Their eyes met.
There wasn’t anything Nataek had done to give away his intentions. So how did he know? He’s like a beast with strong instincts.
“Given your silence, it seems that your mouth is also only for decoration.”
“No, it’s not like that…”
“Should we step outside first? It’ll be troublesome if we get any blood on the grains.”
The man had a face as fresh as spring sunshine, but the words that came out of his mouth could only be described as vicious. He grabbed Nataek by the collar to drag him outside, but Nataek used the remaining strength in his legs to resist. If they hadn’t been in the grain warehouse in the first place, there’d be no doubt that the man would’ve drawn his sword out by now.
“Wait, wait a minute,” Nataek said.
For now, let’s just buy time by trying to talk to him.
“I’m telling the truth—I really didn’t come here to do anything bad.”
“Then what?”
“Well… I mean…”
Nataek thought to himself, how can I get through this difficult obstacle?
First, he had to give a reason that would make sense to the other man. He also needed to make sure he didn’t come across as malicious. His survival instincts came up with a response.
“I… Oh, I heard someone calling me… That’s why I came here.”
“Someone calling you?”
Did it work?
“Yes, so I wanted to check it out.”
“What did their voice sound like?”
Nataek broke into a cold sweat. “Their voice sounded like…”
“Slave! How dare you run away?!”
It was at that moment when the cry of Furball echoed from outside. With stomping feet, the slave trader entered the warehouse.
“Damned bastard, how dare you leave without permission! Until you come to your senses, I’ll beat you… Heuk, Third—Third Master.”
Furball, who had been holding the whip tightly, froze in front of the man’s cold gaze. He lowered his head to the floor.
“Why, why did the master decide to come all the way here?”
“Do I need a reason to check my grain warehouse?”
“No, of course not!”
Furball, whose shoulders were hunched, slightly raised his head, and briefly glanced at Nataek.
“However, how did you… with that guy… Could it be that he has shown disrespect?”
Until they were assigned to their respective positions, Furball was responsible for the management of the slaves. Furball’s eyes shook as he looked at the man gripping Nataek by the collar.
The man let go of Nataek and turned to Furball.
“You’re the one who’s showing disrespect. I was asking him something, but you interrupted us.”
“I, I apologize, master! F—Forgive me!”
Furball bowed so hard, the top of his head touched his toes. He was trembling with fear.
It was understandable. Nataek had also been worried about losing his head within ten minutes of having met the man. How did it come to this?
The man who caused this commotion in the first place was indifferent towards Furball’s reaction. The man waved his hand dismissively as if he was annoyed.
“Enough. Take him with you. His position hasn’t been assigned yet, right?”
Furball finally raised his head. “Yes, I was about to bring him to his new master.”
Furball beckoned to Nataek with flared nostrils.
What? What do you want me to do? Was the slave trader ordering him to come over? But the direction in which he pointed Nataek to was strange. Why does he keep gesturing in the direction of the man…
“Hurry up and say hello! From today onwards, you will serve under Medeus.”
Nataek blinked. He looked at the man next to him. At the same time, a message window appeared.
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.
<SYSTEM> A new beginning! You are now bound to ‘Ninurta Medeus!’
“…”
“Jtffxs yjrajgv, rcjq bea bo la! Qtja jgf sbe vblcu, cba ugffalcu sbeg cfk wjrafg qgbqfgis!”
Megyjii gertfv bnfg jcv ugjyyfv Rjajfx ys atf yjmx bo tlr tfjv, obgmlcu tlw ab yfcv vbkc. Ktf mbcnfgrjalbcr atja Rjajfx bnfgtfjgv fjgilfg fmtbfv lc tlr ibkfgfv tfjv.
“Isn’t the third master a noble in name only? A slave that serves a fake aristocrat. Their position in the palace will be the lowest of the low.”
Pa kjr Rjajfx ktb kbc atf tbcbg bo yflcu atf ibkfra bo atf ibk.
* * *
Just like how Nataek had tried using a pot of barley grains as a shield, Furball was trying to save his own skin using Nataek as his shield. After placing Nataek under Medeus, Furball quickly ran away in terror.
Was it normal to be passed around like this without any time to prepare?
It was an unnerving situation for Nataek. But Medeus, the supposed master, remained indifferent as ever.
Holding his breath, Nataek trailed behind Medeus when the man had ordered him to follow. They left the granary, fortunately with Nataek’s head still attached.
The place they arrived at was Medeus’s residence. The residence, built out of square adobe bricks, was plain and neat. To some extent, it wasn’t much different from the buildings that Nataek had seen in the Uruk marketplace.
Nataek was looking around the residence when Medeus approached him. In the man’s hand was a short dagger, which he spun with his thick fingers.
Could it be that he intends to kill me here?
As Nataek flinched and took a step back, Medeus narrowed the distance between them even more.
“Hand.”
“…Yes?”
Medeus gestured towards Nataek’s hands, still bound by rope.
“Do you want me to cut them off at the wrist?”
“No.”
Nataek quickly stretched out his arms. With a swift slicing sound, the rope was cut. At last, Nataek’s hands were free.
While rubbing his sore wrist, Medeus asked, “What’s your name?”
“Natae… It’s Teresi.”
He almost said his real name without realizing. The name “Teresi” was still unfamiliar on his tongue. Medeus tossed the dagger onto the bronze table.
“What do you know how to do?”
The shift to interrogation started smoothly. When Nataek hesitated to answer the broad question, Medeus immediately added a clarification.
“The things you can do as a slave. I’m asking which ones you’re good at.”
Nataek quickly thought it over. He felt confident in cleaning.
“It seems you’ve never held a sword, seeing how you don’t have a single callus anywhere on your hand. In fact, seeing how you don’t have even a speck of dirt in your fingertips even in this state, I doubt you’ve ever experienced any hardships. So, tell me what you can do.”
Medeus sat down in a chair by the table and rested his chin. It hadn’t been long since they’d met, yet he seemed to have assessed and understood Nataek to such an extent already. It was surprising.
Medeus’s demeanor and method of interrogation resembled that of an interviewer. Even in these damn ancient times, you still need an elevator pitch to sell yourself. But for now, Nataek needed to stay alive.
Nataek, in no particular order, listed off everything he could do.
“When it comes to cleaning… I’m confident. I’ve never used a sword before, but my body isn’t weak. And—”
Before Nataek could finish his sentence, something sharp suddenly flew at Nataek. He instinctively dodged it.
Ting—
Nataek looked behind him. The object that had whizzed past him was stuck in one of the adobe bricks. It was the dagger that Medeus used to free Nataek’s hands.
He swore that he had seen it on the table just now. When the hell did the other man take it?
“Your reflexes are clearly good. That’ll be useful.”
What a madman. Throwing a dagger just to confirm such a thing?
Medeus crossed his long legs and slightly wriggled his toes.
“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.”
“…Yes.”
Nataek didn’t even know what he was supposed to learn, but he answered anyway.
“If you understand, then bring it to me.”
Medeus gestured behind Nataek. Nataek pulled the dagger that almost killed him from the wall and presented himself before the tyrant.
“Here…!”
He handed over the dagger with both hands. When he bent down, the clay tablet he had hidden under his clothes slipped out through the gap in his upper garment. Nataek quickly pressed his arm to his body. The long, flat beginner’s dagger was stopped just in time, but the clay tablet fell to the floor without any chance of recovering it. At that moment, Medeus swiftly caught the lump with his hand. ‘Old Letter’ landed precisely upright on Medeus’s palm.
“…What’s this?”
Medeus alternated his gaze between the clay tablet and Nataek’s face.
“…”
Damn it… Nataek couldn’t provide an immediate answer because he didn’t even know what was written on it. The contents could be anything, from schemes of treason to a love confession.
When he looked at Nataek’s bewildered expression, Medeus ran his fingertips over the inscriptions on the clay tablet.
In a low voice, he read the words engraved on the tablet.
“God of the Heavens… The just and fair king. Trust the brave lion who broke the golden horn. The constellations he leads will guide your destiny…”
As soon as Medeus’s voice trailed off, a message appeared.
<SYSTEM> ‘Old Letter’ has been decoded!
<SYSTEM> The quest [Truth of the Letter] has been completed.
<SYSTEM> You have acquired the keyword ‘Guide’!
Nataek stared at the consecutive system messages with a dumbfounded expression.
Medeus, who had been touching the characters of the tablet for a while, looked up at Nataek. His eyes were widened, his face full of surprise.
“Where did you get this from?”
Nataek swallowed hard. Judging from Medeus’s reaction, it certainly didn’t seem like he was being suspected of committing treason.
He guessed he should try to get the clay tablet back first…
“I brought it with me when I came here,” Nataek lied, feeling like it was an all or nothing situation.
“Did you write this?”
“No, I didn’t write the letter… I only received it.”
“When?”
“It was… It was so long ago that I don’t remember.”
Neither the fact that it was a long time ago or that Nataek doesn’t remember were wrong statements.
Medeus slowly handed the clay tablet to Nataek. The returned tablet was now warm to the touch.
“Did someone from your family give it to you?”
“No, my family… It wasn’t them.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
Since the Ninurta household was said to hate the Inanna family, Nataek claimed he received it from someone else.
But why would he ask such a question?
Medeus stared at Nataek’s movements as he took back the clay tablet without averting his eyes. At this point, Nataek had no choice but to be certain that there was something important about the ‘Old Letter’. He once again regretted skimming through the cutscenes of the quest. He should’ve paid more attention.
Medeus leaned back in his chair. He continued, “As a token of my ownership, I will return it to you.”
“…Thank you.”
“It’s best you don’t get hung up on the past. Don’t cling on to the petty pride of an aristocrat. From now on, you are nothing more than my servant.”
“…Yes.”
From that point on, the only answer Nataek could give was yes, regardless of the question being asked.
* * *
Shortly after the interrogation at the residence, Medeus excused himself stating that he had somewhere to go. During that time, Dudu was somehow able to discreetly check up on Nataek.
“Young master, are you hurt anywhere?” asked Dudu.
Unlike Nataek, who belonged to Medeus, Dudu was assigned the position of an attendant who managed the mansion and did various chores.
“Don’t call me master. We’ll both get beaten to death if we get caught.”
“Yes…”
Dudu was well aware of that fact too.
“Then… What should I call you…?”
Dudu was weeping tears. It wouldn’t be easy to suddenly treat someone who was once their master as a slave. So, Nataek kindly provided guidance.
“Just call me by my name. It’s Teresi.”
“Um… Yes… Teresi… Sir…” Dudu answered sullenly.
Nataek looked around cautiously. Nobody was passing by. In this moment, he had to first find a way to survive.
“Dudu. What exactly am I supposed to do?”
“Has nobody given you instructions?”
“Nope. I’ve only been told to be good at whatever I’m asked to do.”
“…”
Dudu’s eyebrows furrowed. He leaned closer to Nataek.
“Mas—No, I mean Teresi. Listen carefully. After today, it will be difficult for me to help my ma—Teresi. So, I think you should know about the situation of the Ninurta family first.”
“Tell me, then.”
“From what I’ve heard, Ninurta’s third master only has one attendant as a close aide.”
“I know that.”
There was no one else around all day, so there was no way Nataek wouldn’t know.
“But do you know why?”
“No.”
Dudu lowered his voice even more. “I don’t think his position in this family is very good. It’s said that there were many cases in which his life was threatened. The attendants try very hard to avoid the third master, and Medeus doesn’t trust them either. That’s why he’s kept the number of people around him to a minimum for a long time now.”
“…”
Other nobles had multiple attendants, so their roles could be systematically divided among the team, but the single servant belonging to Medeus had to take responsibility for everything alone. To summarize, it meant that Nataek was assigned the most difficult position in the mansion. Nataek rubbed his forehead.
“Every master is different and has different needs, but given the circumstances… The only way for you to know what those needs are is to find out for yourself. First, focus on the basic things that are needed to get done. If I discover anything else, I’ll tell you about it.”
“The basic things that are needed to get done?”
“Things I used to do for the master!”
I’m asking because I don’t know…
Nataek silently chastised himself. Dudu, noticing that Nataek seemed lost, explained in detail.
“In the morning, prepare a meal for the master after fetching water for washing one’s face. And in the afternoon, check the schedule and prepare another meal. Public attendants will do the laundry, but you have to take care of the master’s bedding yourself. In the evening, please help bathe the master before going to bed.”
“Help… bathe?”
At that moment, voices of people talking from outside could be heard. Startled, Dudu hurriedly fired out words like fast shots from a cannon.
“Oh! It’s not that the third master doesn’t use the public bathhouse, it’s more like he can’t use it. It’s said that there’s a small bathtub within the residence, so you only need to fill it with warm water. And the most important thing! Don’t listen to what the other attendants say! Remember this one thing!”
“Why? Why shouldn’t I listen to them?” Nataek asked, but Dudu left after giving such important advice, running away like an NPC who was only able to give away the exact information he was programmed to. The voices of the people drew closer.
“What do you mean, help bathe…”
Editor: An Zheee
Hehehehehe help your future husband bathe~
Ooh, this story seems really interesting already! 🤩
This story is so promising! Also the writing style is great
Thanks for translating
thank you for the chapter!
i feel like teresi is in for it but… i’ve got confidence in him! someone who’s conquered up to the fifth city of this supposedly extreme difficulty game should be intelligent enough