Escape from an Ancient Civilization Ch 98

Chapter 98

“I’m fine. I’ll check while I wash.”

“If you have any symptoms, it’s better not to soak your body in water. Take it off first.”

“No, I can manage just fine myse—”

But Nataek couldn’t overpower Medeus. The strings of his cloak slipped loose, revealing his dirtied clothes. As Medeus pulled out a chair from the table, he spoke.

“Sit here.”

…Damn it. Why did I have to bring that up?

Nataek sluggishly made his way over to the table. With Medeus pressing down on his shoulders, he sat in the chair, and now his disheveled appearance came into clearer view. Though he had tried brushing it off, dried mud still clung to him, and his clothes were stained with muddy water. He looked like a perfect vagrant. All complaints dried up on his tongue. Perhaps it was because of the talk about sea anemone grass, but his skin now itched as if in suggestion.

Medeus took a clean cloth and knelt on the floor before Nataek, resting one knee up. With a rough hand, he began rubbing Nataek’s exposed knee.

“Give it to me. I’ll do it myself.”

“Stay still. Move the lantern closer.”

Medeus gripped Nataek’s thigh tightly with one hand. Then he leaned in close, carefully wiping off the dirt. His breath could be felt as he studied Nataek’s skin closely, practically pressing his nose against it. A tingle ran up from Nataek’s toes. Whether it was the sea anemone grass or Medeus, his legs itched so badly he could hardly sit still.

He couldn’t say it was because of the itching, and trying to endure it just felt weirder and more awkward…

“I said move the lantern closer.”

At Medeus’s urging, Nataek dragged the lantern from the center of the table to the edge. Under the lamplight, Medeus murmured as he examined the leg again.

“This side seems okay…”

Then he moved to the other leg. As his hand reached over, Medeus’s elbow brushed against Nataek’s knee. Feeling self-conscious about his spread thighs, Nataek tried to close his legs, but Medeus’s arm was in between, making it impossible.

“Teresi.”

“Yes?”

“Just stay still.”

Medeus said while wiping the dirt from the opposite leg.

This is driving me crazy…

The tingling that had started at his toes now crawled up his calves and reached above his knees. His body, which he had tried to keep composed, was curling inward on its own. He felt mentally cornered.

He couldn’t sit here like this any longer.

“Um, I think I’m fine. It’s not even itchy anymore, and my skin looks normal. May I go wash up now?”

“Are you sure? You’re not just putting up with it?”

Well, I am holding it in. It is itchy. It’s all true… But still, it’s probably not because of that plant.

“I’m fine. Really.”

Medeus, his arm still resting on Nataek’s thigh, looked up at him. Those downward-curving eyes filled with concern made a shiver bloom in Nataek’s gut. Abruptly, he stood up from the chair. Medeus quickly leaned back. The chair clattered noisily to the floor.

“Then I’ll go wash up.”

Nataek briskly walked to the door.

“Wait.”

So much for putting distance between them. Medeus called out without delay. He picked up a cloth from a basket by the bedside and approached Nataek. With a fluttering sound, the wide cloth draped over Nataek’s head. Nataek waved his arms, brushing away the sudden white fabric obscuring his vision.

“What is this?”

“Don’t use perfumed oils. When you scrub your skin, use that cloth. It’s softer than anything else.”

“Thank… you.”

“Just in case, I’ll go get some detox herbs.”

“No, don’t!”

Nataek hastily stopped Medeus, who was about to head outside. He couldn’t let his own lie cause unnecessary trouble for Medeus.

“Medeus-nim, I’m really fine. Enough time has passed that if something were wrong, it would’ve shown by now. More importantly, a message came from Umma. I think we should check that first.”

“Umma? From the diviner?”

“Yes, that’s right. It seems he returned from Uruk.”

Just as Nataek was about to redirect the conversation and pull out the clay tablet, Medeus grabbed his wrist again.

“Wash up first. I’ll wait here. We can talk afterward.”

He managed to put out the shepherd’s fire, at least. Nataek scrubbed himself thoroughly, as if trying to remove every speck of grime, and returned to the residence. Medeus was seated at the table, staring intently at the clay tablet.

He can read that?

“What kind of writing is this?”

Medeus frowned as he looked at the Hangeul characters carved into the clay. Nataek approached, shaking out his damp hair.

“It’s an Eastern script.”

“Looks unusual.”

Medeus traced a finger across the most messily written characters. How he managed to single out the ugliest ones despite not knowing the language was almost impressive.

“What does it say?”

“Um… Just a moment.”

The letter contained some information about Sununki, so Nataek had to filter what he relayed. He silently reread the letter.

[No one will understand if I write in Korean, right?

I passed on what you told me about Medeus. I did it myself, so it’s all good! I also found out what’s happening in Uruk. It’s worse than I thought… That bastard Luhaljageshi is clearly up to something.

They’re sweeping up every scrap of wool from the common folk. You know how valuable wool is in Sununki—almost like silver. And now it looks like the temple’s running loan-sharking operations on top of that. They’re doing every kind of dirty trick we saw back in Sununki.]

“He says he passed on the message you asked about. And it looks like the temple is… seriously exploiting the people of Uruk.”

As Nataek relayed the contents of the diviner’s letter, a system message flashed.

You have delivered the “Diviner’s Letter” to Medeus.

It seemed that Nataek, Medeus, and the diviner were the participants in this quest. Nataek continued reading.

[It also seems like Luhaljageshi helped the Gutians take Ur. I’ll explain the details in person—it’s too much to write here. I wish I could’ve gathered some intel on Ur too, but I couldn’t leave for long. What if the Lord of Umma starts losing interest in me?]

Even through text, the guy came across as obnoxious. Nataek condensed and summarized the overstuffed contents of the little tablet to deliver it concisely. At some point, Medeus had begun staring at Nataek’s lips as he spoke.

“He says he’ll come personally. He has matters to settle over there but expects to arrive in about ten days.”

[Covert Operation] Quest Progress: 30%

As he finished relaying the last part, a system prompt appeared.

“I see.”

Medeus’s lukewarm response made Nataek tilt his head.

“Is something… wrong?”

“No.”

“But…”

Under the intense gaze, something clenched in Nataek’s chest.

Why are you looking at me like that?

“Teresi.”

“Yes?”

“When are you planning to finish the blessing?”

The sudden question came as Medeus reached out, brushing aside Nataek’s wet bangs with his fingertips. Nataek shrank his neck like a startled turtle.

“Last time, the deputy commander interrupted us.”

Medeus stared longingly at the hair slipping from his hand.

What is this now?

“Well… I mean, isn’t this kind of a bad time?”

Even if it’s a blessing… My hair’s still wet. I’m a mess right now. Kissing like this would be… awkward.

“Then when?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

He tried to keep his tone neutral, but his pupils were already trembling wildly. Why does he keep doing this?

A strange light flickered in Medeus’s eyes. Nataek quickly dropped his gaze again. …Come to think of it, that guy has always been like this. I’m the one who’s started getting affected. No… wait. Is it really my fault? He’s always this affectionate—how could anyone not get confused?

Even accounting for differences in ancient customs and values, the more these intimate moments piled up, the more confused Nataek became. At some point, he had started becoming conscious of every touch with Medeus.

If Medeus were a woman… If I changed only his gender, then there’s no other way to interpret this situation—he’s clearly trying to seduce me.

After smoothing down Nataek’s hair, Medeus dropped his hand. Watching those thick fingers flicker in the lamplight sent Nataek’s thoughts spiraling.

…Is he seducing me?

Medeus? That guy… trying to seduce me, another man…?

‘Even if Uruk is open-minded about sex, I’m not into men. So don’t worry.’

Right. Of course not.

‘I think I’ve said this before, but I prefer soft, voluptuous bodies. So stop worrying and get in.’

Nataek’s eyes dropped to his own chest.

Yeah… no way. It can’t be.

‘That… what you did in the room last time. That was just… one of the blessing methods, right?’

‘What else would it be?’

Then… what else could it be?

His modern mind short-circuited under the overload. It couldn’t be. Nothing Medeus had said implied a special feeling. And yet, Nataek’s heart had started to lurch without his realizing it.

Right… Even people from other modern nations can be hard to understand. This guy’s from an ancient civilization. I can’t apply modern logic here. Pull yourself together, Inataek.

“Teresi.”

Medeus suddenly asked,

“Yes?”

“What’s with that face? Are you feeling unwell?”

“What… what do you mean by that?”

Medeus raised a hand and cupped one of Nataek’s cheeks.

“You look like someone coming down with a cold.”

Droplets from Nataek’s hair rolled off the pale hand and slipped down the veined wrist and forearm. Even though he knew better—knew the gap between modern and ancient thinking—he couldn’t laugh it off anymore. Because he was a modern man. Because he was modern, he couldn’t help but be affected.

Nataek grabbed Medeus’s wrist and gently lowered it.

“I think I’m just feeling a little off after spending all day by the river. Can we postpone the blessing… just for now?”

Seeing the worry deepening in those drooping eyes, Nataek bit the inside of his cheek hard. His heart thudded in his chest before he could even realize it.

This won’t do. I need to keep some distance from him… at least for a while.