1 – Labyrinth City #2
I headed to the next village with the recruiter. The plan was to pick up the boys along the way, moving from the outskirts towards the center.
Horun Village, located on the farthest outskirts of the empire, was the first stop.
“What’s your name?”
“Ray.”
It felt awkward with just me and the recruiter. Unable to bear the atmosphere, the recruiter spoke to me.
At first, it was about my name.
“Ray, do you have any curiosity about the Labyrinth City?”
The recruiter wasn’t someone with good conversation skills. Typical of a woman who only works and lives. A career woman, knight version.
With an earnest voice, she pleaded for me to ask questions.
It was surprising to sense emotions in her words. Among the questions floating in my mind, I chose the one I was truly curious about.
“…What kind of place is the Labyrinth City?”
“The Labyrinth City is a city closely associated with the labyrinth itself. It’s a symbiotic relationship where the city exists because of the labyrinth. The entrance to the labyrinth is only in Labyrinthis.”
A city developed around the entrance to the labyrinth. Labyrinthis.
“Why recruit men? Are they expendable? hahahaha, I understand what you’re worried about. But we don’t recruit for that reason. Men who are recruited will receive treatment that is far better than being expendable.”
Forcing them to come along, what kind of treatment is that? It seems like she doesn’t even know that the act of recruiting is already a fourth-class citizen treatment.
Or maybe it’s because I’m a 21st-century Korean youth sensitive to conscription, so I perceive it negatively like this?
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, I guarantee it. Maze explorers need the strength of a man. It’s not about s*xual meaning, so don’t worry.”
I didn’t really worry. I hoped for it.
“No matter how strong an explorer is, there needs to be a man to enter the maze. There needs to be at least one man in the party to resist the darkness of the maze.”
“……”
“So, depending on what you do, you could become a noble. Of course, if you join the wrong party, you could end up in a dangerous situation. But that’s something that applies to wherever people live, it’s an unavoidable problem. Still, it’s much better than living in a remote rural village.”
There was confidence in his voice. He seemed to genuinely believe that.
Labyrinth City Labyrinthis, the stage of opportunity.
The violent word ‘maze’ bothered me for no reason. It was not pleasant to be conscripted as a maze explorer in a world where creatures like that existed.
The carriage continued moving. I huddled my body and endured the cold.
The next village was about a three-hour walk away.
“C-Captain of the Conscript…! Welcome to the owner’s village!”
Normally, they would be cautious towards outsiders. But as soon as they saw the insignia of the Captain of the Conscripts, they opened the village gates.
And the village chief came out and gave me an empty room.
She was also the grandmother of this place. Most of the women took the lead in the situation.
I entered the room. The condition of the room was better than a storage room.
There were no holes in the walls, and no snowflakes fell from the roof.
“Oh…!”
It had only been two months. I had become someone who appreciated such a shabby room.
The Captain of the Conscripts loosely untied his cloak and said,
“I don’t know how long it will take. I’ll be staying here for about two days. As a guest. I hope there won’t be any accidents.”
“….”
When the conscription officer talked about an incident, he meant an escape incident. It was a warning not to try to run away for no reason and to stay quiet.
I wasn’t really dreaming of becoming an escape artist. I was planning to wait quietly.
“But…”
I stared at the conscription officer intently. It hurt my neck to tilt it back and look up at him.
“Are you just going to sleep here?”
Whether I was there or not, it was awkward to see the conscription officer casually undoing his buckle and taking off his breastplate.
The conscription officer confidently met my gaze as if asking what the problem was.
“Ray, it’s better to adapt. As a labyrinth explorer, you have to go with a woman. You can’t hide in bed even in a dangerous labyrinth.”
“Do I have to adapt?”
“Yes.”
As I mentioned before, I was fine. I would even be grateful if he stayed with me.
My face and body have changed a lot since coming to this world. I looked like a boy on the surface, but there was nothing to say about it.
That’s why I much preferred being with a reliable woman.
“Even if a wolf appears, the lady here will protect me.”
There was no human who disliked safety.
Hwaryuk-!
The conscription officer put firewood in the fireplace. He poured oil and used flint to light the fire.
Black smoke rose through the chimney into the sky, and the warm air circulated in the room, warming it up.
“Isn’t it hot? It must be warm.”
“….”
I took off my coat and set it aside. The room was warm enough, so I didn’t need to wear much.
It felt so good.
I spent time with the conscription officer under the same roof. Not in the usual sense, though.
We had sporadic conversations. Most of the time, I was the one asking questions.
“…A world where the roles of men and women are reversed. To maintain the barrier, we need the magic stones. And in the labyrinth exploration party, it’s always the men who…”
I could roughly understand the structure of the world.
To put it simply─
The background is a post-apocalyptic nuclear war. Women are divers, and men are oxygen tanks.
There are magic stones necessary for human survival underwater, and the labyrinth explorers risk their lives to obtain them.
Simply promising wealth and honor wasn’t enough to get the oxygen tanks to contribute their resources. So they were forcibly brought in and deployed in the labyrinth, which led to the current situation.
“…Is the labyrinth dangerous?”
“It is. But the outside of the labyrinth is just as dangerous. Isn’t it?”
“….”
That’s right. Whether inside or outside the labyrinth, there was no safe place. This world wasn’t South Korea.
I had to fight to survive. Thanks to that, I could gather my courage.
Knock, knock, knock─
─ Officer, I brought them with me.
I put on my coat and followed the conscription officer. Just like in the Horn Village, I headed towards the open field.
In the open field, there was a child like me.
“Mom, Dad!”
He was a friend who exuded a gloomy atmosphere due to his hunched shoulders and narrow eyes. To put it bluntly, he looked pitiful, like a boy who had been through a lot.
Given the situation, his unique feeling was even more pronounced.
“Mom, Dad. I don’t want to go…! I want to live in the village too…!”
A boy my age cried and pleaded, but the atmosphere was tense.
The two people who seemed like parents were sobbing, while the other adults frowned.
It was as if the boys who were conscripted and the villagers were divided into two groups.
But the boy was alone.
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to!”
The boy cried and pleaded.
“If you won’t go! Then who should go in your place!”
Grandmother stepped forward and shouted. Time became a weapon as she lashed out at the child.
“What about your betrothed, Metti? What about Tommy, who is younger than you? Or Goren, who is physically challenged? Should they go to the labyrinth!?”
“But Soren is fine…! He is stronger than me…!”
“Soren should lead the village!”
Behind grandmother, there stood a boy. He showed the opposite reaction of the crying boy, as if he was relieved that it wasn’t him.
A face full of relief, knowing that it wasn’t him.
Even within a small village, power exists.
It was so bitter.
The rebellion of the chosen boy did not last long. Physically and mentally, he couldn’t hold on for long and gave up.
“Get in.”
A passenger boarded the carriage.
“What’s your name?”
“……”
A boy who tightly sealed his lips.
As an adult, I could rationalize and maintain my composure in unreasonable situations in my own way.
But he couldn’t. He was still a brat.
He didn’t understand the selfishness of adults. Even if he looked more mature than an Asian due to his Western background, his mind was still immature.
“What’s your name?”
These kinds of kids need violence. In other words, a big brother figure.
The presence of a big brother who speaks menacingly would change the direction of discomfort.
I glared at him and growled.
“B-Berry.”
“Berry? Speaking informally, huh? You brat!”
“I-I’m Berry.”
Berry hunched his shoulders and cautiously observed my reaction. His eyes showed more fear than injustice.
Alright, that’s enough.
“Hmm.”
I didn’t say anything and let it go, and his expression changed again.
He seemed to be recalling what happened earlier, and he started to sob again.
“Her name sounds like a girl’s. So annoying.”
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He relentlessly taunted Berry. He kept pushing her relentlessly until the bad thoughts in her head disappeared.
“I’ll change your name. Berry? Not really. Vera. Not great either. Bra. Your name is Bra.”
“…Bra?”
“Is it too much? Then let’s go with Brown. Brown sounds cooler than a girl’s name like Berry. It sounds like the name of a crazy lunatic, which is awesome.”
“……”
Brown nodded slightly. Surprisingly, she seemed to comply. It seemed like Brown didn’t like her own name either.
“I felt it in Horn Village too. Ray, you’re really mature.”
The conscription officer, who had been attentively observing this side, let out a sly laugh.
“……”
The carriage moved. It continued on to the Labyrinth City.
More passengers boarded the carriage.
“It’s getting crowded now, isn’t it?”
“Deal with it.”
After a fortnight, they arrived at the Labyrinth City, Labyrinthus. There were eight boys on the carriage.