Chapter 10: The Brothers in the Sky
No matter how magnificent a performance, it must come to an end.
After Hikigaya had thoroughly cleansed Meritamun's entire body with his divine power, he stopped absorbing sunlight from the other side of the earth, bringing a perfect full stop to this miracle.
But in truth, this was more of an ellipsis than a full stop, because when he turned around, he found the ground behind him covered with what seemed to be kneeling humans.
Only Ramesses stood firm, though from his guilty expression, he was far from confident.
Hikigaya was well aware of the consequences his actions would bring in this era of Egypt.
Ramesses was undoubtedly the one who would gain the most from this—there was no second.
Moreover, Hikigaya trusted that Ramesses would use this advantage wisely.
This guy was known in history for skillfully seizing power; under his hands, the Pharaoh's authority reached the pinnacle of ancient Egyptian history.
Suddenly, Hikigaya thought watching an internal royal conflict of ancient Egypt might be quite entertaining—it was much more thrilling than watching TV dramas.
Later generations left few records of Ramesses's personal affairs.
The towering temples preserved only praises and hymns celebrating him. Before this time-travel, Hikigaya only knew Ramesses had a brother who died young.
But Hikigaya had not just barged into the palace blindly.
Beforehand, using his unique methods, he had gathered a lot of information.
For example, he knew Ramesses's brother was still alive and, secretly supported by many nobles, was coveting the Pharaoh's position.
The historically strongest Pharaoh Ramesses and his wife had been forced into a defensive stance, which showed this brother was indeed a formidable contender.
This made Hikigaya quite curious—was this brother, who historically died young, actually this very one?
"All right, your daughter is fine now." Hikigaya walked over to Ramesses and returned the baby girl to him.
The others remained lying face down on the ground; such a ritual that hid the face from the person being honored was truly sly.
"Is she saved?" Ramesses asked, still not fully coming to his senses, his question somewhat foolish.
Hikigaya felt he should show off his confident, divine-healer charisma—did this guy even realize the kind of ultra VIP treatment his daughter had just received?
But before Hikigaya could begin lecturing, he was interrupted.
A servant burst in, flustered.
"My lord, your brother wishes to pay a visit."
His voice made everyone look up.
At this moment, these palace workers finally regained their senses and all looked at Ramesses—not at Hikigaya, the one who had just performed a miracle that left them stunned.
From another angle, this was their best response: Hikigaya was not the Pharaoh, yet they had just bowed to him with the kind of grand respect reserved only for the Pharaoh.
That was quite awkward.
"Oh, my dear brother has come so soon." Ramesses's composure returned, and Hikigaya clearly saw a murderous gleam in his eyes.
Political enemies really were the best brain tonic.
"Tell him I am tired. We'll meet tomorrow." The Pharaoh said to the servant.
Then, he handed his daughter to the High Priestess who was now standing nearby.
"Lady, please examine my daughter once more. This is a necessary procedure."
To Hikigaya, Ramesses looked as if he had swallowed gunpowder, his expression toward the High Priestess fierce and grim.
Without a doubt, this priestess was going to be in trouble later at Ramesses's hands—the way she had acted earlier was somewhat arrogant.
"Perhaps it is unnecessary, my king." The priestess's expression was complicated; she switched her form of address to Ramesses. "The black cloth that once obscured your daughter's fate has been torn. From her, I see a priestess's robe, a tall and noble woman, and several temple stones—this is a solemn and simple life."
Ramesses's face relaxed. Hikigaya inwardly cursed himself for not seeing it.
Yes, this was probably the official Egyptian priestly way of flattering—very poetic.
"I will build a temple for the goddess Hathor, to thank her for her generosity," Ramesses responded.
At the same time, in his heart he added quietly—no need to build too big, just a small one for appearances.
From how close his daughter had been to death tonight, Hathor's power was clearly limited and unreliable.
Of course, he was pleased that he had thus received the life temple's obeisance; he was surely favored by the gods.
"All right, you may withdraw."
Ramesses's true nature was fully exposed in that moment.
He practically snarled his words at the High Priestess of the life temple. Yet this once aloof lady was now quite meek.
She cast a nervous glance at Hikigaya and fully accepted the Pharaoh's overbearing order, obediently leading her subordinates away through the small corridor beside the queen's chamber.
Ramesses now ignored them. He looked lovingly at his peacefully sleeping daughter, kissed her forehead gently, carefully handed her to a maid, then waved his hand.
"All of you may leave. Go back to the queen's quarters."
The servants all withdrew, leaving only the guards who had accompanied Ramesses.
Then Hikigaya saw Ramesses grin at him broadly—like a mischievous kid.
"You should be a rich man."
Rich man?
Hikigaya recalled that in this era of ancient Egypt, barter was still the main form of trade, with hard currency being grain; gold and other precious metals circulated only in limited situations.
This thought chilled him—imagine hauling a cart full of grain to buy things? No thanks, the image was too pretty and unrealistic for him.
"No thanks, I don't need your money." Hikigaya waved his hand magnanimously but was inwardly bleeding.
Maybe in three years, if someone said that to him, he'd be happy to accept.
He didn't notice the "I knew it" expression on Ramesses's face across from him.
"Don't you want anything? Please don't misunderstand, this is a gift between friends." The Pharaoh continued.
Hikigaya was troubled.
After thinking it over, he felt there was really nothing in the palace that interested him.
He didn't care for treasure.
He had no expectations for food—even though Egyptians invented bread.
As for clothes, even less so. Before Egypt's frequent contact with Asians, they basically didn't wear clothes.
At best, clothes had become important accessories. He could run naked and still be fine.
As for women... all the oily-smelling women were better left alone. Besides, even though he was carefree, now was not the time to make such demands; he still had two sisters missing.
So after much thought, Hikigaya decided to get back to the point—his fundamental reason for entering the palace and healing Ramesses's daughter.
"I lost my friends. They should all be in your land," Hikigaya said. "Could you help me find them?"
"That's easy." Ramesses immediately ordered a soldier nearby. "Bring the painter."
The soldier responded and ran off.
Ramesses then stepped forward, speaking to Hikigaya in a friendly manner.
"I am Pharaoh. Your friends will surely be found, but until then, please be patient."
"That's fine. They won't be in danger. Finding them is enough."
"Do you like wine? When my father campaigned against northern enemies, he brought back several jars of fine wine. I hope you will share a drink with me."
Spoils of Set I?
Hikigaya's interest was slightly piqued.
As far as he knew, Set I had fought more wars than Ramesses.
This Pharaoh was the first of the 19th Dynasty to restore Egypt's Asian territories on a large scale.
His first expedition reasserted Egyptian control over the southern part of what would later be called Palestine but was then known as Canaan. Before him, Egyptian armies had not set foot on Asian soil for fifty years.
"Then I won't refuse." Hikigaya said happily. "Also, I'm very interested in his stories. Could you tell me about them?"
"I'd be very glad to." Ramesses was also pleased.
He increasingly believed Hikigaya was truly the brother of his father in heaven.
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