Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 137

“…Thank you. I survived thanks to you.”

Pieta said as she came closer.

“And I’m sorry. To be honest, I looked down on you for being a lower-ranked hunter.”

“I didn’t really…”

“No, you were undoubtedly excellent. I can kind of understand now why Hilde keeps going on about her senior. Anyway, I owe you my life, so I want to repay that debt.”

“Repayment? I only did what needed to be done.”

“Still, I don’t want to be in debt one-sidedly like this. Let me do something I can do for you. If you’re uncomfortable, even money would be fine.”

“Then… please take care of Hilde.”

“What?”

“That’s all I have to ask of you, Ms. Pieta. Please help Hilde.”

“Are you two really… in that kind of relationship?”

“No.”

“Then what kind of relationship makes you request something like that with your life’s worth?”

“Senior and junior.”

“…And?”

“That’s all.”

“Though I don’t want to interfere, that kid…”

“I know. She keeps trying to follow me even though I keep refusing. That’s why I hope you’ll help Hilde as a mid-ranked hunter, and as a senior who received their commission from Lady Sephira just like her.”

“Why exactly? Ah, don’t misunderstand. Since you’re asking like this, I’ll do it anyway. But I’m just… purely curious. Just senior and junior doesn’t explain…”

“It does. For me.”

“…”

“…”

“…Well. Everyone has their own reasons I suppose.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Like I said before, having my life saved by someone I looked down on – if I did nothing in return, only my pride would be hurt. After all, I was appointed by Lady Sephira… Wait. How did you know I received my commission from Lady Sephira?”

“Ah. That…”

I made a mistake.

What should I say…

“Well… Lady Sephira is such a famous person after all. Since she gets a lot of attention, I happened to learn about it…”

I ended up making such a poor excuse because it was a completely unexpected mistake.

There’s no way she would believe this…

“Ah, that’s true. Lady Sephira is so radiant that just walking makes her dazzling, so of course! I asked a foolish question. Sorry.”

That was her most emotional response so far.

Anyway, after roughly accepting my request, Pieta left and only Gerda remained with me.

“Brother…”

Gerda came closer.

“Gerda. I clearly told you not to call me brother in front of…”

“Brother!”

Gerda suddenly rushed over and grabbed my hands.

“I thought you died… I thought you were dead!”

“…”

This makes it hard to scold her.

Of course, I can understand how Gerda must feel.

I’m not Gerda’s real brother and we haven’t even known each other that long.

However, during that time, Gerda has progressed incomparably more than before.

Just like Hilde, she must naturally feel gratitude and goodwill toward someone who guided her to become someone special.

Even if it was thanks to her own hidden talent, considering Gerda’s personality, it probably wouldn’t have bloomed into becoming a hunter.

…If not for Kai, that is.

“…Calm down.”

If Kai was kidnapped by Margarete according to Blue Paper Moon’s story, Gerda would certainly have joined the Hunting Order.

But in reality… it’s quite complicated.

It was good that I prevented it back then, but when Kai disappeared later, she thought he died rather than being kidnapped.

I brought that child who had fallen into despair to the Order.

What kind of story is this even.

“If I lose Brother too… if I do, I…”  

In the end… I can’t explain it simply.

That’s just how people live.

It’s a mess.

Gerda’s feelings must be too.

What meaning does my existence have for Gerda?

How ironic that even I, the person involved, can’t know that exactly.

“I said calm down. Even if I die, you still have Kai.”

But there are some clear facts.

I’m not Gerda’s real brother, and Kai isn’t dead yet.

Though there’s no guarantee he can return, to Gerda I’m clearly a fake family…

“Both Kai and Brother are precious to me! Please, don’t leave me too…!”

Gerda pressed my hand against her face.

Hot tears that made it impossible to move flowed down my fingers.

Suddenly I remembered what Maia had said.

That it’s arrogant to decide other people’s feelings on my own.

Perhaps to Gerda it doesn’t matter whether I’m fake or not.

If so, I said something harsh… I made another stupid mistake.

“…I’m sorry.”

I pulled Gerda closer.

I could feel Gerda continuing to cry with her face buried against my stomach.

“I’m sorry.”

Here, I should probably say I won’t leave even if it’s just empty words.

That I won’t leave like Kai.

That I’ll stay by your side forever – that’s what I should say.

But I couldn’t.

Because I knew Gerda was sincere, I didn’t want to lie even more.

If I’m put in a situation where I have to risk my life again, I will.

Even knowing there are people who would be sad for me, even knowing it would leave deep wounds in their hearts.

“…”

I quietly looked down at Gerda.

No matter how much they talk about her being a genius or having special aptitude, she’s still young in the end.

And it’s obvious a harsh fate awaits her.

In some ways… she’s similar to me.

After crying like that for a while, Gerda went back when the doctor came to examine me.

The doctor said there were no particularly suspicious symptoms and I could be discharged this evening.

But since I’d been bedridden for five days, my body was quite weak, so he told me to diligently circulate magical power and carefully start physical training.

“Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank? You should be more grateful to your lover than me.”

The doctor said with a pleased expression.

He’s someone I have some connection with since he worked here when I was an errand boy.

“Who?”

“The one who took care of everything while you were asleep.”

“Wait a moment.”

Who did what?

“Took care of…?”

I have a bad feeling about this…

“You know how it is when you’re young. Even someone unconscious for a long time still produces waste bit by bit.”

Ah wait.

No wait a moment.

Well, I suppose that would happen.

“Isn’t that usually done by errand workers…?”

I used to do that.

“Ah, about that. Someone came at some point and took care of everything.”

“Th-that… their name…?”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no. Nothing. It’s just, I don’t have a lover…”

“Hm?”

“…”

“…”

The woman who took care of me while I was asleep apparently had platinum blonde hair with a touch of grey and purple eyes, and was somewhat small and thin.

“Ah…”

Left alone again, I clutched my head.

This is overwhelming.

I don’t know what to do.

Should I… should I go see her first…?

It’s really awkward but… still… sigh…

*    *    *

That evening, when I was discharged, I headed somewhere other than my quarters.

My steps were definitely stiff and awkward since it had been five days.

But that’s not the only reason my footsteps were slow.

It’s because I really don’t want to meet the person I’m going to see now.

“…Sigh.”

And sadly, before I knew it, I was in front of Workshop 3’s door.

Take a deep breath for a moment, and think.

What should I say?

Why did I come here in the first place?

Thank you for handling my… bodily waste for the past five days?

No, that’s not it.

That’s not it.

I came to persuade Zepetia.

Though it’s awkward, it still has to be done.

Because there’s no one else who can do it but me.

After finishing my mental preparation, I reached for the door.

But just before I could grab the handle, the door opened from the inside first.

“…Hello.”

Zepetia greeted me while holding the door open.

“Hello…”

The moment I saw Zepetia’s face, I lost my nerve.

Maybe I should go back now.

I want to make some excuse and go back.

“Come, come in. I knew you would definitely come.”

Zepetia grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

“…”

When Zepetia touched my hand, I was helplessly pulled in.

Though I could certainly break free with force, I really couldn’t do that either.

“Sit, sit. I already prepared everything. Coffee, right?”

Where Zepetia led me was an ordinary table that had been brought in recently.

Just an ordinary table with nothing else.

On top were a tray, a steaming kettle, and two teacups.

This wasn’t here before the Pinocchio incident.

Before, all desks were filled with records of experiment results and ideas, and glass bottles full of all sorts of chemicals.

It’s not that those things disappeared – rather there were even more now.

Since the Pinocchio incident, Zepetia had been building up quite decent achievements.

She was producing prototypes and ideas so excellent that even Workshop 1’s craftsmen were amazed.

Considering Zepetia’s original talent, this should have been natural from the start, and this must have been exactly what Corsis, the head of the Development Department, expected when investing such large sums…

“…”

I reluctantly sat in the chair.

Though the scent of sugared coffee stuffily filled my lungs, I didn’t reach for it right away.

“…Um.”

Zepetia, sitting across from me, spoke first.

Unlike before, her posture wasn’t hunched, and she was looking straight ahead.

Even her voice was level in tone, different from her uncertain past self.

“I know what you’re going to say. I calculated that you would wake up today, of course, since I examined your waste.”

“…Why would you do something like that?”

“Because I like you, of course.”

Zepetia’s purple eyes looked straight at me.

I rather avoided her gaze.

“…That’s a misunderstanding.”

“No, it’s not a misunderstanding. There’s nothing strange about it, is there? You’ve saved me multiple times. All the evidence and circumstances are clear.”

After the Pinocchio incident, Zepetia locked herself in her room and wouldn’t come out even a single step.

But right after the Pinocchio incident was fully resolved, no one paid attention to Zepetia anymore.

Except for me.

Finally, on the second day after Zepetia locked herself away, I forcibly opened the locked door and went in.

And the first thing I saw was Zepetia sitting helplessly right in front of the locked door.

Zepetia had been in front of the door for two days straight without drinking water or eating food, barely handling waste in glass bottles.

After that day, Zepetia completely changed.

“I’m not lost anymore. Because I realized in the end that I only have you.”

“That’s what’s wrong. I helped you because I thought of you as a friend, and not particularly…”

“It’s okay. I don’t like you as a man either. It has nothing to do with that. Before being a woman or man, you’re the only human who cares about me. Until now, I was still somewhat hesitant about depending on you. But now I have certainty.”

Zepetia leaned her body toward me.

“You’re too kind. No matter how much I depend on you, you won’t abandon me… Right?”