“Dr. Cthulhy, um, that’s enough, isn’t it?” said Glenn.
“You too, Glenn… You’re all grown up.”
The tentacles went around to the nape of Glenn’s neck and the suckers fastened themselves to him. For a moment the tentacle communication continued, with the suckers attaching and detaching from his skin. Just as Glenn felt that the back of his neck was beginning to hurt, the tentacles gave one long final suck, almost like a kiss. Then, finally satisfied, Cthulhy released the pair.
“I’m so happy my pupils are growing up. Pretty soon I’ll be able to retire,” said Cthulhy.
Cthulhy’s wish was to retire and freely devote herself completely to research. She would often comment that she was never cut out to be a teacher or a doctor to begin with.
Sapphee straightened out her clothes and got her breathing back to normal. It seemed that the tentacles had been so unrelenting as to wedge themselves under Sapphee’s clothes.
“Still Glenn, even if you’re going to perform surgery, there’s a whole mountain of problems to deal with,” she continued, the face of the exceptional doctor stiffening. “I’ll leave convincing Skadi up to you. But even if you get her to agree, we still don’t have enough people. Even if you and I work with everything we have, we still won’t be fast enough to suture all her blood vessels.”
“I-I’ll help, too,” Sapphee said, putting her hand on her chest, but—
“Saphentite. You’re in charge of the anesthesia. It’s heart surgery, so we’ll need a full-body anesthetic,” Cthulhy replied, shaking her head.
“Anesthesia…”
“There isn’t any precedent for giving a full-body anesthetic to a dragon. If you fail, then it’ll all be over, and there isn’t anyone else who would be able to make the anesthetic besides you. You need to make absolutely perfect preparations. During the surgery, it’ll be your job to keep track of how the anesthetic is working.”
Sapphee made a big gulp. As a pharmacologist, it went without saying that Sapphee was knowledgeable about how to administer anesthesia. She had her own job to do. They couldn’t entrust her work to anyone else.
“I want one more person to help us,” said Cthulhy. “I want almost no gap in time between when we excise the fake heart and when we stitch together the blood vessels. I want to keep the blood loss as low as possible. If we don’t do that, even if we start the surgery, the amount of blood loss could end up becoming fatal.”
“…Yes, that is true, but…”
“We still don’t have enough people. We just need one more. Someone close to you, Glenn, and Sapphee, too… If there’s room to hope, they should be someone close enough to you that you can communicate with just a glance. Despite all that, they have to be a doctor, skilled at delicate work. Especially if they are good at using a needle and thread for suturing,” Cthulhy continued.
“Is there someone we could ask here at the hospital…?” Glenn replied.
“Unfortunately, while all I’ve done here is teach my students to become effective doctors, there isn’t one we could rely on that has your level of skill, Glenn.”
Cthulhy’s words were high praise for him to hear. At the same time, it meant that there wasn’t one person in the Central Hospital that could keep up with Glenn and Cthulhy.
Cthulhy had approved of Glenn becoming an independent town doctor, but the key point was that, even now, Glenn was the only one who had received her permission to do so. This was how strict of a mentor Cthulhy was. It was not often that a student of hers could match up to him.
“They don’t necessarily need to be a doctor or a nurse. Worst case scenario, they don’t even need to know anything about medicine.”
Cthulhy’s suggestion was completely outrageous, Glenn thought.
“If they’re well-versed in using thread and proficient with their fingers, then that’s fine,” Cthulhy continued. “Someone who can follow my instructions and suture the blood vessels, and someone who can stay in sync with you and Sapphee. At any rate, it has to be someone who can wield a thread and needle as fast as we can…”
“Impossible. There’s no way someone that convenient—” Glenn began. Wait, Glenn thought, stopping mid-sentence. Right as he began to say that someone that perfect couldn’t possibly exist, he suddenly realized something. There was someone like that—just one. They had no medical knowledge, but they were more of an expert with a needle and thread than Glenn was. What’s more—this person was friends with Sapphee. They were probably the most dexterous person in all of Lindworm.
“…Dr. Glenn,” said Sapphee, speaking up.
“Yeah.”
It seemed that Sapphee had thought the same thing. The two of them exchanged a forceful nod.
“…Do you happen to know someone like that?” asked Cthulhy.
“Yes. Although she can be…a little hard to read,” Glenn replied.
“It doesn’t matter. Make sure that they can help us perform the surgery.”
Glenn wondered if she’d agree to help them. No, he thought, they had to have her agree to help. An important step, then, would be to convince her to help, just like with Skadi. It was a problem that he needed to overcome, no matter what, in order to save Skadi’s life.
“By the way—what is this person’s name?” asked Cthulhy.
“Arahnia Taranterra Arachnida,” answered Sapphee. Word for word, it was the exact name that had come to Glenn’s mind.
CASE 02:
The Self-Deprecating Cyclops
“No thank you.” Her answer was immediate. “Such an engagement would be absolutely impossible for one such as myself.”
“Please, Miss Arahnia. We came to the conclusion that you were the best possible fit for the job,” Glenn said.
“Even if that were true…” said Arahnia, frowning. She seemed to be troubled by Glenn’s words. Glenn still believed she was a woman who kept her true intentions difficult to read, but at that moment she did appear to be truly at a loss.
“Miss Arahnia, I’ve been put in the position of handling all of the preparations for this operation. My master, Cthulhy Squele, will be the one conducting Miss Skadi’s surgery.”
“Yes, I saw in the papers. How awful, truly.”
“Miss Skadi’s disease is a rare one without any precedent, so there will be many firsts involved in Cthulhy doing the surgery, as well. That’s why I want to gather the best of the best to assist her… Miss Arahnia, that person is you.”
“Why, I am thrilled to be held in such high regard. It is an honor to hear that from someone such as yourself, Doctor.”
The unequaled expert when it came to a needle and thread, Arahnia Taranterra Arachnida, still had that troubled look on her face after listening to Glenn’s wishes. She seemed to be doing needlework of some kind, four of her arms embroidering a piece of cloth faster than Glenn was able to follow with his eyes.
“But I must say…” she continued. “To come while I am working to talk about other employment like this. The branch manager will start keeping tabs on me, you know.”
“M-my apologies. Nonetheless,” Glenn stammered.
“Just a little joke, Doctor,” Arahnia replied, looking as though she was enjoying herself as she took in Glenn’s troubled expression. She was just as crafty a woman as ever.
As she had said, she did seem to be in the middle of working. There were a great number of arachne who worked at the Lindworm branch of Loose Silk Sewing. There were women reeling in the silk they produced from their abdomens, women using that silk to sew, and some who were using sewing scissors and foot-pedal sewing machines to make clothes. From silk, to cloth, to clothes, the process required a wide variety of jobs.
Everyone working there was an arachne woman. Of course, Glenn knew that arachne were a women-only race of monsters in the first place. However—
“For a little while now… I’ve kind of felt like I’m being stared at,” said Glenn.
“Well, now, Doctor. That would be because you’ve brazenly walked into
a business that only employs arachne,” Arahnia said with a suggestive laugh. “Arachne are all women, and we have to capture men from other races to have children. It’s only natural that the impassioned gazes of these nubile arachne would find their way to you. That’s to say nothing of the fact that humans are very popular.”
“Humans…are popular?”
“That’s right. For you see, human men are small and easy to catch, and they are timid and submissive. With them as partners, we can work them hard for the rest of our lives, and as such, they are quite a bit more popular than men of other monster races. Were you unaware of this?”
This was the first time Glenn had heard about arachne marriage. Hearing this, he could only feel a sense of dread at the ardent gazes boring into him.
While not to the same degree as with dragons, there were still many mysteries surrounding the arachne as well. The fact that they only gave birth to women was strange in the first place. As a basic rule, organisms could only mate with organisms of the same species, but many of the monster races, including centaurs, lamia, and mermaids, were able to mate with humans. But other than the arachne, there were no cases of a species that only gave birth to women.
That they could mate with one another meant that that humans and monsters might actually be quite similar as organisms. Monster-human relationships happened often enough for such a hypothesis to come about. In fact, Lindworm recognized marriages between monster and human, and the centaur Tisalia had repeatedly asked Glenn for a marriage interview.
“…………”
Having accompanied Glenn, Sapphee menaced the arachne in the building with a sharp glare. For a while now, her tail had been vibrating back and forth. Her wariness and mistrust was at its peak.
Despite Sapphee’s glares, the arachne continued to look toward Glenn ever more, whispering to each other and snickering quietly. It was terrifying that even while they amused themselves in sizing up the man in front of them, their hands didn’t stop moving for a single second. Glenn imagined that every one of the arachne women that was gathered there was an absolute expert when it came to clothing.
“Now, now, Sapphee, don’t be angry. Everyone here is starved for love and gossip, you know. Why, after all, they spend all day in here working,” Arahnia said.
“I’m not angry,” Sapphee replied.
“My Sapphee, you truly are precious when you’re all full of jealousy like this,” Arahnia said, smiling. She was wearing a monocle that appeared to be for her work, but in a strange twist, also had a total of three lenses. Glenn assumed that the differing sizes of lenses had been specially ordered to match up with all six of Arahnia’s eyes, but when he considered how expensive regular glasses were, he wondered just how much such a special order would cost. Leave it to a designer, he thought, not to compromise on the quality of her clothing and accessories, no matter the cost.
“Now, if your business is finished, I’ll have to ask you to leave quickly. I’ll be in quite a pickle if I don’t finish this today.”
“Please… Can we please work something out? Miss Arahnia. I’m begging you.” Glenn bowed his head, but Arahnia simply shook hers.
“I’m a designer. It would be fine if we were talking about clothing, but running a thread and needle through a patient? Why, there’s no way I can do that so easily. If I play my part poorly, and the surgery fails… Wouldn’t I then have to bear much of the responsibility?”
“I accept all responsibility. So long as you’re able to follow our instructions.”
“You may say that, Doctor, but I wonder what the townspeople would think? If the papers started writing things suggesting the surgery failed entirely because the completely untrained Miss Arahnia had participated, what then?”
“That’s, well…”
“They can write whatever they want about me, but the thought of losing the trust of Loose Silk Sewing… Well, I’m sure you can understand, yes?”
Glenn imagined that it was precisely because Arahnia was so obsessive and something of an artist that she became so earnest when it came to her work. That being said, her earnestness was very unique and did not necessarily line up with conventional common sense and morality.
“I’m truly very sorry, but I’d ask you to find someone else for this task…” Arahnia began.
“Arahnia,” said Sapphee.
Just as Glenn thought that it was going to be impossible to convince her, Arahnia lifted her head at Sapphee’s call. He imagined that Arahnia must have picked up on the seriousness in Sapphee’s voice. Her hands even stopped their work.
“You’re fine with this? Really?” Sapphee said.
“Whether I’m fine with it or not, for me to practice medicine—why, it’s just out of the question.”
“As long as you agree to work with us, we’ll give you constant direction. We’ll explain it all to the Loose Silk Sewing branch manager. We’ll make you a clinic employee for a little while.”
“And?”
“Basically, what I’m saying is,” Sapphee said, smiling suddenly, “you’ll be able to wear a nurse outfit matching my own.”
“I’ll do it. No, please, let me help you!”
Glenn didn’t even get a moment to wonder if Sapphee’s persuasion would work. Arahnia even cast aside the fabric she was working on and took Sapphee’s hand. Glenn knew that Sapphee’s nurse outfit had been specially made by Arahnia herself. Thinking about it further, Arahnia did have a strange attachment to her close friend Saphentite
“… That’s what did it?” Glenn asked.
“What are you saying, Doctor?! Of course! Sapphee’s outfit is the only one of its kind in the whole world—a miraculous fusion of a strong light-blocking inner layer and a nurse’s outfit overflowing with a feeling of cleanliness! Naturally, it would take a considerable amount of adjustment for me to wear it, but a chance to wear matching outfits? Why, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!” Arahnia said.
“Um, couldn’t you just wear that normally?”
“Why, as if I would wear a nurse’s outfit without any reason!”
Glenn couldn’t empathize with Arahnia’s obsession with clothes at all. Nevertheless, she was finally interested. Despite how she had given every excuse she could think of to turn Glenn down, she had responded with ease to Sapphee’s pointed persuasion.
“Now that it’s been decided, we have to win over the branch manager immediately! We haven’t a moment to lose!” Arahnia continued.
“U-um, Miss Arahnia? Is it really okay?” Glenn replied.
“I’m prepared for the worse! Sapphee and I! The two of us together will make sure this is a success! Why, at the end of the day, sewing cloth isn’t that much different from sewing blood vessels, right?”
The change in attitude was intense, thought Glenn. With her natural agility, Arahnia rushed off deeper into the building. Left behind, Glenn was stunned by her immediate change in attitude. He wondered if things would actually play out this easily.
“We’re close friends, after all,” Sapphee said, turning toward Glenn and giving him a wink. “I know her very well. I’m sure Arahnia will be a big help to us.”
“Did Miss Arahnia really want to wear a matching outfit that badly?” Glenn asked.
“Of course not.” Sapphee gave a sarcastic laugh. “I’m sure the reason she was hesitating to accept the offer was because she was waiting for a concession from us. That woman’s heart is completely black— she was just pretending that she didn’t want any part of it until we proposed a compromise that was convenient for her.”
“Is that so…”
So it was all a part of the negotiations, Glenn thought. His failure to notice it meant he was once again relying on Sapphee for everything.
“That’s why, with the promise of wearing matching outfits, I pretended to meet her halfway. If she was still unwilling after that, the conversation would be over, so she accepted,” explained Sapphee.
“…Wait. If that’s the case, does that mean that
Miss Arahnia had something else in mind in accepting the offer?” Glenn asked.
“Probably. Although I’m sure her desire to wear matching outfits with me wasn’t a total lie. I think she’ll face the task at hand seriously, but be careful, Doctor.”
Glenn had been tricked by Arahnia once before. He knew that he should be cautious around her. Arahnia wasn’t at all a bad person, but there were times when she felt that the ends justified her means.
“…Thank you again, Sapphee. I’d be lost without you.”
“Of course. You still need a lot more experience, Dr. Glenn.”
All Glenn was able to do was once again express his appreciation to his always dependable assistant.
***
While he had convinced Arahnia—although Glenn questioned if that was the right way to describe it—there was still a mountain of problems to tackle.
First was training Arahnia. Although she was proficient with a needle and thread, suturing a body was not the same as sewing up fabric. They needed to teach her from the ground up about stitching together nerves and blood vessels.
For the time being, Sapphee was put in charge of teaching Arahnia the basics. This was partly because even if Arahnia harbored some other intentions, Sapphee would be able to see through them. Fortunately, it seemed Arahnia was a quick learner, and it was fine to leave her to Sapphee for the time being.
The Lindworm branch manager of Loose Silk Sewing had agreed to let Arahnia visit the clinic under the condition that she would do so until the end of Skadi’s surgery, regardless of whether it was a success or not. She said that seeing more of the world and taking part in a different kind of work would refine Arahnia’s sensibilities as a designer.
“The branch manager is quite broad-minded, so she doesn’t lament when her skilled designer goes off somewhere else.” Arahnia laughed as she said this, but Glenn couldn’t help but hear Arahnia’s cynicism toward the branch manager in her words. Nevertheless, he could tell her cynicism didn’t necessarily mean Arahnia had wanted the branch manager to stop her from leaving.
Monster Girl Doctor Vol. 3 Page 8
