Dark Fantasy’s Extra

The next morning, I took Hilde to the shooting range.

“I’ll teach you marksmanship now. Though it seems you already know how to use a gun somewhat.”

Hilde could handle a pistol since we first met.

She hadn’t missed a shot in the few times she used it afterward either.

“Yes, I learned a bit before becoming a hunter. Though just enough for self-defense with a pistol.”

“What about rifles?”

“I did sight alignment with my original one but…”

She learned more than I expected.

I guess she has the basics down like in the game.

“See that target over there?”

I pointed at a target about 20 meters away.

“As you know, hunters’ guns are different from normal ones. Since we use silver bullets that are softer than lead, the guns need to be more delicate and have less power. No matter how good your aim is, even a low-tier Beast won’t go down with a pistol if it’s further than that.”

That’s also why stronger hunters rely more on melee weapons.

If the range isn’t very long, it’s more effective to just run in and use a powerful melee weapon.

“So don’t rely too much on ranged weapons either. Use them only occasionally, when ranged combat is more efficient than melee as an exception.”

“Yes.”

“Now let’s see your skill.”

I stepped back to observe Hilde’s shooting ability.

As expected, all six shots hit the target.

Though none hit dead center, what matters is that they hit the target at all.

“That’s a shame… Should I learn to shoot more accurately?”

“We’ll work on that later with the rifle. For now, we’ll try something else.”

I took out several wooden boards.

“Hit this.”

“That?”

“Yes. Give it a try.”

I immediately threw a palm-sized wooden board into the distance.

“What? Eek?!”

Though startled, Hilde took her stance and tried to aim at the target.

But there were no rounds left, producing only clicking sounds.

“Ah, the bullets…”

“Don’t forget to count how many bullets you have left either.”

There were several dangerous moments during missions in the past when I had no bullets in the chamber.

If I hadn’t improvised by swinging the pistol like a club to push back the Beast, I might have died then.

After Hilde reloaded, I threw another wooden board.

She aimed carefully but the bullet missed.

“You don’t need to aim for the center. Just hitting it is enough.”

“Yes.”

After about 3 hours of repetition, Hilde could hit 7 out of 10 times.

“This actually works.”

My true thoughts slipped out unconsciously.

“Pardon?”

“Ah, nothing. I knew you’d learn quickly but didn’t expect this fast.”

I did this training too of course.

But when I first started, it took 3 months just to hit at least 5 out of 10 times.

“Anyway, this is good enough. We can do the next part after lunch.”

“Is it rifles next?”

“No, still pistols.”

“What?”

“Next we’ll shoot while walking. Then after that, while running.”

“While moving with this?”

“When facing strong Beasts, you rarely have the luxury of standing still to aim carefully.”

From high-tier Beasts onward, there’s almost no standing still to shoot unless you’re specifically doing a sniper shot.

Especially in the game, Crowty would pull off headshots while not just walking or running, but doing acrobatics in the air.

Though that was just in-game cutscenes, he could probably do it in reality too.

“Now then…”

“Excellent.”

As I was about to take Hilde to the dining hall, someone approached while clapping.

“Sir Corsis?”

It was Corsis, the middle-aged official in charge of the Order headquarters’ Development Department.

“Was Miss Hilde skilled with pistols? I only watched for about 10 minutes, but her skills are quite good.”

“Th-thank you.”

Hilde bowed her head to him.

“But it’s not my specialty.”

“Not your specialty?”

“I couldn’t hit anything at first.”

“What?”

“Sir Corsis, Hilde only started practicing hitting wooden boards this morning.”

I explained, realizing what misunderstanding he might have had.

“This morning?”

“Yes. When we started this morning she couldn’t hit anything, but she’s already this good now.”

“…?”

Corsis wore a blank expression for a moment.

“Um, so… you started practicing this morning, and reached this level of skill already…?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, well. Um…”

He must be taken aback.

“Hah… This is rather disheartening. Mr. Crowty asked me to come take a look, but… This makes evaluation rather difficult.”

“Sir Crowty?”

“Yes. To evaluate Miss Hilde’s talent and how well you’re teaching.”

What? They’re evaluating me too?

“What’s this about…”

“Senior teaches very well!”

Hilde cut off my words.

“Is that so… Well, even for a lower-ranked hunter, combat skill and teaching ability are separate things.”

“No, I…”

“Speaking of which, would you be interested in joining our Development Department?”

Corsis suddenly proposed.

“Pardon?”

“Our Development Department has been expanding lately. While we’re developing new equipment, education is crucial for field implementation. Plus, I believe Zepetia mentioned you as well…”

Ah right, Zepetia was in the Development Department too.

“Perhaps your abilities could be better utilized there than in the field.”

“I appreciate the offer but I must decline.”

I answered almost reflexively.

“…I see.”

Corsis looked at me for a moment before nodding.

“Well, come by anytime if you change your mind.”

He waved lightly before leaving.

*    *    *

After briefly observing Eugene and Hilde’s training, Corsis went to Workshop 3.

“Ah, Sir Corsis.”

Zepetia bowed slightly to him.

“How’s the research going?”

“Yes. Well, how should I put it… There’s a lot to do.”

“Is it because of that specimen we discussed before?”

“Yes, this one.”

Zepetia spoke while holding up the Guardian Raven’s beak.

“You said a hunter named Eugene brought it?”

“Yes. He brings interesting things quite often.”

“I tried suggesting as you mentioned, but it seems impossible after all.”

“Is that so…”

Zepetia looked disappointed.

Actually, even before Crowty’s request, Corsis had planned to meet Eugene.

The recently recruited exceptional talent Zepetia had taken a liking to Eugene who brought rare specimens.

“I only met him briefly, but he’s definitely not someone who’ll leave the field.”

“You can tell something like that?”

“You can see it in his eyes. They’re the eyes of someone who’ll die fighting someday.”

“That’s…”

“People who’ve had their teammates wiped out or lost family to Beasts often have those eyes. It’s too late for them to turn back.”

“…”

“Well, enough about that. So, have you discovered anything?”

“Ah, that… While I’m not certain…”

Zepetia trailed off.

“Even a hypothesis is fine if you have something.”

“…Red Hood creates Beasts, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But this… it’s just speculation, but it seems like this Beast was created by something other than Red Hood.”

“What?”

“Ah, it’s just speculation! Just speculation!”

“…No, it’s not strange.”

“Pardon?”

“We’ve already seen Beasts that create other Beasts. Though rare, it’s nothing particularly new.”

“I know that, but this feels like something… fundamentally different somehow…”

“Fundamentally different… I understand. Well, about separate reporting… Hmm? What’s that?”

Corsis pointed at an axe lying in the corner.

It wasn’t just worn – it looked almost like scrap metal, but there was something strangely eye-catching about it.

“Ah, that hunter brought that too.”

“Where did he find something like that, or rather why pick up such a thing?”

“Well, it’s quite unique too.”

“Unique?”

“Yes. It gave off a similar feeling to that specimen I showed you earlier. It’s also why I thought it might be a Beast created by a different being.”

“Hmm… His ability to find items is better than expected.”

“Right? It would be nice to have a few more people like that…”

“As I said before, we’ve already invested huge amounts for you. It’s difficult to find people on top of that.”

Having seen Zepetia’s achievements and potential, Corsis had used his discretion to the fullest to support her.

Even Workshop 3 was created entirely for her.

Workshop 1 was a factory producing existing weapons, and Workshop 2 was a backup in case Workshop 1 had to stop operations due to accidents or other reasons.

Both were clearly important as mass production facilities, yet he had allocated a place for just one person, Zepetia, to make prototypes at the same level.

“Most of the budget went to transporting that alchemy furnace your grandfather left behind.”

Of course, the alchemy furnace inherited from Vile Polendina was the biggest factor in her potential.

Corsis knew about Vile too.

He was the most recently born behemoth after all.

But as someone responsible for the Development Department, the name Vile also belonged to a genius inventor of the century.

“So for now you’ll have to be satisfied with specimens hunters bring. Or would you like to try going out to network yourself?”

“Ugh, that’s a bit…”

Zepetia shrunk back.

“I’ve supported you as much as I can, now it’s up to you to show results. Don’t disappoint me.”

Corsis turned around and left Workshop 3.

“Hmm… Eugene, is it? Come to think of it, Elder Doyle remembered him too. Plus Mr. Crowty and Sephira paying attention to him… Is he really just a lower-ranked hunter?”

On top of that, he’s giving rare specimens to Zepetia without even being asked.

At this point, it made him wonder if there was something he didn’t know.

“Eugene…”

*    *    *

After lunch with Hilde, I was sitting and resting in the garden.

“Hey there, mister.”

Latina suddenly appeared.

“Lady Latina, why are you here…?”

“Where’s Hilde right now?”

“What?”

“I came all the way here to see her. This place hasn’t changed at all from back then till now, huh? Anyway, what are you doing?”

“Just resting after eating.”

“Resting?”

“Yes.”

“You have time for that? With that level of talent, shouldn’t you be training with minimal downtime?”

“Rest is also training.”

“Rest is training… Nice words. But won’t that cause problems someday? As Hilde becomes more famous, won’t more people try to interfere with her training?”

“…Why exactly did you come here?”

“I told you earlier. I came to see Hilde. Ah, to be precise, I also came to interfere with your training.”

“Hilde’s training is my responsibility.”

“Even though it’s temporary?”

“Temporary or not, it’s still my duty.”

“What if I ordered you as a higher-ranked hunter?”

What’s going on suddenly?

This isn’t like her usual self.

“Even then, what’s not possible is not possible. Unless it’s Sir Crowty, the overall commander, or Lady Sephira who directly assigned the mission.”

“Oh? You’ve got some backbone at least. No, I suppose that’s natural for someone who took a rookie to hunt a mid-tier Beast on their first day?”

“Really though, why did you come here? Did you really come to interfere with the training?”

“I was just testing you, and you passed quite well.”

“What?”

“I’ll be honest. The part about interfering with training was a lie.”

“Then?”

“I’m here to interfere with those trying to interfere with the training.”

What’s she talking about.

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