Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Oh, Those Bitter Days~
As always, after a long and busy day, Sling left the remaining task of observing the trainees until they retired to bed to the other instructors while he headed back home to the comfort of his family.
"Dad!" Rip excitedly ran to Sling, wanting to be the first to greet him. "Did you see big brother Ian today?"
At home, the perfect Butler Srca with his impeccable smile reverted back to the family man Sling.
Sling pretended to be hurt. "I just got home and the first thing you do is ask about young master Ian and not me? I'm hurt." His head drooped and he imitated a down puppy.
Rip rolled his eyes. He was smart enough to know that his dad was only acting. 'Ple-leash! This trick has gotten so old. How old-fashioned is dad?!'
Still, like the good and sensible son he was, Rip pretended to have fallen for it.
"I-I'm sorry, dad! How was your day?" He acted flustered and quickly asked Sling about his day.
Satisfied, Sling replied, "It was good, thank you for asking, Rip."
"Great!" Then Rip immediately followed up with the main question, "So did you see brother Ian?"
Sling sweatdropped. Rip wasn't going to quit it until he answered, will he?
'After having young master Ian, you don't want your dad anymore!' Sling lamented to himself. However, strange to say, he understood his son's behavior. Young master Ian was just too charismatic and charming of a person. Sling nodded to himself.
After interacting more with the mysterious teenage boy who came to his house one day, Sling found himself more and more in the dark about the unfathomable depth within Ian. With each of their exchanges, Sling grew to admire and revere Ian. He found himself subconsciously giving his heartfelt loyalty and devotion to Ian.
He wanted to give his all into every command Ian orders of him.
Shaking his head, Sling answered the inquiry of an impatient Rip. "Yes, yes, I did see your big brother Ian today. Remember, young man, you have to address young master Ian properly and stop calling him big brother. That is rude to your dad's boss."
Rip humphed, unconvinced. He retorted, "But big brother Ian said I can call him big brother!"
Sling sighed. There was no winning against his son. Not to mention, it was true Ian had specially given Rip permission to call him "big brother".
Deciding to give up on this matter, Sling walked into the house.
"Honey, dinner is ready." Sling's wife, Mandy, said as she stepped out from the kitchen to greet her husband who returned late from work.
"Thank you, darling." Sling smiled and kissed his wife on the cheek.
They were a pair of childhood sweethearts who never seemed to be out of their honeymoon phase.
Rip was used to this sight. Unaffected, he walked to his seat at the dinner table and sat, waiting for his parents to come sit with him before starting dinner.
Sling and Mandy took a seat.
The Srca family had long settled into their new home during the two weeks of time Sling underwent the special training program that was specially adjusted and condensed for him.
While eating, Rip suddenly remembered something he had always been curious about. Casually, he asked Sling, "Dad, what is that special training you did? Is it really that hard?" He was really curious!
Upon hearing the mention of the special training experience he went through, Sling nearly dropped his utensil. If it weren't for the rigorous training he went through, he would've dropped his utensil and spat out his food from surprise and horror.
Recalling those gruesome days when he didn't get to sleep a wink until the wee hours of the morning and having to wake up when the sun wasn't even up yet. The bone-grinding, muscle-straining, brain-muddling days that morphed and shaped him into another person. Those devil-like smiling instructors who pushed him to the limits of a human being and then some.
He seemed to hear their shrill, demanding voices again, full of the desire to make things difficult for him, demanding various things of him, aching to shape him into the most perfect butler there never was or will be again.
"Straighten up!"
"Smile! Smile!! You call that a smile?!"
"Make sure your outfit and appearance appear flawless, prim and proper at all times, you hear me?!"
"You pour tea like you're drinking beer! Act refined and cultured! Even a bear is not as boorish as you and you want to be a butler for the young master?!"
"You are the worst trainee I have ever taught!"
"Higher!"
"Lighter!"
"Faster!"
"Smoother!"
"MORE!!"
!!
Sling shuddered. Truly, he felt that training earned its well-deserved nickname "Hell of Hells" justly.
Oh, those bitter days~
The only reasons why he gritted his teeth and endured through all that hardship, even graduating from the training with perfect grades, was because of his love for his family and his desire to protect them. And… he wanted to be of use to his master Ian who believed in him and promised protection to his family.
Rip and Mandy both looked at him, worried.
"Honey, are you alright?"
"Dad, are you okay?"
Sling returned to himself, pulling himself out of his reminisce upon hearing the concerned voices of his wife and son.
That's right, those days are long behind him. He will never have to go through it again. Sling forced a smile, "I'm alright. Sorry to worry you. Rip, why don't you tell me how your day at school went?" Sling changed the subject.
Rip readily complied, he noticed how weird his dad got when he brought up the topic about the special training, so Rip considerately decided to avoid bringing it up in the future. Rip smiled brightly and went along, "It went great! The new friends I made are really nice! We had music class today and the teacher partnered us up…."
Sling and Mandy smiled as they listened earnestly to their son's day at school.
Truly, life at home is bliss~
Sling shed a secret tear.
"So, dad, how's your work?"
After Rip finished chattering about his school, he turned to ask his dad about his work.
Despite this topic involving the "special training" subject, Sling was fine with it as he was not the one undergoing the special training currently. He has long since graduated and was determined to never go back!
In fact, he was quite happy to see his potential work juniors struggling like he did—and much worse—while going through the special training courses.
He had it a lot harder than they did as they had a whole month's time to learn everything that he was taught in two weeks.
If he can survive and come out better, then so can they.
Sling held the mentality of 'If I can do it, so can you!'.
Sling thought back to the list of names. A lot more names had been crossed off. Now only eighty-something trainees remained. 'Their persistence is admirable, especially when they are only here for the good pay.' Sling mused to himself. 'But it's also true that money makes the world go round.'
This brought to mind two trainees, each of which Ian and Levi had an eye on.
'It looks like I'll be having another colleague besides Shade. Now that I think about it, where has Shade been lately?'
"It's interesting. Although it's hard work having to watch over those people, it's not as hard as having to do the training itself. It's rewarding in that I get to handpick those who will be of assistance to Master Ian. There's some fascinating people taking the special training. A lot of them will be useful to Master Ian." Since there was nothing confidential about his current work assignment, Sling did not conceal what he did from his family. He even shared some of his thoughts.
"That's great!" Rip exclaimed, happy knowing that his big brother Ian will have a lot of trustworthy people around him. And when he grows up, he will also prove to be useful to him, too!
Rip was fired up thinking about the future.
He wanted to become useful to Ian as quickly as possible.
He vigorously swept up his dinner, wanting to eat more and grow tall and strong.
"Eat more if you're hungry, Rip." Mandy clipped some meat slices into Rip's bowl.
Rip beamed a smile at her. "Thank you, mom!"
As the harmonious family of three warmly partook in their lovely meal, the cold night no longer seemed so cold.
Ruminating over his meal, his brain twitched and Rip suddenly jumped, startling his parents.
"Dad! I will join the special training!" Rip suddenly declared, having made up his mind.
"What?! No!" Sling was shocked and instinctively rejected. This time, he really dropped his utensil.
However, Rip wasn't about to take no for an answer.
Weekly Power Status
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