Non-Human Seeking Re-employment
Chapter 18

(How to be Friendly)

Edited by Silver Wind

Breakfast was also western styled.

The sliced bread was toasted just right, and the  semi-melted cheese and ham was sandwiched between it; with a scorched and crispy outer layer and soft and tender middle, complemented by a glass of piping hot fresh milk, it was a perfect meal to have after waking up from a night's slumber.

Naturally, only Shen Dongqing thought so.

As Shen Dongqing bit into a well-done fried egg, he made a belated realisation: "We're one person short?"

The bearded man did not show up today.

The chequered shirt otaku said: "I managed to replace him when I went to knock on the door, but he said that he wasn't feeling well and he didn't want to come down."

He was fine when they saw him last night, and it was impossible for him to become sick to the extent where he could not leave the room in the short period of time between dusk and dawn.

Unless the bearded man had touched something he should not have touched.

The balding middle-aged man frowned: "Did he leave his room last night?"

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan looked at each other.

The clearance condition given by the game were to either kill the Earl or survive through the Bumper Harvest Ceremony.

Last night, they had witnessed the Earl die so hard that he could not die again, and in accordance with the game logic, they should have cleared the copy by now.

However, they did not.

They were still in the castle.

Zhou Wenyan sipped on his milk and thought: Which means that the Earl is not so easy to kill.

Creak—

The dining hall's door opened.

The housekeeper walked in and said to the players: "The Earl's body has recuperated slightly, and he will be attending the banquet tonight. Five young ladies, please make the appropriate preparations."

Zhou Wenyan repeated her words: "Five?"

The housekeeper stared at him and said: "Yes."

Zhou Wenyan nodded, "I understand."

Giving Zhou Wenyan a stiff smile, the housekeeper slowly exited the hall.

The chequered shirt otaku asked: "Do you know something?"

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It seemed like the bearded man bode ill rather than well.

What scared them, however, was not the fact that their companion had died. Rather, their fear stemmed from the fact that they did not know why their companion had died.

Zhou Wenyan stood up and adjusted his cuffs as he spoke in a casual manner: "I'll give you a suggestion, it's best if you reject the nightly invitation from the Earl."

The Earl's Castle had an expansive library.

There were enough books to fill every inch of the wall from the corners to the roof, and every shelf was densely packed with all kinds of books.

Before afternoon tea, the guests were allowed to explore the castle and Shen Dongqing chose the library.

The reason behind his choice was because it provided sweet and delicious cookies with black tea.

Wu Jia pinched a biscuit, saying: "The Earl obviously died last night."

How was it possible for him to attend the banquet tonight?

Zhou Wenyan randomly selected a book from the wall and skimmed through it.

Wu Jia haphazardly took a guess: "Could he really be a vampire? But with the appearance he had last night, even a vampire would be hard pressed to live. Or is there something wrong with the method of killing?"

Compared to Wu Jia's anxiety, Zhou Wenyan seemed far more at ease.

He even had the energy to read the words written on the book.

Wu Jia: "Boss, can you please think of a way?"

Shen Dongqing was nibbling on his biscuit and making crunching noises when he abruptly spoke up, "The Earl is not human."

Wu Jia blurted out: "Non…" Nonsense, if he was human, he would have already died last night.

Zhou Wenyan raised his eyes and glanced at him.

Hurriedly, Wu Ji changed his words and laughed dryly: "You're right."

Brushing away the biscuit crumbs on his hands, he said: "When humans die, they will become ghosts; and even if a ghost were to die, there will always be a dissipation of yin energy. However, neither of the two showed such signs last night."

As a former ferocious ghost himself, Shen Dongqing could not be clearer regarding such matters.

Which meant that the Earl was neither a human nor a ghost.

Then what was he?

Wu Jia asked: "Is a vampire considered a ghost?"

Shen Dongqing: "Eh…"

That touched upon his blind spot.

Zhou Wenyan tapped on the hardcover of the book with his fingers which issued a series of dull noises.

He smiled when his two companions looked over: "I think we should go and look at Mr. Sideburns first."

Afterall, he was the first person to meet the Earl.

Because they were a step behind, they hadn't even seen the complete Earl.

The group returned to the third floor where the guest rooms were situated.

Shen Dongqing did not forget to pack away his little biscuits, and Zhou Wenyan conveniently remembered to take the book with him.

Since they had free time now, no one would stay in their room and wait for death, and they had all gone out in search for clues.

Wu Jia still remembered which room the bearded man was staying in and he went to knock on the door. However, no one responded and he decided to try to open the door directly.

Click—

Unfortunately, the door was locked.

Wu Jia: …..

Although Mr. Sideburns and Wu Jia's room were right to each other, there was two arms' worth of distance separating their balconies. When he looked down, what greeted him was a ten-meter abyss.

On the other hand, by virtue of his long legs and arms, Zhou Wenyan managed to jump over easily.

He stood on the other end and stretched his hand towards Shen Dongqing.

When the latter jumped over, he happened to land in Zhou Wenyan's arms. But having failed to kill his momentum in time, his head knocked against Zhou Wenyan's chest.

Zhou Wenyan whispered: "Does it hurt?"

Shen Dongqing raised his hand and smiled at him, "I'm fine."

A voice travelled over: "I'm not fine."

Wu Jia's body was lying face flat on the ground; due to the fact that his body was a little uncoordinated, it had been difficult for him to jump over. And to add insult to injury, he had to witness the difference in treatment that Shen Dongqing received despite both of them being companions to Zhou Wenyan when he turned his head towards them.

Was being good-looking all it was cracked up to be?

Zhou Wenyan ignored him and brought Shen Dongqing into the room.

Meanwhile, Wu Jia patted away the dust on his body.

Fine.

It was amazing to be attractive, especially when it suited the boss's taste.

Zhou Wenyan opened the curtains blocking the balcony and allowed Shen Dongqing to enter first.

After he let go of the fabric, the curtains fell again, isolating the room completely without allowing a single ray of sunlight through.

It was daylight without a doubt, but the room had fallen into pitch-black darkness.

Zhou Wenyan pulled open a small gap.

As soon as the sun shone in, a heart wrenching cry sounded from inside the room.

Zhou Wenyan ventured deeper into the room.

The bearded man was curled up in the corner and he was still wearing that blood-stained dress. Different from last night's insanity, his complexion was outrageously pale today, and he was powerless as he hid himself away, eyes teeming with fear for the sun.

Zhou Wenyan recalled the words written in the diary.

【 The ladies who have accompanied me are becoming ill of health one by one, their bodies are becoming weaker, and afraid…… 】

"Afraid of the sun," mused Zhou Wenyan, "Perhaps he really is a vampire?"

Wu Jia said: "Before I entered this unlucky game, I read two novels, and the vampires featured in it sucked the blood of others. When have they ever allowed people to kill them?"

"Are novels nice?"

As per usual, Shen Dongqing had drifted off into another tangent instead of grasping the main point.

Wu Jia answered him unconsciously: "It's alright, it's good for passing the time…"

Zhou Wenyan touched his chin: "It doesn't matter if he is a vampire or not; we'll know after we try it out tonight."

Wu Jia: "But the person who kills the Earl will probably meet the same ending as Sideburns."

Zhou Wenyan said: "Who said I was going to kill the Earl?"

Wu Jia: "?"

"Killing and slaughtering is very unpleasant." Zhou Wenyan let out a long sigh, "Why can't we ask the Earl a few questions in a friendly manner?"

Shen Dongqing asked curiously: "How friendly?"

Zhou Wenyan taught him, "For example, we should tie the Earl up first and then sit down while having a nice chat."

Wu Jia: Hehe, real friendly.