### Chapter 485 – Room 207, The Gate Room – First Trial – ‘Eternal Life and Resurrection’ (3)
—
– Miro
“Let’s introduce ourselves. Miro, meet Taiora. You’ve probably heard of each other, right? You two are my few friends, so let’s get along!”
To be honest, it’s my first time hearing Taiora’s name today.
Feels like he might be one of Aidia’s henchmen.
“Hello, Miss Miro. I’ve heard of you from Aidia. I’m Taiora.”
“… Yeah.”
“What kind of response is that?”
“Hi, I’m Miro.”
“Haha, come on! Is the beautiful lady feeling shy?”
“Oh my! Taiora, have you already bewildered Miro? She might look cute, but she can bite back, you know?”
“After all, roses come with thorns.”
Whoa there!
That kind of cheesy line is straight out of a soap opera from 30 years ago—
Wait, I guess we are in ancient times right now?
Is Taiora actually trying to sound sophisticated here, like 5000 years ahead of his time?
Meanwhile, it seems like black-clad men, likely his subordinates, are bringing in a dozen kids.
“Miro, are you just going to stand there with a pout?”
“Aidia, who are those kids over there?”
At that moment, Taiora’s expression noticeably stiffened.
“Miss Miro, perhaps it’s time to head in.”
“Wait, what? Miro should see this too.”
“Aidia, Miss Miro is still young, so—”
“She’s my friend! There should be no secrets among friends.”
What’s the atmosphere here? I don’t understand anything, what are they talking about?
“If that’s what Lady Aidia wishes, then understood. Miss Miro, please keep everything you see to yourself from now on.”
“… Excuse me, I don’t understand what you two are talking about.”
Aidia replied, “Miro, I’m about to perform a miracle.”
“A miracle?”
“The great power passed down by my illustrious ancestor – Menes!”
Menes, the great pharaoh who unified Egypt and was said to be the son of a god.
The fantastic powers passed down to his descendants…
“You should see for yourself. After all, today is the day you had to see it sooner or later.”
With that, Aidia walked toward the kids.
Despite the ominous atmosphere, the children were strangely dazed, looking as if they were under some spell.
Soon, on the soft fabric laid on the ground, Aidia knelt.
“Mother of all things, the beginning of everything, ruler of distant star worlds, great Menes… Here, your daughter stands. Please show me the future.”
And then—
—Flump!
The kids started to collapse, drained of color!
“Ah! What is happening—”
“Calm down; Aidia will explain everything soon.”
“Calm down? What do you mean the kids—”
Taiora firmly put his hand on my shoulder, holding me in place.
This clearly looks like some evil dark magic!
I never thought Aidia could turn out to be the villain, but is she really a character like this?
Should I immediately use some time-reversal magic to stop this?
But! The teacher said to avoid doing anything when alone if at all possible!
As I froze, not knowing what to do, the strange ritual concluded, and Aidia came closer.
“Miro, shocked?”
“…”
“Relax! I’ll explain it all to you.”
She carefully described what had just happened.
Yes, she had drawn on the life force of the children, and her goal was to see their ‘destiny.’
Since kids have more residual lifespan than adults, exhausting some of their life force wouldn’t lead to death.
Moreover, she never abused her ability to see destiny; she used it solely for the future of Egypt.
“So you sacrificed the kids for Egypt’s future?”
“Sacrifice? That’s mistaken. I believe I have received help from these children, not that they’re sacrifices.”
“But if you draw on their life force, ultimately they’ll die—”
“Just three times! I won’t do it more than that. After that, I’ll take responsibility for their future.”
“… Take responsibility for the future?”
“These kids all come from slave backgrounds. They’re either from poor families or orphans. But not anymore. After helping me just two more times, I’ll ensure these kids will live happily.”
“…”
“I’ll get them adopted into wealthy families, find them jobs in the palace, or even have them work in my mansion. Either way, they won’t need to worry about survival anymore.”
“…”
I understood her words.
Those children were all beings left with nothing but a miserable fate as slaves.
Aidia regularly brings them in, extracts their life force three times, and then looks after their future.
Confusing.
Even if they pull in an additional 20 or 30 years from their lifespan, wouldn’t it be much better to live under Aidia’s care than as a slave?
Thinking like that, there aren’t any real victims here.
Aidia reads destiny and helps the kingdom, and the kids escape a slave’s fate.
“Got it? If you don’t believe me, I can show you the kids I care for.”
“… You don’t need to prove it.”
Given her status as a pharaoh’s daughter and her mysterious powers, fixing the fates of a few children shouldn’t be tough at all.
“I mean, um, so—”
I was at a loss for how to react when a familiar, sharp voice cut through the tension.
“This is quite a ridiculous story.”
As everyone—Aidia and even Taiora—turned toward the source of the voice in shock, they found Seungyub and Yu Songee appearing.
“What were you doing, taking the kids away? Looks like there are all sorts of strange magic tricks even in this era.”
“Whoa! You! Did you come tracking me or what?”
“… Taiora, who is that woman?”
“I-I don’t know! She just appeared out of nowhere while we were rescuing the children!”
“Aha! I should introduce myself. I’m Yu Songee, the precious daughter of the sky deity – Horus!”
“Horus?”
I couldn’t hold back a laugh.
Sure, you can make up an identity pseudo-casually, but why pick “Horus”?
That’s straight from the Egyptian mythology we know.
Meanwhile, the deity here seems to be some obscure character called “Malkab” I’ve never heard of before.
This whole situation feels like a bizarre joke.
“Whether you’re Horus’s daughter or whatever, this place isn’t open to just anyone…”
“Speaking of which, I’ve heard the Pharaoh is on the brink of death?”
Oops!
As soon as I heard that, I understood why Yu Songee had shown up.
The doctor had lost the blessing of diligence and, with it, his supernatural healing powers, unable to treat the dying Pharaoh.
But what if Yu Songee can?
After all, her magic should be perfectly intact!
“… And what does that have to do with you?”
“I might be able to raise him from his sickbed.”
“Ha! The most skilled physician in Egypt was powerless, though—”
I quickly interjected.
“Aidia! Listen to me!”
“Miss Miro, you should politely—”
“Shush! Miro, speak.”
I once met Yu Songee as a child, and I dragged her into a bullshit tale about how she healed the sick.
Honestly, it was an impromptu lie, but Yu Song quickly rolled with it, turning it into a convincing story.
“… What is happening all of a sudden?”
Aidia was in just as much confusion as I had been earlier.
Yu Songee finished her trick.
“Here, take a look at this.”
She rolled up her white sleeve and scratched it with a sharp nail.
In a flash, enough blood flowed to dampen her wrist, making everyone’s eyes go wide.
Then, when she lightly tapped the wound, it miraculously stopped bleeding.
“…”
“No scars left, see?”
“… You do indeed have quite the remarkable skills.”
In the end, Aidia asked Yu Songee to head to the palace and heal the Pharaoh.
“Gladly.”
“And if you heal my father, you’ll receive a treasure of untold value—”
“Don’t need any of that.”
“…”
“Instead, may I ask you one question?”
“Of course.”
Yu Songee soon reminded everyone of a fact they’d forgotten.
“You drew on the children’s life force to see the future, right?”
“…”
“I’ve been curious since earlier. What future did you see?”
“…”
“If you dare lie or hide anything….”
Yu Songee’s trailing words left no ambiguity in what she meant.
If she wanted to heal the Pharaoh, she would need to reveal the prophecy.
Thinking about it, I became curious too.
Let’s consider it like Arina and Kain, always acting smart!
The hotel wouldn’t include meaningless scenes while composing a, uh, “scenario,” right?
What the heck did the future she saw involve, bringing these kids in and pulling on their life force?
“E-Everyone has to know?”
Aidia’s reaction caught me off guard.
I expected her to attempt to hide or feign ignorance about it.
Instead, she suddenly turned crimson and flashed an embarrassment-filled expression.
Yu Songee chuckled.
“Then, just whisper it in my ear.”
“W-well, it’s not like that… Taiora! Take the kids out! Get ready to head to the palace. The lady and that young boy also need to go.”
Wait, you want just the men to exit?
Taiora and Seungyub looked skeptical about the situation but took the dazed kids outside.
A little while later, Aidia began to recount the future she had seen.
“I’m, um, saying that, in the future….”
“In the future?”
“… I’m going to have a ton of kids.”
“…”
“A whole lot of kids.”
“…”
“W-wait, I’m not joking! Seriously—”
“Okay, let’s depart.”
What a bizarre prophecy.
Its content was absurd, and moreover, it seemed entirely unrelated to the Pharaoh’s imminent situation.
Clearly, it holds significance, perhaps something crucial…
But I couldn’t grasp it.
—
– Yu Songee
I’m a junior priestess for the Malkab order, and the teacher is the Pharaoh’s chief physician.
Since it’s rare to meet in private, I need to convey what’s important when we do.
In moments like this, I really value my grandfather’s conversation tab.
“… Did you get that?”
“Umm, I understand.”
Two days ago, Omar had been demanding the immortal sarcophagus from Hesperia, and Hesperia had told him to send someone else.
So, the guards ushered everyone out, including the junior priests, and left only the two of them.
…
Are you telling me they left without a struggle?
I have a bracelet, though!
It’s hard to maneuver many perspectives simultaneously.
So, in a situation with the Pharaoh, Hesperia, junior priests, and guards present, I couldn’t really use it effectively.
However, with just Hesperia and Omar left for security, it became easier to manage!
The Pharaoh couldn’t even rise from his bed, so I only had to deceive Hesperia!
Naturally, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
If I exaggerated, I’d want to claim I was shooting a spy movie.
The problem is, nobody else knows it’s a movie!
“Good job shooting a spy flick.”
“…”
“Let’s summarize what Songee has eavesdropped on. The immortal sarcophagus is where ‘Menes’ sleeps?”
“Yes. That’s what the Malkab order sacrificed to Menes for eternal life.”
“Then, Omar must have a hard time coveting the sarcophagus.”
Digging into the tomb of Menes, the founder of Egypt—who could possibly do that?
No matter how lofty the authority of the current Pharaoh, it wouldn’t be easy.
Even more so, isn’t a superhuman who was closer to a god sleeping inside?
Setting aside justification and morality, if Menes woke up, who knows how he might smack Omar down.
“Omar gives up on the sarcophagus. Instead, Hesperia made another proposal.”
“Give up on the tomb where your ancestors lie. Instead, accept the blessing of Malkab, the god of the afterlife, and become his apostle.”
“What do you think that means?”
“No idea. It’s not in the scriptures.”
At this moment, we’ve uncovered several key terms.
The dying Pharaoh, Omar.
The great Pharaoh Menes, still alive in the immortal sarcophagus.
All connected to the Malkab order.
The high priest of the order suggesting the current Pharaoh become Malkab’s apostle instead of seeking the sarcophagus.
It’s all begun to feel like it’s on the tip of my tongue, yet still eluding me.
So who’s the boss here?
“Teacher, who might the boss be?”
“I thought it might be Menes lying in the sarcophagus. I feel embarrassed saying this, but a mortal king is unlikely to be our boss now, is it?”
That’s not a wrong claim.
One needs to be at least an offspring of a god and capable of performing miracles to receive such recognition from us.
“Menes?”
“I imagined a scenario where Menes would awaken for some reason and annihilate ‘fallen Egypt’—it’s Omar who seeks to awaken him.”
“That sounds plausible.”
“Now, other thoughts come to mind.”
“Yeah?”
“Apostle of Malkab… Songee, may I ask you a rather blunt question? What exactly is Malkab?”
What in the world is Malkab?
“It’s not just a fictional being imagined by ancient humans. The sarcophagus and apostles are evidence of Malkab’s existing supernatural presence.”
This strangely twisted Egypt; the gods are indeed real.
“If it’s a being worthy of being worshipped by ancient humans, doesn’t that also qualify him as the boss?”
“…”
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