Sphinx

"Pyramids!"

"Mummies!"

Watching the two of them clamoring to see people's ancestral graves and the corpses of their ancestors, Adam couldn't help but fall into a silent speechlessness.

"Alright, since you two want to see them so badly, we'll put the pyramids on the first day."

Adam looked at Uther in shock.

"I told you it's fine. The pyramids that are open to tourists now aren't fake, they just don't have the real stuff inside."

Uther shrugged:

"It's a good opportunity to take you to see the Sphinx."

Because of their intelligence and their species' habit of liking to pose difficult questions and riddles, the biggest employment direction for Sphinxes, whether in Egypt or elsewhere, is guarding treasures and passages. In Egypt, that naturally means guarding pyramids and temples.

So, regardless of what Uther's original travel plans were, at Klon and Bernard's strong insistence, they set off for the pyramids.

The transportation to the pyramids was a small bus. It didn't look big on the outside, but it had an Undetectable Extension Charm on the inside. It wasn't crowded even with a dozen or twenty people. There were fruits, drinks, and ice cubes next to the seats.

On the way, Uther looked at the two excited men and reminded them:

"Even though we're going to the pyramids, it's definitely not what you think. Those pyramids aren't open to the public, but they've long been dealt with by the Ministry of Magic. There's basically no chance of anything dangerous happening—of course, that's assuming you don't act recklessly."

Otherwise, Uther's parents wouldn't have let Uther take them to play alone.

"Got it!" x2

Unlike the pyramids that were close to Cairo, the car drove all the way into the depths of the desert, and it took them several hours to reach their destination.

"Even with Muggle-Repelling Charms, some of the things in these pyramids still made the ancient Pharaohs build them deep in the desert."

Uther said as he got out of the car:

"I'll take you around Cairo for a few days, let you enjoy the Nile River, and then take you to Thebes. The Valley of the Kings there also has many Pharaoh's tombs, which are much more interesting than here."

Speaking of this, Uther couldn't help but smile:

"And my favorite, Egypt's pride—the Ramesseum. I'll show you what it really looks like."

The Ramesseum Tentyris, a temple built during the reign of Ramesses II, was second to none in Egyptian history in terms of scale and splendor.

It's just that in the Muggle world's perception today, it's nothing more than a ruin.

After briefly mentioning the arrangements for the next few days, Uther led everyone to the tightly closed door of the pyramid and reached out to feel along the door seam from top to bottom.

"Rumble—"

Amidst the sound of sand and gravel trembling, Uther led them to the other side of the pyramid.

"What was that just now?"

Klon looked curiously at the door that didn't seem to have any other movement.

"That door is the switch to enter the pyramid, but it's not the entrance to the pyramid."

Uther's smile had a hint of mockery:

"Even if you use the correct way to open the door, anyone who enters through that door, except for the descendants of the Pharaoh, will fall into the underworld and never return—don't tell anyone."

Bernard leaned over and said:

"So, you've seen the underworld?"

"No, an ancestor once went into that door out of curiosity. It's a dead end, a long tunnel that prohibits all magic, and at the end is a wall made of solid stone. Apart from a linen curtain hanging at the entrance and the Anubis paintings on both sides, there's nothing in the entire tunnel."

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the real entrance.

Uther tapped a boulder with his wand, and with that boulder as the center, more than a dozen boulders transformed like they were melting into a huge stone door. The paintings on the door were as bright as if they had just been painted yesterday.

"Please come in~"

With a gentle push, the stone door opened inward, and what came into view was not something else, but a giant male Sphinx!

"Please tell me, what is... uh, Master?"

The Sphinx originally thought that someone from the Ministry of Magic had come to feed it, and was about to blurt out the riddle it had come up with recently, but it didn't expect to see Uther, so it quickly swallowed the rest of the riddle, stood up, and stepped aside to make way.

"This is a Sphinx I raised. It's called Mao Tuan. You can take a look, but it's best not to do anything rude."

Saying that, Uther looked at the behemoth called Mao Tuan:

"These are my friends, don't resist."

"...Mao Tuan?"

Eugene looked up at the Sphinx and couldn't help but say.

Even when it was lying on the ground, it was at least three meters tall!

The reason why Eugene asked the question was obvious. Uther sighed:

"Believe me, Mao Tuan was really small when he was a kid... I didn't realize he'd grown so big."

"It's hard for me to believe that you didn't notice it growing to this size."

Congratulations, Eugene can even make sarcastic remarks now. The roommates didn't think anything of it, but Eugene's grandmother was beaming. She wasn't interested in the Sphinx, and was resting on the side with Old Reed and Kelly.

Old Reed wasn't particularly fond of magical creatures, a quick glance was enough for him, and Kelly had already seen a Sphinx, so naturally, she wasn't interested either.

Adam walked over to Mao Tuan and reached out to pet him. The Sphinx, also known as the Sphinx, had a human face that Adam wasn't interested in, but its body was indeed similar to a lion's. The coarse, stiff fur was obviously well-groomed, and stroking it with the grain felt as smooth as satin.

It was almost comparable to Kero's true form.

Having gained experience from petting Kero, Adam unconsciously used professional techniques, and Mao Tuan's tail involuntarily wagged in the air, creating afterimages.

Klon wasn't interested in petting Mao Tuan, so he didn't join in, but instead looked at Uther expectantly:

"Mao Tuan was going to give us a riddle, right? Let us try to guess it!"

"Yeah, when you encounter a Sphinx, of course, you have to experience its riddles!"

Bernard added.

Mao Tuan perked up at these words and looked at Uther expectantly.

"Well, alright, but if you answer the Sphinx's riddle incorrectly, it will become irritable and its aggressiveness will increase. Even though I raised Mao Tuan, I can only guarantee that it won't attack us. If that happens, we won't be able to get this close to observe it."

"Then let's try to guess it."

Adam released his hand and took a few steps back. His interest in the Sphinx was also more focused on its riddle.

If he really wanted to pet something fluffy, he had other animal options.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Mao Tuan proudly straightened its upper body:

"Tell me: What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never speaks, has a head but never cries, has a bed but never sleeps?"

Uther raised his eyebrows. Years of familiarity allowed him to quickly guess Mao Tuan's riddle. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as this would at least ensure that Mao Tuan wouldn't go berserk.

Adam thought for a few seconds. Sphinx's riddles were usually not made up casually and were basically inseparable from its environment, so he quickly guessed the answer as well.

"Those who have guessed the answer shouldn't say it yet, write it down on paper, and then we'll all reveal them together."

Eugene suggested, taking out a notebook from his bag, tearing off some paper, and taking out a few pens, which he distributed to everyone along with the paper.

"Eh? You've already guessed it?"

Klon, who was still thinking, looked at him in surprise.

"Not yet."

Eugene shook his head, then looked at Uther and Adam, who had already started writing:

"But I think they've already guessed it."