Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Chapter 12 - Rophuk (2)
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“Rest easy. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to call. I will bring more food in six hours.”
Only after Rophuk had left did Nefer cautiously look around, seeking an opportunity to speak.
I didn't know what she was so worried about, but I didn't question her vigilance. She was simply doing the [doubting] I should have been doing.
“…Elder, something is amiss. This temple is a sacred place, forbidden to women, a place for rituals involving the chosen male… but this… this is different from what I was taught.”
But her words only confused me.
“How dare he… with the Elder watching… we must set things right…”
Nefer seemed to be questioning Rophuk’s presence in the temple, and the fact that a woman like her was allowed to enter.
She was afraid that Rophuk, having defiled the temple, had also ruined my tribute ceremony.
While I still didn't fully trust Rophuk, I didn't find Nefer’s suspicions entirely convincing.
Nefer was worried,
That this unknown male, who had occupied the temple before me, would be recognized as the [prophesied savior].
Nefer’s expression, as she bit her lip, her mind racing, was a mixture of anxiety and determination.
She seemed to be contemplating some reckless action. Overwhelmed by guilt and helplessness, she wanted to prove herself, to regain my trust.
But I had never been disappointed in her. This was simply a matter of jealousy, of her rivalry with Jenny and Amy.
“Nefer, what are you thinking?”
Her eyes, filled with a fanatical zeal, frightened me, and I quickly tried to dissuade her. I shook her by the shoulders, trying to dispel the dark thoughts that had crossed her mind.
“Calm down. Let’s just forget about the sun, the moon, the temple, and the savior for now. We need to talk to Rophuk, but… he doesn’t seem like a threat to me.”
Rophuk didn't seem like a bad person.
While his mechanical body made it difficult to read his true intentions, his kindness, his willingness to help us, suggested he wasn't an enemy.
“If he had wanted to harm us, he would have done so already. He brought us here, he healed us. Let’s just trust him for a little while. I’m not saying we should blindly trust him. Just… let’s accept his kindness for now.”
So, we had to be cautious. We would accept his help, his treatment, while simultaneously trying to gather information.
And I had another task.
I had to find Jenny and the succubus.
Could I ask for Rophuk’s help? Where had they gone?
They should have been with me.
Why was Nefer here, but not them?
“Excuse me, Rophuk?”
“Hmm? Oh, you shouldn’t be up and about. You need to rest. I told you to relax.”
I couldn't just lie there. I left the room and approached Rophuk.
He had been sitting in the center of the temple, engrossed in his work, but at my approach, he set aside the datapad he had been holding and sat up straight.
“You seem to have a lot of questions.”
“…Yes, I do. I can’t just… lie there and wait, not with so many unanswered questions.”
“I understand.”
I glanced at the datapad. It was filled with a mixture of text and drawings.
His handwriting was so neat, so precise, that even I, unfamiliar with the desert script, could easily read it.
“Ah, this? It’s my diary. These past few days have been particularly interesting, so I’ve had a lot to write about. The relationship between you, Juho, the sandworm, and the snake lady is especially fascinating.”
Rophuk, his curiosity piqued, seemed about to ask me a question.
It seemed that I, to him, was a fascinating subject of observation.
“May I ask you a question? Boy, what did you experience out there?”
I hesitated, then began to recount my story. Even though I knew he wasn't entirely on my side, I felt a strange urge to confide in him.
I told him about the sandworm,
And to explain that, I had to mention the succubus and Jenny, and then Homunculus and His Majesty.
“Oh dear.”
Rophuk listened intently, his reactions a mixture of surprise and concern. The lights and lenses in his eyes flickered and clicked.
“Oh my.”
His reactions were genuine. He shared in my joy, my sorrow, my rage.
“It seems the outside world is still a cruel place. I have no more tears to shed. I should have saved some.”
Rophuk, feigning tears, mourned my arduous journey.
He was easy to talk to. Perhaps it was because we had shared similar experiences.
“It’s okay, boy. I was the same at first. In my… biological days, I too was hunted, pursued.”
Rophuk took my hand, his cold, mechanical fingers a strange comfort.
“It’s a long story. I understand. All the males who come here have their own stories. Me, you, and all the others.”
“All the others…? There are others besides us?”
But at my question, his hand froze.
Rophuk stroked his chin, then,
His voice devoid of emotion, he said,
“…There were. Not anymore.”
A chilling, unsettling statement.
I swallowed hard, trying to understand his meaning…
“Boy, will you come with me? There’s something I want to show you.”
Rophuk, instead of explaining,
Led me deeper into the temple.
We walked through a series of corridors and stopped before a sealed door.
A musty, unpleasant odor emanated from within,
But Rophuk, unfazed, handed me a handkerchief and opened the door.
“This is…”
The room was filled with countless jars. And inside each jar was a fine, white powder. I didn't have to touch it to know what it was.
“A tomb. The tomb of all those who came before.”
Rophuk walked through the room, his gaze lingering on the names inscribed on each jar.
The countless jars of bone dust were a testament to the many who had died here.
“They all died, but you, Rophuk, survived?”
I asked, my question, in this somber setting, a little too blunt,
“…”
But he didn't seem to mind.
He simply answered, his voice a low, mournful hum.
“They all gave up. They said they didn’t want to live anymore. It’s a sad story.”
Rophuk began to tell me his story.
His mechanical voice, usually so clear and precise, now sounded sad.
“But I couldn't die. Even if I couldn't escape this planet, I wouldn't die. I will endure, until the very end.”
We left the room and continued walking through the temple. And Rophuk continued his story.
“They all came here with hope. A small, fragile hope that they could find a way to escape this planet… but all they found here was despair.”
His story was a shock.
There had to be a reason why the other males had given up, why they had chosen death.
“Boy, I don’t know what you were expecting… but this place is not what it seems.”
Rophuk was telling me a crucial truth.
“Don’t trust the natives’ stories. Everything here is dead.”
“Everything…?”
He seemed to pity me.
His cold hand on my shoulder was filled with a strange, almost human compassion.
But his voice held a clear warning.
“The sun is dead, boy. That moon, which still tries to kill us, is still there, its eyes wide open, but there is no one left to help us.”
He was sharing a vital piece of information.
“This isn't a place for sun rituals. It’s the opposite.”
Something I had never heard before,
Something even Nefer hadn't told me…
“This is the place where the sun laid its [curse].”