63 2.18 Trial of Self-control - Part 1

'If it was just my opinion, I would say having no knowledge and all the knowledge are the worst. The problem with having no knowledge is that you would be clueless about the things that may be important and you would be missing out too much. And the problem with having all the knowledge is that you would lose the mystery of the things, the adventure. In a way, things would be dull and boring in both cases. While on the other hand, if you have some knowledge, you will have a clue and there will be some room for learning and improvement. But that's just my opinion and the reality is quite different.'

"I think it's people with some opinion," I answered.

"And why do you think so?" asked the voice of the labyrinth.

"Well, because the people with some knowledge are the ones that make most of the mess. People with no knowledge usually won't even try doing the things in the first place. And people will all the knowledge usually do the things the right way. The people who are in between usually try doing the things out of curiosity and self-confidence, but in the end, end up making mistakes and causing a mess."

The voice of the labyrinth hummed for a while and replied, "Hmm... That's a satisfactory answer, you pass."

Right after the voice of the labyrinth said 'You pass', the door in front slid open with a familiar sounding heavy metallic sound.

'Four down, six to go,' I thought as I entered the room.

It was a small bright square shaped room which was probably just 2-3 meters in length and breath. It had white walls and small doors on the three sides. One in front of the door I entered from and one on the left wall.

"Welcome to the trial of Self-control," said the voice of the labyrinth as I was looking around.

'Compared to all the trials of self-control that Arica puts me through, how bad can the trial be?.'

I was good with self control till some extent. It was just that sometimes the girls used to cloud my thoughts with earthly desires but despite all that happened, I had been able to stand firm. Even when faced against Princess Eliane's mountains and Arica's conical hill, I was able to control myself - till some extent - when I was conscious.

While I was deluding myself with those thoughts, the door on my left side opened. And what appeared out of it proved me how much wrong I was. I covered my eyes with both my hands but it was too late. The sight that I saw was saved in my mind and was replaying itself.

"Princess Eliane, where are your clothes," I asked while turning around.

"Oh Nara it's you. What do you me- ep! Don't look!" Princess Eliane said.

'Woah! they are so big. No no, what am I even thinking, I need to control myself.'

Princess Eliane was there in white bikini. Though it looked very good on her, it was my first time seeing her like that so I overreacted a little bit which probably made her even more shy.

"Sorry, I am not sure how all my clothes disappeared. I entered through the door that opened after I finished the trial of wisdom and somehow I ended up here on a bikini," Princess Eliane said in a little shy tone.

"Oh don't worry, I should be the one apologising for overreacting. I think it looks very good on you," I replied.

"Ara Ara, are you cheating on me honey?"

I looked towards the door on the left side and this time it was Arica.

'Wow, the black is the best.'

She was wearing a black bikini that perfectly suited her black hair. The only word that I could use to describe her appearance was 'hot'.

"H-how did you end up here?" I asked, trying hard not to look below the shoulders.

"I don't know. I think I was stuck in a room with skulls and bones but the door suddenly opened and when I entered, I found myself here in this bikini. By the way, how do I look in it?"

"Y-you look very good. It suits your skin really well. But why were you stuck in the trial of truth?" I asked.

"A lady never reveals her secret," replied Arica with a smile.

"Wh-What are you guys doing?"

While we were talking we heard Princess Anna's voice so everyone looked towards the door.

"Ara Ara. Red, how bold," Arica said teasing her.

She was wearing a red bikini. Her reaction when she found out that she was in her bikini wasn't much different from the one that Princess Eliane had.

"I-I don't know how this all happened. I had my clothes before I passed through the door," said Princess Anna in a hasty tone while trying to cover herself up using her hands.

'Man, she looks cute.'

"I don't know why you girls are reacting so shy, you are still wearing a bikini and it's just Nara y'know," Arica said.

Princess Anna took a long breath in and said, "Yeah, you are right. But Nara, where are we?"

"I think I heard a voice say that this was the trial of Self-control but I am not sure why you guys are here - and in your bikinis," I replied.

I was trying to control myself to not let my eyes fall below their shoulders. But swayed by the beauty of these three, sometimes my eyes went out of control. While I was stuck in this plight, something came into my mind.

"Can you guys check if you feel like you are in your regular clothes or not. The bikinis you are wearing could just be an illusion," I said since in the trial of bravery, everything around me was an illusion but my eyes were completely fooled.

"I think they are real. The bikini I am wearing is a little smaller than my usual size and it's not very comfortable," replied Princess Eliane.

'For real? Man, elves rock! No no control.'

"But what kind of trial is this 'Trial of self-control'. I mean I passed the trial of truth but that was surprisingly easy," said Princess Anna in a confused tone.

"Yeah, but the trials of strength and bravery were quite hard, I barely managed to pass them. I had to fight a hydra. This could be something similar," said Princess Eliane.

"Ah, it looks like the trials were different for everyone. I had to face a Minotaur and Cerberus. Well, there is only one way to know what the trial is," I replied and looked towards the ceiling where the crystal was and said, "Hey voice of the labyrinth, what do we have to do in this trial?"

"You will need to catch the tiny devils that are in the room."

I was not sure what the tiny devils were so I looked towards Princess Eliane who had a reaction on her face that was saying that she was familiar with these tiny devils.

"I think we have a problem. This room is too small to catch them, and on top of that, they are very naughty."

Next chapter: Trial of Self-control - Part 2