Upon seeing her appearance and ornaments, especially that hawk-headed scepter,
Alaric immediately understood her identity.
In Egypt, the hawk-headed god generally referred to Horus, the guardian of royal authority, and such a scepter was not something just anyone could wield.
There was only one possible identity for the girl.
She was the current ruler of Egypt, the female Pharaoh, Nitocris.
In fact, even without the ornaments as proof, Alaric could tell her identity at a glance.
After all, in all of Egypt, no one else possessed divine nature as powerful as that of a Pharaoh.
Typically speaking, Pharaohs were direct descendants of the gods, and they often married among siblings or, occasionally, between father and daughter.
In this way, divine bloodlines continued to flow within the Pharaoh's lineage.
Combined with divine blessings, although Egyptian gods did not spread their seed across the world as Greek gods did, Pharaohs always possessed powerful divinity.
The jackal ears atop Nitocris's head were also a manifestation of that divinity, a sign of her connection to the gods, and aside from those, she also possessed actual ears.
Seeing Nitocris, Alaric could not help but sigh.
No wonder Nahekt had been so enamored with her, even claiming that her appearance rivaled that of Hathor.
Now that he saw her in person, she truly was extraordinary.
Just as Alaric was observing Nitocris with an appreciative gaze, perhaps by some shared intuition, the female Pharaoh's eyes also turned toward a certain spot within the crowd.
Then, her gaze met Alaric's.
In that instant, Nitocris felt her eyes light up.
What an extraordinary man.
In her eyes, the man before her was unlike any she had ever seen.
Throughout all of Egypt, she had never encountered a man so handsome. That exotic, strikingly handsome face would make ordinary girls blush with just a glance.
Yet his appearance was not what attracted Nitocris the most.
As a descendant of the gods, Egypt's Pharaoh lineage was never lacking in handsome men and beautiful women.
After all, gods themselves were perfect beings; unless something went awry, deities were rarely ugly, and their descendants naturally inherited that perfection.
Thus, having grown accustomed to her siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins, Nitocris would not be easily captivated by mere looks.
What truly drew her admiration was the man's bearing.
That mysterious, noble, and extraordinary aura made him stand out like a crane among chickens even while standing in a crowd.
With just one glance, Nitocris spotted him among the sea of people.
She even sensed within him a transcendent presence.
Much like Alaric's impression of her.
It was the aura of divinity.
The only difference was that Nitocris's divinity came from her bloodline and her position as Pharaoh, while Alaric's divine nature stemmed from the blessings of goddesses.
This divine aura stirred Nitocris's curiosity.
Unlike Nahekt, that minor merchant, she did not believe that all beings with extraordinary power were gods.
Regarding Alaric's divinity, her first thought was that he must be a demigod like herself.
But why would such a demigod, one she had never seen before, appear here, in Memphis?
She very much wanted to go down and ask him, to clarify everything.
In this era, demigods were nearly invincible in the mortal realm.
In the absence of mages, unless a mortal had trained to the utmost extreme, ordinary people generally could not contend with a demigod.
Such a dangerous individual appearing inexplicably in Memphis made Nitocris feel a sense of wariness.
Especially since Egypt, unlike Greece, rarely had gods who spread their seed across the world, so demigods were not as abundant as in Greece.
In such an environment, the existence of every demigod was known.
Now that an unfamiliar one had appeared, she felt that, as Pharaoh, it was necessary to ascertain his purpose.
However, she soon dismissed the thought.
Forget it. Given her current situation, what right did she have to concern herself with a demigod?
At present, even her own position was only barely maintained.
Although she was indeed diligent and cared deeply for her people as Pharaoh, her reasons for becoming Pharaoh were not purely for Egypt's future.
Why should she invite trouble for herself?
Rather than expending effort on something unrewarding and adding uncertainty to her plans, it would be better to ignore it.
With that in mind, she gave Alaric a friendly nod, then withdrew her gaze.
Alaric simply watched as the Pharaoh's procession passed through the crowd and followed the road toward the palace…
Through the conversations of nearby citizens, Alaric had already learned what Nitocris had been doing earlier.
It was currently the flood season of the Nile.
Although her motives for becoming Pharaoh were not entirely pure, this female Pharaoh was wholeheartedly devoted to developing and strengthening the nation in her role.
This time, she had gone to inspect farmland and oversee production, and had only just returned.
During the process, she had even been willing to personally step into the fields and take part in the labor.
Although there was an element of showmanship involved, it undeniably demonstrated her emphasis on production and her respect for the common people.
Based on this alone, she was widely praised among Egypt's lower classes.
What Alaric found even more interesting was that as Nitocris passed by, he inadvertently overheard conversations among several nearby nobles.
They seemed to be there merely to put on a show and welcome the female Pharaoh.
Though on the surface they did not appear particularly respectful toward her, between the lines they unexpectedly expressed satisfaction with her reign.
Ordinarily, politicians who curry favor with the lower classes often incur the hostility of the upper classes.
After all, a nation's resources are limited. When a politician attends to one class, the interests of another class are inevitably harmed.
This is the true essence of balance that excellent politicians strive to maintain.
Yet this female Pharaoh Nitocris managed to win the love of the lower classes while still satisfying the upper nobles, a truly rare achievement.
So how had she accomplished this?
With such curiosity in mind, Alaric casually found someone who looked like a noble or high official, used a "Suggestion" spell to hypnotize him,
then brought him to a corner and covered them both with a "Notice-Me-Not" spell to lower their presence, before interrogating him through hypnosis.
In the end, Alaric used a "Memory Charm" to erase his memories of interacting with Alaric.
After questioning this noble, Alaric felt that he had gained quite a lot.
He had roughly grasped the current political situation in Egypt.
And from this information, a new plan concerning the female Pharaoh Nitocris naturally took shape in his mind.
Through this plan, he believed he would be able to learn the unique magic of this land much more quickly.