Case 01: The Centaur with a Sprain

CASE 01:
The Centaur with a Sprain

 

The inclined road was utterly unlike the brick-paved streets of Lindworm. It had been formed after long years of people coming and going over it, trampling it into existence. Glenn Litbeit was only riding in a carriage, but with the violent jolting of the cart, he couldn’t help bracing himself against the walls and stiffening his body.

He was grateful for the luxurious down cushions that covered the seats. With them, even a long journey over the mountain roads wouldn’t bother him.

“Are you enjoying the ride, Doctor?” The question came in through the window from in front of the carriage.

“Y-yes… Thank you. It’s been very pleasant.”

“Please don’t lie to me. This mountain road’s a smidge…rough, in some places, even for a first-class carriage like this.”

Glenn peeked his head out the window.

Pulling the horse-carriage was a female centaur. Tisalia Scythia made good use of her large frame as she tugged them along the mountain path with firm and steady steps.

Still, it was a steep road. No matter how hardened her body was, Glenn was sure that carrying a passenger carriage up such a sloping path was difficult for her. Her exhaustion came through in her voice.

In front of Tisalia were her two attendants, Kay and Lorna. The two of them kicked aside rocks and took down tree branches to guide the carriage safely on its path forward. They both had quite a similar air about them, but Glenn was finally able to differentiate between the two of them…to a certain extent.

“You prepared such a luxurious carriage for us, too…”

“There isn’t any hardship I won’t undertake for you, Doctor! Well…that’s what I’d like to say to show off, but really, the city carriages would quickly fall apart on a mountain road like this. I simply prepared the sturdiest high-quality carriage we had,” Tisalia replied, her breath growing more and more labored.

Centaurs originally lived in grassy fields. While they were excellent at traversing flatlands, scaling mountain roads was more of a burden than they were used to.

“Nevertheless, no matter where it may be, Scythia Transportation shall safely, reliably, and quickly carry our customers to their destination! We’ll be arriving at the harpy village soon. So, Doctor—oh, and Miss Sapphee—please bear with us just a little longer.”

“Thank you for your help,” Sapphee said from inside the carriage, thanking Tisalia for her hard work. The two of them usually quarreled with one another, but Sapphee wasn’t looking to bicker with Tisalia while she was covered in sweat and hauling her up a mountain.

Glenn and the others continued up the slope to the summit of the Vivre Mountains.

For those who were familiar with the path, it was possible to make the round trip in one day, but that was because they had specialized equipment and training to do so. The ice vendors that went up to the summit to get their ice practically dashed up the mountain road, but that wasn’t something just anyone could do.

The large carriage’s hefty cargo, weighed down with Glenn’s medical tools and other necessary items, meant that it took even longer to move up the path.

However, their destination wasn’t the summit of the mountains, but the harpy village on the way to the summit. They would be arriving before the day was out, so the centaur princess and her two attendants were feeling very exhausted. Glenn hoped that they would be able to rest properly once they got to the village.

“Still,” Sapphee added, “I can’t believe that octo-woman’s unreasonable requests ended up going this far… I’ve gone straight past anger—now I’m just astonished at her audacity.” Sapphee cast her red eyes downwards and gave a loud sigh.

“I was just as surprised, too, you know. For her to just tell us to go to the harpy village and give them examinations out of the blue like that…”

The harpies had built a village in the middle of the Vivre Mountains, where they now lived.

It was an extremely ancient colony that had existed before the beginning of the war between mankind and monsters. From the harpies’ perspective, the comparatively new city of Lindworm most likely seemed like something built by outsiders in their lands.

The harpies of the village flew down to Lindworm sometimes to acquire things that they could only find in town and bring them back to their village. In turn, they came to sell animal meat and wild vegetables that could only be harvested in the mountains. With this mutually advantageous relationship between the city and the village, the harpies and the city of Lindworm kept on good terms with one another.

“Illy…was it?” Glenn asked. “That girl’s name.”

“Well, it was pretty hectic back then. I don’t remember clearly what her name was, but…yes, that’s what Miss Kunai said. That harpy girl who had an impacted oviduct.”

“I heard that she was taken in by the village, since she had nowhere to go.”

Two months had passed since Dr. Glenn stopped a slave-trader plot that involved trafficking harpy eggs. As nothing more than a doctor, it had been impossible for Glenn to defeat the bandits himself, but with the help of many people, including Tisalia and Lulala, the captured harpies were rescued safely.

Even without being able to aid in the fight, thanks to Glenn’s skill as a doctor, he had been able to deal with one of the harpy girls’ impacted oviduct and safely induce her to lay the stuck eggs. According to Glenn’s teacher Cthulhy, that harpy, Illy, was currently suffering from a different ailment.

“According to what Miss Cthulhy said, her feathers are falling out. Falling out so much that she’s become unable to fly,” Sapphee said.

“If that’s true, then we have to do something,” Glenn said. “We have to go up to the village for the regular exams anyway. Even without Dr. Cthulhy’s orders, we’d probably have ended up climbing up here.”

The harpy village did not have a doctor. There seemed to be an herbalist that also acted as a midwife, but they didn’t have the talent available to handle more advanced treatments. There were some among the harpies who would fly down to Lindworm to get medical care, but for patients that were struck with a severe illness, Glenn or Cthulhy had to go up to the village directly to treat them.

It was with these objectives in mind that they had gone on this medical exam trip to the village. They had been fortunate, however, to receive help from Scythia Transportation.

The only daughter of the company’s leader, Tisalia Scythia herself, had reached out to Glenn and Sapphee, offering to bring them up to the village. She told them she had her own business to conduct there and that, “It would be quite simple to bring the Doctor and Miss Sapphee along, as well. Ha ha ha!”

With the strength of Tisalia and her two attendants, Kay and Lorna, Glenn had been able to proceed up the mountain road without incident.

As easy as the trip had been, Glenn was sure that work was awaiting him once they arrived in the village. There were many other people besides Illy who needed a doctor—or rather, there was no doubt in his mind that as soon as everyone heard a doctor had arrived, the whole village would be anxious to complain to Glenn about all of their usual aches and pains.

“Mistress, should we switch out with you after all?” said one of Tisalia’s attendants.

“Oh, Mistress—you’ve sweated so much…” said another.

Tisalia had been the only one pulling since they set out in the early morning, after all.

“I’m okay! Here’s my opportunity to show off and have the doctor agree to be adopted into our family!”

“Your aspirations are truly splendid, but…”

“Will the young gentleman really be happy to have you covered in sweat after climbing up this mountain?”

Tisalia had her eye on Glenn as a possible marriage interview candidate, but naturally Glenn had no such intentions. If he accepted her offer, he wondered just how angry it would make Sapphee, who would glare at him with her snake-like gaze every time the centaurs’ conversation turned in such a direction.

“I just need to hold out a little longer… Oh?”

The carriage stopped.

Glenn poked his head out, wondering what was wrong, when he saw that a landslide had blocked off the road ahead of them. Tisalia took her hands off the carriage’s handle and braced the wheels. It appeared they were going to be stalled there for a while.

“And everything had been going so smoothly, too… Oh, well. Kay! Lorna!”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“We shall hold here for a few moments.”

The two excellent attendants had already fetched a shovel out from among the cargo loaded onto the carriage. Fortunately, it wasn’t a large amount of earth piled up in front of them. It seemed that if everyone helped out, it wouldn’t take that much time at all.

“Maybe it’s because of a recent earthquake?” Tisalia mused. “I’ve heard this area experiences quite a lot of them.”

“That just might be the case,” Glenn said. “I’ll help, too.”

“I can’t let you do that, Doctor. Please rest…”

Glenn took off his white coat and went to jump down from the carriage to help the centaurs clear the rubble, but—

At that moment, the carriage shook as though it were trying to jump up into the air.

“…?!”

“Earthquake!” Tisalia shouted. “Doctor, get down!”

Without even needing to be told, Glenn was already crouching down inside the carriage. It was one of Scythia Transportation’s high-quality models, and as such, it wouldn’t easily be broken—or so Glenn thought. It was no comfort to him, however, as the trembling earth was enough to send the carriage bouncing into the air.

Across from him, Sapphee also pressed her body low against the bottom of the carriage, which violently rattled and clattered back and forth as the earth itself rumbled and groaned. A cry sounded from outside. Glenn was unsure whether it had been Kay or Lorna.

“It’s a big…one!” Sapphee groaned.

The people of Lindworm weren’t accustomed to earthquakes. Glenn had grown up in an area known to have many, but even still, he grew tense from the force of the trembling earth. He wondered if Tisalia was doing all right outside of the carriage. While it may have been true that centaurs stood on four legs, Glenn felt that the tremors would be too much for even them to remain standing.

As Glenn waited for the quaking to subside, he hoped that the carriage wouldn’t overturn—and that the quake wouldn’t cause another landslide. Soon, the tremors and the rumbling of the earth calmed.

“Is it…over?”

It had been an odd earthquake. One large tremor, a groan-like rumbling—and then it stopped. Glenn wondered if it were just a foreshock of something more to come. Praying that wasn’t the case, Glenn quickly stepped out of the carriage.

“Miss Tisalia! Are you all right?!”

“Y-yes…I’m fine.”

Outside of the carriage, Tisalia was lying on the ground.

Right at her side were Kay and Lorna. Kay in particular was down flat, clinging to Tisalia.

“I was on the verge of falling, but the two of them protected me…”

Tisalia stood up, letting out a sigh of relief. Lorna quickly got up after her.

“…Kay?” Kay’s partner Lorna furrowed her eyebrows.

Kay remained collapsed on the ground. She tried to stand up using her back legs but quickly stumbled as if she were a newborn fawn.

“Ow!”

“Kay?”

She couldn’t stand.

Glenn immediately rushed over to her. Her beautiful leg was covered with an unmarred chestnut coat, but it seemed she was unable to raise herself up onto it. It only took a second for him to recognize what had happened.

“It seems you’ve twisted your leg, Miss Kay.”

Hearing this, Kay gave a troubled smile. Glenn thought that since she couldn’t move, she must be unsure what to do.

“Doctor?” Lorna asked. “Kay’s leg is…?”

“A sprain, or maybe a broken bone.”

It appeared her leg had come under too much strain while protecting Tisalia. If it had just been twisted, that would be fine, but Glenn thought to himself that if the bones were broken, it would make recovery much more difficult.

“If possible, I’d like to keep her off her feet, but…”

They were right in the middle of the mountain road. On top of that, their path ahead was blocked by rocks and debris. Glenn would be able to give emergency first aid but would have to wait until they reached the harpy village to examine her properly.

“Can you walk, Miss Kay?”

“Of course, Doctor, this is nothing… Augh!”

As soon as she tried to stand, she grimaced in pain. She put on a brave face, but she was in no condition to walk.

“We’ll have Miss Kay ride in the carriage… Sapphee and I can walk.”

“Kay,” Tisalia said, “I’m sorry, because of me…”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault at all.”

“But still…” Tisalia was acting uncharacteristically uneasy and flustered. It appeared that with her long-serving handmaiden injured, she was unable to keep her composure.

There was still some distance left until they reached the harpy village. Glenn thought if they could somehow carry Kay safely to the village, it would be fine, but—

“I found them! They’re over here!” As Glenn worried, a voice fell over them.

“Huh?” Looking upwards, he saw a big set of wings.

“I found the doctor!” It was a man’s voice. The owner of the wings plunged into a nosedive and landed directly in front of Glenn.

Standing in front of him was a male harpy with dark brown feathers. The man had been acting as the vanguard, and a number of harpies soon came down after him. Glenn wondered if they had been circling up overhead. There were both men and women among them, and all of them were all quite young.

The man that had come down first gave a deep bow.

“We’ve come to pick you up, Dr. Glenn. The same goes for the ladies of Scythia Transportation.”

“P-pick us up?”

“Yes. The recent landslides have made this path impassible, so we thought you might have been having trouble. The village elder ordered the young people of the village to bring you up ourselves. Allow us to guide you there.”

“That…would be a huge help.”

It was more than Glenn could have hoped for.

“One of our group was injured in the earthquake just now. Can you bring her up to the village first?”

“With pleasure. Bring that over here!”

Everything went quickly after that.

The harpies used a big piece of linen they had readied in advance to create an impromptu cloth stretcher.

Harpies were a species of monster that had arms that were like the wings of a bird. They didn’t have five fingers like humans, so Glenn thought that they would lack the necessary dexterity—but it seemed his worries were unfounded. The harpies bent their wings and hung the cloth from them. Unable to use five fingers to get the job done, they sometimes skillfully employed their mouths to tie the necessary knots together.

Tisalia and Lorna used their natural physical strength to place Kay on the stretcher. Then the harpies bound the rope ends of the cloth to their feet and began to flap their wings, quickly carrying Kay up above the tree line.

“Even if it takes three people to do it, it’s quite amazing they can carry a centaur up that high,” Glenn observed.

“The skies are our home. This is nothing.” The harpy man gave a big, confident smile. “Now then, let’s clear this debris. Put your backs into it! We can’t have a single accident happen while the doctor is on the road!”

Giving a shout of agreement, the harpies all began clearing away the rubble. They were given commands to guide their work, and they all moved together in perfect order. Glenn thought it must have been the harsh mountain environment that their community lived in that bred such a level of cooperation.

Cooperation like theirs was something that he thought was missing in Lindworm, the city where monsters and humans from around the continent had gathered together. Its status as a crucible of different species and races meant that the people living in the town were surprisingly disconnected, which in turn allowed slave traders and other gangs of criminals to slip into the city.

“It looks like they are counting on you, Dr. Glenn.” Without Glenn realizing it, Sapphee had gotten out of the carriage and whispered in his ear. “The harpies are working hard—they’re counting on your skills, Doctor.”

“I-I know.”

“It looks like things will be hectic once we arrive.” Sapphee giggled. They were busy back in Lindworm as well, but if the harpies were anticipating Glenn’s arrival enough to come and meet him here, then what Sapphee was saying was likely true. He was a bit concerned about how things would proceed and wondered exactly how many patients were waiting for him.

“You’ll be busy, too, Sapphee.”

“Of course.” She nodded calmly.

As he waited, Glenn scratched his head and took off his coat. He couldn’t leave everything up to the harpies. Grabbing a shovel, he joined them in clearing away the rubble.

“Kay…” Tisalia was still looking up at the sky, her gaze locked in the direction her injured attendant had been flown off in. Glenn thought to himself that she was truly a great leader to be so worried about her handmaiden’s well-being.

 

***

 

The harpy village was halfway up the mountainside.

Here, the thick mounds of mountain snow finally melted and gave birth to a river. That river flowed all the way down into the city of Lindworm, where it became the canals of the famous Merrow Waterways. Yet even in the middle of the mountains, it was natural for there to be a settlement beside its waters.

The village was in a mountain valley, which had likely been carved out from the rock face by the flow of the river over many, many years. The bluffs on either side appeared very difficult to climb. If one were to head towards the mountain summit from the ground, the only path available was the slow and gradual road along the riverside.

Tucked between those bluffs at the bottom of the ravine was the harpy village.

“Welcome and thank you for coming,” an elder harpy with a long beard greeted Glenn, leaning on his cane. He was the chief of the village. Both of the wings on his arms already hung low from his loss of strength, and they looked almost like the sleeves of the robe he was wearing. It seemed he had long lost the ability to fly freely through the skies like the younger harpies that had guided Glenn and the others to the village. It was a condition often seen in elderly harpies.

However, the gleam in his eyes peeking out from underneath his wrinkles was sharp as an eagle’s, and it revealed the presence and dignity that had united the harpies of the village.

“It seems one of your companions was injured.”

“Yes. Where is she now?”

“In a building we have for guests, removed from the village. We prepared it as a temporary dwelling for you when we heard you would be visiting. If you bring your equipment there, you’ll be able to start your examinations posthaste.”

This was all a great help for Glenn.

It wasn’t his first time visiting the village, and the elder was familiar with doctors coming to stay. The village’s lack of a doctor meant the chief knew to greet a capable doctor of monster medicine like Glenn with courtesy. If his teacher Cthulhy had been the one to visit, he was sure an even warmer reception would have been waiting for her.

“Our village is not made of sturdy rock like the city of Lindworm is, so your dwelling and bed may be different from what you’re used to, but I beg you to please bear with us during your stay.”

“Not at all. It will surely be more than adequate for us.”

From what Glenn could tell, most of the houses in the village were built from wood, with grass and straw-thatched roofs. It was something unheard of in Lindworm, but once he looked up at the walls of the steep bluffs along the river, it became clear why the harpies didn’t make their houses from stone.

There were many small huts built into the side of the bluffs, as if they had been glued to the rock wall. The wooden houses had been constructed using small protrusions that jutted from the bluff as their foundations. The harpies flitted to and fro among the small huts built into the cliffside with ease, but anyone without wings would have found it impossible to get into any of the houses. Built into the side of a cliff as it was, this village was obviously made for those who could fly through the air.

Glenn casually glanced over to Sapphee next to him.

She had the same serious expression she always wore, but her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was gripping her shoulders in her hands. Glenn imagined that the chill winds that blew into the village from the mountaintops were difficult to handle for someone weak to the cold like her. If their clinic building was also made out of wood, Glenn imagined their temporary abode was going to be much cooler than it was back in Lindworm.

Glenn took off his white coat and, without a word, draped it over Sapphee’s shoulders.

“Doctor?”

“It’s fine, just wear it.”

Sapphee didn’t say anything back to Glenn, but with a slight smile, she took hold of the coat.

“Now then, we are going to go get a look at Kay’s injuries,” Glenn said. “What about you, Miss Tisalia?”

“I have something I need to discuss with the village elder—it’s regarding a business deal of ours.” Her words implied that the conversation would be a private one for just the two of them and she gave a wink to the village elder. Glenn watched the deep nod that the village elder gave Tisalia in return and thought to himself that there must have been some sort of previous negotiation between the two of them.

“Lorna,” Tisalia said, “go with the doctor. I’m worried about Kay, too.”

“Understood, Mistress.”

Glenn was reassured to have her with them. Without saying a word, Lorna started walking out in front as though she were Glenn’s guide. Judging from her movements, Glenn suspected that Lorna had also been to the village on a number of previous occasions.

The dwellings built into the bluffs were the harpies’ places of residence. As such, the residences built at the base of the ravine were for children, the elderly, or harpies who were too sick to fly. Buildings for guests could also be found there, prepared for visiting species that had no wings of their own.

They were still following Lorna’s lead when the dwelling the harpies had prepared for them finally came into view. The carriage Glenn and Sapphee had ridden in was stopped nearby. The building they were to stay in was made out of wood, but its round and sturdy-looking pillars and grass-thatched roof made it look like it had been conscientiously created. It was a splendid building, one that wouldn’t compare unfavorably with houses made of stone.

“Excuse me,” Glenn said and entered the house.

Already, the fairies they had brought with them from their clinic were organizing their equipment and running around the inside of the house. Glenn was grateful that he could leave the miscellaneous tasks like cleaning up the examination tools and equipment to the hardworking helper fairies. It meant that he could devote all of his efforts to examining and treating patients.

The building was spacious, with a bedroom and a simple kitchen. It didn’t seem like they would have a difficult time living there. In addition, there had been a number of beds prepared for the patients. The space left nothing to be desired.

It was a grave situation that there wasn’t a doctor in the village. They had all the necessary equipment, as well as buildings like the one he was now in, but had no one who could diagnose and treat harpies.

“This could be quite a nice place for us to live, Dr. Glenn,” Sapphee said. “The two of us could stay here quietly, and without Dr. Cthulhy around to interfere…”

“We have patients waiting for us back in Lindworm. You know we can’t do that.”

“I know.” Sapphee pouted her lips and sulked.

The clinic back in Lindworm currently had a sign on the door saying they weren’t seeing any patients while they were gone. It informed his regular patients that while Glenn was away on his trip to the harpy village, they should visit the Lindworm Central Hospital. The director there was Glenn’s teacher, Cthulhy, and he felt it was fine to leave his patients in her care while he was gone.

Kay was sleeping in one of the rooms prepared for the patients admitted into Glenn’s makeshift clinic. But she wasn’t sleeping on the bed. It appeared it had been too small for her large build, so she was lying on her side on some straw that had been spread out over the floor. She woke when they came in.

“How are you feeling, Kay?” Lorna asked. With her companion injured, she had accompanied Glenn and Sapphee with a blank, unchanging expression.

“I just twisted it. You don’t need to worry.”

“I don’t think so,” Glenn said. “When you consider a centaur’s weight, falling down can put a significant amount of strain on the body, and it’s very likely that bones may be broken. It’s not something to take lightly.”

“Doctor, honestly, you’re exaggerating… Ow!” Kay gave a big smile but appeared to still have some pain as her expression quickly changed into a grimace.

Given her condition, Glenn was beginning to think that his trip away from the clinic might have to last even longer. With her legs like this, Kay wouldn’t be able to go down the mountain, and they couldn’t just leave her behind in the village. It was only the beginning, but it seemed that Glenn’s visit already had many difficulties lying ahead.

“Well, then,” Sapphee said, “it seems we’ll be starting work immediately. Doesn’t it, Dr. Glenn?”

“Indeed, it does.”

Glenn gently touched Kay’s legs. He had been right after all. He felt heat around her fetlock—the joint between her knee and her hoof. It appeared that area was the one affected.

“Now, then—I will begin my examination.”

 

***

 

There was nothing unusual about Kay’s bones. Glenn could sense heat and see swelling at her fetlock joint, and Kay herself seemed to be in pain, but she had no difficulty in moving it. Glenn thought there wasn’t any reason to worry about her having a broken bone.

“I’m going to move your leg a little.”

“Okay… Um, gently please, Doctor.”

“Of course.”

Glenn slowly started to put strain on her fetlock. Her leg was covered in lustrous chestnut hair, and her coat made one want to pass one’s hand over it forever. Glenn had no doubt that she took care to properly brush herself all the way down to the bottom of her legs.

Gradually, Glenn started to bend her leg left and right.

“Augh!”

“Here it is. It does look like a sprain after all. The leg’s twisted outwards.”

“Unh, ah!”

“It doesn’t seem to have any impact on the ligament. It’s probably just the joint, isn’t it?”

“D-Doctor…! Th-that area… It hurts!”

“Oh, of course, sorry.” Stopping at Kay’s cries, Glenn took his hands off her in a panic.

Although her leg was sprained, the amount of pain she felt was still excessive. Glenn thought that it must have gotten quite severely twisted. The fact she hadn’t ended up with any broken bones was a lucky consolation.

Her firm and resolute expression was just the same as always, but Glenn thought she was surely exerting herself quite a bit to look so calm and composed.

“You will definitely need to stay in bed and rest for a sprain this severe.”

“I-If there are no bones broken, then I can walk… Ah, ow!”

“See? Right after I told you, too.”

After that, Glenn, Sapphee, and Lorna all recommended that Kay get some rest. If she forced herself to walk around, it would only take her longer to fully heal. However, if she stayed in bed, a compress and pain medication would be more than enough to treat the sprain.

Glenn’s diagnosis was that she would be fully recovered in half a month.

“Fortunately, it seems the hot springs in the village are currently active,” Glenn told Kay, sticking a compress to her front leg and wrapping a bandage around it so she wouldn’t put any unnecessary stress on it.

With her legs elevated, Glenn left the limbs as they were. He had lifted up her skirt slightly; if someone were to see them, they would have doubtless misunderstood what was going on—No, no, Glenn thought to himself. This was nothing more than an examination. There was nothing wrong with the way he worked.

“If you can take a dip in the hot springs, do so—it should hasten your recovery. For now, please rest.”

Lorna smiled profoundly and said, “While you’re gone, Kay, I’ll make sure to look after our mistress.”

Glenn was sure that Kay was finally able to relax after seeing her partner nod after that statement, filled with confidence and resolve.

“In that case, I’ll treat this as an opportunity to take a vacation and take it easy. Make sure you don’t fail in your duties, Lorna.”

“Of course. Leave it to me, Kay.”

Lorna put her hand across her chest and gave a smile full of confidence.

 

***

 

With this, Kay slept tucked under a layer of straw in a corner of the makeshift clinic.

As their first admitted patient of the trip, Glenn would have liked to properly keep watch over her, but he couldn’t just focus his efforts on Kay. There were still many harpies in the village waiting for him to treat them.

An expecting mother almost ready to lay her eggs and looking almost full to bursting. A young harpy that had fallen out of the sky and broken their right arm. An old woman complaining of a pain in her back, and a child who had been stricken with a cold that was going around. In just the first day, the patients came in one right after another.

Glenn was busy enough that he thought his eyes would spring straight out of his head.

“You’re quite popular, aren’t you, Doctor?” Sapphee jokingly whispered into his ear.

While Glenn had come prepared, he found himself even busier than he had imagined. Dealing with the injured and prescribing medicine to the sick, Glenn managed a large amount of work.

Sapphee was just as busy as Glenn. She had to create various kinds of medicine for the different patients, but she was able to do several jobs at once, writing down the patients’ charts with her right hand, selecting the necessary medicinal herbs with her left, and using her tail to handle the mortar and pestle. She hummed along as she completed the various medications.

On top of all that, she was adept at directing and commanding the servant fairies and was many times more efficient than Glenn was at his work. Everything from guiding patients to the examination rooms to handling their final payments was in her realm of control.

Even without the fairies, the fact that just the two of them could manage the clinic themselves was largely because of Sapphee’s competency.

Furthermore, rumor was spreading around the village that a doctor had arrived, and that brought guests to the clinic who weren’t patients at all.

“Doctor!”

“Oh, it’s the doctor! Hello!”

As dusk approached, a group of young harpy girls came to impose on the clinic.

Glenn recognized them. These were the young harpies who had been taken by the slave traders on the Merrow Waterways. Of all the harpies who had been freed, these girls were the ones without any home to return to, who had been taken in by the village. Back then, they all looked sickly and were trembling in fear, but now the young harpy girls all looked at Glenn with bright, healthy smiles.

Their shrill cries echoed in the clinic. Harpy voices carried for long distances to begin with, but their current cries were even higher than normal.

The feathers on the harpies all had a glossy sheen to them. Completely different from their time in imprisonment, it appeared to Glenn that they were all in perfect health.

“…You’re quite popular—huh, Doctor?” With the harpy girls coming in one after another to say hello to Glenn, Sapphee’s mood now seemed to be much worse as she spoke to him.

Pacifying the enraged Sapphee, her veins bulging out of her forehead, Glenn finished up the first day of work at their makeshift clinic.

It didn’t need saying, but he was exhausted. He felt this was partly due to the fact they had quickly jumped right into their medical work after the long journey without a moment’s rest.

Sapphee, however, was not showing any exhaustion from the trip and worked energetically in the clinic. While Glenn knew that he needed to follow her example, he couldn’t do anything to get rid of his sense of fatigue.

“It’s because it’s the first day,” Sapphee told Glenn. “At first it might be hectic, but it will slowly calm down. Once it does, we’ll be able to take a break.”

“It’d be nice if it played out like that…”

With just the first day as an indicator, Glenn could already tell that there were even more patients than he had expected. That said, properly coping with any emergency patients was the very purpose of his job as a doctor. Illness and injury didn’t strike only when it was convenient for Glenn.

On top of that, patients always seemed to come just as he was starting to think to himself that things had quieted down a bit. If he weren’t prepared for such occurrences, he wouldn’t be able to help his monster patients.

Glenn focused his mind again on the work ahead of him.

 

***

 

A few days had passed since Glenn had arrived in the village.

Just as Sapphee had said, the foot traffic through the clinic had gradually tapered off. With it, Glenn had more opportunities to take a break. However, even with that being the case, Glenn certainly wasn’t taking any sort of long and relaxing periods of rest.

Whether he realized it himself or not, Glenn was a workaholic.

When the patients coming to his temporary clinic dropped in number, he thought about how there might be patients who couldn’t walk of their own accord. That was just his personality.

As such, Glenn carried his personal medical bag and made visits all over the village, enough to become acclimated to the village itself. Again, this was simply how Glenn was—he had a tendency to work excessively, unable to stop even if someone else tried to make him.

Unable to go outside very easily, Sapphee stayed in the clinic and examined patients. Having a broad and general knowledge of medicine, she had become accustomed to managing the clinic while Glenn was gone. Even there in the village, she (along with the fairies) had immediately been entrusted with looking after the clinic while he was out.

Just like back in the city, Glenn rushed about the village so he could begin to verify that all of the harpies there were properly healthy and not suffering any ailments or injuries. What concerned him was the reason he had come to the village in the first place—the harpy, Illy, whose feathers had fallen out and who was no longer able to fly. Glenn had tried many times to meet with Illy, but it seemed she was despondent and said she didn’t want to see Glenn.

She must have been in a considerably terrible condition to not want to see a doctor—or at least, that’s what Glenn thought. He had heard that the village elder had tried to persuade her a number of times to show her condition to Glenn, but Illy herself was persistent in saying she didn’t want to be seen.

Glenn hoped that he would be able to examine her before long, but until then, he could only run about the village frantically.

Tisalia could be seen frantically pacing about, as well—all over the village. Glenn initially assumed she had some sort of work to do for Scythia Transportation. However, immediately after talking with the village elder and meeting with each of the village’s leaders, she would stare up at the harpies’ huts on the precipices of the bluff.

Tisalia’s passion for her work was similar to Glenn’s.

Glenn wasn’t worried about Tisalia as she ran about the village—instead, he was concerned about one of her attendants.

“Miss Lorna?” Glenn called out to the centaur, who was standing alone in the village.

“Oh, if it isn’t Dr. Glenn…”

“What’s the matter? Standing out here alone like this…” As far as Glenn knew, Lorna was never alone.

Usually, she could be found accompanying her mistress Tisalia, working on something with Kay, or together with the both of them. Seeing her standing there by herself, Glenn had felt something was off and called out to her because of it.

“No, I’m not alone. I’m with my mistress.”

“I don’t see her around…”

“I’ve just lost sight of her a little, that’s all… Honestly, no matter how much my mistress grows up, she still has some childishness left in her.” Lorna chuckled. Her behavior was ladylike and graceful. Judging by her mannerisms alone, she seemed perfectly normal. And yet…

In reality, the harpy village was small. Small enough that it was very difficult to think one could get lost there.

Naturally, there were many huts projecting out from the bluffs, with many harpies coming and going through the air. Even at that very moment, there were harpies flying over Glenn’s head. They glided from bluff to bluff. Glenn could almost hear them cutting through the wind. Indeed, the village was full of life. However, this was only true of the area where the harpies flew in between the two bluffs. On the ground, things were a bit more quiet. There were at most twenty dwellings at the bottom of the ravine for those who were unable to fly. The space between the two bluffs certainly wasn’t large enough for one to get lost in.

All in all, it made Glenn wonder just how likely it was that Lorna could “lose sight” of her mistress here, when she was always hovering closely behind Tisalia.

“How is Kay doing?” Lorna asked, ignoring Glenn’s puzzlement.

“Uh… Well, there haven’t been any problems in particular. She’s sleeping in the temporary clinic, reading books, and the like. Sapphee’s been bringing her to the hot springs, and they seem to be having a curative effect on her.”

Kay was being an obedient and proper patient.

Well, not exactly, Glenn thought. Occasionally, she would complain that she wanted to practice with her sword, or other warrior-like sentiments, but these were few and far between. It seemed that Kay understood well enough that taking it easy and getting lots of rest was the best way for her injuries to heal.

“This might be a rude question to ask, but—” Glenn thought this was a good opportunity and decided to ask Lorna something that had been on his mind for a while.

“What is the relationship between you and Kay? You’re not…sisters, right?”

“Are you curious? Oh, Doctor, come now.”

Lorna gave a suggestive smile. The bewitching look wasn’t something one would see when she was beside the lively, vigorous Kay.

“We’re war orphans.”

“Orphans…?”

“That’s right. Since centaurs have a long history of working as mercenaries, it is our custom to take in children who’ve lost their parents. The orphans aren’t just taken in as normal children, though—they are raised as attendants and soldiers. People may call us warmongers, but it’s one reason we have continued to exist to this day.”

It was a world Glenn knew nothing about, but the rule among the centaurs was to esteem death on the battlefield. There were naturally many who died in battle, and for this reason, it wasn’t at all strange for there to be children who had lost their parents. Glenn thought it was probably inevitable that a culture developed where orphans were raised by a specific family.

In other words, the children without parents were raised together by everyone. However, Glenn wondered why the children were then taken in as attendants. Then it occurred to him that this might have been to avoid entangling the orphans in disputes of succession and inheritance.

“Since we were taken in as orphans by a prestigious family like the Scythia, serving our mistress is the purpose of both my life and Kay’s.”

Lorna showed no hesitation in her eyes. Glenn felt a sharpness in them, like an arrow flying straight and true through the air. He thought he caught a glimpse of something sinister and ominous in the gaze of the bodyguard maid.

“We were personally raised by the current steward of the Scythia Company. He was our adoptive father, and Kay and I took his last name. My full name is Lorna Arte.”

“Is that so?”

“Since she was taken in before, Kay Arte became my older sister, but…I’ve never really thought of her as an older sister. She has a bit of a mischievous streak in her, after all.”

Lorna with her well-bred, somewhat mysterious air. Kay with her plain, somewhat prophetic and philosophical awareness. The two struck a good balance, and Glenn imagined that this was precisely why Tisalia had put her trust in both of them and why the two of them cared so deeply for their mistress.

And now…

Kay was not at Lorna’s side. Glenn wondered if the accident had caused their harmonious balance to come undone. Lorna’s tone of voice was absolutely unchanged from her normal way of speaking, but there was still some part of it that made Glenn feel like she was restless.

“Lorna!”

The sound of hooves came from behind Glenn.

Tisalia was rushing over to where he and Lorna stood.

“Lorna! What are you doing over here?! Oh hello, Dr. Glenn.”

“I was just asking the doctor about Kay’s condition,” Lorna said. “But I should be asking you, Mistress: How did you end up getting lost?”

“You’re the one who’s gone and gotten herself lost! The moment I take my eyes off you, you go wandering off in a daze!”

“…Huh?” Lorna quirked her head at Tisalia’s scolding, as if she had no idea what she was talking about.

Tisalia put her head in her hands, unsure what she should do. Lorna didn’t seem to understand why her mistress was acting this way, instead looking even more vacant and absentminded than before.

Glenn thought to himself—could this situation be even graver than I imagined?

 

***

 

“Lorna is acting strange! Very strange!”

That night, Tisalia visited Glenn and Sapphee’s borrowed hut.

“Honestly!” she shouted. “How did it get this way?! What could have happened…?”

Munch.

“How about you choose between angrily ranting or eating your food?” Sapphee said calmly.

“I’m not angry!” Tisalia rebutted. She didn’t appear to be mad, per se, but rather seemed unsure about what she should use as an outlet for her emotions.

Glenn stared at Tisalia with a troubled look on his face.

She had timed her visit to arrive just as they were switching the sign on the clinic to closed for the day. Before Glenn could ask her what her business was, a loud growling had come up from her stomach, so he had proposed they all eat something for the time being and indeed…it appeared that she had been quite hungry. She had engrossed herself in gulping down the salad Sapphee prepared for the horsewoman princess.

Centaurs were heavy eaters.

Nevertheless, they were vegetarians, and didn’t consume anything besides vegetables and greens. However, vegetables were an inefficient source of the nutrients necessary to support centaurs’ active bodies and high metabolism. As a result, they ate huge amounts of food at once. Even at the large Alraune Plantation, the customers were primarily centaurs. There were some other vegetarian races of monster, but in general, the centaurs were the most voracious eaters.

Tisalia easily devoured a large plate overflowing with salad. It had nothing but dressing on it for seasoning. For omnivores like lamia and humans, it was a very difficult diet to understand.

“Absolutely delicious. You’re pretty good at cooking, Miss Sapphee.”

“That’s just because I make Dr. Glenn’s meals for him every day. If the doctor is left on his own, he’s quick to start skimping out on his food.” Sapphee thrust out her chest in pride, but even Glenn would have been able to cut up the vegetables needed to make something as simple as a salad. He didn’t feel like it was anything for her to act so superior over.

“Hmph,” he said. “Perhaps I should start studying how to cook…”

“More importantly…” Sapphee turned her sharp gaze to Tisalia, looking annoyed. “What business did you have with us? I’m sure you didn’t just come here for dinner, correct?”

“Oh no, you’re right. I came here to intrude on you for dinner.” The honest Tisalia held out her plate as though she were asking for seconds. Glenn didn’t overlook the twitch in Sapphee’s eyebrows that appeared with Tisalia’s words. “That’s because, you see…lately, my meals have been strange.”

Sapphee was silent, but Tisalia still went ahead and took a heaping portion of salad for herself and began eating again. It was true after all—a centaur’s appetite was far beyond normal.

“What’s been strange about them?” Sapphee asked.

“Lorna is making them for me, but…she uses the wrong seasonings, and while I’m eating, she seems to have her head in the clouds. To top it all off, she cut herself with her knife. She’s been practically the definition of clumsiness.”

“Is that…really true?” Glenn couldn’t imagine the Lorna he knew acting in such a way.

Then again, when he thought back to earlier that day, perhaps it wasn’t as hard to believe as he had first thought. In the harpy village, which was far too small for anyone to get lost in, Lorna had been standing absentmindedly by herself. After seeing how Tisalia scolded her after the fact, Lorna was clearly the one who had been lost.

After completely devouring the second plate of salad, Tisalia wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Absolutely true! I haven’t had a single proper meal since we’ve gotten here! Miss Sapphee’s cooking, though, is delicious… Truly splendid!” Her reply was so spirited that it seemed she might burst into tears of gratitude.

“I only put dressing on some raw vegetables…” Despite saying this, it seemed that Sapphee wasn’t at all displeased with the repeat praise for her cooking, and her tail swayed slowly side to side. It was proof of her good mood. As shown in her reaction, she had an unexpected side to her that made her prickliness easy to deal with. Praising her for her housework was a prime example of this.

Tisalia stiffened her expression and turned to Glenn. “Anyway, it’s obvious that there is something weird going on with Lorna! At this rate, I won’t be able to eat for the rest of the trip!”

“Well, I don’t know about that…”

“On top of it all, she even makes mistakes when changing my clothes! And she kept making irrelevant, off-topic comments during my business meeting with the village elder. Our work isn’t moving forward whatsoever! What in the world could be happening to Lorna, I wonder?”

“Business meetings?” Glenn said. “Now that you mention it, what were you discussing with the village elder?”

Tisalia threw out her chest as if she had been eagerly expecting Glenn’s question. Her hefty breasts swayed ostentatiously.

“Yes, our business negotiations. This is my very reason for coming all the way here. Within Scythia Transportation, there’s been talk of partnering with the harpies and establishing an air transportation branch of the company.”

“Air transportation?”

“By hiring the harpies with their splendid flight ability, we can create a service specializing in express delivery and messenger services. With such an addition, we can expect to have even greater profits.”

“I see…”

Glenn couldn’t help but be impressed. It certainly sounded like a good idea to him.

By pulling carts, the centaurs were able to transport humans and large loads of cargo. However, they couldn’t adapt at all to new circumstances. When they were tasked to quickly deliver a small package, it was inefficient for them to dedicate a whole carriage to one item.

That’s where the harpies came in. Flying in the air, free from the restrictions that came with road travel, they could readily deliver packages in a short amount of time. While flying through the air meant carrying heavy packages would be difficult, they would be prompt at delivering letters and small parcels.

Glenn immediately thought to himself about how this might affect his own clinic.

For example, he could promptly receive notice of a patient in need of emergency care and rush out to the scene far quicker than usual. Also, if the harpies delivered letters, he could send diagnoses to places like the harpy village where there was no doctor and would be able to just send the necessary medicine as needed. That kind of service would be quite beneficial for him when treating patients.

“An air transport service specializing in speed and affordability,” Tisalia continued. “To make it happen, we’re speaking with the village elder and currently negotiating whether or not we would be able to hire harpies that want to work for our company.”

“I see. I think that’s a great idea.”

“From the beginning, Scythia Transportation has been a single-species operation, and there are many voices within the company who oppose employing non-centaurs, but…I’ve come to quiet that dissent. I believe if we can get results on this trip, the opposition group within the company will grow silent and agree to the idea.”

With these internal affairs swirling about, the representative and only daughter of the company’s owner had deliberately come to the village and moved forward with negotiations. Glenn thought that, since this was the case, Scythia Transportation must be quite serious about the idea. Tisalia was already involved in even the rather detailed, deep parts of managing the company.

He could now see the sense of responsibility and the heavy pressure that was weighing on Tisalia’s shoulders.

“They’re very important business negotiations!” Tisalia said. “And yet, Kay is injured, and Lorna has become so strange! Doctor, can you look at Lorna, as well?!”

“You mean…examine her medically?” Glenn asked. Kay’s sprain was naturally within his specialization. Lorna’s condition, however, was neither an illness nor an injury. Glenn believed it to be something psychological. “Miss Lorna is probably so distracted because her partner Miss Kay isn’t with her… Or rather, she’s worried about Miss Kay’s injuries… Right?”

Tisalia nodded. “In all likelihood, that’s what I think the problem is.”

“In which case, there’s nothing you can really do but wait until Miss Kay’s sprain is healed…”

Sprains tended to be regarded lightly but could be a surprisingly troublesome injury to have. Whether human or monster, a patient’s sense of their own body was less correct than one might have thought. With the pain of the sprain gone, one might think they were better and could return to living the same way they had before their sprain. That was not the case, however, as there was the possibility that they might lose feeling in their previously injured limb and fall—causing yet another sprain to occur.

It was a doctor’s job to closely monitor the progression of the sprain and determine when it was completely healed. The worst that could happen was for someone uneducated on the subject to decide the injury had healed when in truth it hadn’t.

“In that case, I’ve truly lost it all!” Tisalia said. “I can’t bear to have both Kay and Lorna not doing their jobs!”

“You can manage without any attendants, can’t you?” Glenn asked.

“Absolutely out of the question! It’s impossible for me to live without my attendants! Up until now, Lorna and Kay have even helped me tie my hair and change my clothes!”

“Do it yourself,” Sapphee stated flatly, in response to Tisalia’s spoiled remarks.

Sapphee wasn’t simply being cold to Tisalia. There were just some things that they couldn’t do as doctors. What aid could they give to a vacant, absentminded centaur who was worried about her companion? At most, they could talk to her about it and do their best to watch out for her.

On the other hand, Glenn thought, there was no way to quickly heal Kay’s sprain. It was best for her to soak herself in the hot springs when able and to stay in bed—which was exactly what Kay was doing.

“In that case,” Tisalia said, “I guess I have no other choice.” With a thump, she placed something on top of the table. It was a bottle.

A label was glued onto the bottle, marked with a crest that depicted a large, blooming rose. Glenn recognized the crest and wondered where Tisalia had even been hiding the bottle in the first place.

“How is this, then?! It’s from my company’s reserve! The highest quality white wine, made with the grapes of the Alraune Plantation! It’s a special vintage—only ten bottles are produced a year! I’m offering it to you!”

“We will absolutely help. No, please—let us help,” Sapphee answered immediately, her eyes dazzled by the lure of alcohol.

“Hold on a second, Sapphee…” Glenn said.

“It’s an Alraune white wine! This chance may only come once in a lifetime! You can’t let this opportunity pass you by!” Tisalia said. She appeared to be weak but was quite determined. Glenn thought that she must have deliberately brought the bottle as a secret plan to ask for Sapphee’s help. As was to be expected of the sole heiress representing her company, she seemed to have gotten the better of Sapphee in her negotiations.

However, Glenn was still calm and collected.

Whether they were given expensive wine or not didn’t change the fact that there wasn’t anything they could do to treat Lorna. However, it didn’t seem that Sapphee was going to be convinced, having already taken the bottle of wine and coiled her tail around it so no one would take it from her.

“Doctor.” Tisalia seemed to have realized that Glenn was still hesitating. Her gaze was aimed directly ahead and pierced through Glenn. “You might have heard already, but Kay and Lorna were originally orphans.”

“Oh, yeah. A little bit, a while back.” Glenn evaded the question without mentioning it was something he had just happened to ask about earlier that afternoon. He thought that if he told Tisalia he had broached such a serious topic in passing small talk, she would only take offense.

“The three of us were raised almost like sisters, ever since we were little. But in the end, I’m still their lady, and they are my attendants. There are surely things that they can’t share with me but that they share in common between themselves. There are some things I cannot join them in.” Tisalia’s words had a tinge of loneliness to them.

In truth, Tisalia wanted to connect with them like sisters and as friends.

However, she would forever be unable to have such a comfortable relationship. For Tisalia, her lineage and social status were her source of pride. Even without being told, keeping one’s status in mind was something that was imposed on her. Considering how she had looked earlier in the day, Lorna and Kay also had a line they didn’t cross with their mistress.

“It’s an old centaur custom,” Tisalia explained, “but it’s said that on long-distance marches, there were many people who would get injured and become unable to run. Speed is paramount for a centaur soldier; they have to move as quickly as possible. But if you become injured and can’t do that… Well, at times like that, low-status soldiers are then forced to commit suicide. Those with status could also be forced to end their own life—but with their mistresses helping by beheading them. That’s how it used to be.”

“Centaurs did things like that…? But why?”

“Being captured by the enemy was shameful. And slowing the march because of your own injury was also shameful. It’s a bad tradition born entirely out of the centaur’s proud nature. There are many stories left behind of splendid officers and soldiers being lost and defeated in battles because of that sort of pride.” Tisalia laughed and added, “That’s why nowadays, it’s a custom that’s long been done away with.”

Glenn understood what Tisalia was saying—if it had been a different time, Kay might have ended up beheaded by Tisalia’s own hands. Glenn couldn’t even imagine the feeling of being killed by the master one had sworn their loyalty to, nor could he imagine the other side of the situation—killing the subordinates who had placed their trust in you.

“We’re in an age of peace now, and that’s why it’s something that’s no longer necessary. But Lorna knows this custom very well, and that’s why she’s lost her head so much after Kay’s injury.”

Nothing more than a sprain—but that wasn’t entirely true.

In a different time, it would have been a severe injury that dictated one’s life or death. At the very least, that’s how it would have been for a centaur.

“I’m begging you, Doctor. Please do something.” Both Tisalia’s gaze and her words were honest and straightforward.

Her earnest request was one that would have moved just about anyone, but Glenn was touched, for the centaur’s words had no ulterior motives—or anything of the sort—in them. Glenn even thought that by being this straightforward, it actually seemed like she was the one being tricked and taken in.

“…Okay. I’ll accept.”

“Really?”

“Yes… In the end, I can’t bear to let her stay as she is, either. Are you listening, Sapphee?” Glenn addressed his assistant as she was merrily putting away the expensive wine.

She didn’t look up as she replied. “I’m listening. It sounds tough, but I hope you’ll do your best, Doctor.”

With her being taken in by the wine, Glenn wanted to make sure she was going to do her best.

Tisalia looked between Glenn and Sapphee for a few moments, and then finally stood up with a deep bow. “I’m putting all of my trust in both of you.”

 

***

 

Glenn had accepted the task.

However, that didn’t mean he had any sort of bright ideas. There was nothing else he could do about the situation, so in the meantime, he pored over every medical book relating to centaurs that he had brought with him from the clinic. In the next few days that followed, whenever he had down time between examinations, he would chase after the complicated words and charts in the books.

“We didn’t really bring many medical books with us, did we, huh…?”

They had brought the books they did have with them as a precaution, in case they came across a case they didn’t have much experience with. However, they hadn’t been able to pack very many books into the carriage, as taking too many would have caused trouble for Tisalia when she pulled the cart.

On the other hand, when he thought about whether he’d find a good solution even if he did return to Lindworm, Tisalia’s request remained a difficult one.

“It’d be nice if I could ask Dr. Cthulhy for advice…” His former teacher, Cthulhy Squele, came to mind.

She was a female scylla, an aquatic species of monster. With her impressive intellectual looks and lower body made up of eight tentacles, she could generally handle anything that came her way. Glenn believed his teacher would have been able to deal with Lorna’s current poor condition immediately.

He shook his head and told himself he couldn’t think that way.

If he relied on his teacher after becoming independent, it would mean he was acknowledging his lack of personal growth as a doctor. There was no way someone as strict as Cthulhy would forgive him for being so inexperienced.

Cthulhy had been the one to order him to come up to the harpy village in the first place. What was the point of him coming here if he couldn’t solve the difficult problems he was being confronted with?

“Does it seem like there’s a way to work things out, Doctor?” Sapphee asked, appearing with a basket full of fruit hanging from her tail. The harpies of the village offered the two of them fruits, meats, nuts, and wild mountain vegetables, as well. Whether it was as a thank-you for their services, or they were simply just sharing their food, it seemed that Sapphee had received another gift.

“Nope, not at all.”

“Is it that difficult a problem?”

“It’s not really difficult… Miss Lorna’s absentminded and out of it because of Miss Kay’s injury. Since she is worried about Miss Kay’s sprain, she has become neglectful of a variety of her duties… But knowing all that doesn’t make a difference.”

The problem was that Glenn couldn’t get rid of the cause of her problems.

It would still take some time to treat Kay’s sprain—and on top of that, there were some things that only natural self-recovery could take care of.

“I wonder if, with some pain medicine and a splint…if Kay could walk,” Glenn said. “Even still, she would heal quicker if she just rested in the clinic.”

“I would think that seeing Miss Kay with a splint on her leg would only serve to worry Miss Lorna even further,” Sapphee replied.

“That’s a good point, too…”

As far as Kay’s treatment was concerned, it was best to have her stay bedridden in the clinic as she had been since they had arrived.

“Instead,” Sapphee said, “what about having Miss Lorna stay by Miss Kay’s side and look after her until she’s healed?”

“If we do that, then that would mean Miss Tisalia wouldn’t have anyone to attend to her.”

“She’s already a well-grown adult—she’ll only have more problems if she doesn’t learn to become a little self-sufficient. Can she really do nothing on her own without her attendants?”

“I think she is an incredible person, but she’s still a daughter of a wealthy, influential family… She’ll probably come again to have dinner here, you know?”

Sapphee’s face showed that she was clearly not a fan of the idea. It appeared that being forced to act like Tisalia’s waiter was something that rubbed her the wrong way. Glenn thought that Sapphee was more suited to being the owner of a high-end lounge than being a waitress at some small-town watering hole.

He imagined Sapphee waving a cocktail shaker with her tail and came close to bursting out laughing.

“Miss Lorna seemed to be calm when I saw her, though,” Glenn said.

“If she herself isn’t aware of it, it must be a serious case. That said, Miss Kay is composed and calm even when acting separately from Miss Lorna.”

“I suppose it’s a difference in their personalities.” Even if they had a similar air about them, they were still separate individuals, after all.

Glenn continued to ponder over the situation. Lorna wasn’t sick. If she had some sort of mental depression, then her condition would have been in Glenn’s territory, but she was suffering from something different. She simply had something on her mind and was distracted by it.

A similar case had been recorded in the medical books Glenn brought with him. The book described the centaurs as courageous and well-versed in martial arts, but it also mentioned that they had nervous and cowardly parts to them as well. Glenn thought that this sensitivity might be one of Lorna’s characteristics—and a dominant one.

“Miss Lorna’s rather sensitive, isn’t she?” Sapphee said.

“Careful with how you say that, Sapphee… Someone could misunderstand.”

Sapphee nonchalantly gave an ominous reply: “Smoothing over the fact won’t change anything. Besides, Dr. Glenn—if she’s sensitive, then that means she needs to be dealt with accordingly.”

“Dealt with…?”

“As part of an assassin’s arsenal, medicine can dull and suppress pain in certain situations, and the body becomes able to move even through injury.” Sapphee slipped her tongue out of her mouth with her smile.

For generations, Sapphee’s family had been medicine makers, while also working as assassins in the untold annals of history. There were parts of Sapphee’s knowledge of pharmacology that originated from the skills and techniques of assassination. Glenn felt a vague sense of fear looking at Sapphee’s smile and her suspicious snake eyes.

However, poison and medicine were two sides of the same coin.

Sapphee was now a splendid pharmacologist. If he didn’t have the anesthesia she administered when it was time to perform surgeries, Glenn wouldn’t even be able to operate.

Glenn thought to himself that this was a subtle hint on how to solve the problem from his old teacher’s senior pupil.

“You don’t… You’re not actually saying to use drugs, right?”

“There isn’t any need to go that far,” she said. “If she is concerned about things around her, you just need to close off those surroundings.”

Close off those surroundings…

It all made sense to Glenn after hearing those words. A solution to the issue had appeared. He wondered if Sapphee had only pretended to get drawn in by the high-quality wine—perhaps she had her eyes on the proper treatment long ago.

If that were the case, she should have told him sooner, Glenn thought, until he realized something. Sapphee was purposely giving her suggestion in a roundabout way so Glenn would come to the solution himself. It must have been her way of telling him to find the answer on his own—her form of encouragement.

Glenn felt ashamed. Sapphee was nothing more than a pharmacologist. Even if he left the medicine up to her, he was still the only doctor. If he were always turning to his teacher or his teacher’s more experienced pupil for help, his position would be meaningless. He was the only one who could properly treat both Kay and Lorna.

In this village without any doctor, he was the only one who could heal those around him.

“But you know, Sapphee, if you had intended to accept Tisalia’s request in the first place, just be straightforward about it. It would make Tisalia happier.”

“Well, obviously I wanted to drink the wine, too.”

Glenn couldn’t help but show exasperation at Sapphee’s shamelessness.

He wondered when she would open up her treasured bottle. He was sure she wouldn’t open it unless it was for an extremely big celebration of some kind.

“Anyway…” he said, flipping through the pages of one of his medical books. “Now, where was it? Here we go.” He finally found the page that detailed a centaur’s growth through childhood.

“Doctor?” Sapphee looked over his shoulder. “Centaur maturation, education…possible disorders and how to treat them? Doctor, what exactly are you planning to do? Miss Lorna is already a grown woman.”

“Well, of course I know that…”

The book contained detailed commentary, along with the charts and images about a centaur’s childhood. Glenn turned the pages even further and read all of the necessary information.

Sapphee tilted her head emphatically. It seemed that even if she understood what was needed to help Lorna, her thought process hadn’t extended far enough to know what method they would use to actually administer her treatment.

This was exactly why it couldn’t be done without Glenn.

As a doctor, Glenn had to be able to do what was asked of him. He needed to be able to treat the patient in the most appropriate way possible in response to the proposal Sapphee had given him.

“Sapphee, can you ask the fairies to deliver a message?”

“What? Oh, y-yes. To whom?”

“To Miss Tisalia. I want to ask her if she has any of these tools with her.”

Glenn pointed to the picture in the corner of the page.

Looking at where he was pointing, doubt and quandary began to fill Sapphee’s snake eyes.

 

***

 

Lorna Arte had always had Kay Arte by her side.

The period of Lorna’s life when she didn’t have her stepsister at her side reminded her of her cruel time as an orphan. Children who lost their parents in a time of war faced suffering that was impossible to try and explain with a single word or sentence.

For Lorna, having Kay with her was proof that she was an employee of the company, her own confirmation of her place where she belonged, and it had the same meaning to her as serving Tisalia did.

Compared to Kay, Lorna had a nervousness and high-strung streak to her. Her personality was one where she would pay attention to many things at once and meddle in this and that. Having such a temperament actually made her well-suited to be Tisalia’s handmaiden, but because of that, she was constantly worrying about one thing or another.

Right now, she was worried about the future of the company.

Eventually, Tisalia would lead Scythia Transportation. In order to do so, Tisalia needed to be married immediately and give birth to an heir.

However, Lorna had no intention of handing Tisalia over to some man from who knew where. She wanted Tisalia to be happy. The future of the company was important, but Tisalia’s feelings needed to be duly considered as well.

Currently, the object of Tisalia’s affection was Dr. Glenn Litbeit, and Lorna honestly thought that he would be a suitable suitor for her. He was a fitting man to take on the responsibilities of the company with Tisalia. Of course, this was all independent of Glenn’s feelings on the matter.

And yet…

Kay was injured. Lorna was surprised at how useless she had become because of Kay’s injury. She was unable to handle her chores or her responsibilities as a bodyguard. She was even absentminded when it came to making the sweets she was usually so good at fashioning. Lorna was more of one heart and body with Kay than she had thought. She had always forced that way of being on herself.

But what made her upset was that it seemed this wasn’t the case with Kay.

While she may have regretted the sprain she suffered, Kay was leisurely recuperating in a corner of the clinic. Lorna knew that this was what recovery was supposed to be like, but seeing Kay blithely ignoring her concerns as she read books and napped made her just as worried.

She thought to herself, Is my partner really fine with all of this?

Even though Lorna had to be so unwavering and resolute herself?

Lorna would unconsciously stop as she walked, her mind vacantly turning to nothing but Tisalia, as her troubles and concerns grew worse and worse.

However—

“Phew…”

The world went dark. Lorna took a deep breath at the fading brightness of her view.

The darkness wasn’t unwelcome. If anything, it made her calm. If she had some herbal tea to go with it, she thought that her mood might relax even further. Her thoughts wouldn’t bother her and if anything, it would begin to clear her head. She wondered to herself what she had even been worrying about.

“How are you feeling, Miss Lorna?” It was Dr. Glenn’s voice.

Lorna couldn’t see him, but she knew that he was close by. Her centaur ears, situated on top of her head, could easily determine where a noise was coming from.

“Can you see in front of you?” he asked.

“Yes, Doctor.” Lorna nodded, straining her eyes.

The calming darkness that washed over her was due to a very thin black piece of cloth. It wasn’t total darkness; she could see through the small loose openings in the cloth’s texture. Even with that being the case, it didn’t change the fact that her eyes were hidden and her field of vision was greatly restricted.

But to Lorna, it was fine. “It’s fantastic…quite fantastic.”

There were too many things in the world bothering her. Her hands were small, only able to do housework and hold a bow. Her attempts to do anything and everything were clearly more than she could handle.

There was only one thing that she was able to do.

What could she do for Tisalia?

What could she give to her?

“…Lorna?” Tisalia said. “Are you okay?”

Lorna could see Tisalia’s face looking at her through the black cloth. She wore an anxious expression, and it was clear that while Lorna was nothing more than her servant, Tisalia still thought of her as family.

Lorna couldn’t express just how grateful Tisalia’s expression made her feel. An unconscious smile appeared on her face.

Now she understood. The explanation was simple: she served Tisalia to keep her smiling and laughing, filled to the brim with confidence and pride. With her eyes covered, Lorna finally remembered what it was that she could do.

For a worrier like herself, she thought that covering her eyes was the perfect solution.

 

***

 

In the range of horse riding equipment, there were masks as well as blinders to conceal the horse’s eyes. They covered their heads and were used by parade horses and warhorses alike. While such equipment was ostensibly used for protection and decoration, it was also used to narrow the horse’s field of vision.

Horses were said to be one of the more delicate members of the animal kingdom. With their three-hundred-and-sixty-degree range of sight, they became shocked or surprised when something unknown came into view. By narrowing their vision, they became aware of only what was directly in front of them. The equipment for achieving this was known as blinkers—or, as already stated, blinders.

Glenn was now trying to take Lorna’s exact measurements.

“Hn… Hgngh!”

Inside the clinic, he had placed a blindfold on her as she sat in front of him. It was made of a thin, black cloth that she could see through to observe what was in front of her. It narrowed her vision and prevented unnecessary things from coming into her view.

In addition to that—

“Ngh… Hn.”

Glenn was forcing Lorna to bite down on a belt-shaped bit fastened around her thin lips. The bit didn’t completely cover her mouth. It was a thin strap, so she experienced very little pain.

Moreover, the straps reached from her neck down her body, where they passed between her breasts and were fixed in various places with metallic rings. It almost looked like a slaver’s restraints, but even with all of the straps running across her body, she didn’t put up any sort of resistance at all.

Since the bit was made from a thin strap, it didn’t prevent her from being able to talk.

“Hahn… Hn, ah!”

“S-sorry, did it feel a little ticklish?”

“N-not at all, Doctor… I’m okay. You could even make the straps tighter…”

“It might hurt if I tighten them any further.”

“I don’t mind. No, actually…that might be better…”

The straps ran all over her body, but her arms and legs weren’t restrained at all. They coiled out from around the waist of the centaur’s upper body.

The blindfold and the gag were all things that Tisalia had had with her. It seemed that they were originally used to punish children and attendants during their education. It was certainly true that having one’s whole body restrained with belts and straps would be a suitable form of humiliation, but—

“Nh!”

“I’m sorry, but could you straighten out your back for me… Yes, just like that. That’s right, that’s good.”

“Nhyah! Nhghn! That’s good!”

Lorna’s body began to react as Glenn fitted the straps across her back. Glenn thought that it would hurt her a little bit, but as he finished, she straightened out her back and had a well-proportioned-looking stature to her.

Mounting everything on her had been no easy feat.

However, the voice that escaped Lorna wasn’t one of agony or anything of the sort. As the one treating her, Glenn was relieved it wasn’t tough to endure, but…he wondered if Lorna’s enjoyment of the treatment wasn’t just his imagination.

“Ahn! Yes, Doctor, right there…!” She was reacting as though she was getting a massage, but Glenn knew it shouldn’t be anything so simple as that. It was restraining equipment after all. “Aaaahh… That’s good…that feels good…”

The restraints weren’t just for handing out punishments. According to Glenn’s medical books, the straps corrected any deformities in the body’s bones and were used to support good posture. Therefore, by using them properly while one is still a child, a centaur can grow up with a properly formed body.

“Ah! Hynaaaaah!”

Glenn didn’t know who had made the restraints he had put on Lorna but wondered if it had been someone well versed in centaur osteopathy. That they could be used on either children or adults by adjusting the length was an excellent feature.

It was a little surprising to Glenn that Tisalia had this equipment and had brought it with them to the village.

“…Child…” Tisalia said.

“Huh?”

“When I was a child…if I did something naughty, my mom would put these on me and scold me. She tells me even now to bring them with me…even though there’s no way I would use them. Well, I guess I did—on Lorna…” Tisalia mumbled to herself with her eyes cast down. For Tisalia, it was most likely not a story from the past she liked to bring up. It seemed that they weren’t to use on Kay and Lorna; instead, they appeared to be Tisalia’s own personal belongings.

In any event, to Glenn, there was no mistaking the fact that the belts would play a role in restraining Lorna’s hypersensitive heart and mind.

Finally, Glenn just about finished putting on the straps. Lorna struck a beautiful figure with her upper body sticking straight up in front of him, blindfolded and gagged, and the straps running across her body…

“How does it feel, Lorna?” Tisalia asked, worried.

At her question, however, Lorna replied by saying, “It’s great… I feel very relaxed. I don’t have to think about anything unnecessary, or really anything at all.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes. My vision is narrow, and my chest is tightened…and you are the only thing I can see, Mistress.” Lorna giggled modestly. It was very hard to believe she was being restrained by the way she was acting.

Even through the thin cloth blindfold, she seemed to be looking squarely at Tisalia.

“It’s outstandingly effective, then,” Tisalia said. “It was so painful for me when I was forced to wear this, though…”

“Th-this is just a guess, but…a lot of it is probably due to Miss Lorna’s individual character and tastes…I think.” Glenn said.

Taking care not to put too much burden on Lorna’s body, Glenn began putting the remaining belts and straps on her, but…judging from the centaur’s reactions, he felt that the more stress he put on her body, the happier she was.

“So being tied up makes her happy?” Tisalia asked, puzzled.

“I-I don’t exactly think that’s it, but… Um, it’s hard to explain, huh…” Glenn thought perhaps he was simply under the illusion she liked it. Lorna certainly seemed like she was enjoying it all, but that didn’t necessarily mean she actually liked being tied up.

Even he only ever felt pain when Sapphee coiled around him. No, wait, he thought. Sapphee was brilliant at applying pressure, so he was sure it hadn’t just been pain. The indescribable feeling of her cold scales gently wrapping around him was—No, no, no, he thought. When Sapphee really wrapped herself around him, there were times he seriously thought his life was in danger, but—

Glenn’s thoughts were beginning to head in a strange direction.

He tried as much as possible not to let his inner turmoil show on his face and finished fitting the restraints on Lorna.

“I’m sorry for asking you to do all of this, Doctor.” Tisalia bowed her head. “But Lorna already seems to be doing better. You are truly reliable, Dr. Glenn… I’m grateful for all of your help.”

“Not at all. There are some things on our end that we’d like to apologize for, as well.” Glenn glanced over at Sapphee in the corner of the clinic. She was concentrating on making a dose of medicine with the help of the fairies. Since she had received the wine, she couldn’t do anything but take responsibility and see things through to the end.

“Hey, Lorna,” Tisalia said.

“Yes, Mistress?”

Tisalia smiled, taking hold of Lorna’s hand. With Tisalia’s forehead almost touching hers, Lorna should have been able to see her face through her blindfold.

“You consulted with Dr. Glenn before about my hoof problem, right?”

“That’s right. We asked him for help.”

“You know, that made me so very happy… Well, getting horseshoes is still somewhat scary to me, but…”

It was rather like Tisalia that there were still parts of her that disliked being shoed.

“I was happy that you and Kay were thinking about me and worried about me.”

“Of course, Mistress. Your happiness is our happiness.”

“About that.” Embracing Lorna, Tisalia whispered in her ear. “I’m the same way, you know. I love the both of you, too, and I want both of you to always be happy.”

“Mistress…” Lorna’s voice was shaken. Glenn couldn’t tell through the blindfold, but she might have actually been moved to tears. Glenn was on the verge of crying himself at the emotional display of love between servant and master when—

He glanced toward Sapphee.

She had interrupted her work of grinding herbs in her mortar and stared at the two centaurs with an indescribable look on her face.

“Sapphee?” Glenn said. “Something wrong?”

“No, just… I was curious, but Miss Lorna’s going to stay like that for a while, right?”

“Oh, yes, that’s what the treatment requires…” Since the problem was with Lorna’s mood, she would stay restrained until she had properly relaxed her mind and calmed down.

“If that’s the case, then Miss Tisalia… She’s going to take Miss Lorna around like that, correct? Going around the harpy village, and negotiating with the village elder?”

“Oh.”

Glenn hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Glancing over to Tisalia, he saw that her eyes were also opened wide in surprise, suggesting that it had been a blind spot for her, as well. However, Lorna put even more strength into her embrace of Tisalia, as if she had no intention of letting go.

“I will accompany you anywhere, Mistress,” she declared, her strong sense of loyalty beating in her chest.

 

***

 

Lorna’s recovery went smoothly.

She was always at Tisalia’s side, just as she had been before they came up the mountain. She no longer stared off vacantly by herself, and Tisalia no longer had to come to the clinic to eat her dinner.

Lorna was once again a sharp, capable servant, as was her nature.

Finding a way out of her restlessness, she was able to do her work without any problems. She efficiently handled all the tasks that needed doing, even in Kay’s absence, and had the energy to do the work of two people all on her own.

Glenn himself hadn’t expected such a dramatic result from the treatment.

Well, he thought, there is one slight problem.

Her appearance.

She was, after all, walking around blindfolded, which made her stick out like a sore thumb. The same was true of Tisalia, who lead her along, and the village elder’s face looked rather stiff upon greeting the pair.

Lorna had her maid outfit on, but Glenn knew that underneath it she was tightly bound by belts and straps. Lorna had listened to Tisalia’s pleas to at least hide the belts under her clothing and the result was moving. Now, Lorna was more vigorous and lively while she worked and seemed to be feeling even better than normal with the restraints on her.

“Lorna’s become quite absurd without me around, hasn’t she?” Kay muttered in astonishment.

The same as ever, she was resting in the bed of straw in a corner of the clinic. Glenn had managed to free up some time and was examining her leg. The swelling had gone down a fair amount, perhaps an effect of her time spent in the hot springs.

As he felt her fetlock area, however, Kay’s shoulders trembled with surprise.

“Ngh! Doctor, that area’s a little too much…”

“It hurts? Hmm… It seems it will still take some time to heal.”

Although her sprain had gotten much better, if she were still in pain, Glenn felt it was better for her to remain bedridden.

“Doctor, can I still not move it at all?”

“Of course. No strenuous exercise. I’d also ask you to stay indoors as much as possible.”

“Maybe I could go peek in and see how my mistress is doing—”

“Absolutely not.”

“Practice swings with my swords, then?”

“Out of the question.”

Glenn couldn’t believe what she was asking to do, considering the condition her sprain was in. Kay gave a long sigh at Glenn’s sharp answers. Both she and Lorna both had a gentle, modest air about them, but Glenn had slowly come to realize something: Kay was usually just feigning her calm, and her real character was actually quite impish.

“Come on, Kay—don’t bother the doctor too much,” Lorna said.

“That’s not something I want to hear from you with that look of yours, Lorna,” Kay replied.

Lorna had scolded Kay for her attitude, but it seemed that seeing Lorna wrapped up in restraints was a difficult sight for Kay, after all. Glenn wondered what she could be thinking, seeing her partner’s body wrapped up in so many belts and straps.

“That’s awfully condescending for someone who’s been injured,” Lorna said.

“You troubled the doctor for his help, too, didn’t you?”

Before Glenn could stop them, a quiet argument began to develop between them.

Glenn changed out the compress on Kay’s leg and tightly wrapped a bandage around it. He did this so that slight movements of her body wouldn’t disturb the area affected by the sprain. When he considered Kay’s personality, he thought it was possible she might slip away and try to practice with her sword, so in order to make sure she would be fine even if that did happen, he bandaged her leg excessively.

He found the quarreling of the two servants somehow charming. If they had the physical strength to bicker with each other, it was proof that they were in good health.

“Aren’t all of those belts too tight?” Kay said. “Is that what you’re into, then?”

“Kay, this is something the doctor has done for me. If anybody’s ‘into it,’ it would be him.”

“Huh?” Glenn said.

“Oh, is that so?” Kay turned to Glenn. “If that were so, Doctor, you should have told us.”

“Right?” Lorna said.

“Um, not, that’s…” The conversation had moved in an uncomfortable direction.

The moment he thought this, he was embraced from behind by Lorna. Suddenly he found himself close to being pushed down into Kay’s chest, which was directly in front of him. Lying sprawled out in the straw, Kay could easily take Glenn in despite being injured. Given how much a centaur weighed, it was simple for them to support a single human’s body weight.

Kay’s breasts were slightly smaller than Tisalia’s, but from a human’s perspective, they were plenty voluptuous enough.

“We still haven’t thanked you—right, Doctor? For treating us…”

“I’ve already received payment from Tisalia, actually…”

“That’s not nearly enough…right? As a thank you, you can do whatever you want to Lorna.”

Glenn was sandwiched between the two similar-looking centaurs, front and back.

This is bad, Glenn thought.

The situation was bound to cause misunderstandings if anyone saw it, and the one who hated these types of things most of all was Saphentite. Glenn was sure she was passing medicine to another patient in a separate room of the clinic, but…they were still in the same building, so he knew that she would quickly take notice of what was going on.

Caught in between the two arena fighters, there was no way he could escape.

“With Lorna as she is now, she won’t put up any resistance,” Kay said.

“That’s right, with all these restraints on me—you know?”

The two of them spoke nothing but lies. Lorna’s arms and legs were completely free, and she had been caring for Tisalia even with her blindfold on. Restraints or no, Lorna would have no problem punishing any sort of insolent wretch that came her way or put up a fight. And yet they were still saying these things to Glenn.

“Hnh, wouldn’t Tisalia…be mad?” he said desperately.

“Tee hee.”

“Heh…heh heh heh.”

Glenn had hoped that bringing their mistress’s name into the conversation would have good results, but the two only laughed at him.

“Our mistress would be mad?”

“That’s right,” Glenn said. “If she found out, it would be a little awkward, wouldn’t it? She does everything fair and square, after all.”

“Fair and square?” Kay asked.

“Yes, in battle,” Lorna replied.

“And in love,” Kay added.

Glenn agreed. If anything, that aspect of her was part of her charm. She confronted everything she faced head-on.

“That’s our mistress’s virtue, but…” Kay trailed off.

“It’s really not suited for matters of the heart, is it?” Lorna asked.

Glenn swallowed. “Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”

“If our mistress…if she marries you, Doctor…”

“We’ll also become your servants, too, won’t we?”

Not that I have any intention of doing that, Glenn thought to himself.

Tisalia often asked Glenn to conduct a marriage interview with her. He always turned her down, saying he was too busy with medical work, but there was a persistence about her that made it seem like she would eventually get her way.

Following up on her words, Kay took Glenn’s hand. With a swift motion, she slipped his hand underneath her clothes. He felt silky smooth skin and soft hair brush his fingertips. He thought it must be her stomach.

Indeed, Kay was sliding Glenn’s hand across her hourglass stomach. He felt the interchanging human skin and chestnut hair, a texture almost impossible to feel on a human’s body. To Glenn, it seemed as if he were being drawn in by the sensation.

“Hn… Phuh.” The breath came from one of the two centaurs—or maybe even both of them—and brushed his ear.

“In our culture, servants are the property of their masters.”

“If you became husband and wife, you would jointly own each other’s property.”

The laws of Lindworm gave proper rights to servants—but it seemed that this was not the case in centaur culture. There were some contexts in which monsters prioritized the rules of their own species over the laws of the city—a favoring that sometimes resulted in altercations and caused trouble.

For example, Glenn thought, like right now.

“Servants become joint property of the husband and wife…”

“And the servants of the wife also serve the husband.”

“In other words, sooner or later we will be your property, Doctor.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you got a taste while you can.”

“Rather, if we did let you get a taste…”

“Wouldn’t our mistress take it very seriously—a mere doctor laying a hand on one of her servants?”

“Oh, I could see that, see our late-blooming mistress acting that way.”

“That’s right, if we create a fait accompli situation, then if anything, Dr. Glenn would have no choice but to marry our mistress.”

The words of the two servants flowed out of their lips one after another, hypnotically.

Their bodies against his felt a little warm, which was no surprise. A centaur’s average body temperature was ninety-nine and a half degrees. Thus, for a human like Glenn, it felt a little warm. Squished between the two, he felt like he was breaking into a fever.

“So you see, Doctor…”

“This is all actually for our mistress’s sake.”

Glenn was seriously in trouble. With this in mind, he reflexively shook them off and escaped from Lorna, standing behind him. He’d thought she would pin him down, but instead she simply let him go.

Seeing both of them giggle, Glenn knew at once that they had been teasing him.

“It was just a joke, Doctor.”

“That’s right—please don’t take it seriously.”

“…That was a little bit of a mean prank to pull,” he said.

“We’re sorry.”

“We won’t do it again.”

“I hope so,” he said, wondering how much he could put his trust in them.

Tisalia only did things fair and square, but he couldn’t say the same of her two attendants. They both appeared ladylike, but Kay was surprisingly active, and though Lorna was a worrier, she was quick to think on her feet. Glenn now knew they weren’t as quiet and well-behaved as they appeared.

“But please don’t forget,” Kay said.

“We’ll do anything and everything for the sake of our mistress, you know?” Lorna said, finishing the sentence.

Glenn wanted to bury his head in his hands.

He was already nervous about avoiding Tisalia’s forward, pushy marriage interview invitations. If her two servants joined in with her, he would run out of ways to escape completely.

He wondered if it had ever been possible for him to escape the three veteran arena fighters in the first place. That said, if he did agree to a marriage interview, he had no clue just how angry Sapphee might get. And if word got to Cthulhy as well, the continued existence of the clinic could very well be in danger.

Glen could imagine Kay and Lorna, in front of him now, saying that if he couldn’t be a doctor anymore, then he could finally be adopted into the Scythia family.

“Someday, the time will come when you become our master.”

“Are you excited for that to happen, Doctor?”

Glenn could only give a twitching, forced smile at the grinning faces of the two women in front of him.

It seemed that the master wasn’t the only one interested in Glenn—her servants appeared to be interested now, too. The fact itself made him happy, but…

Glenn thought that, at the very least, he should try to ask Tisalia—ask her to keep a firm grip on her servants’ reins…and try not to let go.

Although they seemed obedient and quiet, Glenn was sure the awfully unruly pair of horsewomen wouldn’t easily be kept under control.