Edited by An Zheee
Medeus gave Nataek a pitiful look with one eye narrowed. Medeus took a step closer to Nataek, his body blocking the moonlight.
“If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to—”
“Anu.”
“What?”
“Anu. The god’s name.”
“Anu…”
Nataek rolled the name around with his tongue, but nothing came to mind.
The game that he played, Sumer’s Anunnaki, players could create a character by choosing to align with one of the gods from Mesopotamian mythology to worship as part of their lineage. Choices that Nataek was familiar with included Inanna (commonly known as Ishtar), Ninsun (known for being the mother of Gilgamesh), and Ki-sikil-lil-la-ke (commonly known as Lilith). However, Nataek didn’t recall a god named Anu being among the choices..
Suddenly, Nataek had an idea. Just like how Nataek was called ‘Inanna’ Teresi in this world, would Medeus also use the name of his guardian deity? It was a simple enough question to ask.
“Was that the name your family used by any chance?”
“That’s right. You know, I was called by that name until I arrived at Uruk.”
Anu Medeus… The name seemed to fit him better than Ninurta ever did.
Medeus turned his shoulder and continued, “I wanted to abandon all traces of them when I abandoned my name, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted it to.”
When Medeus subtly raised his elbow, said traces on the side of his upper torso were revealed. The traces that he couldn’t get rid of. Nataek’s brow furrowed.
“Now, you. What about the name of your family?” Medeus abruptly asked.
“The name of my family?”
“Yes. You’re not related to the Inanna family by blood either, right?”
Ah. Nataek rubbed his cheek at those words. Medeus must’ve thought that Nataek was in a similar predicament to him since his appearance was different from those belonging to the Inanna family.
Perhaps, Medeus was trying to show him some empathy…?
It reminded Nataek of the recent times when Medeus had secretly shown him some leniency. Now, Nataek realized that generosity must’ve stemmed from a sense of kinship between them.
Right, if you take the opportunity to bond with Medeus in rare instances like this, then at the very minimum, he won’t be throwing daggers straight at you in the future like he did during their first meeting. Nataek decided to reveal his true identity in order to further his goal of surviving in this place.
“Yes, I also have another… name… another family name.”
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.
“Which is?”
“Off… Off Rjajfx.”
“Off Rjajfx?
“Tfr.”
“Off Rjajfx Kfgfrl?”
Rjajfx’r fsfygbkr rmgecmtfv mibrfv abufatfg. Pa kjr jkxkjgv tfjglcu tlr ragjcuf ujwf clmxcjwf jvvfv ab j qfgofmais cbgwji cjwf. Lbkfnfg, Zfvfer’r fzqgfrrlbc rtbkfv cb tlca bo jwerfwfca, rb Rjajfx mbeivc’a rjs jcsatlcu jybea la.
“Pa kjr Off Rjajfx. Rjajfx. P—P’w Off Rjajfx.”
“What a peculiar name. Where are you from? The East?”
When it came to people from ancient times… What would they know about whether a modern man’s name was strange or not?
Feeling strangely offended, Nataek replied stiffly, “It’s a name I cherish more than Teresi. So, don’t say things like that.”
Medeus stayed silent after that. Had Nataek crossed the line again?
There was a good chance of that happening considering that the bastard’s ‘line’ often stretched and shrunk like a rubber band. Nataek wasn’t sorry at all, but he felt like he was going to have to apologize again anyway.
Just as Nataek was about to lift his head, Medeus reached out and grabbed him by the crown of his head. Nataek tried to raise his head, but Medeus’s hand kept his head down with force.
“Lee Nataek.”
“…Yes?”
The name felt unfamiliar to Nataek since it’d been so long since he used it. His entire body stiffened in uncertainty of what Medeus would do next.
The man’s shadow drew closer. Medeus pressed a light kiss on the back of his own hand which was holding onto Nataek’s head. Then, Medeus pulled back.
Confused, Nataek asked, “…What are you doing?”
“In my homeland, we had a ritual where we take in the moonlight whenever we’re expressing our condolences or bidding our goodbyes.”
Nataek didn’t understand. He rubbed the crown of his head where Medeus’s hand had been.
“You and me. Let’s forget the names we abandoned.” Medeus finished, turning away.
For the longest while, Nataek continued to mindlessly wash himself as his head was occupied trying to understand the meaning of Medeus’s words. He’d even forgotten the fact that he was still completely naked, his complex being the last thing on his mind.
* * *
After having endured the shame, humiliation, and hardship from earlier, Nataek came across a large bathhouse on his way back to the Ninurta mansion later that night. Large was an understatement—It was a spacious bathhouse with a size comparable to the most famous modern hot springs. Having caught a glimpse of it, Nataek suddenly remembered what Dudu said.
‘Oh! It’s not that the third master doesn’t use the public bathhouse, it’s more like he can’t use it.’
With a bathhouse as spacious and well-equipped as this one… His master was the only one who couldn’t use it, so Nataek had to be worked like a dog to manually serve Medeus his own bathwater.
He already didn’t have a good perception of the caste system, but then he also had to deal with the values of ancient bastards who judged people based on their origins. In comparison, Medeus seemed to be more open-minded than Nataek expected. Of course, the results would be different if you evaluate someone based on the time period they lived in and the people they were surrounded by instead of your own standards.
Nataek felt refreshed even though he woke up early the next morning, perhaps due to the fact that he’d finally been able to properly wash himself after having gone so long without having a bath. After finishing his morning duties, Nataek and Medeus quickly made preparations to leave for the scouting expedition.
“You know how to ride a kunga, right?” Medeus asked, grabbing the reins. The muscular animal stared at Nataek intently with a gleam in its eyes. Although it was smaller than a horse, it was still no easy beast to ride.
“…I don’t know how.”
“What the hell were you doing in your time in Lagash? You don’t even know how to ride a kunga?”
Was this something basic that all aristocrats knew how to do? Even though Medeus kept saying ‘Lagash this, Lagash that’, Nataek couldn’t do what he didn’t know how to do. And he wasn’t going to lie about it either, afraid that he would sustain a serious injury if he ever fell off a kunga.
Medeus handed the reins over to Nataek regardless of his previous answer.
“Do you remember what I told you?”
“What do you mean?”
Medeus gestured for Nataek to take the reins. Nataek’s eyes, filled with frustration and disbelief, tried to think back on his past conversations with Medeus.
‘Actually, it doesn’t matter to me what you know how to do. Small things will be handled by servants of the mansion, but you are responsible for everything I need. So, don’t focus on any specific area. Just learn how to do everything.’
“No way…”
“What part are you not catching on immediately?”
Nataek slowly took the reins in his hands. He immediately retracted the assessment of comparing Medeus to those other ancient bastards.
If Nataek fell while riding a kunga, then he’d get hurt, and slaves typically weren’t granted the luxury of getting medical attention, although it’d be worse if the wound was treated using uncivilized methods which would only make things worse, and if Nataek died at the end by the end of all this, he wouldn’t be able to go back to reality.
“I… Can’t we just walk?”
“Walk to where? The Zagros Mountains?”
Were the Zagros Mountains the equivalent of Mount Jiri or something? Since Nataek wasn’t sure, he couldn’t answer right away.
Medeus examined the reins of his kunga. “Unless you want to be tied in the back and dragged along, you’d better learn quickly.”
“…”
Medeus today was the same as Medeus yesterday but in Nataek’s mind, the two sides of Medeus were different as if he were a hand whose palm had been flipped. Yesterday, he was even a somewhat sympathetic even if bad-mannered type guy, but today, he had instantly turned into a damn son of a bitch.
Slaves were not permitted to ride on kunga while inside the city of Uruk. Medeus had planned to put Nataek on a kunga as they were leaving the city.
What followed were difficult negotiations. Nataek tried to gain sympathy by saying he was afraid of kunga, but Medeus cut him off by mentioning Nataek’s duties as a slave.
That’s how they got to where they were now.
When they arrived at the eastern gate of the fortress, Medeus gestured to the gatekeeper. The gatekeepers, who recognized Medeus on sight, bent down and opened the gate.
Slam–
As soon as the gate was closed, Medeus climbed on top of his kunga.
“I gave you a kunga as a favor, so don’t complain anymore.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you getting on?”
“Right…”
Nataek prayed earnestly to his kunga, who was looking at him with doe-like eyes. Let’s do well together, and please don’t be too rough with me.
Nataek summoned the power of all the gods he knew, praying fervently in his heart. He used that determination in the moment to muster up the courage to get on the kunga. However–
“Oh, oh my, oh my gods, Lord Medeus!”
Someone was calling out to Medeus. A young couple who’d been anxiously lingering near the city walls rushed over to Medeus. They looked older than Medeus or Nataek, also possessing different hair and eye colors from the Uruk people who lived within the walls. Also, they were wearing nothing more than rags.
Medeus immediately hopped off his kunga.
“Please, help us, Lord Medeus!”
The couple fell to their knees. They bowed before Medeus and even bowed to Nataek, who was standing beside him. Nataek quickly stepped to the side, distancing himself from the two.
“What happened?”
“The Guti have taken our daughter Haq! We must find her before nightfall, but the gatekeepers won’t let us in.”
“If they won’t let us in, there’s nothing we can do. Please, help us, Lord Medeus!”
The couple crawled on their knees to Medeus, clinging onto his legs in desperation.
Acting like that… didn’t it seem like they were just begging to be kicked?
Thanks for the chapter
First indirect kiss huh? Woah
I like their banter. It’s seems they’re getting close.
💖
Thank you so much for uploading.
🤩