Epilogue: The Deadlich Harvest Festival

Epilogue:
The Deadlich Harvest Festival

 

The carriage rattled down the road.

It was a Scythia Transportation pleasure carriage that toured the graveyard city. It was simply made and only seated two…or just one larger monster.

However, the plush seat was comfortable, and the wheels were high quality, so the ride wasn’t too bumpy. Glenn sat comfortably, watching Tisalia pull the carriage.

“Did Sapphee and Arahnia already see the whole festival?” Tisalia asked.

“Yes. They didn’t stay long but, it was fun.”

After Glenn had seen most of the stalls with Sapphee, they’d enjoyed some festival cocktails. With Arahnia, he’d listened to the band perform. He didn’t spend a lot of time with either one of them, but it was quality time. Now he was spending time with Tisalia.

This was another one of his duties as a fiancé.

“How are you feeling, Tisalia?”

“I feel great! I don’t hear that strange sound anymore! It’s just like you to be able to ward off mysterious things, even in Deadlich!”

“Ha ha ha…”

Centaurs had especially keen senses, so they could hear things even when other species couldn’t. It looked like Tisalia’s anxiety had disappeared when the sound did.

That was great news. Glenn was still debating whether or not he should tell her the truth after the harvest festival was over. But for the time being, he was just glad that she could work without feeling so terrible.

“Looking at the district with fresh eyes, I can see the beautiful scenery. The lantern lights, the skull and ghost decorations… It’s a serene beauty, different from the brilliance of the Waterways.”

“Yes, I agree.”

The graveyard city stood on a small hill on the west side of Lindworm, and the carriage track went all the way around that hill. The farther away from the Deadlich Hotel you traveled, the deeper in the forest you found yourself.

The pumpkins and lanterns were lit by ghosts, giving off a gentle orange light in the night-like darkness.

“I’m glad that I could share this scenery with you, Doctor.”

Sometimes skeletons and zombies would jump out to scare visitors, but this was all in good fun. Even though the graveyard city was made for the dead—actually, because it was made for the dead—the residents wanted to embrace their natures.

Glenn and Tisalia spied tourists scattered among the trees.

“There aren’t any stalls around here… Why are there so many people?”

Tisalia didn’t answer.

“Tisalia?”

She remained silent.

“Ummm, is that you, Doctor?”

“Yes.”

“You know how, at this festival…there were advertisements for couples? And you see…there are no stalls here, and it’s not a popular spot…but it’s well lit.”

“Yes, but why?”

“Er! Doctor! I can’t tell you that!”

Glenn had no idea what was going on. He didn’t understand why Tisalia was angry with him.

However, as the carriage continued along, Glenn saw a face he knew, and he finally realized what this space was used for.

“Oh, Brother.”

“Huh?”

Tisalia panicked. The carriage swayed, just for a moment.

On the other side of the Deadlich Forest, he could see his brother through the trees. Souen was standing with someone. It was dark, so he couldn’t see clearly, but the figure resembled Souen’s fiancée, Saki. Their faces were moving close to each other.

Glenn just happened to spot them through the trees. He squinted to get a better look. They were holding each tightly and pressing their lips together. That’s when Glenn finally understood.

“Er!” Glenn choked.

“D-Doctor?!”

Glenn held his head in his hands.

Tisalia stopped the carriage, concerned.

What in the world are you doing, Souen?!

Then he understood.

This area was one of the date spots set up for the festival. Looking around, he could see many lovers, both human and monster, enjoying the romantic atmosphere of the festival, each pair a little set apart from the others.

It was his own fault for being thick-headed.

Glenn was trying to deal with the embarrassment and guilt of witnessing such a scene. His biological brother was kissing someone!

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling all right?”

“I-I’m fine. It’s nothing.” He let out a deep breath.

He told himself to get it together. Wasn’t the whole reason Tisalia had given him a ride in this carriage to bring him here?

“Hey, Tisalia…I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Oh, uh… What is it?”

Glenn got out of the carriage.

The fact that he’d seen his brother making out in the forest had no bearing on what he was doing. This was all him.

“I received Hephthal’s blessing. You and I are now officially engaged. So I want to become the husband you deserve.”

“Oh, Doctor… You’re embarrassing me. You already are!”

“My clinic is deeply in debt, and I won’t be able to pay it off anytime soon. But once I have paid it off, I want us to be officially married. Please, trust me.” Glenn looked Tisalia straight in the eye, determined.

“But those are just words.”

“Doctor…”

“So…I got you this.”

Glenn pulled out a small box and popped it open. Inside was a platinum ring.

“This is proof of my promise to marry you.”

“What…? This, for me?!”

“Yes. I had Memé make it at the workshop. I didn’t want to be engaged with just an empty promise. I know I’m not perfect, and I will cause you problems, but I hope you’ll stay with—”

“Doctorrr!”

Glenn never got the chance to finish.

Before he could deliver the entire engagement speech he’d prepared, Tisalia embraced him tightly. Glenn was far shorter than her, so she ended up picking him up off the ground. His words were cut short by the pressure of Tisalia’s chest.

“I’m just so happy… I… To think that you would say such wonderful things to me…”

Her tight hug expressed everything Glenn was thinking.

She held him for a while, then let him go. He could breathe again.

“Doctor…I know that you love Sapphee the most.”

“N-no, I have no intention of playing favorites.”

“Well, even if you don’t intend it, we’ll always be able to tell what you’re thinking. You and I will never have as much time together as you and Sapphee. That’s why I’d prepared myself to be content as the second-favorite.”

Glenn felt something warm splash onto his face.

It took him a moment to realize she was crying.

“But now that you’ve given me this ring…I know that you and I can make our own time. I’m different from Sapphee, but I’m just as irreplaceable, and that’s all I need to know…”

“Tisalia.” Glenn didn’t know what to say.

Looking back, he’d always caused problems for her. When Sapphee ran away from the clinic, he’d made her do the tough office work. Tisalia was so proud that she’d probably say it was her own choice. But that wasn’t completely true. Even if it had been her decision in the end, he knew she’d done it for him.

“Like I said, I don’t have favorites. You’re very important to me, Tisalia. I care for you with all my heart.”

“Ohh… D-Doctor!”

“Oof!”

She embraced him again. He let out a strangled sound.

Tisalia, the proud centaur, was crying tears of joy.

Normally, she never cried. Even when Glenn had turned her down, her eyes remained dry. Glenn knew that, so he submitted to her embrace, which felt like a judo hold.

She’d once thought that her tears should be witnessed by no one—not even her fiancé.

But here, in the graveyard city, she felt free to cry.

 

***

 

“You all right, Sapphee?”

Two women watched Glenn and Tisalia from the cover of a tree.

“Why wouldn’t I be? Tisalia’s allowed to be happy, too.”

“Oh, how kind of you! What happened to your trademark jealousy?”

“I don’t need to be jealous. I mean, look.”

The two figures held out their hands to show each other the rings sparkling on their own fingers.

Naturally, Glenn hadn’t just ordered one ring from Memé.

“I received my ring first.”

“Well, I knew he was having the rings made beforehand.”

“What are you talking about, Arahnia?”

“Oh, nothing…”

The shadows kept whispering to each other, but Glenn and Tisalia didn’t notice.

 

***

 

The harvest festival was over.

After all that time preparing, it had only lasted for one day. But with tourists and merchants visiting from all over the continent, the profits made in that one day must have been massive.

As Glenn watched everyone start cleaning up the graveyard city, he was overcome with emotion. His three fiancées were off drinking. They’d already started the afterparty.

“I gave them their rings.”

He’d been so nervous.

This was the first time he’d ever bought something like an engagement ring, let alone three. It had been tough to prepare them without Sapphee, who lived with him, finding out. He’d forced Memé to meet an impossible deadline, too.

He’d just known that the harvest festival would be the perfect place to give them the rings, even before he knew if it would happen at all. So he’d stayed focused, even through the negotiations with Plum and the search for Molly’s body parts.

In the end, even though he’d helped Plum and Molly through medical treatment, this was the first time he’d worked so hard on something that wasn’t directly related to his goals as a physician.

It was all because of his love for his fiancées.

“Doctor?”

While Glenn was lost in thought, Plum walked up. She was dragging Memé by the hand.

“Hey, how was it? Did you watch our fashion show?”

“O-of course you didn’t! Tell me you didn’t watch it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to make it.”

“Seriously? What a waste. And I spent all that time changing. Well, whatever,” Plum said. She lifted her bat wing and firmly took Glenn’s arm. “Let’s walk around the festival together! I wanted to talk with you, Doctor.”

“Huh? Now?” Memé asked.

“Yeah, when else? The festival is ending soon!”

“That’s not what I mean! Just…since when do you like the Doctor so much?!”

For some reason Memé was flustered. Judging by the glances her large eye kept throwing toward Sapphee, drinking with the others close by, she was probably worried about the lamia’s jealousy. Glenn knew Sapphee was watching him out of the corner of her eye.

But Plum was stronger than she looked. Glenn couldn’t resist her when she pulled him along.

“Why?” Plum replied, implying that Memé shouldn’t ask such obvious questions. “Because there’s a very limited type of blood that I can drink. And who knows when I might need to suck blood again? So I need to be good friends with the person whose blood I can drink. I could, like, make him my own boyfriend just for bloodsucking.” Plum’s pointed teeth and tongue peeked out when she spoke.

But even though Glenn would do almost anything for his patients, he couldn’t give her the answer she wanted.

“I’m the one who asked Dad to hold the harvest festival in the first place. Don’t I deserve a reward for that?”

“N-no, that was in gratitude for your treatment.”

“Ahhh.” Plum ignored what Glenn was saying and playfully nipped at his neck. She didn’t bite hard enough for any blood to come out, but he still felt a tiny bit of pain.

“Heyyy!”

He thought he heard Sapphee’s scream shoot up past the audible range.

“Oh, no. Hey, Doctor, forgive me?”

“Please control your urge to suck blood…”

Apparently, Glenn had become Plum’s favorite food.

“Pl-Plum! This is bad! The doctor has three fiancées! And they’re right over there!”

“Seriously? Oh damn! That’s bad! Then I guess I’m gonna be the fourth!”

This was getting out of hand.

“You…will not…be…forgiven!!”

A snake tail suddenly coiled around Plum’s body.

“Dr. Glenn is a very busy man! He doesn’t have time to play around with little girls!”

“Eeek?!” Plum screeched.

Sapphee was unfazed and pulled Plum away. The vampire kept shrieking, but she was unable to break free from Sapphee’s tail.

“Arahnia! This is your apprentice, right? She needs some discipline!”

“Nah, I don’t have an apprentice. But I’ll let her know to keep her paws off the Doc.”

“D-don’t be too harsh…” Memé ran up, crying and flustered. She really was a kind girl.

Glenn had been mistaken. He’d thought that, once they were engaged, Sapphee wouldn’t be as jealous anymore. But he now knew she would never stop being jealous. Even though he’d expressed his love to Sapphee in the form of a ring, there was still so much about her that he didn’t understand.

“Sapphee, don’t get angry.”

“How am I supposed to not be angry about this?!”

“But…”

“The problem is that you aren’t angry enough, Dr. Glenn!” she spat, and then started coughing.

“You really shouldn’t drink when you’re angry.”

Sapphee had taken a sip of wine that someone had brought to her while she was talking. Plum was still screeching, but she seemed to be enjoying herself, in a way.

“It’s not easy being you, huh, Doctor?” Tisalia asked, looking exhausted.

The festival day might have ended, but the night was far from over.

 

***

 

It was getting late. The tourists were leaving. The cleanup was almost done. Normally, only residents would be left in the graveyard city.

However, there was one person all alone in the Deadlich Forest. It was Skadi, walking through the woods.

There was no one else around. But Skadi, who was a conjurer in her own right, could sense many spirits.

“Welcome back. It’s late, but please enjoy yourself,” she said, quietly. She wondered if the second-generation Molly knew why the harvest festival was held in the graveyard city.

The real reason, that is.

Just as the name suggested, the graveyard city was adjacent to the graveyard. During this season, although most people and monsters couldn’t sense it, spirits who’d already passed on returned to the realm of the living.

The harvest festival had originally been a custom to welcome ancestral souls back from the netherworld. In other words, the festival was a form of worship. There was no way second-generation Molly could have known about that.

What made the harvest festival special was the ritual to blur the line between the living and the dead. They would worship the ancestral souls and soothe them temporarily. Then, when daylight came, the souls would return to the netherworld.

“It was an ancient tradition in the abandoned village that this graveyard city was built on.”

Of course, most of the residents knew nothing about that.

The ancestral spirits that returned were weaker than ghosts. Without the enthusiasm and chaos of the festival, they wouldn’t be able to maintain their forms. Skadi spoke to each thin spirit one by one, bringing the festival to an end.

“You are very eager, Draconess Skadi. I judge that you finally have some time.”

“Molly…”

The graveyard city manager appeared in front of Skadi, holding a lantern.

She had her eyes closed—a rare sight, and a refreshing one.

“The festival was a great success. It is all thanks to the Draconess and the city council, who granted their permission. This festival is important to me personally as well.”

“Wait a second…” Skadi stopped and looked at Molly with stern eyes. “Who are you?”

“The meaning of your question is unclear. Is it possible for me not to be me?”

“You certainly are you…but Molly always refers to herself as ‘we,’ so if you’re going to pretend, at least get that right.”

There was silence.

“Molly, second-generation Molly, is a shoggoth,” Skadi said. “A conglomerate existence that processes many thoughts simultaneously. Her self is one, but also not one. So, who are you?”

Molly, or whoever she was, grinned. Her eyes were still closed, but her mouth turned up at the corners. This was an expression that Molly would never wear.

“Ahh, you caught me.”

“Er!”

“I couldn’t fool you for a moment! That makes me so happy!”

“Y-you…!”

Before Skadi could say anything else, Molly embraced her. Her gel-like body squished up against Skadi’s scales, making a weird noise.

“Molly…first-generation Molly?”

“Hey! I don’t remember ever having ‘first-generation’ in front of my name. This body and name belong to me, though I guess a shoggoth is using it for now. Tee hee!”

“‘Tee hee’? What are you doing here?”

Like the many ancestral souls that filled the graveyard during this time of year, first-generation Molly had returned. Skadi couldn’t believe how cheerful she was, but the way she spoke was unmistakably first-generation.

“I had a really rough go of it. I had to get into the subconscious of the shoggoth all the way from the netherworld and give it the idea of holding the harvest festival, all so I could return. And I could only come back today! This is a rare experience for you!”

She hadn’t changed at all.

Despite her light tone, she was a woman of action, and even though she looked like second-generation Molly, they were nothing alike on the inside. She still had her eyes closed, but that was probably a habit she’d had since she was living.

First-generation Molly had been manager of the graveyard city, protector of the graves, hotel manager, controller of the dead…but despite all those roles, she’d actually been an extremely cheerful person.

She pried herself away from Skadi. Skadi tried to shake off all the Molly goo that had stuck to her body.

“Tee hee! It’s nice to have some flesh. It’s not exactly the same, but it reminds me of when I was a sexy nun.”

“Sexy?”

“I was criticized for being lewd despite being a bride of Christ. For being a messenger of the devil, et cetera. And then I was executed in a witch hunt. It made no sense! Well, at least after I died I had a good time with you, Skadi.”

Skadi was stunned.

After her first death, Molly had come back as a skeleton, then she’d lost all her attachments and later ascended to heaven. But to think that she could just pop back in so easily made Skadi’s head spin. Even the ancestral souls that came back during the festival couldn’t have lively conversations like this.

Maybe, for her, the line between living and dead was blurred.

“Why?”

“Hmm? What?”

“Why did you work so hard to come back here? I though you rid yourself of all your attachments and ascended to heaven.”

“That’s right! I wanted to do more for everyone. Back then, I was nothing but a sexy skeleton. I passed because Lindworm was stable.”

Skadi couldn’t figure out what Molly thought was sexy about being a skeleton, but she kept that to herself. Now she was wearing a shoggoth body, which was much closer to the “sexy nun” she’d been when she was alive.

“I just…well, got this feeling.”

“A feeling?”

“That’s right! You know that guy Glenn? I wonder about him. Oh, he cured you of your illness, right? I think about him a lot.”

Skadi tilted her head to the side. “What about him?”

“It’s a secret. It might be nothing, but then again, it might be something,” she said, lifting her hand to her mouth and giggling.

Skadi was starting to grow irritated. Molly’s personality never changed. However, if she was so concerned with Glenn that she’d come all the way back to life…

She needed to take that seriously.

“I understand. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Please do. It will really help me out. I’m going to leave a part of my soul in this shoggoth. That way, everyone can see me, even after the festival is over.”

So, first-generation Molly was in the same body as second-generation Molly, and second-generation was…taking over her memory? If the line between the two of them was also blurred, then perhaps that was why the second-generation Molly referred to herself as “we.” Skadi could feel all notions of “alive” and “dead” slipping away from her.

“Are you going to talk to Dr. Glenn?”

“If I tell people that a woman who already died has come back, it will just confuse everyone. I’ll manipulate the shoggoth’s memory, so only you will know it’s me, Skadi.”

“This is ridiculous… Fine. So…you’ll disappear tonight?”

“Right. I have to give this body back to the shoggoth. If I have the chance, I might come back someday.”

“Whatever…” Skadi sighed.

Ancestral souls only came back for one night a year. She knew that, even if Molly was with her now, it wouldn’t last forever. But there were things only the dead knew, and she’d come to tell Skadi about them. As the caretaker of Lindworm, Skadi couldn’t ignore this warning. She’d have to watch Glenn carefully.

“I still have time before the sun comes up.”

Skadi looked at her quizzically.

“What’s been going on since I left? How’s the city? Tell me about your illness!”

“Don’t you know already? From the shoggoth’s memory?”

“A memory is just information. I want to hear it straight from the lonely dragon. Did you cry and cry when I left?”

“I didn’t cry.” Skadi puffed out her cheeks.

She didn’t need to tell her the truth. She didn’t need to admit how happy she was to talk to first-generation Molly, even if it would be over all too soon. She didn’t need to mention how deeply she’d mourned Molly when she’d passed.

“I said I didn’t cry.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll believe you. Now, tell big sister all about it.”

“Don’t treat me like a child.”

No one in Lindworm knew about this, but the only one who could twist the Draconess around her little finger was first-generation Molly. Such was the depth of their trust.

Skadi talked about everything and nothing with her long-lost friend, late into the night. For the lonely dragon, every moment was precious.

 

***

 

The day after the harvest festival, Glenn Litbeit stood at the city checkpoint with Sapphee and Sioux.

“Nice to see you, even if it was short,” Glenn’s brother Souen said.

“Everyone, take care.” His fiancée, Saki, bowed her head politely.

Souen was a public servant, so he needed to get back to work. Glenn, Sapphee, and Sioux had come to see them off.

“Saki, can’t you stay a bit longer?” Sioux asked, taking her hand.

They really did look like sisters.

Saki seemed to have enjoyed herself in Lindworm. The ability to go out with no discrimination was a brand-new experience for Saki, because of her Demonitis. Sioux, who knew how cruel the human realm could be, urged her to stay. But Saki just smiled and shook her head.

“I would worry about Souen. I prefer to stay with him. The festival was very fun. I hope someday we can have a similar festival in the east.”

“Brother Souen, you truly are loved!” Sioux teased him.

With an indignant expression, he said, “And it looks like you’re loved, too, huh?” He nudged Glenn.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

Souen was looking at the ring on Sapphee’s finger. He patted Glenn on the head, grinning.

“Are you going to tell Father?”

“Uhhh…” Glenn groaned.

“Should I tell him for you?”

“Hell no.”

Glenn could only imagine how Souen would deliver this news.

Even though Glenn had basically run away from home, he hadn’t completely cut himself off from his family. Eventually, he would have to tell his parents that he was engaged to a lamia, a centaur, and an arachne.

But…

“Doctor?”

“Y-yeah, I know.”

His stomach hurt.

He’d started writing the letter many times, but he still couldn’t find the right words. He had no idea how to explain that he was engaged to monster women in a way that his parents would understand and accept.

“What if we take a trip to see them?”

“N-no way. I can’t even imagine the look they’ll give me…and it’s sooo far away.”

“You really have no idea, do you?”

Glenn was confused. Souen had his nose up in the air as usual.

“I already sent our parents a letter saying you’d be bringing your fiancées. You can’t refuse. Pick a time and come home.”

“Huh?” Glenn was dumbstruck. “You sent…a letter? Ahhh, what are you doing?!”

“Ohh!” In contrast, Sioux looked excited. “Brother, a trip home! Our parents will be so happy!”

“Th-they won’t be happy! I’m going to be bringing three fiancées home! Plural marriage isn’t even allowed there. There’s no way they’ll understand!”

“You just need to hold your head up! Sioux loves all her sisters! You just need to tell them that you’re truly in love!”

“Th-that…”

That wasn’t the issue. But he couldn’t say that with Sapphee standing right there in front of him. Sapphee stroked the naive Sioux’s head, waiting for Glenn’s answer.

“L-Let me think about it. If we go back, I’ll have to ask someone to handle the clinic cases.”

“So, we’re going to meet your parents. Let’s do it!” Sapphee was on board. She already knew the Litbeit household, so she wasn’t nervous.

“Souen,” Saki called to him in a cool voice. “Why would you put your brother in such a position?”

“He would never do it on his own. That’s why I had to step in. Hey, stop it! Don’t hit me! What kind of wife hits her husband?!”

“This kind.”

Souen’s fiancée continued whacking her ill-mannered husband over the head. She probably wasn’t striking him with all her might, but it was still made a satisfying thwack.

Glenn was so glum he couldn’t even enjoy his brother’s punishment.

“I’ll be there with you, Dr. Glenn,” Sapphee said, taking his hand in hers.

“O-oh, you’re right. In that case, I’ll do my best.”

Having Sapphee by his side would help him muster up the courage to return east.

Glenn realized that, at heart, he really was a simple man.