Escape from an Ancient Civilization Ch 131

Chapter 131

“I’ll do it.”

Medeus took the dagger from his belt and, after taking Nataek’s necklace, began engraving Anu’s symbol into it.

“My wife… was killed by the Guti while trying to protect me.”

Propping his chin on his knee, Nataek watched the symbol take shape.

“Medeus.”

“Mm. Speak.”

“If I’m put in danger in Ur, do not intervene rashly.”

Medeus’s hand froze, but Nataek continued.

“Don’t get yourself hurt trying to save me.”

“…”

“Promise me. Only then can I go with peace of mind.”

“…”

His silence made Nataek uneasy. Straightening up, he spoke firmly.

“If you won’t promise, I’ll act on my own as well. Instead of you—”

“No.”

Medeus resumed carving.

“How do you know what I was going to say, to refuse outright?”

“Because you were about to say something I’d hate.”

“Then promise. If I tell you to stay still, you must stay still. Otherwise, I’ll run wild on my own terms too.”

At some point, the pendant bore both of their symbols.

“…Alright.”

Though displeased, Medeus nodded and handed the necklace back with his large hand.

“Keep it,” Nataek said.

Medeus hesitated, then immediately put the pendant around his own neck. The moonlight glinted on their overlapping vow. Resting his chin again, Nataek quietly studied Medeus’s pale, flushed face.

It was a night when the sky itself bore witness to a token of faith, their mutual trust engraved firm.

After seeing Nataek to his chamber, Medeus said he would bathe and slipped to the rear of the residence—but his true destination was Kish’s prison.

“Commander, what brings you here?”

The startled guard straightened and saluted.

“I’ve come to see the general of Uruk.”

But at this request the guard faltered.

“The ensi hasn’t given leave yet…”

“I only mean to question a prisoner. I’ve already informed the ensi. No blame will fall on you—be at ease.”

Thanks to Medeus’s conquest of Uruk, Samuagon’s trust in him was firmer than ever. The soldiers knew it, and could not refuse him. The guard yielded the way.

The dungeon was dim and damp, without a single beam of light; the only illumination was the torch Medeus carried. He walked slowly and stopped before one set of bars.

“Agadis.”

“…Medeus?”

Cloth rustled faintly within.

“Yes. It’s me.”

“What brings you here, my lord?”

“I came to speak with you.”

Medeus propped the torch against the bars.

“Your family is safe.”

A soft scraping on the floor—Agadis crawled nearer through the dark. After days of hunger and captivity, he looked wretched. Medeus lowered himself to one knee to match his gaze.

“Truly… is that true?”

“Yes. I just came from confirming it.”

No sooner had the Ur spy mission been set than Medeus went to the prisoners’ quarters, to ensure Samuagon’s treatment promises were being upheld.

He and Nataek had strongly advocated humane treatment for captives. To make the people of this land truly Kish’s own, mercy had to be shown.

“Enil… How were my wife and child? Are they well?”

“They are. Very well. It’s shabby, but they’re warm, eating hot food, and resting. Congratulations—your wife is with a second child.”

Agadis gripped the bars and pressed his face close.

“Truly… truly warm food in a warm place? You’re not lying to me?”

“Have I ever lied to you? I especially asked them to take care of her, given her condition. Don’t worry.”

Agadis’s gaze dropped.

“Will I see my child again? My family… can I meet them again?”

“That depends on what you do.”

Agadis’s head snapped up, the half‑dead eyes regaining a spark.

“Think on what matters. Samuagon does not only seek to widen Kish’s borders—he dreams of unifying the fertile lands, to rule above all. Show him your loyalty. Then I’ll help you protect your family and your soldiers.”

“You’re telling me… to swear fealty to Kish’s ensi?”

“Yes. Show your faith to Samuagon.”

Agadis clutched the bars tight.

“How can a man change his lord so easily? I… I am a man of Uruk. That is my charge.”

As expected, Medeus’s voice softened further.

“What was Luhaljageshi to you? Did he not exploit your family? Did he not condemn neighbors and soldiers with a word? We do not protect a single ruler—we must remember what it is we defend.”

“I protect Uruk. I have sheltered Uruk’s people. You said so yourself, my lord—that we must protect all who dwell on that land. I kept that. And now… now you’ve changed your mind?”

“My mind is the same. I have not changed.”

“Then what do you protect, my lord? For what did you trample Uruk? Why did you shield the lowborn? For what? I don’t understand.”

Medeus laid his hand over Agadis’s on the bars. The rough, cracked skin told its own story.

What Medeus had to guard was as binding as Anna’s last will.

“Medi. The world will change.”

“I believe a time will come when family lines and ranks disappear. My mother told me that when I was a child. She said hearts must be gathered for a different world. So I need those who share my hope. What I guard are the people who want the present to change.”

For the first time, he spoke aloud what he had told no one—the thoughts Anna instilled since his oppressed childhood. His mother lay at the root of his different values.

“A world without houses and ranks… impossible. Such a world will never come.”

“And yet you desire it too.”

Agadis had no answer.

“I am only guarding that possibility.”

Medeus was guarding people—those who would not abandon hope for a changed world. And—

“When you meet people, the person is what matters; what else could matter?”

There was another person whose words had first taught him that, and he wanted to defend that one’s will.

Medeus had endured his lonely years with only a straw’s worth of hope. He leaned closer to Agadis.

“I need your help. Even if we show mercy, Kish alone cannot still the resentment of Uruk’s soldiers. If a riot breaks out, its shock will be great. Only Uruk men can soothe Uruk’s army.”

“You would have me persuade them… to betray Uruk?”

“Not betrayal. Choosing the protection of a stronger lord. I want you, your family, and your soldiers to live. Uruk cast me out, yet among those who live there, some must share the same hope as I.”

“Medeus…”

“I am the same as then.”

Agadis looked deep into his eyes.

“And you, Agadis?”

He did not answer for a long time. Even after betrayal by the land he protected, Medeus did not waver. At last Agadis spoke, as if deciding:

“I… am the same too. I want a land where my family can live and laugh. Medeus… was my choice wrong?”

He knew he could not win against Medeus, yet he resisted to the end. The result was this cell.

Medeus smiled gently.

“You did no wrong. You did the best you could. You did not abandon your convictions. Then your choice is always right. I have trusted that in you.”

Agadis’s gaze fell again. His hands slipped from the bars—Medeus caught and held them firm.

“Nothing changes. Continue your dream—under Kish.”

As he prepared to depart for the Ur mission, Medeus needed someone to fill his absence. He meant to seat none other than Agadis there—an old comrade who shared his breath and hope.

When Agadis next saw the sun, he swore fealty to a new lord. But no one knew that his true heart belonged only to Medeus.

On the morning of their departure for Ur, only the Soothsayer and the princess of Delam came to see them off. In a secret session the day before, Nataek had asked that their send‑off not be announced. Samuagon regretted not being able to bid them farewell before such a great task, but agreed it was necessary.

“You didn’t forget anything, right? Don’t forget the merchant’s heart I taught you—keep it always in mind!” the Soothsayer fussed over Nataek. Absurd as it was, some of his lessons might yet prove useful. Nataek nodded and turned to the princess.

“And Your Highness—there is something I must say before I go.”

At that moment, Medeus’s eyes flicked sharply to Nataek.