Chapter 47: ~The Story So Far~
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: ~The Story So Far~
My name is Sakamoto Ryuji.
I'm a perfectly ordinary high school student, seventeen this year.
For the long-awaited Golden Week, I went to Egypt at the invitation of my archaeologist parents.
But what awaited me there was the tomb of a nameless pharaoh, discovered in the Valley of the Kings.
The mummies of warriors, rising again!
A fight for my life!
To protect my sister from the vile traps of tomb raiders, I willingly threw myself into the sand dunes, only to find a pharaoh's sarcophagus of an unknown age waiting for me.
While trying to escape the secret chamber where the sarcophagus was enshrined, I pressed various parts of the wall and happened to touch a cat-headed ornament.
'Who dares disturb my rest!'
A muscular ghost with brown skin and black hair popped out in front of me.
The ghost was the pharaoh, the master of this tomb. After hearing the whole story from me, he flew into a rage and asked to borrow my body.
Lending my body to the pharaoh's ghost, defeating the tomb raiders, and rescuing my captured parents and sister—it all went well up to that point.
The one thing I hadn't expected, however, was that this pharaoh ghost would attach himself to my body and follow me all the way back to Japan.
'In my era, the pharaoh was not only the king of a nation but also its strongest warrior. Thousands of years have passed since then, so surely many warriors capable of testing their mettle against me have been born into this world.'
He revealed a strong competitive spirit, saying he wanted to fight the powerful warriors outside his tomb.
'Sakamoto Ryuji! Make a contract with me! If you grant my wish, I shall promise you happiness in the afterlife!'
Overwhelmed by his presence, I impulsively agreed to the contract.
And just like that, my peaceful daily life was thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of a pharaoh's ghost.
*
I had a dream.
I don't remember the details, but it was probably one of the pharaoh's memories, not mine.
Because it involved performing a ritual in a place like a wide-open oasis.
"...ro!"
I slowly opened my eyes to the faint sound of my sister's voice and the feeling of someone shaking my shoulder.
My younger sister, Yuika, must have come to wake me up like always. She was standing by my bed in her school uniform, looking down at me.
"Bro, if you don't get up now, you're going to be late again, you know?"
"Your sister speaks the truth. You are far too lazy, my contractor."
Seeing the brown-skinned pharaoh standing next to my sister, nodding in agreement, I rubbed my face and sat up.
"...Thanks."
What a terrible morning.
*
During Golden Week, I went on a five-day, three-night trip to Egypt where my parents were. There, I got caught up in an incident that left me with this pharaoh ghost attached to me.
This eccentric pharaoh ghost, who claimed to have forgotten his real name and asked me to call him 'Mahes,' adapted to modern society with frightening speed.
"Ooh, to live while worshipping cats in one's home. Are the people of this era all followers of the goddess Bastet?"
"My contractor. A picky eater cannot build a fine warrior's body. Be sure to eat your vegetables."
"Do not leave your laundry inside out. Sort it by color and place it in the basket, my contractor."
"Shut up! Are you my mom or something?!"
"Hmph. The grace of the goddess Bastet is everywhere and nowhere."
I can't even begin to describe how annoying it was to see him cross his arms and retort so calmly.
After quickly finishing the breakfast my sister made, I showered in the bathroom and hurriedly got ready for school.
Since Golden Week had lasted a full nine days, it had been a whole ten days since I'd last been to school.
The town I live in, Chitose-Funabashi, is in the Setagaya area.
My school is in Minato Ward, which is about a 30-minute train ride away. That means if I don't leave the house by 7:10 AM at the latest, I'm guaranteed to be late.
I didn't even have time to dry my hair, so after a quick towel-off, I left the house with Yuika, who was already ready to go.
"The world has certainly improved. Chariots of steel roll about, and humans can fly through the sky without being gods."
If it weren't for the pharaoh ghost constantly tagging along beside me, I probably would have thought my life had returned completely to normal.
"Ryuji!"
Maiya, who was waiting in front of the station, spotted Yuika and me approaching from a distance and waved happily.
Seeing her, Mahes rubbed his chin and said "Oho," in a sly voice.
"Is that your woman, contractor? Her hips are wide and her chest is large. She looks like she would bear children well."
"Maiya and I are not a thing!"
"Bro, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
Since Mahes is invisible to others, Yuika, who was walking beside me, tilted her head in confusion.
To anyone else, I would have looked like a complete lunatic, so I blushed and stammered out a nonsensical excuse.
"Huh? Ah, it's nothing. You could say I just picked up a weird radio wave or something."
"Pfft, what's that supposed to mean?"
Thankfully, I managed to smooth it over, but I'll have to be careful not to make the same mistake outside.
After meeting up with my childhood friend Maiya at the station, we took the subway to Minato Ward, where my high school is located.
"Good morning, Mr. Gorilla!"
"Who are you calling a gorilla?!"
At the school gate, Matsuda, the second-year dean of students and homeroom teacher for Class 2-B, was inspecting students' attire in his tracksuit.
"Sakamoto, Yaguchi, welcome."
"Morning, Teach. Your muscles look even bigger than usual today."
"Heh heh... You can tell? I asked an older buddy of mine to put me through some hellish special training over the break."
As he spoke, the teacher struck a pose to emphasize his biceps, then swiftly grabbed the collar of a first-year student trying to sneak past him.
"Try to come to school this early more often. Isn't it nice when you're not late?"
"Ahaha, my bad."
After I said that with a sheepish bow and safely passed through the gate, Mahes, who had been silent, asked a question.
"That man, is he a former warrior? The muscles on his body are extraordinary."
"He's just a teacher who likes to work out. He's thirty-six and still single."
"That... is tragic."
Hearing his age seemed to render Mahes speechless, as he covered his mouth with his hand.
Considering the average lifespan of ancient people, Mr. Matsuda was at an age where it wouldn't be strange for him to have grandchildren, let alone children.
"Bro! See you this evening!"
"Yeah."
The middle school building is separate from the high school, so we parted ways at a fork in the path, and I entered the school building with Maiya.
Class 2-B.
Every time I saw the nameplate hanging outside the classroom, it was hard to believe that a month had already passed since the new semester began.
Slide—
When I slid the classroom door open and stepped inside, the first thing that stole my attention was Kim Yoo-Sung's back, as broad as the Pacific Ocean.
What a magnificent back, I thought as always, making my way to my seat by the window. Just then, Mahes, who had been outside the classroom leering at the high school girls, turned to me with a serious expression, his eyes gleaming.
"Ryuji, what is that man's story?"
I realized his gaze was fixed on Kim Yoo-Sung, who was sitting in the back row by the hallway-side window, and whispered back.
"That's Kim Yoo-Sung. He's the strongest guy in our school."
At first, I didn't have a great impression of him because of the nasty rumors going around the school, but from my own experience, he was actually a pretty good guy.
The rumors were probably just things people who didn't know him made up based on his appearance.
I owed him big time for helping me out on my date with Karen from the class next door, so I personally had a good impression of him.
To be honest, he has the kind of back that makes you want to call him "Hyung-nim!" at least once.
It's like he walked straight out of an 80s or 90s bancho manga.
After hearing my explanation, Mahes crossed his arms and muttered with interest.
"To think a man possessing such a powerful Twt-Ra exists even in this modern era."
"Twt-Ra?"
"It's an Egyptian term for the 'form of the sun'—in other words, the sun's energy. Among ancient Egyptians, it was believed that the stronger this energy, the closer one was to Atum-Ra."
"So what about Kim Yoo-Sung?"
Mahes closed his eyes slightly and answered.
"His Twt-Ra is equal to or greater than my own. It is the Twt-Ra of a great warrior."
Hearing Mahes's words, I found myself looking at Kim Yoo-Sung in a new light.
I knew he was strong, but to receive such an evaluation from this macho pharaoh who took down twenty tomb raiders in an instant...
"If we were to actually fight, I would win, of course, but to think a warrior of this caliber exists in the modern age... my heart is already pounding with excitement."
"...I've told you before, but please hold back for now. I can't grant your request for at least two years, not until I've finished my studies."
Mahes nodded and said.
"I am accustomed to waiting. How many thousands of years do you think I spent in that tomb?"
"Good, then. I'm gonna take a nap, okay? Wake me up when Mr. Matsuda gets here."
"Very well."
Relieved that I could surprisingly communicate so well with this ancient man, I decided to get some sleep before homeroom started.
...Honestly, up until that moment, I never would have guessed.
That I would end up fighting that very same Kim Yoo-Sung.