Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 104

Even after meeting Crowty, Workshop 1, and Zepetia, there were still plenty of things I had to take care of while going around.

Although the Heresy Inquisition Department had guaranteed my innocence, since they rarely share their evidence with other departments, those departments called me in to conduct their own investigations to gather information.

The Intelligence Department in particular had left a major black mark on their record by failing to detect evidence of the Marquis’s betrayal beforehand.

They tried to interrogate me as thoroughly as if I were a Beast.

It got so bad that Crowty himself finally had to tell them to stop.

“I’m dead tired…”

I collapsed onto my bed in my quarters as if falling over.

At least Beast hunting was something I was used to, but having to rack my brains every time to make excuses and statements was giving me a headache.

“And Hilde…”

It had been quite a while since I’d been able to pay attention to Hilde.

Though she’s mostly left my hands now, I still need to watch over her and make sure she’s growing well.

And most importantly, I need to enhance the executioner’s axe.

Now that we’ve finished decoding the enhancement technique, I need to meet Hilde as soon as possible to get the axe.

“…Should I go now?”

I couldn’t go directly to the mid-ranked hunters’ quarters where Hilde was.

But if I submitted a visitation request, they would probably accept it.

Though it was originally meant for family visits, there was no reason I couldn’t do it.

I submitted a visitation request for Hilde at the administration office in the mid-ranked hunters’ quarters.

When I explained that I was her former mentor and wanted to check how she was doing, they readily accepted the request.

Since the procedures for visiting mid-ranked hunters are strict, it would take at least a few days even at the fastest.

When I returned to my quarters afterward, Hans, Crowty’s assistant, was waiting at my door.

“8th-rank hunter Eugene.”

“Yes.”

Wonder if there’s somewhere else I need to go for investigation.

This is really getting tiresome…

“A mission has come down.”

Fortunately, what he gave me was the mission plan I’d been waiting for.

It was about activities related to the Behemoth Tracking Special Unit.

Seems they finally finished coordinating schedules and are starting again.

I went to the designated meeting room for the first time in a while.

Inside, Sephira was waiting alone.

“…It’s been a while.”

Sephira said.

“Yes. It’s been…”

Before I could finish answering, Sephira stood up and walked over to me.

“I was… I was so worried.”

“I’m sorry. Lately I’ve had… a lot going on.”

“Yes. I thought you…”

Just then, someone came up behind me and grabbed my sleeve.

“Ah, hello.”

It was Zepetia.

When she appeared, Sephira stepped back slightly.

Was she about to say something?

She looked quite disappointed.

But before I could ask anything, Zepetia spoke to me first.

“Finally starting again.”

“Yeah. It’s been quite… Well, there was a lot going on. Coordinating schedules between Lady Sephira and Mr. Dominic was also an issue.”

When I pointed to Sephira, Zepetia awkwardly bowed her head in greeting to her.

Sephira likewise gave a slight nod.

“…”

There was a strangely awkward atmosphere between the two.

No, maybe it’s natural since they’re both quite independent and quiet.

Shortly after, Oscar entered.

“Ah, um… it’s been a while.”

Oscar greeted awkwardly.

“I heard from the old man. Said you pulled off something incredible. Honestly, just hearing about it, it doesn’t seem like something a lower-ranked hunter could do… But somehow I feel like you could do it.”

“Whether I could or not, I did it. Things just ended up that way somehow.”

“Plus you brought some weird sorcerer from somewhere. These days the old man’s been hanging around with that creepy one.”

Maybe he developed a pure academic interest in his later years.

Being people who’ve reached such high levels, they must have a lot to talk about.

“What? Jealous that your master was stolen?”

“W-what?! No way! I just can’t stand seeing that old geezer fawning over that tiny kid!”

When I teased him with a grin, Oscar flared up.

This guy is still so pure, it’s nice to see.

“Excuse me.”

Soon after, Dominic entered.

He never had a particularly healthy complexion to begin with, but now he clearly looked worn out from exhaustion.

“I sincerely apologize for our schedule being suddenly delayed.”

He bowed his head deeply to us.

“Though it may not make up for it, our department and the Intelligence Department have mobilized all available resources to narrow down locations that Vile might be interested in.”

Dominic spread some documents on the table.

“Let’s take a look.”

There were three main candidate locations.

The first was Aubes Gorge, which like Drang Basin was said to be a place where a meteorite fell long ago.

In Blue Paper Moon, you could get two moonstones here.

But Vile never came here himself, instead either sending minions to find moonstones or having some Beasts he created wandering around.

The second was a large prairie called Shezi Plains, where it was said sorcerers performed moon-related rituals in the past.

There were no moonstones, but instead there was an event where you could learn from Maia how to make the ultimate secret technique Crescent even stronger.

The damage felt like it increased by about 10%, and most importantly the range nearly doubled, so it was a must-visit location when building a magic swordsman build focusing on Crescent.

Of course, Vile wasn’t here, and neither were his minions.

“And finally, there’s Cheshire Village.”

“Ugh.”

“Huh?”

Oscar and Zepetia were surprised at the same time.

I already knew about it so I had no particular reason to be surprised.

“That weird neighborhood? …Well, I guess it suits someone like him.”

“I’ve always wanted to visit there…”

“Eek? That place?”

Oscar grimaced at Zepetia.

“…What exactly is Cheshire Village?”

Sephira, who was the only one with a completely clueless expression, asked.

“Cheshire Village is famous for cat cuisine.”

I explained to Sephira.

“…What?”

“Whether stewed or whatever, it’s a village known for eating cat meat.”

Cheshire Village was uniquely famous for catching and eating cats.

Of course, people sometimes eat them during wars or when there’s really nothing else to eat, but places that actually treat cat meat as the village’s traditional cuisine are extremely rare.

“They eat… cats? Stewed?”

Even Sephira was dumbfounded by that explanation.

“…Well, that’s right. Cheshire Village is famous for its stewed cat dishes.”

Dominic continued the explanation.

“It was also a dish that behemoth Vile enjoyed when he was human.”

Dominic’s gaze pointedly turned to Zepetia.

“Ah, yes. That… it was written in grandfather’s diary too… So I’ve been curious about the taste since long ago…”

Even in Blue Paper Moon’s Vile’s stronghold, there was a room where cats were butchered and hung up.

Even for a game, it was quite shocking visually.

“…Anyway, there are records of him frequently visiting Cheshire Village. These three locations are what we can narrow it down to right now. Additionally, the Intelligence Department has agreed to lend us an elite agent this time.”

To be honest, I was quite impressed by the abilities of the Heresy Inquisition Department and Intelligence Department.

All three places appeared in Blue Paper Moon, and two in particular were related to Vile.

What Dominic said about the Intelligence Department and Heresy Inquisition Department mobilizing all available resources must be true.

Since failing to detect any signs of the Marquis’s betrayal was quite a painful failure for both departments, if they don’t produce proper results this time, it won’t end with just disciplinary action.

So the Intelligence Department must have sent their best elite agents.

The Intelligence Department dispatches agents worldwide to dig up information or monitor things.

Naturally, those who can reliably overcome the threats that come with that process while still gathering information are counted on one hand even within the Order.

Among them, the very best are appointed as elite agents.

Elite agents are the best personnel in the Order aside from higher-ranked hunters and judges.

“Elite agents…”

Perfect timing.

In Blue Paper Moon, Cheshire Village was a place where all the residents had already turned into Beasts.

Particularly, you needed good eyes to deal with the unique Beasts that only appeared in Cheshire Village.

In that sense, Oscar will probably show his skills again this time.

He showed incredible eyesight at Vile’s old laboratory.

“Today we should discuss which of these to visit.”

Sephira said.

“That’s right. Or we could look at all three.”

Though they said that, we have to go to Cheshire Village anyway.

Now how do I guide them there…

Should I first give a subtle hint to Zepetia like last time?

I turned my head slightly to look down at Zepetia who was sitting strangely close.

“Hehe…”

My eyes met Zepetia’s.

Somehow her eyes felt different from usual, containing some kind of force.

But something… something didn’t feel like positive energy.

The force felt negative.

Why are you looking at people with such ominous eyes…?

Finding it too burdensome, I turned my head away only to meet Sephira’s eyes.

Gone was her usual cool composure, replaced by clear displeasure as she looked this way.

Showing such lack of focus during a meeting in front of a higher-ranked hunter – what a painful mistake…

“Ahem, ahem. No matter what, wouldn’t visiting all three places be difficult given the circumstances? It’s hard to coordinate time between Lady Sephira and Mr. Dominic after all.”

I deliberately raised my voice trying to somehow smooth over the situation.

“It would take a long time. And the longer a mission takes, the more variables could arise. But we have no other clues to narrow down these three locations further. Perhaps if Ms. Zepetia…”

Dominic glanced at Zepetia.

“Hmm.”

“…”

“Ahem.”

Though Dominic called with a cough, there was no response.

I sighed inwardly and elbowed Zepetia.

“Eek?! W-what?! Did I d-do something wrong?”

“Focus.”

I grabbed Zepetia’s head and turned it toward Dominic.

“W-what were we talking about?”

“…I asked which of these three locations you think is most suspicious.”

Dominic looked at Zepetia with slightly exasperated eyes.

No way, is he including me in that look too?

Must be my imagination…?

“W-well… Cheshire Village?”

Oh?!

“Why do you think that?”

“Well… in the diary it said he wanted to bring some stewed cat chefs from Cheshire Village someday…”

A perfect answer with the reason too!

As Zepetia said, Vile kidnapped some villagers from Cheshire Village to make stewed cat dishes.

That’s what the room with butchered cats hanging in his stronghold was about.

“…Are you sure you don’t just want to eat it yourself?”

Oscar said skeptically.

Looking around, Dominic and Sephira also had unconvinced expressions.

“I agree with Zepetia’s opinion.”

I raised my hand and spoke.

“What’s your reason?”

Sephira asked.

“Lady Sephira, you’ve experienced it too so you should know.”

“Know what?”

“That all behemoths are strange in the head.”

“…Indeed.”

And so our next destination was decided as Cheshire Village.