Youngest 093
by Cristae93
As soon as I entered the maze garden’s entrance, the fresh scent of greenery filled the air.
“Wow, it’s huge. And so wide.”
The walls, made suitably low for children, didn’t feel intimidating. I strolled leisurely at first, then gradually picked up my pace.
Since I was here, I might as well escape quickly and impress my family!
Just then, the bushes beside the path rustled, and a familiar squirrel popped out.
“Oh! Squirrel! Did you come to help me?”
The sight of its golden eyes made me grin with delight.
Wait, isn’t this kind of cheating, though?
Ahem, ahem. I cleared my throat loudly for no real reason and started walking again.
The squirrel sniffed around and stuck close at my side. Soon, I reached a fork in the path. Glancing about, I casually chose the left.
The squirrel trailed right behind me.
“I mean, I was just going this way… and so are you?”
Oh well. Sometimes coincidences just happen.
At the next fork, I hesitated, then went right.
But the squirrel didn’t follow…
“Oops. This was the way I meant to go originally!”
Did I take a wrong turn?
Ahem. I took the left path instead and ran off cheerfully.
‘But how are they supposed to give out star stickers in the maze garden, anyway?’
The question suddenly struck me. The star stickers were given based on the judges’ subjective assessment.
But there were no spectators here, nor any broadcasting cameras. So how?
Curious, I turned a corner and found myself in a wide open area.
“Hello there?”
“Oh! You startled me.”
In the center of the clearing, an adult woman sat at a table.
On the table were water and snacks for replenishing stamina.
‘Ah, a safety officer and judge!’
When I greeted her politely, the woman smiled gently.
“You’ve crossed the first junction well. Your time is even shorter than last year’s participants…”
She flipped quickly through her records, nodding as she read.
“I’ll give you a star sticker.”
“Wow!”
I stared wide-eyed at the sparkling sticker as she placed it on my card. A star sticker! This was exciting!
“If you solve a quiz question correctly, I’ll give you two more. Would you like to try?”
“Huh? A quiz?”
She nodded. Her name tag read ‘Professor Elina, Academy Instructor.’
“Yes. Not many participate in the maze challenge precisely because it’s the toughest event. It’s a true test of both knowledge and stamina!”
“Oh… I had no idea.”
“So, do you want to try? Of course, you can pass without answering.”
Hmm.
I thought hard. Getting extra stickers would be nice, but I might waste time and hurt my finish if I struggled with a question.
“Um, may I ask what the topic is?”
I asked carefully, and Professor Elina smiled.
“Herbology!”
My eyes widened.
‘So that’s it!’
Herbology wasn’t the subject for the quiz contest; it was the topic for the mini-quizzes in the maze!
“I’ll do it! I’ll try!”
I shot my hand up in eager agreement.
“All right, then…”
Professor Elina cleared her throat and asked the question. Of course, I solved it without much difficulty.
In no time, my star stickers increased to three!
“Wow, you’re amazing! How old did you say you were?”
“Eight!”
Actually, I’m ten…
“No way. You must enroll in our academy next year. Professor Shuren would be thrilled.”
“Hehe.”
But I had no intention of going to the academy, so I only laughed.
‘The academy closest to the north is in the capital.’
I had no desire to return to that place where even standing still left you short of breath.
“Well, good luck with the rest of the maze!”
“Thank you!”
I tightened my shoes and took off running again.
‘This is easier than I expected.’
I had a good feeling about it!
“Yaaaawn. How boring.”
Balok yawned with a stretch.
The moment the child entered the maze garden, the surroundings went quiet, as if nothing had just happened.
“Indeed. I heard it takes about thirty minutes.”
Rosetta sipped her tea. Leviathan, looking displeased, draped a coat over her shoulders.
“You’re cold. Why don’t you go inside and rest?”
“Trying to enjoy it all by yourself? No way.”
Rosetta, waving off his suggestion as if used to it, moved to sit beside Balok.
“Please block me from view, father.”
“Of course, of course. That one grows more fainthearted by the day!”
Clicking his tongue, Balok shared tea with Rosetta, the two of them together.
Leviathan stared at the now empty seat beside him, looking somewhat put out.
His wayward sons were already camped by the exit, waiting for Rubian to come through.
‘It feels… empty around here.’
And, somehow, lonely.
How could one small head missing make things feel this dull and quiet?
‘What was it like before Ruby was around?’
He found himself trying to recall.
But, honestly, he couldn’t really remember.
To begin with, he supposed none of them would attend such a ridiculous event together otherwise.
“Still, she’s a remarkable child.”
Leviathan gave a brief chuckle and crossed his legs.
At that moment, something dropped with a soft plop. Likely fallen from his pocket as he shifted.
“You dropped something.”
Khalid, standing a little apart, spoke up. He picked up the object that had rolled to his feet.
“This is…”
His fingers paused for a moment.
An empty glass bottle tied with a blue ribbon.
Khalid recognized the bottle.
“Thank you.”
“…It’s empty. Why carry it around?”
“I don’t know. For some reason, I just keep bringing it along.”
Leviathan spoke almost apologetically, then tucked the empty bottle away deep in his inner pocket.
“It means something to me, that’s all.”
“…I see.”
Khalid replied tersely. True to form, the boy only became talkative around Rubian.
“Where are you going, Khalid?”
“The restroom.”
Khalid muttered offhandedly and disappeared somewhere.
Leviathan again fixed his gaze on the maze garden’s exit.
He could only hope the door would open soon and his hopeless daughter would come spilling out of this makeshift maze.
Meanwhile, Khalid, who had left his seat, headed to a quieter spot.
The truth was, he hadn’t felt good since earlier. The image of Licht holding Rubian’s hand kept replaying in his mind.
‘So annoying. Why is he holding her hand so much?’
He clenched his fist, his chest buzzing with agitation.
What was this infuriating feeling?
He wanted to be the only one allowed to hold Ruby’s hand. For her to smile only at him…
‘Is this what other knights feel for their masters?’
Could loyalty really be such a petty emotion?
Finding it hard to untangle, Khalid heaved a long sigh and lifted his gaze.
“Still…”
He hadn’t expected the Duke of Zevert to still have that glass bottle.
It surprised him, especially since it was so carefully kept.
“Khalid, this is a sample left by a dark beast from the dark mage’s cave today. Can you and your animal friends drop it beyond the gorge?”
That was Rubian’s glass bottle.
“Helping the Allied Forces again?”
“Yeah. I don’t think they’ve located the dark mage’s trail yet…”
With those words, Rubian handed him the glass bottle with the blue ribbon. There were two bottles in total.
The one without a ribbon would, at a set interval, surely be sent to the Mage King.
‘Rubian’s real mission is to find and capture the dark mage’s trail.’
But Rubian would often secretly help the Allied Forces in such ways.
“What if the kingdom finds out? The Allied Forces are strong, you know. You shouldn’t risk yourself…”
“I know. But it’s better if things wrap up more easily, right?”
In the end, thanks to Rubian, Leviathan Zevert was able to easily discover and destroy the dark mage. The Mage King had, in effect, been outmaneuvered by Rubian.
‘But no one expected Ruby to run away right after that.’
Thinking of that made Khalid gloomy again.
He gazed resentfully at the distant maze garden.
…He wanted to run over immediately.
Just the thought of Licht being in there with her was unbearable.
But he had to endure.
He had to be good.
Only then would she not leave him behind again.
Khalid looked up at the sky and clenched his fists.
“Hurry up and come out… Ruby.”
He muttered, sulking.
There’s no fun or meaning in a place where you’re not.
I stopped mid-run.
“At this rate…”
Inhaling sharply, I filled my lungs with the refreshing air around me.
“Am I going to win first place?”
I thrust my card lined with star stickers up toward the sky. The sunlight glimmered on the stickers, making them look more precious than any gem.
“Ha! Dad’s going to be totally shocked!”
Even if Grandpa brags about me in letters to every neighbor, I might just let it slide this once!
“Almost to the exit!”
I remembered the last judge congratulating me for clearing the final checkpoint.
The star stickers I’d collected now totaled eleven. I’d passed all five checkpoints, answered every question, and earned an extra from Professor Elina at the start.
Since the celebratory cannon hadn’t sounded yet, it seemed no one else had cleared the maze!
‘Could I even win the champion’s badge?’
Unbelievable, Rubian. Well done, Rubian!
Am I the secret dark horse of this Shinrok Festival?
And I’d stopped relying on the squirrel partway through. I’d figured out how to get through this maze on my own.
‘Just follow the paths where no new sprouts have appeared!’
I’d heard that this garden was remodeled specially for Shinrok Festival.
That meant dead-end paths were the ones recently constructed.
So, all I needed to do was avoid walls lined with fresh, yet-to-mature grass.
‘Heh.’
Observing the sprouts, I ran tirelessly.
I just needed to reach the exit when—
“…Huh?”
I came face-to-face with a judge standing in the middle of the path.