Case 04: The Cowardly Centaur

Case 04:
The Cowardly Centaur

 

The harvest festival was almost here, and the residents of Lindworm were divided into two categories. Half were working on the Aluloona Plantation in the southern part of town and were uninterested in the festival. They were just there to make money. Aluloona hired anyone strong enough to work for her on a temporary basis, and the yield this year was larger than usual, so she was paying bonuses.

The other half were participating in the festival. Various companies and groups were making lavish efforts for the tourists coming from all over the continent, also with an eye to turning a profit. There were also the volunteers who’d be putting on performances.

Molly Vanitas only had one rule for the harvest festival: The living could not, at any point, outnumber the dead in the graveyard city. The graveyard city was home to the undead, even if many of the living had been invited to visit.

“So…we have to dress as the dead, but only on the day of the harvest festival?”

One night, not long before the festival, Glenn was in the clinic alone, looking over the flyer that had been distributed around town. The living were invited to dress as the dead, the undead, or beings like witches or demons. It wasn’t mandatory, but Molly believed costumes would make the festival more exciting.

Glenn had promised Sapphee, Tisalia, and Arahnia that they would attend the harvest festival together. Sapphee was off preparing their costumes. Luckily, it wasn’t hard to dress up like the dead using the supplies they had at the clinic.

But…

“I want to do something for them.”

Glenn couldn’t stop thinking about Scythia Transportation.

The problem was that the centaurs were strangely afraid of the graveyard city. It wasn’t that Glenn didn’t understand what was scary about it—he’d even been possessed once—but he got the feeling there was something in particular to the centaurs’ fear.

“Hmmm…”

He had a small box that just arrived via express delivery, courtesy of Illy. The tag had a shiny seal on it, proof that it had been made by the Kuklo Workshop. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the seal had had a small weeping eye mark added to it. This was Memé’s way of telling him that his deadline was too tight.

“Well, now I need to do my job.” But first, he needed to put the box in a safe place.

Glenn scratched his head. He had an excellent idea for how to solve the Scythia Transportation issue, but if it was going to work, he’d need the help of a number of different people. He decided to start by asking Sapphee.

“Now, if all goes according to plan…”

He hoped it would. Glenn wanted to make sure the harvest festival was a joyous occasion for everyone.

 

***

 

The day of the harvest festival finally arrived.

“Wow!” Sapphee exclaimed when they stepped through the gate.

She’d wrapped herself in bandages and used fake blood stains to make herself look like a zombie. She’d also added huge eyes and a tongue to her parasol to turn it into an umbrella-shaped ghost. She’d put a lot of effort into her costume—possibly with a little help from Arahnia.

“It’s packed.”

“Yeah, it’s amazing! Everyone is wearing elaborate costumes!”

“Doctor, are you sure you’re happy with yours?”

“W-well, they let me through the gate…”

All Glenn had done was stick a fake-bloody piece of gauze over his eye. At first glance, it seemed more like a genuine injury than a costume.

There were some others with minimal costumes like Glenn’s, but the majority of the festivalgoers were wearing elaborate ones like Sapphee’s. No one would mistake the living for the dead, or vice versa, but the participants were taking the event seriously.

“Loose Silk Sewing sold a ton of costumes.”

“Arahnia worked really hard.”

Glenn wondered how many projects Arahnia was currently juggling. She tended to conceal any difficulties she might be experiencing, so he needed to make sure she didn’t overwork herself. He knew all about working too hard, after all.

The graveyard city was bustling. Many shops and exhibits stood in the square in front of the Deadlich Hotel. There was food for sale, and snacks, mainly made from crops harvested at the plantation. Of course, there were a lot of local Lindworm products for sale, too, including merrow glass and arachne-made clothing.

Various groups were holding events in the ruins of buildings. Those who could fight were holding mock battles or performing military exercises. Those who could sing were giving concerts or performing with dancers. One of the more unique attractions was a group that had turned one of the ruins into a cafeteria.

“Eeee! Agggh!”

A scream echoed across the square. It was a voice Glenn knew very well.

He rushed toward the abandoned church the scream had come from.

“What is it?” Sapphee called out.

Some women they knew were standing in a group in front of the church. One of them was Glenn’s fiancée, Arahnia, hands clasped together and a wide grin on her face. Between her black cape, thick makeup, pointy hat and skull wand, it was probably safe to assume dressed as a witch.

“Oh, Sapphee! Doc! We’re not quite ready here yet.”

“No, um, I think we heard a scream coming from this direction…?”

“Oh, she was just a sore loser.”

What was going on? Glenn looked at the curtain hanging from the abandoned church. It read, Arahnia, Witch Designer: Fashion Show.

“A fashion show?”

“Right. Oh, I’m not modeling. I’ll be behind the scenes for everything. This witch will cast a spell on the girls to make them change. The models are inside right now…” Arahnia let out a sigh.

So, that’s what the fuss was about. Glenn thought he’d heard a familiar voice, but maybe it was his imagination.

“H-h-helllp!”

There was a loud bang, and the first young girl ran out of the church. She wasn’t wearing her normal workshop uniform. Instead, she was covered in frills and lace, making her look like an antique doll.

“Hey, Memé-chi! Don’t run away! Didn’t we agree to change together?”

“No one told me about this part!”

“C’mon, you still have to put on your makeup! I’m not done yet!”

“Eeeaggh! I don’t want everyone to see me like this! It’s too embarrassing!”

Memé finally noticed Glenn. She stopped and stared at him with her big eye.

“Hey… Memé, you look great,” he said.

“Eeeagggh! He saw me!”

Memé covered her face and started crying. Since she cried all the time, though, no one was too worried.

“As you can see, it’s taking some time to get things ready, but my fashion show will be happening this afternoon,” Arahnia said.

“O-oh.” Glenn was a bit concerned about the model selection, but he did think it was good for Memé to get some experience being in front of people, including running the accessory shop.

And it wasn’t like Memé was the only model.

“Doctor? What do you think? Thanks to my mentor, Arahnia, I look perfect! See?”

“But Plum…don’t you think your accessories are a bit excessive?”

“Meh, it’s just for today!”

Even the vampire girl, Plum, was modeling clothing for the day’s fashion show. Her outfit was more rebellious than before, including a lot of pointy bits. Glenn was worried she might pierce her wings again.

“Well, if my wings do tear, I’ll just have to drink your blood again, Doctor.”

“Unacceptable. I will not allow such a thing ever again.” Sapphee bared her own fangs.

Glenn couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You make sure you don’t tear those wings again,” Arahnia said. “You don’t want to see me angry if you drink any more of my husband’s blood.”

“Exactly,” said Sapphee. “Thank you, Arahnia.”

Glenn was grateful for the solidarity among his wives.

Plum flashed her crooked smile.

“Anyway…I’m embarrassed to parade around in front of everyone, too. But how else am I going to become the girl I want to be?” Plum cackled. “I mean, compared to Memé-chi’s shyness, I’m actually pretty outgoing!”

Memé whimpered.

“Okay then, we need to finish. C’mon, Memé-chi. Your makeup is going to run.”

“Oooh… Wh-what’s so great about being a model?! You know what? Come at me! Oooh! Are you coming?! Hey!”

“Yeah, Memé-chi, that’s the spirit! Act like you want to blow everyone away!”

“Ohhh!”

The two were kindred spirits…and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

Plum went back into the abandoned church, dragging Memé the entire way. It was a strange form of encouragement. Glenn wondered if it would work.

“Just leave those girls to me. Doc, Sapphee…you go ahead and enjoy the festival.”

“Th-thank you very much.”

“Maybe you should go say hi to the manager?”

“Ah.”

Arahnia pointed behind Glenn, where Molly stood in front of the hotel. She wore her usual nun’s habit, but today, it was embroidered with silver and gold thread. She must have shifted the composition of her body to mimic embroidery in honor of the occasion.

“There you are, Dr. Glenn and Pharmacist Sapphee.”

“Thank you for putting this festival on!” Sapphee bowed her head.

“It is my pleasure. Today, the graveyard city is open to everyone. Hmph. I approve of your costume. Please enjoy the festival to your heart’s content.”

“Thank you, we will.” Glenn nodded.

There was something different about Molly, besides her clothes. Her eyes were closed. In the past, she hadn’t possessed enough cells to form eyelids, but after Glenn and the others had collected her missing parts from all over the town, she’d finally been able to close her eyes.

Although…it was strange that she kept them closed.

“I should go greet the VIP guests. Please enjoy the harvest festival.”

Glenn found it hard to get used to the sight of Molly without her bulging eyes. Maybe she was keeping them closed on purpose so that the guests coming from afar wouldn’t be frightened of her.

“Now then…” Molly turned to leave.

“Oh, Molly!” Glenn called out to her.

“What is it, Dr. Glenn?”

“I’m sorry. There’s something I want to do before checking out the festival. Can you tell me where the centaurs are?”

Molly tilted her head, clearly curious why he wanted to know. But it didn’t take her long to figure it out.

“They’re at the northeastern storage shed,” she told him.

“You’re such a workaholic, Doc,” Arahnia said, sounding somewhat disgusted. But Glenn knew that Arahnia always worked twice as hard as anyone.

 

***

 

“Hey, look who’s here!”

“If it’s not the young husband.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Glenn said as he approached the northeastern storage shed.

This was where all the equipment for the Scythia Transportation booth, which offered centaur carriage rides around the graveyard, was being kept. There was already a long line in the waiting area next to the storage shed.

However, the number of centaurs seemed incredibly small compared to the size of the company. Only Kay and Lorna were actually inside the shed. They were drying each other’s sweat, perhaps after getting back from a carriage ride.

“Now that you’re engaged to the Lady, you are our master as well.”

“We shall have to call you Master, and the princess Madame.”

“Y-you don’t have to change what you call me.”

“If you insist, Doctor.”

“We will oblige.”

For some reason, Kay and Lorna seemed dispirited. They’d removed their body armor and were wearing costumes with skeleton motifs, suitable for the graveyard city. They also had eye patches, Kay’s on the right eye and Lorna’s on the left. Their clothing was designed to be easy to move around in, undoubtedly for the carriage tours.

“How’s it going? How are the rides?”

“Yeah, well…”

“We’re getting it done, somehow…”

They sighed in unison.

“That sound is annoying, and we don’t know where it’s coming from. But apparently no one else can hear it.”

“I’ll be frank. I don’t like it here. It gives me a strange feeling.”

“That’s what I thought.”

The symptoms they described were the same as what Tisalia had told him. Glenn thought that Lorna looked a little less pale than Kay. Tisalia had said that Kay was more comfortable here than Lorna, but perhaps she was just better at hiding her discomfort.

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a talisman that Skadi made,” Sapphee said, taking out a long, skinny piece of paper. On the front were words in red and black ink. Glenn thought it might be the ancient monster language, but he couldn’t read it.

Sapphee handed it to Kay and Lorna.

“If you stick this to your body, anything evil will be repelled.”

“Well, thanks!”

“Will that really work?”

Kay began to undress Lorna so they could try it out, startling Glenn. But Lorna wasn’t in the habit of hiding her bare skin.

“You’re welcome to look, Doctor.”

“We are your servants, Doctor.”

“N-no, that won’t do.”

They might be right, but even so, it wasn’t as if Glenn was going to marry them. He didn’t want to think of how Sapphee would react if he gave in to temptation so easily.

“Well, joking aside…”

Slap! Kay stuck the charm on Lorna’s back like a cold compress.

“How is it, Lorna?” Glenn asked.

“Hmm…it’s fine. No…wait, huh?” Lorna looked around. “The strange feeling isn’t so bad anymore.”

“Really? Do me, do me!”

Kay took off her top, too. It was possible they were trying to strip in front of Glenn on purpose. He was flustered.

“Okay, here you are, Kay.”

“Hmm. You’re right, the strange feeling is…gone?”

“Maybe since the doctor came to this shed?”

“That’s possible. At any rate, Sapphee has a ton of these charms.”

The centaurs were troubled by strange sensations that had been haunting them in the graveyard city. Glenn had prepared a large number of talismans, based on a hunch about where the feeling came from—and the best way to mitigate its effects.

“I think you should put them on the carriages, too. I believe they’re extremely effective for warding off evil.”

“So does that mean…?”

“What we’re sensing is ghosts?”

“Yes. Centaurs are very sensitive to such things. You’re probably reacting to fainter presences that the rest of us can’t detect.”

Lorna and Kay stared hard at Glenn in perfect sync.

Glenn let out a deep breath, assuming they doubted what he’d said.

“If that’s true…then this charm…” Lorna picked one of them up. “Why are you handing these out?”

“What?”

“Well, when the graveyard district was first made, it was the city council—meaning the Draconess—who isolated the ghosts in here and prepared the anti-ghost fencing. So, wouldn’t it make sense for the city council to hand out these charms? I don’t understand why it’s your job.”

“Err, umm…” Glenn laughed, unsure what he should say. “Anyway, I guarantee these charms are effective. Just…don’t tell Tisalia what’s causing the strange feeling.”

“Ahhh…”

“I see.”

Kay and Lorna nodded.

“The princess is a scaredy-cat.”

“It’s better if she doesn’t know about the ghosts.”

“Yes.” Glenn chuckled again.

“For now, we will distribute these to our friends.”

“And put them on the carriages.”

“Thank you very much. Oh, where is Tisalia?”

“She just took a carriage out.”

“She will be back very soon. Please wait here for her.”

Once they’d both fixed their clothes, they left the storage shed. Glenn and Sapphee, alone once more, each let out a sigh.

“Kay and Lorna can’t be fooled.”

“Yes, but as long as they tell everyone that Skadi made those, that should be enough. The power of suggestion can be very effective.”

“I hope you’re right.”

That left Tisalia…who was pulling a carriage around the graveyard city right now. Tisalia had a strong sense of responsibility. No matter how much the area frightened her, she would never neglect her work.

“Anyway, Kay and the others should be able to work as long as they have the charms.”

“Yes. Skadi’s name is very powerful.”

The Draconess had only written the first one. Glenn and Sapphee had used it as reference to make a bunch of copies. They were good enough imitations to be convincing, but they didn’t actually ward off ghosts…which wasn’t to say they weren’t effective, though. The true cause of the centaurs’ anxiety was something else entirely.

“Kay, Lorna, I’m back—oh, Doctor.” Tisalia came in, wiping off sweat.

“We’re here with solutions for Scythia Transportation,” Sapphee said.

“Right. I, uh…” Glenn stammered. “Well, this will be my wife’s company someday, so…I thought that I wanted to help, if I could.”

“Doctor…” Tisalia stared hard at Glenn, her cheeks flushed.

Glenn flushed as well. He might be awkward at times, but his feelings were true.

“Okay, okay, okay! That’s enough flirting. The doctor came for treatment.”

“Oh, yes, I know.”

Sapphee had taken out the necessary items while Glenn wasn’t looking. They were ink pots. Two of them, one black and one red. She also produced a brush.

“I’m sorry, but the charms have all been distributed. We don’t have one for you, Tisalia.”

“Sorry?”

“Instead, we will write the incantation for warding off evil directly on your skin.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?!” Tisalia cried out.

“I’m sorry, but we didn’t prepare enough charms—”

“N-no, I mean…directly?! You’re going to write on me?! Will that even work?”

Glenn nodded. “It will ward off evil.”

“P-please excuse me, but…Doctor, sorcery is not your area of expertise!”

“Skadi taught me the incantations. I won’t be using any sorcery. All I’m doing is writing words with ink.”

“I-I see…” Tisalia finally accepted what they were saying.

Residents of Lindworm were all over the place when it came to literacy. Thanks to the town paper and public reports from the city council, most residents could read print. But when it came to writing by hand, or reading handwritten text, the lack of education facilities in Lindworm meant only a privileged few were proficient. Illy, who’d grown up in the slums, and Lulala, who was too poor to afford an education, might be able to read, but they almost certainly couldn’t write.

Glenn, however, could. He was literate not only in the common tongue of the continent and the script used in the human realm, but he could also write the ancient text that he’d learned from Skadi—even if it was just imitation.

Although he’d never expected it to come in handy in this way.

“Please remove your clothing so we can write it on your skin.”

“Uuhh… I never thought something like this would happen.”

“We don’t need to do it,” Sapphee said.

“Preposterous. If it will allow me to do my work, then I need it. Perhaps if it were another doctor, I’d reconsider, but it’s Dr. Glenn.”

“You have such a strong sense of responsibility. Now then, Doctor, please begin.”

Glenn picked up the brush Sapphee had prepared. Meanwhile, Tisalia removed the black clothing she was wearing—fitting for the graveyard ambience—exposing her firm warrior’s muscles.

She covered her abundant chest with both hands, but her breasts were too large to be effectively hidden. In fact, holding them down enhanced their bounce.

“D-Doctor, please hurry.”

“O-oh. Tisalia, I thought you didn’t mind your body being exposed.”

“Undressing makes me embarrassed! And even if you are my fiancé, being seen half-naked in front of a gentleman I admire…is…”

“I-Is that right?” Now Glenn felt embarrassed. He made a conscious effort to not pay attention to the stark nakedness of her upper half, and instead concentrated on the task at hand.

First, he would use black ink. He touched the tip of the brush to the nape of Tisalia’s neck.

“Ahhhmm!”

“Oh, is it cold?”

“I-It’s more ticklish, than cold…”

Each time the brush, wet with ink, touched Tisalia’s skin, her shoulders trembled.

“This is a high-quality brush made from horsehair.”

“Y-you should just write more forcefully, Doctor! The soft…touch…tickles me…ahhhm!”

“I’m sorry. I need the letters to be legible, so I can’t press too hard.”

“I-I see.”

Being ticklish was pretty typical of Tisalia. However, the ancient monster characters required many brushstrokes, and if he didn’t write carefully, the lines would run together.

“Mmmannn!”

“Um, Tisalia, it’s hard to write when you’re wiggling around.”

“Ahhh, I can’t help it…!” Her face was bright red. “Mmm, ooh, ahhh.”

“Okay… I’m going to move down lower.”

“N-neeeigh!”

Tisalia timidly removed the rest of her gear, with Sapphee lending a hand. The saddle was difficult to remove on her own, but once it was gone, it revealed the bottom half of her body, covered in black fur.

“D-Doctor, please don’t look too closely.” Tisalia skillfully covered the area around her rear with her tail. It was effective, but also seductive in its own right.

“Don’t worry. I’ll write the text here now.”

“Y-yes please… N-neigh!”

This time, he used the red ink to write on Tisalia’s body. He did his best to make sure the text wouldn’t be visible while she was wearing clothes.

“Mmm… Ooh, aahmmm…!”

“Please hold still.”

“I can’t help it…”

Her ears and tail were trembling, and she was biting her tongue to hold back her reaction.

Glenn drew lines, as if tracing her back. It wasn’t possible for him to write without slipping a little, but he did his best to make sure each stroke was accurate.

“Mm, oh, mmm!” She was doing everything she could to keep from squirming. “Ahh, mmm, D-Doctor…um?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Will writing these things on my body…really be effective?”

Glenn tilted his head to the side, wondering why she doubted him. Then he realized that they didn’t have the same folk tales here that he’d grown up with.

“Tisalia, the truth is, this treatment comes from a fairy tale.”

“Huh?! A fairy tale…?”

“Yes. In it, a blind priest is haunted by a ghost. He’s called to a ghost party every single night. When another priest hears about this, he writes incantations against evil all over his body. They cover every single inch of him.”

“Oh, ohh…?”

“The blind priest tricks the ghosts with the writing, but he forgets to write the incantations on his ears, so the ghosts—”

“Eee?!” Tisalia’s entire body was shaking.

Damn. Glenn had forgotten that Tisalia didn’t like scary stories. It was just a fairy tale to him, but it was probably pretty scary to someone who’d never heard it before.

“I hate scary stories!” Tisalia grabbed Sapphee’s tail, hugging it tight to her like a pillow. She squeezed her eyes closed just as tightly.

“S-Sapphee, don’t get mad at her.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not. Her high body temperature feels nice.”

Sapphee was perfectly calm, even though her tail was being squeezed. Tisalia was extremely strong, but Sapphee’s tail was basically one solid mass of muscle, so it probably wasn’t a big deal for her.

“Anyway, we have stories like that in the east, so we use them as reference for warding off evil. That was also the basis for Skadi teaching me these incantations.”

“O-oh, I see… Ahhh.”

Glenn’s brush had now moved from her back to her waist. Tisalia’s waist was the border between her human skin and her horsehair. The red ink stained her white skin.

“Ahhh… Neeeigh!” Tisalia’s body continued to twitch.

“Mmm-ahh… D-Doctor, aren’t you done yet…?”

“Almost. Just a little more.”

“Ahhm, ahhh… D-Doctor, please hurry and finish… I can’t take anymore…”

Tisalia now had thin, black and red text written on the nape of her neck, her back, and the less curvy parts of her body. The continuous brushing sensation on her skin had made her start to breathe heavily. Glenn also wasn’t a fan of being tickled, so he knew how she felt.

“We just have the stomach left.”

“St-stomach?!”

“Yes, umm… I need to write on your abdomen.”

Tisalia’s eyes darted this way and that, as if she was trying to find her bearings.

“You showed off your stomach before,” Sapphee said, eyes scornful.

“I-I haven’t done so since my engagement! A-and this is an entirely different atmosphere! It’s not romantic at all!”

“What are you talking about? This is treatment. Medical treatment.”

“E-errr…”

Tears formed in Tisalia’s eyes, but she brought herself to face the doctor. He could see her defined abdominal muscles. They seemed even more rock solid than when he’d last examined her. He was impressed. He’d heard it was very difficult to develop toned abs.

“Now then, please excuse me. Umm…here I need to draw a pattern, not text,” Glenn said, applying the brush.

“Mmm… Ahnnn!” When he ran his brush over her abs, Tisalia let out a high-pitched shriek. “Neeeigh!”

“Please hold still,” Glenn said calmly as he concentrated on his drawing.

“D-Doctor, I-I can’t there… N-neeeigh…!” Tisalia looked like she was about to burst at any moment. She’d started out by grabbing on to Sapphee’s tail, but at some point the tables had turned, and now Sapphee was using her tail to hold Tisalia in place.

Glenn began to notice a thumping sound and realized it was Tisalia kicking her hoof against the ground, unable to stand the sensation. But, thanks to Sapphee’s restraints, his writing was progressing well.

“Mmm…! Ahhh… Aaammm!”

He drew a circle in the middle of her abdomen and two curved lines around it. It looked sort of like a heart, or an abstract cup, but Skadi hadn’t told him what the image actually signified. Supposedly, it had some deep, sorcerous meaning, but Glenn just hoped it didn’t look sexual.

“Mmm… Ohh…mmm! Mmm…” Tisalia’s voice grew louder, which made the tip of the brush run off course.

“Ah.”

“Mmm… Aahhh, ohhh!” Tisalia was trembling even more violently than before.

Although Glenn was disappointed at the now-crooked line, he admired his handiwork. The majority of the drawing looked fantastic.

“I’m done, Tisalia.”

“Ahhh…D-Doctor…I hope you know that if this doesn’t work, I’ll n-never forgive you!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be together forever,” Glenn said without even thinking about it.

“Mmm.” Tisalia’s already-red face turned an even deeper shade of crimson.

***

 

The bustling crowds sounded far away.

They were at the very edge of the graveyard city, which was at the very edge of Lindworm. Glenn and the others stood by the outer fence that kept the spirits in.

“The festival is lively.”

“Yes. Doctor, it seems the carriage rides are extremely popular. That’s great news! And it’s all thanks to the charms,” Sapphee said, smiling. It wasn’t the satisfied smile of a physician who’d successfully administered treatment. It was the mischievous smile of a child who’d played a trick on someone.

“Are you sure you don’t want to say anything, Doctor?”

“Nah, I mean…”

“I know, you can’t say it. You can’t say that the anxiety felt by the centaurs is completely unrelated to ghosts and the graveyard and that the incantations on the charms are completely ineffective for warding off evil.”

“No, no I can’t…”

Glenn and Sapphee giggled together. At that moment, they looked more like siblings than a married couple.

“To be honest, I think Kay, Lorna, and even Tisalia care more than the others.”

“You’re right. That’s why they were fooled by our stories about magic charms and incantations to ward off evil.”

“Just as long as they believe it for the duration of the harvest festival.”

Glenn pointed to a spider’s web on the fence, an artistic one in the shape of a skull. Needless to say, wild spiders couldn’t weave webs with such designs. This had been made by an arachne.

He looked down the fence and saw others—skulls, bats, spiders—lined up in the gaps of the fence. Just one example of something only the graveyard city could provide, and why the festival had to be held there.

“Oh, Doc!” Arahnia, who’d been setting up the rich variety of designs, spotted Glenn.

She finished weaving a web with her four arms and tossed it up. At first, it looked like a ball of thread, but it spread out in the air and stuck between the fence posts, creating the image of a witch.

“You’re very skilled…”

“Don’t you make thread images in the east? What’s it called? Cat’s cradle? It’s the same thing,” Arahnia said, as if it was child’s play. But Glenn didn’t believe it was that easy to perfect this skill.

Naturally, these spider webs weren’t just for decoration, either. Glenn was the one who’d asked Loose Silk Sewing, including Arahnia, to put up these webs.

“I’m sorry to add to your workload when you’re already so busy.”

“What? The fashion show is just for fun, and the models do all the real work. I don’t have much to do now that the festival’s here and all the prep is done. It’s easy to weave up a few webs, if that’s what you need.”

She sounded so nonchalant. But Arahnia—and Loose Silk Sewing—had done marvelous work leading up to today. They’d made the majority of the costumes worn by visitors, though now that the festival was underway, Arahnia probably wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t have much to do.

Glenn still felt bad for adding to her workload, though.

“Getting down to business…” Arahnia pointed her finger at the latest web she’d put up. There was a swooshing sound as it caught something. Glenn could hear the buzzing of an insect’s wings.

“Is it true? These winged bugs are what really make the centaurs anxious?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what it was.”

A black bug, similar to a mosquito, was caught in the web.

It was flapping its wings, trying to escape, but the arachne thread was too sticky.

“It’s smaller than a normal mosquito, moves faster, and the sound of its wings is very subtle. We can see it now that it’s caught in a web, but when these bugs are flying around, they’re very hard to notice. They are mosquitos, but not the kind you’d find in the house. They’re a new species that have adapted to the environment of the graveyard city.”

“Wow, Doc, you know a lot about mosquitoes.”

“You have to learn about flies and mosquitoes if you study medicine. They’re vectors for spreading disease. In the worst case, their larva may become parasitic. It’s not a pleasant thing, but I had to study them.”

The insects were tiny and quick. Even though they were mosquitos, their flight patterns resembled those of flies. The one caught in the web was making a horrible noise with its wings, trying to escape its threaded prison.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Glenn said. “Why is the graveyard city always so dark, even during the day? They say it’s fog, but…”

“Does it bother you?” Arahnia cocked her head to one side as she continued hanging spiderwebs.

“Yes. I can’t think of any scientific reason a fog so consistent, and with such a dark aura, should exist. So I looked into what it could actually be. What, besides clouds or fog, could block out the sun?”

“Hmm?”

“The fog, in fact, is an enormous swarm of mosquitos that have adapted to Deadlich Graveyard City.”

The majority of corpses in the graveyard were treated properly by Molly. However, there were also many undead walking around, like zombies. Not all zombies took care to prevent rotting or practiced basic hygiene—though they’d probably made an effort today, with so many tourists coming in,

“They say that on farms, swarms of migratory locusts sometimes cover the sky.”

“Wait a second.” Sapphee held up her hand. “Lindworm only became what it is today about ten years ago. The graveyard city was made after that. That isn’t nearly enough time for a species of mosquito to evolve this much.”

“Correct. These mosquitos didn’t evolve. They’re likely a species that just happened to find a perfect ecological niche here in the graveyard district, leading them to multiply so fast that they now cover the sky.”

“Now I’m going to feel sick whenever I look up,” Sapphee said.

Glenn felt the same way. However, the swarm only inhabited the graveyard city. He didn’t think they’d come into Lindworm proper. As long as they stayed put, there was no reason they couldn’t co-exist.

“That’s why I asked Sapphee to mix the ink with insect repellent…although we told all of the centaurs that it was to ward off ghosts.”

Skadi and Molly wouldn’t have allowed any dangerous ghosts to stay in the district. That’s why neither of them had gotten involved with the centaur issue. They both knew that it wasn’t ghosts causing the problem.

“Centaurs are sensitive, so they noticed the mosquitos, but they couldn’t find them. Since all they could sense was a faint sound and an uneasy feeling, they just assumed it was ghosts.”

“Aren’t you going to tell them the truth?”

“I thought it actually might be more pleasant for them to think it was ghosts instead of a swarm of insects.” Glenn chuckled. “And since we can’t eradicate the bugs, I thought we could repel them and trap them. At least for today.”

“And that’s why you had us put up the webs.”

The webs Arahnia had put up were already catching the winged insects. She’d asked the arachne at Loose Silk Sewing to put up similar traps all throughout the graveyard. To tourists, they’d just look like special spiderwebs.

“I’m sorry to make you do this when you’re so busy, Arahnia.”

“It’s fine. I want the harvest festival to be a success.” It was Arahnia’s turn to chuckle.

Glenn had needed many people’s cooperation to pull this off. Skadi had helped with the incantations and had written one of the charms, Sapphee had made insect repellent that could be used as ink, and Arahnia and Loose Silk Sewing had made and set up the webs to catch the bugs.

“When I was putting these up, I noticed there are no actual spiderwebs anywhere. Do you think they cleared them out for the harvest festival?”

“Maybe. These insects are probably the main source of food for the spiders in this graveyard.” Spiders could look scary, but they ate harmful insects. That was why Glenn had always been told never to kill spiders when he was growing up.

At some point, he was going to have to talk to Molly about managing these insects, from a public health perspective.

“Doctor, I think that’s enough. The problem is solved, so maybe we can…” Sapphee wrapped her tail around Glenn. The cold tip gave him chills.

“What? Are you two going on a date?”

“Yes. We agreed to walk around the graveyard together. I was so busy preparing the repellant that I haven’t had time to enjoy myself.”

“That’s gonna make me a little jealous.”

“Huh?”

Arahnia grabbed Glenn’s hand. She skillfully wrapped her four arms around him, not willing to let him go.

“A-Arahnia…”

“I did a favor for the doc when I was really busy, too. I think I deserve a reward for all that. Let’s walk around together, the three of us.”

Sapphee’s tail rattled in warning. “Hey! Me first! You said you were happy as his mistress.”

“I need to get my fix at the harvest festival at least. This is an emergency! I can’t just be the mistress all the time. I have more pride than that.”

“Even so, I’m first.”

“You already went around with him! That’s how you got here!”

“That was for treatment!”

They continued to argue.

Glenn had made the decision to marry three women. He was prepared to do anything for them. However, no matter how fair he thought he was in dividing his time, he didn’t think they would ever stop arguing. Bickering was part of how Sapphee communicated, and he suspected Arahnia, too, actually enjoyed her verbal back-and-forth with Sapphee.

He fingered the small box he’d snuck into the pocket of his doctor’s coat.

“Hey…” he said, taking it out and showing it to them. They each noticed the seal at once. “There’s something I want to give you. Both of you.”

“Doctor, is this—?”

“Oh…my, my, my.”

Glenn wanted to give his fiancées the world, so he’d done everything he could to make sure the harvest festival was a success. But nothing would make him happier than giving them the contents of this box at the festival.

“What…is this?” Sapphee popped the box open. Glenn watched her expression as she looked inside.

It was the look of absolute happiness on Sapphee’s face that made him truly glad he’d worked so hard.

The harvest festival was a success.