The vast sea of sand seed like a sight that would forever be in front of Hikigaya and Haruno's eyes.
Even after thousands of years, the desert was never a hospitable place for humans.
In this era, it was practically synonymous with death.
The ancestors of the Egyptians once lived here too, but as the climate gradually dried up, the vast grasslands turned into this ghostly wasteland, and the Nile Valley and Nile Delta beca the paradise of North Africa.
However, not everyone could enter those lands.
This land would be called Libya in a few thousand years.
If you fast-forward just a few hundred years, the Sea Peoples would establish ports along the coast and eventually develop into the ancient kingdom of Carthage, which once rivaled Ro.
But right now, it was the territory of various desert tribes, which the Egyptians called the Tjehenu.
"Is Yukino really in a place like this?"
Haruno squatted down, clearly a bit tired. She wiped her forehead as she asked, though it was just a habitual motion—she hadn't actually broken a sweat.
Logically speaking, with Hikigaya supporting her stamina-wise, the heat she gave off should have been greater than the scorching sand beneath her feet.
"The Libu people are the ancestors of the modern Libyans. They're currently the strongest tribe here and will even invade Egypt in the future.
You've heard of Egypt's Libyan Dynasty, right? That was founded by their descendants," Hikigaya said casually from the side. "We'll find the king of the Libu, beat him up, and ask him to help us find soone."
"What if you accidentally beat him to death?"
"Then we beat up their new leader too. Trust , the Libu people love that kind of communication."
"But aren't Libyan cities all by the coast? Why are we heading inland?" Haruno shot Hikigaya a look. Ever since last night, he'd beco completely unpredictable.
She had a strong sense that sothing very unusual had changed about him.
"Idiot, they're nomads. What are they going to the coast for? To search for One Piece?"
Hikigaya stepped past Haruno's skeptical face and struck a lookout pose.
"If we find an oasis, we'll be fine. Trust , I know where one is."
"If you could find one by just wandering around, then those corpses we passed earlier would be very offended."
"That's because they weren't dirty enough. You think only humans can be filthy? Plants can be too. Their filth is practically choking my nose."
Hikigaya chuckled and continued walking.
There was no way he couldn't find an oasis.
After stealing so much fertility-related divine power from gods like Osiris, Kuafu, and Di Jun, if he still couldn't find a simple oasis, he might as well choke to death on sand.
He hadn't been wandering aimlessly on this journey.
After a while, he indeed spotted a patch of green.
"Wow! I see it! It's an oasis!" Haruno shouted happily.
"Why are you so excited?" Hikigaya looked at her curiously.
"Isn't shouting happily upon spotting an oasis in the desert just common sense?"
"Sure, it's common sense, but don't you know that in most cases like this, it's just a mirage?"
"So you didn't really find one?"
"Of course I did. Co on, let's go find people."
The two of them bantered as they walked toward the oasis.
Soon enough, the oasis beca clearer. It was quite large, and on the outskirts, they could see several tents and people moving about.
These people had clearly noticed Hikigaya and Haruno as well. They began to gather, and through the hot desert wind, they could hear faint shouting.
After a while, though Hikigaya and Haruno were still walking, many of the locals were already running toward them.
The appearance of these ancient Libyans soon ca into full view.
Most of them wore round-hemd robes, had beards, and long, curly hair—but only on one side, the other half of their head was shaved.
Their weapons, however, were made of tal.
Hikigaya, with his sharp eyes, even spotted a chariot in their camp.
Sure enough, the Libyans of this era were more materially advanced than many of their peers—already beyond what you'd consider typical nomads.
Hikigaya rembered that these people had fought the Egyptians during the reign of Seti I, and in Ramses III's ti they launched a major invasion of Egypt—though they got beaten to a pulp and lost nearly ten thousand n.
At this point, Ramses II had already begun constructing military defenses along the borders to deal with them.
So they would be excellent allies.
As he thought this, a particularly fast warrior charged straight at him.
Hikigaya casually slapped the man and sent him flying.
More warriors rushed in, and he continued swatting them away one by one.
Haruno's ears were filled with the sound of smack smack smack.
She simply watched as Hikigaya slapped his way into the camp.
By the ti the two entered, nearly every ancient Libyan warrior had tasted a flawless backhand, flat-body landing in the sand.
Hikigaya stood among them with a "lonely master" look on his face, but Haruno didn't find it solemn at all—in fact, she found it strangely funny.
"What are you planning to do next?" she asked.
"I'm going to learn a foreign language," Hikigaya replied simply, then pulled a Libyan man to him and started fiddling with him.
He played around for a good while. When he spoke again, it was in fluent native language—though Haruno couldn't understand a word.
She just watched as Hikigaya stood among a bunch of angry ancient warriors, spitting saliva all over the place, having the ti of his life.
So people still tried to attack him, but without exception, they all went flying.
Haruno was genuinely impressed—not a single person had died.
After a while, there was a loud roar.
A particularly muscular warrior stepped forward and had a quick conversation with Hikigaya. Then, with a loud plop, he dropped into a full prostration.
"Does this count as a successful conquest?" Haruno tilted her head and wondered.
"Even if you look kinda cute like that, I'm not gonna say it out loud," Hikigaya turned around and told her.
"But you just did."
"That's not important. What is important is—we've got ourselves a passionate new friend." Haruno watched as her so-called boyfriend shalessly declared this, while the strong warrior beside him grinned like an idiot trying to win favor.
Truly, shaless beyond compare.
"So these Libu people will help us find Yukino?"
"You're only half right."
Hikigaya waved his hand and said a few things to the warrior.
Haruno then watched as the man scread like a banshee and dashed into the crowd, dragging everyone into a frenzy of shouting, looking like they were about to pack up and go to war.
Then she heard Hikigaya continue:
"First, they're not Libu—they're shwesh. Second, yes, they're helping us, but not to find soone—to demand soone."
Seeing the surprised expression on Haruno's face, Hikigaya nodded, though his expression was a bit odd.
"That's right. Your sister's been found.
But don't get the wrong idea—she's having a great ti. She's currently living her Mary Sue dream with the Libu.
Don't get it? I an—the current leader of the Libu… is your sister! And she's preparing to go to war with Egypt!"
"How's that for a surprise? Wanna smile?"
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