Dark Fantasy’s Extra

“You…!”

Hilde exclaimed in surprise.

“Ah! Wait, wait. I didn’t come here to fight.”

Sancho hastily waved his hands.

“I have absolutely no intention of robbing money from you who are injured after fighting a Beast or anything like that! I’m an adventurer, not a bandit.”

“Then why…”

“I told you from the start, didn’t I? That I have no intention of interfering with hunters’ business. To begin with, I’m not a hunter so I wouldn’t have been much help anyway. And even if there is treasure, I have no intention of stealing it. I’m not that shameless.”

I didn’t particularly doubt him.

In Blue Paper Moon, Sancho never did anything bad unless I attacked him first.

“I just wanted to look around now that the fight seems over. Ah, if you need it, I have some medicine.”

Sancho took out a round pill from the pouch at his waist.

“It’s dried herbs ground into powder and rolled with water. It helps reduce pain a bit and speeds up recovery.”

This too was exactly as I remembered.

In the game as well, after hunting Jack, Sancho would come and give a pill that increased HP regeneration speed.

But I couldn’t so readily trust others in front of Hilde.

“Rather than medicine, I’d like help with something else.”

“Hm?”

“That axe the Beast was holding. Could you carry it down for us? I need to help my companion.”

Sancho looked at Hilde’s leg.

“Ah, I see. You’re a good hunter. But can you trust me? Are you sure I won’t run away with that?”

“It would be nice to have it, but not a big deal if we don’t. It just looked useful so I wanted to take it. If it gets stolen, can’t be helped.”

Of course, if someone really did steal it, I’d do whatever it takes to get it back.

“I see. Well, I have no intention of stealing it either. That would make me a thug or thief, not an adventurer.”

He picked up the axe Jack had dropped.

“Oof. This is quite heavy. And quite worn too. Anyway, I got it. I’ll take responsibility for carrying it down. Of course, after I investigate this place a bit first.”

Sancho shouldered Jack’s “Giant Hunter’s Axe” and looked around the room holding his torch.

“Senior.”

“What?”

“There’s something bothering me…”

“What is it?”

“That Beast. Fighting it, I felt it was completely different from the Beasts until now.”

“How was it different?”

“How should I put it… It’s just a feeling, but it felt alive…? No, rather… like I was fighting a human…”

“…”

I thought for a moment.

Then I approached Jack’s corpse and turned over his body that had fallen forward.

The purple flames in his eye sockets were gone, and he was just an ordinary skeleton without any sign of life.

Just one thing – the clothes he wore were strangely similar to our hunter’s uniform.

In the game it was called “Old Hunter’s Clothes.”

I took out a heavily rusted piece of metal from his chest.

“This is…”

“Must be a hunter’s identification tag.”

“…!? W-why would that…”

I carefully put that metal piece, now too ruined to make out, in my pocket.

“Hunters can become Beasts too. No, hunters actually become more dangerous Beasts than ordinary people.”

Sooner or later, Hilde would encounter Beasts that were once hunters.

In the late game of Blue Paper Moon, hunter Beasts would mix in among the mobs, and they were more powerful than most early game bosses.

“This one was also once a hunter.”

And not just any hunter – a founding member of the Hunting Order.

Our great senior, yet even his corpse couldn’t find rest for 500 years.

“How could that…”

I took out a bottle of holy oil with one hand, opened the cap with my teeth, and poured it on Jack’s remains.

Then I lit a match and held it out to Hilde.

“Let him rest.”

“…Yes.”

Hilde took the match and threw it onto Jack.

Jack was instantly engulfed in massive flames, and his old bones turned to black ashes.

Hilde watched like someone in a daze.

I wonder what she’s thinking.

We watched until Jack’s remains completely turned into a handful of black ash.

“Well then, I’ll go ahead.”

Sancho said.

“I’ve seen everything worth seeing here. Thanks to you hunters taking care of that Beast. Thank you.”

“…”

Hilde couldn’t readily answer.

“And I’ll leave this axe safely below. Let’s meet again sometime.”

“Sure.”

He left with the Giant Hunter’s Axe on his back.

After resting a bit more, I carried Hilde on my back and slowly went out.

“Am I not too heavy?”

“Very.”

“What? Um, th-that…”

Hilde stammered in a bewildered voice.

“That’s the weight of a companion.”

“Ah…”

“Companions are precious. You should feel their weight.”

Jack too went to battle with his companions and died with them.

Yet when he alone was revived as a Beast, I wonder how he felt.

And when he met his second end at the hands of Belle whom he had served, what thoughts went through his mind.

*    *    *

I carried Hilde on my back down to the bottom of the temple.

Going down a 100-meter tree with an injured person wasn’t easy, and I used a considerable amount of magical power that I had recovered while resting.

“Ah, it’s over there.”

Hilde pointed to where the Giant Hunter’s Axe was stuck in the ground.

We retrieved it and walked back toward the Order.

It had taken half a day just to get here from the Order in good condition, but now it would surely take over a day.

The sun had already almost set and the sky was starting to darken.

I took out the map again to check if there were any villages on the way back.

Fortunately, there was a village called Afran about 3 hours away from here.

“…Hm?”

Afran village?

I think… it was one of the villages you could visit in Blue Paper Moon?

It’s where the boss “Stupid Bardello” appears in the middle of the game.

Though I feel a bit uneasy, it should be fine to rest there since we’re still far from the mid-game… right?

Besides, there aren’t any other villages around worth visiting.

We had to spend the night in a village as camping with an injured person would be too burdensome.

I walked for 3 hours carrying Hilde on my back.

A few low-tier Beasts appeared along the way, but I had no leisure so I shot them all dead with my rifle from afar.

And around when the moon rose in the sky, we arrived at Afran village.

“Hm? Who goes there?”

A guard holding a lantern called out to us.

“We are hunters from the Hunting Order.”

I held up my identification tag and approached.

“We’d like to rest here for the night. We have an injured person.”

“Hunters?”

When our figures were fully revealed under the lantern light, the guard showed signs of relief.

“Whew, I thought Beasts had appeared. There have been rumors of some Beasts appearing lately, you see.”

“We actually hunted a few on our way here.”

“Is that true? Well, we’re grateful then. Anyway, your companion seems injured. We don’t have a doctor in our village, but please rest comfortably.”

“Thank you. Where’s the inn?”

“Go straight ahead and look for a sign that says ‘Walnut Preserve.'”

I gave him a slight nod and entered the village.

It was already late so there was no one on the streets, and fortunately we found the inn quickly.

When we opened the door of the Walnut Preserve inn, we saw an old person sweeping the floor.

“Welcome… Ah, hunters I see.”

It was a thin woman with old but calm and intelligent eyes.

“Here to rest?”

“Yes, how much is the lodging fee?”

“Three Order Silver coins per night. Four Order Silver coins if you want breakfast tomorrow.”

I immediately took out four Order Silver coins and gave them to her.

“Is there no doctor in this village?”

“No, unfortunately not. Use the first room on the left upstairs.”

After getting the key from her, we went into the room.

“Whew, finally we can rest.”

I put Hilde down on the bed.

“Thank you.”

Hilde bowed her head to me.

“I’ll pay you back for the money you just spent.”

“No need. I’m resting here too anyway.”

I took off my coat and sat in the wooden chair.

“Um… Senior…”

“What?”

“Well… if, if it’s alright, would you like to rest together with me on the bed…?”

Hilde hesitantly managed to say.

Though she’s now a proper hunter, having lived her whole life as a noble lady, sharing a bed with a man must not be easy.

“Why not.”

I’m not particularly bothered about resting on the same bed as Hilde.

And if possible, lying on a soft bed is much better.

“But first let me check your leg again. We don’t want it getting worse.”

“Yes.”

I examined Hilde’s leg.

Though I’m not an expert so I can’t be certain, it seems like there might be a small crack in the bone.

At least there doesn’t seem to be any skin necrosis or internal bleeding, so it should be fine for now.

Maybe she’ll be able to walk again after a good day’s rest.

Of course, I still won’t let her overdo it.

“It’s quite late, let’s sleep.”

The sky visible through the window was now completely midnight.

I drew the curtains and lay down next to Hilde.

“Good work today. Sleep well.”

“…Good night.”

And we fell asleep.

*    *    *

I opened my eyes and carefully got up from the bed while drawing the pistol at my waist.

I sensed an unnatural presence outside the door.

It feels similar to a Beast.

“…”

I waited for a moment.

Suddenly there was a loud sound of someone hitting the door.

“Ah…!?”

Hilde bolted upright in bed at the sound.

Then came another sound like someone throwing their whole body against the door.

“Get ready.”

“Y-yes!”

Hilde also drew her pistol and aimed at the door.

At that moment, someone finally broke down the door and burst in.

It was a very large man.

Rather than being well-built, his whole body seemed unnaturally swollen.

And his pupils flickered with a faint red.

He turned his head toward Hilde.

“Urgh… Uwaaaaah!”

When he showed signs of charging at her while screaming, I quickly lowered my body, wrapped my arms around his knees and threw him down.

“Aah! Aaaargh!”

“Ugh…!”

The intruder struggled.

His strength was clearly beyond that of a normal person, so I had no choice but to use magical power to hold him down.

“What’s going on!?”

Just then the innkeeper came running up the stairs.

“Ah!? Bardello!”

What? Bardello?

“H-hunter! What’s happening? Why is my child…!?”

“W-we don’t know either! This person suddenly broke down the door and came in!”

Hilde shouted while still keeping her gun aimed at the man called Bardello.

“Hunter, please let go of our son! I’ll talk to him properly!”

“Not until he calms down…!”

I said through gritted teeth while holding him down.

Bardello was still struggling violently.

“Ah, right! J-just wait a moment! I’ll get something to calm my son down!”

The innkeeper went back down and brought a small black fruit which she put in Bardello’s mouth.

As he chewed the fruit, his strength quickly drained and he fell asleep.

I confirmed he was completely asleep before getting up.

“What exactly is going on here? Who is this person?”

Bardello?

Could it be that Stupid Bardello?

“I’ll explain everything…”

The old woman said.