EnCoffin Me Chapter 78 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 78.1
Pupil's suggestion seemed to plant a seed in his mind, which then blossomed into a flower of memories. He recalled how that dragon, the last black dragon, had landed before him with wings outstretched, loudly announcing the joyous news.
At that time, Alexio had only been turned into a vampire for a few hundred years. The ostracism from his own kind, the oppression from his vampire father, and the shattering of his former dreams had made him sharp and cold. Yet, the dragon was still willing to be his friend. Although the dragon always complained about Alexio being a hot-tempered and troublesome fellow, whenever something happened, the dragon would always stand up for Alexio.
The dragon was Alexio's first friend outside his kind and the first support that helped him gain a foothold among vampires. Whenever vampires tried to do anything against him, they had to carefully consider whether it was worth provoking the bad-tempered third-generation vampire and the dragon who was in cahoots with him.
Dragons lived very long lives, so Alexio held a pessimistic view of the dragon's romantic relationship.
【A human's life is finite. If she dies and you live forever, it will only end in tragedy.】
The immature third-generation vampire hid his good intentions behind these warnings.
【I advise you to step back in time, or you'll end up running to me, drunk and crying.】
But the dragon was not angry.
【I know you're worried about me, but I have one question. If she dies, why should I keep living?】
【You'll encounter it too, Alexio. That person will be something you yearn for in your life. Perhaps it will be the rain, or maybe the stars. Whatever it is, you will want them more than your own immortality.】
Alexio found it hard to understand. No, he simply could not understand.
【Are you going to die with her? Don't forget, you're the last dragon!】
【So what?】
【……】
【It doesn't matter, does it?】
The dragon refuted him, and Alexio, in anger, shut himself in his coffin. However, he didn't sleep soundly and woke up after only a few months, just in time for the dragon's even more suffocating period of passionate love.
【Look! The other half of my soul! My Lucy!】
The dragon showed off, while Alexio remained expressionless.
The princess smiled shyly. She lifted her skirt and curtsied to Alexio.
【Hello, Alexi.】
The dragon taught her to call the vampire by that name, believing it would render the vampire speechless.
【I am Lucy.】
She didn't say she was a princess, only that she was Lucy.
“...Alexi? Alexi!” Someone called his name, snapping him out of his daydream. It was the lunatic. Lucius looked him over, clearly concerned about his recent frequent zoning out.
“Is it because of that game Pupil mentioned? Did it bring back some… old memories?”
Lucius didn't like talking about the past much, since he wasn't part of it. He noticed Alexio staring at him with a strange look. After a long while, Alexio slowly turned his gaze away.
“The dragon didn't teach you either…” he muttered, “No idea how to deal with you.”
“Actually, I'm the one who can't deal with you,” Lucius corrected. “I'm lodging a formal protest. Your constant zoning out lately has seriously affected my quality of life. I hope you can make some adjustments.”
“Huh? What quality of life? I'm affecting you?”
“Look at whose egg pancake you're eating right now.”
Alexio looked down, glanced at the lunatic's empty plate, then at the piece of egg pancake on his own plate. He remembered he had already eaten one earlier, and now the evidence was clear.
Lucius sighed. “If that game really matters to you, I'll go ask Pupil for permission.”
“…Permission?”
“I'll be the dragon. I'll come find you.”
This suggestion caught Alexio off guard for a moment, but soon he smiled.
“Alright, you be the dragon,” he said in a tone like a child playing house. “I'll be the princess, waiting for you in the castle.”
Pupil was very proactive. After notifying the relevant departments, production began in full swing. Along the way, they released a trailer that added fuel to the slowly heating Carnival buzz. The trailer showed the castle embraced by a sea of flowers, standing alone beyond the city walls.
Following Pupil's camera, the audience moved from the castle's rooftop terrace down a spiral staircase past the solemn courtroom, through the lavish king and queen's chambers, then further down to the recreational lounge. The maids' quarters doors were tightly shut. On the ground floor was a grand ballroom. Outside the castle, bees and butterflies fluttered among blooming flowers. The camera continued to pan downwards, finally settling on a torch-lit dungeon.
Even the dungeon was exquisitely crafted, softly illuminated by golden lights. The princess was imprisoned in the cell at the very bottom.
【Blown away by the visuals! As expected from Daddy Pupil!】
【It really looks so good! This country seems to be floating on a sea of flowers. Fantastic!】
【I get it. The princess escapes all the way to the top of the castle, and after clearing the final stage, the dragon comes, and then it's a happy ending!】
【Are there monsters in between? Judging by the setting and environment, it's probably mostly about escaping.】
【Looks like Daddy Pupil just posted something again... Whoa!】
【Whoa! Xixi is going to do a playthrough of this game!】
【You got the focus all wrong! Shouldn't the main point be—】
【Is Xixi going to be the princess?! Long live Princess Xixi!!!】
Alexio realized the issue late himself. He had a very bad feeling, and that feeling came true the moment he entered the game. Everything went dark, and he officially logged in. His hands were bound above his head, and he felt long hair cascading over his shoulders. At the same time, he felt the touch of an elaborate long skirt around his legs.
Alexio: “……”
He decisively closed the translucent livestream assistant screen. From now on, he didn't need to look at the barrage of comments. He knew exactly what they were howling about even with his eyes closed! Fortunately, the lunatic had entered the game with him. If the lunatic were still watching from outside, it would have been utterly humiliating.
In the conservation center, Zhen was furiously taking screenshots while enjoying the moment with his friends. He poked Lucy beside him, but she didn't respond. He turned his head in confusion and saw Lucy staring intently at the screen.
“Lucy, are you worried about Alexi?” Zhen comforted her. “It's okay, Alexi is really skilled. He'll clear this game for sure!”
The lich slowly turned toward him. She wasn't sure what she was feeling, only a heavy weight on her heart. She didn't have Helgodon's empathy, and it was just a created character in a game, yet she felt…
Sad.
Looking at the princess locked in the dungeon made her sad.
She looked back at Alexio on the screen. After initial confusion, Alexio quickly reacted, his hands searching the chains and finding the keyhole. Lucy unconsciously grabbed the edge of her clothes, feeling nervous for the princess.
But now, the one playing the game was Alexio.
Brave, capable Alexio.
The dungeon lights came on, signaling the official start of the game. A gentle, ethereal female voice narrated as the black-haired, red-eyed princess opened his eyes.
【The princess has awakened. She finds herself in the deepest part of the dungeon.】
【Hurry, quickly reach the top of the castle, bathed in the morning light!】
【Once there, the dragon will protect her.】
Alexio had read some preliminary materials. Although not very clear, he guessed it was a mix of puzzle-solving and platforming. To reach the top, the princess had to avoid moving monsters along the way. Some areas involved traps. If surrounded, the princess would either be sent back to the dungeon or die, ending the game.
He examined the cell. The environment was clean and free of snakes or insects. It was clear that the people in the castle didn't intend to kill the princess but wanted her to surrender. Alexio moved his hands. The chains couldn't be broken and required a key. The game wouldn't keep him stuck for long. Hints would soon appear.
Meanwhile, the live chat was in an uproar.
【Oh no, oh no! When Xixi turned off the chat assistant just now, did he also turn off the game hints?!】
【I rewound to check. Yes, sis! You're right! Only the story narration is left!】
【What now? The tutorial and hints at the start of these holo-games are super important, especially when stuck!】
Alexio didn't realize he had accidentally turned off the hints. After waiting for a while with no prompt, he found it strange. But soon, he noticed a paper-thin jailer slowly approaching him, jingling keys at his waist. In this game, besides the princess and the dragon, almost everything else was a monster, manifested as paper figures, dressed in matching costumes, and equipped with unique accessories. Players had to judge how to deal with them.
Alexio narrowed his eyes slightly. He guessed the jailer was a key character and thought about tricking him close enough to kill him and take the keys.
【Jailer, danger!!!!!!】
【No, Xixi! Listen to the hints! They say a sympathetic medic will arrive in ten minutes! The medic will help you!】
【Xixi can't hear the hints anymore…】
【Disaster incoming.】
Princess Xixi had already planned the jailer's demise. He lowered his head calmly, pretending to faint. The jailer moved to the cell's edge, sneered mockingly. His role was to introduce the player to the princess' dire situation.
“Princess, have you changed your mind?” the jailer asked impatiently. “His Majesty has been waiting for a long time. If you agree to marry the hero, you can leave this place and remain a noble princess.”
The princess remained still.
The jailer glanced at the time. The medic hadn't arrived yet. He called out a few more times, but the princess didn't move. Growing worried, he hesitated, then opened the cell door to check on him.
In a flash, the princess' eyes flashed with fierce light. With unimaginable agility, he yanked hard on the chains binding his hands, used the momentum to leap up, and wrapped his legs around the jailer's neck, snapping it clean. The keyring clattered to the floor. With a flick of his toe, he hooked the keys into his hand, unlocked the door, and moved with fluid grace. The live comments was moved to tears watching.
【Amazing! But why do I feel something's off…】
【Me too…】
【Is this really how you play? I'd probably hurt my waist if I lifted my leg like that...】
【Xixi's got a great waist!!!】
When they saw the ‘fragile’ princess grab a sword from the dead jailer and repeat a cycle of sneaking, stabbing, then sneaking again, the viewers flooded the screen with question marks.
【Something's definitely wrong here!】
【Jailers, run, aaaaah! A massacre is about to happen!】
【Hardcore princess tearing papers online! Xixi, as expected of you!】
Alexio spent some time clearing most of the dungeon. Along the way, he found many stamina candies, probably healing potions, and some torn pages. The familiar handwriting belonged to the lich he once knew, and also to the princess.
【Don't come looking for me, please. They'll kill you!】
【I won't marry him. If I get the chance, I'll take my own life.】
【I will always remember the love you gave me, the love that made me realize I am not a princess, just Lucy.】
“……”
Alexio carefully tucked these pages close to him. He had now reached the vicinity of the dungeon's entrance, where many guards were patrolling. This time, he didn't alert them. Instead, he seized an opening in the guard rotation to slip out, using the layered vegetation in the garden to conceal himself.
The country where the princess once resided was known as the ‘Kingdom of the Sea of Flowers.’ The dragon had told him about it, and later, the princess-turned-lich had taught him some knowledge of plants. So, hidden behind the large-leaved magical plants, the strong, refreshing scent of the magical plants helped him evade a patrol of hounds. Alexio lifted his cumbersome skirt and headed toward the kitchen, half a garden away.
The kitchen would have many tools he might be able to use.
The result pleased Alexio. After subduing all the chefs armed with knives, he munched on stamina candies while claiming his own divine weapon—
A short sickle.
He combined the sickle with a wooden stick he found. Finally, it became a weapon he recognized!
【Oh boy, Xixi got the sickle. The game is over.】
【I can picture that scene of harvesting… swish swish swish!】
【Is this game really meant to be played this way? Killing everyone? That must be Xixi's style!】
【I don't think the dragon is needed. The princess takes the sickle, destroys the kingdom, becomes the queen, then the dragon marries in.】
【The person above, you should write a book! I love a strong female lead!】
Just as the princess was about to leave the kitchen after reaping the monsters with the sickle, he suddenly found several partially burned pages hidden in the firewood pile.
【I suspect Mother has grown suspicious. I wanted to talk to her properly, but she still believes a princess is born to marry a hero.】
【No, I'm not a princess. I am Lucy!】
【Maybe I should consider running away…】
The notes stopped here. This part clearly took place before the dungeon section, so by the player's progression, it should be a flashback. Alexio carefully put the pages away again and crossed the garden. Guards were changing shifts nearby, loudly joking about how promiscuous the princess was.
The black-haired, red-eyed princess quietly listened to them finish speaking, then took up the sickle and harvested their lives.