"Young master!"
Burke rushed over frantically.
After entrusting Casher to the knights, he immediately glared at Ferda.
"...Explain."
An aura so sharp it made skin tingle.
Burke's eyes gleamed menacingly.
"In a way I can understand. Right now!"
The training ground became quiet. Everyone's gaze turned toward Ferda.
The atmosphere suggested they might cut his throat depending on his answer.
Ferda immediately bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. When I felt threatened, my mercenary habits from the old days unconsciously came out..."
There was no better excuse for this situation.
They had all seen it.
From Casher using lethal force to him using a Mana Sword.
On top of that, Ferda had even fallen backward at the end. Casher didn't hesitate to thrust his sword, and Ferda felt threatened and counterattacked.
Perfect self-defense.
Several knights nodded as if they understood.
"Mmm."
That left Burke in a difficult position.
He sighed and, without lowering his intimidating aura, added one more thing.
"Still, you went too far. Soon there will be disciplinary—"
"Gah! This bastard! This bastaaaard!"
That's when Casher suddenly roared wildly.
Did he regain consciousness already? If I'd known, I should have beat him more. With that regret, Ferda smacked his lips.
But what was this?
An opportunity came faster than expected.
"Ah, ahhhh!"
"Young master!"
Casher pushed away the knights and picked up the steel sword that had fallen on the ground.
As if he'd poured all his remaining mana into it, the sword glowed particularly blue.
"Dieeeee!"
A sword flying toward his head.
At that moment, Ferda's eyes widened. An aura completely different from Burke's surged up. And the aura he created was directed at only one person—Casher.
Hesitate—
Just one step away.
Casher's movement froze.
His face was pale beyond white, turning blue. He dripped cold sweat and eventually dropped his sword.
It was natural. If earlier was an aura meant to subdue, the aura he'd just created was a 'real' aura filled with killing intent.
Of course, people don't actually die from just a look.
But it was enough to create a situation like this.
"Young master, are you alright?"
Ferda approached Casher with a worried expression.
Of course, without withdrawing his aura.
"I'm sorry. I feel like this happened because of me..."
"Uh, ah, ah!"
"You should rest now."
His lips moved toward Casher's ear.
Then he whispered in a low voice.
"Before my patience runs out."
Just for that moment, he poured all his aura onto Casher.
Casher trembled all over and then collapsed limply. He'd fainted from being unable to withstand the pressure.
"Young master!"
Knights who arrived late supported Casher. At the same time, Ferda cleanly withdrew his aura. Then he looked worriedly at Casher being carried away.
"Sigh, I feel heavy-hearted because it seems to be my fault."
Ferda shamelessly lied.
He bowed to Burke with a dark expression.
"I'll gladly accept disciplinary action. I'm sorry, Sir Logwood."
"..."
Burke's face became complicated.
Meanwhile, a cold smile formed on the lips of the bowing Ferda.
There was no way they could discipline him.
Proposing the spar, suggesting steel swords, using Mana Sword, employing lethal force, and launching a final sneak attack—all of that was Casher.
Ferda had merely struggled to avoid death.
'And...'
Now Casher wouldn't dare act carelessly toward Ferda at least.
In his experience, those who were overwhelmed by aura and fainted all acted that way.
A spar with more gains than losses. Ferda smiled with satisfaction.
"...Go back for today."
Burke let out a heavy sigh.
He knew it too. That he couldn't blame Ferda any further.
"Young Master Silvan seems quite shocked too."
As he said, Silvan was staring at Ferda with wide eyes. Noticing this, Ferda turned and headed toward Silvan.
"Young master."
Ferda knelt before Silvan.
He smiled broadly.
"Are you satisfied?"
I've paid them back exactly as promised.
Ferda's eyes seemed to say that. The answer came immediately.
=====
[Notification]: Affection increased by (70).
*Current affection: -30
=====
He must have been extremely satisfied.
***
That evening.
When the red sunset painted the sky, he received an unexpected proposal.
Knock knock—
"Ex-excuse me."
What entered through the door was a brown-haired servant.
Let's see. His name was definitely Aaron, I think. As Ferda was recalling the servant's name, Aaron spoke again.
"The young master has invited you to dinner together. So, so..."
Dinner?
This was a development that never happened in the original story.
But there was no need to panic.
Anyway, what happened today was already far from the original story.
"Tell him I'll be right there."
"Yes, yes!"
Aaron shouted with a disciplined expression.
About ten minutes later.
Ferda headed to the mansion guided by Aaron.
"Young master. It's Ferda."
"...Come in."
As soon as Silvan's permission was given.
He opened the door and entered. The dimly lit room.
Silvan, who was always on the bed, was unusually sitting at a table.
Food was already set on the table.
It wasn't a feast. Just roasted chicken, bread, and stew.
"Ahem!"
That's when Silvan cleared his throat.
His silk-like soft silver hair swayed.
Eventually, Silvan's gaze reached Ferda.
"You must have been surprised that I suddenly called you..."
Silvan first offered a light greeting.
Then he was going to tell him to sit down and suggest they start eating.
But then, Ferda suddenly walked toward the window.
Step step—
What had he discovered?
His face looked somewhat displeased. Silvan silently watched his actions. But this didn't last long.
Because Ferda suddenly threw open the window.
"W-wait!"
Silvan jumped up from his seat.
He hated sunlight. Sunset was no exception.
So he tried to stop Ferda.
But Ferda spoke first.
"The vines were a bit spread out."
He tapped the thorn vines outside the window.
Looking closely, that was right.
He'd thought a tiny bit of light was leaking through, but it was because the vines had spread apart.
Silvan nodded blankly.
"Thanks for inviting me to dinner. I was getting hungry anyway."
"Uh, uh."
"Then let's sit down."
"Mmm."
Conversation that flowed naturally like water.
Ferda seemed very accustomed to situations like this.
Meanwhile, Silvan wasn't, so all he could do was follow Ferda's lead in conversation.
Clink—
Some time later.
The silent dinner ended.
The cleanly emptied plates. Just looking at them, it seemed like it had been a very satisfying meal.
Rubbing his full belly, Silvan suddenly looked toward the window.
Around that time, Ferda got up from his seat.
"I heard the moon is bright tonight."
He hated sunlight terribly but liked moonlight.
That was Silvan's story.
"It would be good to open the window."
He didn't ask for permission separately. When the window opened, gentle moonlight quietly bathed the room.
Only then was Silvan's face, which had been hidden in darkness, revealed.
A somewhat uncomfortable expression.
"You, I mean..."
"Ferda Inosid."
Ferda answered, understanding what Silvan was trying to say.
Then Silvan muttered Ferda's name several times in a small voice.
As if trying not to forget it.
After a moment, Silvan spoke again.
"I called you today because I was curious about something."
He could roughly guess what the question would be.
How he managed to subdue Casher, or what he'd been doing to become so strong.
Or maybe...
"Before fighting Casher. You said there was a saying in the 'mercenary world.'"
Strictly speaking, it was the hunter world.
Anyway, he had said something like that.
"What did that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. I was a mercenary."
"A mercenary? I heard you were the second son of a noble family..."
"That's a lie."
At those words, Silvan frowned.
A message soon appeared saying affection had decreased by 1.
"But I've never lied. Sir Logwood just introduced me that way."
Thinking about it, that was right.
When first introduced, Ferda hadn't said anything.
Remembering this, Silvan's expression relaxed a bit.
"Why did that guy lie?"
"How would I know?"
Actually, he knew very well.
But there was no need to explain something that would naturally be revealed someday right here and now.
Ferda played innocent with a natural expression.
That's when Silvan asked another question.
"If you're a mercenary... you must have traveled around a lot outside?"
Unlike before, his eyes were filled with curiosity.
Ferda nodded.
"I've been a mercenary for over ten years."
It was the truth.
This was Ferda Inosid's 'setting.'
"Want to hear about it?"
"Ah, no, well."
Was it because he hit the mark?
Silvan scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.
"I'm just a bit curious..."
Well, it was the age to be curious about everything.
Before coming to the Count's estate, Silvan had only grown up in the forest.
Ferda chuckled and moved his lips.
"I first decided to become a mercenary when I was fifteen."
A fallen noble's son. He became a mercenary at fifteen and rolled around for over ten years.
The setting for Ferda in the original "The Savior" was just two lines. So Ferda added the experiences of 'Hunter Kenny Bark' to it.
From the first day he fought to when a fellow hunter betrayed him, when he obtained rare treasures, and so on. He told stories by appropriately modifying the numerous experiences he remembered.
As the story progressed, it was natural for interest to gather in Silvan's eyes.
"...And that's how I came to be here."
The two-hour-long story came to an end.
Quite a lot had changed during that time.