Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Chapter 12 - Rophuk (1)
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…An unfamiliar ceiling.
Having been in the midst of a pleasant dream, this unending reality felt somewhat resentful.
“Ah.”
My own voice, heard for the first time in a while, sounded strange. By all accounts, I must have been unconscious for a very long time.
“Ugh.”
I tried to twist and move my body, but with every effort, a fiery pain shot through me.
This was a familiar situation.
I think it was like this when I first escaped from the mermaids.
“Agh…! Aaargh!”
Just like then, a delayed onslaught of muscle and nerve pain surged through me. My body and mind, which had pushed past their limits countless times, were now screaming in protest.
“Hnngh… ghh…”
But this was no time to be screaming. First, I needed to figure out if I was in a safe place and where my companions were.
Did Jenny move me here? Or Nefer? Or could it be the succubus?
Could it be Amy? Did she come back for me after I so heartlessly abandoned her and had been nursing me?
Looking around, I saw a setting that was both very familiar and completely incomprehensible. Metal walls came into view, and from their clean surfaces and finish, it seemed they would require incredible technology to create.
It was a style that had decorated the interior of the Paradise, or perhaps even lined my own laboratory.
“Boy, you’re awake?”
Suddenly, a voice came from outside the room. The pronunciation was impeccable.
“Can you understand my language? Or, perhaps, do you speak the desert common tongue?”
“B-both, I can speak both.”
A man approached, his voice sophisticated, pronouncing the women’s language more fluently than I could.
He wore a stylish robe that nearly touched the floor, and strangely, beneath the formal attire…
“Oh, excellent.”
I could see mechanical parts. The style and decoration were quite different from what humans produced, but in the end, a machine (or automaton) was a fine invention that any civilization could create.
“…Who are you?”
“Oh, where are my manners. They call me Rophuk.”
“It’s Juho.”
Even during this brief introduction, I couldn’t stop staring at his mechanical body. I tried to restrain myself, but Rophuk’s body moved with incredible precision.
Even Amy couldn’t compare to him. I kept noticing the biological habits ingrained in his mechanical movements.
“Do you find me so fascinating?”
“S-sorry! I was just curious, so I-”
“It’s alright. It’s understandable.”
Heh heh.
Rophuk let out a laugh and walked over to my bed, pulling up a chair to sit. The way he crossed his legs and clasped his hands reminded me of a dignified intellectual.
“Thank you for being alive. That alone is enough. I can’t imagine the great pain a young boy’s body and mind must have gone through. It’s all okay now.”
The term “boy” was a little jarring, but still, Rophuk treated me with great familiarity, creating a comfortable atmosphere for me to rest.
But for me, there was something more important than rest.
“Excuse me, where are my companions? Are they being cared for like I am?”
The scene from just before I passed out was still vivid in my mind. The succubus seemed to be fine, so if he could just take care of Jenny and Nefer…
“Ah, I’ve made another mistake. It’s only natural for you to worry.”
Rophuk asked me to wait a moment and promptly left the room. The sound of his rhythmic footsteps faded.
In his absence, I looked around again.
Looking closer, I could see glimpses of [Aaptukemen’s architectural style] in the corridor outside the door, as if it were carved from sandstone.
This place was a coexistence of Aaptukemen’s civilization and automated mechanical technology. It was a very interesting location.
Could this be the inside of the temple?
Or, if not, did that mechanical man who introduced himself as Rophuk move me and the women to a new location?
“Elder!”
Before I could determine what was right or wrong, a familiar voice and word came from the distance.
One set of rhythmic footsteps,
And also, one sound of something being dragged along the floor.
“Nefer?”
“Ah, Elder!”
Nefer rushed through the open doorway and threw her arms around me. I was on the verge of screaming from the weight of her embrace, but not wanting to ruin such a touching reunion, I gritted my teeth and endured.
“Hnngh… ye-yeah… Nefer, I’m glad…”
“Elder, I deserve to die a hundred times over. Please punish this useless guide who couldn’t even protect you properly. Hic…”
It wasn’t easy to calm the sobbing Nefer. She showed immense guilt for not being able to protect me from the successive attacks of Homunculus and the sandworm.
To be honest, it wasn’t that Nefer was weak, but that the opponents were just too overwhelming.
I held no ill will towards Nefer, yet she pulled out her own dagger and pointed it at her chest, even creating a suicide scene.
“I will gladly offer this life to atone. Elder, I pray for your well-being-”
“W-what are you doing! You fool…!”
“Do not show mercy to a pest like me who cannot even fulfill her duty! Elder, your kind mercy only makes me more miserable!”
We were both patients wrapped in bandages, but Nefer, upon seeing my state, burst into tears as if the sky were falling.
The only way to comfort her was to give her a light hug and pat her on the back. While telling her it wasn’t her fault, that we both survived, so it was okay…
“Elder, you are truly… kind…”
Only then did Nefer wipe her tears and give me a light kiss on the cheek. It was a little surprising that Nefer, who treasured moisture so much, would just waste her tears like that.
“Ah! That man has been helping us this whole time. Elder, it seems the Sun has not abandoned us after all. To have such a good helper… it’s hard to believe. Truly!”
Only after the boisterous reunion ended did Rophuk approach us again. With his characteristic elegant gestures, he handed me and Nefer some food.
“I’m just doing what needs to be done. Heh heh.”
Looking closer at the bowl he handed me, I saw very familiar ingredients. Rophuk had lightly cooked the preserved rations we had brought, and seeing it, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.
“How did you…”
“Try it before it gets cold. I hope it wasn’t a waste. I’m not confident in my cooking, but it’s easier to digest when it’s warm.”
It wasn’t a waste.
“It’s delicious…”
It was perfect.
A being who hadn’t tried it before couldn’t replicate the nutritional structure and arrangement of this food.
Who on earth was this man?
He was familiar and friendly in a way that wasn't machine-like, and he valued etiquette and manners to a surprising degree.
“Boy, you seem to have a lot of questions. Feel free to ask anything you like. Ah, but keep eating. You need to get better quickly.”
While we ate, Rophuk sat comfortably in his chair, waiting for my questions. It seemed he was even expecting me to ask something.
“Where is this? Inside the temple?”
“Correct!”
“Have you seen my other companions? There are two more. They both have tails, one has red hair, the other has wings…”
“Oh dear. I don’t think so.”
I stuffed food into my throat and asked all sorts of things. I had no room to refuse the care offered by others.
“When I went up to the entrance, it was just our young Juho and… the snake lady here.”
That was not good news.
Jenny and the succubus must have been with me, yet Rophuk said he hadn’t seen them.
“Once you’re healed, let’s go look for them together.”
But he readily offered a helping hand. Only two lens lights shone on my face, but for some reason, I had a feeling Rophuk was a very good man.
“…Thank you.”
I was truly lucky. I had been through all sorts of hell since coming here, but sometimes I met good companions like this.
“Miss Nefer, do you have any questions for me?”
“I have none. As the one who saved the Elder’s life, I will only vow to never forget this grace for the rest of my life.”
“Ahaha, this polite friend has been saying that all along. She woke up about two days before Juho, and all day long, all she thought about was Juho’s condition.”
I still had a few more questions.
How did he end up in the temple,
What was this place for,
How was he able to acquire such technology…
“Excuse me, then-”
But just as I was about to speak again,
Nefer took my hand, initiating an unexpected physical contact.
“Hmm? Did you call, boy?”
At first, I wondered why and tried to pull my hand away, but the strength in Nefer’s grip, contrary to her gentle smile, was very serious.
“…”
She was trying to tell me something.
I had a bad feeling about this.