A King is Born on the Road

It was two days later in the morning when Iris came to her senses.

The reason she knew that two days had passed was because the map in her head had changed to two days later, not that she felt the time.

When Iris touched her ear, it was attached properly as if it had never been cut off. Her arm was also back to normal.

There was no death here, no change in the body. Iris found out here why her stamina didn’t improve even though she walked so hard.

She shook her head to shake off her bewilderment when Tamati approached, carrying a large load in a bag made of woven twine.

“I tried to wake you up, but you did it. Let’s go. The day to depart has come.”

“What about my ear?”

“If you stick the cut one on, it sticks on itself.”

Unlike the first time they met, Tamati used honorifics with Iris.

Iris thought that if she found Cadella, she would have to force him to use honorifics too.

Iris got up quickly, and without much thought, she walked toward the maze and said to Tamati.

“You could just keep wandering and die.”

“How fun would that be? Doing nothing is terrible.”

Indeed. That was a part Iris quite agreed with.

The two headed for the maze, and went inside without hesitation. When Tamati turned around, he saw another basin beyond the maze in an instant.

Iris asked.

“Is it a waste to throw away? You made it for 100 years.”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve had enough of it.”

Tamati continued with a chuckle.

“I want to get out of this maze even for a day. If I’m lucky, I’d like to die for the princess. If so, it would be an absolute honour for my family.”

“You said they’re all dead?”

“Yes, the dead will be honoured.”

Talking like that, the two moved on.

As she got closer to the expected place, Iris’s pace accelerated. Hayer has been waiting alone for over a month.

But the closer she got, the less certain she was that Hayer was there.

The maze was overly complex, large, and changed shape every day.

It is difficult to locate Hayer, but even if she did, it is difficult to find the route considering the variables that change the maze every day.

Could it be that he left his position?

Iris ran hastily and turned at the fork. It must be on this road. Hayer is on this road…

“…Nothing.”

Then she ran until the next forked road, but she still couldn’t see Hayer. Not even a trace of Hayer’s passing by was felt.

As Iris looked at the wall, Tamati said.

“Even if a trace is left on the wall, it disappears in a day.”

“That can’t be true. There has to be. Tamati, the maze moves once a day, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Tamati answered back and said to Iris pitifully.

“It’s terrible to wait a month on a stone path with nothing. A month must have felt like ten years. By now, they should be moving somewhere in search of a basin.”

“……”

Iris was speechless.

No way. It couldn’t be.

Hayer said he would definitely stay in his place. He asked her to find him. He was not a man to be moved by fear.

Iris sat on the stone floor and remembered what she had thought wrong.

Undoubtedly she knew the way. She thought she figured out how the maze was moving…

Thinking so, Iris recalled the first day she entered the maze.

The ground moved at the entrance, and the maze moved once more during the day. Once more.

Iris raised her head and asked Tamati.

“By any chance, when a person enters the maze, does it move twice a day?”

Tamati retraced his memories at the remark.

“The last time a person came in was more than 40 years ago…”

“How did you know that a person came in?”

“…Because the road moved twice.”

Tamati spoke belatedly and knelt down with a darkened face.

“I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time remembering…”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s my job to find the way.”

Iris said emphatically. Then, slowly, she drew the path in her head again.

Since she had been thinking only about where Hayer was, she was able to think of where he was in her head faster than she expected. She figured out the path that included variables there. It was a month long way to go.

“…It will take another month.”

“I will be your companion. I will also teach you how to use the spear.”

“…All right.”

Iris took a deep breath and started walking again.

Walking after her, Tamati said anxiously.

“When you are tired, you can take a break.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. As an adult…”

“Tamati.”

Iris looked back at Tamati and said.

“I am an adult too.”

“……”

“I will decide. Because I am the leader here.”

Saying that, Iris turned around and walked away.

At that moment, Tamati’s heart trembled and he almost fell to the ground.

This woman of the Lepos family stubbornly refused to fall apart even for a moment.

The stranger whom he met after a long time was strong. Even outside the maze, Tamati’s heart would pound when he met a strong person.

Is there anyone else who is so welcoming?

So the two started walking again.

* * *

A month was a long time.

Tamati watched with delight as the young Iris grew.

Of course, the body was not growing, but technical proficiency had developed.

Her steps became faster, and she gradually began to read Tamati’s movements when they sparred with spears in the middle. She still found the spear heavy, but she also learned how to distribute the weight.

A long, boring month.

Tamati knew there would be nothing where she targeted.

It was impossible to stay alone in a place where there was nothing for this long time. He thought if he stayed there, he would have already gone mad.

Above all, he didn’t believe Iris could find her way, even if she was a royal.

Not all royals can find their way, and this was a maze that even they found difficult.

Tamati himself was able to end this boring life happily, but he was worried about Iris, who had to live in the future.

* * *

Hayer stayed on the road where there was nothing.

Since he had nothing to do, he kept recalling memories of the past. Those were memories that he didn’t want to recall at all.

“Here again.”

As a child, Hayer thought he would never get lost. Since all the adults around him said that, he naturally thought he would be able to find his way.

On the day Sid came out of the maze after wandering for three days, Hayer vowed to come out of the maze before his brother.

However, no matter how much he ran, he couldn’t get out of the maze. Eventually, he got lost and had no choice but to wait for someone to come find him in the maze.

It was his father, Eswa Lepos, who came to pick up Hayer after 15 days.

At that time, he felt relieved when he saw his father from afar.

Hayer, who ran frantically, clasped his father’s collar.

He wanted to say he was glad he came to find him, but Eswa Lepos’s expression made him scared.

Hayer lay on the hard stone floor in the Traitor’s Labyrinth and looked up at the sky. The maze near the royal palace was so simple that it couldn’t be compared to this maze here.

It was difficult because he was 10 years old, but he should be able to get out of the maze by himself now. But not here.

170 years.

Hayer stared at the passing clouds.

He wasn’t sure Iris could find him. He thought it would be nice if he could get out of this maze and stay in a place like the village he saw last time, but he couldn’t move because he didn’t know when Iris would come to get him.

Even after a short trip with Iris, he could see how complicated this maze was. He knew he could never get out of it without the whole structure in his head. In the first place, he didn’t even pass the maze test that was simpler than this.

He raised his sword and looked at the wall, then cut through the weak-looking part at once. Then the pile of stones collapsed. It was repeated, repeated, and repeated again. The wall collapsed, but it was restored.

But if you cut it faster…

Hayer thought and broke the wall faster and faster. Then the maze began to roar as if it were frightened. He raised his sword again.

He thought he could do it enough. He realized that his sword was stronger than this maze.

So he tried to cut it again, but he stopped. He couldn’t cut it.

What if Iris is behind this wall?

If the wall collapses like a domino, and even hurts her.

Hayer put the sword back into the scabbard.

“If you separate from me, don’t move. We’re in one place. I will go find you. I won’t go out even if it takes a lifetime. I’ll definitely go find you, so wait for me.”

Even if it takes a lifetime, she said.

Hayer thought of her eyes. A cold gaze mixed with fear and robustness. He remembered her beauty and strength.

So he decided to wait. He was going to trust her.

afterword

they make me go so crazy arghhh