The Second Accord

Nobody was quite sure what to call the celebration, but that one should be held was a matter of galactic consensus. Referring to "peace" seemed inappropriate since there had never been a war; indeed, the determination of every analyst and computation on both sides that there never would be was what prompted the present relief. Till the moment itself, none could be honest in claiming he knew whether an encounter between intelligent species would result in the extermination of one as many predicted against the theories of approximately as many.
The formal ceremony to confirm eternal non-agression took place in a space installation constructed for that occasion, a trifling endeavor for a pair of interstellar civilizations. Numerous heads of state attended (the investigations following first contact provided another point of reassurance in that neither species had united into a single nation, a cause of anxiety). Lesser politicians considered themselves either lucky to be invited or else took it as a portent of a continued rise, but as for the deal-makers whom few of the public knew for all that everyone there did, they regarded their inclusion as nothing exceptional. A smattering of celebrities enlivened the event, less from their charm and more from the attempts of either species to explain the sources of their fame.
That procedure as well as much additional conversation impinged on the main disappointment of the historic encounter. Just as the two species had no cause for conflict, neither did they have any for less-violent intercourse.
"This music, I am sorry to say, is discordant to my human ears."
"Your 'pineapple' is not displeasing in shape, but it is quite inedible for us."
"Humor barely survives differences in language. I am unsurprised that none of yours makes it across."
"I have no reason to denigrate your archery, nor any to prefer it over our own."
"I expect you have no culinary use for this garlic. It is only a shame you have no vampires!"
Amid laughs, the other party requested an explanation, out of politeness merely until he heard it.
"Those exist among you?"
"They do. It was once thought they were fiction, but the fact has become unpleasantly evident. There is some speculation that colonization of the moon has led to an increase in their power and numbers."
"How curious that we have a similar monster! It can transfix a man with its horrible eye before feeding." "That is, it can transfix a man of your species. Is that not so? Likewise for ours, I believe."
"An experiment does suggest itself."
Vampires and other unsavory creatures had cause to lament the swift creation of the monster hunter exchange program.
Finis

Challenge of the Flavorful Dish

"No, inspector. There are no signs of violence and no indication of poisoning. The cause of death is natural."
"I have reason to doubt that," Inspector Iagius said. What reason need there be aside from the intuition of that veteran avenger of crime? Nevertheless, grounds existed! The dead man had not gone through life without enemies or without making a will. That will . . . was missing!
The doctor cared about physiological signs and not motive. And rightly so. He shook his learned head. "The sole unusual fact about this corpse is how much garlic he must have eaten!"
"Garlic, you say?"
"Crates of it!"

*****

"Well, Mr. Modusta, I only have one question for you before I stop wasting your time."
"Not at all, Inspector. Happy to help."
"Is it true that the victim dined here the night of the murder?"
"It is."
"Falgunus! Arrest this man!"
"What?"
An escape attempt! Mr. Modusta made his try, but Custos Falgunus was too fast for him in body just as Inspector Iagius was in mind. He struggled, but he might as well have wrestled against a mountain!
"He's full of energy, sir!"
"I am! Because this is outrageous!"
"And deviltry. Mr. Modusta, I talked to your other guests. They reported tasting no garlic at all. You knew the victim had worn a vampire costume for a party once! That made him vulnerable to garlic in sufficient amounts, larger of course than what the true vampire requires, and that's why you had your chief load his dish alone with all the garlic in the house! Take him away, Falgunus."
Another triumph for Inspector Iagius!
Finis

The Fate of an Inconvenient Premise

I Got Staked by a Texan and Sent to Another World Where I'm Still a Vampire but There's Garlic in the Air So I'm Weaker Than a Normal Human
Volume 2

"This quest reward magic item negates my vampiric weaknesses!"

Finis