by Tôwa
“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,” sa
id 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.
AFTERWORD
Hello, everyone, Tôwa here. Thank you again to all my readers who have made it from the first volume all the way here. I’m glad we get to meet once more.
I wanted to talk briefly about the changes made to the story between this and the web version. In the first volume, I explained how I made Igarashi kinder, which is something that’s continued into this volume as well. I also corrected the data displays, which are really important for the seeking expedition scenes, and I tweaked some of the fight scenes that were lacking. I hadn’t really touched on Madoka’s and Melissa’s emotions before and after they joined the party, so I wrote an episode focusing entirely on them. I’d like to keep writing individual stories about each party member whenever possible.
I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks to my lead editor, who has worked so hard on this book, as well as everyone who proofread the manuscript.
To Huuka Kazabana, the illustrator—thank you for your stunning visuals, which have enabled me, the author, to see the world of The World’s Strongest Rearguard more clearly.
Lastly, as I’m sure some of my readers are aware, this series will be receiving a manga adaptation by Rikizo for ComicWalker’s Isekai Comic Corner! It’s looking so great that even I can’t contain my excitement. Please, please go check it out!
I hope to see you all again in Volume 3.
Tôwa
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