Chapter 31: Pharaoh's Boyfriend Is About to Stir Up Trouble
After Hikigaya finished his utterly unproductive conversation with Nefertari, he realized that both Moses and Ramesses were no longer in sight.
In Ramesses' place, hosting the guests now, was his mother—the Great Queen Tuya, widow of Seti I.
By modern standards, she didn't even qualify as "aging"; she was only in her early thirties.
Her high status gave her a dignified aura, and even now, her delicate features still carried an undeniable pride.
But when she saw Hikigaya, that pride vanished, replaced by a warm, almost familial expression.
"Thank you so much for staying by his side. It means a great deal to him."
The Great Queen spoke kindly.
Hikigaya responded with a polite nod, saying nothing.
From Tuya's current demeanor, it was clear: Ramesses' situation was not looking good.
In ancient Egypt, officials were trained to say as little as possible to avoid offending the pharaoh—and getting themselves executed.
But Hikigaya didn't see any of that caution in the officials surrounding Ramesses.
The pharaoh's authority clearly extended only as far as the royal family's immediate control—not throughout all of Egypt.
This weakness was fully exposed during the Battle of Kadesh in actual history.
Despite being ruler of the world's most powerful kingdom, Ramesses couldn't effectively mobilize the regional aristocracy. He relied primarily on the manpower and resources of the pharaoh's direct territories.
Due to a lack of population, he had to aggressively recruit foreign mercenaries.
His royal guard was mainly composed of Sherden warriors, and previously minor ethnic groups like the Nubians and Shardana had become crucial elements of his army.
Before Ramesses, foreign troops had never made up such a large portion of Egypt's military. But under his reign, they grew so numerous and uncontrollable that, once the Ramesside dynasty lost its grip on them, they were the very forces that destroyed it.
Since Moses was nowhere to be found, Hikigaya quickly lost interest in mingling at the banquet.
He left the hall, passed through the royal garden, and entered another building.
There, he found numerous empty cages.
He remembered Moses mentioning that some parts of the new palace were set aside for officials moving in—and included exotic birds and animals to delight their senses. These cages must have been for that purpose.
Hikigaya wandered for a while, noting how deserted and empty it was. Frankly, he was bored.
The architecture of this era couldn't withstand close inspection—it was all about grandeur, but due to limited techniques, that grandeur wasn't really felt from within the structures. Knossos was like that. So was Ramesses City.
Suddenly, Hikigaya sensed a shift in the air—someone was nearby. Their voices drifted toward him on a breeze.
"You seem very tired, Moses. Could we postpone this conversation until tomorrow?"
Huh? That's Ramesses' voice, right? So Moses asked to have a private chat?
Nice. Sounds juicy. Time to eavesdrop.
Hikigaya was fired up. His body blurred and dissolved into mist, merging with the wind and air.
Floating along, he soon arrived on the opposite side of the banquet hall.
He saw Moses, leaning against a pillar, arms folded, face haggard, unable to meet Ramesses' gaze.
Ramesses, meanwhile, looked grim—wearing that classic "cut the crap and bring your head over here so I can put a crown on it" expression…
"I don't want to keep pretending anymore."
"Pretending what?"
Whoa. Drama alert. Where's the popcorn? Ramesses, you sly dog—you really do swing both ways, huh?! I totally misjudged you!
"I'm Hebrew. And I believe in monotheism. You're Egyptian. You worship idols."
Hmm… So… is this a breakup?
"Again with this childish talk!" Ramesses looked exasperated, visibly agitated. "Amun reveals himself in the invisible winds that fill the sails, in the spiral horns of the ram that symbolizes the harmony of creation, in the stones that make up the skin of the temple—he is everything.
He takes many forms yet remains the same as your so-called one true God! You and I both understand this wisdom deeply!"
Ramesses' breath control was impressive, and there was a raw emotion in his words that made Hikigaya, our lurking eavesdropper, listen with rapt attention.
"Ramesses, God is one—only one! He does not need your temples or statues! Have you forgotten? He has already come—He's here, beside you!"
Moses was even more worked up.
His emotional intensity made Ramesses suddenly realize he was about to make a huge mistake.
The problem with Moses was his conflicting nature.
His deep emotions combined with a stubborn personality gave him both human vulnerability and divine charisma. This paradox was the source of his powerful presence.
But in critical moments, if mishandled, things could spiral out of control.
Simply put, Moses wasn't the type to make small waves. When he made waves—they were tsunamis.
Ramesses' gut told him: if he didn't back down now, Moses would stir up a massive storm the very next day.
So the pharaoh suppressed his anger and switched to a gentler tone.
"Once again, I say—you're tired."
"My faith is unwavering. Not even you can change it."
"If your God commands you to purge all others, then be careful. A true god would not lead you into blind fanaticism."
Ramesses' eyebrow twitched. But he held it in.
Moses, however, was even more stubborn than Ramesses had anticipated.
The things Ramesses dismissed as trivial were the very things Moses held most dear.
So Ramesses got hit with a verbal slap:
"It's you who should be careful, Ramesses! A new force is growing within Egypt. It's still unstable—but it fights for the truth!"
"Explain yourself!" Ramesses finally snapped.
Screw this—even if you're my boyfriend, you'd better start explaining or we're throwing hands!
"Do you remember Akhenaten and his monotheistic beliefs? He's already paved the path, Ramesses. Listen to his voice. Listen to mine. If you don't… your kingdom will begin to crumble."
Unlike Ramesses' fury, Moses' heart was full of sorrow.
He had never intended to betray Ramesses.
That's why he had come to warn him about a hidden danger in the dark.
He believed that once Ramesses knew someone was plotting behind the scenes, his people—the Hebrews—would not be unjustly punished.
The one true God, Yahweh, lived upon a mountain.
Moses had already decided to go and find that mountain—no matter how hard the journey. A few of his people had already pledged to join him. Even if it cost everything, before they left Egypt forever, he had to settle this moral debt.