EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT

The Dissector and the Merchant: ~ Another Form of Auxiliary Support ~

Arihito and the party were off in the Shrieking Wood to take the advancement test and check up on Polaris. As the standby party, Madoka and Melissa stayed at the Lady Ollerus Mansion and waited for their companions’ return. Madoka went to the storage unit to do an inventory check, where she realized they’d gotten materials from Death from Above during the stampede.

This is what Melissa worked on… They said she was going to make it into armor, but it’s not finished. I wonder why.

She decided to ask Arihito about it later, then tidied up the storage unit before returning to the mansion. She went to check out the workshop in the courtyard but didn’t see Melissa anywhere. Her favorite butcher’s knife was wrapped in a cloth and set on top of the workbench. Madoka thought she probably just stepped out for a bit as she looked around the area again.

The inside of buildings where monsters were processed always smelled faintly of blood, making her uncomfortable. She was starting to feel uneasy for some reason. She thought about the time she first met Arihito in front of the Field of Dawn. There was something about him, and it wasn’t just that he was Japanese like her. It was something about his calm demeanor and relaxed tone that made her feel secure.

If he were here now… N-no, they’d all think I’m a baby if I said that…

“…Oh!” came a whisper from behind Madoka.

“Aaaah!” she screeched, leaping in fright.

“…Did I scare you?”

“Oh… M-Melissa, it’s you. Don’t sneak around like that…,” said Madoka, straightening her head wrap as she calmed herself down and turned around. But there was no one there. A chill ran down her spine.

O-oh no… How can there be a ghost here when it’s still so bright out…?

She didn’t really hate horror movies, nor was she the type to be easily frightened, but she was having a hard time maintaining her composure, since she had absolutely no idea what was going on. Her knees gave out from beneath her, and she fell onto her rear.

“…Hmm…”

“M-Melissa…?” she asked as she heard a sound. In front of her appeared the shimmering outline of a person. There was a flash of light, and for an ever so brief moment, she saw Melissa, wearing not a single stitch of clothing. The next moment, she was properly clothed, wearing a bodysuit of some close-fitting material, her pale hair unkempt as usual.

“…Welcome back,” said Melissa.

“Oh, y-yes, I just got back… Uh, um, Melissa, were you invisible just now?” asked Madoka.

“Yeah… I was testing a stealth suit equipped with a camouflage stone.”

“W-wow… You can make some really incredible equipment, Melissa.”

“I can enhance gear with magic stones. I can’t add runes, though… Dissectors have a skill called Monster Crafting.”

“That’s so cool… I’ve been told that eventually, I’ll get skills that let me make things to sell. Though, I don’t even know what kind of Merchant I’m best suited for yet.”

“…What do you think of the stuff I make? Like, in terms of merchandise.”

“I think there’s tons of Seekers in District Eight who would really want the equipment you make. The materials from the monsters that Arihito and the others defeat are really valuable, and the work you do with them is so precise. It’s incredibly impressive… Can I take a closer look at the suit?”

“…Sure.”

Her response was short, and her face hard to read, but Madoka didn’t feel like Melissa was against it. She took Melissa’s arm, running her hands over the bodysuit to examine it.

“I-it’s both smooth and rough, but also cool and warm…,” admired Madoka.

“Yeah… It feels weird,” replied Melissa. “I think it has a lot of resistances. But there’s a problem with the camouflage stone.”

“Oh… Sorry, that wouldn’t happen to be when you turn back from being invisible, you look like you aren’t wearing clothes for a moment?”

Melissa replied with a small nod, then started to undo the fasteners on the front.

Melissa’s skin is so pale that it’s almost pure white… She’s a bit different from regular people… Like, something feels almost off. Why is that…?

They were both girls, but Madoka felt awkward enough that her cheeks were blushing bright red, even though Melissa herself didn’t seem to care. Her demeanor reminded Madoka of someone else in the party: Theresia. She was a demi-human. She always wore a mask that covered her face except her mouth. Her lips were normally pursed, other than when she was near Arihito.

“…This bodysuit has no lining. If I don’t do anything, the camouflage stone makes it blend in with the surroundings. But when it does, there’s a moment where you look naked. It’s not usable unless I do something. I thought the lizardman girl could use it. She’s about the same size as me,” explained Melissa.

“Theresia’s a demi-human, but that doesn’t mean she can’t switch out some of her lizardman equipment, right?” said Madoka.

“Yeah. Sometimes, when women become demi-humans, their masks don’t cover their whole face. No clue why, though.”

Other demi-humans had a masklike piece of equipment that covered their entire face and looked like their particular monster. Madoka started thinking about how when she heard lizardman, she thought of a half-person half-lizard creature, but Theresia just looked like a human wearing some lizard equipment.

But what interested her more was something she sensed from Melissa’s words. She got the impression that she knew more than the one demi-human—that was the implication behind her words. And her eyes, which normally looked like they were focused on something far in the distance, were different.

Madoka was familiar with those eyes. They were the eyes of a child whose parents rarely came home, both too busy with work—eyes that couldn’t hide the loneliness as they were reflected back at her in the bathroom mirror. That’s not to say Madoka wasn’t loved in her previous life. It’d been about a year since she’d been reincarnated, and when she thought back to her previous life, other than the loneliness, she remembered her parents’ kindness and her grandmother’s smiling face.

“…Are you crying?” asked Melissa.

“Oh…,” said Madoka, realizing that tears were streaming down her face. Melissa wiped the tears away with her right hand as if it were second nature. “S-sorry… I just got lost in thought. What a mess, just crying over nothing. I’m not a child anymore.”

“…That’s fine. Better to cry if you can. I can’t cry.”

“Oh… R-really…?” Madoka wasn’t sure if she fully understood, but she could tell Melissa was being honest by looking into her eyes.

“What’s your name?” asked Melissa.

“Oh, uh… I’m Madoka Shinonogi. In Japan, this is how I would write my name.” Madoka pulled up her license and flipped to the free-draw space, where she wrote her name in Japanese with her finger. Melissa responded by writing her own name using the alphabet.

“My dad taught me about this. These are Earth letters, and here’s how you write it with Labyrinth Country letters,” she said.

“I see…”

“Now I know your name, Madoka. I can engrave it into any equipment I make for you.”

“Thank you. I won’t lose it as easily if it has my name on it,” replied Madoka with a sweet smile. Melissa looked at her and stretched her hand out toward her again, this time to pat her gently on top of her turban.

“…You smiled. I’m glad. It’s good to smile,” she said.

“Melissa…” Madoka had assumed Melissa didn’t have much interest in other people, since her responses were always so indifferent. Her first impression of Melissa must have just been a misunderstanding. Sure, she thought Melissa seemed threatening when she used her huge butcher’s knife during dissections, but that could just as easily be passion for her work.

“I’m not very good at smiling, so…I’m jealous of you and Misaki,” said Melissa. “And Arihito smiles a lot when everyone’s around, too. But sometimes, he looks upset, same as my dad.”

“Arihito’s always worrying about everyone in the party… That’s why he sometimes looks upset or serious.”

“Yeah, I agree. He’s always been like that, ever since we first met.” Madoka couldn’t help but smile that she agreed with her.

And that seemed to draw in Melissa. She’d said she wasn’t good at smiling, but her expression softened, her narrow eyebrows lifted, and her lips curved ever so slightly. She wasn’t completely incapable of smiling. Madoka remembered how the time she spent crying had all but disappeared after she had been reincarnated and worked on the things the Merchants Guild gave her to do. And now that she was in Arihito’s party, she thought she would cry over her past memories even less.

…Mom, Dad, Grandma… Manami and Kurumi… I hope you’re all happy and healthy. I’m doing my best here, she prayed, then beamed.

Melissa didn’t say anything. Her small smile had faded, and her expression was back to its normal blank self, but she stroked Madoka’s head again like she enjoyed doing it.

“…Cion’s nice to pet, but I think you’re next best,” she said.

“Uh, you think so…? But you shouldn’t do it too much. I’m a professional Merchant.”

“Yeah… I’m gonna do my best to earn the title of professional Dissector.” Melissa stroked Madoka’s head once more, then pulled her hand back reluctantly. The subtly sad gesture made Madoka smile. She looked like a cat whose catnip toy had been taken away—which would mean Madoka was the plaything. Something about Melissa’s eyes looked a little catlike, hence the connotation.

“That’s a relief; I thought you were afraid of me,” said Melissa. “I’m not exactly normal…”

“Not…normal?”

“My mom’s a werecat—a cat demi-human.”

“Oh… S-sorry, but right before you said that, I was actually thinking you seemed a bit like a feline…”

“…That obvious?”

“N-no! I just thought you were cute… Like a kitty.”

“Cute… No one’s ever called me cute before.”

Madoka was confused by Melissa’s reaction. Just because she couldn’t express her emotions well didn’t mean she lacked emotions. So why—?

If Arihito can understand Theresia’s feelings even though she can’t speak…then maybe he can come to understand Melissa better. That’d be nice.

Her mind was made up, expecting great things from Arihito. She wanted to become closer with Melissa, who had shown her such kindness. She wanted to let the others know what she was really thinking, how gentle a person she really was. That’s when Madoka remembered why she was looking for Melissa in the first place.

“Melissa, would you like to talk some more over a cup of tea?”

“…Sure.”

And that’s how this Dissector and Merchant duo agreed to work together as much as possible going forward while the others were out seeking. They’d found their purpose as the auxiliary support party.

They knew the rest of the party would be in line to take a bath once they got back, so the two went to Melissa’s house and used the bath there before going back to the mansion. Afterward, they were relaxing in their shared bedroom when Misaki came in, eager to talk to them, since they were still awake.

“Oh my gosh, today was sooo rough! There was this one party that was being controlled by some vine monster, and their leader wanted us to save them… With everyone’s help and my own pitiful contributions, we just managed to pull it off.”

“That’s amazing, Misaki!” replied Madoka. “Since you’re a Gambler, do you throw cards or anything? Sometimes, the Merchants Guild gets metal card weapons in their inventory.”

“Wait, so could I, like, throw a card, and it’d go kapow and stick into the wall, then I’d be all I’m off to go get some valuables, like some phantom thief…? You mean like that?”

“…So cool,” said Melissa.

“Hey, Melissa, are you actually a people person? I definitely thought you would think I get too worked up and always say too much, or, like, I get out of control when Suzu’s not around.”

“That’s not true at all. I like talking to you. It gives me a boost,” said Madoka.

“Me too,” added Melissa. “I don’t get to talk much to girls my own age. The louder, the better.”

“C-c’mon, you guys… Things weren’t all that great for me when I was starting high school,” said Misaki. “I was trying to be all blinged out and loud and stuff, but it was all half-baked, and I only had a few close friends. But actually, I always wanted, like, a hundred friends! Anyways, starting today, the three of us are friends!”

“Uh… A-are you sure? I’m younger than you…,” replied Madoka.

“…Friends… My first friends. I thought I’d never make any. Dad’ll be happy,” said Melissa.

“You guuuuys! Easy on the tearjerker reactions! You’ll make your mascara run! …Wait, you’re not even wearing any mascara! And here I’ve got it caked on!”

“Ha-ha… Misaki, you’re the one who looks like they’re about to cry!” said Madoka.

The girls whittled the hours of the night away, each one of them imagining the party they would become in the days yet ahead of them.