Chapter Volume 1, Diary of a Butler 6: The One Who Stood Back Up - The Hero! (1/2)

Volume 1, Diary of a Butler Chapter 6: The One Who Stood Back Up – The Hero!

Translator: ErodingPersona

Dear Father,

You once said that when the master has made a mistake, appropriately and subtly reminding the master about it is a butler’s responsibility. However, when even I am unable to differentiate whether a matter is right or wrong, what should I do?

Tell the young master about the situation, and leave it to the young master to decide.

I have found the answer in the notes you have left behind. Thank you very much, my honorable father.

“In the end, he was not a real hero…”

Although I do not depend on heroes, I still believe that heroes are a wonderful existence. Every person who has watched old movies about heroes would know that heroes can be knocked down, but they will eventually stand up after all is said and done. This is their most enchanting trait; they will always stand back up and bring a ray of hope to the world in the midst of despair.

However, Dark Sun stayed fallen and had left only anguish to the whole world.

“Briar!”

With Bramble’s crazed expression and how he was shouting “Briar” with all his might, I guessed that this was probably the girl’s name! If the three bodyguards had not all grabbed him at the same time, he might have already jumped down from the building to look for his Briar.

“Captain, don’t be like this. Our brothers have already run downstairs to check.”

“Calm down, Captain!”

Although the bodyguards were shouting such phrases, the expressions on their faces were not collected at all, full of pain and sadness. Dell’s eyes were red around the rims. His expression was only slightly more composed than Bramble’s.

Crack!

I blinked and looked toward the origin of the sound. A hand… was clinging to the edge of the building.

Although the sound had been soft, it still managed to grab everyone’s attention. Everyone fell silent and stared unblinkingly at the hand… This was exactly like what had just happened on TV; they had the same exact expression as when everyone watched Solitary Butterfly run towards the little girl and then witnessed the massive black shadow descend.

It was a glimmer of hope flaring up from despair.

Under everyone’s scrutiny, the hand forcefully pulled upward. Someone jumped up, both knees hitting the floor with a loud smack. Then, he remained half-kneeling. From his appearance, he was indeed the Dark Sun we had just seen on TV.

Dark Sun was disheveled and heavily wounded; his right arm had a large piece of flesh missing from it. If he had not used the same arm to bring himself up just now, I would have deemed the arm completely useless. Nevertheless, the worst wound was on his chest. His chest was badly mangled, clothes sticking to blood and flesh. There was no way to determine exactly how bad the wound was.

The energy cannon from earlier must have punctured his right arm and hit his chest… The girl had been clinging in front of his chest earlier, but now, there was no girl in his arms.

After all that…

“Briar!”

Bramble’s heart-wrenching cry and the painful expression on his face were hard to describe, but if someone had drawn him at that very moment, the portrait would definitely be labeled as “Sorrow.”

Dark Sun also seemed to be shocked senseless by the yell. He tilted his head up slightly. His visor was shading his eyes, but I was sure that he was staring at Bramble.

He suddenly lifted his left hand. There was someone else’s arm in his grasp.

Just an arm? Could it be…

Then, in one breath, Dark Sun pulled an entire person up before everyone’s eyes.

“Daddy!”

The girl was unharmed, only crying as she shouted, “Daddy, don’t hit us! It’s me, Briar! Briar!”

Dark Sun placed the girl on the rooftop’s floor. Her legs wobbled, and then she stumbled toward Bramble. Bramble was far quicker; the girl had barely taken two steps when he rushed over and hugged her so tightly that even if the Sun Emperor himself had given the order, he probably would not have let go of his daughter.

One after another, the bodyguards approached their captain and his daughter.

I, on the other hand, walked over to Dark Sun who was still half-kneeling by the edge of the building. His wounds looked very serious, and I could not help from worrying that he would just pitch backwards in the next second and fall down twenty-five stories.

I walked to his side. He looked up at me before directing his gaze behind me. I turned and saw everyone staring at him, including Bramble and the little girl.

Everyone’s expressions were astoundingly similar; their fervent expressions were like those of young children watching their favorite hero create a miracle.

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes widened, and they all cried out in alarm.

I hurriedly turned to look at Dark Sun again. Only then did I realize that he had really fallen backwards.

Immediately, I reached out a hand to catch him, and although I only managed to grab onto two fingers, it should have been enough for me to hold onto him… Heavy! How can he be this heavy?

My face twisted. My incorrect estimation of his weight caused Dark Sun’s fingers to slip through mine. I could not take another step as I was already standing at the building’s edge. He crashed down.

Oh no! I hurriedly looked down. A dark shadow surged up before me, the updraft causing me to back up a few steps. After a moment’s hesitation, I looked up toward the sky.

Dark Sun was circling overhead in the sky.

Just then, the little girl faced skywards and yelled, “Dark Sun-gē, don’t forget, you promised me! When I grow up, you’ll take me as your bride!”

Bramble’s eyes widened, his expression full of surprise and aversion. If I were to describe it, I would say that his expression was like what a human would show when they had just stepped in a pile of excrement.

From the sky, a clear reply sounded. “I’ll wait for you.”

Then, Dark Sun’s figure stopped for a moment before abruptly flying downward, disappearing from our sight in an instant.

There was silence… and then an eruption!

The bodyguards abruptly started cheering aloud, all of them acting like madmen. They ran to the little girl’s side and lifted her up, tossing her again and again into the sky and jokingly shouting phrases like “Hero’s bride,” “Dark Sun’s bride.”

On the other hand, Bramble stood off to the side, expression as foul as, as excrement… Cough! Excuse my rudeness. Even so, he could not prevent everyone from celebrating. Finally, even he laughed out loud, tears dripping from the corners of his eyes.

A real hero is one who shoulders the hope of the entire world – and stands up again.

I could not help looking up at the sky and saying a heartfelt compliment.

“Dark Sun, you are a true hero.”

The rooftop was as rambunctious as a dinner party. The bodyguards were so happy they had forgotten that the whereabouts of the person they were supposed to protect to the death were still unknown. Noticing this, I left the rooftop, intent on continuing to clean the house. Yet the moment I opened the door, I realized that the living room was not in the spotless state I had left it in.

The floor had footsteps marked with dirt besides the red liquid spreading over it. The pencil holder on the table had also been knocked down, its contents rolling on the floor.

I bent down, touched a little of the liquid on the floor, and realized, with no surprise, that it was fresh blood yet to dry.

I followed the trail of blood and came to the kitchen. The handles of the cabinet that I stocked bread in were also stained with blood. Upon opening it, I saw that all the bread had disappeared. The fridge had not been left untouched either. I had placed a lot of family-sized milk bottles inside, as the young master really adores drinking milk.

Now, however, there were only two or three bottles lying haphazardly on their sides. I righted them and continued following the blood streaks. This time, I arrived before the young master’s room. The door was not even closed, so I just walked straight in.

The windows inside the room were open, strong winds blowing the curtains high into the air. I went over to close the windows. When I lowered my head, I saw that the windowsills were also completely stained with blood. The blood trail extended from here all the way to the kitchen and finally the living room before disappearing in front of the wall behind the television. In other words, it disappeared before the mysterious workshop.

I returned to the living room and took the TV’s remote control, pressing down on the sun symbol on it for three seconds with my thumb. Originally, the young master had already set it so that even I can come and go to the workshop as I pleased so that I could head in there to clean as needed. Now, however, the workshop did not open.

The screen showed, “Workshop has been locked.”

I stared at the workshop, momentarily not knowing how to react.

Did the young master lock himself inside? The floors are all stained with blood. Did he get hurt? Not to mention that the large amount of blood made it even clearer that this blood smelled strange, not pure, exactly like what I had previously smelled.

Ring… Ring…

The sudden phone call broke off my train of thought. I answered it and greeted respectfully, “Hello, Mr. Kyle.”

Mr. Kyle cut straight to the point. “Where is the young master?”

“Young Master is currently not at home…” I pondered on whether to tell Mr. Kyle about the house’s condition. After all, the pools of blood were most probably from the young master. The young master must have suffered injuries that were not light.

“He is definitely at home. If not, he wouldn’t have switched off the surveillance cameras. Hurry up and check on the young master’s condition,” Mr. Kyle ordered in an extremely stern tone.

I froze for a moment. The young master has shut down the surveillance cameras?

“Mr. Kyle, I have just investigated. There is no trace of the young master anywhere, but I am unable to enter the workshop.”

No reply came from the other end of the line, but I distinctly heard someone roaring and also Mr. Kyle’s voice besides other unfamiliar voices.

A long time passed. I could only hold onto the phone and wait for a reply. Only after almost a full hour was there any reply from the other end.

Mr. Kyle ordered me in a somewhat tired voice, “The young master is currently within the workshop. Prepare an even greater portion of food for him than usual, leave it in the living room, and then return to your room. There’s nothing else that concerns you. Don’t spy on young master’s condition.”

“May I ask what to do if the young master still does not come out of the workshop tomorrow morning?”

“Then keep on preparing food for him, and then help him ask for leave from his school. After that, go back to your room and ignore everything else.”

“Yes.”

He hung up. I started preparing food, including the young master’s favorite fried chicken, fries, a large glass of milk, and three tubs of ice cream. After mulling it over, I placed an emergency kit by the food.

Although I really wanted to clean up the mess on the floor, I had to obey Mr. Kyle’s orders. I placed the food down and returned to my own room without taking care of anything else.

Three days passed by in the same fashion. The morning after the third day, when I walked into the living room carrying a tray of breakfast, the young master was already sitting there, looking like he was waiting for me.

The young master had changed into a clean dress shirt and jeans. He grinned at me. “Morning, Charles.”

“Good morning, Young Master.”

I set down breakfast and, like usual, served him. Like usual, the young master began his high-speed style of eating.

Although I did not ask anything, I could not help wondering… Could the young master be Dark Sun?

The same hair color, similar body shapes. When the young master disappeared, Dark Sun appeared. When Dark Sun had gotten hurt, the young master had also bled all over the house and even locked himself inside his private workshop for three days… All these indications really raised my suspicion. Perhaps the young master is Dark Sun?

I could not help secretly sizing up the young master. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with both forearms revealed.

Dark Sun’s right arm was missing a chunk of flesh. However, the young master did not even have a scratch on his arm… I suddenly recalled the twenty centimeters or so long, uneven scar on the young master’s arm I had once seen. Even that had disappeared!

If a 20cm long scar could disappear in three days, then could a missing chunk of flesh be healed in three days as well?

I looked at the young master. From any angle, he looked like a weak, gentle young man. However, the young master was a student specializing in the combat major. At the very least, his marksmanship was good, he could throw some 200-odd bodyguards off his trail, his wounds could heal within a very short time, and his blood smelled strange…

I could not help but to ask, “Young Master, what sort of person are you truly?”

Hearing this, the young master paused and stopped his motion of eating. He looked up at me. After a long moment passed, only then did he ask, “Aren’t I your young master? Who else would I be? Or are you hoping that I’m someone else?”

I started. Could I have unconsciously hoped that the young master was Dark Sun? If the young master whom I am serving is also a hero, then I might also feel proud and honored…

“To me, Charles is a gentle and attentive butler. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a vampire or a human!”

I was at a loss for words. As long as I am a gentle and attentive butler, then it does not matter whether or not I am a vampire or human?

The young master matter-of-factly said all this and then stared at me. He asked worriedly, “Charles, to you, besides being ‘young master,’ are all my other identities also important?”

“No!”

I bowed deeply and apologized profusely. “Charles has been rude. Young Master is right. Charles is a butler. To a butler, Young Master is Young Master. Even if Young Master has a multitude of identities, Young Master will still only be Young Master.”

When I finished, the young master smiled brilliantly at me. From it, I once again realized how foolish I had been. I did not wish that the young master would look at me differently because I was of a different race, yet I had hoped that the young master was a hero and not a normal person, so that I, his butler, could also feel honored…

Dear Father, if you knew of this in heaven, you would definitely scold me for my greed and foolishness!

While I was in the midst of my regret, the young master had already looked down and continued speed-eating.

After breakfast, the young master intended to take his bag and head to school. After my reminder, only then did he realize that today was Saturday. There was no need to go to school.

The young master stopped and tilted his head to the side. His expression was perplexed. “It’s already Saturday… Ah! Charles, what’s the date today?”

I immediately reported the date and year.

The young master immediately turned to look at the clock on the wall. Then, he patted his chest. Relief in his expression, he said, “Phew… Luckily, it’s daytime right now.”

Young Master… Did you not notice that you were eating breakfast just now? I did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Charles, after dinner, accompany me out for a while!”

“Yes, Young Master.” I nodded.

“Hm.” The young master tilted his head to think. “Then we should go out and buy clothes in the afternoon. If we dress too nicely, we’ll definitely run into trouble at that sort of place.”

That sort of place? I was bewildered but still nodded and replied “Yes.”

After that, the young master went into his secret workshop again and began modifying his guns. I began to clean the house. Although I normally did not work in the morning, upon seeing the state of the living room and workshop, with the floors still smeared with dried blood, I could not allow the young master to remain in such dirty surroundings while I myself headed off to sleep in my metal cabinet.

I put on an apron and took a pail of water, disinfectant, bleach, rags, and a brush. Once I had everything on hand, I was determined to thoroughly clean the three-day-old bloodstains.

Curious, the young master turned around to look at me and asked, “Charles, aren’t you going to sleep? We still have to go out and shop for clothes later in the afternoon!”

“Young Master, I think cleaning this up is more important. It’s fine even if I don’t sleep for a day.”

The young master nodded, watched me clean the floors for a while, then said, “Charles, you… When you’re wearing an apron, kneeling, and wiping the floor… You look very…”

Very… Very dutiful? Very serious?