Daniel the Dream Interpreter
"The third dream is, of course, my own speculation."
"Go ahead, tell me."
Daniel took a deep breath and continued.
"In the second dream, the second boar killed the first one, didn't it?"
"That's right."
"The second boar will now be fattened. Enough to threaten Babylon."
"Oh ho!"
"The second boar will fatten up and come back to steal the king's grain from Gatnesar again. Probably, Gatnesar couldn't stop the boar and fled."
"Fled...?"
"Yes. The spear broke, and the grain field will be trampled. In short, it means the fall of Babylon."
"That makes sense."
As someone who records history, the interpretation was spot on.
According to this person's words, the dream Gatnesar had seems to signify the rise and fall of Babylon.
"So you are Daniel."
"What else would I be but Daniel?"
"No, well said."
I figured out the meaning of the dream without using Baal's power.
I hadn't expected Daniel to interpret dreams perfectly.
I thought he was a dim-witted guy, but he's actually me.
Upon arriving in Babylon, we immediately headed to the palace.
If it's a dream interpreter, he would meet the king first, no matter the matter.
With the recommendation of the palace lord, we could go straight to the king.
"You?"
Before meeting the king, some general approached.
He had soldiers check if we were carrying any dangerous weapons.
I had my mother's keepsake and Lucas's sword taken from me.
"You can't wear a sword when meeting the king. If you live, I'll return it."
"If I live...?"
"You know. It's the condition to get the chance to interpret dreams."
I had forgotten for a moment.
Dream interpreters put their own necks on the line to interpret dreams.
Yet many come to interpret dreams hoping for a windfall.
Because so many had come with false interpretations, this condition was set.
I was scared, but I went to interpret the dream with Daniel's neck on the line.
"Priest... I can live, right...?"
"Just trust me."
"I trust you. Please let me see my wife again..."
"Sure. Polish your neck well."
"Yes..."
Daniel looked at me with worried eyes.
His eyes were moist.
It was the look of someone facing death.
I avoided his eyes and entered to meet the king.
Following the general, we entered the palace, and the king's voice came from somewhere.
"Are you the one who came to interpret the dream?"
I looked around, not knowing where the voice was coming from.
Then, there was a throne high up.
Too far away to see Gatnesar's appearance.
"That's right."
"Haha. Short words."
"I only raise my voice to the gods."
The general drew his sword and pointed it at my neck.
I didn't feel scared.
I glared and said to the general.
"Your sword can't cut my neck. It can only cut Daniel's."
"Aren't you worried about your subordinate's life?"
"Of course. It's not my life."
"A rotten bastard in the world."
The general trembled with fear at my wickedness.
The sword was shaking.
"Hahaha! What a fun guy. Put down the sword. You need this much spirit to interpret dreams. I'm looking forward to it."
"My head hurts. Come down."
"What?"
"I am the messenger of the gods. Why would a mere human king want to be higher than the gods!"
I shouted at Gatnesar without backing down.
"Hahaha! Yes. The messenger of the gods. I don't believe in your god, but I'll believe this time. If you interpret the dream, I can't fail."
Contrary to his worries, Gatnesar came down from the throne in a cooperative manner.
A humble appearance.
When he came down, his face finally appeared.
"You... you...?"
When Gatnesar came down, Allen was surprised and fell.
It wasn't because of his beauty, nor his authority.
It was a familiar face.
"Lucas...?"
"Who is that person?"
The owner of a face similar to Lucas.
Allen pinched his cheek, wondering if he saw something.
"Are you trying to make fun of me?"
"N-no. I was just surprised because my brother looks so similar."
"Really? Then let's start. About my third dream."
I calmed my racing heart and immediately spoke about the third dream.
"The king's dream was that he caught the first boar and the second boar appeared, bigger. The second boar was even more ferocious and breathed fire fiercely. The grain was already withered after harvest. Still, the boar burned all the grain. The king raised his spear to fight the boar, but it was no match. The boar was too strong, and the king's spear broke. The king had no choice but to flee far away from the boar. That's the end of the dream. This is the third dream the king had."
When Gatnesar heard the dream content, he was stunned.
He hesitated and said.
"Hmm.. First, let me hear about the dream interpretation."
"The first dream is countries that envy Babylon's prosperity and invade. They are not yet strong enough to cause damage to Babylon. In the second dream, they allied with other countries and invaded Babylon. Their power is strong, so Babylon is also damaged. Still, they couldn't invade Babylon. They retreated and started fighting each other, one country eating another. In the third dream, a second country that unified another country by force grew stronger and invaded Babylon. Babylon is already weakened like withered grain, unable to stop them. So they fell to their attack. The king fled from them and Babylon was destroyed."
"Is that all?"
"Huh?"
"It's a pity. I was surprised by your dream interpretation and the content, but if that's the end, I have no choice but to cut your neck."
"W-wait a minute."
"Do you have more to say?"
"Give me a little time. Because I ran here for three days straight, I'm tired and couldn't figure out the latter part."
"Haha. Where did that spirit from earlier go?! Are you joking with me now?"
"Your Majesty doesn't lose anything either, right? Whether I die now or tomorrow is the same. However, if I wait a day to interpret the dream, it's more beneficial for you, isn't it?"
"Hmm.. Then, for mocking me, I'll throw the people who came with me into the tiger's den. Still okay?"
"Yes. That's fine."
"Sure. Throw that guy into the tiger's den right now."
Following the king's order, the soldiers moved busily.
"It's a pity. Because of your arrogance, only your subordinates died. As promised, I'll give you a day. Hey, show this guy where he can rest."
"Yes!"
The general approached me and guided me to the lodging.
At that moment.
"Let go!"
"Be grateful that your neck isn't cut. No, wait. Should I be grateful for this?!"
The soldiers were mocking Daniel and dragging him to the tiger's den.
Daniel, who didn't know what was happening, was pulled to the tiger's den. When he saw the tiger, he was terrified.
"W-what are you going to do!"
"What? The king ordered you to be thrown into the tiger's den."
"Why me!"
"Why? Because you failed the dream interpretation."
"What? Is that true?!"
"Kahaha! Now you feel your situation, huh? The king showed mercy and gave you an extra day, but that's only if you survive in the tiger's den. Now throw this guy in!"
The soldiers opened the iron bars of the tiger's den and threw Daniel in.
Daniel screamed and shook the bars, but nothing happened.
When Daniel screamed, the tigers heard and rushed over.
"S-stay away! Hooey!"
"Grrrr..."
The tigers with loud patterns rushed towards Daniel.
They playfully used their paws to pat Daniel's head.
"Damn cats! Get lost!"
Daniel shouted in fear.
The tigers lowered their bodies with curious expressions, watching Daniel's actions.
"Get lost, you damn cats!"
Struggling only stimulated the tigers more.
Multiple tigers surrounded Daniel and poked him.
"Kekek! Hey, Daniel."
A voice from somewhere.
Daniel looked up.
The tigers were backing away.
"I am Zagan."
"W-who are you!"
Zagan appeared in front of Daniel.
"I am a demon."
"Oh god! Why are you testing me? Am I already dead!"
"Kekek! Human. Don't you want to live? I came to help you."
"Still alive?"
"Yes. Because I have a promise with Allen."
"If Allen... Is it the priest?!"
"Yes. I will treat these tigers like cats for you. No, I'll turn them into cats. To others, they'll look like tigers."
"Really?"
"Look at the tigers. Do they still look like tigers?"
Daniel looked at the tigers.
According to Zagan's words, Daniel saw them as small cats.
"These damn cats are gone."
Daniel boldly approached and kicked the tigers' bellies.
"Grrrr!"
The tiger hit in the belly roared.
On the other hand, the soldiers outside thought the tiger's roar was Daniel being swallowed.
"Tsk tsk.. Poor guy. Wrong person to meet, becoming tiger food."
"Yeah. Thinking about being torn apart... ugh.. scary!"
The soldiers didn't dare look inside.
The human corpse eaten by tigers was hard to look at.
Everyone thought Daniel was dead.