Merc Storia: Mukiryoku no Shounen to Bin no Naka no Shoujo

I'm glad I met you.

I'm back.

Welcome back!

Yeah, glad to be home.

Welcome home.

Did you bring me a present?

It's inside.

Something else in a bottle?

It's beautiful!

How come Mom gets a pretty ring and I just got water in a bottle?

Your bottle's filled with dreams and adventure.

How much did it cost?

Um.. ten... ten gold pieces?

That's cheap!

What's important isn't the cost, it's the feelings behind it.

Let's eat!

Sorry I'm not home more often.

It's fine.

How long will you be gone on your next journey?

My healer for this trip has a habit of changing their mind a lot.

I'll probably be gone a long time.

But I'll be back by winter.

Winter?

Yeah.

This is a good village.

It's out here near the wilderness, but monsters and humans live in peace together.

But a long time ago,

monsters used to be things that only attacked people.

Until the healers appeared.

The healers have the power to heal the hearts of monsters.

You have that power, too, you know.

I've heard that a hundred times now.

I haven't told you that many times.

Dad...

Winter's almost over.

A...

A girl?

The Apathetic Boy and the Girl in a Bottle

The Apathetic Boy and the Girl in a Bottle

Yuu-san?

It's me, Merc.

Is there anything you can do about him?

Oh, fine.

Um...

I'm sorry about Yuu-san.

Thank you.

It was a horrific battle.

It seemed more like a hilarious battle to me.

Or maybe a pathetic battle...

There's a lot of ways you could take it.

What do you expect me to do?

If I'm scared, I'm scared!

I can't talk to them,

and I don't know what they're thinking.

Even if they've been healed, I don't know when they'll turn on me—

Are you going to buy anything, or just gawk?

Oh, I'm sorry. We're here to buy things.

We really want to buy things!

So sparkly! Look at the sparklies!

Yuu-san, let's make that our first purchase.

No, we've got things we really need to buy for our trip.

You two are going on a trip by yourselves?

Huh? Well...

I guess. Maybe... Maybe not...

We are!

Hey!

Are you sure?

There are all kinds of unhealed monsters out there.

Yeah, I know...

Merc, you heard the woman. Let's try this another time—

It has to be today!

My horoscope said it was the perfect day to leave on a journey to find yourself!

You're more interested in what it said about meeting a handsome knight, aren't you?

Forget it.

Love between a liquid and a solid never works.

You won't know that for sure until I fall in love!

She's a strange one...

It's not happening.

Yeah.

I've never seen a girl who looks like a fairy in town before.

Is she maybe some incredibly powerful magic-user?

You've got a sharp eye!

I'm actually the Magical Girl in a Bottle, and my job is

to heal hearts that are tired from long journeys!

See? Just looking at me makes you feel relaxed, doesn't it?

All you can do is float and tell bad jokes.

So maybe you're the powerful one?

You've got a sharp eye.

I'm actually...

...famous for being the biggest wimp in the village,

and for running away faster than anybody else!

I know it's true, but you don't have to tell them that!

They're friends... right?

Yeah.

I guess I don't have any memories from before I met Yuu-san.

So I was hoping I could go on a journey someday to get them back.

I know that.

But we need to prepare properly,

and not just do it because your horoscope said so.

Kid, you don't need a real reason to set out on a journey.

Why not go with a merchant caravan?

You'll be able to go to all kinds of countries.

You may be able to meet somebody who knows about that fairy girl.

And so...

Let's start you off with a Beginner's Traveling Set.

She's in salesgirl mode now.

And she takes her job seriously.

And this...

A stink bag to keep monsters away.

Stink bag?

I recommend it.

If you carry it, it will keep monsters away.

Really?

There's still trouble with monsters in other countries, they say.

I'll buy it!

That was fast!

That'll be 5,000 gold pieces!

It's so pricey!

But I'll buy it anyway.

Thanks for your purchase!

Yuu-san, does your allowance cover that?

Actually, if you're going to waste money like that, then give me some sparklies!

I'll buy you something else next time.

As long as I've got this, I don't need to be afraid of monsters.

Wh-What was that?

A sentient fluffball?

No, it was a monster.

It was definitely a monster.

Let's follow it!

Thank you!

Wait, Merc!

Wait! That's the money for my sparkly ring!

I told you, I'm not buying you any sparklies!

Forget that, if a monster carries a stink bag...

Something awful might happen to that fluffball!

We need to catch it now!

It fell?!

A monster?!

Come one, come all!