Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 71
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 71
An ordinary person might have been cowed by the pair’s fervor, but…
“Shh.”
Lion was every bit as unconventional as they were.
He raised his index finger to his lips, shushing them into stillness.
“I just woke up, so she seems a little sensitive. It doesn’t bother me, since I’m her contractor, but…”
“Oh! Of course.”
“We’ll be as quiet as we can.”
They nodded eagerly.
“Come on in, then.”
Lion effortlessly sealed the pair’s mouths and ushered them into the room.
The fact that he was now the contractor of an Ancient Spirit would inevitably come out someday—he had no intention of hiding it.
But if he didn’t do this, they would obviously refuse to go back to the Elf Kingdom.
“The Ancient Spirit is…”
“She’s inside the blanket. Shall I wake her?”
“No, no! The presence I feel from here is more than enough.”
Embrog felt the overwhelming presence permeating Lion’s room.
An aura of nature he had never encountered even in the Elf Kingdom.
‘Though the intensity itself is muted.’
No doubt the Ancient Spirit was deliberately holding back for their sake.
A being so exalted, lowering herself to her summoner’s level…
“Embrog.”
“Ah.”
At Tialli’s prompt, Embrog collected himself and stood before Lion.
“How are you feeling, if I may ask?”
“Fine, just a little tired.”
“Only tired? That’s a relief. When a powerful being from another dimension crosses over, it demands an immense amount of mental strength.”
“Mm.”
So that was why I had a nosebleed?
Thankfully, the Fairy Dust and Spirit Water seemed to have offset it somehow.
“You should get plenty of rest for now, and if possible, avoid dismissing the spirit. The spiritual energy required to summon her again would be far greater.”
“Understood.”
The two took turns giving a rapid-fire lecture, cramming tips about Spirit Arts into a single sitting.
And that wasn’t all.
“Also, you’ll want to look over this together with Lady Freyania.”
They presented Lion with a whole bundle of books on Spirit Arts.
Even though the covers were plainly stamped with a bold “DO NOT REMOVE.”
“I don’t know how to thank you for all this…”
“It is your right. Had you chosen to study abroad, the Elder Elf herself might have instructed you.”
In other words… his talent went beyond impressing a friend. It was on the level of having an Emperor for a tutor.
Lion felt a renewed wave of relief.
‘I was right not to go.’
Going there would have obviously meant a whole new world of suffering.
They wouldn’t treat me this well for nothing.
They’ve definitely got a use for me somewhere.
“Ah, one last thing…”
The pair hesitated, then each brought Endairon and Silairon in front of Lion.
“Erm, well. I’m terribly sorry to ask when you’re so tired…”
They rambled on, but their request boiled down to this:
Could you spare a little energy for our little ones?
‘That’s easy enough.’
Lion was about to agree without a second thought and reach out to pet them both, when—
Fwoosh!
The blanket that had been draped over her was caught by a gust of wind and fluttered to the floor.
And inside was a round little chick.
Nature stalked out with a face full of displeasure.
“Oh!”
At the sight of her, the two elves’ eyes went perfectly round. Their pointed ears even flushed bright red.
To behold the Spirit King’s form, which they had never expected to see!
Lion, of course, felt nothing special, so he focused on Nature’s expression.
Her tiny yellow face was crumpled in a clear scowl.
“…No way.”
Are you jealous?
What was more, the spirits must have sensed her power even more acutely: Endairon’s tail drooped to the point of curling under, while Silairon hid its face in its chest feathers, pointedly pretending not to notice.
To look at her, she was nothing but an adorable chick, but her aura surpassed that of the Greater Spirits.
“…My Endairon. How can this be.”
Embrog, regaining his senses, murmured in disbelief.
“Oops.”
Lion walked over to the bed, scooped Nature up in his hand, and slipped it into his pocket.
“You shouldn’t be angry at our guests.”
Even as he chided her, he rubbed her head firmly with his index finger.
Thankfully, that seemed to soothe her; the turbulent energy dissipated.
“No, no! Before the spirit grows angrier, we should take our leave.”
“What? But you said you would receive some energy…”
“It’s fine! This has been more than enough.”
She had already become this enraged at the mere attempt to reach a hand out. If they actually tried to pet them, they would undoubtedly end up on her bad side.
“I see. Will you return to the Elf Kingdom now, then?”
“Yes. We’ll come back to see you without fail, whenever we can.”
“Whenever you like. Friends should visit often.”
The three exchanged quite amicable farewells.
Now that Lion thought about it, Embrog’s speech had grown considerably more deferential at some point.
He’d been polite before, but… the professor-like tone had vanished.
Losing the lecturer’s register, no doubt, now that he was speaking to the contractor of a Spirit King.
“Then, we’ll be on our way.”
The two elves bowed deeply, as if offering every due courtesy, and left the room.
Embrog stepped out, and behind him, Tialli began to follow—then paused.
“Ah, that’s right. Lord Lion.”
“Yes?”
“That necklace—did you receive it as a gift?”
“…Excuse me?”
Necklace?
Lion turned his head and looked where Tialli pointed.
There it was…
‘That’s the one Freyania left behind.’
[Necklace Lost by a Noble Lady]
-A certain noble lady is searching desperately for this necklace.
It was an ownerless necklace.
“Do you know who owns it?”
“Mm, so it wasn’t a gift.”
It certainly wasn’t something he could call a gift.
“I don’t know what circumstances led it into your hands, but… that necklace belongs to House Bydantis.”
House Bydantis…
The Sword Mastery Family?
‘So that’s how it ended up in the criminal underworld?’
From what Lion knew, their succession struggle had been a vicious one.
“Thank you for letting me know. But how did you recognize it…?”
“Centuries ago, House Bydantis produced a single spirit mage. I went there myself to recruit him, and at that time, the head of the house was wearing that very necklace.”
Tialli added that the necklace’s distinctive aura had made it easy to remember, then immediately apologized.
“When I saw it in your room, I wondered if House Bydantis had met its downfall and asked out of concern.”
Ah, so—at the hands of my family, they meant.
“Haha, my grandfather hates troublesome matters. This is simply a lost item.”
“I see.”
“Lady Freyania gave it to me.”
“Ah.”
Tialli let out a long sigh, as if everything had just snapped into place.
He seemed to have a rough idea of the picture.
“My apologies. We’ve clearly raised the child badly… You must have your hands full.”
“Not at all. Thanks to her, I now know who it belongs to. I can simply return it when the opportunity arises.”
“You might receive a rather substantial reward.”
Tialli smiled an enigmatic smile, gave one last farewell, and left the room.
‘A substantial reward?’
If an elf described it as a substantial reward, the item was likely anything but ordinary.
And yet…
‘When I checked before, it didn’t show anything.’
Lion walked straight over to the necklace.
“Right now too…”
He was just about to conclude that nothing had changed,
when Nature fluttered out of his pocket and began pecking at the necklace with its tiny beak.
At once…
“Huh?”
[The necklace’s hidden information is being updated.]
The necklace’s information had been updated!
[Lost Necklace]
-A necklace passed down as an heirloom of House Bydantis. Someone appears to have searched for it desperately.
-Although it is no longer possible to return it to the one who sought it, wouldn’t it be good to bring it back to where it belongs?
Lion’s eyes widened at the unexpected development.
Setting aside how Nature had done it…
“This is a hidden quest, isn’t it?”
A hidden quest.
Just as the name implied, in <In the World>, these were quests you could only activate by fulfilling specific conditions.
For the most part, they were undertaken to grind affection with NPCs…
But every so often…
‘some of them offered special rewards.’
Exactly like this one—a situation that practically screamed shady dealings.
“It said someone was searching for it earlier.”
And now it said returning it was no longer possible.
What could that mean?
It meant the person searching was no longer in this world.
‘Honestly, I don’t exactly need a special reward at the moment.’
He was wealthy, he didn’t have to answer to anyone, and on top of that, he’d gained an adorable Companion Spirit.
No one scolded him if he lazed around as much as he pleased, and whenever he tried to attempt something, everyone rallied behind him with one heart and one mind.
What more could he want?
In the old days, back when this was just a game, he’d have torn through this quest with fire in his eyes.
Truth be told, he could just wrap this up by handing the necklace over through his grandfather.
But…
‘The thing is, now I can’t stop wondering.’
Before, it was nothing but an unidentified necklace—yet the moment he contracted the Ancient Spirit Nature, new information appeared before his eyes.
What was more, hadn’t Nature pecked at it insistently for reasons of its own?
And that in turn made him wonder—
‘Could this have something to do with my character?’
If it did, he couldn’t just keep pretending he hadn’t noticed.
Sure, he was curious about his own abilities and about Hero—the character who had vanished.
But mostly, on the faintest, slightest off-chance… he felt uneasy turning a blind eye by simply relying on the Asteri name.
“Now that I think about it, they did say they helped Grandfather when he was trapped in the labyrinth.”
And they’d done it without asking for any recompense.
That had apparently left a deep impression. Last time, when they were in the labyrinth together, Rickshel had even brought it up.
“Strangely, they helped without any compensation. They didn’t seem like a bad person.”
“Ah! Could it be…?”
Lion’s eyes suddenly flashed.
Come to think of it, the Sword Mastery Family’s influence wasn’t exactly rock-solid at the moment, not after that blood-soaked succession battle.
Of course, it was gradually stabilizing under the current marquis, Clarentia Bydantis, who had demonstrated exceptional ability.
But still—in a situation where uncertainty lingered, taking the time to assist the Asteris meant…
‘They wanted to build a friendly relationship!’
With our house… no—with Rickshel!
“Ah, and here I went and cluelessly accepted a tailoring commission.”
Lion silently cursed his own denseness.
“I didn’t realize this. How could I not see it.”
Granted, the Marquis Clarentia was closer to his own age, but a gap like the one between Lion and Rickshel still meant they’d mix in society almost like friends, wouldn’t they?
They were even similar in status. Rickshel was still in the position of heir, but once he came of age, he would inherit the title.
If so…
‘They’re a perfect match for friends!’
In any case, House Asteri had absolutely no designs on the Sword Mastery Family.
And the Sword Mastery Family, for its part, did not seem keen on eyeing the Archmage Family.
Whatever the current marquis’s real skill was, it was likely impossible to overcome my grandfather so long as he was alive.
‘So there’s no harm in the younger generation getting along!’
And if the two of them happened to get along well…