Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 131

Gunfire rang out in unison.

The twenty-one trainees finished shooting and raised their muzzles upward.

“Hmm…”

I examined each of their targets one by one.

Though most hadn’t hit dead center, they managed to get quite close.

And there was just one target that had only a single hole in the center despite ten rounds of shooting.

I glanced at the twenty-first trainee.

Despite achieving such results, their face showed no arrogance, not even pride.

“Alright. That’s it for shooting today. Everyone go back and rest.”

The trainees’ skills had improved quite a bit.

Their magical power control was at a decent level too, and with a few more weeks of training they would have all the basics down.

“Except number 21.”

However, I had only the last trainee, who scored perfect in shooting, stay behind.

No one found this situation strange.

She had been like this every time for the week since joining.

“…I have nothing left to teach you about shooting. You learn fast.”

Only after all the other trainees had left did I praise Gerda.

“It’s because you taught me well, Brother.”

Gerda spoke in a rather emotionless voice.

“It’s because of your talent.”

I handed Gerda two of the four not-too-long wooden swords I had prepared.

In Blue Paper Moon, Gerda’s armament was twin medium-length swords, and I taught her dual wielding from the first day of training.

And sure enough, in just a week, Gerda’s swordsmanship had improved to a dazzling, even miraculous degree.

“But don’t get overconfident. Always think about opponents stronger than you.”

Gerda and I faced each other holding wooden swords in both hands.

“There are plenty of Beasts far stronger than me standing before you now… Come at me.”

“Yes…!”

Gerda charged at me wielding the wooden swords in both hands.

Despite the differences in build, height, reach, and strength… her blue eyes showed not a hint of hesitation.

Being able to show such fighting spirit in just a week is incredible.

And from a girl not even grown to adulthood yet…

Like Hilde, this wasn’t willpower injected by making her fight Beasts or becoming a heroine, but rather a will to fight born from her own desperation, despair, and anger.

“It’s good that you don’t rely on magical power.”

The force I felt parrying Gerda’s wooden swords wasn’t very strong.

It took Gerda two days to awaken to magical power.

Though slower than Hilde who took less than half a day, even that much was more than enough, no, extraordinarily groundbreaking.

And above all, unlike Hilde, she never unconsciously relied on magical power.

This was something that even Sephira couldn’t manage without Sir Crowty’s training.

“Eek…!”

Gerda swung her wooden swords at me from both sides.

It was like giant scissors approaching.

“But you still lack power.”

I simply parried both sides simultaneously and stepped forward.

Though just one step, the distance between Gerda and me instantly vanished.

“…!”

Gerda’s face, which had been thrust forward, collided with my stomach and she was knocked down by the difference in weight.

“…Not dropping your swords was excellent.”

Gerda immediately used the swords to prop herself up and stand.

“If you circulate magical power more often, your strength will build up quickly too.”

“I can still do more!”

Gerda took her stance again.

“As much as you want.”

For the past week, I sparred with Gerda like this every day.

Like with Hilde, going Beast hunting directly would lead to faster growth, but since that wasn’t possible now, we had to do our best here.

Unlike before, teaching the other trainees was extremely important work too, so I couldn’t spend 24 hours training just one outstanding talent like back then.

To begin with, there weren’t any Beasts left to hunt nearby since Hilde and I had already caught them all.

“Hmm.”

When I blocked Gerda’s attack to the left, I felt a slight twinge in my shoulder.

Maia’s words about not getting injured flashed through my mind.

Without realizing it, my right hand went to clutch my left shoulder.

And in that moment, Gerda’s attack from the other side struck my head precisely.

“…”

A strange sound rang in my ears.

That ringing sound like a missed call when your head gets hit hard.

My vision blurred and sense of direction crumbled as everything grew… hazy…

“…!”

Someone called out.

Reflexively turning my eyes that way, I saw Gerda’s tearful face…

“…Huff!”

I finally came to my senses with a deep breath.

“Hah, hah… j-just now…”

I felt a damp heat in my head.

When I touched it, my hand came away covered in blood.

Oh no…

“I-I’m so sorry! I thought… thought you would block it…”

“…”

I reached out my other hand toward Gerda.

“Eek…”

Gerda shrank back, pulling in her neck.

I gently placed my hand on and stroked the head of the girl who seemed afraid I would hit her in anger.

“Well done.”

“…What?”

“This is the first time you’ve gotten a hit on me.”

“B-but… you’re bleeding…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s my fault for not blocking properly.”

I roughly wiped the blood with the cotton cloth I always keep ready and wrapped the wound with bandages.

Then I picked up my hat that had flown off and put it back on to completely hide the injury.

“Let’s stop here for today. You must be quite shocked too.”

“B-but your injury…”

“I told you not to worry. This doesn’t even count as an injury.”

My head is still spinning but not so much that I can’t walk.

More than that, I was actually relieved to see that Gerda, who had lost her brother and was focused solely on getting stronger, hadn’t completely lost her gentle heart.

After all, there are plenty of people who lose someone to Beasts and change into demons.

“It’s late, so let’s go wash up and get something to eat.”

Even when I tried to casually get up and brush it off, Gerda awkwardly supported me from the side.

The wound should heal on its own if left like this, but since bacteria and such could still infect it, I should stop by the hospital for some medicinal herbs.

I took Gerda and headed out of the training grounds.

“Ah, Senior! Are you done already?”

Just then Hilde was approaching from up ahead.

“Oh? What brings you here suddenly?”

“Sir Crowty told me to check on you and the child you brought last week. He said another amazing talent had joined.”

Hilde turned her head to look at Gerda standing beside me.

“Hello. I’m Hilde.”

“Ah, hello…”

“You’re so cute! I’ve never seen such a pretty child before.”

Hilde smiled as she spoke, seemingly trying to put the clearly nervous Gerda at ease.

“To join the Order at such a young age, you must be really brave too?”

“Not really…”

“Hilde also learned from me like you in the past. Come to think of it, that makes her your senior.”

I introduced Hilde to the awkward Gerda.

Since they both have exceptional aptitude and will fight together in the not-too-distant future, it wouldn’t hurt for them to get familiar from now.

“Ah, that means I’m your senior! To think I’d be called senior already…”

“Senior…?”

“Kyah! You’re too cute!”

Hilde grabbed Gerda’s hands.

Come to think of it, Gerda was popular among the trainees too.

Especially the female trainees would often teach her things like makeup and how to braid hair during break time.

In Blue Paper Moon too, Gerda and Kai were described as the pretty siblings.

…Though that leads to tragedy at Snow White Margarete’s hands.

“Hey Senior! Where did you find such a… huh?”

Hilde’s face froze as she turned back to me, about to say something.

“Senior… are you hurt?”

“Huh?”

“I smell blood…”

“Hey, wait…!”

Hilde suddenly reached out and grabbed my hat.

I tried to dodge but the difference in ability was too great now, and my hat was snatched away instantly.

“Senior…?”

Hilde’s demeanor changed as she saw the bandages wrapped around my head and the blood seeping through.

“It’s nothing.”

I snatched my hat back from the dazed Hilde and put it back on.

“You know this isn’t even worth worrying about.”

“How did this happen…”

“…!”

Gerda flinched violently.

Hilde whipped her head toward Gerda.

“Maybe…”

“…Yes.”

I stepped between Gerda and Hilde.

“I got a little hurt during training. It was just a mistake.”

“…”

Hilde’s blue eyes looked ominous.

Though even I felt a chill down my spine at the sudden change, I didn’t show it.

“But that’s strange. I heard she only joined a week ago – there’s no way you could have gotten hurt like this already.”

“Like I said, it was just a mistake.”

“You don’t make mistakes like that.”

“No, even I…”

“For you to make such a mistake…”

Hilde’s eyes moved to my shoulder.

Hilde knows my left shoulder isn’t the same as before.

She even cried her eyes out saying it was her fault my shoulder was injured in that Pinocchio incident.

Because she couldn’t support me properly.

Maybe that’s why she’s reacting so sensitively…

“…I understand you’re worried, but calm down first.”

But even for me this change is scary.

How much more so for Gerda who has become the target of that anger.

“Injuries happen during training. You had them sometimes too when sparring with me.”

“T-that’s…”

Hilde’s icy attitude crumbled at the reminder of the past.

Though it’s a bit of an underhanded method, it’s not wrong and can’t be helped.

“As a senior, you should know how to be accepting of a junior’s mistakes.”

I placed my hand firmly on Hilde’s shoulder and spoke forcefully to drive the point home.

“…Tch.”

Hilde turned her head away and stepped back.

“…”

I glanced at Gerda.

Though Hilde’s murderous aura had disappeared, she was still hiding behind me, clearly scared.

“And… didn’t Sir Crowty send you here to look after Gerda? Like at Scale Bay before, you’re letting your emotions get the better of you too much.”

“I’m sorry…”

Finally Hilde lowered her head completely.

“…I’m sorry.”

Hilde said to Gerda.

“N-no… I think it was my fault too…”

“Damn it, you two need to take it easy.”

Even I was getting annoyed at this point.

“Enough, let’s go wash up and eat. Hilde, have you had dinner yet?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I was planning to eat with you…”

“Then go ahead and wait. We’ll wash up quickly and join you.”

“Okay…”

Only after Hilde left hesitantly did I finally manage to take Gerda back to the quarters.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence briefly hung in the air.

“…About what Hilde said earlier.”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t want to show you this, but… watch carefully.”

For the first time since living with Gerda, I took off my top completely and revealed my body.

“…!”

Gerda was shocked to see the many scars carved into my body.

“This one.”

I pointed to the clear circular mark on my left shoulder.

“This is pretty recent. The reason I couldn’t block during sparring was because of this too.”

“Ah…”

“It should heal with rest so don’t worry too much. Anyway, Hilde thinks this injury happened because of her. That’s why she was a bit… sensitive earlier. I’m sorry, but try to understand.”

“…Yes.”

Gerda nodded.

But the dark expression and mood didn’t disappear.