“Dr. Glenn, what about this?” I asked. I grabbed something that was left on top of the desk. It was an accessory made from a golden drake’s scales.
“Oh… Well…”
Dragons themselves are rare, but dragonscales aren’t that uncommon at all. I’ve heard that dragons frequently drop one or two scales at a time, and that if you search the forests or mountains you can pick them up easily. There are scale decorations on my own clothes as well, and it is not uncommon, even among monsters, to wear scale accessories.
It is believed that the scales of a dragon give the wearer divine protection, and they are used as talismans to protect the wearer from evil. Lying on top of the desk was a present of golden dragonscale that I had given to Glenn, indeed partly as a protective charm.
Of course, part of my goal was to give us matching charms to wear.
“So you’re not going to wear it?” I asked him, cruelly giving my voice a reproachful tone—implying that I was disappointed he was refusing my present.
Dr. Glenn didn’t hide his panic. Seeing him panic over something like this—he was just so pure and adorable. I knew I had to make sure he didn’t get corrupted by any of the strange bugs hanging about.
“I-I thought today I’d leave it here,” he replied.
“And why is that?” I was positive this charm had been attached to his doctor’s bag. It was already with him when he left the clinic. So if that was the case, I wondered—why did he take it off today?
It couldn’t be—was he meeting with another woman?
Did wearing the charm I gave him make him feel guilty?
There was a woman he thought so tenderly about—other than me?
“Tch,” I said under my breath. The fires of jealousy seemed close to burning over inside of me, but I immediately calmed them. Thinking about it logically, I managed to figure out why in an instant.
It was absolutely nothing to be angry about. Yes, yes, of course it wasn’t.
“Oh—you’re being considerate of Miss Skadi’s feelings?” I asked.
“Y-yeah. Miss Skadi’s a dragon, and I kinda thought that maybe she’d…not like dragonscale stuff.”
“I think you’re reading into it too much, but… No, it might be best to treat her with that level of courtesy.”
I was sure that she wouldn’t have any problems with dragonscale goods. For example, even I wouldn’t think anything of someone using my molted skin to make a good luck charm. I’ve actually heard of some businesses decorating their building with lamia skins. Nevertheless, that didn’t necessarily mean that Miss Skadi felt the same way.
I did think that consideration was necessary. Dr. Glenn’s shortcomings weren’t going to be fixed overnight, of course, but he should pay attention to the things he’s able to notice.
“I understand. In that case, I’ll put the charm away for now,” I replied.
“S-sorry Sapphee. I’m heading out now.”
“Okay, have a good trip—you better not fool around while you’re out.”
“As if I have time for that.”
Dr. Glenn even gave a serious reply to my joke—although I’m sure he really didn’t have the time to spare.
I was left alone in the clinic.
Lately, the clinic had been receiving fewer patients, perhaps because of the beautiful spring weather. This was a windfall for Dr. Glenn and me, as we had a mountain of problems to deal with—I was able to spend time adjusting and tuning the anesthetics I wanted to try, so I found the freedom was a boon.
But I wasn’t actually alone. Running in between my legs (though since I don’t have legs, maybe I should say “close to the underside of my snake tail,” instead?) were the fairies. Even I didn’t know how many of them there were total, but I knew that there were a considerable number working at the clinic. Whether it was organizing the medical equipment or cleaning the clinic itself, they devoted themselves diligently to any work they found that needed doing.
In addition to the fairies, there was one more person.
“Arahnia. Your break should be just about over by now,” I said to Arahnia, who was occupying one of the clinic’s beds.
“Hnn… Now just a little longer won’t hurt, right?”
“Nope. Time to get up.”
Arahnia moved her jointed legs and squirmed up out of the bed. Perhaps it was due to the unfamiliar work that Dr. Glenn and I were asking of her, but she seemed particularly sleepy as of late.
Climbing out from under the covers, Arahnia’s face looked pale. I could see her exhaustion. It wasn’t uncommon for the fashion-crazed designer to be subject to such overwork. I wondered if she was reluctant to use makeup, if only just to hide her tired complexion.
Well, makeup was strictly prohibited in the clinic either way.
“Hey, Sapphee, have you ever seen blood vessels or nerve bundles in your dreams before? I saw them in mine last night… Teehee, it was my first time ,” Arahnia said, seductively.
“I did back when I was at the academy,” I replied.
“I’d expect nothing less from a professional,” Arahnia said, sluggishly beginning to work.
Lately, Arahnia hadn’t just been focusing on her suturing practice, but also helping me out with the clinic chores. Even with the fairies here, the clinic didn’t have enough people helping out. Having a clever woman like Arahnia assisting me often proved useful in some way or another.
I had warned Dr. Glenn that Arahnia had some ulterior motive she was keeping to herself. Although my doubts hadn’t been completely dispelled, in reality, the fact that she was as utterly exhausted as she was made me think she didn’t have enough energy for any secret schemes. Nevertheless, it was important to keep oneself in good shape. I thought she might need a breather soon.
“This surgery—I wonder if it will happen,” Arahnia said. It was rare for her to express such a sentiment.
“Are you worried?” I replied.
“But of course. Why, to think, if after I’ve tried so hard, we end up not being able to do it…”
“I’m sure Dr. Glenn will convince her somehow. It’ll be fine.” Those were the words I replied with. But they were just words. In fact, I was worried. I was very worried! It didn’t show on my face, but inside my mind, I was rife with anxiety.
After all, Dr. Glenn was still young, still unreliable! And the person he was speaking to was a dragon who not only had been alive for an unknowable number of years, but possessed wisdom and intelligence that helped turn Lindworm into the rich and plentiful city it was today. That’s who he was going to convince? Could Glenn really do it?! My tiny little Glenn?!
The gap in their life experience was too big. It was probably impossible for any human to ever have as much experience as a dragon, no matter how long a life they led. That was the type of person Miss Skadi seemed to be.
If I was being perfectly honest, I wanted to do everything for him.
Dr. Glenn was only incredible when it came to medical knowledge and techniques. He was totally useless when it came to anything outside of that. When it came to the practical side of daily life, he couldn’t do anything—cooking, cleaning, laundry, none of it. If it was in my power, then I wanted to do everything he couldn’t do for him. Of course, that wouldn’t be good for Dr. Glenn himself, so I had to maintain some level of self-control.
“You really do love the Doctor, don’t you, Sapphee?” Arahnia asked.
“Yes, I do.” I nodded. It took courage for me to proclaim my love in front of Arahnia, but I tried to answer as calmly as possible.
Arahnia has a bad habit. It was an extremely irritating habit. She always wanted to claim the people or things that others held dear and precious for herself. Previously, she had tried to get her hands on Dr. Glenn. To be perfectly frank, her hobby was stealing away and sleeping with her friends’ lovers.
Not only that, she would insist that all of it was done for the sake of her art.
She was beyond help.
Thanks to this personality
of hers, even when she made friends, she would steal her friends’ lovers and sour the friendship. Repeating this over and over again, Arahnia finally lost her popularity.
Fortunately, it appears that she hasn’t been entirely ostracized among her own race—this habit of plunder and thievery is more or less common among the arachne. There are truly some awful species of monsters out there in the world.
Even if she is understood by other arachne, the other monster races aren’t so understanding. It’s incredible that I’ve even been able to become friends with such a woman, if I do say so myself. Arahnia is a strange woman for sure, but I might be a very eccentric person myself.
“I’m fine if you fool around with him, but you can’t ever get serious, Arahnia,” I said.
“You’re saying I can fool around?” she replied.
“As long as it doesn’t become serious, I’ll allow him to have any number of mistresses he wants.”
It was a lie. An outrageous lie.
I had thought that maybe I’d be fine as long as his mistress was Arahnia… But thinking about it again, I really did hate it. It may be odd for me to say this about myself, but I do think I’m very possessive of Dr. Glenn, so while I might try not to be excessively overbearing toward him, I still can’t help detesting an idea if I truly hate it.
However, as long as Dr. Glenn didn’t become serious about anyone besides me, I ended up thinking that I’d be fine with him fooling around with someone else. My possessiveness came from my desire to always be Dr. Glenn’s number one, which made me feel that so long as he kept things casual, I’d be okay with letting him flirt, and see as many other women as he liked.
Am I contradicting myself? I probably am, aren’t I?
“…Well, that’s a little boring, I’d say,” replied Arahnia.
Huh? I thought she would say that even being lovers would be fine so long as she got to enjoy herself, but her response came as quite a surprise.
Did Arahnia want to be his number one, too?
I realized that while I thought we were close friends, it might actually be impossible to figure Arahnia out after all. She was an arachne, a race of all women. Women were annoying creatures no matter what race of monster they were—this annoyance was probably all the more worse among a race of all women.
Even for other women, it was impossible to understand a woman’s heart. As if a man could ever understand it.
“Arahnia,” I said, addressing her. Possibly because of her exhaustion, she seemed somewhat absentminded.
“Yes?”
“Tonight, do you want to go out for a drink?”
***
The Giant Squid’s Inn.
It was a large bar that was found a little ways past the Central Plaza and its fountain, en route to the Merrow Waterways. The owner was a kindhearted kraken madam. Their specialty was their squid-ink pasta. It was Arahnia and I’s favorite spot to go drinking together.
I love wine. Arahnia, on the other hand, enjoys a type of alcohol made in the eastern regions of the human territory known as “ginjo.” There aren’t many bars in Lindworm that carry both. The Great Squid’s Inn was one of the rare places where we could drink together despite our different preferences in alcohol.
“Phew…” Arahnia sighed after taking a gulp of ginjo from her cup, which was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. It was as if she were expelling all her daily exhaustion with the sigh.
“Arahnia, are you really not going to use a glass?” I asked.
“When drinking alcohol from the east, it’s proper etiquette to use this choko to drink it. One ends up drinking far too much with a regular glass,” Arahnia replied.
“Choko…? Like chocolate?”
“No, no, no,” Arahnia answered with a cackle.
I was enjoying a glass of white wine from the Aluloona Plantation. It was a mass-produced vintage of not especially high quality, but it had a very full-bodied flavor that I enjoyed.
I wondered if Miss Aluloona was doing well. The owner of the plantation, she was a woman I often bought medicinal herbs and plants from, but I hadn’t met with her recently.
I suddenly thought about her arresting green skin and extending vines. Miss Aluloona had an influential voice in the city council, and was close to Miss Skadi, so I imagined that she was busy at the moment as well. I decided that I should take the time to visit the Plantation soon.
“Now then,” Arahnia began as she poured more alcohol into her choko cup. “It’s been a while since I’ve gone drinking with you, Sapphee, but…before we begin the festivities, may I ask you something?”
“What could that be?”
“Why is she here?” Arahnia said, pointing her finger at the third woman sitting at our table. The woman she pointed to disregarded Arahnia’s remark, using a fork and knife to continue digging into the humongous salad in front of her. For a drink, she appeared to have some kind of carrot juice.
The picture-perfect vegetarian.
“I was invited too,” replied Tisalia the centaur nonchalantly. “Sapphee, the vegetables at this restaurant are very delicious.”
“I’m glad to hear you like it.”
“Why, of course I would love it! Oh, waiter, could I get another serving?” Her bowl completely empty, Tisalia got the attention of a passing waiter.
She ate far too fast. She was eating so much good food every day—was that still not enough? What was truly maddening was that despite all she ate, none of it went to her stomach and all just went to her breasts instead. I wonder if becoming an arena fighter would give me that ideal body.
“You know this is a bar, don’t you? What’s with that red juice of yours?” chirped Arahnia.
“I simply don’t drink,” Tisalia replied.
“I called her here, Arahnia. I haven’t gotten a chance to see her in a while,” I replied.
Tisalia Scythia. She was the daughter of the head of Scythia Transportation, which was responsible for the transportation network in Lindworm. To me, she was my natural enemy for Dr. Glenn’s affections. On the other hand, I couldn’t help having a soft spot for her straightforward personality.
She was an attractive woman—which was precisely why she was also capable of stealing Dr. Glenn away from me, and therefore someone I needed to be cautious around. I had to meet with her every once in a while and check up on her inclinations toward Dr. Glenn.
Seeing her wasn’t solely about deepening our relationship as I had my own self-interests in mind as well.
“Yes, well, I did have some things I had to speak to you alone about, Sapphee…” said Arahnia.
“It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s just us girls today, so feel free to confide in me everything you can’t talk about in the clinic,” Tisalia replied.
“Well… You do have a point. It makes no difference whether Miss Scythia is here or not,” Arahnia sighed.
“That’s right,” I replied. Part of Arahnia’s objections might have come from the idea that having a non-drinker with us might stifle the fun of our drinking party.
Our drinking get-togethers were always quiet and leisurely. It wasn’t the type of party to get loud and noisy. We liked having a gentle, peaceful chat together, like a steadily pouring rain storm. The addition of a slightly gluttonous centaur wouldn’t stop us from having an enjoyable time.
“That reminds me, Sapphee, are the surgery preparations going well?” Tisalia asked.
“Yes. Thank you very much for your cooperation, Tisalia,” I replied.
“Oh, please don’t mention it, it’s just… Considering you ordered anesthetic ingredients…” Tisalia trailed off.
An anesthetic to use on a dragon. This was my task. I guess I could also say it was a test imposed upon me by Dr. Cthulhy.
Heart surgery required whole-body anesthesia, but in all of my studies, I didn’t know of a single anesthetic that worked on a dragon. While the lamia were known as the pharmacologists of the monster world, performing surgery on a dragon was something complete
ly beyond anyone’s imagination.
“Did you figure out a solution in the end?” said Tisalia, finishing her thought.
“Yes. I still need to experiment, but…I’ve found an ingredient that will work on dragons,” I said, pointing my finger at the ginjo that Arahnia was enjoying. Arahnia stared back blankly, the look on her face suggesting that she didn’t know what we were talking about.
“Why—what is it?” Arahnia asked.
“I’m saying that alcohol you’re holding seems like it will work,” I replied. I had seen the story while I was reading an old document. “There was an eight-headed dragon that appeared in a country to the east. Apparently the dragon demanded sacrifices and ate the people of the country, but it got drunk off that alcohol you’re holding and fell asleep, and a hero used the opening to cut off its heads. It said the hero cut them all off one at a time.”
“I see. Everyone seems to have their own fairy tales about killing dragons, don’t they?” Tisalia chimed in.
“I got a hint from this story. Basically, this eight-headed dragon wouldn’t die unless all of its heads were cut off, so it hit me—assuming that the dragon had been asleep because of the alcohol, hadn’t it been alive while its heads were getting cut off one by one?”
Arahnia was listening attentively. I continued.
“In other words, wouldn’t the alcohol be able to act as an anesthetic? I was thinking that so long as nothing vital is severed in the surgery, the alcohol might be able to calm Miss Skadi’s pain during the operation.”
I believed that this line of reasoning had put me on the right track. That being said, it was nothing more than a single line of reasoning. That was why I worked with Tisalia to order some alcohol from the country to the east. I still needed to do experiments on whether the alcohol would actually have the desired effect.
With the power of the Scythia Transportation company, ordering some liquor from a country in the eastern part of human territory seemed simple enough. Besides, even the Giant Squid’s Inn had stocked up on many bottles of the eastern liquor, and there was already an established trade route, as well.
Monster Girl Doctor Vol. 3 Page 15