Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

I followed the path between the white buildings, staying alert for any other life forms. After about five minutes,

“Big Brother!!!”

Dada dada!

Whoosh!

“Hehehe. It’s big brother Ahren.”

Yes, Yeriel?

Yeriel, with her bouncy steps, ran towards me and hugged me, calling me ‘big brother’.

It was only right to be happy that I had figured out who the subject of this trial was, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so.

Yeriel… had become younger.

So much younger that she looked like a little kid, not just a year or two, but a toddler.

She was no longer the adult Yeriel, but a mini Yeriel.

‘She’s so cute, but what trial did she get that made her shrink like this?’

I stared at Yeriel, who was rubbing her cheeks on my legs with a big smile.

────

[Yeriel]

[Strength: E+] [Agility: D-] [Endurance: D-] [Stamina: D] [Magic Power: D] [Luck: C-]

[Possessed Traits] (Collapse)

Proficiency in Holy Arts
Natural Luck
Piousness
Overcoming Weakness
Touch of Light
Silver Cross Holy Arts
Challenger of Greed

────

Greed? That doesn’t suit her at all.

Just like before… Perhaps because the trials were solely for the sake of the trials, they were a kind of curse.

Since the details of the traits didn’t open separately, the only option was to identify the name and then immediately figure out the situation.

‘What’s the scope of greed? If it’s the greed of the seven deadly sins, doesn’t it usually refer to gluttony? But with her tiny body, I don’t think she’d be greedy for food.’

“Big Brother! Do you want to play with me?”

“Play? Now?”

Instead of questioning, it was probably the right decision to answer yes.

When I hesitated, Yeriel started to whimper.

“I, I… I want to play with you… H-hic.”

Yeriel lay down on the ground.

“Aaaah! Let’s go play! I want to play, I say! Let’s go right now!”

I broke into a sweat as I watched Yeriel flail her short, chubby arms and legs on the ground.

“Alright, alright! Where does our good Yeriel want to go with her big brother~? First, stop and stand up. Okay?”

“Will we really go?”

“Yes! Just grab my hand and tell me where you want to go! Or, do you want to lead the way, Yeriel?”

“Yes, yes!”

Yeriel stood up, wiggling her fingers as if she had just thrown a tantrum.

“Can we play dragon while we go?”

What’s that, Yeriel?

I had already asked once, and she had thrown herself on the ground, so I answered yes first.

I smiled slyly, and when she asked what dragon play was,

Well, it was similar to the airplane game I knew.

The difference was that instead of doing it a few times, I had to keep holding and swinging Yeriel’s body back and forth.

“Whoosh~ The little dragon is flying~”

“Yaaaay!! Do it more!!!

Yeriel giggled.

With a joyful scream, the younger Yeriel pointed in a direction, and we ran towards it.

Like that, we ran for ten minutes, twenty minutes, without stopping, until we reached our destination.

Isn’t this a church?

“Huff. Hmm. Huh.”

I panted, completely different from when I was with Lumia.

‘Damn. I’m tired. I’m running out of energy.’

As a spiritual body, I was weak in every way, and even holding and swinging a child for thirty minutes was exhausting.

As I panted, Yeriel tugged on my sleeve.

“Big Brother… Are you tired?”

I looked up at her with difficulty, my lips quivering. How could I say I was tired?

“No, no. Could I possibly be tired from this?”

I gently caressed Yeriel’s chubby cheeks, soothing her.

“Aish, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Oh, you’re so cute!”

“Hehe.”

Although my body was tired, seeing her giggling face gave me newfound energy.

‘Alright, enough of the banter. It’s time to put my mind to work.’

Lumia, the challenger of lust, had to endure her lust and periodically overcome obstacles.

In other words, she had to resist the temptations of creatures that looked like me and not give in to her lust.

‘Then, in Yeriel’s case…’

He had to ignore whatever she wanted and not indulge her until she realized she was in a trial.

Or she had to fulfill all her desires, whether it was something she wanted to do, have, or eat, so that she no longer had any greed.

‘For now, I’ll go with the latter option. Honestly, if she starts whimpering, I might not be able to hold back and give in, so I’m not confident with the former option.’

This time, I realized I was weak against children and cute things.

Yeriel pointed to the entrance of the church.

“Let’s go in there! Let’s go study the doctrine!”

“Yes, studying is good! Let’s go and study hard!”

“Yes, yes! After that, we have to pray and take a nap!”

Studying the doctrine of the Church of Light, and then praying and taking a nap.

I sighed inwardly but quickly managed my expression.

.

.

.

After finishing Yeriel’s daily routine and following her, we arrived at a modest two-story house with a white roof.

Bang.

“Mommy! Daddy! Sister!”

As soon as the door opened, we heard Yeriel’s loud voice, and a middle-aged couple quickly came out to greet us.

“Hmm, who’s this? Ah, you must be the handsome young man Yeriel has been talking about. You’re tall, just as I heard.”

“Daddy!! Stop it, I said!!! I can’t live because of youuuu!!!”

“Oh, dear! Yeriel, ignore your father and come to your mother.”

Dada dada!

“Hehe. It’s Mommy.”

“Then! I’m the mother of our adorable daughter?”

“Hmph. Today, I didn’t get a kiss from my daughter. I didn’t!”

Of course. I knew that Yeriel’s parents had been killed by human hunters more than a decade ago.

‘Damn, what kind of trial is this? Now, they’re even bringing back the dead from her memories?’

I was angry at the cursed trial, but I had to smile to match the atmosphere.

“It’s nothing. Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m…”

After introducing myself, I was led to the dining table and joined their harmonious meal.

“By the way, why hasn’t Evelyn come down?”

“Tsk. She’s been in a bad mood lately. Leave her alone. She’s at that age.”

“Well, if you say so. Nowadays, kids grow up quickly. Yeriel, later, can you take a snack to that sulky girl upstairs?”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

It was a picture of a harmonious and loving family.

But for some reason, my heart ached.

I knew what would happen when the trial ended.

It felt like I was standing in front of a glass mirror, ready to shatter at any moment.

“Here, take this. You should eat too. My wife’s cooking is the best in the world! Haha!”

“Oh, stop it! Hehe, take your time.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy the meal.”

…

After finishing the meal and falling asleep in the guest room, I thought to myself.

I don’t know why my body is calm, but I can’t keep wasting time like this.

“Hmm. I’ll think about it tomorrow. For now, let’s sleep.”

And so, a week passed without moving on to the next trial.

.

.

.

Today, after doing everything Yeriel wanted and eating whatever she desired,

As we were about to return to her family’s house,

“Big Brother. Carry me on your back.”

“Sure. Hop on.”

“Hmm.”

Yeriel asked me a question while I carried her on my back and swung her around.

“Why, do you want to go somewhere else before we go home?”

“…”

“Yeriel?”

“Ah, yes. Let’s go.”

Yeriel pointed in a direction, and we slowly walked towards it.

.

.

.

“We’re here!”

“Wow… The view is amazing. How did you find this place?”

“It’s a secret. Hehe.”

We took a moment to admire the view from this prime spot, overlooking the city’s white buildings.

We marveled at the scenery and relaxed.

During this time, Yeriel was unusually quiet.

I couldn’t bear the awkward silence, so I opened my mouth to speak, but

Yeriel spoke first, as if she had made a decision, clenching her fist and speaking with clear pronunciation, as if she had returned to her 20-year-old self.

“Big Brother. No, Ahren. Actually, I’ve completely regained my sanity. I remember everything, even standing on the magic circle.”

“What? Since when?”

She had been clinging to me like a baby just moments ago, but now she was wriggling in my arms, a little embarrassed.

“Hmm, it was after the first meal with the four of us.”

Hmm, let’s see. When was that?

So, she had been pretending to be a child since the second day?

“Anyway! I knew it was all fake, and I enjoyed myself for a few days. Hmm. I don’t know how you got here, Ahren, but you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

Don’t worry? I could still see the honey-like tears dripping from her eyes.

Whoosh─

Was it because of what she just said, or was it simply time?

My body began to glow, but I ignored it and spoke.

“Yeriel. Are you sure you’re okay? I don’t think you are.”

“Hmm. Yes, I’m fine!”

Behind us were tall buildings and a clear sky.

White birds flew in the air, and her bright smile created a beautiful painting.

But my heart wasn’t happy at all.

Yes, I was sad.

Even though I should have been happy to see her smile with her eyes closed,

I felt her sadness as if it were my own.

I had spent a week with her parents and felt how wonderful they were, so I couldn’t help but feel my eyes welling up and my throat tightening.

I walked towards her, my body glowing, and hugged her tightly as she forced a smile.

“Hehe. He. Ahren?”

“Liar. You don’t want to leave.”

She stopped her forced smile and trembled as I hugged her.

“You can cry as much as you want. It’s just the two of us here.”

“No. I, I’m fin⋯ sniff. sob. Waaaah!”

The rain falls.

“Actually, I… I knew from the beginning that all of this was fake… But even after a week… I still…”

The rain falls from her heart.

“Just a little longer… I want to stay with them for one more day, one more hour! I don’t want to leave my mom and dad behind and go alone!”

The rain of sadness turns into a river, soaking my heart.

“But, I can’t stay here. I have to hold back my desires for the sake of everyone. Right?”

“Yeriel.”

“I… I’m an adult now. I’m too old to be throwing tantrums… So, I’ll be strong. Just stay with me for a while, without saying anything…”

After whispering, we stayed in each other’s arms in the flowing silence.

“When we return, let’s go visit your parents with your sister. They’ll be happy to see us.”

“…”

Let’s wait quietly until the dark clouds pass.

Until her small greed fades away.

.

.

.

“Haha. I’m finally feeling better!”

“Do you want to see them one last time?”

“No, I need to let go quickly. This is so cruel. It keeps creating things based on my memories, making it impossible to escape.”

Indeed, this trial truly lives up to its name, the Trial of Greed.

I wonder how the other party members are doing.

“Did you already visit Lumia?”

“Yes. The order wasn’t up to me.”

I almost stuck my tongue out in jealousy, thinking that Yeriel had chosen the order and pushed Veronica to the end.

“Then let’s go—”

Paht!

“I’ll see you. Ah.”

Here we go again.

But now, only Veronica is left.

‘I hope Yeriel and Lumia are doing well and have passed their trials safely. What will this one be like?’

As I turned my head to look around,

“No!”

The world slowed down.

“Die, Fourth Prince.”

Whoosh!

A sword pierced my heart.

“Ugh.”

What the…

“Veronica, the last member of the Armis party. The Fourth Prince will die because of you. You will regret this moment forever.”

The assailant who stabbed me from behind disappeared without a trace.

Instead, Veronica, gritting her teeth, staggered towards me and embraced my lifeless body.

“Next time, I will… I will definitely—”

Her eyes were filled with animalistic rage, red with anger.

As my eyelids closed, I saw Veronica stab herself with her sword.

Thud.

…

…

[Trial challenge failed.]

[Time rewinds.]