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Love Death Cemetery
Chap 17: Rivalry (part 2)

Chap 17: Rivalry (part 2)

Lug spent 2 hours cleaning Vamin under the inquisitive eyes of the "chief" policeman of the district.

He took the opportunity to ask him what he wanted for his neighborhood.

"A tower," said the policeman in a serious tone.

Lug blinked as if his subconscious was communicating an SOS in Morse code.

"I think I misunderstood, a tower?" he said dumbfounded.

"Of course, a big round tower like in the northern cemeteries. It will serve to protect us from attack!"

Lug did not even attempt to argue or debate the utility of such an undertaking.

This officer was obviously devoid of common sense.

"Thank you for the information, I'll finish cleaning these graves and then I'll take a walk around Almer."

The officer frowned before walking away.

He obviously didn't appreciate that Lug was trying to take care of both quarters equally.

But Lug had a hard time figuring out exactly where Almer began and Vamin ended.

Indeed, the two districts were stuck together and no separation could be observed, unlike Valmont which had several empty meters and even a low wall that separated it from Vamin.

He came across a couple of ghosts who looked a little lost and he decided to ask them for some information.

"Hello, excuse me for disturbing you, do you know from where Almer begins?"

The two ghosts, dressed in beige fabrics much more noble than what can be seen in Valmont, looked puzzled.

"We paid to be buried in Almer, but we were told we were residents of Vamin," they said in one voice.

These two made Lug uncomfortable, some ghosts still managed to scare him.

"Thank you, I'll go and ask around a bit more."

He decided that the best person to answer these questions would be the head of the neighborhood.

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He had no trouble finding him, it was the ghost who sat atop a particularly imposing tomb.

Made of white marble, it had a baroque style, richly ornamented, and was in contrast to the rest of the neighborhood, which, although full of beautiful tombs, had no equivalent to this central monument.

When Lug approached, the ghost sitting on this large tomb of almost 3 meters lowered his eyes and greeted his guest.

"Welcome! I've heard a lot about you, the man who talks to ghosts, what wonderful news! I can already see the glorious victories that await us!" he said triumphantly.

This man was the famous baker who managed this neighborhood.

He was quite short, around 5 feet tall, he had curly hair that fell over his eyes, a small nose and full lips. A brown apron held up a thick, heavy stomach.

"Hello, are you the chief here?" asked Lug while already knowing the answer.

"Ohohoh, the chief, no there's no chief here, let's say I'm the spokesman for the beautiful Almer district!" he laughed out loud as if he was going to choke with each exhale.

Lug could see false humility a mile away, he was uncomfortable and awkward in his relationships, but he had an eye for lies and hypocrisy, maybe that's why he preferred to be alone.

"Okay, nice to meet you. I've come to clean the graves here, but just before I do, I have a few questions to ask you."

The baker nodded, and came down from his perch and listened to what Lug had to say.

"Mmmmh, what do I want for Almer? An oven, a giant oven, right there by my grave."

Lug had had a slim hope that the Baker's demands would be more reasonable than those of his Vamin counterpart, but it was in vain.

"An oven, all right I'll make a note. Thank you," Lug replied politely.

He then set about cleaning the graves, again under the gaze of the chief, or rather the spokesman of the district, again perched on his grave.

After cleaning everything up, Lug went home.

He felt he had wasted his time talking to these two men.

Their demands did not seem to be based on anything concrete.

In front of his house, Lug saw Eno, leaning against the wall as usual.

"Hey, Eno. I just got back from Almer, the baker is quite a character!"

"The baker? Yeah, he hardly ever comes down from his grave, must be a nice view from up there I guess."

"That's more of an ego problem," thought Lug.

"What did you do there?" asked Eno.

"I made the mistake of asking the two leaders what they wanted for their quarters. One of them wanted a tower and the other an oven..."

"Oh, it's okay to ask for that kind of thing? Then I'd like you to install a swing at Valmont!" said Eno with stars in his eyes.

"No, no I'm not installing anything, I'm not good with my hands, forget it." said Lug dryly.

There was a moment of silence.

"So why not have them meet and deal with their differences themselves?" asked Eno.

"Because they hate each other, yet they are very similar in their attitude, equally unpleasant."

"Oh yeah, it's called the mirror effect, when two people have the same flaws, they can't stand each other, or something like that." said Eno proudly.

"Where did you hear that?"

"On TV, it was a great documentary."

Lug seemed thoughtful for a moment, then he went on.

"I think you're right, I'll get them to meet and I'll be the referee so it doesn't get out of hand."

Lug had a determined look on his face and Eno wasn't really listening anymore, he was lost in thought.