Regarding the legendary City of the Dead... Evelyn wanted the three-thousand-year-old history and those precious documents.
Jonathan wanted mountains of gold and rivers of gems.
Needless to say for Mori Tsukisa... dragons.
But how to get there and from where would take some effort. Setting aside whether the location marked on the leather map inside the box was correct—just a quick comparison with a modern map revealed that the entire area was desert.
There definitely wouldn't be any pyramids.
"So why are we here?"
Evelyn held Mori Tsukisa's hand and asked in a low voice. Just past noon, the two girls followed Jonathan, stopping and starting, as a smell of excrement mixed with thick vegetable soup wafted over.
Passing through a crude wooden door that opened outward, they were greeted by a toilet. On the soft earth that kicked up dust with the tip of a shoe, groups of prison guards strolled around lazily with guns, and prisoners gathered in twos and threes around simple stoves.
The smell of thick vegetable soup was coming from the large campaign pots on top of the stoves.
This was Cairo's largest prison. Warden Gad Hassan, who had taken thirty pounds from Jonathan, was more than happy to give him and his two sisters a tour.
—Even dogs fight over a tree they've urinated on, let alone those Brits who come to'spread the Lord's word'.
"We shouldn't have come during lunch."
Feeling her stomach start to growl, the young girl shook Evelyn's hand, her charmingly naive look causing the surrounding guards to let out bursts of low laughter: "We should have eaten some steak first."
Evelyn patted Mori Tsukisa's fluffy head, turned to glare at the guards, then looked at the warden leading the way arrogantly ahead, and poked her brother's waist with her index finger.
"Jonathan, this place is too... we shouldn't have brought Little Forest."
"Oh, you didn't see that time he almost crippled me?" Jonathan rolled his eyes; he wasn't falling for Mori Tsukisa's act: "My arm, right here, was almost twisted into a propeller. If she'd used a bit more force, I could've skipped the tests and joined the Royal Air Force as a nose cone."
Evelyn already knew about this: "It's your own fault for having a big mouth."
"Me? No, it's definitely her fault." Jonathan took off his hat and tucked it under his arm, straightening his tie with one hand, accidentally letting the truth slip: "Why did she have to wear such a large gemstone earring?"
What gemstone earring?
"Oh! No..." Evelyn crossly kicked Jonathan's shin with her shoe: "...Damn it! You actually tried to steal from Little Forest? Didn't you tell me it was just a small dispute?!"
"I had no idea you tried to steal her gemstone too!"
"There's a lot you don't know, darling." Jonathan said casually, his eyes darting around: "You know I lie to everyone."
Evelyn hugged Mori Tsukisa, looking at him like he was a heartbreaker: "But I'm your sister!"
"That makes you easier to fool."
Mori Tsukisa giggled and followed the bickering siblings until a row of brass-colored iron mesh cages appeared before them.
—This was where the serious offenders were kept, unlike the minor offenders they had just seen out for supervised exercise. The guys locked up here might not necessarily have committed a serious crime, but they would certainly be punished as if they had.
"So, what does 'not necessarily' mean?" Evelyn quietly leaned toward Jonathan, "You didn't find a murderer, did you?"
The warden seemed to have heard. His large brown head, wrapped in a turban, suddenly turned: "It means 'not necessarily', miss. This is Cairo; there are many people who can decide whether you've committed a crime or not."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow: "Your definition of crime is quite novel."
"Of course." The warden patted the bars, his brown skin making his large nose look even bigger, then he gave a mocking smile: "Your Empire's definition of 'help' is even more novel."
Evelyn's eyes widened: "My mother was Egyptian!"
The warden jiggled the keys at his waist, called out a few words to the guards in the local language, and turned back: "Very well, then... welcome home?"
Evelyn was momentarily speechless, only able to huff and grip Mori Tsukisa's hand.
Amidst the messy clamor, inmates with large lumps on their necks, strange rags for clothes, and pale-faced characters—as they walked past Mori Tsukisa, they cast glances filled with subtle malice. This made Evelyn, like a protective mother, lift her chin high and wrap her arms around Mori Tsukisa, pulling her into her embrace.
Jonathan said helplessly: "Give it a rest, she could take both of us down with one hand."
"That's because you're incompetent."
Jonathan spun his hat, saw off the warden who had some temporary business to attend to, and returned to see Mori Tsukisa acting cute and spoiled toward Evelyn—he had seen this kitten kick down half a wall.
Bang!
The iron door behind the bars was struck. Two guards were pressing down on a disheveled man, shoving and dragging him half-thrown into the cage. The man's blonde hair was a chaotic mess, half-spilled over his shoulders; he had a square face, a layer of stubble on his chin, and a cynical expression as he was forced to his knees before the three of them.
"This is him?"
Jonathan lowered his voice and gestured with his eyes: "I spent a lot of money to find out that he was the one who'sold' the box."
Evelyn leaned in: "You mean'sold'?"
"Whatever works, why don't you ask him?" Jonathan shrugged, stepping back a few paces in disgust; the smell here was making him miserable: "You two better give yourselves a good fumigation when we get back."
The man kneeling in the cage had disheveled hair, his forehead pressed against the bars as he stared at them.
"Who's this broad?" His voice was deep and husky: "Oh... and why is there a brat here too?"
"Excuse me?" Evelyn frowned, pulling back Mori Tsukisa who was about to lean in: "We, we found your... little magic box..."
"Little magic box?"
"Of course, we'd like to ask you some questions."
The man glanced at Mori Tsukisa, who was staring at him curiously, then at Evelyn, shaking his head while laughing.
"Not right."
"Not right?"
"Not right." He pointed at Evelyn: "You want to ask me where Hamunaptra is."
"You—" Evelyn took off her sun hat to shield her side, stepped forward two paces, and whispered: "How do you know that box is related to Hamunaptra?"
The man grinned, revealing a row of white teeth: "Because that's where I found it."
"You've really been there?"
"Of course, Seti's territory, the City of the Dead..."
"Can you take us there?"
Mori Tsukisa had been called back to Jonathan's side early on. From a distance, she watched Evelyn and the rather good-looking prisoner whispering. The two got closer and closer, closer and closer... and then, Evelyn was kissed.
"Your sister just got kissed."
"I know." Jonathan put on his hat and straightened his suit: "It's better than her staring at mummies that have been dead for thousands of years every day; she needs to have some contact with men."
"You really are her brother." Mori Tsukisa pouted: "Why did you call me over? I wanted to listen."
Looking at Mori Tsukisa kicking the ground with the tip of her small shoe, Jonathan gave an extremely rude snort. This girl who acted like a feline from time to time, acting spoiled or occasionally baring her teeth and claws to act cute... was definitely, definitely not as harmless as she appeared on the surface—
Jonathan just knew it, he just knew.
His 'great' career had given him a knack for reading people beyond that of ordinary folk. From the first time he met this young girl who could easily make most men swoon, when she looked over with a smile, a chill had crawled up Jonathan's scalp and over his whole body.
Evelyn said she could see innocence and simplicity in Mori Tsukisa's eyes.
Jonathan didn't deny that, but often innocence and simplicity also represented indifference and cruelty.
—Just what kind of family raised this girl?
She was like a child looking down, seriously observing an anthill. In a way, those lunatics locked in black hospitals were the same.
"I just wanted you to stay away." Jonathan sighed; he had no way of dealing with this girl, and his sister was practically becoming a conjoined twin with her: "Who knows what that guy who reeks of stinky feet would do to you."
Mori Tsukisa giggled and shook her head, tossing a golden bullet she'd swiped from somewhere in her hand: "You guess he'd dare?"
"My dear Miss Strongwoman, I'm afraid he would dare." Jonathan made a gesture across his neck: "And then you'd twist his head off in front of everyone?"
"Jonathan!" Mori Tsukisa pouted in frustration, waving her small fist clutching the bullet a few times: "Is that really how you see me?"
"I'm not a lunatic!"
"To be honest, I find that hard to be sure of."
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