Volume 2, Legend of a Hero 1: Among the Ordinary, an Extraordinary Hero (2/2)

“S-Sorry, it is nothing.” I hurriedly suppressed my laughter but chuckled as I put the fries in the pan.

Fries and ketchup… This is something I definitely can never tell Melody, hee hee.

After sending the young master out, Mr. Bramble and May headed to the rooftop. Dell bravely volunteered to bring DSII home.

After everyone had left, the apartment suddenly became quiet again. I washed and tidied the dishes and was just about to rest in my metal cabinet when I heard the doorbell ring. This was a rare occurrence.

As I walked to the door, I thought, did Dell forget to take something with him?

I activated the CCTV beside the front door and saw that there were two people outside, one male and one female. Naturally, it was not Dell. These people were… X-Killer’s shop assistants, Luo Lun and Jill.

I opened the door and greeted, “Jill, Luo Lun, it has been a few days. Are you doing well?”

The two nodded and nodded.

“We have already received the young master’s outfits. There is nothing wrong with them,” I smiled and said, hoping I could find out why they were here. I was not sure whether they were here because of the clothes, and this was the only reason I could think of.

Luo Lun immediately snatched the chance to answer, “Of course, I checked those one at a time, so there’s definitely nothing wrong with them!”

Before I could continue speaking, Jill grinned and took out a thick book, saying, “We are here to show you the catalog.”

“Catalog?”

I took it from them and looked at it before realizing that these were the photos the young master had agreed to take for X-Killer last time. I flipped through it page by page and could not help sighing in praise as the catalog was done very well. At first, I was not sure whether to start flipping from the left or the right, but I immediately learned that both ways were fine. When I started browsing from the right, the designs were mostly white in color, and from the left, black.

I first looked through the white part. The young master in the photos wore comfortable and brightly colored clothing while smiling very happily. His poses were also very natural. In some of the photos, he was hugging the large plushies in the shop. This made him appear very cute and energetic, so that when one looked at the photos, one’s lips would involuntarily rise.

Then, I started to browse through the black designs from the left. The clothes in this section were smart and elegant, and the young master was almost expressionless in these pictures. Clothed entirely in dark colors, only his face and silver hair stood out. This actually enhanced the feeling that the young master…was not really like a living person.

This actually gave me a bit of a scare, as this non-living aura was quite unlike the young master. Instead, it was more like…Dark Sun!

As I browsed, I asked, “Who designed these?”

“These are Olga’s personal designs. The theme is Angel and Devil.” Jill’s eyes shone as she asked, “Doesn’t it look awesome? We only had to send this to the printing shop, and everyone there kept asking who this model was!”

Angel and Devil huh? I could not help but smile wryly. The young master and Dark Sun did kind of feel like an angel and a devil. I did not think that Olga could so accurately portray the young master’s two faces. If she met Dark Sun face-to-face, she might actually guess that Dark Sun was indeed the young master.

However, I did not have to be too worried. When DSII’s body is fixed, as long as the young master and DSII each dress up as Dark Sun and a normal college student and appear at the same time, even the most suspicious person would have no choice but to admit that they were two different people.

As I continued to browse, Jill and Luo Lun took turns to comment on things like, “The weather is so hot,” “I feel a little thirsty,” “This place is so far from the shop,” and “I didn’t eat breakfast so I feel a little hungry.” Listening to these made me feel both affronted and amused, so I aptly invited them, “If you do not mind, please come in and rest for a while.”

Their eyes instantly lit up. I tilted my body to turn but before I could lead the way, they had already rushed into the house.

Luo Lun cheerfully spread himself out on the sofa, while Jill scanned the living room and said, disappointed, “Is Ah Ye not home?”

“The young master has gone to school.” I placed the catalog on the table and smiled at them, saying, “Do you want anything to drink?”

“Just coke is fine.”

“Sundae!” shouted Luo Lun.

Jill swung a fist toward Luo Lun’s head and scolded, “What sundae? Are you treating this place as a café?”

I smiled, saying, “I can easily prepare a sundae. The young master loves ice cream, so there are many flavors of ice cream in the fridge. I can use those to make a sundae.”

Luo Lun immediately cried, “Yay!” Jill hesitated for a moment before shyly adding, “Then I want one too.”

I nodded and said, “Then, please wait for a moment. If you wish to turn on the television, or read one of the books on the shelf, please feel free to do so.”

After making the sundaes, I carried them to the living room. The two in the living room were clearly uninterested in the books on the shelves. Instead, they had turned on the TV and were currently captivated by a replay of this morning’s news. The content was, naturally, the stories about the four heroes.

I put the sundaes down, and Luo Lun’s eyes instantly lit up. He started eating the sundae.

Jill looked at the sundae like she really wanted to eat it, but she did not make a move on it. Instead, she told me, “Olga asked us to show you two the catalog. We will only put it in the shop if you find no problems with it. Also, we enlarged some of these photos to hang in the store, but they were just too big, so we didn’t bring them here for you to see. Thus, Olga asked whether the two of you would be willing to go there personally to take a look.”

I see. I nodded at both of them, saying, “When the young master returns, I will tell him. Whether or not the young master decides to go, I will give you a call and inform you.”

Jill nodded. At this point, she could not resist anymore, so she started eating the sundae.

Seeing the two of them devour the food quickly while repeatedly exclaiming how good it was, I smiled and asked, “Sundaes will not quench your thirst, so would you like some drinks? If you wish to quench your thirst, how about I brew a pot of hot Ceylon tea for you? Cold things, especially sweets, do not actually quench thirst well.”

Regardless of what I said, the two people desperately eating their sundaes simply nodded vigorously. Seeing this, I had no choice but to smile again and go to the kitchen to brew tea.

As I was boiling water, a melodious ringtone suddenly sounded on my cell phone. I quickly took it out from my shirt pocket. I looked at the phone number, and the caller actually turned out to be the young master. I immediately pushed the button to pick up the call.

“Charles here.”

“C-Charles, are you sleeping right now?”

The young master’s voice was very soft, as if he were afraid of waking me up… I could not resist smiling. Oh, Young Master! Since you have already called, why worry about whether I am asleep?

The young master stuttered, “T-That, I know that it’s your sleeping time right now, b-but…”

I smiled and said, “It is alright, I am not sleeping at the moment. Young Master, please feel free to instruct me.”

The young master fell silent for a while, then suddenly cried, “Charles!”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“My classmates said that they want to come over to my place to do homework. What do I do?”

So it was something like that. I laughed and answered, “Young Master, you only have to tell me. If a few classmates are visiting, I will make the proper preparations.”

The young master went quiet again for a while. Then, he said in a helpless tone, “Charles, I can’t let my classmates know that I have a butler.”

When I heard this, I was stunned for a moment but eventually understood what he meant. The school the young master was attending was not an elite school, and the apartment he was living in was also not a high-class one. It would indeed be weird for him to have a butler.

“Then, Charles can leave for a night…”

Before I could finish speaking, the young master exclaimed, “No, don’t go! I don’t know how to do homework with my classmates, and also…”

After saying “also,” the young master did not continue talking for a very long time. I had no choice but to ask, “Also what, Young Master?”

The young master mumbled hesitantly, “Also…when I was talking to my classmates, I told them that I have an elder brother. My female classmates asked me whether he was handsome, and I said yes. Then, they asked me where my brother was, and I-I didn’t know how to respond, so I said that my brother was at home. After that…”

“After that?”

“After that…” The young master paused for a moment, then, quick as lightning, blurted out, “After that, they made noise about wanting to come over to my house to do homework, and conveniently see my very handsome brother!”

I finally understood what he wanted. Despite that, I still intentionally asked, “So, what does Young Master want Charles to do?”

The young master fell silent for a while and then begged, “Charles, can I call you Gēge for one night?”

I smiled and humbly replied, “If Young Master is willing.”

“Great!” cheered the young master. “Then, I’ll bring my classmates home right after class. There are five of them in all. I even told them that you know how to make delicious ice cream. They keep nagging me about wanting to eat it, so don’t forget to make some!”

“Yes, Young Master.” After answering him, afraid that the young master would hang up just like this, I quickly added, “Young Master, please hold on for a minute, Charles has something to tell you. The two shop assistants from X-Killer have come to visit.”

“Jill and Luo Lun?” Curious, the young master asked, “What did they come for?”

“They brought the photos you took last time. At the same time, they invited you to go see the enlarged photos that they are going to display in the shop.”

“Really?” The young master’s voice sounded very excited. “Sure! I want to go and see it.”

“Alright, then I will tell them that we will be visiting them within the next few days.”

After ending the call with the young master, I carried the Ceylon tea as well as some tea snacks to the living room. As I walked there, I heard the sounds of arguing.

“First Wind is the best hero of all!”

“No matter how you look at it, Dragon Peace is the strongest! You girls just like pretty boys.”

“That’s not true! It’s because First Wind looks very gentle.” Unhappy, Jill shouted, “Dragon Peace looks so violent that even if I were saved by him, I would worry about whether he would hug me so tightly my waist snaps!”

“With a waist like yours?” Luo Lun purposely eyed Jill’s waist and sighed, “I think that would be very difficult!”

Jill was so angry her face flushed red. She said word-by-word, “Ji. Luo. Lun. Are you tired of living?”

After watching this, I put the tray down. As I arranged their tableware, I said, “How about drinking some black tea and having some snacks? The snacks are walnut meringues that I made. I hope you will enjoy them.”

The two of them seemed very shocked. Jill quickly said, “Sorry to trouble you.”

“It is no trouble.” I smiled.

In order to calm their nervousness, I sat down and started eating a meringue. This visibly helped them relax a little, so they also began drinking their tea and eating.

To relieve the tension, I continued the conversation off-handedly and said, “Were you two talking about heroes just now?”

They looked back and forth at each other before Luo Lun finally shrugged, saying, “Yeah! In the news story about heroes that we just watched, Solitary Butterfly, First Wind, Dragon Peace, and Dark Sun were called the Four Great Heroes. At the end of the show, they raised a question ‘To you, who is the true hero?’, so Jill started arguing about it with me!”

“You’re the one who started the argument!” Jill protested, “First Wind is obviously the best!”

“Dragon Peace is the most ‘authentic’ hero!” Luo Lun turned to face me and shouted, “Right, Dàgē?”

At this point, Jill also turned toward me and said coyly, “Charles-gē, which hero do you think is the best?”

“This…” I was a little tongue-tied.

If I had to answer, I would say Dark Sun. But the young master is Dark Sun, so that answer somehow did not seem quite appropriate. However, I did not really know much about the other heroes. Although I had met Solitary Butterfly once before, I did not know her well enough to say that she was “the best.”

But I cannot not answer either… I looked at the two people whose eyes were filled with anticipation. Suddenly, I thought, regardless of whether the young master is Dark Sun or not, Dark Sun is the only person I have ever wholeheartedly praised as a “hero.” Thus, even if he is the young master I serve, what does it matter?

I smiled plainly and replied, “Dark Sun.”

“Oh!” Luo Lun nodded vigorously, saying, “Dark Sun isn’t bad either.”

However, Jill revealed a hesitant expression and mumbled, “At first, I also thought like that. He looked really cool when he saved Solitary Butterfly. But, Olga said…”

“What did she say?” I suddenly felt very curious. Just what comment did Olga make about Dark Sun?

Jill seemed to be trying very hard as she recalled, “She said that no matter what, heroes are still people, and it is human nature to be selfish. Heroes want other people to know that they have done a good deed, and they want to be famous. Therefore, normally when they save people, they will at least interact a little with the victim, and stall for time until the media arrives.”

That is true indeed. After hearing Jill speak, I suddenly felt like laughing out loud. So heroes could be viewed from this perspective as well. I have never even thought that the reason why heroes can be caught on film by the media is because they want to become famous.

“When they face the media, they either put on a dramatic act or just pretend to look cool. That, or they make an expression of utter hatred. However, only Dark Sun is different. He never appears in front of the media. It’s as if he doesn’t care whether anyone else in the world knows he exists. Except for that time when he saved Solitary Butterfly and that little girl, when he had no choice but to appear in front of the media, because so much of the media was already there to begin with.”

Luo Lun interrupted, “Even the origins of the name ‘Dark Sun’ are unknown. Olga said that this is really weird! We can’t even catch him on film, and Dark Sun is most famous for never saying anything, so why does everyone know that he is called ‘Dark Sun?’ Olga says, it’s as if someone is secretly spreading information about him.”

Could a certain elder brother be the one responsible for secretly spreading information? I felt that the possibility of this being true was very high. Although the master does not like the young master being a hero, he definitely does not like the young master’s good deeds going unknown even more.

Luo Lun shrugged, saying, “All in all, Olga said that his actions are not like those of ordinary people. It’s more like he’s on some kind of mission. Maybe, one of the economic alliances dispatched a hero on purpose, so that they can use him whenever there’s a suitable opportunity…”

I stood up abruptly, roaring, “It is not like that at all!”

After I had finished shouting, the two of them jumped in shock and stared at me… Oh no! I actually spoke to the young master’s guests in such a rude tone.

“My sincerest apologies, I…” I stumbled over my words, as I could not come up with an excuse to explain my uncontrolled shouting. After all, I cannot tell them not to insult the young master, can I?

“So Dàgē actually worships Dark Sun to this extent?” said Luo Lun in a daze. “I can’t believe it, you really don’t look like someone who worships heroes!”

“I do not? But I really like Dark Sun!” I smiled as I conveniently stepped out of the limelight.

After that, we moved on from the topic of heroes, and instead began to discuss that Angel and Devil catalog. They pointed out the photos that the shop had enlarged, and gesticulated wildly while explaining where in the shop the photos were hung, as well as how great the results were and et cetera.

After chatting for about half an hour, the two had to help Olga open the shop, so they waved goodbye to me.

I spent some time tidying the living room and then returned to my room to rest. However, just as I lay down in the metal cabinet and before I could fall asleep, my cell phone next to me rang again. This particular ringtone did not sound when someone was calling me. Instead, it was an alert for when someone rang the doorbell.

“There are so many guests today.”

I smiled wryly, but I did not really feel upset. Even if I only sleep once in two or three days, it was still within the normal range for a vampire. I felt happy instead, as more guests visiting this apartment means that the people the young master knows are also increasing. For the young master, who lacks social skills, this was a very good sign.

I stepped out of the metal cabinet feeling curious and walked toward the front door. Has Dell returned? Or have Jill and Luo Lun come back? Or could it be someone else the young master knows?

Because of my curiosity, I did not turn on the CCTV this time, but rather just opened the front door… I froze in shock.

When I saw the person who had come, it took me a long time before I could say his name.

“X.”