"A blue-haired, blue-eyed girl… how is that possible?" Kaiba said in shock.

Trapped within the crowd, the figure of the girl felt strangely familiar—exactly like the image that had flashed through Kaiba's mind when he was deciphering the royal script inside the pyramid.

"Was that... not an illusion? No—it was an illusion! It had to be! You're not fooling me!"

Hoshino Alter smacked Kaiba on the head in frustration.

"Seriously? Even now you're still in denial like a broken record?"

"Kaiba, are you an idiot? How can you just stand there and watch a girl get bullied by a bunch of thugs?!"

Even without knowing the full context, the sight of a group of half-naked men throwing rocks at a fair-skinned, beautiful girl made Hoshino Alter's sense of justice boil over.

"—Let that girl go!"

"Leave this to me!"

"Wait, what?! 'Leave this to me'?! Don't put words in my mouth!" Hoshino Alter was stunned—who had just jumped in and twisted her intention?

Marlene charged in and, with a powerful kick, sent the biggest bald thug flying. The townsfolk around them froze in shock, dropping their rocks before they could throw them.

Actions spoke louder than words. Watching Marlene go toe-to-toe with several grown men without losing ground reminded Hoshino Alter of Jonouchi throwing hands during Duelist Kingdom.

Wait... are you two actually related?!

Taking advantage of the chaos, Hoshino Alter and Kaiba stepped forward to shield the wounded girl.

Up close, Hoshino Alter saw how breathtakingly beautiful the blue-haired, blue-eyed girl was. But her snow-white skin was now bruised and bloodied from the hail of stones. The sight was heartbreaking.

Enraged, Hoshino Alter shouted, "This is too much! So many grown men ganging up on one defenseless girl—aren't you ashamed of yourselves?!"

Kaiba bent down to help the girl. When she saw his face, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Se... Seto? Seto! Why are you here?"

Kaiba felt annoyed—ever since arriving in this time period, everyone kept calling him "Seto"... but he still didn't even know who that was.

"Who are you people, and why are you interfering?!"

The townsfolk, emboldened by their numbers, started barking back. Two oddly dressed strangers suddenly showing up and causing trouble? Unacceptable.

"That woman has cursed blue eyes! For the town's safety, she must be exiled today!"

"That's right! You outsiders don't understand. Our harvests have been shrinking every year—it's definitely her cursed eyes! Can you take responsibility for that?!"

Their justification grew more absurd as they climbed their imaginary moral high ground, ignoring Hoshino Alter and Kaiba while trying to drag the girl away.

With a swift motion, Marlene drew the dagger at her waist and pointed it at the crowd.

"Asking who we are? Don't tell me you've never heard of the legendary bounty hunter, Marlene! Take one more step and I'll show you just how serious I am!"

"The legendary bounty hunter, Marlene?!"

Turns out that wasn't just bluster—some villagers had heard of her.

"Is she really the one whose name alone can make crying children go silent and traumatized?"

Hoshino Alter hadn't expected that part of Marlene's self-intro to be real.

Wait—"traumatized"? Not just quiet?! Isn't that worse than what she claimed?

Terrified by Marlene's intensity, not a single villager dared to step forward. The standoff grew increasingly awkward.

"Ahem. Everyone, please calm down."

A frail, elderly voice cut through the tension. An old man hunched with age stepped out of the crowd.

"The village chief? Even the chief is here?"

Whispers spread—this wise-looking elder was clearly the one in charge.

Squinting slightly, the chief addressed Marlene.

"Marlene the bounty hunter... the one whose name alone makes children faint from fear. I've heard rumors of you as well."

Wait—how did her legend escalate again in just a few minutes?! Hoshino Alter was baffled.

Why do all her feats involve traumatizing children?

Marlene grinned. "Since you've heard of me, this should be easy. I'm taking this girl with me, no matter what."

"Even for someone as infamous as you, I can't back down for the future of this town."

The chief's eyes turned cold. Despite his age, he didn't flinch at Marlene's threats.

"You should know—our town has a bounty hunter guild. If you act against the town's interests, I can have all the guilds across the region blacklist you. You'll never work as a bounty hunter again."

"A bounty hunter guild?" Hoshino Alter's heart sank.

Marlene had mentioned the town's guild earlier, which was why they came in the first place. That meant the chief's threat wasn't just empty words.

Marlene frowned. "You're really throwing your weight around, old man..."

"Make your choice, young one. Are you going to throw away your future for one cursed, blue-eyed girl?"

Thud!

A staff slammed into the ground. Nitocris, silent until now, finally stepped forward, face full of fury.

"I've heard enough! 'Cursed blue eyes'? You're blaming this girl just because you have no outlet for your frustration about poor harvests? Can't you people think for yourselves?"

"Who is this rude girl, daring to speak so boldly to the village chief?!"

Naturally, Nitocris's outburst drew backlash.

Hoshino Alter suddenly snapped back to reality. Amid the chaos, she'd almost forgotten—they had a real trump card in their party.

A village chief? Please. He was nothing compared to a Pharaoh... but Hoshino Alter still felt a tinge of worry.

"Such disrespect! Calling me 'rude'?!" Furious, Nitocris pointed her staff at the villagers.

"—I am the incarnation of Horus, God of the Sky, and the Pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty—Nitocris!"

The divine authority in her voice made the villagers freeze.

One by one, they blinked at each other in confusion.

"Horus? Isn't he supposed to have the head of a falcon?"

"Sixth Dynasty? What's that?"

"Nitocris? Never heard of her. She calls herself a Pharaoh?"

"That's a lie! I just went to the coronation yesterday. The new Pharaoh had hair that sparkled like stars!"

As expected, Hoshino Alter's fears were realized. Nitocris's reign was too ancient—no one here recognized her name, let alone believed her claim.

"They're all liars! They must be working with the cursed girl!"

"Exile them all into the desert!"

The situation spiraled further out of control.

"Damn these fools!" Kaiba drew his Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, clearly fed up with the mob.

"Wait, Kaiba!" Hoshino Alter shouted.

"Summoning Blue-Eyes in a place like this will cause chaos! Besides, if we solve this with violence, aren't we just doing what they did?"

"Seto..." The blue-eyed girl clung fearfully to Kaiba's arm.

"Please, allow me to reveal our trump card!" Nitocris said with confidence.

She made her staff disappear with a flourish. To her, this magic trick was mundane—but to the villagers, it was pure sorcery.

But her "final move" was only just beginning.

"Now, I shall summon a miracle! Transform—into Medjed ver.!"

Blinding light burst from Nitocris's body, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

When the light faded, Nitocris stood draped in a white cloth decorated with eyes.

"It's... it's the god Medjed!"

The bald man from earlier dropped to his knees. Wait—wasn't this the same guy Marlene had kicked first?

"It's really Lord Medjed! Just like the paintings!"

"Lord Medjed! He's appeared to us!"

The villagers, swayed by the bald man's reaction, all dropped to their knees in worship.

Hoshino Alter twitched. Just a white sheet with eyes on it... and they bought it?!

Even worse, no one seemed to question that Nitocris was still under the cloth.

"These people are idiots," Hoshino Alter sighed.

Then again, anyone who believes blue eyes can curse crops probably isn't big on logic.

And the real Medjed that got lost earlier? No one even cared.

Under the white sheet, Nitocris waved her arms awkwardly and then made a big X over her chest.

The confused village chief asked, "Lord Medjed... is there something you want us to do?"

They clearly couldn't understand Nitocris, and Hoshino Alter was just about to step in as translator when—

"I got it!" the bald man shouted, slapping his shiny head.

"Lord Medjed means we can't exile these people or the blue-eyed girl. The eyes are not cursed!"

Holy crap, this bald guy's a genius.

He interpreted Nitocris's X correctly and even said exactly what Hoshino Alter was about to say.

"Is that true, Lord Medjed?" the chief asked.

Nitocris nodded frantically, the bunny ears poking out from under the cloth bouncing up and down.

"So... the blue eyes aren't cursed? I knew it!"

The crowd instantly flipped sides.

"If Lord Medjed says so, it must be fine."

"If there's no curse, then the harvest issues must be because you lazy men won't work!"

"And how are we supposed to work when you don't even cook properly?!"

"We can't cook without food, genius!"

A blame game broke out, looping endlessly.

Nitocris sighed and lowered her head—and bunny ears.

"I get it now!" the bald guy yelled again, clearly enjoying himself.

"Lord Medjed is saying that he and his companions are tired, and would like fine food and a place to rest. In return, he will bless us with a bountiful harvest next year!"

Even Nitocris was stunned. She had only wiped some sweat off her forehead. That was all!

Still, Hoshino Alter and the others had been traveling through the desert and surviving on dry bread. A rest wouldn't hurt.

"Ah, so that's what it was! Thank you for your blessing, Lord Medjed!"

Overjoyed, the chief didn't even care if it was true. He immediately ordered the best rooms prepared, along with the finest food.

From under the cloth, Nitocris gave the bald man a proud thumbs-up.

"Could it be... Lord Medjed is praising me for my brilliance, and plans to make me his disciple—or even appoint me as the new village chief?!"

This guy... has potential.

"Phew… Thanks to Lord Medjed's divine presence, everything went surprisingly smoothly."

After removing the Medjed disguise, Nitocris let out a deep breath and tilted her head back. Her cheeks were slightly flushed—clearly, she still wasn't used to doing something like that.

Thanks to the town chief's arrangements, Hoshino Alter and the others finally had a place to rest—a two-story loft built from mud bricks. In ancient Egypt, where most people still lived under thatched roofs, such a structure was a definite status symbol.

"I'm seriously exhausted~" Hoshino Alter muttered as she leaned sideways onto Nitocris's soft thighs, slipping into full-on lazy mode with a knee pillow.

On the other side of the room, the rescued blue-eyed girl was still clinging tightly to Kaiba's arm, refusing to let go. Kaiba looked incredibly awkward, clearly unsure what expression to make.

"I can't believe you saved me again, Seto… Is this fate?"

"I told you, I'm not Seto! And I don't believe in something as vague and meaningless as fate!"

It was obvious Kaiba was a massive, emotionally dense brick wall who had no idea how to talk to girls. One sentence and he could kill the mood entirely. Fortunately, the girl didn't seem to mind and kept pressing him.

"Don't you remember me, Seto? I'm Kisara. When I was a child, I was kidnapped because of my rare skin color, and you were the one who saved me."

"Kisara, huh… That's a beautiful name."

Seeing that Kaiba could read the room at all, Hoshino Alter took over the conversation out of necessity.

"You must've gone through a lot, Kisara, getting kidnapped like that when you were so young."

In this ancient Egypt, where most people had dark skin, someone like Kisara—with her snow-white skin—would've stood out, making her a prime target for unscrupulous types.

Especially now, when rumors claimed that her blue eyes were cursed—if Hoshino Alter and the others hadn't stepped in today, Kisara might not have been able to live in this country any longer.

"No matter how hard it was… getting to meet Seto made it all worth it."

Still seated, Kisara happily swung her bare feet and tightened her grip on Kaiba's arm even more.

Hoshino Alter couldn't help feeling a little envious. Who would've thought this blockhead Kaiba would stumble into a romantic encounter in ancient Egypt—and with such a beautiful, gentle girl, no less?

Marlene leaned in with a sly grin, pressing her curvy body close. "Feeling lonely, Hoshino? You can always come warm up with me~"

"No thanks, Nitocris's thighs are more than enough for me. Your chest is way too suffocating, Marlene."

With that, Hoshino Alter flopped back down into Nitocris's lap and fully re-entered useless mode, unwilling to watch Kaiba and Kisara's lovey-dovey moment any longer.

Knock knock knock~

The wooden door creaked under a gentle knock, and the old town chief's voice rang from outside.

"Lord Medjed's meal has been fully prepared. I've already ordered the slaves to bring everything in."

Who would've thought they'd get actual delivery service in this era? Hoshino Alter's empty stomach rejoiced—until everything suddenly went pitch black.

"Whoa—what's going on?! Am I blind?!"

"Shhh, Master. I'm currently in Medjed-mode. Don't blow my cover."

Turns out Nitocris, afraid of exposing her fake identity to the town chief, had thrown the Medjed cloak back over herself—unintentionally swallowing half of Hoshino Alter, who was lying on her lap, into the white cloth.

"Lord Medjed is eating people!!" someone—presumably one of the clueless slaves—screamed.

The town chief pushed the door open and, upon witnessing the scene, nearly wet himself before dropping to his knees.

"Lord Medjed, please forgive me! It was this humble one's delay in preparing the food that made you so hungry… But please, I beg your divine mercy!"

"Eating people?! What are you even talking about?" Hoshino Alter popped her head out of the cloak, confused, and looked at the trembling chief. "If you don't bring that food out right now, I will start eating people."

The dishes the chief had ordered were normally reserved for the tables of nobles—meat and fresh vegetables rarely seen by commoners. Though cooking methods in this time were primitive, the meats were mostly grilled, sprinkled with spices and salt.

But even that was miles better than the boiled chickpeas and rock-hard black bread they'd eaten in the desert.

Unlike Hoshino Alter and Kaiba, who were used to modern cuisine, Kisara had grown up in poverty. She'd never eaten anything this good before. As she timidly bit into a piece of grilled beef, her bright blue eyes sparkled with bliss.

"My lords, is everything to your liking?" asked the town chief with a sheepish smile, rubbing his wrinkled hands together—clearly trying to ease the tension from earlier.

Hoshino Alter looked at the stark change in the old man's attitude from when they first met and thought, "Truly a seasoned old fox. Doesn't even try to hide how fast he switches sides."

"Eh, it's fine, I guess. But I kinda liked you better when you were still all arrogant and full of yourself."

After everyone had eaten their fill, it was time to get down to business. To gather information on the whereabouts of Bakura, Hoshino Alter and the others followed Marlene to the so-called Bounty Hunter Guild in town.

Though it was called a "guild," it looked more like a lively tavern, packed with rowdy people. Supposed "bounty hunters" were gathered all over, drinking in broad daylight, bragging about how much they earned on their last job.

Marlene said with a sneer, "These are all bottom-tier small fry. They survive by taking on easy jobs—herding cattle or finding lost sheep. Barely above freeloaders."

"So being a bounty hunter isn't exactly the glamorous profession I imagined, huh…" Hoshino Alter commented, a little disillusioned. In modern society, people who got drunk and lazed around in bars all day like this would just be called deadbeats.

Because of how flashy their group looked, people were beginning to take notice—though the most eye-catching of them all was Marlene, the notorious big-name bounty hunter.

"Isn't that the Marlene?! The one whose name alone can silence even the loudest crying kids—some say out of sheer fear, the kids just drop dead!"

Whoa, drop dead? Isn't that a bit much? Marlene, what kind of monster are you—some kind of child-hunting Jack the Ripper?

Completely ignoring the stares, Marlene walked straight to the bar, skillfully ordered a cold mug of barley beer, and slapped down two silver coins.

"Hey, boss. Got something I wanna ask you~"

The bartender took the silver without hesitation, placed the drink in front of her, and gave a slight nod. "You know the deal. Ask."

"Bakura. Heard anything about him and his whereabouts?"

"....Bakura, huh?" The bartender paused, then calmly replied:

"He's dead."

(*****)

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