Case 03: An Incomplete Shoggoth

Case 03:
An Incomplete Shoggoth

 

It was official. The harvest festival was going forward.

A wave of relief seemed to wash over Lindworm. Many people were well into preparation, despite being unsure whether the festival would go on or not. They didn’t want to let a chance like this go to waste, given Lindworm’s history of trade and tourism.

However, judging from the expression on Lord Murdrac’s face, he still didn’t care for the festival. It was Glenn who’d convinced him, using his letter of thanks to get him to agree to hold a harvest festival in the graveyard city.

“We thank you again for speaking to Lord Murdrac, Dr. Glenn,” Molly said, bowing.

“I didn’t really do much…” Glenn shook his head, but he was only being modest. He’d met with Lord Murdrac in person to request his approval, after all. The vampire lord had been pale and slender, with sharp eyes and a clever spirit. Since he’d reached out to Glenn in the first place to express his gratitude, convincing him hadn’t been too difficult. He wasn’t thrilled about the harvest festival, but he couldn’t refuse a request from someone he was this indebted to, and so he’d sent a letter to the city council giving his approval.

“I asked my dad, too!” Plum said, webbed wings spread out as she hopped to and fro. Molly and Plum were visiting Glenn’s clinic.

“The preparations are really coming along. Progress is now at 67% completion. When it starts, please bring the pharmacist, Sapphee, with you.”

“Y-yes. We will attend.”

Molly rarely left the graveyard city, but ever since she’d gotten a seat on the city council, Glenn saw her in town more often. Today, she probably had council business to take care of. She also had to make arrangements for the harvest festival, so it seemed she was always busy these days.

“I didn’t realize you and Plum were so close.”

“She followed us here. If we’d known her before, we would have negotiated with Lord Murdrac ourselves. The success rate would have increased by 15%.”

“Molly said she was going to the clinic, so I came with her.”

“The graveyard city manager cannot refuse a request from the daughter of the hotel owner,” Molly said, seemingly exasperated. With her goggling eyes, she looked like a flat-faced doll when she shook her head.

“Doctor, you should’ve just told me about the harvest festival. It looks soooo fun. I would’ve helped you out,” Plum said, spreading her wings.

The wounds had already closed up. Glenn was sure that she wouldn’t have any more urges to drink blood.

“Oh, right! You would have been all for it, huh, Plum…?”

“Of course I would’ve! If I knew, I would’ve convinced Dad.”

“I guess I should have said something first…”

“I’m gonna work on an event with my mentor, Arahnia, and Memé-chi. I can’t wait!”

If Glenn had asked Plum for advice, he might have been able to negotiate smoothly with Lord Murdrac. Either way, he would probably have ended up treating Plum and allowing her to suck his blood, so the result would have been the same. Plum smiled at Glenn, exposing her crooked tooth.

“There’s a chance Lord Murdrac didn’t tell his daughter about the harvest festival on purpose,” Molly speculated. “That way, she wouldn’t get too excited.”

“Seriously? That’s cold.”

“Even if it’s true, we hope you’ll save your family disagreements for after the festival. We can’t risk it being canceled.” Molly looked at Glenn with her goggling eyes. “A wide range of events will be held. Scythia Transportation will provide carriage rides. There will be tastings of the many products sent over from Aluloona Plantation. We have asked Loose Silk Sewing to provide costumes for everyone who enters the graveyard city. This will be a test of our skills as hosts. This is only possible because of your negotiations, Dr. Glenn. Thank you again.”

“D-don’t mention it. I had my own reasons, to be honest,” Glenn said, glancing in the back.

Sapphee was grinding medicinal herbs in one corner of the room, careful not to interrupt Glenn’s guests.

“Mm-hmm. We heard from Hephthal.”

“Huh?”

“He said that his condition for giving you his blessing to marry his daughter, Tisalia, was to make sure the harvest festival went forward.”

The grinding sound was getting louder.

“When we heard you were engaged to three women, we anticipated the pandemonium that might occur. We thought that you were most infatuated with your pharmacist, Sapphee. However, we are glad to see that you consider all of them important. We’ll be sure to prepare a grave that will hold all of you.”

“Ah ha, ha ha…”

The sound of Sapphee grinding leaves was a veritable cacophony. Plum hid behind Molly.

“Did you come all the way from the graveyard city just to thank me?”

“Of course not. Lady Plum came for pleasure, but we have other work to do.” Molly shook her head. “We have a request. Can you please look for this?”

Molly produced a purple ball, about the size of her fist. Glenn took it. It looked like semi-transparent jelly, but it was solid, like someone had carved a crystal into a polished sphere.

“Oh—this is a funky artefact. Is it food? Do you put it in iced tea?”

“Funky…? This term is not in my database. Lady Plum, we request explanation.”

“Funky means funky,” Plum said.

Glenn looked at the sphere. Was it food? It sort of looked like an egg, or even candy. But it was strange.

“Would you like to try it, Dr. Glenn?”

“Hunh, it is food?”

“Its original purpose is not for food, but consumption is possible. If you would like to eat part of us, we are happy to comply.”

“Part of you?!” Glenn nearly dropped the ball.

“Yes. Dr. Glenn already has three fiancées. We thought excessive closeness would cause discord. But if you desire to integrate with us so much that you want to consume us…we will consider candidacy to become a fiancée.”

“Fiancée candidates are no longer being accepted!” Sapphee called out. She snatched the sphere from Glenn’s hand.

The object, which was apparently part of Molly, bore no resemblance to her except for the purple coloring. However, Molly was a being from the age of the gods, called a shoggoth. She had the ability to metamorphize freely, fully controlling her shape and texture. In the past, she’d manifested as a parasite in Skadi’s heart, and had spread pieces of herself around the city, which had caused the doppelgänger scare.

Molly had formed her slime-like body around the bone structure of the previous graveyard city manager. This ball was made of the same substance as that body.

“This is in a dormant state.”

“Dormant?”

“It is unable to consume nutrients, so it cannot move or transform, even to a predatory state. It is the form that our dispersed parts take when under dire circumstances. They stop consuming energy and wait to be collected, until the main unit can save them. In this state, all outside information is cut off, so the only way to search for them is visually.” Molly stretched her arm toward the purple ball that Sapphee was examining. Her arm literally stretched, like chewing gum, and she took back the sphere. Then she pressed it against her arm.

There was a squishy sound, and the sphere was absorbed into Molly’s body.

“Ahhh.” Molly’s body quivered, and she let out a seductive moan that Glenn had never heard before.

“Umm…so now it’s back to its original state?”

“Affirmative. We kept that piece separate so we could demonstrate for you, Dr. Glenn. We want to ask you to recover these spheres. Now that the harvest festival is truly happening, we want to be as whole as possible,” Molly said, opening and closing her fist to check her sense of touch. “Ever since taking on this form, we have searched diligently for our missing parts, but we cannot find all of them. With the festival approaching, we need to ask for assistance.”

“Hmm…” Glenn understood what Molly was asking. “I’ll do whatever I can to make you feel better…but as for searching for parts of your body… I think the patrol team would be more effective than a doctor.”

“Our dormant parts can’t be found easily. The patrol team might overlook them. However, we determined that personnel from the clinic would have a high probability of finding them.”

“Personnel… But it’s only me and Sapph—ohhh.” Glenn finally understood.

That’s when the fairies peeked out from Sapphee’s clothing, looking ready to help. They must have snuck in at some point.

“We are sure the fairies can find our lost parts. Please help, Dr. Glenn.” Molly bowed.

“Hey, gimme one of these,” Plum cut in, gazing at a fairy in the palm of her hand.

“Fairies aren’t property. I can’t give you one,” Sapphee snapped back.

 

***

 

They needed to find the purple spheres, or rather, the parts of Molly’s body. However, even with the fairies’ help, it would be an entire day’s work. Glenn chose a day when he expected few patients and closed the clinic so they could search.

“While I’m glad Molly feels like she can ask the clinic for help,” Sapphee said as she strolled along the main road, parasol in hand, “do you really think we’ll find them? I’ve never seen Molly’s parts in Lindworm.”

“She just said to look for things like this…” Glenn pulled out the piece he’d received as a sample.

There were so many things he didn’t know about her, like how she could absorb this object into her body, then reproduce it again. He didn’t even know enough to examine her. Molly had always taken care of her body on her own. She hadn’t once come to him for treatment. Still, he was glad that she was finally getting used to living in the city.

“Let’s have the fairies memorize this shape and search for it.”

“Agreed.” Sapphee suddenly stopped short.

There were people heading toward them.

“What are you doing here? Tisalia? Arahnia?”

“Ohhh, you know!”

The pair joined Glenn and Sapphee.

Tisalia looked off. And she wasn’t accompanied by Kay and Lorna. Glenn asked what was wrong.

“If I stay home, I’ll just have to help with the preparations for the harvest festival!”

“As you should. Isn’t that your family’s business?”

“Yes, it is!” Tisalia wailed, tears in her eyes. “But I’m afraid of the graveyard city. It’s full of g-g-ghosts, and for some reason, it’s always dark. I really don’t want to go. But Father said he wants to take our employees and set up a carriage ride attraction.”

“That’s why she captured me.” Arahnia chuckled. “She made up an excuse that she was going out with a friend.” The fact that she would humor Tisalia, even though she was so busy, showed how much she cared.

“Sure, it’s not the most pleasant place…but it’s going to be set up for the festival! That’ll be fun, won’t it?”

“Not at all! I never want to go back there again! That one time when Sapphee made me follow Dr. Glenn with her, I said I didn’t want to, but she forced me—Mmrgh!”

“You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”

Sapphee was holding her tail over Tisalia’s mouth, but Glenn had already heard too much.

“What? Following me? When? You don’t mean when Kunai was serving as the manager?”

“N-no. I trusted you, Doctor. I was just a little anxious and…and in the end, nothing happened anyway!”

“Sapphee…”

Glenn resolved to be more careful when he was out walking alone. It seemed engagement wasn’t enough to contain Sapphee’s natural jealousy.

“Anyway!” Tisalia continued, peeling the white tail away from her mouth. “The graveyard city isn’t as dark and scary as it was before, but it’s still creepy, and I can’t stand that strange sound! What is it, anyway?”

“Sound?”

Glenn had visited the graveyard city many times, but he wasn’t aware of any particular sound. Sapphee tilted her head to the side, too. Centaurs’ hearing was superior to humans, so maybe she’d noticed something they couldn’t.

“There are a lot of centaurs who hate the graveyard city. But my father is forcing us all to participate in the festival.”

“Th-that’s surprising. Centaurs are so strong…”

“Swords and spears are useless against ghosts.” Tisalia sighed. “Kay doesn’t seem to mind, but Lorna is delicate and agrees with me. Meanwhile, my mother is shut up in the mansion, saying she doesn’t want to go anywhere near the graveyard.”

“Like mother, like daughter.” Glenn chuckled.

Even though Tisalia and her mother had physically fought over the engagement, they were remarkably similar. And despite Glenn resolving Hephthal’s issue, it seemed Scythia Transportation still had problems.

Centaurs were known for their valor and dauntless courage, but they also had a nervous side. Glenn had once treated Lorna for anxiety, so he was concerned that the festival might be affecting the broader population.

“Anyway! If I help the Doctor with his work, then I won’t have to go to the graveyard city! And searching for Molly’s body parts is also helping the harvest festival! I’ll help in any way to make sure it’s a success!”

“Th-thank you very much.”

Glenn wasn’t sure this was the best way to help, but they did need more hands. He also didn’t want to force Tisalia to go to the graveyard city if she was scared. He decided to accept her offer.

“Arahnia, don’t you have deadlines?”

“Things have settled down a bit. Besides, there are plenty of other arachne. I could use a walk around town to muster up some inspiration.”

“I see, thanks.”

So, Arahnia would help them, too.

Tisalia and Arahnia had both helped the clinic in the past in their own ways. And Glenn was sure he’d need their help in the future. Actually, since they were going to be married, he resolved to start asking them for help without hesitation.

“But the four of us walking around in a group won’t be effective. What should we do?”

“You’re right. We should split up.”

As soon as the words were out of Sapphee’s mouth, all the fiancées’ eyes were shining.

“Doctor, shall we stroll the city together?”

“Hmm. I see. Using work as an excuse to get time with the Doc?”

“You both know the rules? No hard feelings and no cheating. We need to be fair.”

Glenn couldn’t get a word in.

His three fiancées were clenching their fists, spoiling for a fight. It was a three-way standoff. Back where Glenn had grown up, the common tiebreaker was a game called Frog Slug Snake, but he didn’t know the equivalent for Lindworm.

He tried to think of a new metaphor.

In this case, it was a snake, a horse, and a spider. The spider could swallow the horse whole, and the horse could stomp on the spider. But the spider could also use her web to catch the snake and eat it… Well, that wasn’t going to work. Instead, Glenn came up with a new game on the fly.

“Rock…paper…”

The three women stuck out their hands at the same time.

“Whoooa, big winner!”

Tisalia had won against the other two and earned the privilege of teaming up with Glenn. She loaded fairies onto her head, back, and shoulders, and set off into the city. To the fairies, Tisalia—who could easily carry dozens of them at once—must have felt like a moving fortress.

“Now, Doctor, where should we start?”

“Right…” Glenn actually had no idea where to begin looking.

Molly was counting on the fairies. Apparently, they had their own flight paths, and they appeared in unexpected places and at unexpected moments throughout the town. Perhaps it would be best to leave the search to them.

Which meant…

“Since you can carry so many fairies at once, I think it would be best to visit as many places as possible and expand the search area. We can leave the narrow alleys and gaps to the fairies.”

“It’s like patrol work!”

Glenn didn’t think so, but Tisalia seemed to like this analogy.

“Then, can we stop by Memé’s shop, too? I haven’t seen her since the accident.”

“Ohh, let’s do that.”

The accident Tisalia was referring to was the incident several days ago, when Memé had a run-in with a centaur carriage. Memé had been unscathed in the end, but Tisalia had been left to clean up the aftermath. She was probably wondering how Memé was doing.

Tisalia continued along the main road, her hooves clip-clopping down the street. The fairies would periodically fly off to search, then return to Tisalia’s back, or hang from her tail. She didn’t seem to mind.

Glenn realized they hadn’t walked down the street like this since their all-day date. At the time, he’d had thought it might be his last chance to spend time with Tisalia like that, but instead, they’d gotten engaged. What a strange turn of events.

As he thought that, they arrived at Memé’s shop. Tisalia waltzed in as if she’d been there hundreds of times. “Hi, Memé. How are you feeling?”

“Eeek!”

Memé let out a strange yelp from behind the counter. She rushed to clean up whatever was on her work table. Apparently, she was in the middle of making something.

“Why are you panicking?”

“I-I-I’m not panicking! Next time, tell me before you show up here!” she said, gathering up her tools with a loud clattering. She must have really been concentrating. “W-welcome, both of you. Hurry up and make your purchase, then leave!”

“I’m not one to talk, but you really aren’t cut out for customer service…” Tisalia, heir to a transportation company, was appalled. “In any case, we’re not here to shop. I’m helping the doctor with his work today.”

“R-really?” Memé’s eyes grew round with surprise. “You’re taking time to…help him?”

“Yes. As his wife—er, as his fiancée,” Tisalia said.

“I-I see.” Memé seemed to shrink. She was always anxious, but today she seemed especially jumpy. Maybe it had something to do with the project she’d been working on when they came in… Memé wasn’t the best at hiding things, so Glenn decided to change the subject.

“Memé, have you ever seen anything like this?”

“What is that? A jewel?” Memé cocked her head to the side, examining the purple sphere.

Glenn might have thought the same thing if he didn’t already know.

“Hmm… It’s not exactly the same, but I think I’ve seen something similar.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…where was it…” Memé racked her brain.

“You were really busy getting your shop all ready, so even if you did see it, you were probably too busy to remember.”

“Mmm…no, that’s not it. But if I remember, then I’ll tell you.” Memé groaned, holding her head in her hands.

“Yes, please. Well, since we came all the way here, how about we buy something?”

“Oh, thank y—”

“Hmm. Something small for Kay and Lorna…” Tisalia started looking around the store.

Glenn knew nothing about accessories, so he just looked at the products around him, trying to stay out of Tisalia’s way.

“Oh, Doctor, I’ll hurry.”

“N-no, please, take your time.”

A good husband—er, fiancée—would probably have bought her something right there, but Tisalia had no problem funding her own purchases. Being engaged was complicated. Glenn wanted to be as good a husband as he could be, but he still wasn’t even sure what that meant.

He felt something tugging on his hair.

“Hmm?”

Several fairies had climbed to the top of his head. Glenn couldn’t really tell the difference between them, but he got the sense that these particular fairies were around him a lot.

“Found them.”

“There.”

The fairies were pointing at a pair of earrings.

They were handmade, probably by Memé. The bases were silver, adorned with purple stones. It was a rare color for a jewel. But Glenn had seen that same shade somewhere before.

“Ah… Ahh, this?!” Memé followed their gaze. “There were two rare stones in the warehouse, so I used them. I don’t know where the boss found them. But they’re a nice color, right?”

“Y-yes.” The stones in the earrings were each about the size of the tip of his finger.

Glenn had never seen them before, and yet they seemed familiar.

“Oh.”

“There.”

“Found them.”

The fairies kept repeating the same words. Glenn should have realized it sooner.

“Tisalia, we found it. The first one,” Glenn sighed.

“Huh?”

“Er, umm…” Memé was looking from side to side. “I-I don’t really understand. Do you want to buy them?”

Glenn couldn’t ask her to give up a product she’d poured her heart and soul into for free. “Excuse me, Tisalia, can you loan me some money…?”

“No problem. These are Molly’s parts, right? I’ll get the money from her later.”

The earrings, made of silver, cost far more than Glenn had on him. He had no choice but to let Tisalia pay for them. How was he supposed to be a good provider?

“But one small discovery leads to many more,” Tisalia said, looking at the box she carried in her hands.

As if encouraged by the earrings, the fairies bustled about collecting lots of stones after that. They hadn’t anticipated all the different sizes. Some were as small as a fingernail, and would have been nearly impossible for Glenn and the others to find.

“It’s like medical practice. The more data you can gather on observable symptoms, the more accurate the diagnosis becomes. In this case, the more samples we had, the easier it was for the fairies to find them.”

“If we do a loop of the city now, I think we’ll find everything we need.”

“Yes. All thanks to you, Tisalia.”

They’d found the earrings because Tisalia had suggested going to Memé’s shop. Even if she was only trying to avoid working in the graveyard city, she’d ended up being an invaluable help.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I get to spend time with you.”

That made Glenn feel even worse about his failure as a provider.

“That way.”

“Next!”

“Oh, toward the city council?”

Each time the fairies found another piece of Molly, their accuracy improved. Many people around town had found random parts of Molly and used them for other purposes, the same way that Memé had made them into earrings. The most common new owners were children who’d picked them up as “treasures.” In those cases, rather than just take them without a word, the fairies reported the finds to Glenn and the others. They’d already collected pieces from three homes.

Some had been picked up by harpies, who appreciated shiny things. In these cases, too, Glenn explained the situation and they cheerfully handed over the items. But now, the fairies were taking them to the city council.

The patrol team stood guard there, but the doctor and the lady of Scythia were waved through without a word.

Following the fairies, they arrived at…

“Welcome,” Skadi said.

“Unacceptable, Dr. Glenn! Bursting into the Draconess’s office without an appointment!” Kunai was there too.

“It’s fine. You’re searching for Molly’s parts, right? They’re over there. Please, take them.”

“Oh…”

That was fast.

Glenn had never seen Skadi going over paperwork like this before. She sat behind a desk on which an array of purple pieces were displayed, including the biggest one they’d seen yet. Glenn gathered up the pieces, admiring the size of the collection.

“But…if you had these pieces, why didn’t you give them to Molly directly?”

“Uhh…” Skadi looked away. “They were bright and shiny, so…I kept them for my collection.”

“Collection?!”

“The Draconess loves beautiful things, like stones and jewelry,” Kunai said. “She has a personal collection of them. I don’t really understand it, but she especially likes these purple ones.”

“I thought I’d at least wait until she asked for them back…” Skadi said timidly, interlacing her fingers in front of her chest. “But I can’t keep her things forever. Please return them to her.”

“Yes, of course. We’ll take them now.”

“Ahhh…my collection…” Skadi said, looking at them longingly. “Well, it can’t be helped. I know why you’re here, Glenn, but why is Tisalia with you?”

“I’m helping!”

“I see. So, you ran away because you didn’t want to work on preparations in the graveyard city?”

Tisalia groaned at Skadi’s remarkably correct guess.

Ever since her surgery, Skadi was completely frank with everyone she spoke to. It was completely unlike the stiff way she used to talk, back when she used to hide her face. This was probably closer to her true personality.

“I just don’t get it…to go as far as to scare his own daughter? Hephthal should just give up.”

“B-but my father needs to make money—”

“Yes, I know. But the fact is, there are a lot of complaints coming from centaurs that they sense something strange in the graveyard city. They want something done about it. Still, I don’t know what they expect me to do…”

Glenn wanted to help them, but he wasn’t an expert in exorcising malignant spirits. He’d heard Skadi had knowledge of such spells, so he would have thought coming to her was the correct move.

Hmm…

When he’d visited the graveyard before, Skadi had given him a charm to ward off malignant spirits. If the centaurs were afraid of ghosts, maybe they just needed some of those charms?

“Tisalia, if you goof off too much, Hephthal is going to be angry with you.”

“I-I’m not goofing off! I am helping my future husband with this important work of collecting Molly’s body parts for the success of the harv—”

“Okay, okay. I get it,” Skadi said, stifling a yawn.

“Um, Skadi?”

“What?”

“I thought you really liked these sorts of social events. Aren’t you going to join in the festivities?”

“Oh…” Skadi brushed away the paperwork and laid her face flat on the desk, her horns thunking against the wood.

“The Draconess has prepared a play for the harvest festival,” Kunai explained.

“A play?”

“Yes. It is called Pretty Skadi, the Magic Draconess, written by, directed by, and starring the Draconess herself.”

“O-oh.”

“But it was canceled. A majority of the council members opposed it, saying the Draconess would lose face if she staged it and performed in it.”

“Umm…” Glenn was aware of Skadi’s childish tendencies, but this was a little much.

“Aluloona, Hephthal, and Claudette all vetoed it. Cthulhy was sleeping. I hate all of them…!” Skadi swung her tail around in a circle, her head still on the desk.

“Don’t worry about it. She’s always like this.” Kunai brushed aside her anger.

That actually made Glenn more concerned.

“The point is that the play was vetoed. But it’s for the best. The Draconess is extremely busy with the harvest season. Traders are pouring into the city to buy our crops, and powerful politicians are coming to attend the festival. The Draconess doesn’t have time for frivolities. She is planning to attend the festival, but she’s left the preparations to the graveyard city manager. Please give Molly our regards.”

“Ah, well that’s no problem, but…” Since when had Glenn become a messenger?

Skadi hadn’t voiced any complaints about her work, but she might be bearing the weight of responsibilities Glenn knew nothing about on her skinny shoulders. It certainly seemed like it, from the way she’d deposited her head on her desk.

“Draconess,” Kunai hissed. “Manners!”

Skadi ignored her. “If Hephthal won’t be dissuaded, then things are going to be tough for you, too, Tisalia…”

“Y-yes…” Tisalia’s expression stiffened. Glenn wished there was something they could do for the centaurs, but he couldn’t think of a single thing.

Skadi just lay face-down on her desk, as if none of it concerned her in the least.

 

***

 

They’d gathered a fair amount of Molly pieces. The fairies were taking a break, sitting on Tisalia as she and Glenn headed toward Lindworm’s north gate, where they’d promised to meet up with Sapphee’s team.

“I wonder how Sapphee and Arahnia did.”

“Sapphee understands the fairies far better than I do. I’m sure they did a great job.”

When they arrived, the area was bustling, with many peddlers coming and going. There was a small market where merchants sold crops harvested on the plantation and souvenirs for passing traders to buy. All four of the city’s gates were like this.

“Will we be able to find Sapphee?”

“She’s already here,” Glenn said, spotting her parasol amidst the crowd.

“Oh, my… You can spot her anywhere. I’m a bit jealous.”

“Ah, um, uh…sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Don’t be silly. I just hope you can find me in a crowd just as easily.”

When they reached Sapphee, they found a familiar face accompanying her and Arahnia.

“Hey, Glenn.”

“Ugh,” Glenn groaned.

It was a condescending face, with eyes that seemed to scorn everyone they saw. For some reason, Glenn’s brother, who was supposed to be in the east, was standing right in front of him.

“This is perfect. Sapphee said you’d be here any minute, so I decided to wait. I’m glad to see you’re in good health.”

“We ran into him over there,” Sapphee said, looking exhausted. She didn’t care for Souen. She knew him from back when she was a hostage in the Litbeit house, but he’d never spoken to her kindly.

Sioux was there, too. She was talking to a woman in a headscarf next to Souen. Glenn had never seen that woman before, and wondered who she was.

“Brother, you’ve been coming here quite often lately. What’s going on?”

“Well, I heard that the Lindworm harvest festival has been revived, of course. It’s rare for this many merchants from all over the continent to gather in one place. I can’t let such a business opportunity go to waste. I brought some envoys from the east to further enrich the economy.”

Souen crossed his arms, laughing. He’d visited Lindworm during the Waterways poisoning as a politician, but this time, apparently, he was wearing his merchant hat.

“Mmm, you look very healthy, Sapphee,” he added.

“Yes, well… I see you haven’t changed at all, Souen,” Sapphee said, inching closer to Glenn.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You gotta be careful with this one,” Arahnia chimed in. She was gathering the pieces of Molly they’d collected and bundling them together with webbing.

“Doctor, is this…?” Tisalia whispered.

Souen bowed his head. “I am very pleased to meet you, Lady Scythia. We have the utmost respect for centaur shipping and delivery services in the human realm. I am Souen, Glenn’s older brother. We look forward to maintaining our relationship with your company.”

“Ahh, the infamous—” Tisalia cut herself off, laughing nervously. She’d probably heard of Souen’s activities through the newspaper. Seeing the way his demeanor changed in front of someone he could make money off confirmed everything she’d read about him. “Please direct any business-related matters to my father. I am an only child, and betrothed to Dr. Glenn.”

“Oh, really? I just heard that he’s also engaged to this designer here. You’ve been busy, Glenn. This is unexpected.” Souen grinned.

Glenn, who was seriously in love with all of three of his fiancées, was none too pleased to have his brother question his intentions. “Brother…if you’re here for business, you don’t have time to be talking to us. Go on.”

“What’s this? From the ingrate who didn’t even tell us he was engaged? What will Father and Mother say?”

“Uh…”

That was right. Glenn hadn’t even told his parents he was engaged.

His parents weren’t prejudiced against monsters, compared to most humans, but he still didn’t think they’d be pleased to learn that he was engaged to a lamia, a centaur, and an arachne. Especially since human laws didn’t allow polygamy.

“Sioux didn’t tell them? She’s the one who pushed me to get married in the first place!”

“Err…with three candidates to become Sioux’s sister, Sioux did not know how to explain to Father and Mother! Sioux is still confused!”

“Well, that makes sense…”

“Your parents don’t know?”

“My mother didn’t understand, either…”

“Well, that’s fine by me.”

Each of Glenn’s fiancées sighed for their own reasons. Family sure was complicated. Only Arahnia was completely unconcerned.

“You’re both impossible. Business is important, but I also need news to take home to our parents. Now, tell me about your engagement with each of these women, including Sapphee.”

“He’s lying.” The women in the headscarf spoke up. She was perfectly calm, but her voice was loud. “Seeking out merchants was just Souen’s pretext for bringing me here. The truth is that we thought we might be able to walk freely in public at Lindworm. We also heard that there were attractions for couples at this year’s harvest festival. You were a convenient excuse, Little Brother.”

“Umm, and you are…?”

“Allow me to introduce myself.”

The woman removed her scarf.

Glenn had never seen her before, but a pair of short horns just like Sioux’s protruded from her head.

“I am Souen’s fiancée. My name is Saki. I am very pleased to meet you, Little Brother.”

The way she spoke was both sophisticated and gentle, but her gaze bored through Glenn. She’d probably been through a lot, and her expression gave the impression that she never let her guard down. In a way, she was similar to his brother, who never let his true intentions show.

So, this woman was the reason his brother had been so particular about his advancement in life. Souen was working to change the attitudes of the entire human realm for her sake.

“I can see the resemblance between you two,” Saki commented, looking Glenn over.

“Heh. People usually say we don’t look alike.”

“That is not true. You both have strong faces full of unwavering conviction. It’s clear you are siblings.”

Glenn had never heard that before. However, Sapphee was silently nodding beside him, so it must’ve been true.

“Hey, Brother…you brought your fiancée, too!”

“She just tagged along,” Souen said flatly.

Saki averted her eyes. “Is that so? I must have been completely out of line, then. And I was so looking forward to the festival. How unfortunate.”

“Brother, how can you say such a thing!” Sioux cried out in protest against Saki’s feigned tears.

“That’s horrible.”

“To say such a thing!”

“Just awful.”

Souen made a face. “Go ahead. Why don’t you all just yell at me together?!”

Glenn was enjoying himself. It was rare for his brother to express this much emotion.

“That’s enough, Sioux. Here’s some money. Show Saki around the town. I have work to do. See the sights for a while, then take her to the inn.”

“Understood! Ummm… Miss Saki, this way please! First we will get dragon balls!”

“Dragon balls? They’re my favorite. Let’s go.”

Sioux and Saki left together.

Lined up like that, the two demons really looked like sisters. And just like Sioux, Saki wouldn’t be stared at for her Demonitis…not in this city.

Glenn watched them walk away. “Saki seems like a really great person.”

“Hmph. What do you know after saying three whole words to her?”

“I can tell. She must be very patient to be able to stand you.”

“You…” Souen looked like he’d just eaten something bitter. “And what about you? Just how did you end up engaged to three women?”

Sapphee and Arahnia were loading the web-bound bundle of purple spheres onto Tisalia’s back. Arahnia had made friends with the fairies, and was currently chatting them up.

“I-It’s a long story…”

“You’ll have to tell me some time. Just make sure you don’t fight with your wives. Family feuds aren’t profitable.” Strange advice coming from someone who’d been reprimanded by his own fiancée mere moments ago. Souen turned to the women. “Ladies, what do you see in my brother?”

Suddenly in the spotlight, Glenn’s fiancées looked at each other and giggled.

“Do you really need to ask that, Souen?”

“Seriously!”

Souen shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t say anything, but he was clearly perplexed.

“You’re just intolerable, aren’t you?” Arahnia laughed, half-annoyed and half-amused.

 

***

 

Eventually Souen left, saying he had business to attend to. He’d probably meet up with Saki later.

“Tisalia, you don’t have to come.”

“N-no! I’m the one who said I would help! I-I’m in it to the end!” Tisalia’s voice was shaking.

She was carrying the parts of Molly’s body that everyone had collected on her back. The pieces had been collected in a box, held firmly in place with Arahnia’s webbing.

They were, naturally, headed toward the graveyard city. All they had to do now was deliver the box to Molly, so Sapphee went home first and Arahnia left to work on festival preparations. Tisalia was the only fiancée left. She felt such a strong responsibility to keep her promise that she’d insisted on seeing this through to the end. Bundled together, the pieces were pretty heavy, so Glenn was grateful to have her along to carry them.

“We’re here.”

There was a skeleton standing guard at the entrance to the graveyard city, but when it saw Glenn, the iron gate opened without a word. At this point, they were probably letting everyone in.

Unlike when he’d visited in the past, the atmosphere of the district was almost bright. There were lanterns made from pumpkins and gourds scattered about, and flags with images of skulls and ghosts were strung between the trees. The merchants of Lindworm were preparing for the harvest festival in front of the hotel.

Although it was still late afternoon, the graveyard city was as dark as a moonlit night. It wasn’t hard to see, thanks to the lanterns, but the atmosphere was disconcerting.

Why is it always so dark…?

The sun didn’t reach this place. The thick wood hid the sky, and a strange, dark fog covered everything. There were rumors that the fog carried an evil aura, but Glenn didn’t believe in such things. There had to be a logical explanation for the fog.

“Eeek…!”

“Tisalia, are you scared?”

“N-no!” Tisalia’s face was pale. “Ugh…there’s no point in lying to you, Doctor. To be honest, I-I am scared.”

“The atmosphere’s different, isn’t it? The lanterns have brightened everything up, and everyone is getting ready for the festival. They’ve cleaned up all the cobwebs, and it’s not as creepy anymore.”

“I hear what you’re saying…but I still feel like there’s something behind me. Like…someone is following me.”

“But there’s no one there…”

Ghosts could get close without showing their form, but if there were any, Glenn couldn’t sense them.

“And the sound. This high-pitched sound… I can’t stand it.”

“Hmmm…” Glenn couldn’t hear any sound. The band was practicing in the square in front of the hotel, but that was it.

“It’s fine. I’m just a scaredy-cat. I can admit that. Now, let’s hurry and get this to Molly.” Tisalia sighed, resigned.

Glenn tried to think of something he could do to thank her for spending all day with him. Especially since she’d come to him because she didn’t want to work in the graveyard, and they’d ended up here anyway.

Since the load was on Tisalia’s back, both of her hands were free. Glenn reached over and grabbed one of them, like he was stealing it.

“Doctor?”

“I-I just thought that if we were holding hands you might feel a little better.”

Tisalia was taller than Glenn, so it was almost like she was pulling him along. “Tee hee…” Her fingers were still quivering a little. “I appreciate you thinking of me…husband.”

“Hu—”

“Would you prefer I call you ‘dear’?”

“N-no, I’m just not used to it… Just act like you always have.”

“That’s so cold!” Tisalia giggled.

Glenn was flustered, but at least Tisalia was feeling better.

“There you are! We’ve been waiting.” The graveyard city manager had appeared and was coming toward them.

“Molly. Sorry for making you wait. The fairies helped us find the body parts you requested.”

“You have arrived three hours and forty minutes earlier than I estimated. The fairies do excellent work. We are also grateful to you, Lady Tisalia. We’re glad to see you newlyweds are happy together.”

“N-no, we’re not newlyweds.” Glenn hurriedly released Tisalia’s hand.

Tisalia didn’t look put out. At least, she maintained her ladylike smile. She twisted to retrieve the load from her back. “Here, please take a look.”

“Yes, everything seems to be in order. I should be able to make up for the mass that has been lost.”

Glenn brushed away the arachne thread wrapped around the wooden box. Inside were the semi-transparent, jewel-like parts of Molly. He began taking the purple spheres out.

“Now, we will commence receipt.”

Molly suddenly opened her nun’s habit, exposing her chest. Her breasts jiggled. Unlike humans, her flesh was translucent tissue that revealed the bones within. Glenn knew as much already, but it was still shocking to suddenly see it.

She began to press the spheres they’d collected into her chest. The pieces sank back into her body with a sucking sound.

“Mmm. It feels nice. I will keep going.”

Squelch.

Slurrp.

The spheres assimilated into Molly’s body. As far as Glenn could tell, nothing had changed, but Molly probably felt something.

“It’s so… Umm…” Tisalia was dumbfounded. “Molly’s body…is strange.”

“Yes. I don’t understand it. It’s clearly not the same as slimes, though it superficially resembles them…and it’s from the age of the gods, which we know nothing about.”

“Having to examine so many different beings… Your work is really difficult, Doctor. I’m impressed.”

“Thank you,” Glenn said, although he hadn’t done anything for Molly. She probably needed a doctor the least of anyone in Lindworm.

“Mmmm…”

“Hmm?”

Just then, a strange sound emanated from Molly. Her goggling eyes opened wide, focused on a single point.

“Mmmgyaaah?!”

“Molly?!”

Molly’s entire body started convulsing, still making that same strange sound. Her body convulsed like she was being electrocuted.

“Wh-what’s happening?!”

“I don’t know. Molly, are you all right?!”

“Mmm…yeah… Aggh…ahhhmm!” Her voice was still strange, her body still trembling and convulsing. “We’re very sorr… Aggh! Our memory capacity—agggh—from synchronizing a high volume of information.”

Despite regaining her ability to speak, she was still twitching. Every time she gasped, a spike protruded from her body, as if she was having trouble controlling it. Normally, her expression was so stiff that she didn’t even blink, but now her face distorted as her body twisted.

“Umm…are you all right?”

“The information processing for integration is—mmm—taking time… Dr. Glenn, we apologize… Can you please insert the rest into our chest… Ahhhmm,” she requested.

More than half of Molly’s parts were still in the box.

Glenn thought for a moment. “Molly, if your integration isn’t going well… Umm, well, maybe it’s not a good idea to keep sticking things into you right now? It might just get worse…”

He didn’t think “sticking things in” was the best phrase, but he didn’t know how else to describe it.

“I-It’s not a problem—ahhh! As our cells increase, the volume of information we can process also increases. We should…return to our complete state… Ahhhhmmm.”

“Oh, ohh…”

He’d never seen Molly like this before. Perplexed, Glenn began taking more pieces out of the box. He wondered if he was right in his understanding that Molly herself was a collection of many small Mollys, and that she could disperse her component entities however she liked. After all, she always referred to herself as “we.” A slime couldn’t do this—it had to be an ancient shoggoth ability.

“Okay then… Pardon me…” Glenn knelt in front of her. After making eye contact with Molly, who’d sunk to the floor, he pressed a tiny sphere into her chest.

“Ahhh!”

It made a squishing sound.

Glenn’s hand was sucked into Molly’s gel-like body. The cold, moist tissue clung to his wrist. It had a consistency like jelly, and suction tried to hold his arm as he pulled it out.

The sphere easily integrated with Molly’s body, so from the outside, it probably just looked like Glenn was feeling up her chest.

“Mmm. We were just shocked from the information overload. We are fine. Please continue…”

“O-oh.”

Molly was clearly not herself today. She’d never come to the clinic for an examination, but it wasn’t as if she was immune to feeling ill. This was Glenn’s chance to help her.

Molly positioned herself to continue accepting her parts. Her eyes were half-closed, and she was breathing heavily. There was no mistake that a change was occurring in her body.

“Continue.”

Glenn picked up the dormant pieces of Molly, one after another. He pushed each one into her chest, where it was absorbed with a sucking sound.

“Ahhh!”

Molly’s body twitched.

“Mmm! Ahhmm! Ahhh!”

Molly’s voice sounded even more seductive than it might have coming from someone else, since she always seemed like a cold and unfeeling machine. Soon, she could no longer hold herself up, and she collapsed onto the uneven, weed-covered ground. This was the first time Glenn had seen Molly so worn out.

It was starting to worry him. “M-Molly?!”

“It’s fine. Information processing… Taking time… There may also be a partial change in speech ability. Request to not worry and continue…”

“U-understood.”

“Mmmaaahh!”

Glenn pushed the part he had in his hand against her chest, but then…

“H-huh? It won’t go in?”

“Mmm…it’s big.”

This piece was particularly large. Glenn hovered over Molly so that he could apply more strength. Until now, all the pieces had gone in relatively smoothly, but with this one, her body repelled it like a rubber ball.

“Ah, mm, mmm… Unlock, self-synchronization processing is taking ti—mmm?”

Molly’s body twisted at the discomfort of not being able to integrate herself into a single being.

“I-Is it safe for me to force it into you?”

“Mmm, if it’s a part with a small volume of information, it should slide in easily… You just need to find the right spot…”

“I see. Okay then.”

Glenn held the part up to various places on Molly’s body.

He started with her neck. Next he moved on to her chest, then abdomen, trying one spot after another.

“Oh, mmm! Hmmm! Aggh.”

Molly was reacting, but he couldn’t find the right spot to insert it. However, he noticed that the resistance wasn’t uniform across her body.

I think it’s a bit softer here?

He’d found a spot between her breasts.

When he pressed the ball against this spot, it felt like he could push it in deeper. Glenn rubbed the ball on the area, as if searching for the point of least resistance.

“Mmm! Agggh.”

Her reaction has changed…

Glenn nodded. So, the sweet spot was between her breasts. On a human body, that was close to where the heart would be.

“Hmm… I think it might work around here. How does it feel, Molly?”

“Mmm! Th-that’s good. Harder.”

“Yes.”

They were sprawled out in such a manner that Tisalia could only stare, speechless. However, Molly and Glenn were both completely absorbed in their tasks, and didn’t seem to notice the compromising position they were in.

“What am I looking at…?” Tisalia asked, but her words floated away in the air of the graveyard, heard by no one.

Glenn was concentrating on getting the massive, rubbery ball into Molly. This was the first time he’d ever treated a shoggoth, but with his experience examining a multitude of different monsters, he was sure that he could manage this.

“It’s in…”

“Ahhhmm, aggh!”

With a squishy, slurping sound, the ball slithered into the space between her breasts. Glenn’s hand was also sucked into Molly at the same time.

“Er…? I can’t get my hand out.”

“Aggh, oh, mmm…! D-Dr. Glenn, don’t move so much!”

“That’s easy for you to say…”

Glenn’s hand was stuck inside of Molly’s cold body. Since she was made of translucent, purple tissue, he could see his fingers inside of her. He tried making fists and spreading his fingers in an attempt to free his hand, but for some reason, the gel-like tissue clung to him. He couldn’t break free.

“Th-this… I-I’m stuck…” The suction power of her gel-like body was too strong.

“Mmm…a bug has occurred in our self-recognition function. Our body recognizes Dr. Glenn’s body as part of our own. If we don’t do something, we will absorb you.”

“H-huh?!” Glenn cried out. Frantic, he started pushing away from Molly with his free hand. But the moment he touched Molly, his hand was sucked into her chest, all the way up to his arm. “Aagggh!”

“Dr. Glenn, no…! Now you’ve done it… Mmm.”

Molly couldn’t move. Both of Glenn’s hands were stuck inside of Molly, and he slowly sank into her like she was quicksand.

Am I going to be…dissolved?!

Even though it looked like Glenn was sprawled on top of Molly, this was a serious dilemma. Slimes ate by absorbing food into their body. It was possible that Molly had the same sort of digestive function.

“Ohh…mmm.” Molly writhed in agony.

“M-Molly…wh-what can we do?”

“W-wait… Ahhh. O-our function is recovering…”

Her body convulsed—the integration of all her parts probably wasn’t complete yet. Plus, Glenn was stuck inside of her. It was only natural that she couldn’t stay calm.

“I suppose I have no choice.”

Glenn felt hands behind him.

“I’m going to be a bit forceful. Ready?”

“Huh?! Huh?!”

Glenn felt a tug on his white coat. Tisalia had grabbed him. She pulled Glenn up, but Molly’s body clung too tightly to Glenn, and he didn’t budge. Her tissues just stretched, instead.

“It looks like we’ll have to pull really hard.”

“W-wait…be gentler…”

“As your fiancée, I cannot overlook this.”

“Mmmm, ahh!”

Molly’s convulsions had grown more violent. Apparently, the pulling was putting additional stress on her body. The more Glenn struggled to get free, the more Molly’s body fought back.

“I’m going to pull again, Doctor.”

“Er, errr…”

Tisalia wasn’t interested in Glenn’s hesitation. It reminded him of that old tale of the enormous turnip…only in this case, he was the turnip.

“W-wait, at least be gentle… Mmmm.”

“Okay, here we go. One, two!”

“Mmm-ahhh-argggh!”

There was a loud slurping sound as Tisalia succeeded in pulling Glenn out of Molly, though he was left covered in purplish goo. He lost his balance, nearly falling, but Tisalia was there to catch him. Her face was similarly covered in goo.

“Agggh… Ahhh… Mmm… Oooh!”

Molly was still collapsed on the ground, panting. Her eyes were unfocused and blank. But she was breathing, so she’d probably be all right.

“Th-thank you, Tisalia. You saved me.”

“A-all I can offer is brute strength. But now I think I know how Sapphee always feels,” Tisalia said, averting her eyes and taking a deep breath for some reason.

 

***

 

“You saved us. We’re so grateful, Dr. Glenn. And, well, since we caused you so many problems, we are very sorry.”

“N-no, I’m sorry that I couldn’t do much…”

“That’s not true.”

All of Molly’s parts had been returned to her body. Even the parts that had scattered when Tisalia pulled Glenn out were now back inside her, and the holes in her habit were all filled in. Apparently, that meant that she had all the tissue she needed.

“Hey, Molly? I don’t mean to pry, but…”

“What is it?”

“Maybe now you could reproduce the form of the first-generation Molly?”

Molly scoffed. After all of that moaning and groaning, she’d returned to her goggling eyes and emotionless expression, though the latter seemed a bit softer than before.

“We considered reproducing the previous generation, but the results of our simulation were that 87% of our acquaintances would misidentify us. In order to prevent misunderstanding, we have decided to retain this state. Therefore, we will only supplement the missing clothing.”

“I-I see.”

“As we have already been accepted as ‘second-generation’ Molly, we have determined it is not preferable to change form needlessly.”

This made sense to Glenn.

There were probably still residents who remembered first-generation Molly’s form. Glenn had heard that she was a skeleton, so she’d probably worked as a manager wearing nothing but her bones. If that was the case, it was probably better for the second-generation Molly to maintain this form.

“A non-human form is also more appropriate for teasing you, Dr. Glenn.”

“Wh-what?”

“Hey! That’s inexcusable!” Tisalia cried out.

All Molly meant was that the less human-like she was, the more attention Glenn would pay to her. Glenn was known as a man who wasn’t attracted to humans, after all. His engagement to three non-humans certainly wouldn’t do anything to squash those rumors.

“The Doctor is already engaged to three women! He doesn’t need to add more!”

“I have information that the diva, Lulala, has already reserved the position of fourth wife?”

“Er! Even if that’s true, he doesn’t need a fifth wife!”

“We would be preferable to the secretary of the city council, Aluloona, at least.”

“That may be true, but still!”

Things were spiraling out of control.

Glenn turned away from the pair and looked around. Many monsters were coming and going, busy with preparations for the festival. He could see Plum and Memé over by the church talking, but they were too far away for Glenn to hear. He was glad that they seemed to be getting along.

He also saw centaurs here and there, though there were relatively few, given how involved Scythia Transportation was with the preparations. Like Tisalia, they probably feared the graveyard city’s atmosphere.

I wonder if there’s anything I can do…

Glenn was starting to formulate a plan. But first, he’d need to ensure that the harvest festival was a success. He looked away so Tisalia wouldn’t see his face and realize what he was thinking.

“Anyway! I will not allow you to seduce Dr. Glenn!”

“Understood. I will not seduce. I will only write names on the marriage license.”

“Nooo!”

Glenn was oblivious to the argument happening behind him, and the final festival preparations bustling around him.

A million thoughts crisscrossed through his head, like a spider’s web.