“Arahnia, are you going?”
“Yeah, I am. You be good, Tsumu.”
“Uh-huh. Arahnia, be happy with the doctor.”
The small arachne said her goodbyes in a shaky voice. Arahnia gave her a pat on the head, and Tsumugi giggled, as if it tickled. Arahnia kept going, saying goodbye to the monsters she got to know in the village.
Now, then.
She watched Tsumugi walk away, then glanced at Glenn and Sioux, who were still busy saying their farewells to their brother and Saki.
What am I going to do with this?
Arahnia took out a single sheet of paper that she wanted to get rid of before boarding the boat. It was an advertisement for alraune sake, including a depiction of Kunai, that had been distributed throughout the east—what they’d used to lure in the Black Widows. Written in pheromone ink excreted by Arahnia was the false claim that her mother was in the monster village.
Or it was supposed to be, anyway.
This is…different.
It was the advertisement that Souen spread through the capital. But there was a message in another pheromone written over Arahnia’s, the difference so subtle that only an arachne would notice. This piece of paper had showed up one day in the house she was staying in—an act so skillful that it made Arahnia feel uneasy.
It’s her smell. My ma’s.
Arahnia cursed her mother, thoroughly annoyed.
The message, written in pheromone ink, was only a few lines long. “You’ve become a lovely woman, Arahnia. If you want to become a bandit, come back anytime.”
The irresponsible words disgusted Arahnia.
So she was watching the entire time.
Arahnia didn’t know how she did it, but her mother knew everything—what the Black Widows were doing, the fact that Arahnia was in the east. She even knew that Arahnia had used her pheromones to entrap the Black Widows. That meant she was near Heian. And she had been watching Arahnia the entire time.
Naturally, Arahnia couldn’t just shrug off a message like this. She had no idea when her elusive mother might just decide to show up again, or cause trouble for Glenn.
But…
Arahnia ripped up the advertisement, shredding it neatly and methodically into tiny pieces, as if to prove to herself that she didn’t care about the message.
“Too bad, Ma.”
She didn’t actually know if her mother could hear her, but was sure her parting words would reach her somehow.
“Doc said he’d always be by my side…and I’ve decided to trust him. I won’t be going to find you.”
Arahnia tossed the scraps of paper, which mixed with the falling cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms, in full bloom, swept away the pieces of her discarded letter.
Even if her mother did happen to find her, she would be with Glenn forever. That was why she wasn’t scared.
“Heh…” Arahnia picked up a gourd she had borrowed. Inside it was alraune sake.
“Arahnia, we’re going to leave soon,” Sapphee said as she slithered up to her.
“What are you doing here? Are you having a picnic under the flowers with sake?” Tisalia also ran up, her hooves clip-clopping on the ground.
“Heh, just a cup. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“No way, you’ll get seasick.”
“Yeah. Just a sip then,” Arahnia said, taking a swig from the gourd.
“What were you doing?” Sapphee asked. Arahnia thought she had sharp eyes.
“Nothin’. Nothin’ to tell the first wife about.”
“Now you’re just being nasty. Stop it.”
“Oh. I was serious, though,” Arahnia teased, smiling.
She was done with claiming she’d be happy as a mistress, but she did hope Glenn would make Sapphee his priority. The way Arahnia saw it, she loved how Glenn was loved by Sapphee and how he loved her back.
Perhaps she was more complicated than even she had thought.
“You’re acting suspicious…”
“You’re imagining it.”
“You’re not hiding anything are you? That reminds me, I wanted to ask you something. About your kiss with Dr. Glenn. What was it like? I want every detail!” Sapphee demanded.
The three of them continued chatting as they headed toward the ship.
“That’s between me and the Doc.”
“Arahnia!”
“There’s nothing to say. You were watching the whole time.”
“That’s completely different,” Sapphee yelped. “I’ve never kissed anyone. Ahhh…”
Just then, someone popped their head out of the sea with a splash.
“I heard someone say kiss!”
“Lulala?!”
“What happened? Did someone kiss Dr. Glenn?” Lulala was smiling, eyes wide. “Actually, you know…I think I was the first one to kiss Dr. Glenn. Right?”
“N-no! That was emergency medical treatment!”
“Huh? But Arahnia, you kissed him too, right?”
“So you’ve been listening the entire time?!”
Lulala stuck out her tongue and clicked it. Arahnia realized this girl also had eyes everywhere. She’d intended to lift Sapphee up from the start, but what about Lulala? She could be a capable rival, from Sapphee’s perspective.
“We finally have the blessing of Glenn’s parents, so we can start talking about the wedding. Are we going to have three? Or four?”
“We don’t have that sort of budget. We have to pay back the loan for the clinic.”
“Ah yes, he has that debt.”
The clinic still had a long way to go financially. Arahnia decided she’d work hard to support Glenn, as his wife.
“Hey, hey, Sapphee.”
“What is it, Arahnia?” Sapphee responded halfheartedly, preoccupied with the threat of another rival.
Arahnia moved her lips close to Sapphee’s ear and whispered, “Kissing Doc was great.”
“Arrrgh! I’m going to have him do it once we’re back home!”
“Why don’t you do it now?”
“It has to be romantic!”
Sapphee sighed, while Tisalia looked envious. Glenn looked over, as if he finally noticed the noisy bunch.
“What’s going on? Did something happen?”
“Nothin’.” Arahnia feigned innocence, taking another swig of sake from the gourd. A cherry blossom petal fluttered past her eyes.
The best season of her life had only just begun.