EnCoffin Me Chapter 8
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 8
At that moment, Alexio had considered teleporting, but before he could act, the communicator that Ellie had left him suddenly rang.
“Prince Alexio… Alexi, Mr. Lucius, who had resurrected with you, is having some problems. I'm coming to get you right away!”
Ellie's voice was a little urgent. She had only just left not long ago and was now running back while relaying everything she knew to Alexio over the communicator.
“Mr. Lucius' vital signs are currently stable, but he has returned to a comatose state and has been rushed to the medical department.
“There's no need to worry too much. Our conservation center's medical standards are among the best in the entire Federation.”
She picked up Alexio, and the two headed toward the west zone where the medical department was located. Countless direct passageways ran through the conservation center, and in just a few minutes, they passed through the massive building and arrived at their destination.
On the way, Ellie kept reassuring Alexio.
“Look, this is real-time communication. Internal information updates every five seconds.” She showed her communicator to Alexio. “Maybe Mr. Lucius will wake up while we're on the way… Huh? He really woke up!”
Alexio: ……
When he and Ellie entered the medical department, a doctor in a white coat was questioning the saint, who was sitting silently, showing no signs of having been unconscious before. He didn't even turn around when Alexio came in.
“I feel no discomfort at the moment… I felt a sudden loss of strength before I lost consciousness.”
The saint answered the doctor's questions one by one. It wasn't until Alexio approached that he slowly turned his gaze and looked at him.
What an actor! He clearly noticed me ages ago.
“What's wrong? So weak now?”
The saint silently stared at him, appearing perfectly calm, but Alexio knew this guy had definitely taken note of that comment.
Right. This lunatic used to have a notebook that he claimed was for ‘recording important things,’ but he never let Alexio see it. Who knew if he still had it now. If the chance came up, Alexio planned to get a look at it.
“…I'm very sorry, but I can't give a definite diagnosis for this episode of unconsciousness at the moment.”
The doctor across from them finished updating the chart and looked up. Alexio was a little surprised to see that the doctor had distinctly Eastern features, with black hair tied back behind his head, adorned with silk tassels and a white feather ornament.
He was actually a shen.
In Alexio's world, the lands were divided into the Eastern Lands and the Western Continent, separated by a vast ocean. The two sides hadn't been in contact for thousands of years. But before the separation, a tribe from the East had already migrated westward, settling and thriving. They were known as the eastern faction.
Besides humans, the eastern faction also had many native creatures, with both light and dark attributes. The shen before him was one of them.
The shen belonged to the illusory bird clan, typical creatures of light. According to legends, a shen would silently appear at a patient's bedside and watch them in silence. If they suddenly looked away, the patient was beyond saving. But if they continued to watch, they would transfer the illness to themselves and fly toward the sun, where the disease would be incinerated, and both the patient and the shen would be reborn.
Alexio hadn't expected to see one working as a doctor here, but it actually suited him.
“Hello,” the shen greeted Alexio on his own initiative. “I'm Zhu Heng, of the eastern faction.”
“Alexio, of the vampire race.”
Zhu Heng gave a faint smile. “I know you. We were originally scheduled to meet tomorrow. I'm responsible for your medical examination.”
Alexio glanced toward the lunatic sitting nearby, still reading his own medical file.
“What's wrong with him? Should we put him back in the coffin?”
The saint's hand, holding the file, visibly tensed. So resentful!
“It's not contagious, so there's no need for isolation,” Zhu Heng said, though his brows drew together slightly. “But we've run all the standard tests and still can't determine the cause of the coma. He reported a sudden loss of strength before he fainted, yet all indicators show that his body is in excellent condition… All I can suggest is continued observation.”
Great. That basically meant this trip had been for nothing.
And so, the saint stayed at the medical department, and Alexio left to return. As he walked out, he thought, Let's hope there's no more…
He passed out again!
It was like déjà vu. The saint was once again sitting in front of Zhu Heng, reading his medical file, exuding a gloomy aura. A new line had been added to the record — another incident of fainting.
“I actually have a hypothesis,” Zhu Heng said. “But I'll need your cooperation for a small experiment.”
Following his instructions, Alexio took the communicator and slowly walked away from the medical department. Once he had gone some distance, he received a call from Zhu Heng.
“We've found the cause.”
Sure enough, it had to do with Alexio's proximity. The moment they were more than a thousand meters apart, the saint would immediately shut down and lost consciousness. Holding the diagnosis report in silence, the saint was silent, while Alexio was nearly doubled over with laughter.
“Serves you right!” The not-yet-crazy lunatic couldn't fight back at all — just a little taunting left him speechless. Alexio seized the opportunity to press the advantage, venting years of pent-up frustration.
If the lunatic continued to be this well-behaved, Alexio wouldn't even mind looking after him a bit, hahaha!
Alexio was in a great mood. Ellie, on the other hand, was troubled. Given the circumstances, it would be ideal for Alexio and the zaint to live next door to each other during their seven days at the conservation center, and even link their schedules to prevent any sudden shut-downs.
She had witnessed Alexio arguing with the saint before, and the word ‘hatred’ was even mentioned. The situation was already quite serious.
Whenever Ellie got stressed, she wanted to drive a car.
“Next door? Sure,” Alexio agreed without hesitation, which only made Ellie even more worried.
“But if that's the case, once you both leave the Conservation Center… you might have to live in the same house as well.”
Alexio: ……
Forced cohabitation, seriously?
He glanced at the saint beside him. The saint's lashes were lowered, obscuring half of his sky-blue eyes. The faint shimmer in his gaze flickered uncertainly. He held the medical file in his hands, looking a little pitiful.
Tsk.
This lunatic didn't remember anything right now. He'd even forgotten they'd met before. One moment he suddenly woke up ten thousand years in the future, the next he was forcibly bound to Alexio… Honestly, it was kind of tragic.
Enduring the cohabitation for a while wasn't completely out of the question. The center had promised to find a solution as soon as possible. Maybe before the seven days here were up, the lunatic wouldn't need to stick to him anymore.
“I'm fine with anything,” Alexio said at last.
The saint glanced sideways at him, and Ellie let out a long sigh.
The room next to Alexio's was cleared out. It was a standard guest room, without special decorations, but the saint said it was sufficient. Alexio returned to his room to continue scrolling through his comments section. The saint, meanwhile, asked Ellie for a few books and a notebook. Ellie was ecstatic when she handed him one of the books.
“Please be sure to read this one carefully! I didn't expect you to request this one yourself. You're so supportive of our work!”
Beaming, Ellie handed him ‘The Federal Dark Creatures Protection Act.' The saint, however, looked a little depressed.
“…I'll read it carefully.”
Watching the lively young human leave, the saint returned to his room. The facilities in the room were quite adequate, and even though there was not a single decoration, he found nothing to complain about. He always kept in mind the thorn emblem of the Holy Temple: asceticism, devotion, composure. In an unfamiliar environment, those principles mattered more than ever.
He glanced at the thick book in his hands. It was merely a legal code for the protection of dark creatures, yet it was written with such meticulous detail. The extent of this world's protection for dark beings far exceeded his expectations. From what he had gathered about the current global structure, exterminating dark creatures was actually detrimental to the balance between light and darkness.
He felt a bit lost.
He didn't know what kind of memories he had lost. Ever since he was chosen by the Holy Temple, everything in his life had been focused on a single mission: to hunt down the third-generation vampire prince. He had trained for it, lived for it. This year was supposed to mark the beginning of that mission. And yet…
Next to the law book lay a few scattered history texts. But the saint first picked up the parchment notebook he had requested. He dipped a quill into ink and slowly began to write.
Retro stationery like this was still produced now and then, mostly for those who favored vintage styles. Most people used lightbrain, rarely needing to write by hand.
He carefully drew a protective magical circle and layered it with a silence spell to ensure absolute secrecy. Then, he wrote the first word.
【Alexio.】
What followed was a detailed account of the day's events: Alexio's appearance, his words, his subtle preferences and dislikes. He even embedded the button using magic, fixing it temporarily onto the page. Beside it, he sketched a vivid little bat, a faithful depiction of what the button had transformed into.
After finishing his notes, he closed the notebook and tucked it away carefully. This record would continue to grow. It was his assignment, after all. The vast majority of his life had been spent researching that vampire, and although it seemed unnecessary now, he was beginning to write subconsciously.
As he secured the notebook, his hand brushed against something firm. He paused for a moment, then reached into a hidden pocket in his clothes and pulled out another notebook.
This one was full, sealed with magic. Only the title page could be opened. The handwriting on that page was ornate and flowing.
【Alexio.】
Another name had been added beneath it later, slightly off to the side. Some of the strokes resembled tangled rose vines desperately twining upwards around the vampire's name, like a drowning man grasping a piece of driftwood.
【Lucius.】
His own name.
Meanwhile, Alexio, in the middle of watching a video, suddenly shivered. That meant his simulation was spot-on. He could even shiver like a regular human. He stared at the screen filled with floating comments like ‘Cutie!,’ ‘Xixi!,’ and ‘Let's steal him!,’ feeling both a chill in his bones and a deep, inexplicable disbelief.
Cutie? How was he cute? What part of a dark creature was supposed to be cute?!
Following the guide's instructions, Alexio found the account Ellie had registered for him. It was set up on Pupil, the largest social platform. Despite having zero posts, it had already amassed tens of millions of followers, and the number was still climbing fast. The account had been officially verified by the conservation center, marked with the icon of a divine kingfisher's bone-nest encircling his name. This symbol was exclusive to dark creatures and came with a sparkling visual effect.
Ellie had told him that he could consider reposting the conservation center's announcement celebrating his resurrection. But one glance at that post was enough for Alexio to shut that idea down completely.
@Darklife Conservation Center: The new cutie has arrived! For full details, see our previous post! Let's go admire him! 【Image】【Image】【Image】
The attached images formed a nine-panel grid taken from the livestream. The photo in the middle was the center's exclusive copyright: a black-haired vampire gazing up, where Pupil was casting down a gentle, affectionate gaze in return.
Alexio scrolled down. The comments were sorted by number of likes. The top comment was from Pupil itself.
Pupil: awsl!!!
(T/N it's the equivalent of ‘Aww so cute I'm gonna die!’)
That alchemical lifeform actually knew awsl?!