A King is Born on the Road

Three more days after entering the desert, Iris and the others arrived in front of the Traitor’s Labyrinth.

As Hayer initially predicted, the Knights of Tejas struggled just by moving in the desert.

If they meet desert people known for being strong, victory could not be guaranteed. There was not even a guarantee of meeting only once.

Iris looked up at the entrance to the labyrinth, where mossy boulders piled up like cliffs. Fortunately, the entrance was easy to find. There was a huge stone gate that could be seen from afar.

The labyrinth was scheduled to be entered by Iris and Hayer alone. It was because it was so complicated that if the party was lost, they might not be able to find them forever.

Hayer turned around and said to the vice-captain, Hencke.

“Take charge of the Knights. I’ll come back after cutting the sacred tree.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“And when Lord Kernin comes in three months…”

Hayer was lost in thought for a moment.

Kernin Lepos, the head of the Royal Knights and younger brother of the reigning King Eswa.

It was because of his power that he could not just ignore him, who had been greedy for the throne ever since it was revealed that his brother was the son of a mistress.

Even though Sid Lepos was in his own stable position as the king’s legitimate child, the reason why he tried to marry Iris and solidify his position was probably because of Kernin Lepos.

Hayer decided, and went on.

“Don’t strain and just let him in. He’ll come in no matter how you block it.”

Kernin Lepos was a fearless man. In addition, he was greedy for the throne, so he was sure to jump into the Traitor’s Labyrinth without hesitation to prove himself.

“I’ll have to see it too, myself.”

At Hayer’s words, the Knights unknowingly swallowed. And in the end, Annamaria was the first to reveal her honest feelings.

“We can’t see that! Please fight in front of our eyes! Please!”

“In fact, Marshal Annamaria is right…”

“It’s a knight’s duty to show others an interesting duel! I think!”

Starting with Annamaria, the Knights of Tejas expressed their honest feelings.

Iris first thought it was a joke out of concern for Hayer, but then she realized that they were really just claiming ‘because it looks fun’ and ‘because I want to see another duel between the strongest knights in Luwan.’

They were people Iris couldn’t understand.

When she thought of the crowd who came to see Meppo and Hayer’s duel, she thought that might be the general tendency of the Luwan people.

Hayer looked at Iris.

“How long will it take?”

“I don’t know, honestly.”

Then Ato, vice-marshal of the Knights of Tejas and a Kawat, went on firmly.

“We will continue to wait.”

Hayer crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side. Then he said with a smile.

“I didn’t tell you not to wait.”

Hencke added a few words.

“Unconditionally, I’ll wait until you come out.”

All the Knights said they would wait, so Iris said to Hayer, envious.

“You’re very popular.”

“Iris, this maze requires you to find your way.”

“……”

“They believe in you too.”

“……”

“Of course, it’s true that I’m popular.”

Ato sighed as if he was forced to listen and was loyal enough to accept the words. That made the Knights of Tejas laugh once more.

In the meantime, the Knights opened the heavy stone gate that was blocking the maze.

There was a dark path in front of the door. Iris and Hayer entered the path.

“Close the door.”

At Hayer’s words, the stone door slowly closed. From then on, the ground where Hayer and Iris stood began to move.

* * *

Iris stumbled and immediately grabbed Hayer’s arm.

The ground they were stepping on moved, and the place where the two arrived was in the maze. Mossy rocks as seen from the outside formed a high wall and lined both sides.

Hayer said, looking up at the wall.

“Shall we go up?”

“No.”

Iris shook her head.

“If you could go up and find something, there would be a traitor who got out of here.”

“Indeed.”

Hayer nodded.

As Iris said, not a single traitor has escaped from this labyrinth since it was created.

Hayer, who was following Iris as she started walking, said in a serious voice.

“I know for sure.”

“What?”

“I can’t find my way at all. I don’t have that kind of ability.”

Iris answered his words, turning to Hayer.

“That’s a relief.”

“It’s a relief?”

“The moment we lose each other, if you rashly find your way and move, I can’t find you. So if you separate from me, don’t move. We’re in one place. I will go find you.”

Only after entering this Traitor’s Labyrinth did Iris grasp what a terrible maze it was, and she continued firmly.

“I won’t go out even if it takes a lifetime. I’ll definitely go find you, so wait for me.”

Hayer’s gaze reached Iris as he looked around the maze with his arms crossed.

And for some reason, he nodded with a pleasant smile.

“It’s not intentional, but it’s touching.”

“…What?”

“That there’s someone who will come looking for me.”

At Hayer’s words, Iris recalled Don, a member of the Knights of Tejas, located in Freya’s Kawat village.

“I feel like the captain is a lonely person, so the position feels very difficult.”

Iris, too, often thought there were times where Hayer seemed like a really lonely person.

As the two continued to walk, joking around, a loud vibration was felt from the ground.

As Iris looked down at her feet, the distance between her feet and the wall was getting closer. The walls, no, the ground was moving. Or they’re both moving.

The maze moved slowly and stopped after the direction of the path changed.

Hayer spoke in a tone of astonishment.

“It was a moving maze. This is why one can’t find their way.”

The maze was wide, moving, and because of the huge wall’s shade, the sun set in an instant.

It seemed natural that even the most daring traitor could not hold out if they came in here.

“I’m not really hungry. I can’t even sleep.”

Iris was already having a hard time finding composure and staying calm, to the extent that Hayer cared and kept talking.

How long and empty were the sleepless nights?

Iris said in a nervous voice, feeling as if the night had returned.

“Did you bring the candle?”

“Ah, yes. Do you want to light it?”

Iris nodded.

Hayer intended to save the fire for the long schedule, but he noticed the frustrated expression on her face and lit it with a flint.

In an instant, a calm fire illuminated their surroundings. A small fire that was nothing bright, was this huge in the dark.

Iris asked in a slightly sincere voice.

“Would it be better to walk a little longer?”

“You are the captain here, so all you have to do is give orders.”

Hayer answered and moved on with the candle firmly fixed in an ornate lantern.

No matter how much they walked, the road never ended.

It was a maze so huge that it was hard to grasp the scale, as well as the complexity.

After walking for half a day, the two met a crossroads. Iris entered the path to the left, and Hayer followed her in. Then he turned around and said.

“Aren’t you curious what’s on the other side?”

“Let’s go together.”

Iris immediately grabbed Hayer by the arm and walked along with him. And it was when they returned to the crossroads.

The two of them froze at the same time, standing in place for a while without a word. It was because though they thought they had come back quite a bit, they couldn’t see a fork in the road.

“…If the fork is gone, does that mean there’s no going back?”

Hayer muttered despondently and hurriedly grabbed Iris’s arm.

“Don’t abandon me.”

“If you don’t walk away on your own.”

“If you hadn’t followed me, I would have gotten lost on my own.”

Hayer said horrifyingly and walked close behind Iris.

After passing the forked road, the two finally escaped the barrier.

For those who walked in a space of only stone and moss, the soil became a huge haven.

Hayer stomped on the dirt and said.

“I never knew I liked dirt roads this much.”

From Hayer’s point of view, where it was impossible to find a way, it occurred to him that traitors would not want to go back to that maze if they encountered a village with soil and trees like this while wandering that stone road. He thought they’d give up going out.

Looking around, the walls were erected radially, and there was a round plain in the middle. And there was a village.

Iris blinked and muttered.

“There was a village inside the maze?”

The two people walked toward the village in a bewildered state.