Chapter 5

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"Good morning, Isis."

"Yeah, good morning, Horus."

A few days after welcoming Isis to the castle, I greeted her again. It felt great to have the sense that I wasn't alone anymore.

"Ngoo!"

"Yeah. Good morning, Rak."

Rak, who had approached, was delighted when Isis and I petted his head.

"This sand castle is amazing, isn't it? It's not cold at all at night."

The desert gets cold at night. The temperature drops sharply compared to the daytime. That's why all the openings are closed at night.

Even so, the castle retains some of the daytime heat. I was surprised by the cold at night at first. Thanks to that, the castle isn't cold inside even at night.

After the greetings, she asked me hesitantly and apologetically,

"Um, um, can I, can I take a bath?"

There's a pond near the castle that I dug. It's quite large, and the desert is hot, so I use it for bathing too.

"Of course, you can. I'll set a golem to watch over you."

"Thank you so much!"

Isis looked happy. The golems are useful in situations like this. She was surprised at first, but now she seems to be used to them.

"You can use it whenever you want. I'll adjust the golems to follow Isis's instructions too."

"Thank you for everything."

"By the way, feel free to talk to me more casually in the future. I'm like this too."

I felt Isis was a bit stiff, so I mentioned it. If she finds it easier to talk in this tone, that's fine, but she seemed a bit reserved.

"U-um, okay. Thank you, Horus."

When Isis corrected herself with a shy look, I felt a little flustered. Isis is really cute...

Then Isis went to take a bath. I have to be careful not to look at the spring during that time. I can't peek at a girl's private moments.

Isis's bath... No, no, no! What am I thinking? I need to stay calm...

"Kyaaah!"

But then, I heard Isis's scream. Something must have happened! I rushed out of the window, using sand magic to cushion my landing.

I ran to the spring. There, I saw large apes fighting the golems. They had yellow fur and broad shoulders, clearly different from the apes I had seen before!

And there were three of them. The golems were struggling to fight them off.

"Sand Magic: Sand Spears!"

I created twelve spears of sand and launched them. A few spears hit one of the apes, but they were surprisingly agile for their size. The large ape that was hit didn't seem to be seriously injured.

"Uho Uho Uho Uho Uho!"

One of the large apes shouted. They seemed quite excited. Could they have been watching Isis's bath? If so, they're perverted apes.

"Sand Magic: Sand Whirl!"

This is for fast-moving opponents! The sand swirled and trapped the apes' feet.

"Uho!?"

They tried to escape, but it wasn't that easy. Now, let's finish this—

"Sand Magic: Sand Giant Fist!"

I punched all three apes with a giant fist of sand. The large apes were sent flying and stuck in the sand, unable to move.

Phew, those were some perverted apes to attack a girl taking a bath.

"Isis, are you okay?"

"Ah, um..."

"Whoa, sorry!"

Oh no! I accidentally turned around! I couldn't see clearly because she was covering herself, but... no, what am I thinking!

"I'll be back in the castle. Call me if anything happens!"

"Um, thank you!"

I returned to the room and dove into bed, feeling a bit flustered.

Phew, I'm in trouble. I can't let my guard down or I'll start thinking about it. Clear my mind! Clear my mind!

After a while, Isis came back. She apologized again.

"No, no! You came to protect me... and I was happy..."

She must have been considerate, as she said kind words. I'm glad she's not angry, but I need to be more careful in the future.

Actually, I should strengthen the golems a bit more.

So I went outside the castle, called the golems, and increased the amount of sand that makes them up. I made four golems, each twice as large as before. I kept the original-sized golems for better maneuverability. I'll have twelve sand golems guard the castle.

"Ngoo~"

"Yeah. Now it should be safe for Isis to take a bath."

"Um, I'm sorry for the trouble..."

I heard a voice and turned around to see Isis standing there. She had been watching.

"I was planning to strengthen the defenses anyway, so you don't need to worry, Isis."

"Um, you said I shouldn't be reserved when talking to you, right?"

"Yeah! It's easier for me too if you're more relaxed."

"Um, then, you can call me Isis, um, I think it will be more comfortable for both of us—"

Isis suggested. Yeah, that sounds good.

"Then, you can call me Horus too. Is that okay, Isis?"

"Ah, yeah! Horus!"

That's great. I think Isis's smile got brighter.

Thus, the second day after meeting Isis came to an end.

And on the third day—new guests appeared at our castle.

"Ant~"

"Ant, Ant~"

Yes, they were the golden ants that I had helped before. They had given me some of their honey, or in this case, ant honey.

"Huh? Honey ants?"

"Um, you know them, Isis?"

"Yeah. They're ants that collect honey in the desert."

"Really? But how did they find us?"

"Ant~ Ant~"

The ants were gesturing to communicate something...

"Could it be that the honey I gave me was from these ants?"

"Yeah. I helped them when they were being attacked by other ants, and they shared some honey with me."

"That's it. Honey ants are sensitive to smells, so they must have followed the scent of the honey."

That's what Isis explained.

"Wow, that's impressive."

"Sort of, I just got a feeling, but I might be wrong?"

When Isis said that, the ants shook their heads from side to side. I understood that they were trying to convey that Isis was right.

"But why did they come all the way here?"

"Ant~"

"Ant Ant~"

The ants were trying to communicate something again. Hmm...

"Maybe they want us to come with them."

Isis pondered, and the ants nodded vigorously.

It seems Isis was right, but to go with them... I don't think they're bad ants, but...

"What should we do?"

"I'll leave it to Horus. But they seem desperate..."

Desperate... Yeah, if that's the case...

"Alright, I'll go."

"Ant!"

"Ant Ant!"

The ants raised their hands in joy.

"Ngoo!"

"Yeah. Do you want to come too?"

"Ngoo~"

Rak doesn't like being left out. Of course, I'll take him along.

"Okay, everyone, come closer to me. Ants, lead the way. Let's go!"

"Ant, Ant, Ant, Ant, Ant, Ant, Ant, Ant, Ant, Ant!"

We moved using a wave of sand. The ants were making a lot of noise, but don't worry, you won't fall off!

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