Originally, Alaric had thought that Nehekhte was a rather good traveling companion: steady and reliable, well-traveled throughout Egypt, knowledgeable, and highly skilled in dealing with people.
Though he had earlier sensed that Alaric was extraordinary, he maintained a respectful yet unservile attitude while interacting with him.
For these reasons, Alaric's impression of him had always been quite favorable.
However, after the sandstorm ended, Alaric began to find him unbearable.
Perhaps shaken by Alaric's methods, Nehekhte, who had once been able to treat him normally, now looked at Alaric as though gazing upon a god.
The same was true of his slaves, they even seemed afraid to approach Alaric.
Even Nehekhte himself treated Alaric with the utmost reverence, as though Alaric were his most exalted master and he himself nothing more than a servant.
"…Honored Lord Set…"
"I've already told you, my name isn't Set!"
"Is Lord Set testing me? Your loyal servant understands your mighty power well.
Only the lord of strength, the god of storms, the ruler of the desert, the protector of foreign peoples, the guardian of merchants could wield such overwhelming storm power.
Isn't it only natural that sandstorms obey you so meekly?"
"Damn it, how many times do I have to say this? That was magic, not divine power! I'm not that disgraceful evil god Set!"
"Yes, yes, of course. Lord Set wishes to conceal his name and wander the mortal world. Your faithful follower fully understands your concerns.
Rest assured, no one present will reveal your whereabouts to others."
…
Faced with Nehekhte like this, Alaric was completely at a loss. After much persuasion, he finally managed to convince him that he was not the god Set.
Even so, Nehekhte stubbornly believed that even if Alaric was not Set, he must still be a powerful foreign deity.
In his view, only such an existence could possess such formidable power.
Incidentally, in present-day Egypt, as in Greece before it, magic did not truly exist.
There were, however, certain people who wielded various miraculous powers. They were either priests of the gods or descendants of divine blood, such as the pharaohs.
The powers these people commanded were known as divine arts.
Divine arts and magic often appeared identical in practice.
For example, evocation spells could conjure fireballs, while priests who worshiped fire gods could also hurl fireballs.
Enchantment spells like Charm Person could make someone regard you as an ally and act on your behalf, and priests devoted to Aphrodite possessed similar abilities.
Yet magic and divine arts were fundamentally different.
Magic is a technique that uses mental power to draw upon and control mana, ultimately prying at the rules of the world to achieve specific effects.
Though it contains a subjective element, it is overall rational, much like another form of science.
Divine arts, on the other hand, are based on the caster's deep faith and absolute loyalty and devotion to their god. In exchange, the god grants the petitioner the power to perform miracles.
The difference lies in this, divine arts draw their power from steadfast belief bestowed by a god, while magic draws its power from an understanding of mystery and the roots of the world.
Whether priest or demigod, the mystical powers they wield are, for the most part, divine arts.
Although Alaric had not encountered a single truly native mage in either Greece or Egypt, he had still seen certain individuals spontaneously grasp rudimentary forms of spells.
These proto-spells were extremely crude, but if Alaric did not intervene in the world's progression, continued research and development of these forms would eventually give rise to the earliest magic.
Those who mastered such rudimentary spells were usually demigods or priests with exceptional magical talent.
Yes, magic originally developed from divine arts.
Demigods typically used divine arts instinctively, while priests obtained divine arts through supplication to the gods.
When these groups began to study these powers and attempt to systematize them, the earliest magic and magical theory were born.
In short, in an Egypt where magic had not yet truly come into existence, all miraculous powers in people's eyes came from the gods, and Alaric's power naturally fell into that category as well.
Still, being regarded as a foreign god rather than Set was already the best outcome Alaric could manage.
To be honest, when he was mistaken for Set, Alaric's life within the caravan had not been very pleasant.
After all, Set was a well-known evil god, or at least not a benevolent one, and also the most direct patron deity of merchant caravans.
Being in such a position meant that he was practically placed on a pedestal.
After shedding the identity of Set, although everyone still treated him with reverence and fear, they could at least speak to him somewhat normally.
Following Nehekhte's caravan, Alaric finally began to see signs of human habitation along the way.
Because the Nile provided a constant water source, most of Egypt's oases were distributed along its banks, and that was where the Egyptian people lived. Along the journey, Alaric saw many villages and Egyptians hard at work.
Every time the caravan reached a village, they would stay for a day to trade with the locals.
Most of the exchanges involved handicrafts traded for grain, papyrus, coarse cloth, and other raw materials.
According to Nehekhte, while the main profits of the caravan came from traveling between cities and earning price differences on local specialties, if their camels still had spare carrying capacity, they would also take advantage of such minor gains, selling city goods to villages and village goods to cities.
Passing through these villages took a great deal of time, but Alaric did not complain in the slightest.
On the contrary, he happily immersed himself in the customs and scenery of ancient Egypt.
With the Nile in flood season, the climate was like springtime, full of life, and the scenery was exceptionally pleasant.
Once all their stored goods had been sold, the caravan ended its stay in the villages and headed straight for their true destination.
Before long, the caravan arrived at its goal.
The capital of Egypt, Memphis.
It was a remarkably magnificent city, at least for this era.
As the caravan approached the city, Alaric could see the towering city walls from afar.
Compared to Rosetta, which Alaric had seen before, Memphis's walls were far taller, and the city itself several times larger in scale.
Passing through the city gates, Alaric saw a broad main road stretching straight toward the city center, where the temples and the royal palace were located.
People streamed along the main road, but the narrower side streets were even more bustling.
If those traveling the main road were mostly members of Egypt's upper class, then ordinary citizens lived primarily in the narrow alleys branching off from it.
Here, women in long dresses and men with strips of white cloth wrapped around their waists could be seen everywhere, some carrying pottery jars, others holding freshly hunted game.
he lively, bustling crowds were unmatched by any other Egyptian city.
This was the prosperity of Egypt's capital.