First, the resolute refusal of Princess Kanabi.
“Unnie {elder sister}!!!”
“I have no intention of granting permission just because you’re throwing a tantrum. Go back.”
“Who else but me can catch monsters? There’s no one else I can trust! I’ll save you, unnie. So, please, let me do this.”
“The labyrinth is a dangerous place. Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you can kill all the monsters.”
“You know my abilities. I’m stronger than you! As long as there are no traitors inside, I can do this!”
“How can you know what’s inside a person? I also carefully chose the members. But even then, a traitor appeared.”
In truth, managing people was something unnie was overwhelmingly good at.
So when she said, “If even I was deceived, how well can you handle it?” I honestly didn’t have much to say.
Still, I wasn’t without a rebuttal.
“So, I plan to move with a small group.”
“You’re going to break through the labyrinth with a small group? You’re making it harder and harder to grant permission.”
“I think I can do it in about a year! So, listen, I’ll give you the medicine for my part, can you take it?”
It was a good suggestion, but I knew unnie would likely jump up and get angry.
I braced myself before speaking, but when I saw unnie’s expression stiffen quickly, my heart started racing.
“Are you talking about that medicine?”
“A year. It’ll pass quickly. You’ll just sleep for a while, and when you wake up, the curse will be gone. Please, just trust me. I can do this.”
I want to save unnie.
If things continue like this, she would never use the medicine, hold on, and die from the curse.
I know very well that just because unnie doesn’t show signs of pain doesn’t mean she’s not suffering.
She’s probably hiding her pain in front of me.
“You can just send someone else to kill the monsters. There’s no need for you to get involved. And for you to protect me for a year, go into the labyrinth, and kill the monster alone… Do you really think that makes sense?”
“Are you opposing me because you think I can’t do it?”
“That’s not what I mean. You’re still a child who needs protection.”
“Only you see me as a kid!”
In fact, there was no one else who saw me as a child and protected me.
Except for unnie.
“We said we should rely on each other, right? So, I relied on you. But why can’t you rely on me? You raised me. Can’t you rely on me now?”
“I’m still relying on you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to endure.”
“Don’t rely on me like that. Rely on me for something greater!”
Come on, just agree!
Usually, when I asked unnie this much, she would reluctantly agree, so I looked at her with hope.
But…
“I still can’t allow you to enter the labyrinth.”
…This was a no-go.
‘Yeah, I expected this much.’
It was unfortunate that my heartfelt plea didn’t work on unnie, but it was something I had already anticipated.
She would never allow something that could endanger my safety.
‘But I’ll find a way!’
It was unfortunate that I didn’t get her permission, but her approval wasn’t absolutely necessary for me to go. Moreover, if I conspired with the priest, who was in charge of unnie’s treatment, I could easily get her to take the medicine.
‘I’ll save unnie.’
Since I failed to convince unnie, the next target would be the priest.
The priest’s conditions were a bit better.
Getting permission from the Holy Empire.
The problem was that to negotiate, I would have to go to the Holy Empire myself.
Sending someone was an option, but it would take an enormous amount of time due to the back-and-forth negotiations.
I didn’t like the idea of leaving unnie’s side, but what else could I do?
I decided to meet the priest, tell him to take good care of unnie, and then leave.
“I’m thinking of going directly to the Holy Empire to negotiate.”
I guess I took after unnie because pushing things forward like this was impressive.
“Have you already received permission?”
I never thought they’d grant permission, but she got it so quickly?
A suspicion gradually grew as I couldn’t quite meet her gaze.
“Are you lying? May I ask Princess Kanabi directly?”
“Wh-Why is the priest so suspicious?”
Her expression betrayed her.
It had seemed strange that she received permission so quickly, almost too quickly.
“Is this how you’re going to ruin trust and faith?”
“There’s no need to be so harsh!”
“You need to make an effort to gain permission. You shouldn’t try to take the easy way out by deceiving others. If trust and faith are shaken, how can I entrust my life to you and enter the labyrinth? If you disappoint me one more time like this, I’ll cancel the promise.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“Do you really think this looks like a situation where an adult is lying and getting caught?”
She was still like a child.
How could I trust this kid and sleep for a year?
‘If it were me, I don’t think I could leave monster in her care and sleep for a year…’
Even though she was trying to appear mature, using a lie was an unfair tactic, and it was natural that trust would be broken.
She was the one who had chosen to act that way, so complaining about it now was unreasonable.
“This isn’t something you can gloss over as a joke. Gaining trust is difficult, but losing it is easy. What you just did, Princess, was clearly acting like a child, throwing a tantrum, and asking for leniency.”
The princess looked frozen, as if she had been struck in the back of the head.
“After hearing such sharp words from you, I feel like I’ve woken up. Until now, the only one who’s ever spoken to me like this was my older sister.”
If she had at least received scolding from her older sister, she should have grown by now, but seeing her like this still, it seemed like sharp words didn’t affect her much.
But contrary to my worries, Princess Lasiell seemed to have changed her mind and spoke seriously.
“I told my sister that I had grown up and that I wanted her to rely on me, but I see now that I’ve been forcing things without showing anything.”
“Did you give up on persuading Princess Kanabi because it seemed too difficult?”
“I can’t deny that. Honestly, I thought nothing I said would matter. So, I think I gave up before trying. I was in a hurry to fix things. But now I’ll try again from the beginning. There has to be a way to persuade her. Right?”
“Yes. I will wait as long as it takes.”
I was relieved to see that the princess had regained her composure.
There was no need to act hastily in this matter.
It wouldn’t be long now.
‘Soon, the path to the labyrinth will change. The monster that cursed Princess Kanabi will no longer be findable.’
At that point, Princess Kanabi, left without any solutions, would have to look for other options. If Princess Lasiell stepped in then, her opinion would likely be accepted.
Until then, Princess Lasiell just needed to prepare thoroughly enough to persuade Princess Kanabi.
She would need patience.
The ground began to shake.
“An earthquake!!”
The entire city of the labyrinth was trembling.
“Everyone, take cover!!”
The people outside the labyrinth panicked and hurried to find shelter from the earthquake.
We, on the other hand, were busy tending to the patients.
“Please take care of those with limited mobility!”
“Yes!”
“Over here! Don’t worry, everyone can exit safely. Move quickly!”
Even as we evacuated people, the ground continued to shake.
Once we thought we had evacuated most of the people from outside the temple, the real chaos began.
“Priest! There’s an uproar in front of the labyrinth!”
“Is the labyrinth collapsing?”
It was hard to imagine the labyrinth collapsing due to an earthquake, but hearing the urgency in their voice, I could only think of that possibility.
“No, all the people inside the labyrinth suddenly came running out.”
“Excuse me? All of them?”
News was coming that all the people from inside the labyrinth had suddenly emerged.
At first, I was puzzled, but then I quickly realized what it meant.
‘It’s today!’
Three months after the labyrinth opened, the entire layout of the labyrinth was supposed to change. Though there was a slight time difference, it seemed the labyrinth had expelled everyone inside before the paths changed.
I gathered those who were curious and headed toward the entrance of the labyrinth.
There was already a massive crowd gathered in front of the labyrinth entrance.
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
“Why is the entrance suddenly…”
People gathered around those who were confused by the unexpected event.
“Where were you? How did you come out?”
“We went really deep. Even if we got lost, there was no way the entrance would appear.”
“Exactly like us.”
The people who had been inside the labyrinth were shocked and confused, saying they hadn’t taken any strange paths and had just been following their usual way, only to find themselves suddenly outside.
I hadn’t expected the labyrinth to change its paths intentionally and push people out.
‘Well, I guess it’s unusually kind.’
If people had been left inside when the paths changed, there would have been chaos, with hundreds, even thousands, going missing.
The labyrinth, now expelling people with unusual kindness, soon spit out even the Holy Empire’s hunting party.
Other hunting parties looked confused, but the Holy Empire’s team seemed unfazed, as if they had known this would happen.