Nitocris's Speech [Sixth Update]

As Ra's solar barque sailed overhead, Nitocris finally arrived at last.

Surrounded by palace maids and soldiers, she stepped out of the royal palace and made her way to the raised platform that had long been built in the center of the square.

A gold-adorned throne stood there, her seat, positioned so that every citizen in the square could see her.

With Nitocris's appearance, the densely packed crowd surrounding the platform erupted.

They cheered for the Pharaoh, shouted her name, praised her past benevolent rule, and praised her for allowing them to take part in such a grand gathering.

The people held deep expectations for this Pharaoh, and those expectations showed in their words.

They hoped the Pharaoh would set things right, turn the tide, restore prosperity to chaotic Egypt, and bring back its former glory.

They hoped the Pharaoh would abolish all the harsh taxes and levies of the past, punish all corruption and dereliction of duty, and grant them better lives.

Nitocris saw the people's cheers and expectations, and committed them to her heart.

To say Nitocris was not happy to receive such heartfelt cheers would have been a lie, but amid them, she also felt a profound sense of responsibility.

At that moment, she thought again of Thoth, of what that man from a foreign land had told her: the power of the people, and the simple, unadorned expectations they held.

"The people's demands are very simple. They only want enough food to eat and a way to survive. As long as those demands can be met, no matter how harsh things are in other respects, the people can endure it and silently bear it... But once even those simplest demands can no longer be met, the people who once toiled without complaint will rise up. When