Glenn had only told a select few people about what happened in the Underworld. There was one thing, however, that felt off after he’d recovered—and it had to do with Lime, the nurse from the hospital.
Lime was currently at the Graveyard District church, her entire body trembling.
“Tha—what happened?!”
The second-generation Molly was telling her all about how Glenn had traveled to the Underworld, and how phoenix flame had saved him. Molly had now “completed component distinction” to identify Lime as an individual being, so the latter’s body was no longer drawn to the former’s.
“I thought it was strange! Glenn spoke to me about our lab at the Academy like it was something we talked about all the time! He was supposed to have lost those memories…”
“Conjecture: The damaged memory was restored by phoenix power. There is a possibility Lime’s tissue completely assimilated with Glenn’s and regenerated.”
“Ohhh wow! I was not ready for that!” Lime said excitedly.
Molly watched her reaction, expressionless. Now that she was no longer at risk of assimilation, Lime worked with Molly underground. She’d grown quite close to her, enough so that she could ask her about Glenn’s recovery.
“So, what will you do, Lime?”
“Huh?! What will I do…”
“Are you going to try to marry Glenn? Now that his memory has returned, Glenn remembers being close to you, correct?”
“I can’t do something so drastic all of a sudden without a relationship in place!” Lime sobbed.
He had completely forgotten about her until recently. Even if Glenn did have any affection for her, Lime didn’t have the courage to try and marry him. Besides, Glenn didn’t even know he’d only recently recovered his memory. He remembered all his experiences of the subsequent years, and the phoenix power had just naturally reconnected everything back together. If anything, he found it puzzling that he and Lime were so estranged.
“So, you will do nothing?”
“I’m thinking about that nowww. Ohhh, Glennn,” Lime lamented.
“We have determined that if you have feelings for him, the optimal solution is to mate immediately,” Molly analyzed.
“It’s not that easy! C’mon, ancestor!”
Lime hadn’t decided what to do about her relationship with Glenn. He already had three fianceés and other prospects, to boot. If Lime added herself to the pile, she’d just be putting more of a burden on Glenn.
Also—back at the Academy, he’d just been a junior she had a crush on. Could she really just jump into a relationship like that?
“According to the laws of Lindworm, you could try polygamy. We have determined that it is acceptable for you to take your relationship with Dr. Glenn slowly,” Molly offered.
“Oh, thank you, ancestor…”
“Of course, there is also a possibility that we will become friendly with Dr. Glenn. It will be beneficial for Dr. Glenn to gain popularity. If we can just procure some intimate time—”
“I was wrong about you! Everyone is trying to get poor Glenn!” Lime snapped. Molly pretended to be oblivious.
But…
Lime sighed.
It is nice to have someone to talk to about it… Maybe there’s no awkwardness between us since we were once part of the same species.
Being amorphous life-forms made it pretty easy for the two of them to get along. Glenn’s death bringing them together had turned out to be great for Lime.
“Now, we shall complete this friendly exchange of small talk and move to the next step,” Molly announced.
“Y-yes!” Lime answered, expression turning serious.
She wasn’t visiting the Graveyard District regularly just to ask about Glenn. Well, that was part of it… But today, Lime was serving as a nurse. Now that she was no longer concerned about assimilation, there was something she needed to learn from Molly.
“Next, a dog,”
Molly’s body split apart and began to change in both shape and color, eventually taking the form of a small puppy. The puppy’s stomach was torn. Its breathing was faint and real blood spilled from the abdominal wound. It was dying.
Even though it was all Molly’s mimicry, the reproduction was so precise it could easily be mistaken for the real thing.
“These organs are more complicated than the insect we just did,” Molly explained.
“Here I go!”
Lime prepared herself, then slipped her body into the dog the same way she had with Glenn long ago. Even though she knew it was really Molly, the internal organs were physiologically exactly the same as those of a real dog.
She was here under Cthulhy’s orders, still researching the regenerative power of slime tissue. It was said that Shoggoths once changed their own bodies to help repair organs. If Lime could master that skill, and other slimes could learn it from her, it would revolutionize the field of medicine.
According to Cthulhy, slime cells couldn’t be transplanted into other living beings—apparently, there were compatibility issues at play. More research was necessary, and they needed Molly’s abilities to proceed.
My relationship with Glenn has yet to begin…
Lime covered the dog with her own tissue and proceeded to fix its damaged organs.
But I am growing, too… I’m sure I can build a relationship with him, both as a woman and as a mentor!
Lime smiled to herself. Even though the phoenix flame had helped him, there was no doubt it was Lime’s cells that had reconnected Glenn’s nerves. To Lime, that was what connected the past to the present. Cthulhy’s regenerative therapy research was on the right track, too.
The past Lime had kept locked up inside her could finally be released.
She was so happy she could draw on that for the strength to approach the future.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Unbelievable…”
Skadi looked out over Lindworm from her office at the council. After all the fuss about Glenn’s death, the city was back to normal—mostly because Glenn was back to normal.
“He died, and he’s acting like nothing happened,” Skadi said with dissatisfaction.
“Isn’t it good that it all ended well?” asked her bodyguard, Kunai. “I met with Dr. Glenn. There was no damage to his soul at all—all because of the skill with which the first-generation Molly cut it cleanly away.”
“He said it was all planned by the Queen of the Underworld?” Skadi grumbled. “Once I get to the Underworld, I’ll give her a piece of my mind.”
“So one hundred years from now?” Kunai chuckled.
Skadi looked away, indignant.
“Dr. Glenn will probably die before you,” Kunai supposed.
“Ahhh…It just makes me want to die faster…I want to see the Queen of the Underworld’s stupid face,” Skadi groaned.
“Don’t say that,” Kunai soothed her.
Skadi laid her body on her desk. Her thick tail swayed from left to right, indicating that she was in a bad mood.
“No matter how many centuries it takes, I will join you on your journey to the other world, Draconess,” Kunai vowed.
“Yeah. I’ll hold you to it.” Skadi laughed.
Her will to live was far too strong, which was probably why she’d caught the attention of the Queen of the Underworld. She’d been through a lot as a result, and put quite the burden on Glenn, too.
However, she had never once regretted going through with the surgery. She was glad she hadn’t died.
I am alive.
Skadi had lived so long that she now found life boring. She figured she would probably continue with a dull existence for the sake of the few moments of pleasure she found here and there, even if it meant 90% of her life would consist of just killing time. She could choose to live a laid-back life like Dione did, or walk a straight path like Cthulhy, but Skadi had lived for so long that even both those options sounded dull.
However, she wasn’t sick of life anymore. Skadi wanted to live to the full extent of her lifespan, partly so she could issue a full complaint to the Queen of the Underworld.
When I die, I’ll stand right in front of her and tell her that I lived my far-too-long life to the fullest and enjoyed every minute.
And what would the Queen of the Underworld do upon hearing that? Skadi decided it would be most gratifying if the Queen were reduced to grinding her teeth in frustration.
“I wonder what the Queen of the Underworld is like,” she said, wondering about the goddess she had never seen. Since ancient times, dragons had been the only creatures who could go toe-to-toe with gods.
“Well…according to Dr. Glenn, she resembled the Draconess. In personality, that is,” Kunai offered.
“Whaaat? Gross!” Skadi pouted, kicking her legs like a child. What an affront to her dragon dignity!