7 a.m.
The sky was just beginning to lighten.
Dawn awoke from the haze of sleep, confused for a moment by the unfamiliar ceiling above him—not the usual bronze color he was used to.
Then he remembered: he was in Egypt now.
After washing his face and clearing his mind, Dawn stepped out of the hostel.
Unlike the quiet scene when he arrived last night, the streets were already filled with people. He couldn't understand a word they were saying, but the lively atmosphere spoke for itself.
Looking around, he noticed there didn't seem to be any taxi services available, so he decided to adapt to local customs and approached a merchant leading a camel.
The man was dark-skinned and wiry, of short stature, with tight curls cropped close to his head and a deeply lined face.
"Hello! Where…"
The man saw Dawn's face, and as if recognizing what country the customer was from, launched into a rapid string of words.
Dawn could barely make out the first two.
He was tempted to try the Imperius Curse to see if it could bypass the language barrier, but with so many people around, it wasn't convenient.
So, he simply pulled out the magazine he'd swiped from the plane—the one introducing the sights of Egypt—and flipped to a page with a picture of the Pyramid of Khufu. He pointed at it.
"OK! OK!"
The man quickly gestured to show he understood.
Leading his camel forward, the man gave Dawn a glance, then looked around thoughtfully. After racking his brain for a bit, he finally managed to squeeze out two words.
"Father? Mother?"
Dawn shook his head and answered simply, "No."
No parents with him?
The merchant was surprised, but looking at Dawn's fair skin and neat appearance, he figured the kid could probably afford the ride. With a shrug, he let it go.
They waited a bit longer until five more customers arrived from the airport. Each was given a camel, and together they began their slow trek along streets lined with yellow sand and green stones.
Among the new arrivals was a British man.
According to him, he was a student at University College London, majoring in ancient history.
He'd always been fascinated by the pyramids and had come to Egypt to conduct research for his graduation thesis.
The young Brit seemed particularly excited, constantly chattering. He asked Dawn about his age, why he'd come alone, and so on.
Dawn considered asking the man to teach him the Egyptian language.
But since most of his activities took place in the wizarding world, he dismissed the idea and kept it as a backup.
After responding perfunctorily to a few questions, Dawn fell silent and ignored him.
The camel moved steadily through the sand.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but when the sun overhead began to bake the earth, the wiry man at the lead made a gesture, bringing the group to a halt.
Turning around, he shouted something in ancient Egyptian.
"We're here!"
...
The Pyramid of Khufu—Egypt's largest pyramid—stood 146.59 meters tall and weighed approximately 6.84 million tons. It was located on the Giza Plateau, about 10 kilometers southwest of Cairo.
Among all the pyramids in Egypt, only the three on the Giza Plateau were open to tourists. Interestingly, the entrance to the Pyramid of Khufu was through a tunnel dug straight into the King's Chamber—a looter's tunnel.
Dawn didn't know much about this place, aside from the superficial information in the tourist magazine.
Shielding his face from the dusty wind, he looked up at the massive structure before him, then glanced around to see if there were any suspicious wizard-like figures nearby.
Next to him, the British man was busy snapping photos with the camera hanging around his neck. He spoke to Dawn with great interest.
"Incredible! I can hardly believe it—how did the ancient Egyptians manage to build this with such primitive tools…? Honestly, if someone told me aliens did it, I think I'd believe them!"
Aliens?
Dawn shook his head. He thought maybe the ancient Egyptian wizards had used levitation charms to stack the stones.
The young man continued rambling excitedly.
"Some scholars think there are still hidden chambers inside the pyramid. Maybe even the long-lost mummy of Constantine the Great and his treasure are still buried in there."
He was practically glowing with excitement.
Well, that made sense. The British had always been fond of plundering other cultures. Treasure hunting probably ran in their blood.
Hmm… Dawn wasn't all that different, really.
With a shrug, Dawn remarked casually, "Or maybe it's in the belly of some European."
The young man immediately choked on his words.
From the 11th century, it had been popular across Europe to eat mummies. People believed they were miracle cures capable of healing all ailments.
Even the British royal family had once insisted on only consuming mummies made from pharaohs.
This practice continued until the late 19th century.
For nearly a thousand years, Europeans nearly ate the entire mummy supply into extinction. Toward the end, demand grew so high that even the corpses of executed criminals were stolen, mummified, and eaten.
The British man covered his slightly upset stomach, gave Dawn a sideways glance, and shook his head before turning back to focus on his photography.
Just then—
Dawn narrowed his eyes.
At the base of the pyramid, he spotted a drifting wisp of silver mist.
Magic!
Though the person had used Disillusionment Charms or other concealment magic to hide themselves from the naked eye, they couldn't hide from Dawn's senses.
He leapt down from the camel, ignored the Egyptian merchant's confused muttering, slapped thirty pounds into the British man's hand, and told him to cover the cost for him. Then he took off, chasing the silver mist.
Soon, he saw the figure slip into a large tent set up beside the pyramid.
From a distance, he observed people going in and out, noting that each one carried a trace of magical energy. That confirmed it—this was a gathering place for wizards.
Dawn approached slowly.
As he neared, he saw a wooden sign hanging outside the tent, with six lines of text written in different languages.
[Spring of the Nile]
Reading the third line of English text, Dawn figured that must be the name of the shop inside. He lifted the tent flap and stepped in.
Immediately, the sharp scent of alcohol filled his nose.
This was clearly a bar.
At the very back of the tent stood a counter, behind which was a middle-aged man with dark skin.
Dawn glanced around quickly and noticed that the space inside was much larger than the outside. They must have used an Undetectable Extension Charm.
"Hey, kid. This isn't the place for you," the man behind the bar said, speaking fluent English.
Dawn was surprised. After thinking for a moment, he walked over and pretended to be a curious child.
"Hey! Do you have anything I can drink?"
The bartender shrugged. After a brief pause, he poured a glass of ice water.
"Where are your parents?"
"Oh, they went to see my older brother. I was bored, so I came out to explore."
Dawn gave him an innocent smile.
"Uncle, can we chat for a bit?"
"No can do."
The bartender continued wiping his glass and gestured to the crowd.
"As you can see, I'm working here."
Dawn pretended to think for a moment, then pulled a silver Knut from his pocket and placed it on the counter. He looked up.
"How about… this?"
The bartender froze, then chuckled and set the glass down.
"All right. What do you want to talk about?"
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