EnCoffin Me Chapter 85
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 85
If it had been a few months ago, before Zhen received Alexio's teachings, he probably would have ignored such subtle feelings. After all, as a dark creature, he only needed to be cute enough. But Alexio taught him to hone his mental power and to open his domain. After experiencing the northern front, Zhen quickly grew and began to form his own judgments.
He made decisions quickly, his eyes flicking around before he chased after him without hesitation.
“Please wait!”
The staff member tensed for a moment, then turned around with a confused expression, watching as Zhen jogged toward him.
Zhen had already thought of an excuse.
“I wanted to ask… is the area under construction open? Could I take a peek during my lunch break?” Zhen always smiled gently when speaking to others. The talisman paper pasted diagonally to his forehead fluttered slightly with his breath, making him look particularly innocent and cute.
But that was only a facade. Under Alexio's guidance, the spark inside him had already moved forward.
The staff seemed to relax and smiled warmly.
“Most areas are accessible. Some parts are still under construction and quite dangerous, so entry is restricted there.”
Zhen thanked him happily and said he would come by to see it tomorrow. After parting ways with the staff, Zhen returned to his room and immediately called Alexio without saying a word.
“Yes, I find it strange,” he said firmly. “There's a parasitic life form inside him, but for some reason, it wasn't detected during the center's medical exam. Maybe it has some special ability.
“What do I plan to do… hmm… first, meet with Lucy and Dondon… then try to… take him out?”
“……”
Alexio was silent for a moment, then praised Zhen's resolve highly, but he still offered some advice.
“You should focus more on prevention and avoid alerting them prematurely.”
Zhen agreed, ended the call, and was too excited to sleep. He decided to go find Helgodon and Lucy. First, he knocked on Helgodon's door and pulled him out, even though he was still half asleep. Helgodon transformed into his wolf form, yawning as he led Zhen to Lucy's room.
Zhen knew Lucy usually stayed up late, and sure enough, when they knocked, the lich was awake. She had set up very strict protective magic. As her control over the ruins of the Sea of Undead grew stronger, she had become increasingly adept with her magic. Zhen explained everything from the beginning, and Lucy nodded slightly. Unlike Zhen, who followed the path of life, she was familiar with and in control of【Death】, so she offered a different perspective.
“No matter what those worms want to do, if there's any unusual movement, we just need to eliminate them.” She extended a skeletal hand hidden beneath her robe sleeve. An ethereal blue soul butterfly appeared on her fingertip, its brilliant wings contrasting with the stark bones, giving it an eerie beauty.
“The butterfly is very agile, perfect for catching insects.”
It was Zhen's first time seeing such a creature. No, it wasn't really a creature, since he sensed no life force from it. It seemed to be a pure elemental creation.
“This is the first time I've seen one!” he said curiously as he reached out to touch it. The soul butterfly took flight and landed on Helgodon's nose. The wolf-eared boy shook his head, and his ears twitched.
“Originally, there were none after ten thousand years. These butterflies have just awakened,” Lucy said. Following Alexio's instructions, she hadn't revealed the existence of the Sea of Undead yet, but the soul butterflies could be useful. “I'll have them lie low in the sea for now. When needed, they can fly up at any time.”
“If anyone's controlled, I'll handle it,” Helgodon said briefly.
They discussed eagerly for a while, but it was getting late, so Zhen and Helgodon said goodbye and left. Lucy saw them out to the door, but Zhen suddenly turned back and looked at her seriously.
“You seem to be in really good shape now, Lucy,” he said with a smile. “Have you noticed your eyes? You don't look like you're retreating anymore. You meet others' gaze directly.”
Zhen repeated, “That's really good, Lucy.”
Lucy paused briefly. Her skeletal hand gripped her robe sleeve, then she smiled slightly at him.
“I think so too.”
After seeing Zhen and Helgodon off, Lucy had just closed the door when a voice echoed behind her.
“Is that the little one who serves Qizhi?” The voice floated lazily in the air, its tone neither clearly male nor female. “Very interesting. You are【Death】, he is【Life】, and with a werewolf who can fight with a strong body to buy you time… it reminds me of the days with my brothers back then.”
It sounded somewhat melancholy.
“When I learned of Behemoth's fall, I was deeply saddened. And when this misfortune was about to fall upon me, I felt sad for Qizhi.”
“…It won't happen again,” Lucy said softly. She released her grip on her robe sleeve, her dark eyes shining with soul flames.
“The past will not repeat itself.”
In recent days, because Leviathan, one of the three pillars of darkness, was often with her, she had heard many stories from the previous era. She had always been quiet, previously due to timidity, but now because of contemplation. She came to understand more and more about the lich from ten thousand years ago: her desperate wish to bring back the dragon, her sharp insight into the Holy Temple's millennium-long plan, and her resolve to protect the world even if it meant sacrificing herself.
She did not go to sleep. Instead, she expertly avoided surveillance and slipped into the Emerald Inner Sea.
She already controlled most of the ruins of the Sea of Undead. Leviathan seemed pleased, dragging its long, glowing, translucent tentacles as it floated. The young lich rested her head on the massive white bone scepter and sank into meditation, hoping to soon gain control of the remaining ruins.
“Don't stray too far. In five hours, we'll head back,” she quietly reminded the wandering Leviathan. Although a god, its romantic and free-spirited nature made it seem very much like a child.
In five hours, Dalph would come to wake her. Today was her routine physical exam.
Lucy's regular checkups had become routine. When Zhu Heng was alive, he had worked to resolve her psychological issues, but with little progress. But when Alexio resurrected and took her under his wing, teaching her to wield her own power while surrounded by companions, Lucy gradually became more cheerful, and her examinations became less frequent.
Since it was a rare physical exam, even Alexio made time to get the report as soon as possible.
“Very healthy, no illnesses recently,” Noah said with a smile, finally able to relax. “Thankfully, we didn't let Dr. Zhu's advice go to waste.”
Dalph, who was now half a guardian to Lucy, also felt relieved. Then, without hesitation, she unceremoniously chased Helgodon to get weighed. Helgodon initially resisted, but after Alexio shot him a sharp look, he obediently stepped onto the scale.
Watching the numbers on the device, Dalph sighed.
“I knew it would be like this.”
Helgodon had been eating and drinking excessively lately, especially when he was with Zhen. They even ordered takeout sometimes. But his body was different from Zhen. The latter was a zombie and could eat anything without concern. Helgodon was a living being, and the most direct result of overeating was gaining weight.
Helgodon hung his head, and so did Zhen, waiting for Alexio's criticism.
Alexio took a deep breath and was about to lecture about the dangers of takeout, but then caught the lunatic's gaze that clearly said, “You order takeout all the time yourself, so don't lecture others now.”
“……”
Alexio swallowed his words and only reprimanded Helgodon for allowing his weight to increase. Helgodon regretted it and, from then on, for three months, his meals were limited to the cafeteria.
The physical exam was over, but preparations for the Carnival had to continue. As Alexio was about to leave, he suddenly heard Noah stammering as he spoke to Dalph.
“How about a quick rehearsal this evening? I mean, outside of work hours.”
Dalph nodded shyly. Alexio looked completely baffled nearby, until Zhen, the little gossip, quietly tugged his sleeve and whispered in his ear.
“At the Carnival, they'll perform in the plaza. Dr. Noah and Miss Dalph have been rehearsing a free-form play.” Zhen paused, then added with more excitement, “Honestly, I think those two are dating.”
Alexio looked stunned. Only now did he seem to realize he got fed dog food again.
No matter. At least this dog food was shared with the lunatic!
Thinking of this, Alexio felt much better. He turned to check the lunatic's expression, but suddenly his body was lifted off the ground. The lunatic picked him up like a cat and placed him on the scale that Helgedon had just used. After a glance at the numbers, the lunatic let ot a low ‘hmm.’
Alexio… Alexio's fur bristled.
“Compared to your build, you're a bit… chubby.”
“Shut up!”
Alexio stepped off the scale, both embarrassed and angry, and tried to toss the lunatic onto it as well. But as he was about to lift him, he suddenly noticed a subtle height difference. The lunatic noticed it too and smiled faintly, opening his arms toward him.
Go on, hug me.
“……”
“Why not hug me?”
“……”
Zhen consciously stood beside Lucy and Helgodon. The three of them huddled together, feeling as though romantic bubbles were floating to the left and even more on the right, making one shiver.
Just... showing off affection then? There'd always be someone forced to eat dog food anyway.
Lucius had always felt he had a problem. Once he started teasing Alexio, he couldn't stop. He'd paid the price for it more than once, yet he just couldn't help himself and kept pushing his luck.
Like now, he only wanted to show off some affection, but when Alexio glared at him, he still couldn't resist teasing more, until he overdid it, and he got his wish.
Alexio did pick him up, but ended up dropping him headfirst onto the scale.
Alexio dusted off imaginary dust from his hands, glanced at the numbers, and confirmed Lucius was indeed much heavier. Only after Alexio gave him a look did Lucius quietly sit up, already daring to try again next time.
“Get up. Time to go home.” Alexio had no way to deal with Lucius, but this time he didn't feel the despair of being shown off with affection, which showed that the lunatic's distraction technique worked very well… Why was Zhen looking at him like that?
Zhen clicked his tongue twice, shook his head, and walked away with his hands behind his back.
Alexio: ???
“Not going to help me up?” The lunatic sitting on the scale suddenly spoke. Despite his reluctance, Alexio reached out and pulled him up. He noticed how excessively good the lunatic's mood was. Before leaving, he even surprised everyone by greeting Noah and Dalph, like the victor.
“Let's go home.” He naturally draped his hand over Alexio's shoulder, paused briefly, then slowly lowered it.
“……”
Alexio quickly grabbed his hand to stop himself from being lifted again. He knew the lunatic had mischief in mind. The lunatic, in turn, grasped his hand. After what he had just experienced, Alexio suspected the lunatic was up to something again, so he struggled to pull his hand away.
“I'm not messing with you anymore. Let's go home.”
Alexio felt the saint's fingers slip between his, their hands locking warmly. Before he could think more, the lunatic was already pulling him forward, still asking.
“What do you want to eat tonight?”
How could Alexio possibly think about what to eat? His mind was completely fixated on their hands! Slowly realizing it, he felt his cheeks flush. He wasn't sure if his guess was right, but he knew the lunatic too well. Such meaningless, tender gestures were almost completely alien to him. In his impression, the lunatic was always the saint who seemed isolated from the world
But… the hands…
Was the lunatic starting to… have feelings for him? Not that kind of mutual appreciation, not that kind of tacit understanding based on knowing each other, but rather…
But the lunatic never looked back or brought it up again. He opened his mouth a few times, only to stop himself each time out of shame.
He thought of the half-completed shell ring.
Maybe he would ask about it on the day of the Carnival.
Watching the two of them leave, Noah never imagined that he, soon to be officially off singledom, would one day be on the receiving end of PDA. He smiled helplessly and glanced at Dalph. When their eyes met, they both couldn't help laughing.
“Same time as before… uh… rehearsal…”
“Mm.”
“I'll go back and revise the script…”
“Mm.”
“Don't work too late. Don't tire yourself out.”
“Mm!”
For some reason, Dalph felt that even such ordinary conversation brought her close to tears. Sometimes she had vague dreams — dreams of a bustling market where she wandered aimlessly until suddenly noticing a crowd, and out of curiosity, she went to see what was happening.
The young and beautiful actress saw a prophet sitting behind a stall, his white cane set aside, holding a crystal ball and murmuring seriously to himself.
With a sudden ‘bang,’ smoke appeared inside the crystal ball, causing the onlookers to gasp in surprise. The elderly woman, who was having her fortune told, tightly clasped her hands nervously. The prophet slowly opened his hazy eyes and excitedly announced that the woman was about to enter a marriage.
“But,” the elderly woman hesitated, “my husband is standing right behind you.”
The prophet's expression froze. Behind him, an angry old man raised his cane. The prophet quickly clutched his crystal ball and stumbled away in retreat. The actress laughed so hard she could barely stand, feeling sorry for the inaccurate prophet, then stepped forward to soothe the old man with gentle words, saving him from trouble.
After the crowd dispersed, the prophet stood trembling, still holding the crystal ball.
“Th-thank you, Miss with lovely voice,” the prophet stammered, still shaken. “I'm not cheating anyone. Everyone at the market knows my readings aren't accurate. They just come to hear me say something rare and pleasant. I don't know wh-why someone would take it seriously.”
He finished awkwardly, paused for a long moment, then raised his head, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“Miss, w-would you like me to… read your marriage fortune? For you, it's free for life.”