Hey there, Madeleine the Half-Elf Seducer here, just wanted to say I'm currently on a bonding activity with my mother. What's our bonding activity? A stakeout!

"What's a stakeout, mom?"

"According to one of my students, who is also a reincarnator, it is where you conduct secret surveillance on a target to gauge their activities, capabilities, and tendencies."

"So stalking."

"Yes, stalking. However, not for romantic reasons, but practical reasons."

"Eh, I don't care about the reasons. I'm always down for some casual stalking. Mostly because it freaks people out." I can't stalk everyone, though. Merida always caught me, Speedy is always too far away, and there's no way I'd stalk Cookie. Speaking of Cookie… where the hell is she?

"So you still speak out your thoughts. I am severely disappointed in my subordinate's lack of skills in removing this weakness of yours."

"I think it's cute." Oh yeah, Mel is here too. I kind of forgot since mom is standing in between us and is using her surprisingly wide maid dress to block Mel from my line of sight, and considering my level of object permanence, it means I keep forgetting… who am I forgetting about? "Madeleine! I know you're faki-"

"Shut it slut!"

"H-Hai!"

"Focus on the mission!"

"Aye aye, mistress!"

"Damn Mel, you sure go-"

"You too, daughter."

"Huh?"

"Silence."

"..."

"Good girl."

"..."

"..."

"Now that I have the attention of both of you let me brief you on our target." She made some hand motions on the air, and out of nowhere appeared a blue screen with the picture of a demon. "This is Dopar the Mutilator, a sealed demon who recently escaped his prison and has integrated himself within the capital of the Sacre Pla Nation. Since one of my shadows informed me that you were residing within the guest mansion of the royal family, I believed this would be the perfect opportunity to see if you were still capable of demon slaying."

"Wait… demon slaying? Is that why Maid School graduates are insane at combat?"

"Why yes. It is the pride of the Maid School. Our abilities to combat demons would make even the angels envious. Isn't that right, Madeleine?"

"Yeah, yeah. So I just have to kill the demon, right? Let's get this over with."

"You will be going on this mission alone, Madeleine. I will be speaking with your… partner for the time being."

"Huh? Can Madelene rea-"

"I personally trained my daughter. I can assure you she is competent. Even among my hand-picked students, she excelled. Enough so that she can beat the demons with their own coveted darkness element. I'd be more surprised if Madeleine failed to eliminate the target in the next minute than if she failed a whole day's worth of housework."

"She's supposed to be a maid, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. Go on, Madelene. I'll have a talk with your mother."

"Yes, go on, Madeleine. Ah, but before you go, congratulations on the name. It suits you."

"I gave it myself."

"Then that's one upside to your relationship. Let's see if there's more." Mom and Mel glare at each other. I think that's my cue to leave.

---

Hey there, it's me, Demon Capturer Madeleine here. So I did end up fighting Dopar the Mutilator, but I didn't kill him. He's tied up in some good old-fashioned shadow rope, being carried by the shadow clone of the tiny maid, Shadow Norika. Turns out that the little maid has quite the level of strength, despite being tailored-made for the assassin job. Maybe assassins are just strong nowadays. Oh yeah, Dopar also had a Sacred Power, which let me tell you, I can see why he got sealed.

Thick Skin You cannot feel pain. Side Note: Born with thick skin.

I walked back to the stakeout area to see Mel and mom sipping some tea together on a bench made using Earth magic. I can't tell if they're getting along, but it doesn't matter.

"Hey, mom, got the demon here!"

"You… you did not slay it?"

"Yeah, I just captured it. You can kill it, reseal it, whatever you want. Hand it over, Shadow Norika." Shadow Norika dropped the unconscious and tied-up demon at mom's feet.

"So you didn't kill it… why?"

"Huh? Why? Maybe I don't want to be a soulless killing machine."

"There's no way you put in that much thought, Madeleine. Tell the real reason." 

"Was it really that obvious of a lie?"

"You're not the philosophical type, Madeleine."

"Fine, I have a bunch of demon friends now. I don't like the idea of demon slaying anymore."

"Still a lie."

"I'm going to kiss you to shut you up, Mel."

"Do it."

"Later, since I give up. The real reason is that killing isn't fun, and I only do fun things."

"There it is. You know, thinking about it, you're a borderline psychopath, Madeleine." Mel walked over to me, giving me a hug and a peck on the cheek. "But you're my borderline psychopath. Please don't murder me in my sleep, though."

"I'll try not to." I turned to mom, who stood there, staring at me while speechless.

"You broke away from your programming, huh."

"Programming?"

"Of course, the Maid School has some secret brainwashing. I should've seen that plot twist coming. What next? You're the antagonist for the next arc, Moira?"

"Hmph. I make even the God of Death tremble with merely a step. I will not be controlled by a narrative. I am no one's puppet." Mom turned around, taking a few steps away from us before turning just her head halfway. "You very well may be the only being in this accursed world who could best me in combat. I await the day you approach me, beloved daughter." And off went mom, leaving Mel and I in stunned silence, which was then broken by Mel.

"Holy shit Mel… your mom is cool."

"Yeah, she is… so what did you talk about?"

"Oh, nothing important. She wanted to know if you've been eating correctly, if you're still keeping your housework skills sharp, and when the wedding will be."

"You ruined her cool image."

"Yeah, I realised."

---

Character profile: Dopar the Mutilator

Sacred power: Thick Skin

Innocents mutilated: Too many, it's why he's called the Mutilator

Description: The mutilator of humans and elves. Dopar is an oddity among the psychopathic, deranged, and bloodthirsty demons, as his only targets tend to be young human and elven men who are starting their adventurer careers. He does this by masquerading as a veteran adventurer that's offering help to new adventurers, where he then mutilates them in the middle of wherever he chose to lure them too. He was eventually caught and sealed by the Hero of 200 years ago. Dopar once fought Raki the Weaponslayer, and was promptly defeated in less than a minute.

Chapter namesake: Bloodline by Scattle