Dark Fantasy’s Extra

“I was just about to go look for you, so this saves me the trouble.”

“What? Um… Lady Sephira, why…?”

“I have a favor to ask of you, Mr. Eugene.”

“A favor?”

“Yes.”

Behind her, I could see someone wearing trainee hunter clothes.

“The person behind me is someone who just joined the Order. Though still a trainee, not yet a full hunter.”

Sephira stepped slightly aside to indicate her.

She seemed quite flustered.

But probably not as bewildered as I was.

“I heard she’s from a noble family, and surprisingly, she already has skills befitting a basic hunter level. The instructor judged her to be no ordinary talent and ordered personalized training.”

“Personalized?”

“Yes. Originally I was supposed to handle the training, but suddenly another mission came up, so I decided to ask someone else I could trust.”

“Ah, I see. But this trustworthy person is…?”

“Of course, it’s you, Mr. Eugene.”

“…? Surely there are better people than me….”

“Mr. Eugene has much experience and is an excellent hunter. Above all, since you already have a connection, I came to make this shameless request.”

Sephira bowed her head.

“Ah, no, wait. Please raise your head. If Lady Sephira is asking, of course I’ll do it.”

Just a few days ago, I received a favor worth 300 Order Silver coins from her.

There was no reason I couldn’t accept this much of a request.

But the other party was the problem.

I turned my head toward the hunter.

My eyes met those familiar blue eyes.

“Of course, I’ve properly reported to the higher-ups so Mr. Eugene will receive appropriate compensation.”

While that’s appreciated, I’m not particularly in need of money right now….

“Then I’ll leave it to you. I have a mission, so I’ll take my leave.”

Sephira went outside.

“…”

“…”

Only Hilde and I remained.

“Um….”

“…You were alive.”

“Pardon?”

“You were alive…!”

Suddenly Hilde rushed forward and hugged me.

“I, I thought you had died back then….”

“…”

To her, I’m nothing more than an outsider who protected her just once.

Yet when she thought I was dead, she even came to visit my grave for me.

Indeed, a protagonist is a protagonist.

Just like Noah in Blue Paper Moon, Hilde too must have a kind and righteous heart.

“…”

I reflexively put my arm around her shoulder and patted her.

“Ah, and I forgot… something…”

Suddenly the door opened from behind and Sephira returned.

“Ah.”

“…”

A sudden chill ran down my spine.

I quickly detached Hilde.

She seemed to grasp the situation too and hurriedly pulled her hat down low to hide her tearful face.

“…Excuse me. I forgot to deliver the schedule.”

Sephira held out a small scroll.

I awkwardly received it.

“For details, please ask the administration office.”

She closed the door with a bang.

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly opened the scroll to dispel the awkward mood.

“…This is supposed to be a schedule?”

The contents basically said to set wake-up time as desired, set training time as desired, and even set bedtime as desired.

Only meal times were fixed, but even those were noted as changeable.

“Did you perhaps hear anything about the training… no, you’re no longer a noble but a hunter now. Though still a trainee.”

“Yes.”

Hilde answered, appearing calmer.

“I have many things I want to ask you, but first something else. Follow me.”

“Yes.”

I took Hilde to the administration office.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Crowty said.

It seems he went straight to administration from the library.

“Sephira must have left you with a troublesome task.”

“I have questions about this schedule.”

I pulled out that sloppy schedule.

“Well, it must be hard to understand. Since it says to do everything as you see fit.”

“Yes.”

“Just do as it says.”

“…Pardon?”

“Type, time, rest, equipment – train Hilde however you think best.”

“But…”

“If we wanted standard training, there’d be no need to assign someone specifically. Hilde received exceptional ratings in the aptitude test, and she needs training tailored precisely for her. At least, that’s what the examiner judged.”

Really?

Do whatever I want?

They want me to develop Hilde, the protagonist of Blue Paper Moon, as I see fit?

A chill suddenly ran down my spine.

I’d always thought that if the protagonist came to the Order, I should help.

If they went down a bad ending or betrayal route, the world would end after all.

But I thought my role would be at most an advisor, or providing small help from behind the scenes.

Even if it had been Noah, the male protagonist, I might understand, but I know almost nothing about Hilde, the female protagonist.

At the very least, I’d need to investigate whether the differences between Noah and Hilde, and whether the hidden items and skills I remember apply the same way to her, before I could do anything.

“I…”

“I know what you want to say. You probably think it’s too much for you to handle.”

You know that well, so why are you doing this?

“But this is what Sephira decided. She said she trusts you. And I feel the same.”

“What?”

“I also think you can do well. Of course, many won’t be happy with this decision. But our thoughts won’t change…. What about you?”

The ‘you’ Crowty pointed to wasn’t me but Hilde.

“Do you accept Eugene as the person to train you?”

“Yes!”

Hilde answered firmly.

“I have no complaints if it’s Mr…. no, if it’s Senior Eugene. Rather, I want to request it!”

“You heard her?”

I had no choice but to nod.

*    *    *

I returned to my room with Hilde.

“First, sit down and make yourself comfortable. By the way, have you been assigned separate quarters?”

“I was told I’d be staying with you, Senior.”

“With me?”

Of course, this room has five empty spots.

But it’s unheard of for just a man and woman to share a room together.

Especially in a space isolated from the outside like this, it could become even more problematic.

But it seems everything is an exception for someone with Hilde’s talent.

“This is troublesome. Well, all the other beds are empty anyway, so pick whichever you like.”

“What? They’re all empty? Have you been staying here alone, Senior?”

“They all died.”

“Ah…”

“This is what the Hunting Order you’ve joined is like. You saw it that day too. What it means to face Beasts.”

“…Yes.”

“Large-scale attacks like that aren’t common. But even those Beasts that attacked that day were defective ones. If they had been proper Beasts, not just me but everyone there would have died.”

“They weren’t proper Beasts?”

“Right. They were just puppets, dead Beasts raised by magic. Though of course, whatever did that must have been a Beast too.”

“Can Beasts do such things?”

“High-ranking Beasts can do things like that. Well, it probably doesn’t mean much to you right now. Let’s start step by step.”

I took out the training schedule.

Everything from start to finish is up to me.

It’s unlimited freedom and authority, but with corresponding responsibility.

Above all, my student is the protagonist of Blue Paper Moon.

If my education goes wrong and she doesn’t grow sufficiently, a simple apology won’t be enough.

“I don’t plan to do anything right away on the first day, so relax. Instead, ask anything you’re curious about. We need to know a lot about each other.”

“Yes…. Is any kind of question alright?”

“Yes. Even personal ones are fine. Just tell me why you’re curious about it.”

“Yes. Then, I want to know about you, Senior.”

“That’s too vague. What specifically do you want to know?”

“Things like your experience, specialties, that sort of thing. Since we’ll be spending a lot of time together from now on, I thought it would be good to know.”

“Well… I’ve worked as a hunter for 10 years and 5 months.”

“That’s long!”

“I suppose so. And as for specialties, well… I don’t particularly stick to one thing.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a lower-ranked hunter, I can only do small tasks. If that’s the case, to do those small tasks faster and more efficiently, I need to be able to handle various tools.”

“Do you think you’re weak, Senior?”

“I am weak. Are you disappointed?”

“No. Rather, I think you’re amazing.”

“No need to praise me so much.”

“That’s not true. I… I ran away even though I could have done something….”

“You did.”

“Do you… resent me, Senior?”

“What?”

“Well, that’s….”

“You’re saying strange things.”

“Pardon?”

“My duty was to protect you.”

I know that Hilde left me behind and ran.

However, there probably wasn’t a better choice in that situation.

If I had been able to block or dodge that counterattack in the first place, such a thing wouldn’t have happened.

I’ve always thought that if I die, I’ll die as a hunter, and I can accept whenever that time comes.

I just won’t accept death passively without resistance.

“I did what I had to do, and nearly dying was my responsibility to bear.”

It’s nothing particularly new.

In the past 10 years living as a hunter, I’ve faced death countless times.

“And now my job is to make you a proper hunter. So follow along well.”

“…Yes!”

I first thought about Hilde’s training plan.

The development method I often used in Blue Paper Moon was a balanced warrior type slightly leaning toward large melee weapons.

I mainly focused on large axes or greatswords as main weapons while being able to switch to small melee weapons when needed, and having minimum capability with ranged attacks.

Equipment and skills were also matched to support this, increasing things like health and weight capacity.

But would that be possible for Hilde too?

On the surface, she’s just an ordinary girl, and a noble lady at that, far removed from physically demanding work.

Of course, her aptitude was rated exceptional, and her base strength, agility, and endurance must be far superior to ordinary people.

The special power called magical power, which didn’t exist in my previous life, further enhances her physical abilities.

Just living normally while possessing magical power unconsciously provides such enhancement effects, and when you can intentionally control it, the potential is tremendous.

Even with just a little use of magical power, I reach a level that could win Olympic gold in any event by my previous life’s standards.

And the person before me is none other than the protagonist of Blue Paper Moon.

She proved her warrior qualities just by being able to move without falling into confusion or fear during the massive zombie Beast attack.

Her potential is beyond my ability to measure….

…No, I can measure it.

Rather, I probably understand better than anyone how strong Hilde can become.

Strong enough to kill even Blanc, Belle, and even Red Hood.

The question is how much of my knowledge gained from the male protagonist ‘Noah’ can apply to Hilde.

If hidden items and skills still work the same way….

“Whatever comes first, basics come first. The most fundamental things are physical strength and magical power. I heard you’ve already taken the aptitude test, but I haven’t seen it myself. Tomorrow we’ll test your physical…”

“We can do it right now if that’s alright.”

Hilde’s eyes were determined.

“Then let’s do it right now.”

If that’s what she wants, there’s no need to take it slow.

After all, time isn’t on our side.