Dark Fantasy’s Extra

“Jacob….”

Hilde froze.

Jarkoff looked at her before turning his head toward me.

“9th-rank hunter Eugene.”

He called out to me.

“I have something to say to you.”

“To me? Not to Hilde?”

“Yes. I heard you were departing this morning, so I’ve been waiting here. Though I know you’re on a mission, I’d appreciate if you could spare a moment.”

Even if hunters transcend social status, realistically, a person’s background still matters.

Jarkoff is the eldest son of a marquis family, while I’m a commoner without even a surname.

For him to show such humility is beyond extraordinary.

“It’s not urgent, so that’s fine. If it’s a long conversation, we could go to the break room…”

“That won’t be necessary. I just have a few questions.”

His gaze turned toward Hilde.

Of course, his business must be with Hilde, not me.

But he probably lacks the courage to speak first.

I should humor him a bit.

“By all means.”

“So… you’re really going on a mission? With Hilde?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know how strong or capable Hilde is as a hunter. Though I heard from Father yesterday about her exceptional aptitude…”

“She’s currently at a sufficient level for a lower-ranked hunter. Think of her as slightly below average and you’ll be about right. For someone who hasn’t even trained for a month, it’s remarkable growth.”

“…If an expert from the Order and veteran hunter says so, it must be true.”

“Yes. So you can trust in Hilde.”

“Sigh… It’s not that I don’t trust her. It’s just… well…”

“Jacob.”

Hilde, who had been standing behind, spoke up.

“Last time, we both… weren’t very composed. Both you and I.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

“You must understand by now. I’ve really become a hunter. Though I’m still a trainee, the noble lady Hilde you knew is gone now.”

“I suppose so…. Sigh.”

Jarkoff sighed.

“I still can’t honestly congratulate or support you. Hunters can die at any moment after all. Personally, I wish you’d quit even now…. But you’re not the type who would quit.”

“That’s right.”

“…Haha, I guess there’s nothing I can do.”

He laughed resignedly.

“I’m not in any position to do anything, but as a friend, there is something I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Come back safely.”

“Of course!”

Hilde smiled.

Jarkoff turned to me again.

“Please protect Hilde well. Though it frustrates me, you’re the only one she can rely on.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect her with everything I have.”

Ah, could this perhaps be an event?

Though the protagonist is female and the love interest male, the structure is exactly like what appears in games.

Since Hilde is the protagonist, does that mean the future love interests will be male?

Surely Crowty won’t become a love interest too?

There was a similar event structure in Noah’s protagonist version too.

Though sadly, Noah didn’t have a childhood friend of the opposite sex like Jarkoff.

“If… if I were a hunter, instead of you…”

Jarkoff cut off his words.

I understand what he wanted to say.

If he were the love interest, of course he’d want to go with Hilde instead of me.

Well, I’m unlikely to be the main love interest, and even if I were, I’d probably die early to trigger the protagonist’s awakening…

…Let’s stop thinking such unlucky thoughts.

We departed toward where the Beasts were, seeing off Jarkoff.

*    *    *

Our destination is a place called Scale Bay.

It’s a beach that takes almost a full day to reach even running faster than horses.

Long ago, a massive monster’s corpse washed up here, and the place got its name from the beautiful jade-colored scales that had been attached to its body.

Though no trace of the monster remains, a few of those scales still occasionally appear at auctions, where wealthy collectors engage in fierce bidding wars.

It’s very Blue Paper Moon-like that there are even several humans who went mad after becoming enchanted by the beauty of those scales.

“Are there really Beasts in the sea too?”

Hilde asked during our break.

“There are. They’ll be quite different from what you’ve seen so far, so it’ll be good experience.”

This isn’t just knowledge from the game but has already been reported to the Order too.

Of course, where we’re going is a hidden location that even the Order doesn’t know about.

“So preserve your energy well.”

“Yes. But it’s really troublesome every time. Walking so far.”

I agree.

While I’m not particularly bothered, walking for half a day or a full day on foot every time is annoying.

In the game, it would take less than an hour to run straight from one end of the map to the other.

Plus in easy mode, you could travel to any previously visited area with one click.

“One or two low-tier Beasts nearby wouldn’t be enough for training. This is all for your sake.”

“Ah, I know. I was just…”

Hilde waved her hands dismissively.

“Besides, while we might not usually notice, we’re right near the Order headquarters where the Saintess resides. If they find any dangerous Beasts nearby, they completely eradicate the area until nothing remains.”

That’s why the recent large-scale raid was even more shocking, and why they’ve called this Grand Conference.

Add to that Blanc being sighted nearby and the recent rapid increase in Beast numbers and strength, it’s dangerous.

If even this area with Order headquarters isn’t safe, small villages in remote areas must be walking on thin ice every day.

Among things effective against Beasts, civilians can only access silver and fire.

Of course, no Beast would fear mere torches.

Even if civilians shot fire arrows, they wouldn’t pose a threat.

Silver bullets require specially manufactured guns to use, and even those are almost completely monopolized by the Order.

Silver daggers… for civilians, being in close combat with a Beast means it’s already over.

Moreover, the real war hasn’t even begun yet.

After the large-scale raid in a few days, the witches will begin their full-scale activities.

When that happens, there will be cases where entire villages disappear overnight, or all residents transform into Beasts.

I’ve seen it countless times in Blue Paper Moon.

And all of that was just the proper beginning of the game.

It truly is an unreasonable and hopeless world.

“Senior?”

Hilde called out when I was lost in thought.

“Ah, nothing. Just thinking about something.”

“Did I interrupt?”

“No. Let’s get going now.”

I stood up after packing up the mat.

Hilde followed suit and cleaned up the area before we set off again toward Scale Bay.

After several more breaks and hunting a few wandering Beasts along the way, we finally arrived at Scale Bay late at night.

Under the crescent moon sky, a seemingly calm sea came into view.

The salt smell and night air made my lungs feel damp.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the sea.”

Hilde said.

“You’ve been here before?”

“Yes. Not to a place like this, but to a normal resort.”

“Just in case, let me tell you that you need a different mindset from back then. As I said before, the Beasts that appear here will be very different from what you know.”

“Yes.”

The small trace of leisure left on Hilde’s face disappeared, replaced by the expression of a proper hunter.

I walked toward where the secret dungeon was located.

Though it’s my first time here, I felt déjà vu as the terrain was almost identical to what I saw in the old game.

After walking for about 10 minutes, we sensed someone’s presence.

“Someone’s walking this way. Is it human?”

I raised my rifle.

Seeing my action, Hilde also tensed and took her stance.

The voices heard from afar grew closer.

Then a group emerged.

Hilde flinched when she saw them.

They clearly stood on two legs.

In their hands they held tools, proof of civilization and intelligence – specifically, spears.

Though messy, they wore clothes too.

But their skin was covered in dirty green scales, their eye sockets were shrouded in darkness with nothing there, and they bared small, sharp, saw-like teeth.

“That… what is…?”

“Beasts. Probably.”

The Order has tentatively concluded they are Beasts.

Though we can’t confirm one of the major characteristics of Beasts – red eyes – they’re clearly not human and actively target those with magical power just like Beasts do.

But their true identity revealed in Blue Paper Moon is a bit more complex.

While they are indeed a type of Beast, they have intelligence and their own language system.

Their name is Deep Sea Folk.

They are slaves of the Little Mermaid Rusalka and inhabitants of the deep sea.

For some reason, the Deep Sea Folk occasionally come up to the surface, and while the Order considers them rare mutants, they’re actually just stranded.

From their perspective, the land where we live is the ‘outside,’ and they wander around trying to find their way back.

I don’t know the details either, but it seems they can’t just return to where they came from by blindly entering the sea.

“And conveniently, there’s one right there.”

Behind the Deep Sea Folk who stood about 2 meters tall, someone else was visible.

A human-like being with a bald head and bloated body dripping water was following them.

“What is… that? An undead?”

That is the Drowned One, the monster I most wanted to show Hilde.

As Hilde said, it’s basically just a walking corpse, but the Deep Sea Folk modify them through some method and drag them around like slaves.

No, calling them slaves isn’t right.

They’re not slaves but weapons.

“They explode when they get close.”

“Explode? Their bodies?”

“Yes. Their insides just go bang. They’re full of poison gas so you shouldn’t attack carelessly. If you cut their stomach wrong, what’s inside will spray out.”

“Th-then how… Ah, so that’s why you taught me pushing techniques and marksmanship…!”

Just as Hilde realized the meaning behind all her training, the Deep Sea Folk seemed to notice our presence too.

They began running toward us with their spears raised.

Though the setting says they’re a species that lives in the sea, they ran faster than humans even on land.

The Drowned One following behind also picked up its pace from earlier.

“Here they come!”

I shot my rifle at the knee of the Deep Sea Folk in front.

Though he fell, the other two nearby showed no sign of concern.

“Take them one at a time, and watch out for the bomb following behind.”

“Yes!”

I quickly reloaded and tried to aim at the Deep Sea Folk who had gotten quite close.

But seeing me reload, one of the Deep Sea Folk threw their spear at me.

The spear tip thicker than a thumb flew straight at my head.

I lightly threw myself sideways and aimed for the Deep Sea Folk’s head again.

But the Deep Sea Folk immediately raised its arm to cover its head.

In that brief moment when its vision was blocked, I lowered my gun barrel and shot its chest.

“…!”

The Deep Sea Folk let out something like a scream and staggered.

Red blood trickled from the small wound in its chest.

Even at a glance, it wasn’t a fatal wound.

In Blue Paper Moon too, Deep Sea Folk somehow took less damage from guns.

Their scales must have some defensive ability.

“…!!!”

Rather, the Deep Sea Folk, enraged by the pain, charged at me as if throwing its body.

The distance between me and the Deep Sea Folk was now just a few meters.

There’s no time to reload and aim again.

I immediately drew the dagger and hand axe from my waist and ran to face it head-on.

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