Case 04: The Golem with Altered Flesh

Case 04:
The Golem with Altered Flesh

The town of Lindworm was surrounded by a giant wall, high enough to tower over monsters such as ogres and minotaurs. It had been erected to allow the town to serve as a fortress and withstand attempted invasions from such beings.

Inside the wall, central Lindworm was divided into districts, but the political jurisdiction of Lindworm also included the harpy village, Aluloona Plantation, and other places outside the wall. Even though it was all considered to be Lindworm, there were differences.

The gates that connected the inside and the outside were also massive. They were made to match the outer wall. Apparently, they had originally only been large enough for humans to pass through, but ever since monsters began living in Lindworm, they’d been remade so any species could pass through.

That day, Glenn Litbeit walked to the northern gate of the town.

“Oh…” He saw the hustle and bustle at the gate and sighed in admiration.

He could hear many residents at the gate, which served as the border of the city proper. There were likely merchants coming and going, gatekeepers inspecting them, and guards watching over them all. There was probably a customs officer checking goods as well.

The duties on food items in Lindworm were cheap, so many merchants brought in specialty items from the mainland. The gatekeepers and guards conducted strict inspections to make sure nothing dangerous, like weapons or poisons, was brought in.

There were also merchants on their way out. Merrow Waterways glass, cyclops-made blades, and arachne silk—all manufactured in Lindworm—were traded everywhere.

Glenn spied a group of armored centaurs, but they were probably the caravan, the pride of Scythia Transportation. They didn’t just transport goods, but also protected the cargo from brigands and bandits, and were thus deemed extremely reliable. Glenn figured that from here, they would cross over the mountains, transporting their cargo to distant lands.

There were also a few who looked like travelers and tourists. The north and west gates led to a mountain road that connected to the monster realm. Monsters could use this road to travel to Lindworm without the hardships of crossing the mountain. Between the arena and canal, tourism was also an important industry in Lindworm.

“Dr. Glenn.”

As he was staring at the checkpoint, he heard a voice call out to him. It was the person he was there to meet.

“I’m sorry to have made you wait. We’ve had our hands full lately.”

“Not at all. I’ve only just arrived myself.”

“Oh, really? That’s all right then.”

It was Kunai Zenow.

Kunai was a flesh golem, made by stitching corpses together. She was the bodyguard of the City Council representative, Skadi, but it seemed that, with her newfound vitality, Skadi had been ordering her around more than usual lately. Maybe that was why her face looked so pale. No—her face always looked like that. And her right arm was cut clean off, just like Glenn had heard.

“I heard you were in the hospital for being overworked. Are you okay now?” she asked.

“It really wasn’t a big deal in the first place. Sapphee finally gave me permission to be up and about, so it’s fine now.”

“Sapphee, huh?” Kunai narrowed her eyes. “Did Sapphee say anything to you when you told her you were coming to the north gate today?”

“Yes, she did… She asked if I was leaving her behind to go on a date with Miss Kunai. She asked where we would be going.”

“And what was your answer?”

“I just told her where we are going. Then she shut up right away.”

“That makes sense.” Kunai chuckled as they went through the gate. Normally, going through the gate required an inspection, but someone with the status of Kunai was able to go through without being bothered. “Who would ever go to a graveyard city on a date?”

***

The official name was Deadlich Graveyard City.

It was often simply called “graveyard city” or “the graveyard district,” and it was located just a little ways from the north gate of town.

To put it simply, it was a mass grave created on the outskirts of the city.

Part of the Vivre River, which flowed down from the mountains, also flowed into the Waterways. The main stream passed through the north side of Lindworm then curved over to the west side of town. The graveyard district was just on the other side of the arch-shaped stone bridge that crossed over the Vivre River.

No human or monster could escape death. There were graves lined up over the hilly area, and many people from Lindworm were buried there. This was the final resting place of townsfolk who had passed away.

But this graveyard in the suburbs also served another function.

“I heard that there are incorporeal monsters, like wraiths and ghosts, and undead monsters, like zombies, skeletons, and liches, living here…”

“Yes, well, perhaps it is a place you wouldn’t normally have reason to visit.”

“Yeah, I guess a doctor’s job ends once the diagnosis is death.” Glenn had examined many patients. And in cases where every means had failed, he’d had to write out death certificates. But after a patient’s death, they were the ward of the undertaker.

“One of the major problems the Draconess faced when she was trying to build a town where humans and monsters could cohabitate was how to handle the undead. She didn’t want to discriminate, but it was easy to imagine certain issues that could arise if they lived in town. For example, the elderly complain that the smells of decay and death are bad omens. Another example is that ghosts tend to haunt residents if they have free time on their hands…”

“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds like nothing but problems.”

The outskirts of Lindworm were just as divided as the inside. Outside the wall, there was the harpy village on the mountain, the Aluloona Plantation that spread over the plains, and the Deadlich Graveyard City located in the hills.

“There are some undead living in town of course.”

“Ahh, yes. There is a zombie named Frank who lives near the clinic.” Glenn recalled a patient of his who came in periodically to pick up preservatives. Frank was a quiet gentleman.

“However, those are the exceptions,” Kunai continued. “They need to groom and take measures against odor, and, even if they do, it’s hard to describe the way the dead are viewed. Even in Lindworm.”

“They’re categorized not in terms of humans and monsters, but in terms of the living and the dead…”

Even Frank, who lived in the town, was a bit of an oddball.

The road that led to the graveyard city was on a slight incline. After a few minutes, they could see a graveyard surrounded by a fence. But this was only a normal cemetery. The residents of Lindworm came here to visit the graves of the deceased. This was the public facade of the district.

The graveyard city that served as living quarters was behind that, in the ruins.

“So, the Draconess turned the unused ruins into a district where the undead could reside—that is, she turned it into the graveyard city. They say it used to be a small village, but no one was living there anymore because of the war. I rent an apartment there, though I rarely use it. I’m usually on night watch for the City Council.”

“Oh, I see.”

Kunai was also one of the undead. There was nothing strange about her renting a home in the graveyard city.

“It’s also easy to see why there is a river between the town and the graveyard.”

“What do you mean?”

“They say that the dead and vampires can’t cross over running water. Of course, it’s only a superstition, but, symbolically, a river is probably the perfect border between the living and dead.”

So, a clear line has been drawn by placing a bridge between them.

At that point, they were just crossing over the stone bridge. Aquatic monsters were fishing and harvesting waterweed. The Vivre River was an important water source for Lindworm, which was located inland.

“Like me, the people who live in Deadlich generally come here to live on their own accord. They figure it’s not good for a city to have too many undead. There are also those who find it more comfortable to be surrounded by beings like themselves.”

The undead. Or, the already dead.

There must be extraordinary hardships that came with such an existence. Glenn felt like he could understand the sentiment of the undead who chose to live on the outskirts of town.

They finished crossing the bridge and continued up the hill. At last, they could see a steel fence and a rotting gate. The area surrounding the gate was overgrown with ivy. A small lizard skittered around as if to greet the guests. It was dark, even though it was the middle of the day. The sky had been clear back in Lindworm, but now it was overcast. Glenn wondered if it was normal for the weather to change so quickly here.

“The darkness is from the miasma. Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s easy for you to say…”

“I’m currently serving as the acting manager for the graveyard city. Nothing will happen to you.”

Creeeeak.

The sound the gate made when Kunai opened it was exactly like the scream of a living being. It was as if the rusted gate was a mouth opening.

“Welcome to Deadlich Graveyard City, the town that doesn’t need doctors.” Kunai spoke as if she were reciting the lines to a play. After she said it, she let out a small cough, like she was embarrassed. “Sorry… My chin and neck are from a deceased theatrical actor. But it doesn’t suit me.”

“Not at all. You were very good.”

“No need for flattery.” Kunai turned away.

They entered the gate, and Glenn saw a town made of ruins. In front of the small square were rotting homes and apartments. There was a stand that seemed to sell food, but its outer walls were peeling, and it didn’t look like it was open.

“The big building in front is called Deadlich Hotel. That’s the only facility that serves tourists, so it’s clean inside. It’s the only place in the graveyard city that outsiders are allowed in.”

“Do tourists actually come here?”

“Sometimes. They come to test their courage.”

Glenn was dumbfounded. It certainly wasn’t the Waterways, but it was a tourist attraction.

Putting his thoughts aside, Glenn surveyed his surroundings.

There was a zombie with a half-rotted body leaving the ruins. He greeted Glenn when their eyes met. His perfectly preserved eyes looked straight into Glenn’s, and it was clear that, even though he was dead, his consciousness was completely intact.

Glenn felt others watching him from the direction of the hotel. When he glanced in that direction, he saw a pair of shining eyes. They were the eyes of a nocturnal animal.

“Don’t stare too much. There has been a family of vampires staying there for about six months.”

“V-vampires?!”

“They’re not the sort to randomly attack people, but they do take notice of fresh blood.” She said this so nonchalantly.

Glenn grew pale. He had heard the people here—well, the undead—lived as they pleased.

“I don’t have any spiritual senses, so I wouldn’t be able to tell, but are there dead spirit monsters like ghosts and wraiths here too?”

“Of course. There’s one in there.” Kunai pointed behind Glenn’s back.

“Er…” Glenn turned around, but no one was there.

He didn’t understand magic, but he trusted Kunai when she said it was there.

It was said that both humans and monsters became ghosts if they died still holding a grudge. In other words, the spirit would escape and go out on its own.

“I can understand that corpses and bones can move because of magic or mystical forces…like you, Miss Kunai. But the incorporeal monsters… I’ve read about them…though I’ve never seen one…”

“That’s their nature. They don’t go out of their way to get close to those who can’t see them, even people they know. Warding off ghosts is the job of priests. Oh, but you should carry this.” Kunai handed him something with her left hand.

It was a small amulet embedded with a jewel. It looked like it was meant to be worn as a pendant around the neck, but there was no string or chain. Glenn had no choice but to put it in the pocket of his white coat.

“It’s a safeguard made by the Draconess. It should put your mind at ease. Be careful not to get possessed by any ghosts.”

“So, this is a dangerous place…”

“Well, it was kept in better order when there was a manager, but now… Well, maybe I should tell you the whole story. Here we are. This is the church.”

They had reached their destination. It was one of many churches Glenn had seen, even in the spooky graveyard city. Moss grew on the stone walls, making it feel ancient, but there were flowers growing in the vase at the entrance, proof that someone had been taking good care of it recently.

Stranger still was the large casket in front of the church door. Of course, it was a graveyard city, so perhaps a coffin wasn’t such a strange sight after all. The casket was brand new.

A new coffin was a bad sign. It meant that someone had died.

“As you can see,” Kunai said, “Deadlich is a disorderly place. When the Draconess made the decision to create a graveyard city, her initial fear was that it would run rampant with beings that threatened the living. Even if it’s on the outskirts, this is still part of Lindworm. We can’t overlook the fact that it’s getting more dangerous.”

“Y-yes.”

“That’s why she left a skeleton in charge. Its role was to maintain order and manage the district as a citizen of the town, even if it couldn’t live in the town. But the other day, the spirit of this skeleton ascended to the heavens. Only its bones are left in that coffin.”

Its spirit… A shapeless concept, but still a sign of life. Were the heart and consciousness also harbored in the spirit?

Glenn didn’t know the answer. To him, as a doctor, life was dependent on the functioning of the body’s organs, starting with the heart and the brain. The flesh of living beings operated through a series of continuous cycles, and living things metabolized, proof of their health.

A person didn’t need a soul to live. When he performed autopsies, there was no soul. And the residents of the graveyard city were living, even if they didn’t have any. Or, perhaps they were living only on their souls. He felt like he was about to fall down the philosophical pit of the meaning of life itself.

“The manager…died?”

“You could also call it ‘nirvana.’ The spirit that was moving the skeleton lost its earthly attachments and disappeared. The only things left now are the bones.”

Kunai opened the coffin. Inside was a white skeleton lying faceup with its hands folded neatly across its chest. There was a large shovel beside it; it must have been a possession of the deceased.

“Now, I have stepped in as temporary manager, but it’s not going as well as before.” Kunai shrugged.

Glenn didn’t know what the job of the manager entailed, but he did know it probably wasn’t a job Kunai would be good at.

“Honestly, the ghosts and wraiths ignore my orders and behave however they want. And I can’t be here all the time… At least the zombies and skeletons listen to me, but…”

“Th-that must be a problem then.”

“Yeah, it’s a big problem. If the atmosphere gets too uncomfortable, the residents will have no problem breaking down the spell barrier. If ghosts get into downtown Lindworm, they’ll cause a huge commotion. I’ve increased security, but…” Kunai put her head in her hands. “I don’t know how the skeleton kept them in order. The only way I know to get people to listen is to hit or kick them… What can I do?”

“What did Skadi say?”

“She said she’ll find a successor as soon as she can. She told me to ‘hang in there.’” Kunai’s face was somber.

Since the orders were from Skadi, she couldn’t just abandon the job, but…there was such a thing as job compatibility. Or lack thereof. Kunai’s only specialty was combat, and she probably had no business doing administrative work.

“D-don’t give up.”

“Yeah.” Her reply was emotionless. But it wasn’t as if a mere doctor like Glenn could get involved in politics. All he could do was offer words of encouragement.

“But…I’m confused by the title. Why ‘manager’? I would understand something like ‘administrator’ or ‘mayor’…”

“It was originally meant to be the manager of Deadlich Hotel, in the center of the graveyard city. My predecessor was great at dealing with customers and tourists, and the hotel was also highly rated. I’m really not much of a replacement.”

“Oh.”

It seemed the graveyard city had its own problems.

“Enough talking. Let’s do what we came here for.”

“Oh, yes.”

The unique sights of the graveyard city had been burned into Glenn’s retinas, and he had almost forgotten why he’d even ended up in this graveyard city—Kunai’s severed arm. It was time for him to get to work.

Kunai closed the lid of the casket that held the previous manager and turned to the back of the church. Glenn followed her.

“Ohh!” Glenn cried out at what he saw.

“This is the dead flesh I collected for today. What do you think? Not bad, right?” Kunai seemed proud of herself.

In the backyard of the church was a pile of dead flesh. A mountain of right arms, indiscriminate of age or gender, towered over them.

“Does it make you feel ill?”

“N-no…” This was the reason he had come.

Kunai Zenow had buried the right arm she’d been using up to that point in the ground. According to her, even dead flesh harbored something like a soul. After gently burying whichever part of her she had previously used, she searched for dead flesh to replace it on her body.

Glenn’s job today was to procure and attach Kunai’s new right arm.

“There are so many…”

“I’m not the only one. Many undead use corpses. The old manager stored the unburied corpses in the church and supplied them to the undead when necessary, as well as to me. Many times…” Kunai trailed off.

“Is that so? Wow! This arm has been preserved perfectly.”

“The manager was trained in embalming.”

Even just a glance at the arm made it clear to Glenn that the previous manager had been extremely skilled. Lindworm was already a cool and dry climate, where corpses often turned to wax without rotting. If, on top of that, someone trained in burial techniques were to take appropriate measures, it would be possible to preserve a body for years…or even decades.

“Most of these arms were collected from the bodies of human and monster warriors during the great war.”

“Does that mean no one dug graves or mourned for them?” Glenn asked.

“Yeah, or some had injuries so severe that the body couldn’t even be identified.”

After the war, there had probably been few bodies in a recognizable state. They were those cut by blades, crushed by blunt weapons, shot with arrows… There were probably burned corpses as well, and those eroded by epidemics. There would have been very few left all in one piece.

Kunai went on. “Part of the manager’s job was to store those corpses and occasionally provide them to the residents. My predecessor also thought of it as a sort of memorial to those who died in war.”

“I see…” It seemed clear that the previous manager had possessed a great respect for life and a deep knowledge of undead monsters. Glenn regretted that he hadn’t been able to meet the skeleton before its passing.

“Dr. Glenn, once we find a good arm, I need you to sew it on for me.”

“Yes.” Glenn nodded.

He was genuinely happy that Kunai, who had hated doctors at first, now trusted him so much that she’d selected him by name for her medical needs.

“Well then, let’s pick out an arm.”

***

“Dr. Glenn! Dr. Glenn!”

Glenn was resting on the stone steps in front of the church when he heard Kunai’s voice calling him.

“How about this arm? It belonged to an ogre soldier who attacked Lindworm! Imagine how well I could protect the Draconess with an arm like this!”

He looked at what Kunai was holding.

It was a massive arm that looked to be as long as Kunai was tall. Of course, it wasn’t as large as the Giant Goddess Dione’s arm, but it must have belonged to a huge monster. There were also several small scratches on the arm, the marks of a seasoned soldier. It was stout and muscular, unmistakably the arm of a male ogre.

“Sorry, it’s a bit…” Glenn didn’t know where to begin.

“What? Is it weird?”

“It’s too heavy. Even if I were to sew it on, the thread wouldn’t be able to hold it, and the stitches would shred your skin.”

“Humph… I thought it would be good.”

Glenn continued. “Even if we were to attach it with wire instead, the balance would be a problem. Your center of gravity would be lopsided. You’d have a hard time standing up.”

“Well, that would be pointless. I get it. I’ll look for a smaller arm.”

Kunai only seemed concerned with whether the arm would be good in a fight. What about her everyday life? If Glenn hadn’t been there to step in, Kunai would have combined all the strongest monster parts she could find. Glenn could just see it: She’d have the right arm of a giant, the left arm of a beast, the lower body of a centaur, the scales of a reptile, the wings of a harpy, and so on.

He tried imagining what Kunai’s final form might have looked like. She would have been too conspicuous to serve as Skadi’s bodyguard, and the mismatched body would have also likely gotten in the way of her daily activities.

Yes, if he didn’t step in, Kunai would only look for outlandish limbs. Part of Glenn’s job was to put the brakes on her.

“Dr. Glenn! How about this one?” Kunai was already bringing him another arm. It must have been exciting for her to attach new flesh to her body.

“Ahh, a human arm. That would be better.”

“Right? And look at the elbow.”

Shiiing.

The arm made a metallic sound that never could have come from dead flesh alone. The elbow bent in a way unnatural for a human joint, and something resembling a sword blade jutted out.

A sword blade?

“Is that a hidden sword?!”

“Yeah. I heard that during the war there was an army of humans who altered their bodies. Maybe this belonged to one of them! This is amazing technology. If the workshop could maintain it, it would be incredibly practical.”

“That story…” Glenn was about to say that he’d never heard of such a thing, but then he stopped himself. He remembered that Kunai Zenow had been created for the purpose of raising an undead army. If someone was researching that, then meddling with human alterations couldn’t be so hard to believe.

Compared to creating life from dead skin, it would be much simpler to embed weapons in living skin…wouldn’t it?

“It’s downright sinful. But it would be useful for me.” Kunai looked like she was enjoying herself.

Someone as skilled at fighting as Kunai would be able to use this hidden-sword arm to its full potential. But there was a problem.

“Hmmm…”

“It won’t work?”

“I’m worried about the weight,” Glenn said as he took the arm from her. Even though it wasn’t as heavy as an ogre arm, the hidden metal still weighed the arm down. “If you really want to use it, it would be better to install metal into the rest of your body as well…but to do that, I think you’d need to ask a workshop, not a doctor.”

“Ugh. I don’t really want to mess with my body.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve also already ordered exoskeleton armor from the workshop. I’m going to ride in it so I can be more effective than even the giants. I can’t order anything else.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I have the blueprints. Wanna see?”

Why is she carrying something like that around?

The sheepskin Kunai pulled out had blueprints for exoskeleton armor. They were hand-drawn, but as far as Glenn could tell, the exoskeleton was a massive steel suit that wrapped around the wearer. The overall size rivaled that of a giant.

“Does this…move?”

“They said it’s steam-powered. The person riding in it feels like they’re in a steam bath because of the exhaust, but that’s not a problem for me.”

“I would guess not.”

“But they said it will take ten years to complete.”

“I wish you would come up with a more realistic armament.”

Kunai was clearly very serious about this, but the cyclops who had to make it were probably beside themselves. Glenn wished he could have seen the look on Memé and the boss’s faces when they saw these blueprints.

“I’m sorry, I know that fighting ability is important to you, but…please choose an arm that will take care of you, too. If the size and weight aren’t suitable to your body, I won’t even be able to attach it in the first place.”

“Humph. Just when I found an arm over there with a gun in the pinky finger.”

“No, Miss Kunai. Think about it. This will become a part of you. There has to be something like what you had before…a perfect fit.”

“Humph. Humph. Humph…” Kunai groaned for a while. She held her head in her hands and shook it from side to side. Except when Kunai did that, it looked like her head would pop off and roll away.

Finally, she approached the mountain of flesh again and started hemming and hawing over the arms. It seemed like she was only selecting human arms, or arms that resembled a human’s. But when Glenn came closer, he could tell she was muttering something. He pricked up his ears.

“You…humph. So, you did die in a war. What, you don’t want to be part of a woman’s body? I don’t think you’re in a position to complain. How about you over there? You want to go back to your old body? Fine, then stay there. How about the young one over there? Mmm hmm. I see, you want to go back to your home…”

She was having a conversation.

While Glenn was sure it was impossible to converse with dead flesh, it was hard to deny when he could see Kunai talking to it with his own eyes. But he couldn’t hear the voices of the dead flesh. He wondered what made Kunai so different that she could understand the consciousness of the parts.

Everything Glenn had seen since arriving in Deadlich Graveyard City today had surprised him. Corpses could move, spirits were roaming about, and right in front of him someone was having a conversation with dead flesh. And that someone was a corpse herself. The place was overflowing with death. But it wasn’t as if the living were banned from this place. The graveyard city actually existed, and it wasn’t heaven or the underworld. This was also part of Lindworm, which meant there was work for him here.

But…

He got the feeling that he shouldn’t be listening to Kunai’s conversations with the dead flesh. This was a private issue between her and whichever limb would soon become a part of her. That was why she was mumbling in such a low voice.

Glenn moved away from Kunai. A spot of light was burning in front of the church. It was a will o’ the wisp, standing out against the dark ambiance of the graveyard city.

“Eh.”

Will o’ the wisps were made by ghosts. Glenn couldn’t see spirits with his own eyes, but he could see the phenomena they made, such as this light. He felt uneasy. The will o’ the wisp flickered closer.

“This…”

I have to run away.

That was what he was thinking, but he couldn’t move. He was locked in. The ghost who’d made that will o’ the wisp clearly had its eyes on Glenn. Side effects of being possessed by a ghost included chills, nausea, headaches, hallucinations, etc. The victim would then lose consciousness, and the ghost would steal their life force.

Damnit. I shouldn’t have moved so far away from Kunai, Glenn thought.

Thinking was all he could do. The wisp had frozen him in his tracks.

“…?”

What?

The wisp had stopped moving, as if it were afraid of something. Glenn remembered Skadi’s amulet in his pocket and pulled it out.

“I’m very sorry… I don’t have time to be possessed.”

When he held up the amulet, it seemed to have an immediate effect on the will o’ the wisp. It rushed away and disappeared into the dark, deep in the heart of the graveyard city. It seemed the Draconess’ powers weren’t to be trifled with.

“It looks like this place really isn’t safe.”

It was clear now why they’d gone out of the way to put this place on the outskirts of town. The fact that he’d never heard of any problems in the graveyard city reflected the previous manager’s competence. It must have been amazing.

“Dr. Glenn, did something happen?” He heard Kunai’s voice from the backyard.

“No, I’m fine.” Even though Glenn had been able to ward off that ghost, he decided to return to Kunai’s side, just in case.

Behind the church, Kunai had finally found a good arm. She looked pleased with herself.

***

“What do you think?” Glenn asked, after he had finished sewing on the arm.

After repeated conversations with the dead flesh, Kunai had finally found a suitable right arm. It was a bit skinnier than the arm she’d been using before, but it was toned and muscular. It was probably the arm of a soldier who had died in battle. It didn’t have the obvious sort of fighting strength that the ogre arm had, but the slender arm seemed like it would mesh well with Kunai’s body.

After preparing the opening of the right arm with his surgical knife, Glenn sewed it on with a needle and thread. He was able to attach it as if it had always been part of her. But there was one thing Glenn didn’t know: the dead flesh parts had already accepted that they would be connected to each other. The result was that Glenn, who had sewed parts onto Kunai countless times, stitched her new arm on so well that it looked like she had been born with it.

“Hmm?”

“I actually think I did a fair job on the stitching, but…”

“You’re right… For a new arm, it already gives me such a sense of unity… It’s almost scary. Thank you, Dr. Glenn.” Though she was praising him, her expression was a bit too somber. She repeatedly open and closed her fist, punching the air. “But… Oooh. Something is weird.”

“What do you mean, ‘something’?”

“It’s light. The arm is too light.” Kunai punched the air as she stepped nimbly and did a roundabout kick.

To Glenn, the martial arts exercises looked beautiful, but Kunai was cocking her head to the side, still not convinced.

“Ugh! Why can’t I find my balance?!” Kunai was grinding her teeth, repeating her moves over and over, trying to get used to her right arm.

The sewing job was perfect. Even with her violent movements, the arm was functioning without any problems. By all accounts, the arm had already become part of Kunai. But Glenn worried about her calling it ‘light.’ The new arm was skinnier than what she’d had before, but it was a man’s arm. It was a bit less muscular, but it didn’t seem like there was a significant difference in weight.

“Are you talking about your center of gravity? Miss Kunai, can you try standing up with your back straight? Yes, like that… Now, stretch both of your arms straight down by your thighs. There, perfect.”

Kunai followed Glenn’s instructions and stood at attention. As a guard, her posture was beautiful. But Glenn immediately noticed where the discomfort was coming from.

She was tilting.

“You’re crooked.”

“Huh?”

“Your spine is tilted just a tad to the left. The bone is crooked, so it’s making you feel off balance.”

“N-no way! It was never like that before.”

“You’re right. There didn’t seem to be any problems…before.”

A crooked back.

It was something that occurred in both humans and monsters. If you kept the same posture for long hours or did forced exercises, the muscles grew stiff and the bones became crooked.

I should have noticed it earlier.

Kunai was a corpse. All her muscles were treated with preservatives and exhibited rigor mortis. In other words, they lacked strength and flexibility. Kunai’s flesh was supported by nothing but bones and magical powers. Furthermore, she stood at attention as a guard sometimes, and fought at other times. He couldn’t imagine how much stress she was putting on her bones.

The result was her crooked spine.

“Your old right arm was big and heavy, so your backbone subconsciously tilted to the left to balance you out. If you were human, a crooked back would make your muscles sore, and you would feel pain. But since you don’t have a sense of pain, you wouldn’t have noticed,” Glenn explained.

“Humph…”

“Of course, it’s because you’re a flesh golem that you haven’t had any problems so far, but…”

In humans, a crooked spine affected various parts of the body: the cervical spine, lumbar spine, and, in severe cases, subjective symptoms occurred in the shoulders and lower extremities. Of course, this wasn’t limited to humans. It applied to monsters with vertebrae as well, and it could be prevented with appropriate exercise and stretching, but…

What about for a flesh golem made of corpses? The muscles are in rigor mortis, so, clearly, there is no point in stretching. On the other hand, the crooked spine doesn’t cause any pain, so that’s a relief.

The only problem it was causing for Kunai was the instability of her center of gravity.

“So, you mean that, since my new arm is lighter, I’m not able to balance the way I used to, and my center of balance moved to the left? That’s why I feel strange?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’ve become weak… How can I serve as a guard…” Kunai trailed off, perplexed, as she continued punching the air with her fist.

From Glenn’s perspective, she looked the same as always, as if she could turn bandits upside down in a second. But Kunai felt a sense of dissatisfaction that no one else could understand.

“It will be okay, Miss Kunai. I can treat you.”

“What? Really?”

“Of course. There is a way to treat it.”

He wasn’t sure that, with Kunai’s rigor mortis muscles, there was any way the spine would heal naturally. But if they just left it, there was a high possibility that it would become even more crooked.

“What is the treatment?”

Glenn looked Kunai in the eyes. “Chiropractic, of course.”

***

Glenn took Kunai inside the church.

The outside had been fairly well taken care of, but the inside was immaculate. Even the pews had been cleaned spotless. In every way, it looked like a church that was currently in use.

“The manager was living here in the church. That’s why it looks like this.”

“Oh.”

“Well then, should I lie on my stomach?”

“Yes, please. I’ll get started.”

Kunai lay down on a prayer bench. Glenn covered her with a clean cotton cloth that he had prepared ahead of time. In this position, he couldn’t see her face.

“It seems like that position would be uncomfortable, so…here.” Glenn handed Kunai a cushion he’d found in the room.

“Ah. Mmm.” Kunai held it and relaxed her entire body. Her upper body curved slightly.

When Glenn looked closer, he could see that her body was tense, as he had expected. Kunai Zenow was made up of many different parts that had come together as one—a true work of art. He didn’t want to empathize with the doctor who’d made Kunai, but, in all honesty, he had to admire the skill that went into turning her body into this form.

“It would be better to do this on a bed, but let’s see what we can do.”

“You don’t need to talk. Just get on with it.”

“Right then. I’ll start.” Glenn put his hands on Kunai’s back. The dead flesh of Kunai’s body maintained the chill of a corpse.

He began by rubbing the muscles on each side of the vertebrae. When he touched them directly, the shape of the muscles and the crooked bones were clear. Kunai’s backbone curved to the left.

“Mmm…”

“How is it?”

“It’s curved, like I thought. It’s a…pretty stubborn curve…” It wouldn’t be easy to straighten out the bones with this treatment alone.

Normally, he would spend a lot of time massaging the muscles, doing repeated stretches, and slowly straightening them out. But it was different with flesh golems.

The only thing Kunai felt was a strange change in her center of gravity. Even if her bones were crooked, the pain of pinched nerves wasn’t a problem for flesh golems. Their bodies were moving by magical force, so even a broken bone wouldn’t be painful.

So that means…

“Kunai, do you mind if I massage you hard?”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s fine.”

“Okay then.”

“Mmmmm?!”

Glenn slowly straddled Kunai in a position that made it look like he was riding on her gluteal region. Kunai opened her eyes wide and looked at Glenn, flustered.

“Wh-why are you on top of me?”

“This is the best position to make sure I have leverage for a stronger massage. I’m very sorry. Am I too heavy?”

“N-no, you’re not heavy…” Kunai sounded confused, but she didn’t refuse him.

Glenn began rubbing the muscles on both sides of her spine. Before long, he was applying enough force to move the bone back to its correct form.

“Mmm.” Kunai let out a moan.

Glenn ignored it and continued. He wasn’t very strong, but, as a doctor, he understood where to apply his strength—and just how much he needed to be effective.

“I’m going to go a bit harder.”

“Mmm—argh?!” Kunai’s voice was shrill. It was uncharacteristic of her. She always had a stern look on her face.

“Oh! Did that hurt?!”

“No-no… It’s a strange feeling…but not pain.” Kunai’s voice had even surprised herself. “I’m not sure. It was like your finger was going inside me…”

“It sounds like it’s working. I’ll continue.”

“No, wait a—aaaaghh.” Kunai’s bones cracked.

Since her muscles were stiff, Glenn thought that her bones might not move, either—but it seemed like his chiropractic skills were quite effective. Glenn continued rubbing the muscles from around the shoulder blade to the spine and used his weight to set the bone at just the right moment.

Crackle, crackle.

“Heeeee?!” Kunai’s body quivered, and she screamed.

“How are you doing?” Glenn asked.

“I-I… How am I doing? M-my voice! Dr. Glenn, what type of martial arts is this?!”

“This is just chiropractic.”

“N-n-no way… Th-this is… Mphaaaaa!”

Crackle, crackle, crackle.

“Arrghhh!”

He hadn’t thought it would be this effective.

Glenn could tell by the sensation in the palm of his hand that the bone was moving, and better than he’d expected. In fact, the bone was moving so well that it was hard to believe the muscles were in rigor mortis. It slowly moved back into the correct position, almost as if he were touching the bone directly.

“D-Dr. Glenn… Didn’t you say you don’t have any understanding of magic?”

“Hmm? Ahh, yes, of course.”

“Ughh! B-but maybe you’re interfering with the magic supporting my body…” Kunai started to explain through her labored breaths.

“Wh-why is that?”

“Mmm! How should I know?! It feels weird, like you’re touching the deepest places in my body!”

“Hmmm…”

Massages had relaxing effects. They tapped into the vitality that all living beings possessed. Hot springs, acupuncture, and moxibustion also had similar effects. The idea of assisting vitality was a medical treatment mainly developed in the east, and Glenn wasn’t an expert, but…

“Vitality…”

Kunai’s body was already dead. However, her body had a will and was active. That was due to magic…but perhaps it was actually a form of life.

“That might be your own power, Miss Kunai.”

“What?”

“Your vitality is being stimulated by the massage. Your own will to live is affecting the magic, and that may be what is moving your bone back to the correct position…”

“M-me? Myself?!”

Kunai’s curved bone was being fixed, triggered by Glenn’s chiropractic treatment. If it wasn’t Glenn’s strength—if that was merely the catalyst for Kunai’s own bones to move themselves back to the right position—well, that would be an interesting phenomenon indeed.

“W-wait. If that’s true, then what is this numbness…”

“I think perhaps it’s the effect of interfering with the magical field of the spell…” It wasn’t his intention, but Glenn was affecting Kunai’s core magic. It was only natural that she would also feel stimulated. Glenn applied more and more strength from his horseback-riding-like stance.

“Heee! Oof! A-aghh, you’re not done yet?!”

“Of course not. I’ve realized that the chiropractic treatment is even more effective on you than I imagined. It’s possible that this won’t just fix your crooked bones, but that it will preserve your body for a longer time. It looks like massaging is effective on flesh golems. If there was more data, I could write a thesis on the subject.”

“You want to make me a guinea pig?!” Perhaps it was because she had been born as a result of a cruel doctor’s experimentations, but the second she uttered that word, Kunai’s body seemed to go completely stiff.

“No,” Glenn answered without hesitation. “I am not a scholar. I am a doctor. Even if I were to collect data, your health would still be the most important thing. I would never let my priorities get so turned around that I only examined patients as a means to collect data.”

“I-I see. Well, if you say so, I believe you.”

“I will continue now,” said Glenn.

“W-wait, I need to prepare myself. Mmmmwhoooooa?!”

Crackle, crackle.

Puff, puff.

The sounds were so loud that someone listening might have thought Kunai’s bones were breaking.

“Heeee! Hee! Arggghh!”

Each time the bone moved closer to its proper place, Kunai let out a sound somewhere between a moan of pleasure and a scream.

Glenn decided to focus less on returning the bone to its original position and more on the relaxing effects of the massage.

“Mmmmm!”

“How are you doing?”

“Who cares how?! It’s like I’m being shocked! In my back!”

“Please tell me if it’s uncomfortable,” Glenn warned.

“I-It’s not uncomfortable… But!”

Then I can continue, thought Glenn.

Kunai’s back already looked much better. Normally, Glenn wouldn’t expect to see results after such a short amount of time. But it was more like he was adjusting the magic spell that held Kunai together, rather than adjusting her body.

“Ahh… Ahh… Are you done?” Kunai noticed that Glenn had let up.

“Yes. All finished.”

She let out a strong sigh of relief. “Well… Thank you. I appreciate it.” It sounded like she was trying to end the conversation.

“Miss Kunai, have you ever heard of acupuncture points?”

“What?”

Glenn was no longer on top of Kunai, so she sat up. He held out his hand to assist her.

“Acupuncture points are…pressure points, right?” Glenn asked. “I actually don’t know much about them myself.”

“Yes, acupuncture is a method of maintaining health by stimulating various pressure points on the body. It’s often used in the east, and it was very common where I come from.” Kunai was surprisingly knowledgeable on the subject.

Clearly, stimulating pressure points made the mind and body healthy and returned vitality to organs, but it wasn’t possible to scientifically prove why this method was effective. Even when humans were dissected, no organs or apparatus like an acupuncture or pressure point had ever been found. Cthulhy had a certain understanding of pressure-point treatment, but she didn’t include it in her monster medical practice. Pressure points were different for each monster, and it wasn’t feasible to search out every pressure point for every species.

But.

Kunai resembled a human, and she was made up mostly of human parts.

“I would like to try something—may I?”

“But, my bone… It’s fine now, right?”

“I discovered that massaging is effective for you, a corpse. That means that acupuncture points may be effective as well. Pressure-point treatment can be effective in alleviating fatigue.”

“Hmmm…” Kunai wasn’t sold, but Glenn was certain. He was sure that stimulating acupuncture points would improve Kunai’s vitality. “Then…yes, please.”

“Leave it to me. This time, please lie on your back.”

“O-okay.” Kunai rolled over.

Glenn sat by her legs and took off her pants. Kunai’s legs were pale, and Glenn touched them gently. He could see all the way up to where her legs attached to her body. He draped a cloth across her waist to cover that region.

“Now, I will begin.”

***

“Yeeooooowwwch!” Kunai let out a loud scream the moment the pressure point on her foot was pressed. It was not the kind of sound you would ever expect to hear from a warrior who had slain many beasts.

“Did that hurt?”

“Y-yes, it hurt! Idiot! I thought my sense of pain—aghh!”

Glenn had pressed on an especially significant pressure point as a test.

Kunai writhed in pain. In that moment, it was hard to believe she was a flesh golem, someone who didn’t even flinch at a severed arm or foot.

“Eeeek, heee!”

“Hmm. That’s strange…”

“It’s not like I don’t have any sense of pain. The reason I don’t feel pain is because my magic is set up that way… This is… Aaarggggh!”

“I see. So, this is a different type of pain from what you were calibrated to block in the first place. Well, I’m sure they never anticipated pressure-point pain…”

“Don’t keep going with that look on your face! Aaggghhhhh!”

It’s said that pressure points affected each of the different parts in the body. The worse the state of the body part, the more painful the pressure point was when stimulated. In other words, the pain was proof that it was working. Kunai’s body was dead, which meant that the state of her body was far from healthy. It also meant that she must have been in a lot of pain.

Kunai flapped her arms, showing just how much pain she was feeling.

“I-I said! Not so hard! Arrgh!”

“I’m not pressing hard,” Glenn replied.

“L-Liar! Shut up! Eee!”

Each time Glenn pressed on one of the pressure points, Kunai bent backward. In truth, Glenn wasn’t pressing that hard. But the bottoms of Kunai’s feet were stiff, which meant that even weak stimulation was very effective.

“Grr! Hee! Aaaagh!”

“The pain is proof that it’s working. Please bear with it.”

“Th-this! I won’t forget that you’re doing this to me!”

Glenn was afraid of her taking revenge, so he tried pressing a bit harder. She arched her back, lifting her body off the ground as she stiffened against the pain. The cloth that had been covering her had already fallen to the ground from her flailing. Glenn could see her perfect chest jiggling from where he sat. The hem of her clothing had ridden up, and he could see glimpses of her panties. This wasn’t good.

Glenn decided to try and finish as quickly as he could.

“Ooooooh… Th-this… I’m… By a man who isn’t even a warrior…”

“It’s nothing to cry about!”

“Idiot! Who is crying?! This is protective liquid for my eyeballs!” Kunai protested, trying to act strong.

Glenn was alone with a woman in this church. Moreover, her clothes were in disarray, and she was breathing hard and crying—well, according to her, it was protective liquid. What would Sapphee do if she found out?

He didn’t want to think about it.

At the very least, Glenn wanted to fix the clothing that had come off from her squirming, but Kunai always wore such tight-fitting clothes. He’d have to touch her directly, and that was an ethical problem all on its own.

“Th-that’s enough. Please, just finish…”

“But…”

“That’s it. Isn’t there a master pressure point that heals everything? If you use that, then you can finish right away, right?” Perhaps because she wasn’t used to pain, Kunai spat the words out, flustered.

“Master? Well, yes, it does exist, but—”

“Then do it.”

“Okay.”

There was an acupuncture point that was effective for a wide variety of conditions. There was no reason for Glenn to hesitate at Kunai’s request, but he didn’t know if he should continue.

“Then, here we go.”

“Wh—it’s not on the bottom of the foot?”

“No. This pressure point is just below the knee. It’s effective for recovering from exhaustion, strengthening your core, etc.” Glenn searched for the pressure point with his fingers.

“U-umm, Dr. Glenn. Wait a second. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“No, it’s fine. This pressure point is extremely effective.”

“Th-that’s not what I mean—aaaaarrrghhhh!” She reacted as soon as he pressed on the pressure point. “Aghh! Ooooouchhhh!”

“Just as I thought, you’re fatigued. I’m going to continue putting pressure on this point for three minutes.”

“Th-three minutes?!” Kunai bit her lip to get through the pain. But even so, she couldn’t help flailing her arms about.

“Stoppppp! It’s too painfullllll!”

“It’s okay, Kunai. Pressure points hurt, but in that pain is the proof that your mind and body are becoming healthier.”

“Oooooh?! Are you…sure?!”

“Yes of course.” Glenn pressed the point harder.

“Ooooouchhhhh! That hurts!” She howled like a child. Her normal coolness was nowhere to be seen.

“Really? Isn’t it starting to feel better yet?”

“Argh! Well, now that you mention it… Yes… Just a bit…”

It seemed like the pleasant feeling had only lasted a moment. But if she’d come this far, the rest was easy. All Glenn had to do was use his sensitive fingertips to find Kunai’s pleasure point.

Even Glenn knew roughly where all the pressure points were. However, there were individual differences in the really effective pressure points, and only well-trained practitioners of acupuncture and moxibustion knew precisely where all of them were. Glenn had only a general understanding, but, somehow, he was able to find Kunai’s points.

“Mmmm… Oof… Aaahh.”

“It’s already much better.”

“N-no… It still…hurts. Mmm! B-but Ahh… There.”

Her reaction had changed dramatically. Kunai’s shoulders were trembling, and it seemed she didn’t know how to react to the combination of pain and pleasure.

“Mmmmm. Hee, wooo!”

“That’s right. I’ll keep going.” The three minutes were just about up.

“Ooh…mph, mm! Ahh…” Kunai’s voice echoed flirtatiously in the church, empty but for the two of them.

This isn’t the sort of thing that should take place in a church, Glenn thought. It would be fine to provide medical care in a church, but there was no way Kunai sounded like she was receiving treatment.

---

---

“Mmmmm! Mmm! Mmmmm…”

She was doing everything she could to stifle her voice, but her heavy breathing gave her away.

“Ahh… Ha… Aggh!”

“That’s all, Miss Kunai. You’re done… Miss Kunai?”

Kunai didn’t show any sign of moving, even after Glenn stepped away. She was breathing hard. Her eyes were empty, staring off into space. Glenn called her name over and over, but she seemed to be in a trance.

“That felt…good…” Kunai muttered, not speaking to anyone in particular.

Perhaps she hadn’t meant it for him, but Glenn heard her perfectly. The treatment had been more effective than he’d expected. He felt bad forcing her to get up, so Glenn left her where she was for a time. He did his best to avert his eyes from her chest and waist, where her clothes were coming off from all her wriggling around.

***

“Mmm… Mmm—” Kunai stretched both her arms as she stepped out of the church, looking very comfortable. “Hmm. My right arm—no, my whole body—feels lighter, like I’ve been reborn, even though I’m still dead.” Kunai chuckled to herself.

She rotated her arms, checking her body. Thanks to Glenn’s work, the new right arm had adapted itself to her body well.

“I’m happy to have aided in your recovery, Miss Kunai. I’ve now come up with the hypothesis that even a flesh golem made of corpses has vitality—the will to live.”

“That’s fine, but…” Kunai glared at him. “You’d better forget that I was howling with pain. It never happened. Forget it. If you mention it to anyone, the next place they’ll see you is at the bottom of the canal.”

“You’ll upset the merfolk.”

“Good-for-nothing doctor. You’re worthless,” she muttered.

It seemed like he had rekindled her hatred for doctors, even though her body had become lighter, meaning that the treatment had been effective.

“Well, it did feel kind of good…”

“Really? Then I’m glad I worked so hard.”

“Shut up! Just a little! It’s nothing! I was talking to myself!”

Glenn thought she was being irrational, getting angry so easily even though her body had benefited from the massage.

“I’ll accompany you to the gate.”

“Miss Kunai, you won’t be returning to the town?”

“I have to put the arms away, and I also have managerial business to attend to. Those both come first.”

“It’s a lot of work to be acting manager.”

“It’s fine. It’s necessary. The graveyard city was made based on my proposal, and I have no complaints about putting in the work to maintain it.”

“Your proposal?”

“Ahh. Where should I start?” Kunai scratched her head and began talking as they walked. It was rare for her to speak about events from so long ago. “I was originally born in the east. I ran away from the doctor who created me and headed west, only because I didn’t want to get caught. Luckily, I was created to be an undying soldier, so I didn’t need food. I was a mess, but simply surviving was an easy task for me. I defeated all the beasts that tried to attack me and somehow ended up in Lindworm.”

“…”

“At first, I lived as a fighter, but the Draconess saw my strength and selected me to be her bodyguard.”

“Yes, I had heard that before…” Glenn interrupted.

“But that’s just my public position.” Kunai giggled, as if she were up to something. “Someone as strong as the Draconess doesn’t need a bodyguard in the first place. She needed someone to keep watch while she was sleeping, so that was one reason for choosing a flesh golem like me…”

“But that wasn’t all?”

“When I first met her, I had just entered the hall of fame and was being recognized at the arena. As I was receiving my certificate, the Draconess showed up. She asked me where I was staying.”

It didn’t make sense.

Induction into the hall of fame was an honor administered by the arena. Glenn didn’t understand why Skadi would visit when Kunai was being bestowed that honor.

“That’s the same expression I had when it happened.”

Kunai laughed as she looked at Glenn. She often stood next to Skadi—who always had a serious look on her face—so it was refreshing to see her laughing so casually.

“I told her that I had been camping on the outskirts. I explained that the residents would probably be frightened if they saw a patchwork corpse.”

“That was—”

“Yes, at the time, the Draconess was trying to figure out what to do with the undead who were hanging around Lindworm. There were a lot of problems that needed to be considered if they were going to live with the other monsters. But ostracizing them would go against Lindworm’s policy of becoming a town for humans and monsters to live in harmony.”

Glenn nodded. Ever since Skadi became the City Council representative, Lindworm had accepted monsters from all over the mainland. There were also several monsters who had been living on the land for years, like Tisalia and Lulala. Creating a place for the undead to live comfortably was essential.

“I told her that it would be more comfortable if there was a base outside town. The Draconess accepted that, created the graveyard city, and appointed a manager.”

“So, Skadi wanted someone close to her who could speak for the undead?”

“She didn’t say it in so many words, but that’s right. I’m grateful. I’m nothing but a corpse, yet she gave me a place to live, and a job. It’s not only me, either. That’s the case for most of the undead living here.”

Glenn reflected on the fact that he hadn’t known anything about the graveyard city until now. The living wouldn’t normally have any reason to come to this place. But there was no question that the undead were living in this town.

“But without a manager, it goes nuts.”

“I…see…”

“Yeah. The graveyard city wasn’t like this before. Now it’s full of miasma that creates spirits. We must do something quickly, or they’ll break down the fence. If that happens, then some will spill outside. There’s also a risk that some really scary things will try to get in and settle here…”

They could see the gate.

The day had been beneficial to Glenn—the town where the invisible spirits lived, the skeleton who reached nirvana, and the flesh golem in whom he’d aroused vitality. In the graveyard city, Glenn had seen life in a being without working organs, metabolism, flowing blood, or a heartbeat.

Kunai had called it the town that didn’t need doctors. It was true that a doctor like Glenn was probably unnecessary in a town like this, but Glenn promised himself he would be back. Even if the graveyard city didn’t need a doctor, he was sure he could learn much from the town that would prove useful in his practice.

Just then, Glenn remembered something; the one rumor that was spreading across Lindworm. Evil deeds. Spirits, perhaps.

“Oh, Miss Kunai. I have been wanting to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Have any spirits left the graveyard town now that there’s no manager on site? Have they maybe been causing a stir in Lindworm?”

“Oh, you mean the doppelgänger.” Kunai nodded right away. It seemed like she knew exactly what Glenn was thinking. “Your concerns are well-founded. If the graveyard city got truly out of hand, I wouldn’t be able to handle it on my own.”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant.”

“But there are charms on the fence that surrounds the city. Wild ghosts can’t get in, and once a spirit has come into the graveyard city, it becomes a resident. It can’t go outside to do bad things. The old manager was a stickler for that sort of thing.”

“But now…there is no manager…”

Kunai nodded, all too aware of this fact.

“I’m just a stand-in, but I’m doing my best to provide the minimum required management. The fence hasn’t been broken yet, and I can say with certainty that no spirits have left. The doppelgänger commotion has nothing to do with the graveyard city.”

“I see.” Glenn was relieved to hear such a confident declaration.

His working theory was that the doppelgänger’s true form was the heart he had removed from Skadi. However, if there were ghosts involved, that would upend all his logic. An incorporeal monster appearing in unexpected places at unexpected times could be explained by hallucinations. But, after hearing Kunai’s words, Glenn rejected that theory.

Deadlich Graveyard City was a unique place, but there were people living here. It truly was a part of Lindworm, and Kunai valued this place as both a resident and its acting manager. Glenn felt bad for even thinking that a ghost might be the doppelgänger.

“I’ll be going then.”

“Yes. Thank you so much for today. Wait…”

“Huh?”

Kunai squinted her eyes, and a sharp sound cut through the air. Glenn felt cold wind on his face.

“This.” Kunai seemed to be holding something up high, but to Glenn it just looked like she was miming.

“Can you see it? There is a spirit here. It was trying to possess you.”

“Er.”

“Well, you are protected by the Draconess’s amulet, so it wouldn’t be able to possess you, but I’ll have to have some words with it for breaking its vow.”

“Oh, thank you,” Glenn said, bewildered. He wondered if spirits really could be caught with your bare hands. Or perhaps it was something Kunai could do because she was undead. “You caught it quickly. It looks like you’re already feeling better.”

“Thanks to your chiropractic and pressure points.”

“H-heh.”

Kunai grunted. She seemed to be twisting the ghost in her hands as if wringing out a towel. Glenn couldn’t see the spirit but felt like he could hear it screaming. After that, she tossed it away. He wondered if that kind of treatment was acceptable.

He changed his mind yet again. Even if they were residents of the graveyard city, they were still ghosts. You could never let your guard down when it came to them. Two had already tried to possess him in one day. If ghosts were to break out of the graveyard city and do whatever they wanted, the harm they would cause would far exceed what was happening with the doppelgängers. Skadi was right to appoint a manager.

“We have find a permanent manager as soon as possible.”

“Is that something that can happen right away?”

“Apparently the Draconess has someone in mind. I wonder who it is. She hasn’t even told me.” Kunai looked off in the distance. Her gaze was fixed on the Vivre Mountains. Since the graveyard city was on a hill, there was a clear view of the towering peaks. “The Draconess is in the mountains now. I guess we’ll see what happens…”

Glenn followed her gaze. He could see a dark shadow flying about halfway up the mountain. It could have been someone from the harpy village, which he had visited in the past.

He wondered what kind of person the former manager of the chaos that was Deadlich Graveyard City had been. The skeleton had been able to bring together the ghosts, control the undead, and govern the place as one town, so it couldn’t have been an ordinary monster.

But that manager had already passed.

If only he could have met the skeleton and spoken with it. Maybe he could have learned more about the graveyard city. Glenn wavered between regret and desolation.

He closed his eyes for a moment and prayed that the manager, whose name he would never know, could rest in peace.