EnCoffin Me Chapter 91
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 91
“I'm feeling a bit fragile right now after recovering that part of my memory.”
Most of the water had been shaken off, but Lucius still hadn't let go of Alexio. He knew Alexio too well. If he loosened his grip, Alexio would definitely run off without a trace, so he had to hold on tight.
“So, I hope you won't leave my sight for the time being.”
Alexio stopped struggling and fell into thought.
“Even when I'm bathing?”
“Even when you're bathing.”
That made him struggle even harder.
“Let go! I'll show you an amazing trick you'll want to see!”
“I know, it's the ‘let go and it's gone’ trick, right? But I don't want to watch it.”
“……”
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt the lunatic's IQ had improved. Could recovering memories have such an side effect? It made him want to lose his memory for a bit too.
No matter how much Alexio resisted, he was still dragged toward the bathroom. Their commotion startled U, the well-behaved cat who usually kept an early bedtime and rose with the sun. U was initially confused. From its perspective, it seemed like erge had finally decided to assert dominance over Dage. However, when it saw the direction Dage was being carried, its fur immediately bristled. It silently admired erge's ruthlessness.
To actually carry him to the bathroom with all that water! Ruthless!
Dage struggled fiercely, meowing angrily, while U followed behind, too scared to make a sound. Judging by the situation, Dage didn't seem to be a match for erge. Should U step in to help, or should he be sensible and immediately pledge loyalty to erge? Or maybe… was there a chance for U to rise in rank?
While U's conscience was in torment, Alexio had already been carried into the bathroom. The thought of having to watch the lunatic bathe made his fur stand on end. He grabbed onto the doorframe, determined not to go in. Lucius smiled helplessly and leaned close to whisper in his ear.
“I'm not asking you to watch. Doesn't the bathroom have a partition? Just open the door a crack and wait outside for me, okay?”
Alexio's grip on the doorframe loosened slightly. He suspiciously glanced at the lunatic, unsure if he would really let him off. But the sincerity in Lucius' saintly expression, and those sky-blue eyes, were hard to resist, at least for Alexio.
“I just… can't shake off the effect of that memory right now.” Lucius put Alexio down. Seeing that Alexio didn't run immediately, he knew his words had gotten through. A faint smile was carefully hidden at the corners of his eyes. He lowered his head and buried his face in the side of Alexio's neck.
“I'll adjust soon. It won't affect you too much.”
U, listening from the corner, was shocked! Now it understood why erge was the erge. This cat's act of feigned toughness was absolutely brilliant! It was a skill it'd never learn in its lifetime!
The lunatic had already said so much that Alexio couldn't help but feel the lunatic probably didn't want to be like this either, but simply couldn't control his emotions. Furthermore, his past death had actually caused such a huge mental shock to the lunatic that he felt completely insecure. Alexio felt guilty about it.
Even if he was outside the door, the lunatic would probably still feel a bit uncomfortable, right?
“Let go of my hand.”
“…Not allowed?”
“I didn't say no! But if you want to bathe, at least let go first!”
Those captivating sky-blue eyes suddenly brightened. Alexio turned his head away. He was finally free. He brushed his still damp fringe and urged, “Did you get a change of clothes? Hurry up and wash. I'll wait outside.”
He hesitated slightly before asking.
“Will your mood be better if you can see me?”
This was definitely a pleasant surprise for Lucius! He immediately affirmed the statement. Seeing Alexio hesitating greatly about whether to enter the inner room and stay within his line of sight, he subtly and tactfully declined.
Sometimes, stroking against the fur had a better effect.
Sure enough, Alexio made up his mind.
“I'll stay inside with you. I won't look in your direction. You just…go in first.”
That little bit of shyness made him very endearing. Lucius, inside the bathroom, happily took off his rain-soaked coat and tossed them into the hamper. When he turned, he noticed Alexio's shadow, which should have been visible on the sliding door, was gone.
Was that… did he come in? But where was he?
“Here.” The voice came from very close by. Lucius was halfway through unbuttoning his shirt when he stared at the basket where he put his discarded clothes. Between the black garments, two small, black, pointed tips stood upright. They twitched anxiously as if aware they were being watched.
“I'll keep my back to you the whole time, so don't worry.” Alexio, who had entered the laundry hamper after consciously transforming into a small bat, cleared his throat. “That way, I'm still within your line of sight, right?”
The saint was silent for a moment.
“…You can stay in human form within my line of sight, not in a basket…”
Since recovering his memory, Lucius had carried a faint smile in his eyes, but now his expression was completely blank.
“Not in the basket… playing with soap.”
“Mind your own business!” Alexio snapped back, hugging the soap. “Being in the basket where you can see me is already an act of fatherly love, okay?!”
“……”
At times, Alexio had a natural way of reining him in.
With all romantic notions gone, Lucius silently finished his bath. After much thought, he still couldn't swallow that. Dressed in a simple tunic, hair still half-damp, he reached out to Alexio, who was calmly squatting in the hamper, ears twitching smugly—
U heard a howl from the bathroom. The long-awaited confrontation was finally happening. Excited, it slid over and saw erge pressing Dage into a basin, washing him, calmly saying, “You have to wash anyway. Let me help you. This size is perfect. One basin is enough.”
Dage cursed.
“You're crazy! Let me go! I can wash myself! If you're so brave, let me turn back into human form first!”
Erge was washing Dage in a basin! Without hesitation, it immediately decided to switch sides.
Lucius rolled up his sleeves and finished washing Alexio, then wrapped him in an absorbent towel to rub him dry while Alexio kept muttering curses. After partially drying him, he used a hairdryer. Alexio seemed tired of complaining. Since the situation was settled, he simply shut his mouth and let the dryer do its work.
“Not struggling anymore?”
“Hmph!”
The little bat Alexio had transformed into lay on the towel, clearly still very resentful. Suddenly, U appeared within his line of sight, cautiously peeking in, then trotting over to Lucius' feet and starting to rub against his leg.
Its intention to switch sides was clear enough.
Alexio: “……”
He decided to be a villain and teach U an important lesson called ‘a simping cat ends up with nothing.’ This lesson was easy to start. He just had to say one sentence.
“Shouldn't U be washed too?”
U indeed learned a valuable lesson, though not the one Alexio hoped for. Instead, it was…
Dage is always Dage!
After washing two animals in one night, Lucius admitted he was tired. Fortunately, tomorrow was a day off. Because he was still ‘mentally fragile’ and couldn't bear Alexio leaving his sight, he tucked the little bat into a cute basket and placed it on his bedside table.
Alexio sulked quietly in the basket while the lunatic came over to poke him.
“Weren't you supposed to give me a gift?”
Alexio hid his face under his wings and pointed to his room.
After an era, the star-shaped shell ring finally reappeared in his hand. Lucius turned it over and over, examining it. It must have taken a long time to make, as even the details were exquisite. This was the first meaningful gift Alexio had given him, a sign that their relationship was truly different from what it had been ten thousand years ago.
More intimate, and more tender.
The candlelight lit for the All Souls Day filled the room softly, yet the small basket was a little restless. Alexio waited a long time, making sure the lunatic had fallen asleep before cautiously climbing out. He didn't dare fly, fearing the noise might wake him, so he slowly crept over to the lunatic's pillow.
As he tilted his head, his pointed ears flopped to one side. The sleeping saint looked just as usual. Whether ten thousand years ago or after rising from the coffin, the lunatic always looked the same. Sometimes Alexio even forgot he was human, thinking he was an immortal like himself.
But immortality didn't matter. Alexio could give him eternal life.
Menacingly flapping his wings a few times at the sleeping saint's face, Alexio felt satisfied. He noticed the saint was clutching the star-shaped shell ring while asleep and his heart stirred slightly. He slowly crawled into the small empty space in the center of the ring, yawned, and covered himself completely with his wings.
Time to sleep. Tomorrow was a day off, a chance to recharge for the Carnival.
Having stayed up too late the night before, Alexio didn't open his eyes until noon, only to find the surrounding was dark.
Alexio: “???”
He lifted his wings, and the object blocking the light unsteadily fell to the side. He climbed onto the star-shaped shell ring and peeked over, discovering a small doll, about the size of one and a half palm, holding a star, dressed in gold and blue, looking somewhat familiar.
Still dazed, he heard the lunatic's voice nearby.
“What's wrong? Did you hit yourself aside first thing in the morning?”
Himself???
Alexio fixed his gaze on it and recognized the plush toy as Starry Night Xi, the winning entry of this year's Carnival.
“It was just delivered this morning. On the day of the Carnival, the whole place should be filled with posters, dolls, collector cards, and the like.”
Alexio thought about that scene, then collapsed back into the center of the ring, covering his head with his wings. The lunatic rudely picked him out. As a little bat, Alexio couldn't resist being carried around, so he simply shifted back into his human form.
“Can I skip it?”
“No, I've already made a plan. Once we collect enough points, we can get tickets to see The Girl and the God of Death.”
That was too tempting. Alexio picked up the doll from the bed, trying to overcome his embarrassment. As he held the star and smiled, revealing his tiny fangs, he let out a soft “mm.”
“What is it?”
“I really want to meet Sparrow Nestling in Thorns. The fact that I can appear like this in her eyes… I'm actually quite grateful.”
He never realized he could be adorned with stars and night skies, becoming a symbol of the Carnival in others' eyes.
The saint simply smiled faintly.
“Maybe there'll be a chance in the future.”
He urged Alexio to come downstairs for dinner. Alexio responded and took out his lightbrain, hesitated for a moment, and then clicked into the Epic Pair's website, the only place he knew where he could directly contact the Sparrow Nestling in Thorns.
【Sword Embracing the Roses: Starry Night Xi is really cute.】
Such a message might seem odd to the recipient, but Alexio felt he had to say it. He was grateful the other had drawn him like that. He hadn't expected a reply, but to his surprise, one came immediately.
【Sparrow Nestling in Thorns: Thanks, you're cute too.】
【Sparrow Nestling in Thorns: Will you be at the Carnival tomorrow night?】
【Sword Embracing the Roses: I'm going.】
【Sparrow Nestling in Thorns: That's great! Hope you get enough points and manage to get a ticket to the show!】
【Sword Embracing the Roses: Yeah, same to you.】
After sending this, Alexio left the lunatic's room. When he reached the living room, he saw him preparing the last soup in the kitchen. Sitting at the dining table, Alexio thought over his earlier reply, wondering if it had sounded too cold. He was genuinely grateful to Sparrow Nestling in Thorns for drawing Starry Night Xi. Maybe his words should have been a bit cuter.
【Sword Embracing the Roses: Happy Cat.jpg】
Adding a sticker should make it much better, or maybe another one?
Alexio held his lightbrain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lunatic's lightbrain on the table flickered. He didn't pay much attention and sent Ecstatic dancing cat.jpg sticker. The lightbrain on the table flickered again.
Alexio: ……?
Tentatively, he sent one more sticker — Cat Rolling Around.jpg.
It flickered.
Alexio: ???
One last time, he stared intently at the lightbrain on the table. After confirming there had been no messages for a while, he pressed his own send button.
【Sword Embracing the Roses: Alert Cat.jpg】
At the same moment, the lightbrain flickered again.
“……”