Prologue:
Unseasonable Heat Wave
SOME TIME HAD PASSED since Glenn Litbeit had returned from his trip back home. While the calendar claimed it was the middle of spring, Glenn was as listless as if it were summer. This was because of the unseasonable heat wave that just wouldn’t seem to let up.
“It’s so hot!”
“Oh, it’s hot.”
“Whoa, it’s hot!”
Glenn chuckled. Apparently, the fairies weren’t fond of the heat, either. It wasn’t just the high temperatures, but also the extraordinary humidity. For a cold region like Lindworm, these were unusual circumstances. The level of discomfort reminded him of summers in his hometown.
“Doctor, no lazing about! Didn’t you just resolve to work hard?”
“Oh, yeah…you’re right,” Glenn glanced down at the letter on his desk.
A few important things had happened since he’d reopened Litbeit Clinic. First of all, there had been major reforms to the laws of the human realm, thanks to Souen. People with Demonitis, as well as monsters living in the shadows, were now officially recognized throughout the human realm and were to be treated the same as humans. The legislation would take more time, but Souen was pressing on, leading the movement.
This also meant that he and Saki could finally be married.
The letter on Glenn’s desk was the marriage announcement. The fact that Souen hadn’t bothered to invite Glenn to the wedding and had only sent a brusque letter was what Glenn would have expected from his brother. But the letter had also included a significant gift.
“Your debt is paid, and you got a new lab coat. Now you truly are independent from the central hospital.”
“Yes. Arahnia did a good job with the coat.”
Sapphee rotated her upper body in a snake-like fashion. Instead of the nurse’s uniform she normally wore, she had on a slightly more sophisticated number. She’d kept the same light-shielding undershirt, but the silhouette had changed, as had the medical care worker insignia.
“This is the Litbeit Clinic emblem, after all.”
“Yes, it is. I really do have my own clinic now, don’t I?”
Sapphee smiled. “Your dream has come true, Doctor.”
Glenn’s clothing had changed, too. He’d turned in his knee-length shorts for long slacks. His shirt was more professional, and it was covered with a white lab coat. An armband on his upper sleeve sported the new emblem as well.
“It’s only because my brother pushed his money on me.”
“And that’s because your diagnosis and clinical records were officially recognized,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, I know, but…I wish he would have at least told me ahead of time,” Glenn complained.
“That’s Souen’s way.”
Souen had purchased the records of Glenn’s examinations, and the diagnosis of Sioux’s Demonitis, from Glenn’s mentor, Cthulhy. The details of the transaction weren’t clear, but rumor had it that Souen had paid a hefty price. Apparently, a dissertation written by Cthulhy based on those records had been included. Glenn’s father had read through everything, and the result had been a systemic change in the human realm, allowing Souen to wed Saki at last. For this, he would have paid any price.
Glenn had already known most of this when he returned from the east, but then Souen had unexpectedly sent him a check worth three thousand gold coins as a token of gratitude.
“It’s just so much to send without any warning.”
“Perhaps you should think of it as a congratulatory gift.” Sapphee suggested.
“It’s way too much for even that!”
And what had Glenn done with the huge sum? He’d paid off all his debts, starting with what he owed from the poisoned water incident and followed by what he still owed to the city council, the central hospital, and the farms. With plenty still left over, he and Sapphee had commissioned new uniforms. He’d also registered the clinic’s new emblem with the council.
“We can no longer rely on Dr. Cthulhy. Of course, we’ll still have to share information, but we need to successfully run this clinic on our own.”
“More importantly, there’s no one left to get in the way of our marriage!” Sapphee giggled, flicking her tail in high spirits.
Glenn was now completely independent. The debt had been taken care of, leaving nothing to encumber his relationship with Sapphee. Even Cthulhy, who’d warned the two of them not to let their feelings progress when the clinic first opened, had softened.
Independent operations did mean an increase in accounting workload, but Sapphee had gladly taken on the added responsibility while simultaneously planning her wedding.
“You’re all good, Sapphee?”
“Leave the ceremony to me. I need you to concentrate on being a doctor—especially with everyone suffering from heat exhaustion. There’s a lot to do.”
“I’ll try my best,” Glenn said, feeling ashamed that he was already turning into the type of husband who left all the errands to his wife.
The heat wave was likely the reason that Sapphee was even more active than usual. This sort of weather agreed with poikilothermic monsters like lamia. But for centaurs and hairy monsters who tended to sweat, it could be fatal. At the clinic, they’d rushed to prepare a vat of cold lemon water for anyone who stopped by for a break from the heat.
“I think we’re going to be busy,” Glenn said.
“Yes, but we can get through it together…for our wedding!” Sapphee had marriage on the mind.
Glenn chuckled, then returned to his paperwork.
“We also have a different sort of task to tackle,” Sapphee reminded him. “From the council.”
“Ah, that.” Glenn nodded.
The Litbeit Clinic was already independent of the central hospital. Until now, Cthulhy had sent work to Glenn to make sure he got the experience he needed, although Sapphee had teased him that the requests were usually unreasonable. Now it was likely that difficult requests would come straight to the clinic, like this one from the council.
“Have you heard about the ambassador to the human realm?” she asked him.
“Yeah, I heard from Sioux. So…they’re going to choose someone from Lindworm to liaise with the human realm?”
“That’s right. And the council wants you to perform a physical exam on each of the candidates. They want you to check that the girls can handle such a long trip.”
Glenn nodded.
With all the changes in the human realm, communication between humans and monsters would now grow. The plan was to send young women from Lindworm—the connection between the two realms—east on a goodwill tour. Humans’ opinions of monsters wouldn’t change overnight, but the idea was that representatives could help sway public opinion.
“Sioux has already been selected as one of the two ambassadors. We will examine the candidates for the other.”
Sioux Litbeit had been born in the human realm. Because of that, and the strong bias against Demonitis patients, the council had deemed her a good fit to spread awareness of monsters. The other ambassador would be someone Sioux was close to, and would accompany her east.
“So, the candidates have already been decided?”
“Yes. Lulala has the support of the water canals, Illy the support of transport, and Memé the support of the workshop.”
Glenn knew all of them well. They were close in age to Sioux.
“Oh, and Plum is also a candidate, at the insistence of Lord Murdrac.” Sapphee chuckled.
Plum was a vampire. She also seemed to be after Glenn’s blood. But given Lord Murdrac’s influence on the council, no one could say no to him.
“Fine. Let’s get on with the examinations, then.”
The human realm was quite far away. Glenn should know, having just returned from his childhood home. He was well aware of the difficulties of such a long trip. They couldn’t risk something happening to an ambassador representing the monster realm. On top of that, Glenn wanted whoever was chosen to actually enjoy their journey.
“Yes, Doctor! You need to do your job perfectly, so we can have a perfect wedding!”
“Y-you really are excited.”
Sapphee was even more fervent than usual, again likely due to the heat.
“Now then. On to today’s exams—”
“D-Doctor! Doctooor!”
Glenn was interrupted by someone rushing into the waiting room, ignoring the sign on the door. It was Memé, the cyclops craftsman…and one of the young women he and Sapphee had just been discussing.
“I-it’s terrible!”
“Memé? What is it?”
“They’re fighting in the square!” Memé’s large single eye darted around wildly. “Th-they’re going to hurt each other! Help them!”
“Who’s fighting?” Glenn asked.
The fairies, recognizing the urgency of the situation, packed his doctor’s bag with necessities. Glenn slung it over his shoulder and headed for the door.
“I-it’s Illy and Plum!”
“Er…”
“Just hurry!” Memé was beside herself. “They’re both screaming! It’s a mess!”
Glenn and Sapphee looked at each other and nodded.
Spring heat was in the air.