Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 263
“Whoops—Pooch!”
Before any real trouble could start, Lion quickly scooped Pooch up.
“It’s good that you want to protect Daddy, but you can’t do that to Great-Grandfather.”
“Great…”
Petrick’s vision went blank for a moment at the word.
He had known he would hear that title someday, but he had never dreamed it would be now.
Especially from someone who was…
‘No, I mustn’t get pulled in that direction.’
Petrick let out a deep inward sigh and collected himself.
“Lion.”
“Ha-ha… Yes, Grandfather.”
“Explain. Where did that portrait come from?”
“Mm…”
Lion simply rubbed Pooch’s plush ear and glanced around.
There were quite a few things invisible to his grandfather’s eyes.
First, the ghost of the Grand Duke’s Son was there…
-What’s there to hide? Just tell him everything honestly.
-Then we can retrieve the other fragments faster too.
-And we can get rid of that fellow.
Tiamatrak was there too, oddly antagonistic ever since the day before.
It seemed her pride and mood had both been hurt at the same time.
‘Mm, no choice.’
Lion explained only the facts, exactly as they were.
He had encountered the ghost of the Grand Duke’s Son, and while he was struggling because communication wasn’t smooth, Pooch had caught a certain scent and led them to the storeroom.
All the way up to finding this portrait there.
“You said you felt an aura similar to that of the dragon soul beside you.”
“Yes. But Tiamatrak said it’s only ‘a half.’”
“…”
So that was how it had happened.
Petrick could now accept how his grandson had come into possession of this portrait.
It helped that he knew the legend of House Grand Duke Dragnas.
More than that.
‘The Grand Duke’s Son, is it.’
Petrick stared at the portrait with quiet eyes.
He had seen the person in that portrait before.
Grand Duke Dragnas’s sole flesh and blood.
Since the Grand Duke would practically have plucked out his own insides for the boy even while he lived, it was all too plausible that he had sealed something containing a dragon’s aura inside this portrait for him as well.
‘Though he couldn’t have known it would bind his son to the living world.’
And to leave behind such a bitter, horrifying final memory at that.
Although…
‘Strange.’
A question stirred in Petrick.
It was true that Grand Duke Dragnas had loved and cherished his son.
However, as previously mentioned, the one who had brutally murdered that son with his own hands had, in the end, been the Grand Duke himself.
Of course, it was an act committed after his contamination had grown so severe that he lost his sense of self…
‘Could a young child truly understand and forgive all of that?’
Hadn’t the boy spent decades after death wandering this place, living through what amounted to isolation?
Without the ability to communicate directly, pessimistic questions were bound to arise first.
And even if the Grand Duke’s Son was desperately searching for his father out of truly good feelings…
‘It must not happen.’
His grandson’s heart was far too gentle.
He had a disposition that made him help people in difficult straits without compensation, and he always wanted to resolve things whenever someone bore an unjust accusation.
Even in a situation he could perfectly well get through by pretending not to notice.
Until now, that kindness had fortunately come back to him as reward.
‘Within the Asteri Territory, he may live like that his whole life.’
There, Petrick’s eyes and ears were spread across the entire domain, so even if an accident occurred, it could be dealt with quickly.
But here, the Great Barrier, was different.
All the more so in this situation, with the Archbishop keeping watch on Lion.
“…”
Petrick slowly closed his eyes, then opened them, and spoke decisively.
“Do not involve yourself further.”
“Pardon?”
“The task of soothing a dead man’s soul is for a priest. Did you not come here with another purpose?”
A mountain of tasks, far more important to him than placating a soul that had been dead for decades, was piled up waiting.
And the one that sat at the very top of that pile was his grandson.
Even if that was selfish, there was nothing to be done about it.
“I am told that people from the Temple are on their way.”
“From the Temple?”
When Lion repeated the question, Petrick gave a brief summary of what had been happening.
Before Lion could even feel dismay, Petrick went on.
“I thought that mad Archbishop was nothing but a hindrance, but there are times he proves useful. If a figure of the Archbishop’s rank undertakes an investigation, the soul of the Grand Duke’s Son will surely be released, and the Grand Duke’s spirit and the fragment will be found as well.”
“But in that case, Tiamatrak’s aura…”
“I shall speak to them separately and have it retrieved.”
“…”
Petrick was more resolute than ever.
Lion understood perfectly well what thoughts lay behind his grandfather’s words, and could argue no further.
-Well, as long as my aura is properly retrieved, I’m in favor.
-Lion, you’re so kind-hearted, that’s all. Most people wouldn’t go this far.
-That crybaby will understand well enough.
Lion turned his head toward where the ghost of the Grand Duke’s Son stood.
The Grand Duke’s Son was wearing an expression that looked as though he might burst into tears again at any moment out of regret, but he placed a hand over his hollowed chest and nodded.
Then he pointed to a few word cards lying at the corner of the table.
[Yes.] And [It’s okay.], one of the newly added words.
“…”
If even he himself said it was okay, then there was nothing Lion could do either.
“…Understood. I will do so.”
“Good.”
It pained Petrick to see his grandson answer so dispiritedly, but he chose to look away.
At times, protecting one’s family demanded firmness.
Petrick patted Lion’s shoulders.
“And it seems we shall have to move matters forward.”
“Yes. We must.”
“…Instead, as regards anything related to the ‘Hero,’ I will offer all the cooperation I can.”
Petrick gazed at the portrait in the corner of Lion’s room.
Removing it immediately would be better, but that would wound Lion more than a little.
‘The boy grows too deeply attached, so I must give him a proper amount of time to settle his heart.’
Even if trouble arose, the dragon would handle it on her own.
“That portrait… it shall remain here until the priests arrive.”
“Thank you.”
“Then come out as soon as you are ready. I shall wait.”
Petrick patted Lion’s shoulders a few more times, then left the room with heavy steps.
The door shut firmly, and Nature, who had been on the bed, flew over and alighted softly on Lion’s shoulder.
“Peep…”
And rubbed her face against Lion’s cheek as if to comfort him.
“Kying.”
Pooch, still cradled in Lion’s arms, did the same.
-Lion. It couldn’t be helped.
-To be honest, it wasn’t your burden to carry in the first place.
-Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be a Hero or anything? In that case, isn’t living a little selfishly allowed? That’s the privilege of being human.
Even Tiamatrak, who had been maintaining an oddly cold attitude, offered blunt comfort from over there.
And Lion…
“Hoo.”
Lifted his slightly lowered head.
There was a moment of wondering if he might be seriously downcast, having never faced such uncompromising opposition before.
Heh.
The corner of Lion’s mouth crept up.
“Right. I ought to do what I have to do.”
“Peep, peep?!”
“Grandfather is entirely correct. Who am I to go strutting about this dangerous place?”
Even as he spoke, Lion’s eyes were gleaming.
Filled with positive madness!
‘This is an opportunity.’
He fully recognized the sentiment behind his grandfather’s words.
How great must his worry have been for him to speak that way?
And so, as his grandson, Lion had an obligation to erase that worry completely.
On top of that…
‘Official permission has been granted.’
His grandfather had said he would not interfere in anything related to the ‘Hero.’
That alone was as if wings had sprouted from Lion’s back.
In fact, was there not one matter that his grandfather had yet to catch onto?
‘The Grand Duke’s location.’
He presumed it was somewhere similar to the Hero’s, but Lion had deliberately refrained from mentioning that.
‘Because it isn’t certain.’
The truth was, all of his guesses might be wrong, and the whole business could come to nothing… still!
‘A person sometimes has to make a risky gamble.’
How worried he had been when his grandfather issued that threat back in the carriage.
Lion turned his head sharply and looked at the Grand Duke’s Son.
Even the Grand Duke’s Son, who had looked on the verge of tears a moment ago, wore a strangely distorted expression.
Perhaps it was because he had witnessed a madness even greater than roaming for decades in search of his father.
“As I said, I can no longer help you, young lord, so please don’t expect too much. And where I’m going next will be dangerous, so I won’t be able to take you with me.”
Having finished, Lion held out his pinky.
“Therefore, you must stay here and not follow on your own. Understood?”
The Grand Duke’s Son cautiously reached out and hooked the small finger.
In truth, he couldn’t properly hook it.
Because they couldn’t truly touch.
And yet, somehow, just this act brought such relief.
The Grand Duke’s Son gave a bright smile.
“Then, let’s no longer involve ourselves in this matter and instead focus on my task.”
“Peep!”
Lion strode confidently out of the room.
And then…
-As if you won’t involve yourself at all.
-Seriously, you really are a strange one.
Tiamatrak muttered to herself and passed through the door after him.
Then she glanced back and tossed out a remark.
-Hey. Crybaby.
-Guard the house well. I’ll see that you get to meet him.
It absolutely wasn’t because she remembered an old tie…
Unable to even lie inwardly, Tiamatrak simply left the room.
* * *
Once they were ready, Lion and Petrick headed straight for the Great Barrier.
The road to the Great Barrier was treacherous.
It was contaminated everywhere, and places that were presumably once verdant forests had become blackened lands of death.
Even the air was saturated with a murky scent, so anyone unable to protect themselves would likely have sickened and collapsed at once.
Lion, of course, was not among them.
‘Though I owe that to this robe.’
The special robe, a collaborative development between the Magic Tower and the Temple, appeared to be packed with numerous useful functions.
The most extraordinary one was absorbing contamination on his behalf.
Thanks to it, Lion had been able to come all the way to the closest point to the Great Barrier quite safely, without so much as a scratch.
What was more, he had even enjoyed the small happiness of discreetly gathering a few contaminated toxic herbs behind Petrick’s back as he walked ahead.
“Ahem…”
Petrick seemed to know this as well, but perhaps due to the earlier situation, he stared straight ahead and kept walking, pretending not to notice.
“Soon we will reach the vicinity of the last known location where the Hero’s trace was found.”
“By vicinity…”
“Yes. I have obtained intelligence that it was discovered somewhere around here, but I do not know the precise location.”
After walking some time further, Petrick stopped.
“From here on out.”
At those words, Lion slowly surveyed the surroundings.
On the vast land, not even dead grass was visible.
Cracked earth and fissures that looked like the marks of battle.
-Ugh, because of this Great Barrier, I can’t sense a thing.
-No, back in my prime, I could even perceive mana waves from other continents.
-It’s absolutely not that I was incompetent from the start…
In any case, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to get Tiamatrak’s help.
He had already told Nature and Pooch to hide as much as possible, so from here on out, he would have to rely entirely on his own strength.
‘…Oh?’
And then Lion realized something.
“Doesn’t the contamination feel fainter in this area compared to the other sectors?”