EnCoffin Me Chapter 26
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 26
That morning, Ellie went to find Alexio, her eyes still puffy from crying. She was holding the contract the conservation center had prepared. When she arrived, she saw something between the two adjacent doors…
A coffin lid was propped upright.
Ellie: “……”
She carefully knocked on Alexio's door. After a moment, the vampire opened it. His hair was still messy, as if he had just finished washing up.
“You're quite late today. When I messaged that I was coming over, you were still washing,” she said, her eyes drifting uncontrollably toward the conspicuous coffin lid. She wanted to say something but hesitated.
“Mm, I stayed up late last night.” Alexio yawned. He had been chasing that lunatic until almost dawn and forgot to put the coffin lid back. When Ellie's message came through, he decided not to sleep and just started the new day right away.
Ellie was about to explain why she had come when Alexio motioned for her to come inside and suddenly said, “…Put down my egg pancake.”
Ellie: “……”
She heard a plate being set down. Looking past Alexio, Ellie saw the saint, who was somehow already in the room. For some reason, the saint had some wounds on his lips, and the bruises around his eyes had become symmetrical. Coupled with the dark circles under his eyes from chronic sleep deprivation, he looked quite a sight.
“There are two egg pancakes,” the saint said quietly.
“They're both mine!” Alexio shot him a glare, then sat down at the table and invited Ellie to eat some too. The food was something they had grabbed from the cafeteria on their way back.
Ellie felt like she must have been driving too much. Even with just the two of them in the room, she was already spinning wild stories in her head. Shaking off the dangerous thoughts, she handed Alexio the contract required by the conservation center.
“Please take a look. Are you interested? If you have other ideas, we'll do our best to accommodate.”
This was an employment contract signed and stamped by the conservation center. It stated that, in light of Alexio's various performances since his awakening, the center hoped Alexio would work there in the future. The hours were short, the pay excellent, and the job involved caring for some of the dark creatures at the center.
“Regarding the matters with Dondon and Miss Lucy, Dalph and I separately made a report to the center. They replied that if you don't have anything special you want to do right now, you can start working here.”
While she spoke, Alexio had already skimmed through the contract. The gist was that he would be paid as a playmate.
He pondered. This would be a good opportunity to get in touch with other dark creatures, which might help with his goal of re-establishing the three pillars of darkness. He and the lunatic still had too little information, so they could only proceed by trial and error. He could start by thoroughly assessing the pampered young dark creatures at the center.
“Mr. Lucius shouldn't have anything to worry about now, right?” Ellie asked. “When I asked today, it seemed Mr. Lucius had already signed the relevant contract?”
“Mm.” Lucius nodded slightly. Noticing Alexio looking at him, he explained, “It's related to compiling historical records. The work will be done at the center. If needed in the future, I will also go to the northern front.”
Alexio turned his head. Since they were in the same center, as long as he was careful, the lunatic wouldn't shut down again.
Speaking of historical records, Ellie remembered that her eyes were still swollen.
“That part of history is just too… heartbreaking.” Just talking about it made her voice choke up. She believed anyone who had watched the Flowers of Heaven would feel the same way. Previously, some had arrogantly claimed that nothing less than full holographics could be moving. However, this hastily made short film, which wasn't even technically advanced by today's standards, slapped those critics' faces.
“I have a suggestion…” Ellie stammered, “Would you two be willing to do a livestream watching Flowers of Heaven?”
Watching other videos during a livestream? Alexio found this format completely novel. When he learned there was profit to be made, he exchanged a glance with the lunatic, and without a word, they both chose to bend for money.
They couldn't help it. Their new house still needed furnishings.
Lucius had already seen the sample. Although Alexio hadn't watched it himself, the primordial mythology in the short film was something he and the lunatic had revised together. With spoilers already known, their viewing reactions would definitely be very calm. However, since Ellie said it was fine, Alexio wouldn't turn down money.
【Ahhh! Xixi! Xixi!】
【Great! History Book is here too!】
…History Book?
“That's a nickname the audience gave Mr. Lucius,” Ellie explained, “because most of the history had been revised by him. He seems very knowledgeable. Plus, with his voice-over in Flowers of Heaven, he's a lot like… a walking history book.”
“Ha, History Book,” Alexio teased, mocking the lunatic's nickname.
“You're not so bad yourself, Xixi,” Lucius shot back without hesitation.
Both sides, equally wounded, fell silent.
Ellie finished setting up the screen, and Flowers of Heaven began to play. Alexio watched the short film seriously. True to his expectations, his expression remained calm. He had thought such a livestream might be boring, but when he glanced at the live comments, he saw a crowd of viewers scrutinizing the stream with microscopes and passionately commenting.
【History Book glanced at Xixi when talking about the three pillars.】
【When reciting the war chronicle, Xixi was also looking at History Book.】
【They must understand more than we do. They might have even experienced some firsthand.】
【Ugh… just thinking about it makes me so sad…】
【Actually, I'm kind of curious. How do dark creatures fight? Do they just… kill the enemy with cuteness?】
【I'm puzzled too… this human is confused…】
Seeing these innocent comments, Alexio's heavy mood suddenly lifted. What did they mean they couldn't imagine how dark creatures fought? What was this ‘kill the enemy with cuteness’? He wished he could demonstrate by beating up the lunatic right then and there!
But because he needed to keep a low profile, Alexio forcibly held back his urge.
Lucius glanced at the vampire, who was fuming silently, and a faint smile touched his lips before he quickly hid it. He glanced at the live comments. He knew how to interact with this thing.
“Dark creatures are extremely vicious,” he said slowly, though his tone hardly sounded serious.
“Very vicious. Very vicious.”
As he spoke, he looked over at Alexio, who stared back at him with utter confusion, a few strands of hair sticking up. The viewers instantly exploded with laughter.
【History Book's right, hahaha!】
【Very vicious! I can tell!】
【It's time to bring out my cat knocking on door.jpg!】
Alexio: …I was too gentle last night!
Ellie barely held back a laugh herself. She swallowed it down and took on the host role, asking the two some questions.
“I'm sure the audience is curious, how was this history revised?”
“He was responsible for the light pantheon, and I handled the dark pantheon,” Alexio said. He wasn't going to let the lunatic control the conversation anymore. He also learned to read the live comments, answering questions and using their reactions to steer the topic. Soon enough, they were chatting smoothly.
At that moment, Lucius seemed to perform an operation through his lightbrain, then tapped a spot on the screen that kept flashing. Now, this spot was completely occupied by a line of cool, flashing text. Alexio instinctively read it aloud, like reading a live comment.
“Thanks to Lucius for the…” At the critical moment, he nearly bit his tongue to stop himself, glaring angrily at the lunatic beside him!
How could he be so boring?!
“Flashing Appreciation Zone,” the saint said expressionlessly, looking innocent. “You can read it aloud every now and then to show gratitude.”
The live comments fell silent for a moment.
【Ahhhhhh, charge! I'm betting tomorrow's breakfast money!】
【Charge! Charge! Charge! Spend all the money!!!】
A flood of gifts poured in like an avalanche. Alexio fell silent.
He suspected the lunatic was scamming donations, but he had no proof!
After interacting with the live comments for a while, Ellie asked them to share their final thoughts on Flowers of Heaven as the last question before ending.
The image of fiery rain falling flashed before Alexio's eyes. The brutal war chronicle flickered in fragments, eventually turning into some of the things he and the lunatic had experienced. He closed his eyes.
“Hatred can never blossom.”
He softly spoke the words the saint had once told him long ago.
Northern Front.
The convoy slowly returned to the base, while a small escort group of griffins flew overhead. After spending over a month deep in the battlefield, considering the physical and mental condition of the accompanying dark creature, the new general had issued a withdrawal order. The operation had achieved considerable success. The rampant light burst was brought under control, gradually transforming into a light smog that could be resisted with some protective measures. Next, they would continue working in the battlefield area and infuse more dark elements.
Because the light mutants they encountered were not highly dangerous, they could afford to take it easier. It also helped that the accompanying dark creature was none other than Zhen, who possessed immense dark power and an exceptionally good temperament.
(T/N: Zhen: imperial ‘I’ used by emperors)
“Mr. Zhen,” the new general gently greeted the dark creature as he alighted from the vehicle. When faced with a cute dark creature, most people would adopt a gentle demeanor.
“I can get down myself, thank you.”
The dark creature, somewhere between a child and a teenager, lightly jumped off the vehicle. The paper talisman on his forehead fluttered slightly. Dozens of crimson threads coiled around his arms beneath the flowing expanse of his wide sleeves, their peacock patterns intricately embroidered against a deep black backdrop. His shoulder-length hair was braided, adorned with hanging pearls and feather ornaments. He slightly raised his head to smile at the commander. His black hair, black eyes, and slightly sharp fangs revealed his species—
A zombie from the eastern faction, Zhen.
“Has Marshal Olsen already returned? He still owes me three nights' worth of stories,” Zhen asked cheerfully. The new general smiled and assured him that he would make sure the old marshal fulfilled his promise. Many others came over to greet the little cutie fresh from the battlefield. Zhen even remembered each of their names and smiled throughout.
Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly asked, “Before I went to the battlefield, you said there would be an archaeological excavation…”
“He has successfully resurrected,” the new general replied. “By now, he should have passed the adaptation period at the conservation center. The account has been registered under the name ‘Alexio.’ You can search for it.”
Alexio…
Holding his lightbrain, Zhen hesitated briefly about whether to check his own updates first. In the end, he couldn't resist and searched for the name ‘Alexio’ on the Pupil platform.
The page loaded—
The name, like his own, was surrounded by divine kingfisher's nest, but the interface was empty. There were no updates at all.
The social butterfly who posted dozens of updates a day: ……
He tried sending Alexio a private message.
【Zhen: Hello, fellow fang-bearer!】
【System notification: You are not a friend of this user. Your message has been rejected.】
Zhen: ???
So wronged!