Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 72
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 72
“Ahem, that one flew a bit too far.”
Lion folded the wings of his fantasy.
Sylvia’s business had taught him one thing.
If he got his hopes too high, he would be the only one left disappointed.
Anyway.
“There’s plenty of reason to go, isn’t there?”
Publicly, the purpose was to thank her properly and to deliver the lost necklace.
It was about time to hand over the clothes the head of the Sword Mastery Family had commissioned from Andre, too.
Lion stacked plans neatly inside his head.
If the mood flowed well, it would surely lead to a good outcome!
Lion grinned.
And then.
—…
The ancient spirit, Nature, alone watched its contractor’s grin with a sulky expression.
***
A few days after the elves left.
“A valid point.”
Petrick was pressing his brow while listening to Lion.
There was nothing to pick at in what his grandson was saying.
During the Library Labyrinth incident, the head of the Sword Mastery Family had helped him with no strings attached, so he was going to express his gratitude.
While he was at it, he would bring the tailored clothes.
“But you may not.”
Petrick shook his head firmly.
“Of course when you have received help, you must repay the favor. However, you are still in a situation where you must mind your health. Which is why I personally visited the Sword Mastery Family the other day.”
Meaning, his grandfather the family head had already conveyed the thanks Lion owed.
“I compensated them without leaving them disappointed, so you may postpone that matter for later.”
“…”
He had not expected such a firm refusal.
‘Was the nosebleed incident really that shocking?’
Maybe thanks to Nature, though, aside from a slight bout of body aches afterward, he had been completely fine.
For someone who had acquired an ancient spirit, it had gone remarkably smoothly… but.
‘Still, he has reason to worry.’
The person in question was none other than the sickly eldest grandson.
And the Sword Mastery Family wasn’t even located in Asteri Territory.
Inside the territory, any trouble could be resolved, but outside… it would take time.
Of course, that didn’t mean they would fail to save Lion if something happened outside.
Petrick was an Archmage, after all.
But—
The fact that it would take time was the source of unease.
Lion fully understood his grandfather’s anxiety, so he said nothing in response and simply looked at Petrick with a smile.
“…Staring will not change my mind. And Rickshel cannot accompany you this time, what with his training.”
“…”
“Oh-ho. You rascal.”
He went on ‘earnestly’ looking for a long while.
“Fuuuuh…”
In the end, Petrick let out a deep sigh and pressed his brow even harder.
‘Not an ounce of it got through.’
Lion hadn’t been listening at all.
In fact, telling him ahead of time seemed to have been nothing short of a courtesy so he would not worry later.
Truthfully, from Petrick’s standpoint, there was no legitimate reason to stop Lion.
Lion was an adult!
Not even the Archmage Petrick Asteri could wrap a grown adult in cotton forever.
And his clever grandson had already grasped all of that and was standing there smiling.
He could not very well cuff him on the head… the rascal.
What else could he do? Ultimately, he had no choice but to permit it.
“Fine. I understand.”
“Thank you!”
“In exchange. There are conditions.”
“Yes. Name them, Grandfather.”
Petrick’s conditions were three in total.
First.
“Bring Elvia with you.”
The expected words came out.
Lion, too, had never intended to go alone in the first place.
Not that he wasn’t tempted to roam the world of <In the World> alone at his leisure, but he felt it was still too early.
“Second. Until you enter the Marquis Bydantis’s residence, wear that hairpin you purchased from that shabby shop.”
“…You knew about that?”
He had never mentioned it, and yet his grandfather knew anyway?
When Lion’s eyes rounded, Petrick let out a “hmph” through his nose.
“You did not think I would be unaware of what goes on in my own territory, did you?”
Which meant he had simply let it slide.
It seemed his grandfather was turning a blind eye to more things than he’d thought.
“And finally.”
“Yes.”
Given how, from a business standpoint, the final condition was often the hardest to accept, this had to be the core one.
“If anyone shows up there trying to latch onto you.”
He needed to get through this as quietly as possible, without causing any problems…
“Be as nasty as possible.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Sigh. Frankly, this worries me the most, Lion.”
Petrick let out yet another sigh, rose from his seat, and approached Lion.
Then, pressing down firmly on both of Lion’s shoulders, he spoke without hiding his troubled expression.
“You are far too kind.”
“…”
Lion’s lips parted slightly.
Kind?
‘Well, actually…’
To be honest, it was true that he simply hadn’t shown his temper because nobody had provoked him.
Before anything could even scrape him, his family, Elvia, and even the servants took care of it, didn’t they?
There had been no occasion for anger.
Still…
‘I’m not exactly kind, am I?’
It felt a bit strange to declare himself unkind, but Lion did not have that kind of personality.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“I think you may be under a misunderstanding. I am not kind.”
He had simply kept quiet because there was nothing to get angry about.
Lion recalled the time before he possessed this body.
In a fit of temper, had he not turned the company upside-down?
On top of that, even here…
Had he ever actually let anyone walk all over him?
“…”
At Lion’s confident words, Petrick lost his speech.
The same went for Witch, who had revealed herself the moment the order to ‘bring Elvia’ was issued.
“Um…”
They both looked as though they had a great deal they wanted to say.
“What the Family Head means, I believe, is that you should act like the ill-mannered, spoiled son of a wealthy household. That way, riffraff won’t dare cling to you with nonsense.”
“Aha!”
So he was being told not to get taken in even if strange people tried to approach him.
Something like this, perhaps?
Lion recalled the past.
“Excuse me, do you happen to know how to get here?”
“Yes. If you take this road…”
“Oh my, thank you so much. By the way, you look so well.”
“…Pardon?”
“Have you, by chance, found the Way?”
He was trying to guard against such unfortunate incidents.
‘Well, that’s simple enough.’
Lion nodded as though he finally understood.
“Understood. I’ll be as nasty as possible.”
“Did you understand correctly?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“…Fine. If it comes to that, Elvia will assist you.”
“Have no worries, Family Head.”
“I shall trust you.”
The two of them even looked at each other and nodded firmly.
“So, when do you intend to depart?”
“I think within this week.”
Andre needed time to pack the clothes and prepare, so that felt about right.
“Understood. I will handle even the tailor’s share of the travel preparations, so do not worry.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Lion bowed his head deeply and left the room.
Without a single clue as to what exactly those ‘travel preparations’ would entail.
* * *
Once he had his grandfather’s permission, Lion headed straight for Andre’s shop.
And then, before he could even bring up the idea of traveling together to where House Bydantis was located…
“His Lordship has already relayed the full story to me. I am ready to depart at this very moment.”
Her tone had become rather solemn, hadn’t it?
Just what did Grandfather tell her?
“I, Andre, will do my utmost to ensure that the young master carries out his secret mission flawlessly!”
“…Secret mission?”
Well, since the necklace was something like a family heirloom of the Sword Mastery Family, and he planned to return it quietly, strictly speaking, it was indeed a secret.
He did have to disguise himself, too.
“You don’t need to be so tense.”
“Yes! I shall act as usual!”
“Anyway, I’m planning to leave within the week. I came to ask if you needed more time.”
“My preparations are perfect! And…”
Andre pulled a mannequin over from one side.
“Young master. Would you care to try this on?”
“This?”
Lion inspected the clothing.
It was clearly that piece made from the ‘Parental Devotion’ material…
[Tailoring Artisan’s Luxurious Travel Outfit (★★★)]
— A travel outfit created at the commission of someone who wished for the wearer’s safety, anytime and anywhere.
— It plainly exudes an air of luxury. No one would dare treat the wearer with disrespect!
— It mitigates a certain degree of impact.
“The Family Head commissioned me long ago to craft this outfit in preparation for an eventuality like this one.”
“I see.”
Truly, his grandfather’s worrying was no small matter.
‘Still, I got good clothes out of it.’
It wasn’t excessive like the formal suit set, but neither was it the attire of an ordinary traveler.
If he had to put it… it was exactly the look of a well-loved ‘young master.’
“Ho ho. It took quite a long time to negotiate the design.”
“…”
I very nearly ended up traveling around dressed like a clown.
“I truly appreciate it.”
Andre gave a smile that spoke of many a story.
“Let us try it on.”
“All right.”
After all this care, of course he had to change into it.
Lion went into the fitting room and put on the travel outfit.
As expected, it was light and extremely comfortable, without a single point of discomfort.
“As expected! It suits you splendidly!”
“That’s because the finest artisan made it.”
“That is wonderful praise to hear! Hahaha… Ah! That reminds me, Leah said that if you came, you absolutely must grace the smithy with your presence!”
“The smithy?”
“Yes! Since you’ve come down to the village, I think it would be good for you to stop by.”
She added, repeatedly telling him not to worry even a little about the journey, while raising a thumb.
“Right. Understood. About the cost of the clothes…”
“There is no need to pay! This fabric, this shop, and even our customers are no different from what you have given us!”
“Then I’ll wear them gratefully.”
Andre said that those words were enough and saw Lion off all the way to the door.
Her expression was vastly more lively than it had been at the start, and it was nice to see.
As Andre had instructed, Lion headed straight for the smithy.
There, he found…
“What took you so long!”
The blacksmith Mudu was glaring at Lion with displeasure, his short, sturdy arms folded.
“Mudu! How’ve you been?”
“How’ve I been, my foot! I had a hard time because those pointy-eared creatures came and stirred up my forge as they pleased!”
“Haha.”
They had clearly come here to see the lesser fire spirit.
“Nothing wrong with the fire?”
“Nothing! The heat’s actually gotten better after those pointy-ears came and went, so that’s good, at least.”
Being a dwarf, he did dislike elves, but since they’d been helpful, he didn’t say anything further.
“More importantly, you asked me to come. What’s this about?”
“Hmph. Follow me!”
Lion followed Mudu, and there he found…
“What’s this?”
“You seem to have picked up a number of hobbies in the meantime. So I tried my hand at getting one of these ready.”
[Mudu’s Tool Set (★★★)]
— It contains everything you might think of.
— It fits perfectly in the hand, and it’s even lightweight! A special secret technique seems to have been used.
All sorts of tools were inside.
And Mudu had even gone so far as to make a box for it, so that Lion could carry it around easily.