BBYW Vol. 4 Chapter 52 (WN)
Chapter 52 – Kingdom of Sands and Rivers
【POV: ???】
“Rise and shine, it’s morning already!”
“Hnn…”
Someone opened the curtains, letting a dazzling stream of sunlight in the room.
I pulled the sheets over my head, attempting to hide from the mercilessly spreading brightness.
Someone’s hand, however, wrested the sheets from my grasp, leaving me defenseless in front of the daylight.
“Aww…let me sleep just a little more…”
“No can do! Today there’s the prayer at the shrine, did you forget? You might be a novice, but you’re officially a cleric now. No sleeping in!”
“Waaah!”
My body was then shaken vigorously, and I finally opened my eyes. What first appeared in my sight was my older sister, Nefermillia.
“Wake up already, Tina!”
“I am awake, sis…”
My name is Nefertina, a novice cleric living in the Kingdom of Jaswat, a country in the middle of the desert.
The Kingdom of Jaswat, my homeland, is right next to the great river that flows across the desert: thanks to the blessings provided by its waters, the kingdom has prospered throughout history.
At the same time, the boons granted by the river have often made our kingdom a target of other neighboring countries, but the kingdom’s supreme ruler, Her Majesty the Queen, has maintained peace with her divine powers.
The divine powers wielded by the queens throughout history are so great that, in the three centuries since Jaswat was founded, no foreign army has ever crossed into our territory.
I was born and raised in this country, but lost my parents when I was very little, and now live together with my older sister, Nefermillia.
Our lifestyle wasn’t certainly what one would call comfortable, but thanks to my kind sister and the help of the people in the neighborhood, I never once thought I was unfortunate.
I started working as a novice cleric this year, so we have been able to have a little more to eat for dinner, and life has been getting gradually easier.
I loved this Kingdom of Jaswat, from the bottom of my heart.
“Eat your breakfast, quick! You’re going to be late!”
“I know, I know…”
Rubbing my sleepy eyelids, I got off the bed and tossed away my pajamas. I squeezed inside my cleric robe from the head and exhaled.
The ringing of the bell could be heard from outside, seven times: there was less than one hour until the time of the prayer.
“Aah, I’m going to be late! You could have woken me up earlier…”
“As if you would have gotten up! You’re still such a baby. If you keep acting like that, I will never be able to get married and leave the house.”
“That’s only because you don’t have anyone to…ouch!”
“Keep yapping like that, and no breakfast for you tomorrow!”
Millia’s smile was rather tense, as she slapped the ladle on her hand.
“I-I am very sorry, o great sister, most beautiful and amazing at cooking…”
I rubbed my hurting head and shoved the vegetable sandwich in my mouth. I used the soup in the wooden cup to push the bread down my throat and downed my cup of goat milk in one gulp.
After such a rushed meal, I took my veil and put it on my head.
“Thanks for the food, I’m off!”
“Bye, take care out there!”
“Yes ma’am!”
I waved and ran out. The fierce rays of the desert sun made my skin sting a little on the way.
As I was scurrying through the streets, a neighbor lady called out to me.
“Off to the shrine today, Tina? Don’t be late now!”
“I won’t! Have a nice day~~”
I smiled and waved at the neighbors as I hurried towards the shrine.
“I should be there right on time…waah!”
I was one turn away from my destination…when I bumped into someone just behind the corner.
“I-I’m sorry!! I wasn’t looking…eh?”
“…………..”
I fell down on my butt, then looked up at the person I had bumped against: it was a man clad in a soldier’s armor.
The exposed skin of the man, however — his face and limbs were completely dried up, just like a mummy.
“Ah, it’s just a holy guard…”
“……………”
The mummified soldier — officially named “Holy Guard” — did not say anything and walked away.
The “person” I bumped into was not a living human being, but an undead soldier summoned from the otherworld by the Queen’s divine powers.
They protected the country and its citizens, sometimes fighting against foreign threats: these soldiers were the greatest cause of Jaswat’s prosperity.
Without this divine protection, the neighboring countries would have invaded and ransacked our kingdom a long time ago.
“What are you doing here, Tina?“
“Aah…not this voice…”
I turned around, still sitting on the ground. There I saw a boy, my childhood friend, looking down at me.
He was wearing the same armor as the holy guards, but was not a mummy himself, of course. His name was Amstrahotep.
He was a childhood friend living in the same neighborhood as me, and worked as a shrine soldier since last year.
“Clumsy as ever, huh? Your body might have grown, but you’re still a brat!”
“You’re the last person I want to hear that from, Tep!”
He was the last person I wanted to see me like that: I was terribly embarrassed, but still grabbed his stretched hand without hesitation.
Pulled up by his thick arms, I stood back up. His strength made me realize once more that he had become an adult too, and made me feel strangely moved.
“You can’t deny you’re clumsy, though. How can you mistake a mummy for a person?”
“Hey, I mean…hmph…”
I wanted to object to his teasing, but couldn’t come up with anything, so I just glared at him.
The boy cackled back at me and tapped my head. I immediately swatted his hand away.
“Don’t treat me like a child! Why did you get so tall, anyway? It’s not fair!”
A few years ago, we were pretty much the same height, but now I had to look up at Amstrahotep’s face. It frustrated me for some reason, so I punched him on the chest, over the armor.
“Don’t be so grumpy, now. Here, have some candy.”
“You’re doing it again!! I don’t like you anymore, Tep!”
Despite my harsh words, I grabbed the potato snack from his hands, shoved it in my mouth and started chewing.
Amstrahotep looked at me, a soft smile on his lips.
“Hahaha…it’s prayer day at the shrine, right? Weren’t you in a hurry?”
“Aah!! Right! I have to go!!”
“Hey, wait! Tina!”
I hurriedly swallowed the potato snack and was about to run off, when Amstrahotep grabbed my arm and forced me to stop.
“What do you want? I have to hurry!”
“Do you have time after the prayer? There’s something important I want to tell you.”
“Well…yeah, sure.”
Amstrahotep was unusually serious, so I was taken aback and nodded without thinking. Millia told me to go home early, but…
“Er…I really gotta go now.”
“Yeah, sorry for holding you back.”
“No problem, so bye….eh?”
I really had to run now, but the sight that appeared before me stopped me in my tracks again.
The holy guard I had bumped against a couple minutes ago suddenly collapsed, and instantly turned into brown sand.
“He went back to the earth…? Why, all of a sudden…?”
Amstrahotep mumbled gravely, frowning.
“Could it be… did something happen to the Queen..?”
“That’s…”
As I mentioned such a possibility, Amstrahotep fell silent.
I stood there for a while, then decided to head to the shrine, to find out the truth behind the eerie incident.