EnCoffin Me Chapter 14
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 14
This was the first time since Alexio's resurrection that he had entered the saint's room. He was quite quite curious. The lunatic's memories were stuck in a period when their relationship wasn't very good, so Alexio didn't know how the lunatic would choose to arrange the room now, especially with the center ready to fulfill any request.
The room was surprisingly plain, not as if it hadn't been decorated yet, but as if there was no intention to decorate at all. The saint sat by the only table, glancing up at the vampire who was looking around.
“What are you looking for?”
Alexio took the opportunity to ask, “You didn't ask the center for anything? Even if you're only staying here for a few days, you could at least make yourself a bit more comfortable.”
“…This is fine.”
“Huh? You're kidding me! Your taste is clearly not like this.” Alexio refused to believe it. “Even if you don't have a special, cozy resting area set up, your candy jar should at least be on the table.”
“……”
“I once suspected you ate three pounds of candies a day.”
Lucius' gaze darkened slightly, a strange feeling washing over him. He had imagined what kind of house he would buy after completing his mission and retiring, and how comfortably he would furnish it, but those things were not meant for the vampire to know.
Candies, too. But most of the time he ate candies was when he felt a great deal of pressure. He needed the sugar to keep himself calm. But the vampire said he used to eat a lot of candies in a day. So how much was his former self suppressing back then? And what exactly was he suppressing?
It seemed the vampire didn't know the answer to that question either. Fortunately, he was slowly recovering fragments of his memory. One day, he would find out.
“There are two things,” Lucius said, no longer lingering on the candy issue and getting straight to the point.
“One is that my memory is coming back.” As he said this, he looked directly at the vampire, subtly warning him not to try to deceive him. Eventually, he would remember everything from the past, and then he could expose every one of the vampire's lies.
Alexio simply nodded casually, his expression open. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and his face shifted slightly.
This cunning vampire, what he had told him was indeed exaggerated. Lucius was certain of that. He always found it strange how the vampire acted like they were close, when in reality they were clearly mortal enemies destined to kill each other.
Alexio's train of thoughts was on a completely different track. He was just a bit horrified to think that if his memories could return, did that mean the saint before him, who seemed so well-behaved, would eventually become that lunatic again? While that might mean he could finally ask why the other had recklessly started the war, the truth was he couldn't handle that lunatic.
“The second thing concerns the military officers who just came by,” Lucius continued. “Marshal Olsen rushed back from the northern front, hoping I could contribute to quelling the lingering light burst there.”
He watched Alexio's expression. Unsurprisingly, he saw a slight confusion. Vampires were always like this. They lived far too long, so they often appeared distracted, focusing only on what interested them, and that interest rarely lasted.
Lucius lowered his eyes. He had studied many courses about vampires in the Holy Temple, but he never expected to have a living example right in front of him now, confirming everything he had learned.
It was… ridiculous.
“I thought there wouldn't be any wars in the world after ten thousand years,” Alexio said. What he'd seen recently was all peace and prosperity, nothing like a time of conflict.
“That's because it's not serious anymore. It's been completely suppressed in the north,” Lucius explained. “The light forces in the world today are extremely strong. People have quantified the light energy in the atmosphere into what's called the light index.”
Alexio recalled seeing the light index mentioned in the comments section, along with another related term that sounded like…
“...Light smog?”
“That happens after an outbreak. Light spreads through the air like dust. Even light creatures feel discomfort in it.” The saint skillfully pulled up relevant images on his lightbrain, but he didn't bother to turn the screen toward Alexio. He watched quietly himself.
“The light smog in the northern front has highly condensed, escalating into light burst. It's so lethal that ordinary humans without protection can die within minutes.”
The lightbrain displayed intense scenes of resistance on the front lines, along with soldiers who had retreated only to become infected. The people in the photos lay weakly on hospital beds, their bodies covered in bright patches of light.
This was one of the terrible consequences of light burst — photopathy. Some individuals or light creatures with a significant amount of inherent light power would also exhibit this condition if their power went out of control. Some of them would even attract mutated light creatures, and that would be an utter catastrophe.
Alexio had already moved his chair slightly to the side so he could glance at the screen. The images made him frown, but he didn't feel much fear.
He had been through far worse battlefields.
“But why…” he heard the saint beside him let out a questioning breath. “Light is good, darkness is evil. If goodness overflows, why does it bring about such terrible consequences?
“We've always, always strived to fill the world with divine light. Why is the result the opposite after achieving that…?”
The lunatic was still at a stage of holding such naive thoughts. Later on, he saw things more clearly than even Alexio, outwardly complying with the Holy Temple's orders while secretly opposing them, showing no trace of the devout believer he appeared to be now.
“Because it was wrong.”
Alexio didn't even look up as he clicked open the candy box the old marshal had given him.
“Both sides were wrong.”
The colorful candies were squeezed into their own little compartments, looking very sweet. Alexio was struggling to decide which one to eat. Unable to make a choice, he looked up and asked the saint.
“Which one do you like?”
“Is your side wrong, too? Are the vampires wrong?”
“Of course. They're just a bunch of fools clamoring to plunge the world into eternal darkness. I thought that kind of idiotic idea was only something kids of a certain age came up with… So, which one do you want?”
“……”
“Which… one…?”
“…The orange one.”
“Alright.”
Alexio picked up the candy and tossed it into his mouth.
He had thought the vampire was going to give it to him…
He forced himself not to dwell on the candy, turning his gaze away from the happily snacking vampire.
“The vampires must be delighted with the prince's rebellious ideas.”
“Hah, they were furious.” Alexio looked quite amused. Even after so long, remembering the expressions of those vampire geezers still made him want to laugh out loud. “But they were also scared to death. After my father died, who dared to oppose me?”
Lucius paused slightly. He had thoroughly studied the vampire race, so he naturally knew what kind of figure Alexio's father, a second-generation vampire, was.
“That second-generation vampire king… is dead?”
The Holy Temple's greatest enemy, a second-generation vampire whose power nearly rivaled the gods, the one who had turned Alexio into a vampire… was dead?
Alexio's enthusiasm seemed to wane. He didn't like to talk about that person. His mood wasn't very good whenever he did. But this time he was the one who brought it up first. He always forgot that this lunatic didn't have the memories that came later and was currently still in a rather pure and naive phase.
“Let's not talk about him anymore. You said the two things I already know. So you're planning to go to the military headquarters tomorrow? I don't have anything else to do either, so I'll go with you. After all… thousand meters, right?”
Lucius dropped the matter. Pressing further would inevitably lead nowhere. He nodded, then took a stack of paper documents from the desk drawer and handed them to Alexio. Organizing these files had been his own idea, so they weren't considered official business.
“If you have time, I hope… you can at least look over them from your perspective and point out my mistakes.” He watched the vampire take the papers, then after a moment, raised his head in surprise.
“Is this our history?”
“Yes.” Lucius clenched his hand slightly at his side, then slowly relaxed it. To obtain a more objective and accurate history, he was willing to set aside his pride for now.
“History is a compulsory subject for me at the Holy Temple. The main timeline is laid out here, but what I received was the Holy Temple's revised history. It probably includes many alterations and embellishments, lacking full objectivity.” He looked at the vampire. “So I hope you can review this history and supplement or correct it. We can discuss any contentious points.”
Alexio blinked. He had never seen the lunatic wear such an expression, perhaps because he wasn't familiar with the lunatic of this period. At this moment, the lunatic seemed like a true saint, firmly believing in the light, with a resolute stance and an extremely strong sense of responsibility. He was even willing to humble himself and ask for his help.
All in all… it was genuinely endearing.
“Since you've asked so earnestly, I guess I can help you.” Alexio stood up, holding the documents. “After all, I've lived for so many years. Much of the history you're talking about is something I personally experienced, so it couldn't be clearer to me.”
He drawled out his words, glancing at the saint, who was visibly holding back his anger.
Damn, this was way too fun!
“I can accept some of your conditions,” the saint said through clenched teeth.
This made Alexio feel like he was the villain… Truth was, he didn't actually want the other to do anything in particular, but he was just used to being competitive and couldn't let go of an opportunity to gain the upper hand.
“Then I'll ask you…” He looked at the saint's slightly nervous expression and deliberately paused for effect before continuing, “to seriously reconsider that earlier topic, the one about good and evil.”
Just that? The saint let out a small sigh of relief. Even without Alexio saying it, he would have thought about it himself.
“By your own standards, light represents good and the Holy Temple stands for virtue. As someone raised by the Holy Temple and devoted to the light, you should naturally embody all righteous virtues and renounce every evil thought.” Alexio looked into the saint's clear sky-blue eyes and knew that, at least for now, that was exactly what the other was doing.
That was why he said the lunatic at this time was a true saint.
He felt deep respect.
“But you have to think about it. From the fanatical believers you don't even know, to those respected mentors close to you, are they really living by your virtues and commandments? Don't rush to argue. I've already limited the scope to true believers and your teachers. You should trust these people, right?”
The saint, who had wanted to argue, fell silent.
“Anyway, your memories are recovering. I'm not in a hurry for an answer. Take your time to think it over.”
Alexio picked up the documents and pushed open the door, ready to head next door to put his history skills to use. After all, he was a vampire who had lived for over a thousand years. He…
He stared quietly at the neatly organized timeline, the complicated dates, conjectures, and related excerpts. He tried for a while, but in the end, he slammed his head down on the desk.
He was done for. During those years, he had either been sleeping or goofing off. His big talk blew up in his face.