“..”
Wood fell into a brief silence.
Splat—
The sound of a wooden object hitting the floor rang out abruptly.
The two looked toward the sound and saw the Ebony statue of the goddess Isis, which they had seen at the Old Man's place yesterday.
The dignified and sacred Ancient Egypt goddess lay peacefully in the back seat of the vehicle, his gem-encrusted eyes gazing at them.
This statue—
I don't know.. I don't know why there is a statue of Old Man here..
Wood said in confusion.
That's not the point—
Peterson reached out to pick up the Ebony statue, but his fingers recoiled as if struck by an electric shock just before touching it: "Ow! This statue—"
What's wrong with this statue?
He refuses to be touched by me.
Peterson's expression turned solemn: ".. Based on what you just said, I suspect this is a statue with self-awareness!"
A statue with self-awareness? Then isn't that—
—As expected, you can sense me.
A cold voice that seemed to see through everything rang in both of their minds simultaneously; immediately following that, a radiant, golden Ancient Egypt goddess appeared, seated in the back seat of the car.
Goddess.. Isis?!
Peterson blurted out.
Yes, it is I.
The Goddess nodded slightly.
“How could you be here? No! I—"
[Even though you have long since forgotten, you are indeed a descendant of the Nubian people who established the Kush Dynasty; your ancestors used to worship me day and night, hailing me as the greatest Goddess in the world.]
B-but..
Peterson looked at the Goddess in disbelief: "Over a hundred years ago, my ancestors were forced onto slave ships and sold to plantations in America to be enslaved. As the Goddess they once worshipped, why couldn't you hear their pleas! Why didn't you appear before them to save them!"
[Because the power of a god originates from faith, a god without believers naturally has no power.. As early as two thousand years ago, the Ancient Egyptian Gods were buried along with the Ancient Egyptian Civilization under thick yellow sands, only gaining believers and subsequently power again in the last hundred years through archaeological discoveries..]
So that's how it is..
Peterson lowered his head silently.
As for you—you are a special existence, I have always been watching you.
The Goddess smiled at Wood.
Me? Am I special?
Wood was stunned.
(It must be because of Boss! Boss made me special!)
Yes, you are very special, like a flame ignited in the dark night.
.. Goddess, your words are too profound and complex; I cannot understand them at all.
Wood told the truth.
Peterson had regained his composure by now, watching the Goddess warily. "Why have you suddenly appeared before us? Does the stuff in Nancy's home have something to do with you?"
Osiris is my brother and husband.
The Goddess gave a vague answer to the two of them.
An inexplicable irritation flared up in Wood's heart once again.
Peterson had long since been captivated by the Goddess's radiance and stated earnestly, "We will definitely help you reclaim your brother and husband's belongings."
It will be impossible to succeed with only your strength..
The Goddess whispered softly, a small-eared puppy, or rather a jackal cub, emerged from beneath his feet.
It is a shadow of Anubis, it will help you.
The Goddess reached out his hand and handed the puppy to the two of them.
It doesn't like cats.
I don't like cats either.
"I don't like cats either," Wood blurted out.
However—
Before the words had even left his mouth, the puppy lunged forward and bit the back of Wood's hand.
Ah—!
Fortunately, it was a puppy that had not yet been fully weaned; its teeth could do nothing more than leave a row of wet saliva on the back of Wood's hand, even with all its might.
—Why?
With the Goddess's help, Wood had finally managed to break free from the puppy's biting, he looked at the saliva on the back of his hand with a grievance.
You smell like a cat—the very one it hates most.
The Goddess smiled, gently patting the puppy's head.
The puppy immediately lost its ferocity and wagged its tail at the Goddess.
Take this Little Anubis with you! Anubis's hatred for Set will help you resolve this trouble.
So our enemy is Set?
Peterson asked.
The Goddess shook his head.
Placing things in the room is merely a shadow of Set, just as I before you is merely a shadow of my true self.
After she spoke, the golden Goddess vanished, leaving behind a small long-eared puppy wagging its tail vigorously at the two of them, while the mysterious Black Wood Statue lay quietly beside the puppy's paws.
It looks like—
Peterson gave Wood a triumphant glance before reaching his hands out toward Little Anubis sitting in the back seat: "Baby, come home with Daddy—ah!"
The small milk teeth, which just moments ago could only leave a row of wet saliva marks on the back of Wood's hand even when using all its strength, were now deeply embedded in Peterson's skin. Blood flowed from the puppy's teeth as intense pain swept through Peterson's entire body.
—You bad dog! You! Ah!
The harder Peterson cursed, the more fiercely the puppy bit.
Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!
Quick! Let go! Let me go right now!
Peterson quickly let out a desperate plea for mercy.
The puppy had no intention of letting go.
Peterson turned to Wood for help, "Quick! Quick, help me! Help me!"
“I—”
It wants to bite a chunk out of me—ah—you, you were bitten by it just now, but it couldn't even break your skin! Anyway—help me, hurry! Ahhh!
Alright.
Wood felt helpless, imitating the movements of the Goddess Isis as he carefully patted the puppy's head, murmuring as if in a trance, "Good boy, good boy.. let him go, you're the best boy.. be good.. be good.."
Finally, Little Anubis let go of Peterson.
Peterson hurriedly pulled a disinfectant spray from the first aid kit and sprayed it onto the bleeding wound, frantically bandaging himself while giving orders, "I'm going to get a rabies vaccine. You and this dog stay here and monitor the activity at Nancy's house! Contact me immediately if any emergencies arise; do not act on your own! You are only a Special Consultant, not an official Agent; you have no firearm permit and no law enforcement authority. If you act without authorization, you won't just lose your compensation after getting injured—you might also be prosecuted for trespassing! Do you understand?!"
Author's Note:
----------------------
Note 1: The Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 BC – 30 BC) is generally considered the last dynasty in Ancient Egyptian history. After the death of Cleopatra VII, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, leading to the gradual decline and disappearance of Ancient Egyptian civilization and beliefs.
Note 2: In Egyptian mythology, Set's wife Nephthys was in love with Osiris. He transformed himself into the likeness of Isis to date Osiris and subsequently became pregnant and gave birth to Anubis. Fearing that Set would find out about this, Nephthys discarded the child, who was later found and adopted by Osiris; because of this incident, Set grew to hate Osiris even more.
Another story recorded in 1000 BCE tells of how Set disguised himself as a leopard to approach the corpse of Osiris, only to be caught by Anubis, who branded his entire body with hot iron, which is how the leopard came to have black spots all over its body.
Therefore, in mythology, Set and Anubis are arch-enemies.
Note 3: One of Loki's children in Norse mythology is the giant wolf Fenrir. Additionally, when Loki was imprisoned, the gods turned one of his children, Vali, into a wolf, which is why the protagonist has a naturally good relationship with canines (when Anubis bites him, it is like he is acting spoiled) and is naturally incompatible with cats.
Thank you to readers "If the Moon Doesn't Come" and "Go to the Factory to Work if You Don't Study Hard" for providing nourishment.
Chapter 8: Seal of Osiris (8)
Knock, knock, knock!
Hearing the knocking on the car window, Wood, who was trying his best to build rapport with the fierce-looking Little Anubis, looked up and saw Nancy holding a cake box.
Ma'am?
Wood looked at Nancy, who was smiling at him, in surprise.
Nancy gestured for him to lower the window.
Wood thought for a moment and cracked the window open a sliver: "Hello, I didn't mean to park my car in front of your house, I'll move it right—"
“I know you're spying on me.”
Nancy smiled, opened the cake box, took out an exquisite cupcake, handed it to Wood: "I just bought it from the bakery across the street."
Sorry, I—
Afraid I'd disguise the drugged cake as a cake from the bakery?