The 322nd Day - The Labyrinth (1)

"Whoops."

Since yesterday, I’ve been having trouble holding onto Wilson more often than usual. "Almost dropped you again."

My body feels out of balance. Did I overdo it just because I had some meat to eat lately? "Now isn't the time to be acting weak."

I didn't want to rest just because my condition felt off. In this space, all injuries are healed, so if there’s a problem, it’s definitely my mental fortitude. Since I’d just broken through the 4th-floor desert section, I decided to let Wilson rest for a moment and head back to the altar.

"Huff, huff, huff."

Yeah, I just need to keep working out.

"Feels much better. It really was just in my head."

My field of vision feels a bit higher, but that must be my imagination. It’s been nearly a year since I was trapped in this prison. I have some confidence in my mental strength, but honestly, if someone asked if my mind was still intact, I wouldn’t be able to give a definitive answer.

"Caw, caw."

For some reason, my meaningless muttering has increased. I’m trying hard to suppress the anxiety that keeps creeping up. I wonder if anything happened back home. I’m worried about the family I left behind. My eldest brother, Salmoneus, has a quick head on his shoulders; he might be acting as the lord while I’m gone. My younger siblings are all exceptionally talented, so they’ll be fine, but you never know when a monster might attack. My youngest, Canace, is still small. Alcyone always used to look after her well.

"Worrying here won't help anyway."

Escaping this prison as quickly as possible. That is my top priority right now. : )

"I'm back, Wilson."

Seeing his face makes me feel much more at ease. Thanks to Wilson, I think I’m managing to keep my sanity. "Hey, I saw that mountain goat again on the way up. I guess it respawns if you aren't looking at it. Strange, right?" : )

"Yeah. Let's eat together next time. For now, let's try to break through the 5th floor."

Rumble. I enter a new ramp with Wilson. This area had a strange structure; it wasn't difficult to climb, and there were no obstacles, but there were several paths that split into two.

"Why would they build it like this?"

It couldn't be meaningless... I pushed Wilson up the first fork to the right.

"Nothing happened?"

Next fork. I pushed Wilson to the right again. At that moment.

"What just happened?"

I was back at the starting point of the 5th floor with Wilson.

"It's a puzzle."

Memorization puzzles aren't hard. I thought I could break through it easily after a few tries, so I pushed Wilson to the right again. The moment I climbed up—

"Uh-oh."

Back to the start.

"The answer changes every time?"

The 5th floor was a malicious, luck-based zone that only served to annoy me. There were ten forks in total, so the probability of passing through was 2 to the 10th power—roughly 1 in 1,000. I searched hard for hints to find the right path, but there were none. It was pure luck.

"Good grief."

Anxiety climbed up my heart. It would take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an enormous amount of time to pass the 5th floor, and even if I did, if I dropped Wilson from above, it would take just as much time again. According to the law of large numbers, the probability of clearing this section, which has a 1 in 1,000 chance, within 1,000 tries is about 60 percent. If I'm unlucky, I might not pass it even after 10,000 attempts. It’s dizzying to think about how many years I might waste.

"I have to find another way."

Suddenly, a memory from a year ago surfaced. Back then, I had to break through a kind of labyrinth using an unconventional method. It was when I first met Hades.

I may take naps, but I’ve never once slept in. Ever since I was a child, my daily routine was for my sister Alcyone, who is two years younger than me, to come wake me up as soon as the sun rose. My youngest sister, Canace, would jump into my bed with Alcyone every morning, thinking it looked fun. Since it was an era without alarm clocks, it was personally convenient. Even if it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a bit annoying.

"Alcyone, you're almost an adult, how long are you going to keep coming into my room? Canace is learning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from you."

"If you woke up properly, I wouldn't have to come in."

"We invented a culture called 'knocking.' If you keep being so flighty, you won't be able to get married."

"Then you can take responsibility, Brother. I couldn't get married because I was busy taking care of you, so it's logical, right?"

"Let's not talk about this."

"Hehe, hurry up and get dressed."

Alcyone had followed me around well since she was young, and after I became the lord, she stuck to me as if she were my secretary. She had even helped raise Canace when she was a newborn, so she was a great help. That day was the day after the summer festival, and we had to clean up. It was also the tenth day since Thanatos had visited. I needed to hurry.

"...Ah."

Perhaps because my wake-up time was different from usual, I ran into *her* in the mansion hallway for the first time in a while. Clea was staring blankly at me as I stood with Alcyone.

"Oh, hello. Sister..."

Clea ignored Alcyone's greeting, bit her lower lip, and quickened her pace to pass us by.

"...Phew."

Alcyone sighed, perhaps nervous about the sudden tension. "You're polite. You used to be so mean to Clea when you were little."

"What are you talking about? I have enough sense for that. When we were young, I hated her because I thought she was going to marry you..."

"But she's my fiancée now?"

"No, that's a different story. How could I... say something mean to her now? She probably doesn't want to be in our house either."

That was true. Was there no way to break the oath made to the gods?

When I went out to the reception room, Tana was sitting on a chair, swinging her short legs and sipping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠peppermint tea. "A letter has arrived from the Underworld."

"Did the God of the Underworld send it?"

"Hahaha, he has tucked his tail between his legs before my majesty."

The content was that because Thanatos's strike had caused a snowball effect, paralyzing Underworld operations, they would unconditionally agree to negotiations. To think that Hades would act so subserviently. Now, Hades wouldn't be able to manipulate the register or touch our territory. Tana was truly amazing.

"I shall take my leave now. Let us meet again when your lifespan ends, wise human Sisyphus. Live a life without regrets!"

And so, I saw Tana off. Until then, I thought this mysterious experience of entertaining a god would be my last. —Boom!! That expectation crumbled in less than 10 seconds. The impact of a meteorite hit. When the thick dust settled, I was floating in the air, grabbed by the scruff of my neck by someone.

"I ask you, human! Did you kidnap the Reaper!"

A giant who looked over 3 meters tall. A muscular man armed from head to toe in flashy armor. His wild, unkempt long hair and beard were overflowing with masculinity. The mana flowing from his eyes, forming a glare, told me how powerful a being he was.

"Sisyphus!"

Tana, sensing the attack, immediately swung her scythe to save me, but the man blocked it with one hand and grabbed Tana by the scruff of her neck as well. It was overwhelming force. I had a gut feeling that words would never work on this man.

"You're here too, Reaper. I saved you. Be grateful!"

"Release those barbaric hands at once! What business do you have with me, Ares!"

Ares. The violence that attacked me was a man who could easily be called the strongest warrior of Olympus. The God of War.

"We'll talk when we get there!"

Ares jumped up in an instant, carrying Tana and me. —Brother! Alcyone's voice grew distant. I lost consciousness soon after.

"...Are you out of your mind, Ares? This is a matter for the Underworld. Not only did you interfere, but you brought a living human. There is a rule that the living must not cross the River Styx!"

"I don't know any such rules! People stopped dying on the battlefield, and after a day or two, even after ten days, they were walking around fine even after being pierced through the heart with spears. Does that make sense? Since Great Uncle was sitting on his hands, I brought the Reaper myself. Be grateful!"

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a gloomy, damp palace. From the conversation I heard, I realized this was the Underworld, and the person Ares was complaining to was Hades, the King who ruled the depths. I had a gut feeling that if I didn't keep my wits about me, I’d be in big trouble.

"Go back at once. The Underworld is no place for the living to set foot."

"Just solve it quickly. The surface is a mess!"

Ares disappeared with a thudding sound, and I faced Hades with Tana.

"Hades, you ignorant fool. Why would you provoke someone as violent as the God of War?"

"...I didn't expect this either. Please forget Ares's rudeness, Thanatos."

In summary, this incident was purely a result of Hades's incompetence. Tana's soul-reaping work was small, but it was very important in the grand scheme of things. It was said that because Tana was gone, the Underworld was paralyzed by souls whose fates were tangled. And Hades said he didn't know it would turn out like this. He said he was so angry when two large bulls fell on his head that he thought about firing Tana. That's why the reply took ten days. Hades expressed unconditional surrender to Tana. He promised to share authority with Tana regarding the register manipulation as well as the mismanagement up to this point. Having finished speaking, he clutched his helmet as if he had a headache.

"To spread rumors about something that should have ended in the Underworld... If Ares knew, the other gods of Olympus would know about this incident too."

"That is your fault, Hades."

"......"

Hades looked displeased. He didn't admit his fault in the slightest and continued to act as if he had just been unlucky. To think that someone who wasn't even a child and acted so unmanly was the King of the Underworld. I decided I would live as long as possible so I wouldn't have to come here for a long time.

"The human who came with you must have been brought by Ares on his own whim. The living should not be in the Underworld. Go back."

I, who had been listening quietly, bowed to show respect and tried to leave.

"But human, what is your name?"

"I am Sisyphus."

"Sisyphus, Sisyphus the Lord of Corinth?"

"...That is correct."

A bad feeling ran down my spine. It was because the glare beneath Hades's helmet was shining sharply.

"I have heard your name from Hermes. He said you are one who dares to annoy the gods with strange and skillful strategies."

It seemed Hermes had been slandering me again. "...Hmm." He looked back and forth between me and Tana.

"You cannot return to the surface."

"Pardon?"

"Hades, what kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden? It is still a long way off for Sisyphus to descend to the depths. Will you not send him back at once!"

"...Normally, in such cases, one would go up through the Acheron cave, but the passage happens to be flooded. There is no way."

The corners of Hades's mouth were turned up as he said that. He was clearly being spiteful. He was taking out his spite on me for the embarrassment of being humiliated by Ares and having his incompetence exposed by Tana. It was all his own fault, but he must have needed a target to vent his anger on. He had chosen me as his target because I was Alcyone's brother. How selfish. I had received such groundless malice many times, so I wasn't even surprised anymore.

'Let's stay calm.'

I decided to look for a way out while thinking of my sisters back home.

"Don't worry, Sisyphus."

Tana jumped behind me and patted my head. "I will send you back home no matter what happens."

"Tana."

"Hades, you know well that it does no good for the Underworld to have a living human in the depths. Stop the games."

"The only exit is to go back up the River Styx. If you can swim back, try it. Though the moment a living human dips their feet in, they will lose all their memories."

The River of Oblivion flowing through the Underworld was famous. Because I was dragged here by Ares, I was in a situation where I had to cross it to return safely. Tana clicked her tongue. That was how petty Hades's malice was.

"Tana, may I borrow your ear for a moment?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

I immediately made one request to Tana.

"Ho, that would be possible..."

And after greeting Hades, I turned my body and walked toward the powerfully flowing river. Because I didn't want to stay in such an unpleasant place for even one more second.

"What a foolish human. You haven't tasted the terror of the Underworld yet. Even if you cross that river with your bare body, you will become an idiot and won't even remember why you crossed it."

Hades mocked me and showed his laughter. I dipped my body into the river without hesitation. And.

"No, how...?! Hades's helmet shook in surprise."