Case 04: Glenn Litbeit’s Resolution

Case 04:
Glenn Litbeit’s Resolution

“Dr. Glenn! What are you doing here?”

“My brother Souen came to Lindworm. He told me everything, and we figured this was the only place that made sense.”

Glenn wiped the sweat off his brow. He’d met with the graveyard city manager, Molly, and discovered that a suspicious guest was staying in the hotel under Souen’s name.

“Molly was surprised, too. She said they couldn’t let the canal incident’s mastermind stay in the hotel. She told me to check, but I was sure that you’d come to target the former duke.”

“If you were able to respond so quickly, then Souen and Skadi must know, too.”

Glenn laughed. “Of course. This is a Lindworm crisis.”

The former duke was still scrambling to flee the hotel. Skadi, Molly, Sioux, and a whole patrol team were following him. It was only a matter of time before they’d catch him.

“So, the poisoning incident’s almost over?” asked Sapphee. “Then the only problem left is me, Dr. Glenn.”

“No. The problem is you and me.”

Glenn wanted to say that he was happy to see Sapphee, especially after thinking he’d never see her again. But first, he had to do something about the poisoned knife in her hand.

“Skadi and the others are chasing the former duke, so you don’t need to do this, Sapphee.”

Sapphee bit her lip.

“Put the knife away, and let’s go back to the clinic together,” Glenn continued. “No one in Lindworm is blaming you for anything. We’ll explain it all, and they’ll understand.”

“I can’t.” Sapphee’s voice was determined.

“Why?”

“I can’t. I’m never going back.”

Glenn realized that he might not have thought this all the way through. He’d believed that if he saw Sapphee again, he could change her mind. He’d thought that if he told her his true feelings, she would definitely come back. It had all seemed so easy in his head.

Sapphee’s icy expression made Glenn realize that he was wrong.

“Doctor, I was born and raised as an assassin.”

“I know that, but—”

“I’ve never actually taken a life, but I still have an assassin’s heart. Since the war ended, I’ve only wanted to save people with my pharmaceutical knowledge. My family opposed my dream, but I entered the Academy anyway. I thought that if I was with you, Dr. Glenn, my knowledge could be useful. I thought I’d be useful to you. I was so wrong.”

Sapphee staggered away.

Glenn took a step forward, but she moved farther backward. He stopped. If he pushed her too hard, she would slip through his fingers like water.

“My family did this.”

“That’s not your fault, Sapphee.”

“Of course it’s not. But the same blood runs through my veins. This incident could easily have put the clinic out of business. You might’ve had to give up being a doctor. That’s why I left Lindworm. I wanted to cut ties with my family once and for all, and punish the mastermind behind the incident.”

Sapphee put the poisoned blade back in her bag. Her face was a mask of regret.

“Because I’m an assassin, my first instinct is to punish criminals myself, in private.”

“Sapphee…”

“But I couldn’t punish the criminals in my family. I wanted to cut them off completely, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I thought I could kill the former duke, because he was a stranger, but I can’t even assassinate him properly.”

“That’s because you’re not an assassin, Sapphee. You’re a pharmacologist, and my assistant.”

“If I were a pharmacologist—!” Sapphee screamed. The sound seemed to startle her back into her white-scaled body. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. “If I were a pharmacologist, I never would have left. I should’ve responded to the situation in the canals as a medical professional, no matter what.”

“Sapphee…”

“It shouldn’t have mattered where the poison came from. If the canals were poisoned, I should have collected the toxin, investigated it, and created an antidote. If I really was a pharmacologist, that’s what I would have done.”

Glenn waited for her to continue, unable to say anything.

“I gave in to my emotions and tried to end the suspect’s life with a poisoned blade. I can’t make it as an assassin, and I can’t make it as a pharmacologist. I don’t belong anywhere. That’s why I can’t go back to the clinic with you, Doctor.”

Glenn still didn’t know what to say.

Sapphee covered her face. “In the end, I’m an assassin. I gave up any right to call myself a pharmacologist the moment I tried to kill someone.”

“What are you talking about?”

Glenn knew just how many times Sapphee had saved him. If it weren’t for her, he never would’ve started the clinic. Even if Sapphee was the descendant of assassins, Glenn knew she rejected that path and chose pharmacology instead.

“Sapphee, you took charge of your life and worked hard to become a successful pharmacologist. You kept your eyes on your goal, never caring about where you came from. You did all that yourself. You lived as yourself. Even the Neikes assassin who came here never intended to slaughter Lindworm’s residents, right? They made sure the dose of poison was very small. They still shouldn’t have poisoned the canals, but…your family doesn’t just take lives without thinking about it, even if they’re ordered to.”

Sapphee had learned to make poison during her training as an assassin. That knowledge and experience was useful when it came to making medicine and treating diseases. Her expertise had saved the city before, when the sleeping disease overtook the residents.

“You’re not disqualified from practicing medicine just because you’re an assassin. There’s no reason that you can’t still be a pharmacologist. It’s because you’re trained as an assassin that you make such a good pharmacologist. You know better than anyone how poison can be used to medicate.”

Poison and medicine were two sides of the same coin. Chemicals that healed in small doses became poisonous in large doses. Sapphee knew all about such things.

“You’re Sapphee, who chose a pharmacologist’s life despite being born into a family of assassins. Your dream is still waiting for you in Lindworm!”

“I can’t. I’ve already made a terrible mistake.”

“So? You’ve made one mistake! No one blames you. You can come back from it!”

“No. For a person who saves lives, a single mistake can be fatal. No one should trust me with their life again.”

Glenn sighed.

Sapphee’s mind seemed made up. She carefully moved her long body toward the rickety window, maintaining her distance from Glenn. It would be easy for her to break through the window and flee.

“About the marriage certificate,” Glenn said.

“Yes?” Sapphee narrowed her eyes at the sudden change in topic. “I have no objections to Tisalia or Arahnia. Please marry whichever one you like.”

“There was a time when I thought, if it was what you wanted, I’d choose one of them. They’re both wonderful women, but…”

Glenn held something out to Sapphee. It was a rolled-up piece of parchment.

“There’s only one person I want to marry.”

The parchment was a marriage certificate with Glenn’s name on it. The place for his wife’s name was blank, but Sapphee must’ve figured out what he was getting at.

“That…”

“I checked with Skadi. You weren’t exiled from the city, so you’re still a Lindworm resident. You can get married.”

Glenn looked straight at Sapphee. Now, he had to say what he hadn’t been able to for so long. If he needed to grow up—to make a decision—now was the time.

Glenn had been separated from Sapphee twice. The first separation was when they were children. The second was when Sapphee left the letter for him. He wouldn’t let it happen a third time.

“I want to marry you, Sapphee.”

“Glenn…” Sapphee’s lip quivered. “I, er…umm…”

She shook her head. Her tail thumped against the floor, as if that was the only way she could convey her internal conflict. She clearly didn’t know what to say.

Glenn watched her unwaveringly, waiting for her answer. “If you can’t be an assassin, and you can’t be a pharmacologist, then just be by my side as my wife.”

Sapphee shifted slightly.

Just when Glenn was about give up hope, she flew into his arms.

“I will,” she said, muffled. “I want to be with you forever, too! I want to be by your side, Glenn! I don’t ever want to be apart again!”

Sapphee hiccupped as she spoke. As a lamia, she didn’t have tear ducts; she couldn’t cry. But her sobs spoke volumes. She was crying without tears.

“Mmm-hmm.” Glenn hugged Sapphee, holding his own tears back.

In the distance, a bell rang.

It was the bell of the graveyard city’s abandoned church. Glenn suddenly noticed lanterns lighting the dark hotel hallway. They gave off a soft glow, as if in celebration.

“I wonder if…the ghosts were watching us.”

Sapphee had buried her head in Glenn’s chest, so she hadn’t noticed the graveyard city giving them its blessing yet. Glenn was embarrassed to learn that he’d proposed in front of a crowd, but the ghosts surely didn’t mean any harm. It felt kind of nice to be blessed by the demon flames.

The bell kept ringing. It was probably also part of the ghosts’ celebration.

Glenn never imagined that he would propose in a graveyard, but now that he had, it felt like the perfect fit.

“I won’t let you go again, Glenn.” Sapphee’s tail coiled tightly around Glenn’s ankles, and both her arms wrapped around his torso. There was no way he could escape from her grip. “I hope you understand that.”

“Yes.” Before, Glenn might have cringed if Sapphee said something like that. But he was ready now. He’d decided to be with this woman for the rest of his life. “Let’s do this, Sapphee.”

“Er, w-well…” Sapphee wasn’t used to hearing Glenn speak with such conviction. Her face was bright red. “Oh, erm, yes. Let’s.”

She was almost whispering.

***

A man ran down the mountain path. He wasn’t young, and he breathed heavily as he moved, but there was no one following him. Lindworm’s patrol team probably hadn’t expected that he would head into the Vivre Mountains. They were likely searching downtown by now.

I-I did it! The man laughed to himself. He’d lost a lot of weight, but he still had plenty left over from his many years of indulgence. He was down and out, but he was still a statesman of the human realm.

“Souen…and that lizard girl…they won’t get away with this! I’ll make sure they pay for what they’ve done!”

The light of revenge shone in Duke Auchraw’s eyes as he thought about Souen and Skadi. Souen was his subordinate, but had still masterminded the whole scheme. Auchraw wasn’t just furious at those two, but at the entire city of Lindworm.

“I still have supporters! I can hide in the west and build an army!”

In the former duke’s mind, humans and monsters would eventually be at war again. In the confusion, he would kill Souen and take back his position as statesman. It would’ve seemed an absurd goal to anyone else. Auchraw had already been convicted of his crimes, so there was no way he could resume his old rank. However, he was too preoccupied with revenge to distinguish reality from fiction anymore.

“You just watch, Souen! I’m coming for you next!”

Ironically, after Auchraw had fallen from his position—indeed, perhaps because he had—his influence surged. Those who found the up-and-coming Souen unpleasant wanted to use Auchraw to deal the young Litbeit a blow. Thanks to those supporters, Auchraw had more money than any escaped criminal could’ve wanted. That funding had allowed him to hide in the eerie graveyard city’s hotel.

It was also why he was able to hire the Neikes clan.

“Those Neikeses! I requested a massacre, but they only ran a bit of poison through the canals! And who was that woman who attacked me? Did the assassin come to shut me up? Those snakes will kill anyone!”

Auchraw continued along the mountain path. He was taking a route that avoided the harpy village, so the terrain was rough. He kept going, though, even when his feet got stuck in the mud.

“I’m still… I still…!”

He’d heard that there were monsters in the west who weren’t fond of Lindworm. Some even considered the city off-putting. The same was true of Souen. The nails that stuck out were the ones that got hammered down. No, they had to be hammered down! They only served as obstacles to those in power. And Auchraw would swing the hammer.

There was something almost admirable in his obsession. It was the only thing left that he could truly call his.

Still, trying to cross the Vivre Mountains without any equipment was extremely reckless. No one was around to point out his recklessness, however.

“Argh!” Auchraw hit something. It looked like a heap of cloth. “Ugh. What the hell is this doing in the middle of the mountain trail?”

The cloth pile was massive. As it rose up in front of the former duke, Auchraw remembered tales from the east about a creature called a “nurikabe.” It was a magical being that got in the way of travelers.

“Whaaat? Ohhh.” The voice was low, and seemed to resound from the depths of the earth, but it came from above Auchraw’s head. The former duke looked up, and what he saw paralyzed him with fright.

“Er?!” he gasped.

“Ohhh, are you lossst? We don’t get many visitors heeere.”

“M-monster!”

What he’d thought was a pile of cloth was a giant as tall as ten people standing on each other’s shoulders. This giant’s name was Dione Nephilim. Unbeknownst to Auchraw, of course, she was the only remaining member of the gigas species.

“Mmmm! Who are you calling a monsterrr? You are ruuude.” Her palm dropped from the heavens.

“Eeek!” Auchraw ran from the hand, which could easily have crushed him. From Dione’s perspective, she was just slapping the ground in protest at being called a monster, but to Auchraw, it was an attack.

“We’ve caught up with you!”

Auchraw knew that voice. He froze.

“I couldn’t believe it. You hid in the hotel. Molly, if you would just take down your guests’ information, we could have figured this out much sooner.”

“Disagree, Kunai. This is how the hotel has been run since the previous manager. It is impossible for guests who do not possess verifiable proof of identity to provide such information.”

“You’re a stubborn woman.”

Two figures climbed the mountain path. One was the Draconess’s patchwork guard, and the other was the hotel manager. The girl with Demonitis was with them, and she was armed.

“Y-you’re Souen’s younger sister! How did you get here?!”

“It has been a long time, Duke Auchraw—no, former duke,” replied Sioux. “I now work in the Lindworm patrol. We chased you down, Mr. Auchraw. Soon, the main patrol team will be here as well.”

How had they found him? There had been no sign of anyone following. And if they’d known his whereabouts, why hadn’t they apprehended him sooner?

“Former Duke, I am indebted to you, despite the criminal circumstances in which we find you. You treated me well when I served as your marshal, and I shall not forget it. If you come quietly, we will treat you well. Let us be civil.”

“Sh-shut up! You dirty demon! You dare defy me after all I did for you? You’re just as ungrateful as your brother!” Auchraw was shouting now.

Sioux only responded by narrowing her eyes slightly. Auchraw realized that it was an expression of pity, which made him even angrier.

“Don’t you look at me like that! ‘Indebted,’ you say?! I don’t remember selling favors to a demon, you idiot!” He continued to hurl abuse, his voice dripping with violence. “Lindworm is full of…aberrations like you! You should all be driven out! Watch! When the human and monster realms are at war again, territories like Lindworm will be destroyed and forgotten!”

“You don’t seem remorseful at all.” A dragon with blue scales came up the mountain trail.

“Draconess!”

“Did you really think you would get through the Vivre Mountains without any equipment? If you don’t want to end up dead in a ditch, you should come with us. You’ll serve your time for poisoning the canals, but after that, you’ll be free.”

“Have you all lost your minds? There’s no way I could’ve poisoned the canals. You think I know how to do something like that? It was some assassin’s work.”

“You’re going to play innocent now?” Skadi’s voice dripped with pity.

Even though he was surrounded, Auchraw still thought he might be able to escape. He was a politician, and he had plenty of experience weaseling out of difficult situations.

“The Neikes family has been charged with the crime,” Skadi continued. “Even Lindworm’s patrol team didn’t detect their infiltration. The poison was in place before anyone noticed. Pursuing, arresting, and questioning a group of assassins is quite the difficult task in the monster realm.”

In the past, Auchraw had hired former soldiers for the harpy-egg trade, but the Draconess caught them. The soldiers had even switched sides, and now worked in Lindworm—yet another reason Auchraw so resented the Draconess. He’d paid extra for lamia assassins so that they wouldn’t be caught this time.

“But what about you?”

“What?”

“Can you withstand an interrogation? It doesn’t look like it.”

Skadi glanced at the patchwork girl next to her. Kunai was well-built and garbed in eastern clothing. She cracked her knuckles, looking as if she could easily break Auchraw’s arms.

“Plenty of monsters in Lindworm are skilled at interrogation,” Skadi said.

“F-fine. A deal! Let’s make a deal.” Auchraw couldn’t stomach the thought of violence.

“A deal?” Skadi’s eyebrows knitted in annoyance.

Auchraw didn’t notice. “This is in your interest. P-promise me you’ll just hear me out.”

Skadi waited silently.

“The harpies,” Auchraw continued. “There are tons of harpies in Lindworm! I’ll introduce you to someone who will pay high prices for their eggs! With my connections, Draconess, harpy eggs might as well be made of gold! You’ll be rich! So, let’s make a deal. I’ll give you my connections, and you can let me g—”

“Are you serious?” Skadi sighed. She’d been foolish to listen to him for even a moment. “You really are incapable of remorse, aren’t you?”

That’s when Auchraw realized that shining eyes stared out at him from the surrounding trees. Who were they? Why were they watching him?

“I really don’t intend to sit here and point out every ridiculously stupid thing you say.” Skadi spoke without emotion. “But you certainly need to stop pitching businesses that prey on monsters to monsters. Souen is far better at calculating profits and losses than you are.”

Auchraw was about to spit out a comeback when he heard the sound of a bird’s flapping wings—no, it wasn’t a bird. The flame-colored wings of a harpy were unmistakable, even in the dark of night.

A harpy?

“Draconess! Is this the person you were looking for?”

“Yes, Illy. Thank you. You and your sisters found him right away.”

“He was staggering so much, it was easy! So, then… This guy? Whaaat?” The red-feathered harpy stared at Auchraw.

In the eastern language, “night blindness” was known as “bird eyes,” but many birds could actually fly at night. Illy’s eyes reflected the moonlight with a faint green sheen.

“L-Little girl! Do you know me? I’m Auchraw, the statesman and duke.”

“Who cares?! I don’t care about statesmen or dukes! You hurt me and my friends terribly! Do you even realize that?!”

“Whaaat?!” Auchraw cried.

The sound of flapping wings echoed across the mountain as several harpies flew into the sky.

“I’m sure that you don’t care about those harpies you were forcing to lay eggs, but I almost died from it. I was lucky the good doctor was there!”

That’s when Auchraw finally realized what he’d done. He had hired men to kidnap these harpy girls and forced them to lay eggs in Lindworm. The eyes of every harpy around him were full of anger.

No wonder Skadi was able to catch up with him so quickly. The harpies were tracking him from the treetops. Auchraw had been a fool to think that no one followed him.

“I’m Illy. Not that I expect you to remember. But you are going to think about what you’ve done.”

“Wh-what?”

“First, you captured me and my family and forced us to lay eggs!”

Illy had been rescued, and now lived in the harpy village, delivering mail in Lindworm. She was only just starting to call the others in the village “family.”

“Next, you spread poison in the canals, endangering my friends and their families in Lindworm! That’s unforgivable!” The red-winged harpy spoke to Auchraw as if she were a judge passing sentence.

Auchraw staggered away, so angry that he couldn’t see straight. However, he’d forgotten what blocked his path…and he bumped into the cloth wall. “Argh!”

“Hmmm?” mumbled Dione. “What happened?”

“Eeek!”

Auchraw thought that he was floating into the air. By the time he realized that something had picked him up, it was too late.

The wild giant held Auchraw tight. “It seems you’re not just a looost traveler. What’s going on?”

“He was behind the harpy-egg trade, Dione,” said Illy.

“Oh, is that sooo? Then…perhaps he needs a taaalking to?”

The harpy girl lifted one leg while she hovered in the air. Her claws, which looked as though they could rip a human apart instantly, shone in the moonlight.

“Hey, Draconess, this guy isn’t remorseful at all. Can I just punish him a little?”

“You know that’s not allowed, Illy. There will be no vigilantes here.”

The other harpies chirped their complaints.

“Eh?”

“Are you serious?”

“Unbelievable.”

Auchraw breathed a sigh of relief, yet that relief was short-lived.

“But, well—” Skadi continued her train of thought. “If the suspect was a little beaten up, we could always say that was because he resisted arrest. We wouldn’t have been able to catch him without your help. If something occurs between now and when the patrol team arrives… Well, if I didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.”

“Okay!” The red-winged harpies answered cheerfully.

“Whaaat?” Auchraw was hysterical.

Dione placed the former duke on the ground. The women with Skadi turned away, and the harpies’ claws closed in.

Auchraw’s screams echoed throughout the mountain.

Skadi was sure that Illy and her friends wouldn’t kill him. She figured that this man, who looked down on monsters and thought of harpies as nothing more than objects of trade, needed harsh punishment.

“Kunai…it’s cold.”

“That’s because you’re not wearing your robe, Draconess. Let’s go back to the hotel and rest. The patrol team can take it from here.”

Though she’d complained, Skadi wasn’t shivering. She let out a small breath of flame. Even in the Vivre Mountains, with winter approaching, a fire dragon could withstand the cold.

Nor did the temperature affect Kunai, who was dead, or Molly, who wasn’t limited by living beings’ physical constraints.

“Sioux, aren’t you chilly? Are you okay?” Skadi asked.

“Well, ever since I became a demon, I have gotten more tolerant of the cold. Please, do not worry.”

“I see. Well then, this case is closed.” The slave trade that had originated in Lindworm was finally at an end. Skadi stretched out her wings in relief. “It really is cold.”

“After we go back to the hotel, we’ll make some tea,” said Kunai. “Still, it’s unclear what’s happening in the hotel now. Hopefully, Dr. Glenn was able to talk Sapphee down, but the probability of that, according to my calculations, is—”

Skadi cut her off quickly. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Each monster and human had a soulmate. It was obvious to everyone that Glenn and Sapphee were connected. They’d been brought together by fate.

“Well, fate or not, I’ll swoop in to take it,” Skadi said.

“Draconess? What are you talking about?”

Skadi brushed the question aside. “Nothing. I’m just talking to myself.”

She didn’t want to deal with Kunai, whom she knew still hoped for a shot with Glenn.

“Sioux,” Skadi asked, “are you wondering what’s going on with your brother?”

“I wonder!” Sioux didn’t beat around the bush. “I am extremely curious. Will Sister become my sister-in-law? Or will someone else be involved? What should I report to our family? I wonder many things!”

Skadi laughed. “You’ll find out when we get back to the hotel.”

Dragons had long lives. They witnessed the deaths of many, and perhaps that was why Skadi kept the dead around her. Kunai and Molly were two of her closest companions. She felt some envy for Sioux, who did everything she could to live her best life.

Skadi never took her longevity for granted. She lived each day to the fullest. After all, her life would be significantly lengthened thanks to Cthulhy and Glenn.

“Molly, can you get me some warm tea at the hotel?”

“Yes. The previous manager left a recipe. It contains herbs.”

“The graveyard city’s herbs…they aren’t rotten, are they?”

“Their expiration date might have passed, but my judgment is that a dragon’s body could digest them without a problem.”

“Still, I’d like something fresher.”

The main patrol team came up the mountain path, and Skadi motioned that she was leaving the rest to them. The team moved into position to apprehend Auchraw.

“Oh, I’m going to borrow Sioux for a bit,” Skadi told them.

The patrol team captain nodded in acknowledgment. Lindworm didn’t belong to Skadi, but the trust she’d earned as the City Council representative was evident.

“Oh.” Skadi had forgotten to take care of one last task.

“Draconess?”

“Mmm…I just remembered something I have to do.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Well, I’ll do it when I get back. I can finish it quickly. If Glenn did well with Sapphee, then I’ll need to enact a new ordinance.”

“Wh-what?”

Before, Glenn had asked Skadi whether she wanted to live long enough to see how the town turned out. Ever since her heart recovered, Skadi had witnessed all manner of unexpected occurrences.

Just as Dr. Glenn had said, she looked forward to what the future held for Lindworm.