Dark Fantasy’s Extra

I froze for a moment when I saw the boy who suddenly appeared.

I had a feeling like there was a fishbone stuck in my throat – like I’d seen him somewhere before but couldn’t immediately recall where.

I had written down and organized everything I knew about Blue Paper Moon’s characters, including all the side quests.

The boy standing before me now had features that would definitely be memorable at a glance.

Vivid red hair, azure eyes that sparkled unnaturally bright, and above all, his exceedingly handsome features.

Almost instinctively, I felt certain he must be a character from Blue Paper Moon.

With features this distinctive, he must surely be among the characters I’d documented, yet I couldn’t remember him at all.

“Um… who are you?” 

I voiced my question honestly.

“Magic to make footsteps silent? That’s not real magic!”

But the boy either didn’t hear my words or ignored them as he continued ranting with incredible energy.

“Real magic is something much more amazing…!”

“What are you doing here?”

Just then, another elderly man approached.

With his elegant mustache and suit, neatly trimmed beard, eyes that held an indescribable skill, and above all, a wide-brimmed pointed hat and strangely shaped staff.

I immediately recognized the old man and quickly bowed my head.

“Greetings, Sir Ozwald.”

It was unmistakably Ozwald Zoroaster, the former head of the Hunting Order’s Magic Research and Development Department.

What brings someone who retired 9 years ago here so suddenly?

In Blue Paper Moon, he was someone the player had to seek out first to train the protagonist as a specialized mage.

“Ah, it’s been a while. Your name was Eugene, wasn’t it?”

“Yes?”

“Huh? Old man, you know this person?”

The boy and I exclaimed in surprise simultaneously.

“You were one of the new recruits who joined 10 years ago, weren’t you?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right, but…”

No way, this is crazy?

Back then at the initiation ceremony, he had just happened to be passing by and barely glanced at us.

He wasn’t even officially observing, he truly just saw me in passing.

And he still remembers that?

“Haha, I do have quite a good memory.”

“That’s amazing…”

I was genuinely impressed.

While it makes sense that Doyle would remember me since he’s still active and we meet occasionally, Ozwald’s memory is purely remarkable.

It’s a memory befitting someone called a Great Mage.

“You’re quite amazing yourself. To think you’re still working as a hunter. Are there any others left from your batch?”

“No. They’ve all quit or…”

There were 12 people in my batch, and only one survived.

And even that one retired 7 years ago…

“Hmm, you must have been through a lot. To think that young lad would grow up like this, time really does fly.”

Ozwald spoke with a nostalgic voice.

“Anyway, Oscar, you rascal. What are you doing here?”

He struck the boy’s head with his staff.

“Ouch! What was that for!?”

“Ah.”

Oscar.

With that name, I finally remembered who the boy was.

There was a character named Oscar who appeared just once to help during one of Ozwald’s quests.

He had no dialogue and just showed up, fought, and left when it was over.

He was never mentioned before or after that, which is why I hadn’t remembered him.

“This guy was talking about some pathetic magic…”

Oscar pointed at me.

“Wait, don’t be so rude to Senior!”

Hilde stepped forward angrily.

“Who are you?”

Oscar asked.

“Who are you to interrupt our training?”

“Hmph, remember this well. My name is… I’ll become the world’s greatest mage…”

He was about to announce proudly with his chest puffed out.

“Oscar. I told you not to interfere with the hunters’ training.”

Ozwald struck Oscar’s head again.

“Ow! Stop hitting me, you old geezer!”

“Sigh, tsk tsk. Such a young fellow with nothing but hot blood…”

“This isn’t what you said earlier! You said we’d see something good if we came here, but what is this? No one here uses magic, and the only one teaching is showing some trivial trick like erasing footsteps!”

Was he like this in the original?

Of course there wouldn’t be anyone practicing magic here.

All the other hunters around us were focused solely on physical training.

“What did you say?”

Ozwald struck Oscar’s head again.

“That magic to erase footsteps was created by me.”

“Huh?”

Oscar looked up at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“It’s one of my greatest achievements, and yet you don’t know that, tsk tsk…”

“What’s with that? That’s different from what you said. You told me not to treat magic like a joke.”

“Shut up and go back inside, you fool. It’s embarrassing to have an ignorant student like you.”

“What’s your problem? Tch, staying in a place like this is a waste of time! I was going to leave anyway!”

The noisy boy stomped away while grumbling.

“Hmm, I apologize for this. My student interrupted your training.”

“It’s fine.”

I shook my head.

“But who is this remarkable young lady beside you?”

Ozwald peered closely at Hilde.

She flinched at his action.

“I-I’m Hilde Grimm. I’m a trainee hunter and Senior Eugene’s junior.”

Hilde said.

“Senior?”

Ozwald turned back to me.

“Well, after 10 years it’s not strange. But more importantly, this is the first time I’ve seen such remarkable talent.”

The Great Mage instantly grasped Hilde’s potential.

“As expected of you, Sir Ozwald. You noticed right away.”

“With magical power this pure and clear, how could I not notice? She would undoubtedly excel quickly if trained as a mage. But… are you teaching her magic?”

Ozwald tilted his head questioningly.

“Have you studied magic?”

“Just a few basics… Hilde only recently joined the Order. She was originally supposed to be trained by another higher-ranked hunter, but I’m temporarily in charge due to scheduling issues.”

“Ah, I see. The Order is quite busy these days. They’re even reaching out to retired old folks like me for help.”

The Order reached out to Ozwald first?

This plot wasn’t in the original story I knew.

Either this is normal in Hilde’s story, or it’s an effect of Blanc’s appearance.

“Still, it’s hard to understand. I don’t mean to dismiss you, but with talent like this, she should normally be assigned to at least a mid-ranked hunter.”

“I’m glad Senior is my instructor.”

Hilde said to Ozwald.

“Sir Crowty said the same thing.”

“Crowty?”

“Sir Crowty is currently in charge of field operations.”

I added an explanation.

Ozwald retired 9 years ago, and at that time Crowty was a young hunter making a name for himself in the field.

Though there were rumors even then that he was gradually taking on administrative duties.

“Crowty is in charge of field operations? That fellow certainly had both skill and talent, but…”

Ozwald stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Well, the field commander’s words carry weight. You must have abilities I’m not aware of. My, this old man who’s been retired for nearly 10 years has given you undue offense. I truly apologize.”

“It’s fine. It’s natural to think that way.”

“Please take good care of that young lady. She’ll undoubtedly become an extraordinary hunter. Personally, I wish she would walk the path of magic, but in the end what matters most is the eye of the direct observer. By the way, you mentioned earlier that you were teaching the magic to erase footsteps?”

“Yes.”

“While it’s my own boast, that’s quite an excellent magic. Don’t mind what that foolish student of mine said earlier. I’ll discipline him properly. He has talent and passion, or rather, an abundance of vigor. But he’s also the epitome of a foolish noble who doesn’t understand how things work in the field.”

Hilde flinched at Ozwald’s words.

She must have been reminded of her past self who had admired hunters without knowing anything.

“My return here is partly because of that fellow too. He could undoubtedly become an extraordinary mage if he learns a bit more about reality.”

He turned to Hilde.

“Your name was Hilde Grimm, correct? If, and this is just a hypothetical, if you ever choose to walk the path of magic, I’d like you to become that foolish fellow’s rival.”

“R-rival? I…”

“Ah, I’m not forcing you. It’s just this old man’s small wish. Anyway, I shouldn’t take up any more of your training time. Pardon the interruption.”

Hilde and I bowed to Ozwald as he left.

“…Is he someone amazing?”

Hilde asked after he left.

“Yes. Before retiring, he was known as the ‘Great Mage’. He created many remarkable spells besides the one for erasing footsteps.”

“Magic…”

“…Would you like to become a mage?”

“What?”

“Very few people can become proper mages. If you became one, even your father would have to acknowledge you.”

Hilde needs to achieve meaningful results as a hunter within 2 years.

Her father William set the standard for those results as becoming a higher-ranked hunter, but becoming a mage would be no less impressive.

Even commoners who are officially recognized as mages receive better treatment than minor nobles from the provinces.

If someone of her high status became a mage, she could be granted her own territory or position and establish a new family line.

Public respect and enormous patronage would come as bonuses.

In Blue Paper Moon, a pure mage build was extremely difficult from the beginning with a high chance of failure midway through.

But if you overcame those hardships and reached the late game, you would be rewarded with firepower more powerful than any other build.

Except for enemies with strong resistance to certain types of magic, you could reliably take down even behemoths.

Of course, the final boss witches you fight in the very late game all have above-average magic resistance making them difficult to deal with, but that’s true for characters with other builds too.

If Hilde wanted to become a mage, what should I do?

Of course, I still have knowledge from my previous life and could make new plans to help Hilde based on that.

But it would be practically impossible for me to help her directly.

Even now there are occasional obstacles arising from the difference in talent between us, so how much worse would it be if she became a mage?

“…What do you think, Senior?”

“What?”

“Would you like me to become a mage, Senior?”

“No, I was asking for your opinion…”

“My opinion is to follow your opinion, Senior.”

“Uh…”

“Well? What do you think, Senior? What would you like me to do?”

“I… would like you to continue as you are.”

“Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do.”

Hilde’s face was full of pure smiles as she said that.

But somehow, I felt uncomfortable with that smile.

It felt like I had made some fatal mistake, but I had no idea what it was – that kind of frustrating feeling.

“Then let’s continue training. You said you’d teach me magic earlier, right?”

“Ah, right.”

I pushed those thoughts out of my head again.

This isn’t the time to worry about such things.

There are only a few days left until the Little Mermaid’s invasion.

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