Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 75

Several days had passed since Hilde became a mid-ranked hunter.

Normally, I would have taken charge as team leader of six 9th-rank hunters.

However, since I was assigned to the special mission of tracking Vile, receiving new team members became a distant matter.

That’s not to say I didn’t have anyone to manage though.

“What… exactly… is this all about…”

Oscar trembled as he lay face down on the ground.

Drops of sweat and unconsciously drooling saliva fell from his face onto the ground.

“You’ve only done 30 laps. Get up, you still have 20 left.”

I crouched down in front of him.

“This is just… meaninglessly… running in circles…”

“Meaningless? With that level of stamina, you won’t even be able to walk to Drang Basin.”

“Argh! I can’t do it! Let’s just take a carriage!”

Oscar finally collapsed onto the ground.

He was already exhausted after just 30 laps around the training ground.

Though decent for an ordinary person, this level of fitness was far from enough to keep up with us.

“Now I understand why Sir Ozwald sent you to me. You really don’t even have the basics down.”

“I’m… a mage…”

“Whether you’re a mage or hunter, the foundation is physical strength. Whatever you do, you need stamina. And carriages aren’t very reliable. When you encounter Beasts, horses just become disposable meat shields.”

“You guys can… ugh, fine! I’ll do it!”

He’s got determination at least.

He seemed about to say we could handle the Beasts, but perhaps out of pride, he kept those words to himself.

After three more laps around the training ground, Oscar completely collapsed.

I carried him on my back to an open space and massaged his arms and legs.

“Ouch ouch ouch!”

Oscar writhed in pain.

“Stay still. The massage will help you feel better later.”

To be honest, Oscar was quite an impressive student.

He had the personality to follow through once he committed to something without being lazy, and his pride made him easy to motivate with just a little prodding.

Especially seeing him up close, I could clearly sense that Oscar had a good nature at his core.

I could definitely understand why Ozwald took him as a disciple in his later years.

“Relax your muscles.”

“How am I supposed to relax?!”

“Just do it.”

After a brief massage, Oscar staggered to his feet.

“Hey, you… huh?”

He looked down at his body as he stood up.

“…It really does feel better.”

“Oh, really? Then should we do 10 more laps?”

“Huh?! Ah, well…”

“I’m kidding. Today was just to measure your stamina, so don’t worry too much.”

“Measuring my stamina?”

“Yeah. We’re leaving next week, and no amount of exercise between now and then will suddenly increase your stamina.”

“I can just use magical power for that kind of thing.”

“And what happens when your magical power runs out? We won’t just be fighting once or twice, we need to think long-term. Have you ever actually fought a Beast before?”

“I went along with the old man a few times… well, it wasn’t much. One spell was enough to finish them.”

“Have you ever hunted a mid-tier Beast?”

“No.”

In Blue Paper Moon, Oscar was an NPC who normally attacked with magic from the rear.

His firepower was decent, but his high attack frequency often drew boss aggro and messed up strategies.

The problem is that in Blue Paper Moon, mages have seriously low base HP and defense, making them near death even from attacks that warriors could shrug off.

And here too, mages aren’t particularly sturdy.

Hunters constantly circulate magical power through their bodies after awakening it, letting it seep in to become superhuman.

However, mages store magical power in their brains to use for special calculations and magical power processes.

So while they reach superhuman levels in simple calculations and magical power manipulation, their physical bodies remain at normal human levels.

Of course, they can show fortress-like defense if they use defensive magic separately.

“Then we should start with mid-tier Beasts… though that probably won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“First of all, finding a mid-tier Beast aside, I can’t just take you out there on my own.”

“But you took that Hilde girl around just fine?”

“She was special.”

The reason I could take Hilde around was because she was exceptional in every way.

Of course, having that kind of nerve was also because Sephira gave permission.

But Oscar isn’t even a hunter, and doesn’t have good survival odds like Hilde.

“Special huh… I thought she was just an ordinary weak girl.”

“I don’t know when or how you met her, but Hilde is beyond just being called a genius. She’d probably surpass even you in magic if she invested a few years in it.”

“My talent isn’t anything to scoff at either. I’m confident in my magic.”

“That confidence is good. Well, anyway, you should be fine during missions since Lady Sephira or I will protect you.”

“I heard that Sephira person was also an incredible genius.”

“Not just any genius. In terms of raw talent alone, she’s considered the closest to matching the Saintess.”

Sephira was appointed as a higher-ranked hunter just 4 years after joining.

Even the Saintess acknowledged her amazing talent by bestowing Robera, the holy sword she herself used 500 years ago.

Combined with her character that never shied away from even the most menial tasks.

She was truly a woman worthy of being considered a miniature Saintess.

“Working with someone like that is an amazing opportunity. You should thank Sir Ozwald.”

“Tch. I know.”

* * *

“I didn’t expect to work with you.”

Dominic said to Sephira sitting across from him.

Eugene had taken Oscar out for training, and Zepetia was holed up in her workshop.

“I’m truly sorry that coordinating our schedule took so long.”

“It’s fine. I had scheduling issues as well.”

Being top figures in their respective positions made it extremely difficult to coordinate schedules.

Especially since the Heresy Inquisition Department where Dominic belonged strictly concealed their internal affairs, making it impossible for Sephira’s side to know about their work progress or difficulties.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell between them.

Sephira wasn’t particularly sociable, and Dominic was quiet outside of work.

But beside them were two people glaring at each other in an even heavier silence.

“Santorius.”

Crowty, the practical leader of the hunters and overall field commander who wore ordinary hunter’s uniform, called his opponent’s name first.

“Crowty.”

Across from him was a small, thin man wearing a pitch-black uniform with the Heresy Inquisition Department’s emblem pinned to it – Santorius, head of the Heresy Inquisition Department, also spoke.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries and get to the point. That would be better for both of us.”

Crowty took out prepared documents and placed them on the desk.

“Here are Sephira’s mission records from the past year that you requested.”

Higher-ranked hunter mission records are strictly preserved and even their movement or removal is directly managed by Crowty.

Though not documents he wanted to show others, he had to comply when the Heresy Inquisition Department demanded a hunter’s personal information.

“Thank you. Then I’ll take these…”

Santorius grabbed the documents.

“Who said you could?”

But Crowty simultaneously grabbed them back.

“I didn’t give permission to remove them.”

“You’re being too rigid. Aren’t we classmates?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“…Hmm.”

Santorius let out a small sigh and nodded, only then did Crowty release his grip on the documents.

He opened and read through them.

Though it looked like he was just flipping through quickly, there was no doubt he confirmed everything about what Sephira had done and where for the past year.

“I’ve seen enough.”

After checking everything in just about 5 minutes, Santorius held the documents back out.

“What’s your reason for suddenly demanding these?”

Crowty asked as he put them back in his chest.

“We also have some things we want to make certain about.”

“And those are?”

“3rd-rank hunter Sephira – exactly how far we can trust her.”

Crowty slammed his fist on the desk.

A mark like it had been hit by a massive hammer was left on the desk.

In contrast, the person in question maintained perfect composure without even blinking.

“This isn’t something I can let slide even as a joke.”

Crowty said.

“Everyone knows how much work Sephira has done. She even received the Saintess’s sword as proof of that, and yet you, of all people, doubt her? What kind of scheme is this now?”

“I apologize if I caused a misunderstanding.”

Even as Crowty’s intense pressure made Dominic tense beside them, Santorius’s demeanor didn’t change at all.

“I’m not doubting Sephira’s achievements or abilities. However… I simply want to know how far her loyalty extends. Now that we’re also participating in that new department, we need to be certain about what needs to be certain.”

“Loyalty? Explain so I can understand.”

At Crowty’s question, Santorius turned his head toward Sephira.

“3rd-rank hunter Sephira.”

“Yes.”

Sephira answered just as impassively.

“What do you think about 8th-rank hunter Eugene?”

“…?!”

But Santorius’s single question made both Crowty and Sephira startled at the same time.

“Hooh… interesting reaction.”

Santorius smiled strangely.

“Sephira, you were truly outstanding. You’ve gone out of your way to find and participate in missions together with him countless times, even low-ranked ones. It’s no wonder lower-ranked hunters view you like the Saintess. Perhaps the Saintess bestowed her sword to help boost the morale of lower-ranked hunters.”

“I just…”

“However.”

He cut off Sephira’s words.

“While investigating the lower-ranked hunter included in this mission, I discovered something interesting. When you participated in lower-ranked hunter missions, Eugene was included with remarkably high frequency.”

“…You called both of us here just to check something like that?”

Crowty cut in.

“Eugene is a capable fellow. He’s among the top in ability among lower-ranked hunters, and including experience, he could be counted among the top three. Of course he’s been on many dangerous missions, so such overlaps could happen by chance.”

“Well, that’s true too. But 3 months ago, there was major damage from mistaking a high-tier Beast for a mid-tier one, wasn’t there? Sephira was on standby in the rear then too. And Eugene was the only survivor.”

“…And?”

“And… 12 years ago, there was a girl with terrible burns in the Order’s hospital.”

“You…”

Crowty bared his teeth.

“Just how far did you investigate our background? No, how did you even find out about that?”

“The Intelligence Department helped. Did you know? They’re also investigating Eugene separately.”

“So what? Get to the point.”

“Is Sephira truly… loyal to the Saintess? Or is she simply devoted to one man? Answer me.”