SSS-Rank Hunter Reborn: Private Tutor to the Count's Bastard Son

Ferda stood blankly, staring at the doll.

Then he suddenly realized something.

"This is my hair?"

The navy blue hair binding the doll. It was Ferda's.

His eyes flashed sharply.

"Come to think of it..."

He'd seen a similar scene in the novel.

"...When resting at his lodging became boring. Ferda got up with his stiff body. He thought he'd take a quick look around. As he left his lodging and strolled through the garden full of blooming flowers. Something caught his eye.

'What's that?'

The flower bed in front of the mansion. Something was sticking out from inside. It looked like something buried inside had been revealed due to the heavy rain that poured yesterday. Ferda approached with a curious expression and was soon shocked.

'Wh-what is this!?'

Something wrapped tightly with silver hair.

It was a curse doll, stuck full of nails."

The curse doll that Ferda in the original work had discovered.

That doll had a terrible curse that would torment the target with nightmares and kill them. It would've been no surprise if the mansion was turned upside down, but surprisingly nothing happened.

Because it was Silvan.

"But this time, why me...?"

In the novel, all the curse targets were Silvan.

From Season 1 through Season 8, every single one.

At this fact, Ferda tilted his head curiously.

Then he soon opened his eyes wide.

Thinking of the culprit behind the curse, he had a hunch.

"...Rianne Neyshard."

The youngest daughter of Marquis Neyshard, a great noble of the south.

And Count Arcdute's second wife. She was the mastermind who caused this incident.

The reason was simple.

She didn't like the stone named Silvan that had suddenly rolled in.

That was all.

But this time, instead of Silvan, she targeted Ferda.

Thinking about it, there was a reasonable motive.

"Revenge for her son?"

Rianne's only son, Casher Arcdute.

Not long ago, Ferda had destroyed Casher under the pretense of sparring. He'd tremble just seeing Ferda's shadow for a while. That was the intended purpose of destroying him anyway.

Also, according to what he'd heard from the servants, Casher was currently holed up in the mansion. He'd actually skipped sword lessons last week too.

Recalling this, he finally understood a bit.

Her precious son, whom she wouldn't hurt even if she put him in her eyes, had returned all beaten up. And he was even holed up in his room trembling. If it was Rianne, who loved her son dearly, she would definitely seek revenge.

"Good thing I found it early."

Ferda chuckled.

If it were when he was an SSS-rank hunter, maybe not, but the current him had no curse resistance.

If the curse had manifested, he would have suffered considerably.

As he gripped the curse doll tightly, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Then for Silvan..."

Didn't they cast a curse on him?

But he soon shook his head.

There was no way they only cursed Ferda. Since they were going through the trouble of making curse dolls anyway, they would've made one for Silvan too. It wasn't that much extra work.

"I need to check."

It might be groundless worry, but he needed to resolve unsettling matters right away to feel at ease.

Ferda's eyes lit up as he headed straight to the flower bed.

Sure enough?

He found a suspicious spot.

Like the one in his lodging's backyard, there was a part where the soil color was different. The location was even a spot directly visible from Silvan's room.

Grr—

Ferda bit his lip slightly.

Once he pinpointed the location, there was no hesitation. Ferda immediately dug up the ground.

Some time later.

"As expected."

He found an identical doll.

The difference from his was that the hair was silver.

Ferda's face contorted terrifyingly.

From a reader's perspective, he'd only thought 'something's going to happen soon.'

But now Silvan wasn't just a character in a novel.

He was his student.

"These bastards..."

Should I go overturn everything right now?

As he was suppressing his anger while gripping the curse doll in his hand.

"Ferda!"

A familiar voice came from above.

Looking up, he saw a familiar face.

A boy sticking his head out the window. It was Silvan.

"What are you doing down there? Come up quickly!"

At those words, Ferda finally realized he was late for their appointment.

He nodded once, then turned around.

"Ah."

Then he suddenly looked down at his hands.

A pair of curse dolls dangling there.

He hadn't thought about how to dispose of these. He couldn't burn them right away, and it felt unsettling to put them in his inventory. What to do?

As he was lost in brief contemplation.

"Hurry up! The meat's getting cold!"

At Silvan's following voice, he quickly made a decision.

Right, let's eat the meat first and think later.

Ferda roughly stuffed the dolls into his pocket and headed to Silvan's room.

***

Large grilled lamb steaks and stew packed with meat. Soft, moist white bread and even warm coffee.

It was the most wonderful meal in recent times.

"Phew, I'm full."

With a satisfied smile. Silvan patted his plump belly.

Then the necklace around his neck swayed along with it. The holy relic that suppressed Silvan's magic power, the Eyes of the Moon. Seeing this, Ferda immediately spoke up.

"That necklace, is it okay?"

"Huh? What about it?"

"I mean, is it okay to keep wearing it? You're not uncomfortable or anything?"

"Ah, this."

Silvan picked up the holy relic with his fingers.

As if picking up something dirty.

But unlike when he first saw it, he didn't show disgust or anything.

"At first it was a bit heavy and stuffy, but now it's nothing."

Of course it would be.

Right now, the Eyes of the Moon was pouring all its power into suppressing the nether mana in Silvan's body.

Currently, Silvan had about half his magic power sealed.

Of course, if he took off the necklace, it would return to normal.

But it was better to wear it for now.

The Holy Kingdom's delegation was supposed to leave the Count's territory in a couple days.

"...And Ferda always told me to keep wearing it."

Then came a mosquito-like murmur.

Thanks to that, Ferda snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Silvan.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Mmm. It's nothing."

Silvan shook his head.

Then he grinned and soon approached the window. After finishing dinner, sitting by the window and looking at the night sky. It was Silvan's personal routine that he did like a habit.

Meanwhile, Ferda sat on the sofa and drank coffee.

If there was one thing he'd come to like since coming here, it was this coffee. The aroma and flavor were amazing, on a completely different level from what he'd drunk on Earth.

Even so, both his eyes were fixed on Silvan.

Just as Silvan sat by the window looking at the night sky, Ferda also had his own routine.

'Let's see.'

First, he checked the status window.

Current magic power was around 520. The Eyes of the Moon seemed to be working well.

Next, he looked at strength and stamina stats. They'd risen a lot compared to when he first saw them, but still weren't enough.

'I'll have to start again from next week.'

He'd make him run with sandbags on both feet while carrying stones. While thinking thoughts that would make Silvan turn pale if he heard them, Ferda carefully planned his lessons.

'And...'

Next was affection.

The number had already risen to 29. If the maximum was 100, it could be said to be incredibly fast progress. But since he'd once hit -101, 100 probably wasn't the maximum.

'The status window is good enough.'

Next was the skill window.

=====

[Ability]: Dignity of a Necromancer

[Grade]: Mythical

[Stage]: 1/1

[Effects]:

-Immune to poisons, curses, and plagues below World grade.

-Will not be attacked first by undead below World grade.

-Gains favor from those with unholy power.

-Can communicate with all undead.

*Magic consumption: 0 (Passive)

=====

The unique skill obtained as soon as he awakened as a necromancer.

Seeing this left him speechless.

'...How should I describe this.'

He'd once called Casher a cheat character.

He takes that back.

That guy was just a small fry.

Compared to the 'real cheat character' before his eyes.

'I didn't know when I read it in the novel...'

Well, the original didn't have a system.

But seeing it like this in the skill window really hit home.

His student, Silvan Arcdute, wasn't the protagonist of "The Savior" for nothing. If Silvan had been a hunter on Earth, wouldn't he have been called an 'SSS-rank necromancer'?

'I need to work harder too.'

I can't let my student catch up to me.

Ferda chuckled.

Then he turned his gaze to the next skill.

A skill Silvan gained as a bonus when awakening as a necromancer.

It was Death Eyes.

=====

[Ability]: Death Eyes

[Grade]: Hero

[Stage]: 1/10

[Effect]: Just making eye contact inflicts the fear of death on the target. The higher the stage, or the weaker the target, the higher the 'instant death activation probability.'

*Magic consumption: 100

*Instant death activation probability: 0.1%

=====

'The magic consumption is surprisingly high.'

If Ferda used it, it would consume all his magic power.

But Silvan had overflowing magic power, so he'd be fine.

Even right now, if he took off the Eyes of the Moon, it would exceed 1,000.

Meanwhile, the coffee cup showed its bottom.

After taking the last sip, Ferda rummaged through his pocket. It was to take out 'Understanding Curses' that he'd obtained while organizing his inventory.

Just then.

Silvan's voice suddenly rang out.