Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 67

This time, the destination was quite far.

Not near Order headquarters – it would take over two days just to get there.

It took that long even with taking a ship and using magical power to run faster.

But this was a place I absolutely had to visit.

Because there wouldn’t be another chance if not now.

The destination was ‘Donua’, a ruin near the border.

Located on a high mountain, it was a place with traces of a massive stone-built city – truly deserving to be called an ancient ruin.

Though called an ancient ruin, there weren’t any particularly grand buildings.

Most were low brick houses that could barely accommodate people, and even those bricks weren’t made with commonly used lime mortar but real stones cut into angles and stacked.

There were no other inhabited villages nearby, and Beasts appearing occasionally was all there was to Donua.

Even in Blue Paper Moon, Donua wasn’t a location marked on the map.

It was only mentioned in books about magic, particularly sorcery, which described Donua’s legend and location.

Even I only learned about this place after going through double-digit playthroughs.

“…It’s quiet.”

Walking through this abandoned city ruins gave me a strange feeling.

Is this what it would feel like if the world ended and I was the only survivor?

Nothing left, just me alone abandoned among traces of human habitation…

…Better stop these useless thoughts.

I’m already gloomy enough thinking about the apocalyptic future the witches will bring.

I walked deeper into Donua, following my memories from my past life.

“Hmm.”

After reaching what was probably once a plaza, I took out lunch from my bag.

Just jerky, dried fruits, and rock-hard bread.

Just as I was about to sit down on a long rectangular stone that was probably used as a bench in the past, I sensed a presence.

I put down the jerky and gripped my rifle.

“Quite brave of you to eat there.”

The voice came from behind me.

When I turned my head, there stood a tiny figure in rags.

The description might sound strange, but they were only slightly taller than my knee and wore such shabby clothes that there was no other way to describe it.

The NPC you could find in Blue Paper Moon’s Donua also looked exactly like this at first.

I swallowed hard.

“What’s wrong with here?”

I put down my gun and relaxed my guard.

“That’s an altar that was used for human sacrifices, you know?”

“What?”

I immediately stood up reflexively.

While not enough to really bother me, I didn’t particularly want to eat at such a place.

And this being a sacrificial altar was information that wasn’t in Blue Paper Moon.

“What’s a hunter doing in a place like this?”

“When asking who someone is, it’s polite to introduce yourself first.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

She pulled back her rags and revealed her face.

Her green hair fell just past her shoulders, and her eyes were the same color as her hair.

Though her knee-high stature made her seem like a young child, her demeanor, way of speaking, and body proportions were that of an adult.

“My name is Maia.”

Maia.

That was exactly the name of the person, no, the being I was looking for.

“I’m Eugene.”

“Eugene. Eugene, huh. It’s been a while since I heard someone’s name. A hunter at that. As I asked earlier, what exactly brings you here?”

“Vacation.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a vacation. Since I got quite a long break, I wanted to see something unusual somewhere far away.”

“Are you serious? You came all this way just for that?”

“Is that strange?”

“It is strange. And I like it.”

Maia came closer to me.

“Is that jerky? Wow, and bread too? Could you share some maybe? It’s been so long since I’ve had proper food.”

Without saying much, I handed her some jerky and a piece of bread.

“Hehehe, you’re kind, Eugene.”

Despite her small body and mouth, Maia stuffed the jerky in all at once, chewed a few times, and swallowed.

“Ahh, delicious.”

“Water.”

I gave her my water bottle too.

“Thanks. Hehe.”

And so we ate together in these ancient ruins.

“Mmm… delicious.”

Maia rubbed her belly.

“After receiving such a wonderful gift, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t return the favor. Follow me. I’ll invite you to where I live.”

In Blue Paper Moon too, Maia invited the protagonist to her home.

Though the flow of the story and reasons were somewhat different.

“Alright.”

I cleaned up and followed her.

We arrived at a house that still had its roof intact and was larger than the others.

It was probably where someone of high status like a merchant, lord, or priest lived.

Inside was a completely different world.

The first thing that caught my eye were all sorts of strange objects hanging on the walls.

From what appeared to be Beast skulls to various staffs and weapons.

The shelves held various bottles and boxes, emanating all kinds of smells.

In the center of the room was a large hearth with a cauldron on top.

Green flames burned continuously in the hearth without any firewood, and an unidentifiable liquid bubbled constantly in the cauldron.

“Welcome to my home. It’s been so long since I’ve had guests that I’m not sure if I can properly entertain you.”

“Roughly how long has it been?”

“Well… at least 20 years.”

There was only one chair, and even that wasn’t my size, so I just sat on the floor.

“I’d like to offer you something to drink, but all I have that you could drink is green tea. Is that okay? Do you even know what green tea is?”

When we first met in Blue Paper Moon, she said she was out of tea, but I guess she still has some now.

“I know. That’s fine.”

“That’s good.”

Maia waved her hand in the air and what looked like tea leaves floated up from one of the boxes on the shelf and went into the teapot by themselves.

Then something immediately boiled up inside and the teapot moved on its own to pour tea into a porcelain cup.

Green tea, how long has it been since I’ve had that?

At least not in this life…

“Here, drink.”

“Thank you.”

I grabbed the floating porcelain cup that flew to me and drank the green tea inside.

A slightly bitter taste and humid aroma that calmed the mind.

Compared to what I drank in my past life… Oh, I can’t quite remember.

“So what do you think?”

“The tea tastes good.”

“Hehe, thanks for that. But that’s not what I was asking about.”

“Then what?”

“How exactly did you find where I was? I didn’t know the Hunting Order’s intelligence was this good. But all three of you aren’t skilled enough to capture me.”

“Three?”

Maia snapped her fingers and two people flew out from the closet and were thrown onto the floor.

They must have been unconscious as they didn’t move at all despite being roughly thrown down.

“…Who are they?”

I don’t know these people.

“People who’ve been following you. You’re not pretending not to know, are you?”

“…!”

Following me?

Since when?

“You’re not going to keep pretending even after seeing this, are you?”

Maia threw something at me.

When I caught and checked it, it was the Order’s silver emblem.

Identical to the one on my clothes.

“Could it be… the Intelligence Department?”

Their clothes were those of ordinary travelers.

But they had the Order’s emblem, and considering their stealth abilities that even I couldn’t detect, nothing else came to mind.

“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, but neither I nor those people are targeting you.”

Of course, my target is Maia.

But I never imagined I’d have a tail.

“Those people just followed me here.”

“Why?”

“Well…”

Though Maia’s demeanor was calm, considering the gap between us, one wrong word and it would be over here.

“…This isn’t something I should freely talk about, but if I don’t speak, you’ll force me to open my mouth, right?”

“Yep.”

I had no choice but to explain about Blanc.

“Since it’s related to a behemoth, it’s not strange to have such surveillance.”

But since when exactly?

Surely not since Blanc first started following me?

“So there’s such a behemoth on the continent…”

Maia pondered.

“I really am lacking in knowledge. I shouldn’t have just stayed here like this forever.”

She snapped her fingers again and the Intelligence Department trackers flew out the window.

“Anyway, since you told your story first, it’s my turn now. Seeing how you weren’t surprised by my appearance, I feel a bit relieved that we might be able to have a proper conversation.”

Maia pointed at her tiny self.

“I’m a sorcerer. This small form and catching the tail that was following you – it’s all through the power of sorcery.”

Sorcerer.

Sorcery, one of the magic systems in Blue Paper Moon, was a build with good balance that could easily become strong from mid-game.

But according to NPC dialogue, sorcerers were persecuted in the setting.

“And as you know, I also use the power of curses.”

The concept was that sorcerers use everything available – existing magic, blessings, or even curses – taking advantage of all their strengths.

But the fact that they use curses is something difficult for the Order to overlook.

After all, it’s essentially the same power as the witches who distorted the world.

“I haven’t been here long since leaving the island, so I don’t know much about what’s happening outside or what Beasts exist on the continent.”

“Better late than never to learn.”

I drained the now cold green tea in one go.

“I don’t know which island you’re from, but this place is crawling with Beasts. And there will be more and more.”

“That’s actually welcome. Otherwise, there would have been no point in leaving the island. Until now I’ve been hiding here doing research, but maybe it’s time to leave again. I need more Beasts. In that sense…”

She looked at me intently.

“You said a behemoth follows you? If I follow you too, could I see that one?”

“Uh…”

That’s not wrong, but…

“A sorcerer following a hunter? Are you serious?”

“It would be dangerous of course. The Order hates sorcerers. Though you seem different.”

“I don’t… particularly like or dislike them. In the end, what matters is how that power is used.”

“Seems like we might be able to understand each other? On the island where I lived, there was a culture of exchanging gifts. Since this is a fateful meeting, I’ll give you something.”

“Doesn’t that mean I need to give you something too?”

Though I said this, this is what I came all this way for in the first place.

“Right, it would be troublesome to suddenly demand something from you. Then I’ll exchange whatever you give me for something matching. Doesn’t matter what – even a scrap of cloth from your pocket.”

“As it happens, I do have something suitable.”

I took out the Cursed Necklace of Faith from the human sacrifice altar in Vinears village.

“Oh…”

Maia was speechless when she saw it.

“This is… very… good?”

She came closer and took the necklace to examine it.

“Where did you get this?”

“An abandoned village in the north of this country. A place where human fanatics brainwashed by a behemoth lived hundreds of years ago. Found this when I destroyed their tower of skulls.”

“Ahh… if I’d known such a place existed, I should have gone there. I’ve been staying here looking for exactly this kind of thing.”

I see, so that was her reason for being here.

No wonder that place I sat earlier was also a human sacrifice altar.

“It’s too late to go now. I eliminated the powerful Beast there too, and all that comes out now are just worthless undead.”

“That’s a shame. Anyway, since I received such a good item, I should give something proper in return…”

“Ah, that’s not all I have.”

“Huh?”

I took out the Giant Hunter’s Axe from my back and held it out to her.

“I’d like to exchange this axe for something else too.”

In Blue Paper Moon, Maia was an NPC who exchanged various items for other things.

And when you gave her this Giant Hunter’s Axe, she would return one of the weapons with the strongest base stats in Blue Paper Moon.