Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 95
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 95
Lion fitted glowstones into the grooves he had prepared earlier and packed clay around each one.
“Good. Perfect fit.”
Thanks to the clay, the glowstones were seated snugly.
As though they had always been embedded there.
Lion continued placing stones underwater and around the flame grass.
One, two.
Finally, he installed the last glowstone beside the spot where Nature was resting. He extended a hand and drew up a little mana.
Woom—woom—
The glowstones began to shine as if responding to one another, and the warmth from the flame grass beside them started transferring into the spring.
That was not all.
It seemed the fragrance of the flame-grass blossoms traveled as well, because a subtle, sweet aroma drifted across the whole forest.
[5 hours and 20 minutes remaining until completion.]
“There. That will take a while now.”
Lion sank down next to Nature and rested, watching the water gradually warm.
It had taken not two days but nearly three.
And yet, there had been no word from Rickshel.
‘Nothing terrible happened to him, right?’
Lion considered for a moment, then shook his head.
Nothing had happened; he should not start thinking like that.
“You should go rest now too. You ran yourself ragged running errands for me.”
At Lion’s words, Freyania, who had been watching from a short distance, gaped.
‘He can be that calm?’
Freyania had watched the environment change in real time over the past few days.
The spring, once only cold, turning warm was already astonishing—and now it even carried a floral fragrance, had it not?
“Why don’t you go back now and get some sleep?”
“No. I don’t know what might happen, so I’ll stay here longer.”
“Then I will stay here too.”
Lion looked at Freyania, whose voice sounded like she had made a firm resolution.
‘I’m grateful, but…’
Surely a growing child ought to go to sleep early.
And even if she pretended otherwise, Freyania had been raised in comfort and plenty. She would not prefer sleeping in the wilderness like this.
On top of that, hadn’t she been running around sweating for the past two days, carrying out his errands?
“I have something I need you to do at the mansion.”
So, Lion decided to use a little trick.
“W-what is it?”
“When Rickshel comes out of the training ground, bring him with Grandfather.”
“Pardon?”
“A spirit mage around speeds up recovery, doesn’t she? He will have been through a lot, so stay with him and bring him here.”
“…”
Freyania hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
‘That frightening woman and the ancient spirit are here with him, so he should be all right.’
And if things went wrong, Petrick Asteri could step in.
“Understood. Then I shall bring your younger brother back safely!”
Of course, the Asteri family members were still rather terrifying, but if her teacher gave an order, she was duty-bound to follow it!
Freyania added an emphatic warning to be careful and left the forest.
* * *
At that moment.
“…”
Rickshel Asteri sat alone, eyes closed.
Breathe in, hold. Make the mana your own, then let it out.
He did not know how many times he had done this anymore.
His firmly shut eyelids fluttered.
Physically, he was nearing his limit.
Instinctively, he brought to mind passages he had learned long before.
Focus on yourself so completely that you lose awareness of what is happening outside.
The wellspring of mana within your body. There, gather new mana and form a single lake.
That lake follows the watercourse called a circle, becomes a river, becomes a sea, and transforms into waves.
The vapor that rises turns into raindrops, is absorbed into your body, and returns once more to the spring.
…Then your path and your enlightenment shall open.
‘Just a little more.’
Rickshel kept concentrating in order to shape the vessel of the 5th Circle.
Inside the cavern where a fierce wind blew, he sat in full lotus position, eyes closed, paying no mind to anything external and focused entirely inward.
His garment, once pristine, was torn here and there by the wind and blade-like icicles.
Whenever his concentration wavered, the knifing wind of the personal training ground lashed his body.
One moment of lost focus, and he would die.
He had to sit still with his eyes closed and concentrate, but he absolutely could not fall asleep.
If he did not keep his mana active, he would be ripped to shreds.
Shwaaak!
Ping!
Sharp icicles surged against his mana-wreathed body, then ricocheted away and shattered into fragments.
Even those fragments became a handful of mana and were absorbed into Rickshel’s body.
Gulp.
‘Terrifying.’
He did not know how many threats like this there had been.
Frankly, every single one sent a chill down his spine.
But that was the nature of this training.
Push yourself to the limit and turn the danger into your own.
And then, claim the small vessel formed in that crucible.
It could fairly be described as a brutal method.
‘Originally, I wouldn’t even have felt fear.’
Rickshel had been born with exceptional talent.
Nothing had blocked his path; everything he wanted, he had achieved.
The same had been true of his heir lessons.
So when he reached the 4th Circle, he had already decided that he must attain the 5th Circle in this personal training ground.
Because danger was the natural price of achievement.
He had thought it a rational judgment.
After all, he was someone who well understood his own worth.
But…
‘Thinking about it now, that was utterly wrong.’
He had only considered it a rational method; he had not thought about what he might lose.
Because he had not known.
Had not known that there were people who worried about him.
That is to say, he had not known there was someone who thought of him not merely as the heir, but as a person.
He had been arrogant.
‘If something happens to me here…’
They would grieve.
His family.
He knew that clearly now.
Even the Family Head… no, even Grandfather alone—how worried he must have been.
And his older brother as well.
Thinking of that made his heart ache, yet at the same time, in this icy, piercing cavern, he could feel warmth.
It felt as though he were soaking his body in warm water.
‘I want to go back.’
But even so, Rickshel had needed to come here.
‘The assassins.’
The moment his older brother had left the territory, assassins had struck.
Of course, Elvia and the driver from the Criminal Underworld had handled it, but this had surely happened because he, the heir, was inferior to the Family Head.
Rickshel could not tolerate that.
So after dealing with the assassins, he had entered this place immediately.
His goal had been one thing from the start.
To protect his family and his people.
To become someone as formidable as his grandfather and protect his older brother.
‘I want to see him soon.’
Even in the midst of this danger, Rickshel smiled faintly.
He simply wanted to be praised more, and to eat his fill of the food his brother made.
‘What I want isn’t grand.’
Honestly, titles like “heir to the marquisate of a great mage family” stirred little feeling in him.
He simply wanted to be together with his brother.
He only wanted to do his part as his brother’s younger brother, and as Grandfather’s youngest grandchild.
Yes. He did not want to reign alone.
Because nothing remained upon solitude.
He wanted to be together with them.
He missed them.
His brother, his grandfather, all of them.
“…!”
Around the time those thoughts filled his mind—
the mana that had been rampaging chaotically inside his body for lack of a vessel began to settle into a circle around his heart.
Once settled, mana would most readily follow the firmest will.
Fwaaah!
When Rickshel slowly opened his eyes, the dark cavern shone bright, and the raging mana storm subsided as if it had died.
Thus, at an age before he had even reached adulthood—
a fifth circle was engraved upon Rickshel’s heart.
It was an achievement that would turn the empire on its head…
but to Rickshel, the 5th Circle was not such a grand thing.
Right now, what mattered most to him was…
“My brother has not returned yet, has he?”
Whether Lion had come back.
Rickshel sprang to his feet and headed out of the training ground.
* * *
Sniff, sniff!
The fragrance of deep, verdant greenery reached the tip of Lion’s nose.
At the scent, which seemed to settle mind and body, Lion slowly lifted his eyelids.
Dense tree leaves filled his view.
“Mm.”
Lion rustled inside the sleeping bag and sat up.
He must have kept watching the remaining time, then dozed off at some point.
“Ppeep!”
“Huh?”
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Lion snapped them open wide at the welcome sound.
“Nature?”
“Peep, peep!”
Nature, who had been deeply asleep, was now circling up in good health and alighting on his shoulder!
“You’re awake! Are you all right now?”
As if to show off, Nature spread its wings and preened its feathers with its beak.
She seemed to be saying that he should spare her pride and not ask such a question.
“That’s a relief.”
Lion felt deeply reassured. He had been nervous, wondering whether she had overexerted herself badly.
Hm? But…
His shoulder was a little damp.
Now that he noticed, Nature’s wings also looked ruffled, as if soaked with something.
‘Which means?’
Lion turned his head and looked straight ahead.
“…It’s done!”
At some point, the notification displaying the remaining time had vanished!
Lion hurried toward the hot spring.
Splish!
He dipped his hand in; a pleasant warmth climbed along his fingers.
While he was at it, Lion decided to scoop some water into a potion vial and examine it.
[Deep Mimir Forest Hot Spring Water (★★★)]
- Clear, clean water! It even carries a refreshing fragrance! There is probably no one who would dislike this scent.
- Rapidly recovers stamina while bathing.
- The more often you bathe in it, the more you feel as though something good will happen.
“Oh.”
Even though he had just scooped up some water, it rated three stars.
That meant the stamina recovery was genuine.
Lion briefly considered enjoying a bath right that moment, then shook his head.
Tired as he was, it seemed more meaningful for everyone to get into the water together.
“In that case…”
Lion stretched and looked around.
Fortunately, it still appeared to be morning, and Freyania had not yet reached the Mimir Forest.
‘Shall I prepare some snacks, then?’
As it happened, Freyania had delivered various supplies, so he had quite a lot of ingredients.
Among them, what Lion had specially requested was…
‘This, of course.’
Lion picked up a bluish egg.
[Blue-Shelled Egg (★)]
- Larger than other eggs! A bluish shell is its distinctive feature!
- The more you chew, the more the savory richness of the yolk comes through.
“Roasted eggs.”
Lion placed a generous pile of eggs into the alchemy cauldron and poured in an adequate amount of the spring water he had just drawn.
Then he sprinkled an adequate amount of salt and closed the lid.
…An alchemy cauldron was still a cauldron, so it should be fine, shouldn’t it?
It even allowed free fire adjustment, didn’t it?
‘A high-end rice cooker, basically.’
Lion adjusted the heat as needed, then reached into his bosom and pulled out the mellow grass.
‘When they enjoy the bath and their energy flags, they’ll crave something sweet.’
It was morning now, but they would arrive around lunchtime, so it would not be too heavy to eat.
Lion roasted the soft mellow grass fruit on a flame grass leaf.
Soon, a subtle brown tint spread over the surface of the mellow grass, which had been white as snow, and it began to melt slowly.
‘Now!’
Lion placed a mellow grass fruit on a cracker, then chocolate on top. He layered another cracker over it and swiftly made a sandwich.
He was busily preparing portions for the family like that when…
“Brother.”
Along with the voice he had been waiting to hear, he sensed someone’s presence.