Rasses City was gradually taking shape. The brick-making site where Hikigaya had once worked was just a small corner of this grand project.
The large city, painted white and sky blue, had begun to show its outline, but its true form was still unknown to the public. Its real appearance now existed only on a rough scroll of parchnt.
When Moses unrolled the scroll, Hikigaya instinctively straightened up and lowered his gaze.
Even by the artistic standards of this era, Hikigaya could roughly distinguish so features, such as the river channels.
From the map, Rasses City was divided by waterways into several areas of varying sizes.
Hikigaya saw four rectangular buildings outlined with thick lines; the floor plans showed a series of rooms inside and huge courtyards.
The tiny black dots were probably columns — a typical style of ancient Egyptian temples, with massive pillars and vast hollow interior spaces designed to inspire awe in visitors toward the gods.
The temples were distributed in the east, west, north, and central parts of the city, each occupying a considerable area, with the central temple being the largest.
On the west side of the city, the buildings were arranged neatly, resembling a chessboard. Long, straight streets were clearly marked, extending eastwards.
This was likely the district where the wealthy and high officials lived.
The east side was the exact opposite—separated by river channels, buildings were densely packed and varied in size, without uniform form.
The draftsman had even casually represented so areas with just a few marks. Hikigaya guessed that this area housed people of lower social and economic status and possibly factories.
However, the largest part of the city was a vast area extending inward from the river—likely the royal palace—because the buildings were neat, square, and regular like the temples but even more spacious.
That was all Hikigaya could make out, but compared to future archaeologists, he had already seen quite a lot.
Three thousand years later, this city would be buried deep beneath the sands of Kantar, and only through modern scanning equipnt could scholars estimate its layout.
He looked at Moses, believing that Moses showed him the map to say sothing important.
"Your Excellency, please look," Moses said, pointing at the map. At this mont, his shyness disappeared completely.
"The four most important temples we plan to build are these: in the west, the Temple of Amun the Hidden; in the center, the Temple of Set, the Lord of the Land; in the east, the Temple of Astarte, the Northern Goddess; and in the north, the Temple of Wadj-wer, the god who brings prosperity and fills the land with greenery."
"The Temple of Set seems larger?" Hikigaya pointed to the central temple's position.
Rasses II truly was a devoted fan of Set, making it very obvious.
"Yes, near the Temple of Set there will be a river port. We will dig a canal to connect the 'Water of Ra' and the 'Water of Avaris,' providing clean water to the city. Our warehouses and granaries will also be near here."
Hey, what about Osiris? Hikigaya glanced sideways at Rasses, who looked extrely satisfied, his eyes squinting with a smile. When he noticed Hikigaya looking at him, he seed to explain, "The Temple of Set is across the canal and separate, so it's a bit larger."
That explanation was almost worse than none at all...
anwhile, Moses continued explaining.
"A bit further north are the palace and residential area. The main roads start from the palace, connecting to the Temple of Ptah, the Creator, on the right. Then two roads branch off to link the Temples of Amun and Ra.
The infantry barracks will mainly be stationed around these places. The naval base will be at the river mouth facing the Great Green (the diterranean Sea), and the chariot army's fortress will be built near the Temple of Set."
"So what do you want to do?" Hikigaya asked.
From the military arrangents, Rasses's emphasis on Set needed no further words.
The temple was the largest, the strongest chariot force was placed there, completely independent of the rest of the city — a shocking degree of bias.
"I think you noticed the empty plot on the left bank," Moses said.
Hikigaya carefully looked and indeed saw the vacant land, clearly reserved but left unmarked on the map.
"We will expand the power of the gods here, my friend," Rasses said, while Moses fell silent and stepped aside.
"Expand?" Hikigaya was curious.
Even he, a god-slayer, didn't know how one expanded a god's power.
"I have personally selected the materials and crafted a sharp obelisk that can pierce the clouds. It is already on its way to the city. If you can preside over the ritual to erect it, I can establish an almighty temple capable of driving away enemies. Do you know about the Temple of a Million Years?"
"No," Hikigaya shook his head bluntly.
The na sounded so pretentious that even a creator god would be constipated from hearing it—he had never heard of it.
"It will be the most spectacular sight in this city. Once completed, the kingdom will be safe from danger. I believe no one is more suitable than you to host its groundbreaking ceremony."
Rasses stared intently at Hikigaya's expression. He seed a bit nervous, though Hikigaya did not notice.
He wondered if he had misunderstood before.
Judging by Rasses's speech, this thing was really not a re fancy na, but sothing serious.
After a while, Hikigaya asked, "When does it start?"
"Tomorrow!" Rasses's eyes shone with joy, though his wife's face was sowhat complicated.
"Okay, that's no problem. But are you sure this will please your god? I am not a believer." Hikigaya looked at the Pharaoh and his wife, whose expressions were not quite in sync, and decided to give them a precautionary warning.
He had not forgotten that before ti traveling, he had rely prayed briefly in a temple, and that stone housing a monster turned to dust imdiately.
"Of course, the Temple of a Million Years will beco the resting place of the almighty being who is always creating everything. Such a great existence will not care about such small matters," Rasses said decisively.
Hikigaya wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt Rasses's real concern wasn't about the ritual itself.
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