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

"..."

Silvan froze in front of the blood-red chunk of meat. The hand holding his fork trembled pitifully.

Can you blame him? Who in the world serves raw meat just because someone likes meat? Meanwhile, the Count continued his meal as naturally as could be.

'What the hell is he trying to pull?'

Ferda's eyes filled with confusion.

This wasn't in the original story, so it was hard to figure out. After thinking more, he came up with a few theories, but they were all just hunches with no solid proof.

Let's just watch the situation unfold a bit more.

While thinking that, the Count suddenly spoke up.

"I heard the news. You beat several pages?"

He must have heard from Ayl.

Was Silvan startled by the sudden conversation? He answered with a slightly trembling voice.

"...Yes."

"Well done. Excellent work."

Sudden praise. Not only Silvan but even Ferda's eyes widened in surprise.

Count Arcdute was stingy with praise. Even when Casher reached intermediate Sword Expert level, he just muttered, "If you've got my blood, that much should be basic."

But he's praising Silvan just for beating some pages?

Being surprised was natural. But then the reason for his praise came spilling out.

"Thanks to that, I could distinguish the incompetent ones."

What the hell does that mean?

Silvan tilted his head in confusion. Then he immediately opened his mouth to ask why. But the Count's cold voice was a bit faster.

"I kicked out all the pages who lost to you from the castle."

"...!"

Silvan's eyes went wide as saucers.

Soon the Count's words continued.

"Guys who can't even beat a half-breed don't deserve to become my knights."

It was obvious who the Count meant by "half-breed." Silvan bit his lips tightly and hung his head. His shoulders shook even more violently.

Meanwhile, Ferda narrowed his eyes.

Now he understood.

What the Count's intention was.

'He's pressuring Silvan.'

He laid out bloody raw meat on the table to crush his spirit. Then he mentally pressures him by saying the pages got kicked out because of you. It was pretty psycho behavior, but the Count's intention was very successful.

Silvan's face had turned pale blue.

'But why?'

Is there any need to pressure Silvan? He already finds the Count incredibly intimidating anyway, and would grovel even without this kind of behavior.

As question marks popped up in Ferda's head.

The Count, who had been watching Silvan's changes, suddenly smirked. It was the smile he made when satisfied. Shortly after, he put on a straight face as if nothing had happened and said.

"If you're not planning to eat, then get out."

His tone was clearly dismissive. But to Silvan, it was the sweetest answer possible. He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Scrape—

Silvan bowed his head. Ferda also got up from his seat to support the staggering Silvan. But then.

"Ferda, stay behind. I have something to discuss."

The Count caught Ferda's steps.

What could he want to discuss? He was curious but didn't show it. Instead, he looked at Silvan with worried eyes.

"...I'm fine. I can go alone."

Did he feel his gaze? Silvan forced a smile and spoke.

"I'll go ahead. See you later."

With a faint smile as his farewell, Silvan turned around.

Shortly after, when the door closed, Ferda sat back down. The Count, who had just finished his meal, pushed the bloody dish aside.

"It's nothing major, just something I'm curious about."

The Count wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

A kind voice flowed from his lips.

"Could you tell me how you've been living? Since you're the son of an old friend, I'm naturally concerned."

Son of an old friend? He almost snorted.

Although the Count did owe a debt to Ferda's father, their relationship wasn't close enough to call each other friends. They were just comrades who fought together on the same battlefield once or twice.

But the original Ferda doesn't know this fact. He shouldn't know. His only meeting with the Count was once at an inn when he was young.

So he put on the darkest expression possible. The story about to begin was the life traces of a mercenary from a fallen noble family who had struggled to survive.

"Yes. I..."

He began the story in a low, sunken voice.

Unlike what he told Silvan, he didn't mix in any experiences from his Hunter days. They definitely would have investigated his background. It would be troublesome if he blabbed and the investigation didn't match up.

So he stuck to the facts as concisely as possible.

"...And that's how I ended up coming here."

Until he met Burke while wandering the back alleys.

When the whole story ended, the Count suddenly got up from his seat. Then he patted Ferda's shoulder and said.

"I apologize for my subordinate's rudeness. He's an upright and good fellow, but lacks flexibility. I hope you'll forgive him with a generous heart."

"Oh, no. Please take back those words."

Ferda tried hard to look flustered.

After that, the two had various conversations. From mercenary industry talk to the Count's castle and the back alleys of Mullen. They covered diverse topics, but nowhere in them was any mention of Silvan.

Just as the conversation was getting boring, the Count suddenly called him.

"Ferda."

"Yes, Count."

"What do you think is the difference between humans and beasts?"

It was a random question. But it didn't seem like he was joking around. His face was very serious. As Ferda was lost in thought to give an answer, the Count spoke first.

"It's simple. If you have dignity, you're human. If not, you're a beast."

The Count suddenly got up from his seat.

He picked up one of the chunks of meat from the table and slowly approached Ferda. Then with an expressionless face, he continued speaking.

"A tutor? That's too good for a beast. Dignity isn't something you can teach. What I want is a trainer. A trainer who makes them eat at set times and sleep at set times."

Thud—

The chunk of meat left the Count's hand and rolled on the floor. The rolling meat chunk stopped right in front of Ferda's nose.

"The day I first saw you. I remember you skillfully handling the eagle-owl at the inn. That's exactly the level I want. Nothing more is needed."

He slowly lowered his head and moved his lips.

"Remember how I handled the beast today."

At that moment, the Count stomped on the chunk of meat.

Crunch!

Red flesh splattered everywhere. One piece stuck to Ferda's cheek.

The Count wiped off the flesh stuck to his cheek and whispered.

"Next time we meet, I expect you to have trained him to be more beast-like."

"..."

Ferda silently bowed his head.

Not because he was afraid of his threats. It wasn't because of the Sword Master's unique aura that was gradually pressuring him like drizzle either.

Crack—

Because if he looked at the Count's face right now, he felt like he'd punch that mug.

Beast? Tame? Does he think he can babble whatever he wants just because he has a working mouth?

Grind!

With his head down, he clenched his teeth with all his might. To keep from showing his rising anger. But he couldn't stop his shoulders from trembling finely because he put too much force into it.

That's when it happened.

"Yes, that's good enough."

Did he take Ferda's silent appearance as agreement?

The Count smiled kindly and patted his shoulder.

And breakfast ended.

***

After Ferda left.

The Count, left alone, leisurely drank tea. Even though his nose should have been numb from the bloody smell, he didn't care at all. When he was halfway through his coffee, someone knocked on the door from outside.

Knock knock—

"Did you call for me?"

The one who opened the door and entered was Ayl.

The Count didn't even look at him, just quietly waggled his finger. Ayl, as if familiar with this behavior, strode right up to the Count's side.

Then he knelt down and bowed his head. As if saying he was ready to listen to your story.

Shortly after, the Count moved his lips.

"Ayl."

"Yes, Count."

"What do you think?"

Though it was a random question, he immediately figured out who the Count was talking about. So Ayl answered in a respectful tone.

"Borrowing Burke's words, he's reasonably perceptive and communicates well, so he's quite useful, but..."

"I already heard that."

The Count said expressionlessly.

He tilted his head at an angle and looked down at Ayl.

"I'm asking for your opinion."

At those words, Ayl closed his mouth again.

Ayl saw Ferda for the first time today.

Of course, he knew of his existence. He was the tutor the Count personally selected. But seeing him directly was a first today. Plus, the time he saw him wasn't very long either. It was hard to judge him based on that alone.

"Honestly, I'm not sure."

So Ayl chose to answer honestly.

Hearing this, the Count silently sipped his coffee. As the silence lengthened, Ayl opened his mouth again.

"Is there something bothering you about him?"

"There isn't. Rather, there's too little, and that's the problem."

The Count's current expression was the one he automatically made when something didn't sit right with him. Noticing this, Ayl carefully asked for the reason.

"What do you mean by that...?"

"That guy only picked out the answers I wanted to hear. As if he'd peeked inside my head."

The Count answered in an annoyed voice.

Quick-witted Ayl realized what he should say here.

"Would you like me to investigate again?"

"No, that's not necessary. Just figure out if he's someone we can use."

Digging into someone's background takes surprisingly long. To the Count, Ferda wasn't worth that much time.

He was just a useful chess piece.

"If you determine he can't be used..."

"I'll dispose of him as we've done before."

Ayl quickly answered.

With his head bowed, he added more words.

"And I'll also look into the next tutor."

No answer came back. The Count just silently sipped his coffee. But there was no need to be anxious. That was the Count's answer.

Ayl quietly bowed his head.

***

Some time after that.

The Count and Ayl left the room. Then maids swarmed in and began cleaning the room. They swept up the scattered meat pieces and carried out the blood-soaked carpet entirely.

Was it because they were too busy moving around frantically?

The maids didn't know. That someone was hiding above their heads, on the ceiling.

Well, not knowing was natural. Even the head butler Ayl and the Sword Master Count Arcdute hadn't noticed.

'I got lucky.'

Ferda muttered to himself.

On the way back to the mansion, Ferda had bought two skills with the achievement points he received for defeating Arcane.

Though he didn't like the random distribution method, there really wasn't much else to buy besides skills.

And the result.

'I can't believe I actually got [Stone Throwing].'

Remembering that moment made him sigh automatically.

But it wasn't all duds. A jackpot came along that made him forget about [Stone Throwing]. And it was the skill he used most during his active days!

=====

[Ability]: Hide Walker

[Grade]: Legend

[Stage]: 1/3

[Effect]: One of SSS-rank Hunter Kenny Bark's skills. Completely erases the caster's presence for 10 minutes. However, be careful as there's a certain probability that stealth will break if the caster harbors killing intent.

*Magic consumption: 50

*Cooldown: 30 minutes

*Stealth break probability: 20%

=====

A stealth skill that couldn't be detected by any means unless you were higher ranked than the caster. There was no better skill for an assassin.

As soon as he got [Hide Walker], Ferda retraced his steps.

Being invited to breakfast wasn't in the original story. So after breakfast ended, he thought maybe he could extract some important information from the Count.

'Less than I expected.'

But the results were disappointing.

Still, it wasn't completely worthless.

'Did I try too hard to please him?'

Since he learned that the Count suspected him.

Apparently throwing only the answers he wanted was a bit much.

'Doesn't matter now though.'

Originally, he planned to get somewhat friendly with the Count and extract something from him. But now that thought had completely disappeared. He had not even a speck of desire to associate with someone who didn't even treat his own student as human.

'Should I head back soon?'

Staying here would just waste time.

Right now he had things to do. Ferda disappeared just like that.