Suheila Pov
I walked into Asenath's house. It's a nice little house with a garden. The house has little to no furniture. They probably haven't been in this house for this long. Asenath is looking at me with a deep grudge. There are more women in this house than there is furniture. This guy is dangerous.
"So, teacher, what was it you wanted to tell us?" Asenath sneered.
"I didn't know your man was a war hero. It turns out he has backing. If he got hurt, I would be in danger from his hidden backing. So, I would like to apologize to you, Asenath. I want to protect your household until I'm able to address the problem at its source and undo what I did."
Nazhotep is looking at me funny. I don't know the guy yet, yet a mysterious fame surrounds him. Man mixes with myth and blurs the line between expectations of personality and personality itself. I can't see this man for anything other than what I've been told about him.
"With all due respect, Mrs. Suheila, you tried to murder me and sell my woman to a man like a pimp. This is savage behavior. Why would we trust a bloodthirsty savage like you to protect us?"
I rolled my eyes. When someone says "With all due respect." and shows no respect at all, it really pisses me off. I glanced at the chair in the corner. The chair suddenly crumbled to bits and fell to the ground as a pile of wood.
"Because if I really wanted you dead, you would be dead. The young master of the Shamam, Yahub Shamam, has taken an interest in Asenath. Just as I did, he had paid assassins a hefty sum. You could expect a small army of assassins at your doorstep."
Asenath rolled her eyes. Whatever she is thinking, she is probably right. I'm a scummy woman. To be honest, the Shamam Clan had dangled the prospect of giving out an ascension herb for far too long. Yes, there was an ascension herb, but it's highly unlikely that I would be one to get it. Even if I did everything the Shamam clan wanted, I'd never be able to get it.
Well, it's not like the herb is my only option. I could take the underworld path and create a soul core at the great border.
I turned toward Nazhotep and asked,
"Do we have a deal? I'll have to establish a glyph formation outside of the house."
Nazhotep nodded. Aisha turned toward her man in an apparent shock. He caressed her cheek and said,
"If a man falls into the sea, he wouldn't think twice about hugging a snake to survive. We are out of our depth here, Asenath. We have to trust somebody."
Asenath nodded her head, understanding. After getting their blessing, I got outside and started laying down some stones around the compound. I then chiseled glyphs on the stones with my power. These glyphs make me aware of any intruders and make sure I can hear and see whatever is going on in the compound.
A golden light rose up from each stone, then came together above the house, creating an octagonal light pyramid. I then went in. I went up to the roof and sat there.
"Asenath! Can you come up?"
Asenath climbed up to the roof with me.
"Let me give you the pregnancy tattoos in the meantime. I'm sorry about what I tried to do to you."
Asenath disrobed herself, and I brought out my ink needle.
She laid back, and after shaving her hairs, I started to draw glyphs on her womb. With each movement of my needle, she bit her finger. She has to grit her teeth if she wants to have a healthy child. I smacked her thigh.
"Stop moving, girl."
She stopped.
"Sorry."
I eventually gave her a nice and stylish womb tattoo. Some of these lines are unnecessary and are just here for aesthetic purposes, but I'm sure she would appreciate looking pretty to her man. I carefully cleaned her skin with a cloth. Sure, she is immune to sickness because she is a priest aspirant who has divine energy in her body, but it's bad practice to rely on that every time. Cleanliness and self-care are the keys to an effective eternal life. The divine energy is freed to help her get to the next stage whenever she is truly healthy and is not trying to hold herself up by exhausting divine energy on failing systems in her body.
She has a nice, fleshy womb. It's momentarily red from all the needling I've done. I then cleaned it with rubbing alcohol.
"Master, there is another woman who needs this. Could you do it for her too?"
I'm in no position to reject anything she asked of me after what I did to her in my greed.
"Sure, call her in."
She stood up and went inside. She didn't even bother to close her robe.
"Zaliki! Come here."
Another woman showed up. She is skinny in a way only slaves are. Her muscles are developed in a way similar to that of someone who does backbreaking labor. Asenath was like this too. This Nazhotep guy freed two slaves and gave them opportunities to become priestesses. Even if he has a low-grade arcane heart, he is admirable. In doing what he did, he made our nation gain a high-grade arcane heart individual.
The new girl disrobed herself and sat across from me. I shaved her too.
"You are pregnant too? That man sure knows how to keep women busy."
This new girl is far more sensitive to pain.
"Guh, hmmfh, ahn."
Smack
"Hold still, girl."
She is a bit squirmy.
"Asenath. Hold her down."
Asenath had the new girl give her back to her chest. She pulled her legs up and rendered her legs immobile. As I kept tattooing her, the piece of flesh above her womb kept quivering. That is to be expected and is acceptable. I can work with that.
Soon after, her tattoo was done too. These two girls are showing each other their tattoos and laughing. Somehow, they are devoid of all shame. Did they forget that they are naked? I snapped my fingers to get their attention.
" Hey, I need a place to sleep. I will need to stay up all night to guard this place. It's better if I get some shut eye now." I said.
"Of course, of course." Aisha answered me. Her robe is still ajar. She is exposing herself to me like a complete animal. I never knew such people existed. Can people expose themselves like this without any shame? Is there such a culture out there?
I've been taken to a room inside. Thanks to the formation I put up, I can feel every moment in the compound. That Nazhotep guy is diligently practicing spear with another girl. He didn't let his discipline go when he got fame and money. Commendable.
There are four women in this house, bar me. Each and every one of them stinks of this man. There is even a priestess and conduit of Hathor.
I stopped thinking and slept for six hours as people kept moving around furniture near me. It wasn't an easy sleep. I kept waking up to every little cat and bug that wandered into the formation.
Soon, the night came. With that, the wait began. The eerie night didn't help my nerves. It was as if there were shadows lurking in the corner of my eyes. My old propensities are flaring up again. It always starts like this. Then the delusions come. With delusions would come accusations. Whatever connection I made with people while I was completely sane would be alienated from me.
I hope the complete body reconstruction that happens when one steps into the high priest realm from the priest realm will cure me. I'm sick and tired of doing the same song and dance with people. I'm sick and tired of always ruining my chances of ever being loved. It's not fair.
Ah, I pitied myself again.
I'm about to cry out of the blue, and I have no explanation. It feels like there is something stuck in my throat when I swallow my tears like this.
The middle of the night. There is some movement in the south-western part of the formation. At last, there is some fun to be had. Three men, clad in dark robes, have jumped the wall. They have knives on their person. They're up to no good. Golden strings slowly rose from the dirt. These strings are connected to me by the formation. These fools have stepped into a place where a priest has established her formation. Bad move.
I folded the formation a certain way to make the strings snap in a certain direction at high speeds. This is one of the less energy intensive ways a priest can use her formation.
All three attackers turned out to be mortals. They don't have the natural barrier to divine energy one would gain upon stepping into the pursuit of eternity.