"Asher Veyron."
The steward lowered his head.
"Today, he went to Aegis Academy carrying the Special Recommendation Badge left behind by Lina and applied for an Immediate Strength Evaluation."
"The result?"
"He passed."
The steward activated the communication tablet.
Footage from the training ground began playing.
From Asher stopping the combat puppet’s fist with one hand, to standing back up through his terrifying regenerative ability, and finally destroying the puppet’s control core, the entire process had been recorded.
Cassian said nothing. His gaze was fixed on Asher’s face.
That face wasn’t completely identical to his younger self, but certain features around the brows and eyes were enough for anyone familiar with Cassian to recognize the blood relationship between them.
"Lina is dead?"
"She was buried yesterday."
"When did he awaken?"
"We haven’t been able to determine that yet."
The steward shook his head.
"According to our records, he never displayed any Hunter talent in the past. In fact, his body was even weaker than that of an ordinary person. However, today’s test results were extremely abnormal. His vitality in particular couldn’t even be measured by Aegis Academy’s equipment."
Cassian’s gaze gradually turned cold.
He remembered eighteen years ago.
When that woman had left the estate carrying her newborn child, she had looked at him in a way that made him extremely uncomfortable.
She hadn’t cried. Nor had she begged him.
Before leaving, she had merely told him that one day, he would pay for the choice he had made.
Cassian had originally believed those words were nothing more than the final resentment of an abandoned woman.
But now Lina was dead.
And the son she had left behind had appeared once again at the gates of Aegis Academy.
"Patriarch, how should we handle this?"
The steward asked quietly.
Cassian leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly against the desk.
"One of the assessments six days from now takes place inside a low level Gate, correct?"
"Yes."
"Have Harrison assign him to Gate No. 7."
The steward’s expression changed slightly.
"But Gate No. 7 experienced a mana anomaly just last month. The monsters inside may already exceed the standard permitted for the freshman assessment."
"I said..." Cassian raised his head.
The terrifying pressure of an S Rank Hunter instantly filled the entire study.
"Put him in there."
The steward trembled and immediately lowered his head.
"Understood."
"One more thing."
Cassian stared at Asher’s calm face on the tablet.
"Don’t let him come out alive."
...
Asher had no idea that, at the very moment he obtained the qualifications to participate in Aegis Gate Academy’s entrance examination, the father who had never acknowledged him had already decided that he would never make it out of the examination six days later.
After leaving the academy, he did not immediately return to his dormitory. Instead, he went with Irene to a nearby hunter restaurant.
The two had barely taken their seats when the enormous projection screen hanging in the center of the restaurant suddenly changed, and a video recorded at Aegis Academy’s training grounds appeared before everyone.
In the footage, Asher stood before a D Rank combat puppet, relying on his terrifying regenerative ability to endure its attacks before ultimately destroying its transmission shaft and control core, bringing the three meter tall metal puppet crashing to the ground.
Above the video was an extremely eye catching title.
[Shocking! S Rank Hero Cassian Valderis’s Illegitimate Son Suddenly Appears at Aegis Academy!]
[Never Acknowledged for Eighteen Years. What Is Really Hidden Behind the Hero’s Glorious Reputation?]
The view count beneath the title was still skyrocketing.
The comment section had descended into complete chaos.
[This has to be fake! Lord Cassian would never abandon his own biological son!]
[The video is already out. What is there left to doubt? That face looks at least fifty percent like Cassian when he was young!]
[I heard his mother used to be an instructor at Aegis Academy, but for some reason, her Hunter license was later revoked.]
[Lina Veyron? My mother trained under her before. She was a very gentle healing Hunter.]
[If Asher really is Cassian’s son, why has the Valderis family never acknowledged him?]
[An illegitimate heir of a powerful family, a mother stripped of her qualifications, and a mysterious regenerative ability that suddenly awakened... I can already smell a huge scandal.]
The customers inside the restaurant also noticed Asher, who had just walked in.
More and more gazes gathered on him.
Some people even pulled out their phones and began comparing his appearance with the person in the video.
Irene frowned.
"Should we go somewhere else?"
"No need." Asher picked up the menu as though he did not notice the curious gazes surrounding him.
"The bigger this becomes, the more advantageous it is for me."
"You already knew the video would spread?" Irene’s frown deepened.
"There were too many candidates gathered outside Aegis Academy. From the moment Mira publicly revealed my identity, there was no longer any way to keep this hidden."
Asher calmly flipped through the menu.
"Cassian is one of the Federation’s most popular S Rank Hunters. Once news spreads that he abandoned his illegitimate son and blocked my mother’s access to medical treatment, the Valderis family’s reputation will inevitably suffer."
"The more they care about their reputation, the less likely they are to openly move against me in the short term."
That was precisely why he had not stopped the surrounding candidates from recording him.
The current Asher was still far from possessing the strength necessary to confront the Valderis family directly, so he needed to place himself in the public eye as much as possible.
The more people paying attention to him, the harder it would be for Cassian to make him disappear without anyone noticing.
Irene remained silent for a moment.
"You really are completely different from before."
"What was I like before?"
"Quiet, withdrawn, and terrible at hiding your emotions."
Irene thought seriously for a moment.
"If someone mentioned Cassian in front of you, you wouldn’t argue with them, but you would become even more depressed for a long time afterward. You definitely wouldn’t have declared war on the Valderis family in front of so many people like you did today."
Asher looked up.
"You don’t like the way I am now?"
"No."
Irene shook her head.
She looked into Asher’s eyes, which were now completely devoid of their former gloom and confusion, and a faint smile gradually appeared on her lips.
"You’re better like this."
A system notification immediately appeared.
[Target Irene’s Favorability has increased.]
[Current Favorability: 81.]
[Target Dependency: 8.]
[Current Emotions: Gratification, Curiosity, Mild Infatuation.]
Asher closed the notification.
"For the next six days, I need practical combat training."
"I know a private hunter training center."
Irene had clearly already thought about this.
"I once entered a Gate with its owner as part of the same team. The training center has D Rank combat equipment, and its customers’ information is kept completely confidential. As long as you pay enough monster cores, you can use it around the clock."
"I don’t have any monster cores."
The original Asher had already spent all his savings buying medicine for Lina. The money he had left now was not even enough to cover a week of dormitory expenses.
"I do."
Irene took out her Hunter account card.
"I just advanced to C Rank, and the Association gave me a promotion reward. It should be enough to cover the training fees for now."
"Is this a loan?"
"Do you really have to calculate everything so precisely?"
"I do."
Asher put down the menu.
"Our contract states that I will help you increase your strength, while you will provide me with resources and protection within your capabilities. But that doesn’t mean I can use everything you have without compensation."
"I’ll repay the training fees later."
Irene looked at him before finally nodding helplessly.
"Fine. Consider it a loan."
[Detected: Host has refused to obtain a partner’s resources without compensation.]
[Contract Target’s Trust has increased.]
[Hint: Stable and equitable relationships of mutual benefit are more conducive to establishing a long term faction.]
[New Side Quest issued.]