstanding something again…’
Lion’s familial love, which he clearly took after his grandfather, was quite exceptional.
However, he was remarkably obtuse in matters like this.
‘I had no idea what direction this misunderstanding had taken.’
In any case, he needed to correct the facts before trouble arose.
The moment he thought that and opened his mouth.
Poke.
Elvia quickly nudged Petrick and shook her head.
‘Why were you trying to correct him?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It seemed the puppy was thinking praiseworthy thoughts, so why not leave him be?’
‘But what if he ended up doing something rash?’
‘The travel mood. Did you wish to give that up?’
A flurry of inaudible conversation passed between them in an instant.
And Petrick…
“Hrngh.”
Unable to give up a cozy trip with his grandson, he merely let out a groan.
“Elvia. How much farther to the Great Barrier?”
“It won’t be long. The road leading directly to the Great Barrier is well-paved.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Although it is a special path reserved for the Family Head’s personal use…”
Elvia trailed off with a strange smile.
That meant he had never used it until now.
“About two days of steady travel. And during that time, I, Elvia, shall attend to the young master.”
“Only for two days?”
“Yes. I am officially on leave, after all.”
“Since priests are stationed at the Great Barrier.”
“One could hide their strength and blend in among them, but since the young master would not wish for that, I must refrain.”
Elvia wiped the breadcrumbs from his hands with a warm damp towel and offered him a cool drink.
“Thanks.”
Lion took a sip of the drink and started to look outside again, but hesitated, then turned back to Elvia.
“By the way…”
“Yes, young master.”
“How did you know I got younger?”
Elvia only smiled softly.
“You were so very adorable. Perhaps because you regretted not being able to run around as a child, you toddled about so energetically.”
…So she saw everything.
He didn’t know how she confirmed it, but she seemed to have witnessed every last bit of Lion’s cuteness.
Still, if there was a silver lining, at least she thoroughly respected his privacy.
“Ha-ha-ha…”
“Hoo-hoo-hoo…”
Lion and Elvia laughed at the same time.
It seemed best to just laugh it off.
“Then, I shall wait outside, so please call for me whenever you need.”
After bowing politely, Elvia melted away smoothly within the room-like spacious carriage.
And then…
“Ahem.”
-Wow. It looks like he really wants to talk to you.
-He’s all tied up in knots, unlike his usual self. It’s hilarious.
No, he looked as perfectly composed as ever, so what was so funny?
-But you mentioned the Great Barrier earlier, right? Is that the strange energy that appeared recently?
-I mean, the energy that completely blocked off the land where the demons are.
It happened about fifty years ago, and she called that ‘recent.’
As expected, a dragon’s concept of time was vastly different from a human’s.
Tiamatrak had already pressed herself against the carriage window to sightsee.
Well, since her time as an Earthbound Dragon was probably quite long, sightseeing must have been fun for her.
“Right. Anyway, you said you received a gift from that priest.”
“Yes. He gave me an enormous amount of holy water. Thanks to that, my alchemy ingredient stocks have grown.”
“…Did you receive nothing else?”
At his grandfather’s unusually cautious question, Lion thought for a moment before answering honestly.
“Right after Priest Licht woke up, he asked me if I really became younger because of the potion.”
“…”
“Could it be that I was connected to the dream Priest Licht had?”
Petrick was a little surprised.
He had never dreamed his grandson would volunteer information so freely.
And this wasn’t just about this particular piece of information.
To be precise, it was about these bizarre events happening around Lion.
Specifically, the incidents directly and indirectly related to the Hero.
The only time he had ever had a conversation like this with Lion was during that ‘drunken confession.’
A slip under the influence of alcohol.
A story within a range they could cover for each other.
Just about that much.
‘Of course, if you asked me if I was disappointed, I certainly was.’
He wanted to be more helpful, and at the same time, he wanted to sweep away these worries so his grandson wouldn’t have to fret.
But the reason he held back was…
‘It was because my desire to be of help was greater.’
Lion’s inner world was deeper than one might have thought, and he generally tried not to rely on others.
‘On the surface, he seemed to rely on others more than anyone, but that wasn’t it.’
He would hide behind the prestigious mage House Asteri.
He would push the genius heir Rickshel to the front.
He seemed to try to lean on him, the archmage,
but the truth was different.
Lion had a strong drive to protect his family and his people.
Conversely, he had a marked tendency to shoulder everything alone.
That was why, even after having mentioned the ‘North’ before, he was naturally heading to the Great Barrier under the pretext of a business trip.
Clearly, when they spoke through the crystal ball, Lion had tried not to show any sign of it.
That was why Petrick had also kept his mouth shut and tried to focus solely on the business trip and the journey.
To pretend not to know, no matter what his grandson did.
“Is it all right for you to tell me this?”
“Oh, come on. You know everything already, that’s why you brought me here.”
Of course, Lion was entirely aware of this fact as well.
‘To be honest, I did debate whether to tell him.’
That his main character was the Hero.
And that there had been some kind of conspiracy with the Saintess.
Also, there was only fragmentary information that something about the Hero was unstable.
He didn’t know exactly what they had schemed.
At least from Lion’s standpoint, this was an ‘uncertain matter,’ so it was technically right not to report it.
But—
“Because we’re family.”
“…!”
A few days ago, the moment he met his grandfather’s eyes after he rushed back upon hearing the news that Lion had become younger, he realized he had been thinking about things the wrong way.
Was establishing everything on his own, deciding the path, and then notifying them… really the proper way to communicate with family?
You couldn’t say it was completely wrong, but…
‘Something felt off.’
Yes. Lion, who was still building up his experience of having a family, could only summarize it this way.
“In exchange, you have to pretend not to see whatever I do, okay?”
“…”
At Lion’s playful expression, Petrick smiled bitterly to himself.
‘He’s grown.’
This grandson of his had been withering away, unable to grow at all, but from some point on, he had shot up so fast that he couldn’t even lay a hand on him anymore.
‘He’s grown again.’
The child who once seemed liable to be uprooted by the slightest wind had become a knee-high sapling, then a young tree tall enough to meet his gaze, all in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps after this trip, he might no longer be able to treat him like a child.
But—
Not yet.
“You are mistaken about something.”
Petrick erased the peculiar bitterness inside him and put on a cold, cynical smirk.
The look was cold and even threatening, but from Lion’s perspective…
‘Hmm…’
Oddly enough, he looked just like me?
In that moment, he looked so full of mischief that such a thought crossed Lion’s mind.
But what did he mean, mistaken?
“Lion.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“I am a person who has the duty to detect the empire’s dangers faster than anyone and prevent them. You are aware of that, I trust?”
“Yes.”
“Therefore, I must not interfere with what you are doing. Because you just might accomplish something.”
He said ‘something,’ but that was clearly a reference to the Hero or the ‘troubled times.’
“That’s… right?”
But somehow, didn’t what he was saying sound a bit strange?
‘…Nah. No way.’
The mood had been so good up until now.
And his grandfather, who was far more rational than himself, surely must have understood better than anyone.
That it was now better to uncover and resolve this matter before the Archbishop or anyone else did, rather than simply burying his head in the sand.
‘That way, it would be over without having to go to the Hero.’
He would block the snowball before it could become an avalanche.
Surely his grandfather must have recognized that.
But—
Lion’s creepy premonitions generally hit the mark,
and this time was no exception.
“However, for some reason, I find that I am not inclined to do so.”
“Pardon?”
“There are times when even rational judgment becomes clouded. So this time, I shall do my utmost to monitor you.”
“Pardooon?”
“Therefore, you must do your utmost to slip away from me. I shall acknowledge it if you manage that.”
While Lion stood dumbfounded by Petrick’s declaration of war,
Petrick chuckled and drove the point home.
“Because we’re family. Is that not right?”
“Whaaaat…!!”
-Wow, is this that thing called a family feud or whatever?
-You’re in for it now! This is going to be fun!
-If you need my help, just say the word anytime. Okay? Lion!
At this flawless declaration of war, Lion clutched his head with both hands.
It seemed he still had far too much to learn about family!