EnCoffin Me Chapter 54
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 54
Lucius had learned how to mask his emotions while studying in the Holy Temple, so Alexio never caught on to any of his thoughts. After inspecting the rose seedlings, Alexio was just pushing himself up from the ground when the doorbell rang.
Lucius glanced down at the time.
“Looks like the coffin repairman has arrived.”
“???”
“Wait a moment.” Alexio's face grew serious. He thought he had misheard.
“You called someone over… to repair the coffin?”
“Mm.” Seeing that Alexio really wasn't in the mood to play around anymore, Lucius adjusted his collar and said with certainty, “The lid is broken, right? I hired the best repair shop and designer. They won't damage this precious artifact's appearance, and they can even customize a little coffin butler.”
Alexio looked utterly blank.
“…Butler?”
Why would a coffin need a butler?!
“It can record visitors and monitor sleep quality in real time, with breathing and heartbeat waveforms…” Lucius stopped mid-sentence and looked up at Alexio.
Alexio looked at him coldly.
“Two straight lines, got it?” he said flatly. “Whether it's breathing or heartbeat, it's just two straight lines. Understand?”
“……”
“Once it's fixed, we'll move it into your room.”
“…Alright.”
After a while, the doorbell rang again. Alexio had no intention of hounding after the lunatic any further. It was a rare day off, so he'd rather spend it playing on his new gaming console. The newly purchased machine had, as expected, been delivered by Andrei. Finally, it was rated for all ages. Alexio selected a highly rated horror game and started it up.
The living room was soon filled with screams and howls.
He was fully absorbed in the game. The lunatic seemed to have stopped by to ask about the coffin butler's settings, like how it should respond when visitors arrived. Alexio, focused on the game, replied casually, “If someone's already inside the coffin, why bother coming to disturb? Tell them to get lost.”
“Is that really how it goes?”
【Hello, you have been asleep for three hundred and forty-five years.】
【During this period, there were thirty-eight visitors. I followed your instructions and told them all to get lost.】
Alexio's hand trembled, and his game character was completely overwhelmed by a horde of monsters.
Frustrated, he started a new game at the familiar monster spawn point. The lunatic appeared again.
“Almost fixed. Want to lie down inside?”
Focused on fighting, Alexio asked casually, “Sliding or flip-top lid?”
“Smart lift.”
“???”
Again, his character was swarmed by monsters.
He couldn't stay home any longer. With such a coffin-obsessed lunatic around, Alexio had no choice but to flee to the conservation center, taking his game log where he had died countless times. At least until the coffin was fully repaired, he wouldn't be going back, probably not until around dinner.
Alexio: miserable.jpg
He walked the familiar route through the main entrance of the conservation center and headed to his room. Along the way, he passed the medical department and couldn't help but think of Zhu Heng. A shen who always kept candies in his pockets was about to head to the perilous Holy Temple. While this was Zhu Heng's own choice, he still wanted to do something for him.
He sent a message to Marshal Olsen and was about to head straight to the military headquarters when a figure deep inside the medical department of the conservation center caught his attention.
There was always staff on duty at the medical department on weekends, but the aura Alexio sensed now felt unfamiliar. He recalled the military had mentioned arranging personnel to be stationed at the center, but it was a holiday now. Normally, they'd officially start on a workday, right?
Without making a sound, he stepped inside and gently knocked on the open door.
“Are you here for a consultation? If you need to use the equipment, you'll have to wait. The staff have gone for lunch…” The blond young man sitting at the desk looked up and froze the moment he saw Alexio.
“P-Prince Alexio?!”
He had a pair of bright emerald eyes and gleaming golden hair. His features weren’t striking but rather exceptionally pleasant. Awkwardly, he rose from his seat, closing the open file with one hand. The desk was cluttered with documents, and though he made a half-hearted attempt to tidy up, the mess remained stubbornly in place.
“I-I'm very sorry, it's such a mess…”
After a brief moment of embarrassment, he suddenly remembered something and proactively offered his lightbrain for Alexio to scan.
“I'm not suspicious. You can check my info! I'm Noah, originally assigned to the military headquarters. After the incident…” He showed a trace of sadness at the memory of the disaster, then forced himself to smile. “Some military personnel were reassigned to appropriate positions to ensure the center's security. The medical department is of great importance, and from now on, I will be in charge of it.
“I was supposed to start on a workday, but I came early to get familiar with the place first.”
Alexio noticed Noah suddenly lower his gaze, resting it on the files spread across the desk.
“But to be honest, I don't have much confidence in doing as well as Doctor Zhu,” Noah said with a bitter smile. “Even though he was convicted, I have to admit he cared deeply for every dark creature. He kept detailed, separate files and records for all of them. For a successor like me, these records have been a huge help.”
Seeing that Alexio hadn't responded for a long time, Noah began to panic.
“I'm very sorry for speaking so discouragingly in front of you…”
Alexio shook his head, signaling it was alright. His eyes skimmed over the carefully compiled files before settling back on Noah's face. Suddenly, he raised his hand and waved it in front of Noah's eyes. The clear emerald eyes followed his hand with quick, agile movements.
“Prince Alexio…?”
“Nothing. Thank you for your hard work. I'll make sure those kids behave better.”
Alexio smiled, and seeing the gratitude in Noah's eyes, he made a request.
“By the way, can you draw some blood for me?”
That afternoon, Alexio didn't play games. After having blood drawn at the conservation center, he went straight to the military headquarters with the sample and stopped by to see Zhu Heng. Zhu Heng looked well, at least better than he had expected, so Alexio handed over the blood sample with relief and then set off for home.
The blood of the vampires was very special. Although the small amount wasn't enough for a full bonding, it was sufficient to save Zhu Heng's life in a critical moment.
Alexio was actually in a good mood. When he got home, the coffin repairman had already left. He saw the lunatic cooking dinner in the kitchen, so he expertly teleported over to the fridge and waved his hand in front of him.
The saint's gaze remained completely still, seemingly focused on the vegetables he was chopping, though his peripheral vision kept track of Alexio.
“Troublemaker, are you going to cook?”
Hmph.
“Not fun at all, not even as good as Noah.”
The saint paused from chopping and finally turned his head to ask, “…Who?”
“You remembered him too, right? Noah.” Alexio stole a piece of the smoked meat he was slicing, chewing as he spoke. “I saw him today at the conservation center. Transferred from the military headquarters. I think you two were close before? By the way, his eyes can see.”
Noah, the blind prophet affiliated with the Holy Temple.
“But…” Alexio grabbed another piece of meat and continued happily, “Seems like he's now abandoned his role as a divine trickster to pursue medicine instead.”
“…That's good.” The saint went back to chopping, brushing Alexio's hand away.
“Eh? What do you mean, ‘that's good’? Wasn't he into fortune-telling?”
“He was, but not a single one of Noah's predictions ever came true.”
“…What?”
“It's true. Not once. He had to take his crystal ball to the market and set up a stall just to make a living.”
“……”
“But that probably won't happen anymore. Didn't he find a job at the conservation center?”
This was the first time Alexio had heard such insider information. He was speechless for a moment, then suddenly heard the lunatic continue.
“Actually, what concerns me more isn't whether he changed professions, but… the collective return of so many souls.” His hands stopped chopping, and his eyes lowered slightly. “Alexi, we've known since we were kids that humans don't reincarnate.”
Since his resurrection, Alexio had experienced many interesting works from this era, whether games or films. Some mentioned the concept of ‘reincarnation,’ where souls return to their loved ones through rebirth. But in the world from ten thousand years ago, even children on the street knew that the souls of the dead never returned as living beings. Instead, they wandered forever by the banks of the endless river of the underworld.
Because of this, people pitied the dead and created the festival called ‘All Souls Day.’ On this day, people wore masks of the deceased and held various activities in the streets, hoping that the souls would return to the earth to enjoy a brief moment of joy. Over time, the festival grew larger. After the All Souls Day came the Carnival. One day was a feast for the dead, and the next became a celebration for the living.
Alexio always thought these two festivals were very gentle, blurring the lines between life and death for those two days, leaving only endless joy.
“Around us, the departed souls are flowing upstream against the Underworld River, finally returning to be by our side once more.
“Alexi, the only one who can manipulate such a vast chessboard…”
The saint's gaze sharpened.
“Is a god.”
Alexio felt a sudden chill in his chest. The heavenly gods had long since withdrawn, forbidden to interfere lightly in mortal affairs. And one who could intervene in the supreme laws of life and death was no ordinary god. Most likely, it traced back to one of the primordial ones. If such a god was involved, sending old souls back to them with full support, then the enemy they faced…
He heard the saint chuckle softly. Lowering his head, he placed a piece of sliced smoked meat in front of Alexio. The saint's slender fingers pinched the meat and shook it slightly. Alexio instinctively opened his mouth and tried to bite it but couldn't pull it free.
“……”
Still the lunatic dog!
Alexio was about to yank harder when the lunatic suddenly pushed the meat forward into his mouth, his fingertip brushing against Alexio's lower lip.
“It's still early. Don't overthink it. Go wait in the living room for dinner.” Lucius acted as if nothing had happened, calmly returned to chopping vegetables, and added a reminder, “Remember to send Ellie a message. She seems to have some tickets for a premiere reserved for us.”
A premiere...
“Did Pupil finish the movie?”
“Mm, it's currently in the review stage, but the internal tickets have already started being distributed.”
That was definitely worth watching. Alexio's attention shifted instantly at the news. The lunatic was right. No matter what strange missions they had, those were matters for the gods to worry about. The gods couldn't come down to the earth, and Alexio was confident that he could take on anything below a god.
He headed to the living room. In the kitchen, the steady sound of chopping suddenly stopped.
The saint raised his right hand and licked his fingertip.
In the restoration pod, Theo opened his heterochromatic eyes. He felt the strange, energy-filled liquid all around him, and after the initial tension, he gradually relaxed. His mastery of mental power was extraordinary. As he closed his eyes to realign his mental energy, he unexpectedly recovered fragments of ordinary, commonsense memories.
Half an hour later, he opened his eyes again. Following the method from the memories, he pressed the call button inside.
A staff immediately came to open the restoration pod. It took him another half hour to settle in properly, leaning back against the backrest of the hospital bed. He watched the staff quietly as they worked, smiling gently.
“You've work hard.”
But the next second, his outward mental power sliced through the staff member's neck. A spray of fresh blood splattered everywhere. He reached out toward the blood, intending to seize it, but to his surprise, the blood fell to the floor, staining the pristine ward a shocking scarlet.
Amid the wreckage of the room, he stared blankly at his own hands. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his chest. He had to gasp for air to ease the pain, and then he realized he was breathing.
Breathing? That was something from many years ago.
The pain peaked. He pressed a hand to his chest, where some black branches and leaves were brazenly unfurling. These branches grew out from between his fingers, and by the time they became visible, a vibrant red blood rose suddenly blossomed. Staring at this familiar rose, he was momentarily stunned.
“Mr. Theo!” a woman's voice called out. He looked toward the door. A woman in a white dress ignored the chaos and hurried toward him.
“Sir, you can't move on your own now. Why didn't you call me?”
Theo ignored her completely, clutching the rose tightly as his whole body trembled.
He remembered.
The black-haired, red-eyed vampire coldly raised his black scythe. Brilliant sunlight poured down from above — a blessing to one, a curse to the other. He threatened, he pleaded. His will to survive made him exhaust every method in the last few short seconds, but those deep rose-colored eyes did not waver in the slightest.
It was his killer, his child.
Alexio!