Chapter 138

“I’ve been to different countries and worlds a few times, and it seems civilization has this weird way of being totally different yet converging in certain aspects.”

The Gnomes and Dwarves dug into the ground and lived there, but the clothing and culture they displayed were often not all that different from Earth’s. The Gnomes showcased styles reminiscent of the 19th to 20th century, while the Dwarves sported outfits that were just a tad older—essentially, they weren’t much different from what people on Earth wore.

This might be because the setting was also part of a novel. If you focus too much on showing a world that’s too different, the clothing can end up being overly surreal and fail to convince people.

Just like in space operas, where every planet’s clothing tends to be inspired by certain civilizations, it was the same here.

If there’s a ‘motive’ in this case, it would be Egyptian civilization, I guess?

The kind of civilization that people on Earth usually think of when they hear ‘Egyptian civilization’—thin white fabric outfits adorned with dazzling golden accessories.

Of course, there was a certain air of arrangement to it, so it wasn’t hard to adapt. It felt like it had been refined in a modern sense.

The greenery was pretty extensive. Thanks to the high temperatures, there were quite a few palm trees around, and tall mountains were hardly visible. Over there, in the distance, a pyramid still under construction could be seen.

Honestly, I was a bit thrilled.

While every atheist might differ, most atheists generally don’t believe in superstitions. In the eyes of an atheist, civilization is solely built by human hands.

Of course, the history of Egyptian civilization, which is much deeper than the history from Cleopatra’s death to modern times, is interesting in its own right.

Well, that doesn’t mean this is the real ancient Egypt, though. The pyramids here are probably being built with much easier methods than those used on Earth—like magic or something.

“Ah, it seems you have distinguished guests.”

Not quite a Pharaoh, but anyway, a young man dressed in exactly what comes to mind when we say ‘Pharaoh’ looked down at us and spoke.

He was a handsome dude with healthy bronze skin. Naturally, his appearance didn’t exactly pique my interest. If it was a queen, that would have been a different story.

However, while his overall looks didn’t grab my interest, he certainly had features worth noticing.

At the front of the crown, somewhere just behind his hairline, large animal ears were attached. They were black, perky ears reminiscent of a shepherd’s.

Every person I had seen since coming here had those kinds of ears. Though the types varied, the most common ones were dog and cat ears.

Yep, the so-called ‘Beastmen’ races of this world.

“You’ve gone through a lot to come here. I’ve heard you are a being chosen by the sun as well. Of course, that’s in your world.”

Ah, I see.

So that’s why the church was being so cautious.

Though I hadn’t seen a civilization like this in a novel, it was a world prepared by the author, and if it was inspired by Egypt, then of course the king would be the focal point.

More likely than not, their religion was polytheistic, and saying, ‘There are different gods in another world’ wouldn’t be entirely weird either.

“…Yes, I’ve heard your majesty made a lengthy request.”

While utilizing the manners I had learned beforehand, the Beastman king nodded with a bit of fatigue evident on his face.

There was much I wanted to argue against the king’s words, but I wasn’t clueless enough to raise such issues here.

After all, I don’t think the king would behead me just because I acted disrespectfully. He must have some idea of what kind of world I come from.

However, we both tacitly agreed that there would be a great deal of hassle between us.

“It’s about my younger sister.”

Though he looked like he wouldn’t differ much from me in age, his tone was quite refined.

Is it because of the dignity of a king?

“Since the gate was connected, my sister has been acting a bit strange. While we do have some relevant knowledge, it seems there’s nothing we can do on our end, which is why we called you. I wonder if it has something to do with the gate.”

“…That’s hard to say without meeting her in person.”

I answered as kindly as possible.

“That’s right. To heal a patient, one must see the patient directly.”

The Beastman king nodded gently.

“However, I can’t let you meet her just yet. Regrettably, she engaged in some undesirable activities before you arrived.”

“Is she alright?”

“Thank you for your concern. She is currently healing and stabilizing. However, I worry about what could happen if she meets a stranger from a foreign civilization right away, so discussing it today may be somewhat difficult.”

“No need to worry about that. I didn’t come here hoping to resolve things in just a day.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

The king let out a deep sigh. It felt more like a sigh concerning his sister rather than for us.

“However, time is not absolutely limitless. I wish for my sister to regain her senses before her wedding. Of course, it’s not something that can’t be postponed, but I’d prefer it not to be delayed by several years.”

“…Understood.”

Upon hearing my reply, the king nodded once again and summoned some people.

They were the ones who would help us during our stay here.

And there were a staggering number of them. Naturally, they were all women, though.

…Alright.

If the church didn’t say anything unusual, perhaps they had all checked one by one.

For now, let’s head to the room where Ria and I would be staying and dismiss the others.

I thought that and looked over at Ria, who seemed to be having a similar idea, nodding her head.

*

If there was an issue, it was that the dozen or so people waiting for us weren’t all there to attend to us.

First, we decided to send away those who would guard the door. That was only natural. We had church knights permitted to bear arms, and above all, Ria was supposed to protect me.

We also decided to send away the attendants who would serve us in the room for the time being. We weren’t in such a busy condition that we needed to have such people around.

We merely asked to have someone nearby in case we needed to contact others.

But among them, there was one being that surprised me.

“…Someone to help wash my body?”

Since I was in a hot place and had broken a bit of a sweat from meeting the king, I was a bit taken aback to see them swarm back in when I mentioned wanting to wash up.

“Yes, these are maids who will clean the Saintess’ body and relieve your fatigue. You also need to have oil applied to your hair.”

“Uh, no, that’s really not necessary…”

I responded a bit incredulously. But the maid representative tilted her head at my words, her black cat ears perked up curiously.

…The fact that the clothing was a bit too thin made it awkward for various reasons, though.

“But if that’s the case, then who will draw the water? Well, there’s some that has already been drawn, so it’s not like we can’t take a bath, but if there’s no one to pour it over you, I think it would definitely be quite inconvenient. Plus, it’s hard to reach your back.”

“…Just to check, do you not have any bath towels?”

When I asked, the maids glanced at each other.

“It’s not that we don’t have towels, but wouldn’t applying the oil directly with our hands absorb into the skin much better without causing any harm?”

“……”

“Ah, that’s fine, that’s fine.”

When I fell silent without a comeback, Ria waved her hands to speak up.

“There’s one maid here to help, so you can go now.”

“But—”

“I said it’s fine.”

When Ria cut me off, the maids exchanged confused glances before turning around and exiting the room in a hurried manner.

“…Phew.”

Only after confirming that they had left did I let out a long breath.

“Don’t they usually trim down the crowd at the church? With so many maids around…”

“Well, there’s a sense of decorum to maintain.”

Ria replied to my question.

“When the highest-ranking person from a foreign land comes, it’s usual to have many attendants. The act of ‘providing people’ is a point of honor in hospitality.”

With that said, I had no retort.

“Well, that being said… it seems like there’s no capital here. Alright.”

Seeing Ria say ‘alright’ made me give her a blank stare.

“So, should we wash together? I could help.”

“…Huh?”

“Huh? Why? It would be more efficient, right? Water seems limited too.”

“No, that’s…”

How should I put it?

Her overly nonchalant expression made it kind of awkward.

…Even though I know she can’t see me as a target of interest.

Personally, it was a bit hurtful.