Chapter 13. Crisis and Opportunity (6)

From my experiences visiting other countries and other worlds, it seems that civilization, while appearing completely different, has parts that evolve convergently.

The gnomes and dwarves lived underground, but their attire and culture within those spaces had many similarities to Earth’s. The gnomes wore clothing reminiscent of the 19th to 20th centuries, and the dwarves’ attire was from a slightly earlier period, but ultimately, it wasn’t vastly different from the clothing worn by people on Earth.

Perhaps it’s because it served as the background for a novel. If they focused too much on showing an overly different world, the attire might become too surreal, leading to failure in convincing people.

Just as in space operas, where the attire shown on each planet is often derived from a specific civilization, it was the same in this case.

If there’s a ‘motif’ in this case, should I call it Egyptian civilization?

The civilization that people on Earth commonly associate with ‘Egyptian civilization,’ where they use thin white linen clothing and elaborate gold jewelry.

Of course, this time too, there are arrangements, so it’s not to the point of being too difficult to adapt. Rather, it had an atmosphere that seemed refined and modernized.

The area of greenery is quite extensive. Perhaps due to the high temperature, many palm trees grew around, and there were hardly any high mountains visible. In the distance, a pyramid, still under construction, could be seen.

To be honest, I was a little excited.

While there can be differences among atheists, most atheists do not believe in superstitions. From an atheist’s perspective, civilization is solely built by human hands.

Naturally, Egyptian civilization, whose history predates Cleopatra’s death to the present day, is an interesting civilization in itself.

Well, it’s not that this is ancient Egypt, of course. Perhaps that pyramid is also built using much easier methods than when pyramids were built on Earth. Like magic.

“We have distinguished guests.”

It wasn’t a Pharaoh… but a young man wearing attire that perfectly matched what we would imagine a ‘Pharaoh’ to wear, looked down at us and spoke.

He was a handsome man with healthy-looking tanned skin. Naturally, from my perspective, his appearance wasn’t particularly appealing. If it were a queen, it would be a different story.

However, while his objective appearance didn’t capture my interest, it wasn’t entirely devoid of things that could pique my interest.

On the front part of the crown that a Pharaoh might wear, slightly behind the hairline, were large animal ears. They were black, furry ears that stood erect, reminiscent of a shepherd’s ears.

Everyone I’ve seen since arriving here had such ears. Although the types were all different, the most commonly seen ears were those of dogs and cats.

That’s right. The races in this world are what are called ‘beastmen’.

“You must have had a hard time getting here. I heard that you, too, are a being chosen by the Sun. Of course, that’s the story from your world.”

Ah.

So, I can understand why the denomination was so cautious.

Although I hadn’t seen this civilization in any novels, it was a civilization prepared by the author, and if it was inspired by Egypt, then naturally, its king would hold the position of god itself.

The religion would be polytheistic, and saying ‘in other worlds, there are separate gods’ wouldn’t be a completely strange way of speaking.

“…Yes, I was told that Your Majesty had a pressing request.”

I replied using the manners I had learned before coming here, and the beastman king nodded with a somewhat weary expression.

Although there were many points I wanted to quibble with in the king’s words, I’m not so tactless as to do so here.

Even if I acted a bit rudely, the king wouldn’t try to take my head. He would know what kind of world ours is.

However, we both tacitly agreed that it would lead to a lot of mutual annoyance.

“It’s about my sister.”

Although the king was not much different in age from me, his tone was like that.

Is it because of his dignity as a king?

“After the gate connected, my sister became a bit strange. We have related knowledge, but it seems there’s nothing we can do with our methods, so we called you like this. We suspect it might be related to the gate.”

“…It’s difficult to say without meeting her in person.”

I replied as kindly as possible.

“That’s true. To cure a patient, one must see the patient directly.”

The beastman king nodded gently.

“However, I cannot let you meet her right away. Unfortunately, before you arrived, my sister inflicted self-harm.”

“Is she alright?”

“Thank you for your concern. She is currently healing her wounds and resting. However, I am worried about what might happen if she immediately meets a stranger from a foreign civilization, so meeting her today seems somewhat difficult.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I didn’t come expecting the problem to be solved in a single day.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

The king sighed deeply. It seemed more like a sigh for his sister than for both of us.

“However, there is a time limit. I hope my sister regains her senses before her wedding. Of course, it’s not something that can be postponed indefinitely, but I still don’t want it to be postponed for several years.”

“…I understand.”

After hearing my reply, the king nodded again and called for people.

These were the people who would assist us during our stay here.

There were an enormous number of them. Of course, they were all women.

…Good.

Given that the church didn’t say anything, perhaps all of these people have been vetted one by one.

For now, let’s dismiss the people after we go to the room where Ria and I will stay.

Thinking that, I looked at Ria, and she seemed to have a similar thought, nodding her head.

*

The problem is that the dozen or so people waiting for us at the entrance were not the ‘entirety’ of those who would attend to us.

First, we decided to send away the people who would guard the entrance to our room. Naturally. We had church knights authorized to carry weapons, and more importantly, Ria, who would stay with me, was going to protect me.

We also decided to send away the maids who would attend to us in the room for now. The two of us were not so busy that we needed such people.

We only left a request to have someone on standby nearby to receive our communications.

However, there was one person among them who was particularly surprising.

“…Someone to help me wash?”

Since the temperature was high here, and I had worked up a bit of a sweat meeting the king, I was a little surprised when people rushed in again after I said I wanted to wash.

“Yes, these are maids who will wash you, Saint, and relieve your body’s fatigue. You must also apply oil to your hair.”

“Uh, no, there’s no need to go that far.”

I said it with a bit of bewilderment.

However, even with my words, the person who seemed to be the representative of the maids tilted her head. Her black cat ears, which protruded from her head, twitched to the side, making her look a bit cute.

…Although her clothes were quite thin, making things a bit precarious in various ways.

“But, if you do that, who will fetch the water? We have some fetched in advance, so it’s not that you can’t bathe, but I think it will be quite inconvenient if there’s no one to pour it on you. Also, people can’t even reach their backs.”

“…Just in case, do you have a bath towel?”

When I asked, the maids looked at each other.

“It’s not that we don’t have towels, but isn’t it better to apply the oil directly with your hands? It absorbs better into the skin and doesn’t cause any scratches.”

“…….”

“Ah, that’s enough, that’s enough.”

As I was left speechless by her words, Ria waved her hand and said.

“There’s one person here who can be a maid, so you can leave now.”

“But-“

“I said it’s enough.”

When Ria said it firmly, the maids looked at each other with a bit of confusion, then turned around and left the room with quick steps.

“…Hoo.”

Only after confirming that everyone had left did I let out a long sigh.

“Doesn’t the church not screen people? If the maids are like this.”

“Well, there’s a matter of pride.”

Ria answered my question.

“When the highest person from a foreign country visits, they usually assign people. ‘Assigning’ people is also a matter of pride in hospitality.”

If she puts it that way, I have nothing to say.

“Well, even so… It seems there are no monasteries here. Good.”

Seeing Ria say ‘Good,’ I stared blankly at her.

“Then, shall we bathe together? I can help you.”

“……What?”

“Huh? Why? Isn’t that more efficient? The water seems limited too.”

“No, that’s…”

How should I put it?

It’s a bit strange because her expression is so nonchalant.

…I know she can’t see me as a romantic interest, but still.

Personally, it’s a bit of a hurt.