Miss Hebe Is Charging Through the Lostbelts! [18]

Bright words surfaced on the dark-green desktop.

[SETTLING RESULTS…]

[CURRENT LOSTBELT]:

[DREAM OF GOLDEN TRUTH: THE LOST KINGDOM OF THE SEA OF SAND.]

[CURRENT LOSTBELT PROGRESS: 10%.]

[ACHIEVEMENTS]:

[DECISIVE ACTION]—YOU REALIZED THAT AN OVERLY LOFTY MORAL LINE IS USELESS WHEN DISASTER DESCENDS.

[SWIFT AS WIND AND LIGHTNING]—YOU TOOK UP THE DUTY OF A MESSENGER AND REACHED MEMPHIS AT TREMENDOUS SPEED.

[CALAMITIES OF THE ENNEAD]—YOU LEARNED THE NAME OF ONE OF THE “NATURAL DISASTERS,” BUT REMAIN IGNORANT OF MANY MORE SECRETS.

[SILENT REVELATION]—YOU ESCAPED THE SILENT END, BUT IT SHALL ONE DAY ARRIVE, AND YOU HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A PREMONITION OF IT. THE NEXT TIME YOU BEGIN A SIMULATION, YOU ARE CERTAIN TO SET FOOT ON A PATH UNDER THE PRINCIPLE OF WINTER.

[OVERALL EVALUATION]: D-.
[THE SECRET YOU DISCOVERED IS NO MORE THAN AN INSIGNIFICANT GRAIN IN THE SEA OF SAND.]

[REWARD]: NONE.

Hebe smiled.

No reward was no problem for Hebe. What mattered was that she had learned something from it.

“Calamities of the Ennead…”

The girl turned the phrase over in her mind, the corners of her mouth curving faintly upward. Her dark-green eyes grew brighter, and a dangerous, bewitching charm began to radiate from her.

If Osiris has become synonymous with natural disaster, then given the name of this achievement, can I make a bold guess—

The Ennead of Heliopolis has been completely defiled?

Heliopolis held a place in ancient Egypt second only to Memphis and Thebes in importance. It was the center of ancient Egyptian sun worship, and also the origin of the Ennead’s creation myth.

“The Lostbelt’s description said that Ramesses II committed a forbidden act in order to resist the natural disasters and perpetuate his kingship.”

“Whether the Ennead became natural disasters and slaughtered the people of Egypt, or Ramesses II artificially branded the Ennead with the name of natural disaster… either way, that should count as forbidden, shouldn’t it?”

“Then I have my next objective for exploration.”

The exploration of the Lostbelt had no designated target, much less anything like a main quest. Hebe had to discover everything herself.

Of course, she did not dislike that feeling.

Invigorated, the girl opened the dark-green desktop once more.

She projected herself into the Lostbelt.

…

The far blue sky joined with the boundless dunes, and with the scattered fertile oases as well. The surging Nile rushed northward, while the pyramids silently watched over everything in Memphis.

Following the gradually rising terrain, magnificent white walls divided the inner and outer city. Yet a broad, milky-white flight of steps extended from the inner city like a tongue thrust forth.

Hebe followed the warrior in the falcon-feather crown, passing silently through a city gate several men high.

Clang!

The gatekeeping warriors worked together to shut the heavy doors. The sound “woke” Hebe.

Hebe gazed at the buildings around her. In the end, her eyes fell on a distant, magnificent palace where an obelisk stood.

The warrior in the falcon-feather crown turned his head. “Why are you still standing there? Keep up!”

Hebe stopped lingering and hurried after him in a few quick steps, trailing half a pace behind.

As the falcon-feather-crowned warrior walked, he spoke.

“That is the Temple of Thoth. It is the school where you will study all kinds of knowledge in the future. Strictly speaking, you would not have had the qualifications to enter it. But His Majesty the Red King is merciful. He has established every Principle and law, so those with merit may rise, and those with guilt shall be punished.”

“You brought precious news to the king’s army and saved seventeen villages south of Memphis. That deed is enough to allow you to study the knowledge necessary to become a scribe, or a priest.”

“If you have descendants in the future, they will benefit from it as well. Perhaps after two or three generations, they may even become Temehu nobles and wage war in every direction for His Majesty the Red King…”

Nearly everything the falcon-feather-crowned warrior revealed was common knowledge in the present day.

Hebe listened carefully and committed it all firmly to memory.

The falcon-feather-crowned warrior was very satisfied with Hebe.

A child this young ought to be at an age where everything made her curious. Yet she was able to maintain a precious silence, only listening while hiding her questions in her heart.

“Child, remember how you are behaving now.” The falcon-feather-crowned warrior suddenly lowered his voice. “Silence is the wisdom by which we survive. Remembrance is the virtue by which we endure. Make good use of these two methods, and you will go much farther.”

“Thank you for your teaching,” Hebe said, lowering her voice as well.

The falcon-feather-crowned warrior waved a hand. After that, he said nothing more, until he brought Hebe to the grand entrance of the Temple of Thoth.

The Temple of Thoth lay deep within the inner city. On either side were scripture halls where papyrus scriptures and clay tablets were stored, while the schoolroom used for lessons was in the very center. As for the great hall where the divine statue was enshrined, it lay farther behind.

The schoolroom had three main doors and two side doors.

The main doors were tightly shut, while the side doors on the left and right both stood open. The scent of incense drifted out from within, rich and sweet.

Hebe did not much like the smell, but she showed nothing.

The falcon-feather-crowned warrior, however, frowned directly and stopped in front of the doors.

A middle-aged priest wearing a cylindrical hat walked out from a side door. His gaze was blazing, sharp as a knife.

The priest first nodded to the falcon-feather-crowned warrior. “Sekanakht, you came at just the right time. I was about to look for you.”

Sekanakht raised a hand and waved it. “That can wait. This child brought us valuable news. According to His Majesty’s decree, she ought to enter the Temple of Thoth to study.”

Hearing this, the priest swept a cold, piercing gaze over Hebe’s face.

“Reasonable,” the priest said, sparing his words like gold.

Sekanakht turned to Hebe. “Child, go to the schoolroom ahead by yourself.”

Hebe wanted to learn more, but there was no opening she could take advantage of, so she only nodded in acknowledgment and walked through the side door into the incense-filled temple.

Once she crossed the threshold, however, the fragrance abruptly became clean and tranquil.

Several young priests in pure-white sheath robes were organizing the papyrus scrolls and clay books placed on the shelves.

Just as she was about to find a priest at random and ask about studying, a girl draped in a blue-green outer robe walked over from the back.

Her eyes were extremely unusual, one blue and one gold, impossible to forget after a single glance.

“Please come with me.” The heterochromatic-eyed girl smiled at Hebe and gestured for her to follow.

When the girl turned around, the gold ornament on her forehead swayed faintly.

Without a word, Hebe followed her through the corridor behind the bookshelves on the left and into a room that was not particularly large.

An old man wearing a vermilion feathered crown sat in the center of the room. His face was deeply wrinkled, and his body was very short, but his gaze was extremely sharp, just like that middle-aged priest from earlier.

The heterochromatic-eyed girl bowed slightly to the old man. “Teacher, I’ve brought her here.”

“Excellent, Curtis.” The old man nodded slowly. “Wait outside for now.”

Curtis smiled at Hebe, then left the room.

“Sit.” The old man’s words carried an unquestionable authority.

Ah, that familiar flavor of the Path of Authority.

Hebe sat cross-legged before him.

“Do you have a name?” The old man lifted his eyelids slightly. “It seems you do not.”

Hebe hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

The old man rose and took out a stone disk the size of a washbasin from the cabinet behind him.

He laboriously set the disk down on the carpet, then placed a smooth stone in Hebe’s hand.

Hebe looked at it. The disk had been divided into nine different directions, with images of animals such as a giant crocodile, a ram, and a male lion drawn upon it.

“Place the round stone in your hand into the groove at the center of this astrological disk. Take care not to think of anything. Have no stray thoughts either,” the old man said.

At his words, Hebe immediately placed the stone sphere into the groove.

The stone sphere rolled with a clatter, spinning along the tracks of the astrological disk, from the inner ring to the outer ring, faster and faster.

Clunk.

The stone sphere fell into a hollow marked with the head of a jackal.

“Ah, as expected.” The old man picked up a stylus and swiftly wrote several words on a clay tablet. “Then you shall be Hermanmhat.”

In ancient Egyptian culture, “mhat” meant “a certain god is before you.”

The name Hermanmhat meant “the god Herman is before you,” or “one guided by the god Herman.”

“You are one who walks the silent road. No wonder the astrological disk revealed the Aspect of Hermanubis.” The old man spoke calmly. “Hermanubis governs the road of reticence, silence, stillness, and remembrance. Among the Nine Sage Gods, his title is Sage of Sages.”

“For the next three years, every day at dusk, you must face northwest and silently praise the name of Hermanubis in your heart.”

“For the next five years, you must bathe and change your clothes every day without slackening. Every seven days, bury yourself in the sand for one night.”

“For the next seven years, you must spend twelve days of each season without speaking. Within those twelve days, you must spend at least one day without eating, though you may drink water.”

“In this way, after seven years, you will be able to master at least one secret rite of the Hermanubis school.”

The old man placed the clay tablet in his hand on the nearest shelf. “You are neither a descendant of the temple nor the child of nobility. Naturally, the glory in the bloodline has nothing to do with you, and no priest will be willing to become your mentor.”

“But precisely because of that, you may attend any public lecture in the Temple of Thoth, unrestricted by any one school. This is the ancient precept of the Ibis King, a right granted by His Majesty the Red King.”

After saying all this, the old man raised his eyes and stared at Hebe. “I have said all this. Do you truly have no questions?”

“I do,” Hebe said. “But you did not permit me to ask them.”

This is a fan translation of 赫柏小姐正在杀出异闻带！ by 青散人 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!