Chapter 313
313 – [Theatrical Version] Hidden Village
“Gravekeeper clan?”
Mr. Ryusuke expressed his doubts at the appearance of a word he had never heard before, but judging by their looks, the two did not seem to want to talk.
While we were hesitating, the two men who came down the stairs spoke once again in Japanese.
“Get out of here right now, strangers. If you don’t, I will use force.”
Seeing that, Ryuji and I stepped forward.
“Ryusuke, please step back.”
“Mom, Yuika, step back.”
It’s truly an imminent situation.
The front was blocked by men, and the back was blocked by a blade trap.
If we fight, we will win, but considering the safety of the other party members, I thought it would be better to calmly follow the men’s instructions.
So it was time to raise both hands in obedient surrender.
[Ruthless!]
Suddenly, Mahesu, who was standing behind Ryuji, spoke out in a solemn voice.
[Those in charge of guarding the tomb dare to shout loudly at the owner of the tomb!]
Then the two men looked visibly embarrassed.
“What… ?”
“… No way?”
[Why can’t you just kneel!]
Only then did the two people seem to have fully grasped the situation, so they hurriedly got down on both knees and bowed deeply towards Mahes.
“Oh! Great Pharaoh!”
“You have returned as per legend!”
We couldn’t help but be dumbfounded as the two overbearing men suddenly appeared in a low posture, bowing their heads.
Rather, do those people see Mahes?
When we looked at Mahes with anxious expressions, he admonished the two men, telling them to leave it to him.
[The people here are the benefactor and his family who took him out of the grave the day he was asleep. So from now on, I will consider insults towards them as insults towards me.]
“”Yes!!””
Two men answer with a completely disciplined look.
It almost feels like the threat he was giving us just a moment ago was a lie.
Eventually, the two men stood up, looked at Mahes’s eyes her, and asked us.
“Can you please give us a moment?”
“Please, there is something I would like to explain.”
After hearing that, Ryuji and I looked at Mr. Ryusuke.
Because we were not the final decision makers for the group.
When attention was immediately focused on you, ahem! Mr. Ryusuke cleared his throat and spoke with a serious expression.
“I think it will be difficult to explore any further today anyway, so let’s follow them and listen to their story.”
***
The two Egyptians who met at the tomb of Mahes introduced their names as Salman and Abdul.
When I came back outside through the same path I took on my way here, the sky had already been colored with a red sunset.
“There is a village of our gravekeeper clan near here. Let’s go there together.”
Salman and Abdul, who said this in a very polite tone, got into the pickup truck that they had hidden behind a nearby rock pillar.
We followed the two people in a jeep truck driven by Mr. Ryusuke.
About 30 minutes after leaving the Valley of the Kings, we entered a small village built between steep rocky valleys.
“We have arrived.”
When Salman and Abdul got out of the pickup truck that was driving ahead, we stopped at the entrance of the village, got out of the car, and started following them on foot.
“Where are we going now?”
As Ryuji muttered that while being wary of his surroundings, Sumire-san spoke.
“I guess I’m going to the biggest house on the hill.”
Indeed, as Sumire said, the place they were heading to seemed like the biggest house on the hill.
This is probably where the village chief or the most powerful person in the village lives.
And as if this guess was correct, the place Salman and Abdul took us was the biggest house on the hill.
Knock!
“Aisha, we have brought you a guest.”
When Salman, as the representative, knocked on the door of the house, a faint voice was heard from inside.
“Please come inside.”
Then Abdul himself opened the door and cleared the way.
“Let’s go in.”
After slightly bowing my head to him as a sign of gratitude, I entered the house and the interior structure, which was simpler than I expected, came into view.
But what caught our attention more than anything else was the black-haired woman standing in front of the small altar in the center of the house.
“Welcome, great pharaohs and strangers from distant lands. We have been waiting for you.”
The woman said that and looked straight at Mahes, who followed us into the house.
It seemed like Mahes could be seen even without touching the strange headdress like Salman and Abdul.
[Sweetheart, you’re talking as if you already knew we would come.]
Then the woman named Aisha nodded her head and pointed toward her altar.
“Compared to the ancient shamans, their skills are only minor, but they know how to predict fate by looking at the stars.”
[Hmm.]
After listening to her and nodding her head, Mahes asked bluntly:
[What are you?]
Then the woman named Aisha looked straight at Mahes and said.
“We are descendants of the warriors of the sun who have lived in this valley for thousands of years. After the death of the greatest Pharaoh, his subjects built a place not far from the tomb to protect it from the hands of dark clans and grave robbers. We created a village.”
[Is that what this village is?]
“That’s the way it is.”
Although she might have been intimidated by Mahes, who was much larger than her, the woman named Aisha was confident throughout.
At that moment, Aisha asked a question in return.
“Pharaoh, if you don’t mind, may I ask your humble servant one question?”
[I allow it.]
Then Aisha said thank you and opened her mouth.
“According to the legend of our ancestors, the greatest pharaoh will be resurrected when a great crisis comes to Egypt. Is now that time?”
Then Mahes placed his hand on her waist and answered confidently.
[I don’t know either.]
“Yes?”
[When I was alive, I fought against Set simply because I did not want to see my people suffer. I’ve never thought about something like that in the distant future.]
Then Aisha’s expression changed complicatedly.
That probably wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear.
However, perhaps because he could not say anything bad in front of the pharaoh whom his clan had been waiting for for thousands of years, he looked at Abdul and Salman, who were watching us talking, and spoke.
“They are precious guests. Please give these people an empty house in the village.”
Then Mr. Ryusuke said with a puzzled expression.
“Oh, we already have a hotel reservation, so we have to go back to downtown Luxor… “
Then Aisha spoke with a calm expression.
“The desert at night is dangerous. Let’s stay one night.”
Her firm attitude made it seem like she wouldn’t tolerate rejection.
“Then… I guess so.”
In the end, Mr. Ryusuke, who was pushed back by the momentum, raised the white flag first, and tonight’s residence was decided.
***
The house Aisha gave us was a small house on the outskirts of the village.
“Ah~ I’m tired~”
After leaving Cairo in the morning, Yuika lay down on the bed, probably because she had been wandering around all day.
Sumire saw that and scolded her, telling her to wash up and go to bed, but Yuika just rolled around on the bed, ignoring her.
Seeing that, I smiled bitterly and asked Mahes, who was sitting next to Ryuji and watching him play the game.
“By the way, Mahes, who is the Set you mentioned earlier?”
Then Mahes, who was asked a question, scratched his cheek and answered.
[He is my nemesis.]
“A nemesis?”
[Set, a man of war, slaughter, and destruction, led his followers in a war of conquest against all of Egypt. My father was captured and executed while rallying people to resist Set. Thanks to that, I was raised by my mother without a father.]
Mahes said that and looked into the distance.
[The fight with him lasted nearly 10 years. If luck had not been on our side in the last battle, it would probably have been him, not me, who became a legend in the world.]
After hearing that, I shrugged my shoulders and said.
“Luck is also a skill.”
[What?]
“If it were possible to leave a mark in history simply by having talent or power, the world would be full of great people. But that’s not true, right?”
Upon hearing my logic, Mahes seemed astonished and muttered as if he liked it.
[… ] ] Is luck also a skill?]
Then Ryuji, who was concentrating on playing the game, said as if he was dumbfounded.
“I was wondering what he was talking about, but he was talking nonsense with a serious face.”
“I just gave him some comfort, because Mahes seemed depressed.”
“This guy?”
Ryuji pointed at Mahes as if he were dumbfounded, but then he looked surprised to see that he had a serious expression on his face, which was very rare.
Soon, Mahes looked at me and said.
[Thank you for your concern. Yuseong Kim. It was a great comfort.]
“You’re welcome, compared to the help I gave you in Kyoto before, this is nothing.”
When I said that and held out my right fist, Mahes looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and hit his fist.
Ryuji said after seeing that.
“You two get along strangely well?”
Then Mahes and I answered at the same time.
“It’s an illusion.”
[It is an illusion.]
Then Ryuji chuckled and said, “Look at that.”
As I was scratching my head in strange embarrassment, Ms. Sumire, who had entered the room, came out with a surprised expression.
“Guys! Come here!”
Sumire had an old radio in her hands
As I approached to see what was going on, the nervous voice of a female announcer came out of the speaker of the old radio.
“Right now, bloodshed caused by armed forces is taking place throughout Cairo. Citizens, please refrain from going out and wait for the next instructions at home… “aaah!”
Crackling! Support!
The radio cut off with a woman’s piercing scream, and we looked at each other with nervous faces.
“It seems like something scary is happening?”
“Is this the ‘big crisis’ that person named Aisha mentioned earlier?”
“Could it be that a coup took place?”
We put our heads together and tried to reason as much as we could, but there were limits to what we could figure out with the limited information.
“Anyway, let’s sleep for now. If I’m tired, I won’t be able to do anything tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
It felt uneasy, but like Ryuji said, there was nothing we could do right now, so we decided to sleep for now.
All night without any idea what was happening in Cairo.
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