Chapter 32: The Eyes Hidden in the Darkness
Moses wanting to settle his moral debt was a noble idea. However, whether his creditor would understand it—well, only God knows.
At the very least, Hikigaya couldn't tell what Ramses II was thinking.
What he could see, though, was that Moses seemed to be trying—through this clumsy approach—to find a fragile balance between the Hebrew faith in a singular God and the authority of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
If that was the case, then Moses completely misunderstood Ramses.
This bald guy's desire for power was one of the strongest in all of human history.
Worse yet, he really did have the ability to achieve it.
In fact, throughout what could be considered a long reign, this guy step by step played the Pharaoh role to the effect of a Middle-Ages Chinese emperor.
You could look 500 years forward or backward from this era and not find a single monarch who could compare to Ramses in that respect.
So this kind of "seems like a threat but is actually not a threat" rhetoric had no effect on Ramses—if anything, it would just make him go crazy.
Don't think just because you come from a different dimension you can underestimate this bald-headed bastard, Moses!
Ramses stormed off in a fit of rage—unsurprising to Hikigaya—leaving Moses standing there looking thoroughly confused.
And Hikigaya also dropped the idea of having a chat with Moses.
No need to talk—this guy was obviously the historical figure himself.
Hikigaya basically already had a clear read on his future path, and minor details didn't matter in the grand scheme.
So Hikigaya quietly slipped away.
When he returned to the hall, he found Haruno lounging idly at a low table, surrounded by passed-out Egyptian nobles.
Damn, did this girl cheat or something? Knocked out this many people?
"Hachimaan—" As soon as Haruno saw him, her eyes lit up and she let out a coquettish, tantalizing voice.
To Hikigaya, that voice was full of animalistic instincts...
"Are you in heat again?" Hikigaya squinted at her. "I'm telling you, not tonight. I'm going to sleep!"
"Sleep, huh?" Haruno batted her eyes innocently, as if totally unaware that he'd just compared her to a beast. "Where'd you go just now? Went to find that Moses guy? Did he really see the god Horus?"
"Nope. But he and Pharaoh are about to fall out," Hikigaya said, pulling Haruno up and slinging her over his shoulder.
"Wah! Put me down... I'm gonna puke!"
Eh? Already? Huh, so this young master's innate treasure is that powerful?
I mean, I only recharged some mana. Okay, maybe a bit too often, and in varied poses, but still—that's hydration, not fertilization!
Damn that Di Jun—always trying to stir up trouble!
"Alright, alright, I'll take responsibility," Hikigaya casually patted the soft, round spot near his face, deciding to console her properly.
Looks like his power wasn't fully refined yet. Needs more training. Plan change! Tonight, physical training!
Kid, you see this? Learn from your old man's good habits.
"Ugh—" Haruno held her mouth, squirming. Hikigaya's comfort clearly wasn't working.
This made him rather annoyed.
"I got it, I got it! Damn you're impatient!" Like a gust of wind, Hikigaya took off carrying Haruno. "Hold on, I'll make you feel real good in a second."
Splat!
A suspicious splash echoed from behind, but Hikigaya didn't care. He was too pleased with his own prodigious talents, determined to let them shine.
Suddenly, he realized his god-slaying career had just discovered a new gameplay mode.
Slaying gods? That's not for achievements—that's just expected. Real achievement-hunting should be creative!
Like hitting 100% accuracy—that'd be a great goal. He'd start grinding it once they returned to the modern world. Aim for bronze rank first.
But after wandering around the palace for a bit, Hikigaya suddenly realized—he forgot to ask Ramses where the guest rooms were.
No biggie. How could a mere detail like that trip up a dramatic god-slayer?
His eyes sparkled as he spotted a garden up ahead, where stood a massive fig tree.
Come to think of it, this tree had sacred meaning in Egypt, known also as the sycamore fig, one of the incarnations of Hathor, mother of the gods.
It symbolized thriving life force—which really didn't need much deeper interpretation.
Thinking about it... watering the tree beneath such a symbol—how perfectly natural!
Delighted, Hikigaya accelerated and appeared beneath the tree.
No one was around.
He pointed, and his divine power burst forth—within moments, golden wheat sprouted from the earth. When fully grown, they fell in a neat collapse, layering themselves into a soft wheat mattress.
This echoed the essence of Osiris, now one of the chief deities in this era: life is death, and death is life.
Hikigaya nodded in satisfaction and tossed Haruno onto the layered wheat.
Then, preparing to unleash his mighty form, he was ready to get to business.
Only, when he looked at Haruno, he was surprised to find her looking like she had kidney failure.
"So weak? And you had the guts to invite me for a three-hundred-round battle? Girl, I admire your suicidal determination. Very well, I'll make sure you lose your mind."
"Ugh, don't say that stuff so loudly, you perv." Haruno blushed all over, lying weakly on the wheat. "And I'm just drunk and nauseous!"
He shook his hand smugly. "Now be good and hold still. You're in for a treat—I'm very experienced in this field."
"Liar. This kind of wine can really kill people, you know? I don't even drink in Knossos." Haruno looked a bit bitter, then suspicious. "What do you mean by 'experienced'?"
"This experience? Obviously it's the kind that makes you go crazy with pleasure." He coughed. "Now the bed is made, I think we should go with the flow and continue the plot."
"…" Haruno rolled her eyes.
Then glanced around.
This scene feels oddly familiar? She couldn't recall from where, but it stirred a strange excitement in her heart.
Although she had accidentally puked earlier, she had skillfully used yesterday's mana recharge to erase all evidence. Right now, she was still a fragrant, lovely maiden!
"You're awful!" She threw him a seductive glance. "I've got no strength left. Do whatever you want."
Her face said, "Even if I say 'whatever,' if you chicken out I'll kill you."
Hikigaya instantly understood. He let out a hearty laugh, and his clothes disintegrated into powder.
Honestly—cannons are the gods of war.
Hikigaya felt that a war without artillery was meaningless. As a good international comrade, he had to help Egypt correct this shortcoming.
However, as his brain was busy scanning poses via its internal search engine, Hikigaya didn't notice that—in a hidden corner behind him—a pair of sparkling eyes was watching everything, taking it all in.