Edited by An Zheee
How did he find a place like this?
Medeus took Nataek to a place near the city walls. On the inside, between the walls, there was Nataek and Medeus. On the outside, there was a flowing river.
Part of the river was flowing inside the castle due to the differences in the elevation of the terrain, and Medeus had found that exact spot without a second glance.
There were water wheels scattered around the castle to bring water from the outside into the city. Water flowed in from the water wheels, trickling in front of Medeus in the form of a stream. The shape that the body of water formed made Nataek feel like he was in a valley.
Nataek’s first thought was: if only he could move all of this to Medeus’s residence, then he wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of fetching bathwater every night.
“I discovered this place while scouting. Nobody knows about it since nobody comes near the city walls due to the Guti.”
So what did you bring me here to do?
As Nataek stood there awkwardly holding onto all their packed items, Medeus gestured toward the small outdoor bath.
“Go in.”
“Me?”
“Of course. Or should I?” Medeus said.
“I’m… alright, go ahead.”
“Stop talking nonsense and get in. I don’t know how much longer I can keep waiting.”
Medeus stood with his arms folded and his legs crossed. The water that Nataek glanced at was undoubtedly clean, no signs of any foreign substances anywhere. It seemed like a place that even nobles could use. However, the quality of the water wasn’t the problem. Damp sweat gathered on Nataek’s palms. It was purely a psychological issue, not a physical one.
“Then… If you could please give me some privacy for a moment, I’ll be done quickly.”
“Are you trying to give me orders now?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“Is your body a temple? Are you a priest or something? Where would I go hide? I’ve already said it once, I prefer bodies that are more soft and sensuous. So stop worrying about such useless things and go in.”
“That…”
That wasn’t the problem. The reason Nataek couldn’t take his clothes off was because of the complex he carried in his heart for over ten years when it came to his hairless body.
It wasn’t that Nataek preferred lush jungles or plant overgrowth, but his smooth body had become the subject of many curious glances from onlookers in modern society. Eventually, he grew a sense of inferiority about the lack of natural development in that area.
The bottom line was that Nataek didn’t want to take off his clothes in front of Medeus.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Qtja jgf sbe kjlalcu obg? Tbe cffv ab kjrt eq delmxis rb kf mjc ub yjmx.”
Rjajfx’r uglq bc atf qjmxfv lafwr alutafcfv. Llr ygjlc kjr kbgxlcu ojrafg atjc ktfc tlr ilof kjr yflcu atgfjafcfv, foofmalnfis gjlrlcu tlr fnjrlbc raja lc atf wbwfca.
“Lbk vjgf j ibkis rijnf wjxf tlr wjrafg kjla obg tlw? Rbk atja P xcbk jybea atlr qijmf, P’ii gfaegc ab ws dejgafgr cbk jcv mbwf yjmx ab kjrt eq joafg P olclrt ws vealfr.”
“We’ve already come this far. Even when I go to war, I don’t come back without spoils.”
So… It seems that the myth of Medeus being undefeated in battle was all due to his stubborn temperament.
Nataek closed his eyes shut, thinking of his next plan of action but was interrupted by the rustling of cloth moving behind him. He turned around and saw Medeus removing his belt and scabbard.
Medeus, now naked, approached Nataek and took the bundle off his back, setting it down.
“I got it—”
“Stop talking and get in.” Medeus kicked Nataek in the back.
Splash–
Nataek fell forward into the water with his clothes still on.
“Even the lowest ranking soldiers wouldn’t go this far,” Medeus muttered in a warning tone as he entered the water.
Unfortunately, the water was only deep enough to barely cover their crotches. It was impossible for Nataek to hide his body unless he sat down out of shame. Nataek stood up with his back turned to Medeus.
“Teresi. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“…Yes.”
He didn’t have a choice. Delaying further would only fuel more of Medeus’s suspicion and curiosity. Nataek turned away and started undressing. Then, he leaned down and started scrubbing his clothes in the water as if he were doing laundry.
What the hell was he doing in the middle of the night?
Medeus came up behind Nataek. Even though Nataek couldn’t see him, he could feel Medeus reaching his hands into the water. After searching around for a bit, Medeus took something out and offered it to Nataek.
“At this rate, the smell of sikaru will linger. So, use this as soap.”
The “soap” that Medeus offered was a mixture of goat fat and charcoal powder. The soap was usually stored in the river using a waterproof leather pouch coated in bitumen. Nataek wondered how often the man came here.
Nataek stretched out his arm and took the soap.
Splish, splash–
The sound of washing his clothes echoed under the moonlit night. As Nataek scrubbed his clothes with soap, he couldn’t help but wonder what he was trying to accomplish here. The only good thing about coming here tonight was the fact that Nataek didn’t have to break his back trying to fill the bathtub.
Nataek’s body glistened in the moonlight as Medeus, who’d been standing behind and quietly watching, approached him. Nataek didn’t dare look back, only tightly clinging onto his innocent clothes.
“Are you here to do laundry?”
Medeus reached out, grabbing Nataek’s arm, and yanked him from the back. With a splash, Nataek fell backwards into the river. His head was submerged in icy water.
“I brought you here to wash yourself.”
Nataek stood up, coughing up water that had entered his mouth.
“I am, I was in the middle of doing it…”
Nataek wiped a wet hand across his face as he was getting ready to speak again. Medeus, who stood right in front of him, eyed Nataek up and down with a confused look on his face.
“…What is this?”
Medeus’s focus was entirely on Nataek’s weakness. Nataek could hear the cracks forming in his shattered pride.
“Do you have a disease?”
Was this what Sununki’s setting was like? Was it a time when hairlessness was serious enough to be considered a disease? Nataek didn’t know, but Medeus’s reaction wasn’t an uncommon one, as Nataek had received similar gazes in the modern era. It was just…
“I was… I was born like this.”
It was just humiliating. Even more so because of the fact that there wasn’t any amusement or ridicule in Medeus’s expression.
Raising an eyebrow, Medeus said, “I’ve traveled to all kinds of different places and have seen countless men’s bodies, but this is the first time I’ve seen anything like yours.”
“…There are all kinds of men in Uruk. You just haven’t met them yet, but there are a lot of people just like me.”
“Well, it’s possible.”
Medeus stretched out his arms. After recklessly prying into other people’s private affairs, his face twisted as if he’d swallowed a bitter pill.
From the cloudless night, the light of the moon reflected on Medeus’s shoulder. At that moment, all of Nataek’s discontent faded away. While stretching, several scars on the side of Medeus’s torso were revealed. Specifically, they were scars that looked as though the man had been slashed at least a dozen times with a knife.
In between the scars was some sort of pattern drawn on his body. It was a peculiar pattern, one that Nataek couldn’t discern as being letters or drawings. When Nataek looked closer, a small dot of glowing light was circling over the pattern.
It… It was the same type of light that the system often used. Nataek rubbed his eyes. The light that appeared for only a moment was gone in an instant, as if it had never existed. The system also remained silent.
Was it an illusion cast by the moonlight? Or… was Nataek just seeing things?
Medeus, who noticed Nataek’s gaze, looked down to his own body.
“What is it? Do you recognize this pattern?”
“…No, it’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this.”
“Is that so?”
Even though the scars had healed a long time ago, the cuts were vivid enough to let Nataek imagine how painful they were. Medeus lowered his arm to cover the scars.
“I dislike it when others look at me like that. I’d rather you put your opinion into words.”
“Then, may I ask about it?”
“You always ask questions, even when I tell you not to.”
“…”
It was only half true, but Nataek wasn’t going to contest Medeus about it. If you don’t ask questions when permission to ask questions has been granted, you’ll never know when you’ll be allowed to ask another one again.
Without hesitation, Nataek asked, “What does the pattern mean?”
“The sigil of the one who was my guardian deity.”
Medeus’s words were in the past tense.
“Can you change guardian deities?”
“If the god abandons me.”
The words ‘guardian deity’ reminded Nataek of the damn fortune teller’s words.
‘I think this guardian deity might be giving hints on how to survive in this place. Whenever a problem arises or an incident breaks out, usually an object or person related to this guardian deity will act as a guide.’
For players, the guardian deity was merely a lighthouse keeper. As in, there wasn’t any real weight to the word ‘guardian deity’. After carefully deciding what to say next, Nataek decided to steer the conversation toward Medeus’s past.
“What happened to you to make you think your god has abandoned you?”
“Everyone in my family believed in this god. But I’m the only one among them who survived. Isn’t that enough evidence to say that my god has abandoned me?”
It was publicly known that Medeus was not related to the Ninurta family by blood. It was one of the first things Nataek found out when he arrived here.
Wasn’t this a weakness for you? Was it okay to be telling a servant all of this?
But it seemed as though Medeus genuinely wasn’t bothered by such things. Nataek knew that Medeus wasn’t the type who’d display excessive pride.
Still, there was no need to reopen up old wounds of what happened, and Nataek didn’t even want to go that far. So instead, Nataek directed his focus back onto the pattern.
“What was the name of that god?”
“Why do you want to know that?”
“It’s just that… I think I’ll avoid that god from now on.”
“Avoid them?”
We need more. Also, when will they realize they have SO MUCH sexual tension?
10/10 TFTC
I 143 medeus so effing much
….there is a lot I’m thinking but I can’t figure out how to work it… 1. The marking on his back 2. I feel like there was something else medeus was looking at for the confusion on his face. 3. 👀 system sus