“Heh... I suppose it’s as you say.” The moment he snickered, the pressure in the air immediately let up. Finally able to breathe again, Nozomu sighed in relief. He was saved. If that pressure had lasted any longer, he might’ve seriously died of asphyxiation.
“My name is Thutmose, Pharaoh of Kemet. Thutmose III, to be exact.” The man—Thutmose—finally gave his name. He’d also informed them that he was from Kemet—the large country to the southwest of the Megiddo region, if Nozomu recalled correctly. If he really was the ruler of that land, that would certainly explain why he gave off such a commanding presence.
“I-Is it really okay for you to reveal yourself in a place like this?!” one of his entourage stammered.
“Silence. I am greeting my future wife for the first time. It’s only proper that I display my sincerity,” Thutmose replied.
“Huh?! Future wife?!” While he didn’t let out a cry of surprise, Nozomu was completely baffled. One thing was snowballing into another, and unable to follow the conversation, his confusion grew with each passing moment. Just what had prompted this sudden turn of events?
“Now then, beautiful, strong-willed woman. May I have your name?”
“Kristina.”
“Kristina, is it? What a lovely name. Your spirit has captured my heart, and you possess the qualities necessary for a wife of mine. Please, stay beside me, and...”
“Sorry.” Kristina cut Thutmose off before he could say anything further. “Serves you right!” thought Nozomu, but he certainly knew better than to say that out loud. He wouldn’t dare.
“Don’t tell me it’s because you’re already betrothed to him?” Thutmose jabbed a thumb over at Nozomu. That pissed Nozomu off, but he didn’t have the guts to say so.
“No, the one I love is elsewhere,” Kristina replied.
“Oh? Then I’m rather jealous of that person. But I wonder if they have the capacity to handle you?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. That person accepts all that I am, and I’ve devoted my life solely to them.”
“Is that so? Then that makes me even more envious.”
“Huh? You have someone like that, Kris?!” Her older sister Albertina went wide-eyed as though it was news to her. Of course, the one that Kristina loved more than anybody else was Albertina herself, but Albertina seemed to be the only one that wasn’t aware. “No way... It can’t be Father, right?! You’ve been holding back because of me?!”
“No, Al. You’re only making the conversation more complicated, so settle down and eat your meal.”
“Eh?! Then, will you tell me afterward?!”
“Sorry. It’s a secret.”
“Aww!”
“Now, now, settle down. You’ve got some soup on your face.”
“Huh?! Where?!”
“Right here.” Kristina brushed her finger along Albertina’s cheek and stuck it in her own mouth. The expression on her face was gentle, a far cry from her usual icy demeanor. It was as plain as day who the one she loved really was.
“How unproductive.” Thutmose, apparently having realized what Kristina was getting at, gave a bitter half-smile.
“That’s my call to make,” Kristina replied icily.
“It’s a waste of a good woman such as yourself. I ought to show you how much better being with a man can be,” he said with a grin. His voice was full of confidence, as though he was certain he could get anyone to do his bidding. But he wasn’t putting on airs either. He had a mysterious charisma to him that backed up those words of his, that could get anyone to follow him if he so desired.
Those charismatic powers of his didn’t work on Kristina, it seemed. “I’ll pass on that. I’ve met plenty of men better than you, at least.” She cut him down without hesitation.
“Does this woman not know fear?!” Nozomu, barely managing to contain himself, yelled internally. In fact, save for Hildegard, Albertina, and Homura, the other soldiers tasked with protecting Nozomu were also overwhelmed by Thutmose’s presence and were wincing in fear. The four women who maintained calm expressions were actually the odd ones out.
“Hoh, better men than me? Then, by all means, bring them here.” He seemed to be amused, but Thutmose’s voice became fierce, and the tension in the room thickened once more.
“Again?! Does this guy not have any restraint?! Gimme a break! Get me outta here!” Nozomu screamed in his heart, when...
“Oh, there you are. Yo, did I make you wait a while?”
The completely out-of-place, leisurely voice of his father echoed through the tavern.
“Who is this man coming from nowhere all of a sudden?!” was Thutmose III’s initial thought. There was a silver-haired and blonde-haired woman to the left and right of the man as well, but they barely even registered within his consciousness. The man looked to be anywhere from his late twenties to his midthirties, and he seemed to not have a care in the world. In other words, weak, by Thutmose’s standards. His impression of the unknown man quickly shifted, however. Something about him was strangely frightening. For some reason, Thutmose got the feeling he was on the edge of a sheer precipice, staring down into an endless abyss.
“Oh look, perfect timing. Here’s someone who’s far more of a man than you’ll ever be.” Kristina snickered as though she could see through Thutmose’s fear.
He could not show weakness in front of the woman he’d fallen for. He glared at the man who’d appeared out of nowhere and released his aura of intimidation that had caused so many to kneel before him. Despite Thutmose’s best efforts, however, the man just blinked in confusion, as though he didn’t know why he was being pressured in the first place. He didn’t look intimidated or frightened in the least.
“Heh heh... Interesting!” Thutmose thought. Kristina had said this man was more of a man than he was, so there was no need to hold back. With a carnivorous grin, he turned the pressure up to max.
“Yikes!”
“What the?!”
Even the other tavern patrons let out yelps of shock and fear. Thutmose had called forth a magnitude of presence only a great king could manifest to intimidate everyone in the building.
“So, uh, did my son do something to upset you, by any chance?” Even after taking Thutmose’s full-powered aura at point-blank range, the man showed no signs of nervousness. He wasn’t pretending to be unfazed either—Thutmose’s aura was simply like a light breeze to him.
“Hm, well, as a parent, it’d be intrusive of me to get involved in a fight between children, but it looks like this might be a little hard for Nozomu to handle on his own. All right, then, I’ll settle this.” As he said it, a mischievous grin appeared on the man’s face, and in the next instant...
“Whooaaaa?!”
A chill of terror like nothing Thutmose had ever felt before in his life ran down his spine. Sweat began to pour from his face in an instant. Even his stepmother, Hatshepsut, the queen of Kemet who held ultimate power over him, had never inspired such raw fear in him.
✦ ✦ ✦
