Case 03: The Nostalgic Flesh Golem

Case 03:
The Nostalgic Flesh Golem

 

THEY HAD BEEN STAYING in Souen’s village for three weeks now. Glenn was still seeing patients, but the most urgent cases had all been dealt with.

The sake infused with alraune fruit and flowers was apparently selling well, due to its rarity. It might prove to be a long-lasting industry. However, they’d made no real progress on Souen’s plan to do something about the Black Widows. Glenn knew that no matter how much he begged, without a plan, there was no way his hard-headed father would change his mind.

He was receiving regular letters from Lindworm, and writing back, in turn, to inform Cthulhy of their situation. And the person delivering those letters was—

“Wheee!”

—The harpy Illy, who’d just stopped by the clinic for some water.

Ground delivery took several days to travel between the human and monster realms, but a flying creature could make a round trip in a single day. Although Illy’s body was built to fly long distances, a round trip between the two realms was still apparently exhausting. Instead of sweating, she was taking deep breaths. This filled her internal air sac, an organ that helped her fly and also cooled her body temperature.

“You won’t be able to fly if you drink too much,” Glenn warned her.

“I know. Just a little,” Illy said, sipping just enough water to wet her throat.

It seemed she had no interest whatsoever in the human realm and planned to return directly to Lindworm. Considering that harpy eggs had been sold in the human realm in the past, it was perfectly understandable that she had no love for the east.

“That’s a rough trip. All the way here and back to Lindworm,” Sapphee commented. Illy spread her wings and laughed.

“It’s fine! I love flying, and I get a bonus for long-distance deliveries. So here is today’s delivery,” she said, presenting Glenn with letters she took from her bag.

“Thank you. Let’s see, now. This is from Dr. Cthulhy…and this is from the president of Loose Silk Sewing? That’s for Arahnia…and ummm…this is from Skadi…”

“Hee hee hee,” Illy was laughing for some reason.

“Illy? What’s so funny?”

“Oh! Nothing! I’ve got to get going now. I’ll be back!”

“Fly safely.”

“I’ll be fine!”

In human terms, long-distance flight was like running a marathon—no, it was far more rigorous than a marathon. But perhaps, since Illy loved flying so much, it wasn’t as difficult for her.

She’d barely made it out of Glenn’s cottage when she started flapping her wings and took to the sky.

“What was that all about?”

“Doctor,” Sapphee called out to him. She had already opened and was reading the letter from Skadi. “It’s from the Draconess. It says she’s worried about us lengthening our stay here, so she’s sending someone.”

“Huh? Why is Skadi saying that?”

“Well… Oh, it seems she’s concerned about the Black Widows,” Sapphee told him as she scanned the letter.

She knew about the Black Widows, huh? The dragon might look like a mere child, but she was a very skilled politician.

“She said she’s sending someone who is well acquainted with the east.”

“Who could that be?” Glenn tilted his head in thought.

About half the residents of Lindworm were human, but the majority of those were western in origin, being from places close to the monster realm in the first place. The further away from the capital city of Heian you went, the less humans tended to be prejudiced against monsters. Classic eastern values would be impossible to maintain in Lindworm.

But were there any humans who were close to both Skadi and Glenn? There were a few councilmembers Skadi might trust, but it wouldn’t make sense for her to send someone whom Glenn didn’t know.

“Hey, Glenn,” Souen said, entering the room and interrupting Glenn’s thoughts. “You have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Oh, maybe it’s the person Skadi sent.”

“It seems that way. Go and greet them. They’re by the river.”

“The river?”

Glenn and Sapphee looked at each other, perplexed.

 

***

 

“Hey, Doc! Over here!”

There was a small river on the edge of Souen’s village, an important source of fresh water that also irrigated the fields. It fed out into the ocean, so it really was a river.

And there was someone poking their head out of the water.

“Lulala?!”

“Hehe. I missed you! The human realm is really far,” said Lulala, the water canal diva. She cracked her neck and put her hands on the riverbank, lifting herself so that her torso was out of the water.

“Are you the one Skadi sent on her errand, Lulala?”

“Ahaha, no! I just tagged along. I wanted to see Dr. Glenn and Sapphee so badly,” Lulala said, smiling brightly.

But there were tears in her eyes. Glenn thought for a moment that she was moved by seeing him, but that wasn’t it. Her eyes were tearing up to discharge the salt content of the seawater she’d just swallowed. The tears were proof that she’d swum all the way to this island.

“Did you cross the ocean, Lulala?”

Lulala laughed, waving her hand and splashing it in the water. “No, no. I only swam here from, what is it called, Heian? It was easier to just swim that distance. I relaxed on a boat all the way to Heian.”

“Oh, but you were born in the ocean, right?”

“That’s right. The person I came with should be here any moment—oh, there she is.”

They had a good view of Souen’s village from where they stood, which let them spy the dark figure climbing the mountain road. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her body was patchworked together. It was Skadi’s bodyguard, Kunai Zenow.

“Sorry I’m late—there was no way I could move faster than a mermaid who can swim upstream in a river.”

“Kunai. Can it be that Skadi sent—”

“Me,” Kunai said, letting out a deep sigh. She was undead and wouldn’t tire from exhaustion, so she’d probably just let that breath out to serve as punctuation. She carried a knapsack on her back. So the two of them had come from Lindworm together?

“Didn’t you hear from Illy that we were coming?”

“I think she knew, but she tricked us—”

“Hmm… She does like practical jokes,” Kunai said, putting down her bag and rotating her shoulder.

Glenn remembered then that Kunai was originally from the east. She was a flesh golem that had been made by patching together parts of the dead bodies of humans. So that was what Skadi had meant by “someone well acquainted with the east.”

“Don’t worry, we came to help you,” Lulala said.

“I don’t have very many good memories in the east, but I won’t disobey the Draconess’ orders. I’ll do whatever I can,” Kunai explained. She harbored a hatred for the eastern doctor who created her, but her loyalty to the Draconess was stronger than that hatred.

“Just walking through the town was terrible! Everyone stopped and stared at me, and they were whispering things!”

“I’m sorry… I’ve heard there used to be mermaids here long ago, but now nearly all of them have moved to the west.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kunai sighed. “People were always saying stuff to me, like ‘Prepare the crematorium’ or ‘Call a priest’ or ‘You ate a mermaid!’ Ever since I came here with Lulala, the whispering’s just gotten worse”

“What?! Why would someone eat a mermaid? That’s terrifying!” Lulala was shaking, the tears she shed to discharge salt content amplified by her fear.

“Ohh…around here, they say eating mermaid flesh grants you immortality.”

“It’s a baseless myth, but there are many who would think of it if they saw an undead and mermaid out together. Don’t worry, Lulala. No one is going to eat you.”

“Of course not! Heh… I’ve really come to an awful place…”

Lulala was clearly frightened. The story of a nun who achieved immortality by eating a mermaid was famous in the east, but of course, it wasn’t a pleasant story for a mermaid to hear.

“It’s been a long time, Immortal Guard.”

Souen showed up, giving Kunai a bow. Glenn remembered that Skadi had come to the east on business not too long ago. His brother had probably met Kunai on that trip.

“I’m sorry for showing up suddenly, Mr. Souen. As you can see, I’m a corpse. I can sleep in the stables.”

“I could never do that to someone here on orders from the Draconess… I will prepare a suitable room for you. I believe I met this mermaid when I was in Lindworm before, too.”

Lulala didn’t look at all like the kind of person who’d be working for Skadi. Souen cocked his head to one side, as if connecting her to the diva he’d seen in the central courtyard. He’d visited Lindworm several times, so it made sense that he would have seen Lulala before.

In fact… for a while there, Souen had even accused her of being responsible for poisoning the canals. Glenn realized that if they didn’t properly introduce him, some misunderstandings might arise.

“N-nice to meet you,” Lulala started, straightening her posture in the water.

“You’re very pretty, mermaid. I am Souen, Glenn’s older brother.”

“I-I’m Lulala Heine! Dr. Glenn’s—future wife!”

“Huh?!” Glenn burst out.

Although she had remained quiet until then, Sapphee’s tail stood up on end at this declaration. Glenn had never seen that happen before.

“Oh…ummm, did you say wife, young lady?”

“Yes! I am Dr. Glenn’s future wife! At least…I want to be.”

“I’m…not sure I understand what my dumb brother is thinking, to have relations with an underage girl when he already has three fiancées.” Souen looked at Glenn, wincing. To him, who only had eyes for Saki, Glenn probably looked like a philanderer to him. In truth, of course, Glenn had no such intentions regarding Lulala.

Sapphee was flustered.

“L-Lulala? L-Let’s talk for a few minutes. Okay? Because as the first wife, no one has mentioned this to me at all!”

“Hehe! I thought if I told you now, it would surprise you…”

“You’re right, I am very surprised right now!” Glenn said, completely dumbfounded.

He recalled Lulala once telling him that she wanted him to wait until she was old enough to marry. But to bring that up when introducing herself to his brother…

“Heh heh, you seem as busy as ever, eh, Dr. Glenn?”

“P-please don’t tease me…” Glenn didn’t know how to react.

Kunai, unable to hold back her laughter, patted Glenn on the shoulder in appreciation.

 

***

 

“Glenn, you… You haven’t even received Father’s permission to marry all your fiancées.” Souen had his head in his hands as he lectured Glenn. “And now a mermaid? How am I supposed to help you convince Father of that?”

“I’m telling you it’s a misunderstanding. Lulala is just a patient! She’s not even old enough to be married.”

“When you say it like that, it sounds like you intend to marry her eventually and just don’t want to admit it right now.”

They’d ushered Kunai into the estate and were back to discussing Lulala’s bombshell of an announcement. Lulala herself was staying with two of the villagers, a mermaid/merman couple who owned a boathouse.

“I’ll take care of Lulala later,” Sapphee said, putting on her First Wife face.

“I think she’s just very determined. We may be back in a few years to speak to Father again,” Glenn said.

“How many wives do you plan on taking?” Souen, stuck on the concept of monogamy, let out a big sigh.

It was a thorny issue for Glenn too, but since polygamy was acceptable in Lindworm, he couldn’t just reject the determined Lulala right off the bat. His brother didn’t understand the position he was in.

“Three wives is no different than four wives. I would like to speak to you about why I’m here now,” Kunai cut in.

“Three and four are very different, Kunai. Besides, he doesn’t even have permission to marry Arahnia right now. It’s complicated,” Sapphee explained.

“I’ve heard. The Black Widows, right? The Draconess is heartbroken to hear the news,” Kunai nodded. She sat cross-legged with her legs wide open. It wasn’t a common way of sitting in the west, but she was pulling it off just fine. “The Black Widows look for rare items. I hear you’re selling alraune sake as a love potion, which is precisely the sort of thing they’ll covet. Great idea.”

“You know that much?”

“I researched a lot when I was in Heian. But—” Kunai narrowed her eyes. “At this rate, the group will just target the stores that carry the sake. No one in Heian knew where the sake was being made. Is the existence of this village public knowledge?”

“Huh?” Glenn was surprised. Hadn’t the plan been to lure out the Black Widows by making sake in this village? They’d never come unless they knew about the village.

“Thank you for your insight,” Souen bowed toward Kunai. “This is my own private land. If it became public knowledge that I’m secretly harboring monsters here, I would be risking my position.”

“Is that so, Brother?” Glenn was surprised at first, but on second thought, he understood.

“You probably forget, since you’ve become so accustomed to Lindworm, but a monster village would never be tolerated this far east. I am the only one who knows there are monsters living on this island, and that we’re brewing sake from monster products.”

“Brother. Just a second.” Glenn had a bad feeling.

In human-supremacist Heian, the discovery of monsters being harbored on private property would cause a scandal. Glenn wondered if Souen was planning something rash, like with the water canal poisoning, when he’d been rumored to be the culprit.

“Well…that said, the time is probably ripe. I will make the existence of this village known in the city of Heian.”

“C-can you do that?”

“You can do that. This is what we’ve been preparing for. I already have your research—recorded observations of your actual sister suffering from Demonitis, and a thesis from your mentor. We will use those materials to advance a strong argument that there is no difference between humans and demons, convincing the council of statesmen at the same time. I will stake the name of Souen Litbeit on it.”

It was an ingenious plan. He must have been planning it for quite a while.

“The true nature of Demonitis, discovered through the hard work of the Litbeit siblings. And also the truth that the love potion currently flying off shelves in Heian was made from materials harvested from alraune. The people of Heian have monster blood in their veins and are consuming monster products to boot. Add to that the fact that they’re living this close to monsters, and no one in the east who wishes to publicly chastise monsters will have a leg to stand on.”

“Are you sure? It sounds risky.”

“It must be done. There is always risk…though I never thought I’d be using the Demonitis trump card against the Black Widows.”

There was silence.

Souen, who’d promised to help Glenn acquire his father’s blessing, was saying this. In other words, he was prepared for what may come. His wicked older brother was going to help Glenn, no strings attached.

Souen was a powerful ally.

“I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this place like Lindworm someday,” Souen said.

Inside, Glenn was surprised. Souen often came to Lindworm, which he’d assumed was because he and Sioux were there, but it seemed he’d actually been harboring ambitions to further develop the human realm. He wanted to make a place where monsters and humans could live together.

Glenn’s brother was a politician through and through, which also made him an ambitious man.

“The Draconess wishes for this too. It would be wonderful if the ideals that have been achieved in Lindworm could be replicated in the east. Souen, I thank you.”

“Not at all. This wouldn’t be possible without Lindworm as an example.”

“That will please the Draconess to hear.” Kunai sighed. “Obviously, the Draconess hopes for peace between humans and monsters, but there’s something else. She is concerned with the strange articles the Black Widows apparently possess.”

“Strange…articles?”

“Yeah. She’s wondering if perhaps my blueprints—or rather, my manufacturing notes?—are among the things the Widows have accumulated.”

This startled Glenn.

Kunai had been created in the east, cobbled together from dead flesh and then given life and personality through unimaginable magic. If a record of that process existed, it was only natural that the Black Widows would want it as part of their rare item collection.

“It’s true that information on the Black Widows is hard to find. But that information is precisely what the Draconess seeks.”

“She wants this information for you, Kunai?”

“That’s right. It makes me feel like a failure of a bodyguard, to have made my master worry…” Kunai smiled in self-deprecation. “But if that is her wish, then I will fulfill it. Souen, I request your aid. The Draconess desires to either annihilate the Black Widows or to secure what they’ve stolen. I must execute her orders, in addition to checking on Dr. Glenn and the others.”

“Oh, is that so?” Souen grinned creepily. That was the face he wore when he’d come up with a dastardly new idea. “Well, then, Guard. Would you like to go to Heian to sell sake with me?”

“Wha?”

“You are beautiful, Kunai. You were made from human parts, but you are clearly not human. You also dress in the eastern style. If you’ve already been collecting information in Heian, then people know your face. Doesn’t that make you perfect as a salesgirl—no, as the poster girl for monsters of the east?”

“I prefer not to draw attention—”

Kunai sounded confused. Her role was to stay by Skadi’s side and serve as her assistant, not come up with her own ideas on how to act. It seemed she was having trouble judging what to do for herself, without Skadi around.

“Two birds with one stone—you can interact more with the people of the east and take down the Black Widows at the same time. What do you say?”

“Uh…”

Souen was a good talker. For his strategy to be successful, he needed the alraune sake to reach as many people as possible. Kunai might be better suited to the task than a lamia, who was clearly not human at all. Especially considering the legend of the nun who ate mermaid meat.

“What do you think, Dr. Glenn?” Kunai asked, as if at a loss.

“If you don’t mind…we would like your help.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great. The Neikes family also uses beautiful women when selling medicine.” Sapphee agreed too.

Kunai still had a contemplative look on her face. She was a warrior. It was only natural she’d be thrown for a loop by being asked to help advertise products for sale. “My face is covered in scars…”

“If you want, we can cover it with makeup. But I think it would be good to leave it as evidence that you are undead.”

“I…don’t mind my scars. I’ve always had them. So—” Kunai balled her hand determinedly into a fist, her decision made. “I’ll help you with your plan. I’ll sell sake in Heian.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, but—” Kunai glanced over at Glenn. “We’ll have to do something about the smell.”

“The…smell?”

“Yeah. Even with preservatives, there’s no hiding the stench of death. I’m sure such a smell wouldn’t help with sales.”

Glenn tilted his head in thought. He’d never noticed a stench of death when talking to Kunai.

“I didn’t notice.”

“You’re just used to it,” Kunai said shortly. Since she was made of corpses, some odor would make sense, but he’d really never gotten a whiff of anything off of her.

Sapphee stuck out her tongue, trying to detect the scent, but couldn’t. “I can’t smell anything. You’re overreacting, Kunai.”

“No, the smell is strong. This is the perfect timing, Dr. Glenn. Will you help me with my preservation processing?”

Glenn couldn’t hide his surprise that Kunai, who hated doctors, would ask him for treatment on her own. This was probably her way of preparing to speak with people.

“So that’s my condition, Souen. I need some time to prepare my body.”

“Oh, oh… Of course, that’s not a problem, but—”

No matter how many times Glenn insisted that she didn’t smell, Kunai continued to frown and sniff her upper arms. He couldn’t help but chuckle at how it made her look like an adolescent girl.

 

***

 

“What am I doing here…?” said Arahnia

“What else do you have to do?” said Aluloona.

While Glenn was talking to Kunai, Aluloona was out with Arahnia, partly against the latter’s will. They were drinking sake while enjoying the plum blossoms along the river. Needless to say, it was the sake made from alraune flowers.

“Why dontcha just drink with your daughters?”

“None of them will put up with this old lady’s complaints. They just wanna go sightseeing. I tell ’em they’ll regret it if they don’t take care of their mama.”

“I don’t see how they could respect a mama who made so many kids, not knowing who the fathers are.”

“I’ve raised them with plenty of love. And they get big allowances,” Aluloona complained as she drank.

Of course, it was precisely because she was both rich and a sex addict that she could pull that off. A normal person could never manage it.

“A mother…”

The feelings that Arahnia had been pushing to the back of her mind came bubbling out with the sake. She normally loved sake, but today, she couldn’t even taste it. She just felt a sweetness tickle her throat.

“How is the sake?”

“I…don’t really know. I’m just not in the mood right now.”

“Hmph, that’s not like you. But, well, drink up anyway.”

Insolent as Aluloona was, Arahnia, who lived near the Radon red light district and made the clothes worn by the escorts there, couldn’t afford to flatly refuse her. She watched Aluloona touch her lips to her sake and wondered to herself if plants could drink alcohol. Aluloona normally drank water through her vines, so it seemed odd to Arahnia that she would only drink alcohol through her mouth.

Then she noticed that the roots that stretched from Aluloona’s bulb were immersed in the river. Perhaps she was counteracting the alcohol by absorbing water from the river.

“So I heard you told the young doctor that you’re happy being his mistress.”

“Yeah. Well…” Where had Aluloona heard that?

“Are you really that indifferent? You’ve always wanted what everyone else had.”

There was silence.

Aluloona knew Arahnia’s bad habits well. But as a person who lived true to her own desires, she didn’t let that affect how she treated her, not even the fact that Arahnia had stolen someone else’s lover and then discarded them. Maybe Aluloona only thought of heartbroken men as potential Radon District patrons.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Oooh.”

“I don’t want things that belong to others. I have something that’s important to me, and only me…and I don’t want to ruin it. I don’t want to steal anything. Instead of a complicated relationship with me, I’d rather the Doc had a happy life with Sapphee…”

That was how Arahnia truly felt. Maybe the alcohol had loosened her tongue. Either way, Aluloona was the only person she could ever say this to, and it was exactly why Aluloona invited her for drinks.

Arahnia knew that.

“I like the Doc.”

“Mmm”

“But Sapphee is an important friend to me. So…if they can be happy together, I don’t care what happens to me, whether I’m a mistress or whatever. I just don’t want something to happen between them ’cuz of me. If something were to happen because of the Black Widows that my ma left behind…I…”

“Would that truly make you happy?”

Arahnia shifted, unsure of how to respond to Aluloona.

“Nothing good will come from hoping for the happiness of others without considering your own happiness at all.”

“But—”

“Just look at me. I live according to my desires, seeking my own happiness.”

“It doesn’t look that way. Aren’t you the philanthropist of Lindworm?”

Aluloona chuckled. She had a reputation as a money-grubbing monster who was also a philanthropist and passionate about welfare, but, well…she wasn’t really a fan of that moniker.

“Me, a philanthropist? Do you wanna hear a story?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Let’s say there were starving children in Lindworm—there aren’t, but just hypothetically.”

“Okay.”

“So I would donate money to them. Is that mercy? Is it welfare? Do you think that makes me kind, Arahnia?”

Arahnia thought for a moment.

“Well, yeah, I think it’s kind.”

“Really? But once those kids have money, they’re just going to turn around and buy food from the plantation.”

“Ah…”

“Kids buy crops too. That turns into sales for the plantation, then becomes my money. Then I’ll distribute the money again—so around and around it goes. That’s how an economy works,”

Aluloona laughed.

She was the center of Lindworm’s economy. She donated large sums to the Council because she was rich, allowing Lindworm to carry out large-scale construction projects without worrying about cost. This, in turn, created jobs and helped the city flourish.

“What are you trying to say?”

“The fortunes you can’t see work the same way,” Aluloona let out a big breath. “There are things that make you happy just by being happy themselves. There are things that make you sad when they are too. You know who I’m talking about.”

Arahnia was silent.

“Happiness might not have a tangible representation like paper money does, but it works the same way. When there is give and take, everyone profits. If you act without any consideration for your own happiness, it will dam up the flow. That won’t make anyone happy.”

Arahnia had no words to answer Lindworm’s safekeeper. Comparing money to happiness might seem short-sighted, but to Aluloona, money was only a means to an end. What she desired was passion, not things. In that sense, she was satisfying her own desires.

Perhaps Arahnia’s mother, who was hated by her own daughters, was the complete opposite of Aluloona.

“Why don’t you think about your own happiness a bit more?” Aluloona drained her glass.

“I don’t know,” Arahnia’s glass had emptied at some point too. Apparently, she’d drunk it all without any appreciation for the taste. “I have no problem hoping for the Doc’s happiness—but I have no idea what it means for me to be happy.”

“Heh. So that’s why you just hope for the young doctor. Sounds like love to me.” Aluloona laughed gently, as if she were speaking to one of her daughters. “Think about it. You’ll be satisfied if the young doctor is satisfied. And marrying you will satisfy him.”

“You’re so thoughtful about the needs of others, Aluloona. You save prostitutes, operate an orphanage…you really do like meddling, don’t you?”

“I told you. My happiness comes from the satisfaction of others.” Aluloona laughed again. “When I help distribute both money and happiness, it benefits me the most. My happiness lies at the very center of it all. So ultimately, I’ve only ever sought to satisfy myself.”

“Must be hard to be so calculating.”

Considering how economies worked, Aluloona was probably telling the truth, though. It wasn’t just self-interest—this was her personal philosophy. Even knowing how her mind worked, Arahnia couldn’t help but let her true feelings slip. Much as she disliked it, she couldn’t help but lean on Aluloona. She was eating out of the palm of the alraune’s hand.

“Is there anything you dislike, Aluloona?” Arahnia asked, intending it to be a jab.

“Yeah.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“I told you. I satisfy my own desires by keeping the economy moving. So I hate people who interrupt the circulation of wealth, hoarding profits for themselves without spending any of it to support others—you get it?”

Arahnia shook her head.

Aluloona drained her glass, looking annoyed. “Those people are thieves—in other words, the Black Widows.”

The normally good-natured alraune spat the group’s name as if it tasted foul. It was rare to see her angry. Arahnia giggled a little, feeling like she’d gotten a glimpse into the depths of Aluloona’s heart. A perfect complement to the sake.

 

***

 

Kunai Zenow had agreed to help them sell sake but was apparently still concerned about her smell. No matter how many times he sniffed her, Glenn could detect no scent of decay, but he proceeded with the preparations she’d requested nonetheless.

“Doctor, I was able to make a preservative with materials from the village.”

“Oh, thank you, Sapphee.”

Glenn looked at the bottle she’d brought him. The preservatives used to embalm corpses were toxic to living beings—even just inhaling the fumes could make you ill. It must have been difficult for Sapphee to brew an equivalent from what she could find in an unfamiliar village. That she’d managed to accomplish the task anyway stood testament to her skill as a pharmacist.

“Thank you, Lady Saphentite.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m just doing my job.” Sapphee grinned.

There were regular undead patients at the Lindworm clinic. Special care had to be taken in handling the preservatives, but they were still vital supplies for a monster clinic to have.

Glenn faced Kunai in a room of the cottage he’d borrowed. The tools he prepared included a knife, the preservative, a bottle for the used preservative, and a cork for the bottle. Corks were hard to find in the east, so he was using one he’d brought from Lindworm.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Umm…Kunai, you really don’t smell, you know?”

“D-don’t sniff me!” Kunai held her arms over her chest, as if to shield herself from Glenn. “I told you, you’re just used to it! You’re always doing my sutures and always going to the graveyard district! You’ve probably completely lost your sense of smell!”

“That’s not true…” Glenn chuckled.

Kunai was convinced she had a stench and there was no changing her mind. Glenn believed it was his job as a doctor to put her anxiety at ease, and preservative treatments were a necessity for the undead, anyway.

“I must end the Black Widows, as per the orders of the Draconess. And…I want to gain possession of my blueprints, which the group is said to have,” Kunai admitted, her expression dead serious.

“Do you…wonder about your origins, Kunai?”

“Hmm? Oh, honestly I don’t care about myself at all.”

“Huh?” There was so little hesitation in her reply that Glenn asked for follow-up without thinking.

“This body is a corpse. It is flesh that contradicts the laws of nature. I believe that flesh should be returned to the earth. The fact is that if the Draconess hadn’t taken me in, this body would have decayed eventually.”

“So then—”

“But the Draconess is kind. This body is currently immortal, thanks to her magic, but if I had the research notes from my developer, then I believe she can make use of me for an even longer time. If I had a deeper understanding of the source of this body’s life, it would put less of a burden on the Draconess.”

So those were the intentions behind Skadi’s orders to Kunai. She was thinking of her guard.

“I don’t care personally, but I want to get hold of the developer’s designs so that I can continue to serve the Draconess for a long time. I’m sorry for the trouble, Dr. Glenn, but please help me.”

“I will do everything in my power to aid you.”

With Skadi’s longevity, she needed assistants who could also live a long time. Kunai was unwavering in her loyalty, making her perfect for the job. Glenn’s skills were necessary for her to continue to serve as long as possible.

“Let’s get started, then. Please lay on the exam table.”

“Mmm,”

Kunai nodded.

There were no hospital beds in the east like there were in the west, so they were using a makeshift exam table made from a piece of wood with a cloth pulled over it. Kunai lay facedown on the table, and Glenn first touched the scroll on her cervical spine.

“Excuse me.”

The scroll held together the metal parts that served as Kunai’s cervical spine and vertebrae. As Kunai had explained to him earlier, this was where the scroll made contact with her dead flesh. He removed the clasp on her back with a clinking sound. The metal, firmly embedded in the dead flesh, loosened, and he lifted it straight up. It was made of iron, and it was heavy.

“Did you get it off? Be careful.”

“Yes, I know.” Glenn held the metal that the scroll was embedded in in his hand. It was hard to believe that this scroll was the true Kunai.

He carefully removed the metal, exposing a number of red tubes that ran through her body. If he severed any of these, it would likely completely cut off her connection with the dead flesh.

This is an uncanny surgery.

He had no idea what went on inside her. There were areas around Kunai’s exposed neck where dead flesh melded with metal, and Glenn couldn’t begin to imagine the technology that made it work.

“You can see the metal holes around my head?” Though 80 percent of Kunai’s neck was detached, she was talking like normal. As she said, there were small holes at the joints where he had removed the parts.

“Y-yes.”

“Run the preservative through there. Then it will run through my entire body.”

Embalming was a basic method of preserving corpses. For a normal corpse, preservative fluid would be run through the veins, starting around the cervical spine, and being switched out for fresh fluid every so often. Besides suturing her flesh, Kunai had also probably performed such maintenance on her body herself.

“These holes—but your veins are always empty, right?”

“Yeah. When treating conventional corpses, the preservative is left in the body, but I was built for battle, so my limbs blow off often. It wouldn’t do for poison to fly through the air every time…so after the preservative is absorbed by the dead flesh, I have it siphoned out…”

“I see.”

When he first met Kunai, the sutures in her veins had been poorly done, which meant the preservative injections had probably been neglected as well. Glenn was guessing that she had been rough on her body, figuring it would decay sooner or later. She might be made of dead flesh, but he wished she’d take better care of herself.

“Do you normally prepare the preservative yourself?”

“No…sometimes I have the Draconess or the manager help me. Either way, I never used the vein method until you treated me.”

“I see…well, then, I’m going to get started. I’ll do my best,” Glenn said. He didn’t think he would be as skilled as Molly—an embalming expert—but he was skilled in his own way.

Sapphee inserted a transparent tube with metal end-caps into one of the holes.

“Mmm,” Kunai moaned.

She couldn’t feel pain, but she could feel. Apparently, she couldn’t help but react when a foreign object was inserted in her body.

“Now, we will start running the preservative through your body.”

“Mm. Pl-please…”

Sapphee was using a manual bellows-shaped pump to inject the preservative into Kunai’s veins. The liquid made a slurping sound as it was sucked out of the bottle and transferred into Kunai’s body.

“Mm. Mmm.” Kunai moaned out loud with every pump.

Glenn wondered what it felt like to have such a large amount of poison run directly through your veins. As a human, he’d never know.

The poison had a faint floral scent. Was it derived from alraune? Or had Sapphee added something in an attempt to perfume it? A waft of the scent was emitted with each pump of the poison that spread the poison through Kunai.

There was a faint blue tint to the preservative. This was so it would be easy to identify from outside her body.

“Kunai, when was the last time you injected preservative?”

“Six months ago…”

“Please get treatment at least once a month,” Sapphee advised her frankly.

“I-I want to do it regularly. But besides guarding the Draconess…I have been asked to train the arena warriors…there’s just not enough time…”

“I know you’re busy, but…” Sapphee was exasperated.

As an undead, there was no escaping decay. All living material eventually broke down. Kunai’s dead flesh had been processed properly, but that just made maintenance all the more important. If she neglected preservative injections, there would be no stopping the flesh from rotting.

So that’s why she was so worried about smelling?

Glenn finally understood why Kunai was constantly concerned about the stench of death and decay. She was so busy guarding the Draconess that it left her no time to take care of herself. She was so steadfast in her work that she probably never even left Skadi’s side to take a break.

Now she was being pumped through with preservative. Once a bottle was emptied, they put the end of the tube in the next one, using the suction opening in the cork so that the medicine could be siphoned out without the poison vaporizing.

“Mmm…ergh.”

“How do you feel?”

“Mmm, it’s going well. Mmm.” Kunai looked like she was fine. Once all the medicine was injected, they would leave her for one hour and then siphon it all out again. That would complete the treatment.

“Is it all in?” Glenn asked as he checked that the bottles were empty.

“Erm…”

“Kunai? Are you all right?” Glenn asked.

Kunai frowned, groaning in response. She lifted her head.

“I feel like—I don’t know, my stomach is heavy, but maybe I’m just imagining it.”

“Heavy?”

Glenn tilted his head in thought.

“Excuse me, let me examine you.”

He touched Kunai’s abdomen as she lay on the table, pressing gently to check the organs underneath the muscles of her torso.

“Mm, mmm…!”

“Ahh…this is—”

Along with the sensation of internal organs, he felt something like water. Glenn knew right away what had happened.

“The injected preservative has leaked.”

“What?!”

“I believe the preservative has leaked from a vein somewhere, and it has now accumulated in your stomach. I’m sorry, I should have checked your veins ahead of time…” Glenn sighed.

“Oh, I guess that could happen.”

He touched Kunai’s abdomen again, jiggling it gently this time. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be a lot of preservative accumulated in her stomach. He didn’t know which vein it had leaked from, but he’d need to treat this.

“Do we need to start over?”

“No, that would take a long time—we should inject additional preservative from another location.”

“Hmm?”

Glenn touched Kunai’s skin. There was some flesh with poor coloring, but upon closer inspection, the internal veins were see-through. The veins injected with preservative were particularly distinctive, bulging slightly and with a blue tint to them.

He examined her arms, abdomen, and legs.

“Ahh, it’s not reaching your legs,” Glenn said, noticing there were no blue veins in her legs. The expression on Kunai’s face changed.

“M-my legs…”

“There is a blood vessel in the thigh called the femoral artery. It’s the perfect place, so let’s inject the preservative there.”

“O-okay…”

Kunai didn’t look excited about it. Glenn recalled that Kunai had reacted strongly when he sutured her leg in the past. Apparently, her legs were sensitive.

“I’ll make an incision in your inner thigh and insert the tube there.”

“U-uhh…W-will it be okay? I might be too loud…”

“Hopefully not… When I sutured your leg in the past, I remember a large blood vessel. I know exactly where it is, so the treatment will go quickly.”

“You’ve certainly become my primary physician—” Kunai sighed, as if she had given up. “Fine, do it.”

“Yes. Now, then, can you please sit up? And open your legs a little…”

“O-oh, yes.”

Kunai lifted herself up. She bent both her knees and spread her legs. Her tunic covered the region between her legs, but her bare thighs pushed it up to her groin. Although he was going to end up exposing it anyway, since the femoral artery was on her inner thigh…

“Sapphee, please watch her neck,” Glenn instructed.

“Yes. I’ll check the carotid artery.” Sapphee nodded as if she already knew exactly what to do.

“Okay, then…”

What Glenn pulled out of his bag next was the same type of rubber tube with metal on the ends that they’d been using so far. The metal tip was cut at an angle. He looked carefully at the sharp tip, which looked like it would easily pierce skin.

“I’m going to insert this tube,” Glenn said, picking up his scalpel.

He moved his head closer to the space between her open legs. Next, he cut into the femoral artery on Kunai’s inner thigh.

“Mmm…”

He cut deep. On the other side of the incision, he could see a thick vessel. Glenn relentlessly cut this part away with the surgical scalpel.

“Ooh, mmm…” Even Kunai couldn’t help but moan at a cut blood vessel.

If she’d been human, cutting freely into a thick blood vessel would lead to blood gushing forth, but Kunai’s veins were empty.

“Now, I’m going to insert it.”

“Mm, mmm, ahhh…”

Glenn inserted the tip of the tube in the blood vessel from the incision.

“Mm, mm erg.”

“Please tell me if you feel pain. I don’t think any of your organs will be hurt—”

“It doesn’t hurt but—mm, oh, it’s a little cold.”

Glenn groped inside Kunai’s body, trying to situate the tube without being able to see where it went. Of course, randomly moving the sharp tip ran the risk of injuring the inside of the blood vessels. He needed to keep movement to a minimum, but he also needed to insert the tube deeply so it wouldn’t come out.

“Mmm, argh.” Kunai moaned at the sensation of the cold metal creeping in her body.

Inserting such an object without anesthesia would be impossible if she weren’t undead. Kunai didn’t feel pain, but she was having a hard time tolerating a foreign object in her body.

“Ahh…oooh…”

“I think that should do it…now we will start the injection.”

“I-It feels so weird—to have something on the inside of my leg,” Kunai said, biting her lip.

This was probably more because the foreign object was unbearable than because she was embarrassed.

“I’ll go slowly.”

“I-I think faster is better—mmm, ahhh.”

Glenn started operating the pump, injecting the preservative.

“Mmm, ahhh…, erghh…”

Kunai moaned some more.

“K-Kunai?”

“I-I’m okay. It’s the sensation of liquid…mmm, ohhh…!” Kunai’s leg was trembling. “Ah, mmm-ah…whaaa!”

Glenn continued to pump in more preservative. The blood vessels in Kunai’s thigh started to turn blue, showing that the preservative was flowing well through the blood vessels.

“Mmm, erg, ergggh…”

“But you’re so strong in battle, Kunai—” Sapphee said unexpectedly.

“Sh-shut up! M-my legs are weeeak!” She was slurring her words.

They couldn’t spend too much time on the procedure, so Glenn ignored her reaction and kept pumping in the preservative. With each pump, the pressure stimulated her blood vessel, and Kunai couldn’t help but react.

“Mmm! Ah, whaaa, mmm!”

Glenn started to think people might misunderstand what he was doing here, like with the Saki situation. He had told everyone that he would be treating Kunai, so it shouldn’t be a problem…he thought.

“Please try not to move, Kunai.”

“Z-zat’s easy for you to shay…ahh, mmm!”

Kunai couldn’t stop her reactions.

He wondered why she only had this reaction in her legs. Maybe, if he could get hold of the blueprints that the Black Widows supposedly had, he could figure it out.

“We have no choice—Sapphee?”

“Yes. It is unavoidable.”

There was a slithering sound and Sapphee’s snake body wrapped around Kunai. She bound both of Kunai’s wrists.

Kunai was now held with both of her arms lifted into the air. Naturally, she wasn’t actually suspended, but still sitting on the bed with her legs spread.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” Kunai protested loudly.

“I’m sorry, but if you move too much, it could damage the inside of your blood vessel.”

“I-I told you this position…mmm, gyahh!”

“I’m really sorry, but this is treatment.” Glenn ignored her protests.

He continued operating the pump, attempting to finish as soon as possible. The preservative siphoned from the bottle was inserted into Kunai’s leg.

“Gyah, ahh! Mmm!”

Glenn watched the preservative infusion flow through the tube. Kunai’s leg was twitching, but he held it still at her ankle.

With Sapphee’s help, they were able to keep Kunai pretty still.

“Mmmahh…mm, mmm…! Oh, gyaaah…!”

“I’m sorry, just a little more.”

“Oooh, mmmaahhh…”

There were tears in Kunai’s eyes.

She wasn’t supposed to have functioning tear ducts, based on what he knew of her body, so it was probably protective liquid for her eyeballs.

“Mmm!”

“I’m sorry, Kunai. Please hold on a bit longer,” Glenn said. Kunai scowled.

“Y-you…you’ve been saying that all along! Ahh, mmmahh, gyahh, gyahhh.”

Glenn kept pumping, as he determined that the preservative hadn’t reached everywhere in her lower limbs.

“Oooh, e-enough already…mmm! M-my legs are reaching the limit!”

“Do you feel any pain?”

“I…d-don’t feel pain…b-but there’s pressure like lifting or pulling…it feels strange—ahh, gyahh.”

Kunai, both hands bound, looked like she didn’t know how to react.

Glenn pumped harder. When he was especially forceful, he could see the blood vessels in Kunai’s inner thigh bulging.

“Ahh, gyahh, mmm-yahhh-mmm…! Y-you’ve been sticking it in and taking it out of my body…ah, ahhh.”

Kunai’s entire body was trembling.

Glenn concentrated, injecting the last bit of the preservative into Kunai.

“Mmm, mmm! Gyahhh, oooh!”

Kunai’s voice grew louder.

Glenn checked to make sure the treatment was complete and pulled out the tube.

“Ahh, ahh…mmmahhh…”

Kunai collapsed on the treatment table, as if exhausted.

 

***

 

“How do I smell?” Kunai asked after the treatment was all complete.

There was a floral scent in the air, and needless to say, there was no stench of death. Kunai was now sitting on the treatment table, concerned about her own odor.

“I think you smell nice.”

“We removed all of the preservative. These bottles hold the preservative that ran through your body. The pieces of flesh floating in it are because you waited so long to perform maintenance on your body. The scent will disappear in about one week—”

“That’s plenty, Lady Sapphee. Maybe we’ll get the chance again soon.”

Sapphee seemed satisfied with the effects of her specially made preservative, and Glenn caught a rare glimpse of a proud expression on her face.

“But—this treatment was rough. Isn’t there another way?”

“I’m sorry…but it’s because you were moving so much.”

“Sh-shut up! How many times do I have to tell you that my legs are sensitive?”

The hem of Kunai’s clothing was covering her leg.

It was too short, so to be honest, it wasn’t serving any form of protection. However, Kunai probably felt helpless.

“Well, I think that you should be the last person to protest treatment, Kunai.” Sapphee made an outrageous comment.

“Wh-what do you mean by that? Sapphee…”

“I mean exactly what I said. For some reason, Tisalia, Lulala, Arahnia…and even Skadi and probably Plum are after him. It’s like every time he treats someone. he gains a new candidate for a lover.”

“I have no such intentions.” Glenn was only seriously treating his patients.

Sapphee let out a big sigh in response to this.

“I just think it might be a good thing if there was at least one patient who complained about the doctor. I’m sure Kunai won’t become a candidate for marriage, at least.”

“Hahaha. You’re strict, Lady Saphentite. It’s true that I don’t have an ounce of interest in Dr. Glenn.” Kunai chuckled.

Glenn already knew that, but for some illogical reason, he felt rejected.

“This is my body. Nothing good would come from wedding the living, and anyway, I am busy taking care of the Draconess. I don’t plan on ever being married, so don’t even think about it.”

“Well that makes me feel better.”

“But, well—”

Kunai didn’t stop.

She glanced over at Glenn. For some reason, she was lustfully gazing not at his face, but at his body from the neck down.

“Once Dr. Glenn dies, maybe I’ll take some of that flesh for myself.”

“What?!”

“I’m interested in what the deceased Dr. Glenn would say to me. How about it, Dr. Glenn? Let me make a reservation for part of your dead body. Hmmm—I definitely want those skillful fingers.”

“Well, I, er…”

Kunai’s face was getting closer, like a predator with her gaze bent on Glenn’s flesh. It made him think about what the purpose of a body was after death. It was true that Kunai’s body was made of parts from both men and women, but—

Just then, Sapphee’s tail let out a warning rattle.

“A-absolutely not! I will not allow it!”

“C’mon. You don’t have to be so stingy. It’s a corpse.”

“I. Said. No! Even after he dies, Dr. Glenn is mine!”

“No one likes women who are that jealous.”

“I-I’m not jealous!”

Glenn laughed out loud. He’d never thought about what would happen to his body after he died.

Sapphee was adamant, but Kunai was completely indifferent.

“No one knows what happens when you die, you know,” Kunai said.

The statement bothered Glenn a bit. But the fact that Kunai, who usually hated doctors, would say such a thing made him think that people—no, monsters—really could change remarkably.

 

***

 

Several days passed, and Glenn and the others gathered on a slightly elevated hill on the outskirts of the village.

“I sold sake in Heian. I saw some gangs of people with nasty looks on their faces—but that was probably more due to the novelty of a corpse selling a monster’s product. They were buying it like crazy.”

“Thank you, Kunai. Now, about that…”

Kunai and the others looked down at the sea. There were a number of ships in the water that seemed to be surrounding the island. Glenn couldn’t tell from up here, but Sioux had gone to check them out, and she’s reported that there were armed warriors on them.

“I guess our village has been found out.”

“Yeah—to be more accurate, they found out that monsters are hiding on Souen’s land.”

“What are they thinking, surrounding the island just because there are monsters on it?” Sapphee was disgusted.

Most of the ships gathered around the island were onlookers who were either prejudiced against or curious about monsters. Souen had to be desperately explaining the situation to the council of statesmen, which served as the governing body of the human realm, right about now.

“Well, they’re just watching from a distance now. I wonder if there are any members of the Black Widows in there.” Kunai strained her eyes to see.

Even if there were ships that belonged to the Black Widows, they wouldn’t be able to tell from so far away. From their perch, they could see about fifteen ships, and there were surely others not visible to them from here.

“This is Souen’s private property. Not even one of the elder statesmen could set foot on it without his permission…though Heian is in some chaos right now. The idea that every family has demon blood in it has spread,” Saki told them quietly.

She had a sword in her hand, ready in case the unthinkable happened.

“Then again, they’ve always rejected demons. Heian should be in an uproar right now.” Saki giggled gently.

Perhaps she had some pent-up resentment against the human realm. She normally didn’t show it, but she had plenty of reason to.

“The results of the doctor’s treatment changed the human realm,” Sapphee offered.

Souen had made a shocking announcement with a thesis based on Glenn’s medical records. It included the facts that demons and humans were the same species, sharing the same ancestors. And that humans had had demon blood in their veins for a very long time.

“I didn’t intend to change anything,” Glenn responded. “It’s simply the truth that I treated Sioux. I suppose it’s only to be expected that the human realm would make a fuss about it. Human society, its prejudice against demons… All I did was what should be done…”

“That’s the doctor I know,” Sapphee smiled.

Glenn didn’t think of this as an accomplishment. No human prejudice could change medical fact. All he’d done was discover the hidden truth.

Nonetheless, he and Souen were currently being blamed in Heian for “Spreading heretical ideas that humans and demons were the same.” For the most part, humans only saw what they wanted to. It was hardly a scientific attitude, so Glenn tended to ignore it, but it wasn’t quite as easy for Souen, who lived in Heian.

Just then—

“We’re back!”

“Er, yes!”

Glenn’s thoughts were interrupted.

Tisalia with her spear and Sioux with her sword stood before him. Apparently, they’d been training together in their free time and had become quite close. This made them look like sisters—albeit sisters who didn’t look alike.

“Welcome back, Tisalia. How was it?” Sapphee asked.

Tisalia looked proud. “We made rounds of the entire island, but there is no one suspicious to be found.”

“We even went deep into the mountains. There is no sign of the Black Widows infiltrating… At least for the time being, there are none on this island!”

Such was the verdict of the makeshift patrol team of two. With Tisalia’s hooves, cantering around the island was easy. In addition to Sioux’s experience as a warrior, she had a unique ability for sensing presence using her demon horns. She was more than qualified to patrol the village and seek out suspicious insurgents.

“Thank you very much, both of you. I will be on alert too. Please continue your patrol,” Saki said, bowing her head.

“Leave the village guard to me. Lulala will tell us if a suspicious ship approaches…I’ll mop the floor with the insolent bandits.” Kunai cracked her knuckles.

Kunai was much better suited to working security than being a sake salesgirl. With so many experienced fighters on their side, even if the Black Widows did attack, they could nab them all up in one go. It was the ideal situation.

“Doc.”

“Huh?”

Glenn’s thoughts were interrupted again by someone stroking his neck. Surprised, he turned to see Arahnia was standing behind him.

“Heh. Did I surprise you?”

“Arahnia…”

“I set up a bunch of thread traps around the village. There’s no way they’ll see the traps in the dark… If they’re careless and get caught, I’ll know. The traps are perfect.”

“Th-thank you so much. You didn’t have to,” Glenn said, but Arahnia’s expression was stern.

“I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you. The Doc can’t get hurt because of his mistress.”

“Nothing is your fault, Arahnia.”

Arahnia was silent. She probably hadn’t changed her mind. She remained quiet, a complicated expression on her face. Even if the village were perfectly protected, Glenn wondered if she’d be able to get his father’s blessing at this rate.

He couldn’t stop worrying.

“Souen will be back in a day or two,” Saki piped up. “The Black Widows will probably come eventually, but these precautions should make it hard for them to steal from us. I’m very sorry to cause everyone trouble, but thank you for your cooperation.”

She bowed her head again. The monsters in charge of protecting the village nodded enthusiastically together.

 

But—

All their preparation and precautions would be in vain.

It was only a few days later that Souen’s village was set on fire and pillaged by the Black Widows.