Dark Fantasy’s Extra

The Grand Conference.

It’s a meeting where the highest officials from Hunting Order branches around the world gather here at headquarters.

While the Order isn’t an organization that actively seeks power, and the branches worldwide are significantly weaker compared to headquarters.

Headquarters has double-digit higher-ranked hunters, but other branches only have 1-3 at most.

However, the agenda discussed here involves literal world-scale issues, and the meeting’s outcomes influence international affairs.

In other words, to Sephira, Hilde’s existence holds that level of significance.

Even though this is just a fragment of talent that hasn’t fully bloomed yet.

“…That’s a bit much.”

I shook my head while crossing my arms in thought.

“Hilde has barely been a trainee hunter for just over two weeks. No matter how you look at it, that’s crossing a line.”

“Looking at Miss Hilde’s growth rate, there’s a possibility she could become a higher-ranked hunter within this year. It would be better to get as much support as possible to help her grow quickly and efficiently.”

“You’re right. You’re right, but it’s too premature. Still…”

“And Mr. Eugene could also receive recognition for helping take the first steps in Miss Hilde’s growth.”

“…What?”

What’s she suddenly talking about?

“Mr. Eugene has achieved results far beyond expectations. While Miss Hilde may have talent, the role of the guide was surely crucial. With this, you could aim for enough of a performance bonus to retire comfortably right now.”

She’s not wrong.

The more we promote Hilde and inflate her achievements, the bigger my contribution would appear.

But that’s not what I want.

Sure, I used to wish for a stable retirement.

Back then, I wanted that because I hated this tiresome world.

But not anymore.

That version of me died seven years ago.

“The performance bonus isn’t important. I have no intention of retiring right now either.”

“…?”

Sephira made a puzzled expression at my words.

No, why are you the one surprised about that?

“Miss Hilde’s training is still under my jurisdiction. Though I’m merely your substitute, Lady Sephira, at least as that substitute, my answer is to decline.”

“Right. That really would be going too far.”

Latina approached and spoke.

“Of course it’s surprising, but doing that now might actually ruin a well-growing seed of talent. From what I can see, Eugene is doing a good job.”

“…I agree with Ms. Sephira.”

Runius said.

“A wolf cub should be raised by a mother wolf, not a dog. Looking at Miss Hilde’s growth rate, she might even surpass her teacher as soon as tomorrow.”

There’s a bit of a sting in those words.

But to a higher-ranked hunter, that’s probably how they see lower-ranked hunters.

“Wait, did you even listen to what I said? Too many expectations make it easier to break.”

Latina spoke to him in a serious voice.

The higher-ranked hunters argued amongst themselves about Hilde.

“You guys…!”

As they continued, Latina’s expression grew increasingly fierce.

She also had a setting where she once broke down under such expectations in the past.

If that setting holds true here too, maybe she sees her own situation overlapping with Hilde’s.

“Hold on.”

I cut in between them.

“Whatever the case, Hilde’s training is my responsibility. If you’re so concerned, why not just ask Hilde directly?”

“That’s…”

“Hilde, what do you want to do?”

“I want to keep learning from Senior.”

Hilde answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Honestly, I’m quite touched.

“Even I think I’m not ready for such a grand stage yet.”

In the end, her words settled the argument, and Hilde and I returned to our quarters.

“How was it?”

I asked Hilde while sitting on the bed.

“How did it feel to face and fight a higher-ranked hunter directly?”

“Fight? I wasn’t even close to being a match.”

Hilde shook her head.

“But you got in one good hit at the end.”

“That was pure coincidence. I didn’t even know it was that kind of technique.”

“Parry.”

“What?”

“That technique is called Parry. I was planning to teach it to you later, but I didn’t expect you’d figure it out on your own.”

In Blue Paper Moon, Parry was a technique for deflecting and redirecting an opponent’s attacks.

If used well, it could completely outmaneuver opponents who focused on close combat, even ignoring stat differences.

Of course, that’s just in theory – in practice, it required considerable know-how and timing, so there weren’t many opponents I could actually handle with that technique.

“Since you’ve already learned it, nothing we can do about that. Anyway, you did very well just now. It’s too late for shooting practice, so let’s do that tomorrow.”

A large moon was already hanging outside the window.

“Senior.”

“What?”

“You’re teaching me as Lady Sephira’s substitute, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why did Lady Sephira ask you?”

“Huh?”

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I’m really glad it was you, Senior. I’m just curious. I can tell Lady Sephira is incredibly strong. But someone like that came to you and asked this favor?”

“Well…”

I don’t really know either.

Sephira and I don’t have that deep a connection.

We just occasionally met during missions.

“And earlier, those hunters mentioned that Sir Crowty thinks highly of you…”

“That’s too generous.”

“Just who are you, Senior?”

“What do you mean?”

“Thinking about it, I feel like I don’t know anything about you, Senior. How many family members do you have? What foods do you like?”

It’s not strange for Hilde to ask such things.

We’ve been together for almost 2 weeks now, and we’ve been through several battlefields together.

But she is this world’s protagonist.

We can’t stay together forever, and we shouldn’t.

If we get too close, I’ll end up holding her back someday.

“You’re asking strange things. It’s late, so let’s get to sleep.”

Though it might be a bit cold, I brushed it off and lay down on the bed.

*    *    *

Sephira, Crowty, and his assistant Hans were gathered in the lit office.

“…Is this real?”

Crowty put down the report with a serious expression.

“Yes, it was definitely Parry.”

Sephira said.

“Amazing. While I thought she would have grown quite a bit, to think it was to this extent. I should make time to check personally too. However…”

“Is there some issue?”

“Her growth has far exceeded expectations. Originally I planned to keep her with Eugene longer, but we might need to reconsider.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you know, every single higher-ranked hunter is precious battle strength. Right now, there are only 12 higher-ranked hunters officially belonging to the Hunting Order. Of course, excluding the 1st rank.”

“And?”

“By my estimate, I thought she could become a higher-ranked hunter within 5 years, but it might be possible within 3 years if she does well. Then, though regrettable, it might be better to have her receive guidance from a higher-ranked hunter rather than Eugene.”

“Didn’t you say at first that it would be good to assign her to Mr. Eugene? That she needed to learn how lower-ranked hunters work?”

“I did. But quickly deploying core battle strength to the field is also important. Though there may be some regrettable aspects, having battle strength that can be used immediately is reassuring.”

“…So in the end, you weren’t on that person’s side either.”

“I’m not on anyone’s side. If I had to say, I’m on everyone’s side. Eugene is… a good kid. But one person can’t be above the whole.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Hans, standing behind Crowty, cleared his throat.

That statement could be dangerous under the Order’s laws.

Because in the Hunting Order, there is someone who stands above the whole.

“…Anyway, nothing’s been decided yet. We won’t know if Hilde can really become a higher-ranked hunter within 3 years until we confirm it. Just that she’s worth investing in.”

“What if it’s not just Miss Hilde’s talent, but that Mr. Eugene taught her that well?”

“Even so, that’s not possible. I’ve watched that kid almost as long as you have. Eugene’s talent only goes up to lower-ranked hunter… It’s a shame. If he had just a bit more talent, I would have supported him more.”

“Miss Hilde herself said it was possible because Mr. Eugene taught her. A hunter’s talent and teaching talent are different.”

“…That’s a fair point. I hadn’t considered if Eugene had teaching talent, but it wouldn’t be good to make hasty decisions without checking directly.”

“Sir Crowty, do you have time to check personally…?”

Hans said.

“This is about Hilde, so it’s important. Having even one more higher-ranked hunter, and getting them more quickly, is always important.”

“Then how about entrusting this to another reliable person?”

“Another person?”

“Wouldn’t Sir Corsis or Sir Doyle be suitable?”

They were the officials present at the recent meeting where the Saintess attended.

Both had position, influence, and skill within the Order.

“Assigning such a task to Elder Doyle wouldn’t be appropriate, but Corsis would be suitable.”

“You mean having Sir Corsis evaluate Mr. Eugene?”

Sephira asked.

“While the Elder’s eye would be better, we can’t ask someone of his stature to evaluate a lower-ranked hunter. Corsis is neutral, so he should evaluate well.”

“If he judges that Mr. Eugene is suitable to teach Miss Hilde, will Mr. Eugene continue teaching her?”

“That’s right. And what you want is for this to become part of Eugene’s career and benefit him.”

“Yes.”

“Really, it would be easier if you just confessed honestly.”

“…Then I’ll take my leave.”

Sephira left the room.

“What do you think?”

Crowty asked Hans.

“About what?”

“Everything. About Eugene, or about Sephira.”

“Well, I don’t have personal interactions with them myself. But I don’t think it’s good to change the trainer so soon. While higher-ranked hunters are an important matter, whether it’s 5 years or 3 years, it’s not a short period, so wouldn’t it be better to watch and decide over time?”

“That’s true. I was being a bit hasty.”

“And as for Miss Sephira… I completely agree with your opinion, Sir Crowty. But haven’t things already come too far for that?”

Sephira had helped Eugene greatly from behind the scenes while hiding her identity from him.

The reason she gave for hiding was ‘Eugene helped me without knowing who I was, so I should do the same’…

“No matter how I look at it, wasn’t she just embarrassed? And then ended up dragging things out this far without being able to do anything either way.”

“If you’re interested in others’ love stories, perhaps we should discuss your own marriage matter…”

“I’ll pass on that. I still get letters about that issue once a month. It’s quite tiring writing the same excuses to reject them every time.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be good to at least have one nominal fiancée around this time?”

“Enough of that, just bring the next documents. We need to finish work early if we’re visiting Corsis tomorrow.”

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