EnCoffin Me Chapter 80
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 80
Lucy had been feeling a bit down over the past few days, and many people had noticed, especially Noah. From the work notes left by Zhu Heng, it was clear that Lucy had previously struggled with several psychological issues. Coupled with her quiet and docile nature, she particularly needed more attention from others.
Noah hesitated over whether he should talk to Lucy alone. He was worried she might resist. At the moment, Dalph was the one handling matters related to Lucy, so Noah planned to consult Dalph first. Dalph was more familiar with Lucy, and if there were no issues, Noah would speak with her himself.
Noah walked along the long corridor with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sea at the conservation center. He hadn't personally experienced the intense battle at the conservation center from over half a year ago. He had only heard some details, such as how the sea serpents surfaced to breathe fire and how the dark creatures helped one another to defend their home. It was from that moment that more and more people began to realize that dark creatures might be capable of living independently.
In the corridor, a fallen angel and a dark elf were discussing how to paint a decorative mural. With the Carnival approaching, the conservation center was gradually taking on a festive atmosphere. Many of the dark creatures looked forward to the holiday. According to reliable sources, Alexio was advocating for them to be able to leave the center on this day, concealing their identities to enter the nearby plaza under construction. There, they could enjoy the Carnival alongside ordinary humans, just like the dark creatures did ten thousand years ago.
In the darkness, no one would care whether it was a human or something else hidden away, not on such a day. People simply wanted to sing and dance freely, expressing the pure joy of being alive.
Noah greeted them in passing and continued walking. Near the corner, he ran into the two resurrected ones coming from the opposite direction. They seemed to have just finished a meeting. Alexio was yawning, revealing a hint of fang.
“Prince Alexio, Mr. Lucius!” Noah greeted. “Did you two just come out of a meeting?”
Alexio raised a hand to cover his yawn and replied, “Mm, preparations for the Carnival… You're not on duty today?”
Noah shared his thoughts exactly as they were. He noticed that when he mentioned Dalph, the white-cloaked saint lifted his eyes slightly and gave him an extra glance.
Noah: …a little scared QvQ
“So that's the situation. It was my oversight as well,” Alexio said thoughtfully. “If Dalph also feels Lucy isn't doing well, then go ahead and talk to her first. She's not that emotionally fragile, just not very talkative. If it's really difficult, I can help out too.”
“Thank you!”
After Noah left, Alexio watched his retreating figure and yawned again. He actually thought Lucy's mood was fine, though it was true she seemed a bit down. In the past, he had only raised a wolf cub, a rough, rowdy boy who tumbled around the place. Maybe he had indeed overlooked a girl like Lucy a bit.
“Back to bed?” the saint asked. Alexio nodded, then suddenly asked, “Just now… why did you look at him like that?”
Lucius immediately looked up. He thought Alexio was jealous, but before he could even feel happy, the rest of the sentence followed.
“Like you were planning to get rid of him.”
“……”
“Why are you suddenly walking so fast?!”
“Because I'm mad.”
“???”
Mad? Was he really planning to get rid of Noah?
Lucius quickened his pace, then slowed down again. He let out a sigh. Getting angry was pointless. Alexio's train of thought was more unpredictable than U's.
“I don't want to get rid of him. Didn't you say a dragon once showed off their relationship in front of you?”
Alexio immediately recalled that miserable moment of being shown off to and felt a pang of suffering.
“Mm.”
“What a coincidence, I've been shown off to as well.”
He had remembered it when Noah brought up meeting Dalph. Relationships were forbidden inside the Holy Temple, unless it was a rare case involving a special constitution meant to bear children dedicated to the gods and pass on exceptional talents. Outside of that, any kind of personal romance was officially banned. Even so, undercurrents still existed.
Dalph, the star performer of the Starlight Troupe, and Noah, the Holy Temple's half-baked diviner… He didn't know how the two of them met. Back then, Noah had still been blind. Maybe he had done a lot of side work as a fortune teller and met Dalph at some market. When Lucius found out about it, he never told anyone. In fact, he even quietly helped Noah cover his tracks.
Perhaps at that time, he had vaguely realized that he was actually no different from Noah, who was deeply in love.
“Really?!” Alexio lit up, delighted that he wasn't the only one who had been shown off to. “How did he show it off? Brought the person to see you? Showed off a gift? Or pointed at something and reminisced about a moment they shared? Why aren't you saying anything?”
Lucius gave him a long look, then raised a hand and gently patted Alexio's head.
“Nothing. You were really shown off to quite terribly. Relationships like that were forbidden in the Holy Temple. To avoid exposure, he only ever mentioned it to me in passing.”
The contrast hit hard. Alexio felt like he could almost cry.
“And then? From your tone, it sounds like things ended well between them?”
“Maybe” Lucius wasn't entirely sure. “My memories still haven't fully returned. But Noah wasn't particularly important in the Holy Temple. No one would go out of their way to make trouble for him. At worst, his inaccurate divinations might lead to financial difficulties. So, looking at it now, it's really good he could change professions.”
Alexio also felt that, in a way, he and the lunatic had just switched professions. Fighting every single day had been exhausting, after all.
“Are you not sleepy anymore?”
“Seems like it. Not sleepy now.”
“Then come grocery shopping with me. You can pick up a small gift for the lich.”
Alexio hadn't even thought of that! He eagerly went to the shopping district with Lucius. While the vegetables and fruits could be packed and sent home directly, he and Lucius wandered around the best jewelry store. After much deliberation, he still couldn't decide, so the crazy guy pointed to a red ribbon.
“This should be a good gift.”
The ribbon looked very similar to the one in the Witch who Destroyed the Kingdom. He had a feeling Lucy would like it, so he bought it without hesitation and had the store wrap it. He used Lucius' card. Lucius had lost a bet on the way here, so this expense was on him. After paying, Alexio looked up and saw Lucius wandering between the shelves.
“Do you want to buy anything else?”
“No, let's go back.”
Lucius simply wanted to observe the popular engraving patterns used in jewelry nowadays. Although he could view them remotely on his lightbrain, they always felt a bit distorted. Plus, this outing also gave him the chance to stroll around with Alexio. All in all, he was thoroughly satisfied with the trip. The pattern he wanted to engrave was unfolding clearly in his mind, so he picked up a pen and sketched the design under the lamp.
He unfolded the paper, revealing an ornate silver cross on the drawing. He looked at the silver cross and touched the empty spot at his collar.
The silver cross that had originally hung there was one he had worn since entering the Holy Temple. It was probably given to Alexio and had been damaged while protecting him from some harm. The related memories hadn't returned yet, but that didn't stop him from wanting to make a new silver cross as a Carnival gift for Alexio.
His gaze softened. After working at his desk for a long time, he opened the window to breathe in the fresh air outside.
Yet in the night, he clearly saw two sneaky figures freeze in the vegetable garden.
“……”
They used to be partners in crime like wolves. Now, it was two cats teaming up. Tonight, they were both going to have a lesson in ideology!
【I won't steal carrots anymore.】During the next day's lunch break, Alexio was busy copying this sentence over and over.【I won't steal carrots anymore.】
“Alexi!” Zhen suddenly pounced on him from behind. Alexio quickly crumpled up the paper and pretended nonchalance.
“So early? Are the afternoon's simulated trainings ready?” Alexio asked. Zhen nodded confidently, flashing a smile that revealed his sharp fangs.
“The three of us have already discussed our strategy. When the time comes, Lucy will go first…”
Alexio shook his head and said, “Lucy won't participate in today's simulation. She has other activity.”
Lucy had been quietly listening to the two of them talking. When she heard this, she looked up at Alexio with some confusion. Alexio patted her head. After sending Zhen into the simulation device for a tough session that afternoon, Alexio walked ahead of Lucy, leading her away from the conservation center's surveillance to the deserted shores of the inner sea. From this direction, they could see the waves stirred by the sea serpents. The vast sea breeze brushed across the deep emerald waters. No one knew what truly lay hidden beneath.
He looked at Lucy and first reached out his hand, holding the small gift he had bought yesterday.
“Try this on. You've seemed a bit down lately.”
Lucy froze for a moment, but quickly she happily accepted the gift. She looked up at Alexio and, after getting his permission, unwrapped it to find a bright red satin ribbon inside.
“Do you like it?” Alexio asked.
Lucy nodded vigorously and even wore the ribbon on her head, as if doing so gave her the courage of that princess who destroyed a kingdom. Noticing the change in her expression, Alexio leaned down, looking straight into the lich's glowing blue soul flames.
“Lucy, are you unhappy because of that story about the princess and the dragon?”
Lucy hadn't expected Alexio to guess this. She lowered her head shyly, clutching the edge of her clothes.
“I…” she began slowly. The princess' swirling dress seemed to flutter before her eyes again. “I… feel sad about that story. I want to be brave like the kingdom's princess, but I've thought it through. If I were in that story, I'd be weak and helpless like the original princess, unable to do anything.”
She looked like she was about to cry but held it back.
“I know it's something that happened long ago, but I can't help caring. Lately, I keep dreaming. In my dreams, I'm trapped in a dark dungeon, like a dead insect. I can't move, can't speak, can't do anything…”
Finally, she broke down and cried, trembling all over.
“Then I realized, I'm not crying because of the story itself. It's for myself, for my weak heart…”
Alexio watched her quietly, letting her cry for a while before taking out another box. He had planned to wait until later, after Lucy took over the Sea of Undead, to give her this gift. But when he heard her admit her own weakness and voice her sorrow over feeling helpless, he suddenly felt it was time.
“The one before was a gift for you, hoping it would cheer you up. As for this one, I wanted you to open it only after you had figured everything out.” Seeing the lich's confused expression, he smiled faintly. “Lucy, do you know what lies beneath the Emerald Inner Sea?”
He stepped forward, into the water, the waves and the sea serpents' breath swirling behind him.
“Come, Lucy, follow me.”
“You, Zhen, and Helgodon are different. You're not weak. You just haven't yet grasped the right scepter.”
He reached out his hand to the lich girl—
“And I will take you to where the scepter lies. Whether you grasp it or not, that choice is yours.”
At that moment, amid the wind over the Emerald Inner Sea, he seemed to hear his old friend smile at him. Back then, the lich girl wore a crown of bones and held a pale silver scepter, seated majestically upon a throne piled high with bones.
She smiled at Alexio, but her words carried the sharp resolve of a blade.
【Hello, Alexi. We finally meet again.】
【I am the lich, Ui'falucy.】
【I will, in the end, take back…】
【My dragon from the hands of fate.】