220. Winter Palace (2)
220. Winter Palace (2)
"Whoa—what is this......?"
Staring at the Winter Palace, everyone's eyes went round and their mouths fell open.
Creeeak—
I smirked at their reactions, swung the door open wide, and strode inside.
"L-let's go together!"
Warm air circulated inside, and the cold outside was no longer felt.
Gorgeous furniture made of colorless, transparent ice adorned the interior with splendor.
"Whyever is a place like this here?"
Shin Se-hee spoke with wonder as she brushed the snow from her clothes.
"Amazing. It's ice, but it isn't cold."
Ichika, utterly fearless, was touching and fiddling with the furniture placed inside.
"Ugh, an artificial structure like this inside a dungeon — don't tell me monsters come out here too? Like, some intelligent undead monster or......."
"Eek—!"
Lee Yu-ri was scanning the interior with a stiff expression, debating whether she ought to raise her shield.
At the word undead, Im Ga-eul, who had zero resistance to horror, let out a startled shriek.
"Nope. I said we came here to rest today. There's nothing like that."
I shook my head lightly and dismissed their worries.
It was the truth.
This place was a magical space, but it wasn't somewhere monsters or anything of the sort appeared.
"......Then why is a place like this here?"
"I wonder. Guess."
"Hm. Is this Chairwoman Rina's work? I smell familiar Mana."
The one who got the answer right fastest was my master.
Who else would create such an absurd space?
There was only one person.
The very essence of magic — the work of the Magic Emperor Rina.
If you go in farther, all sorts of evidence pops up proving that this is the work of the Magic Emperor Rina.
There isn't really a reward or anything, but an event appears where you make guesses like a mini-game.
'But she figured it out straight away with Mana alone. As expected of my master.'
Tch.
Still, investigating it yourself was part of the fun of the event.
Thanks to Master, Chairwoman Rina's bestest buddy, the secret got blown wide open right from the start.
Of course, I don't know why she made something like this, or why she made it in a place like this either.
That part wasn't even revealed in the game.
'Maybe I should ask Chairwoman Rina when I see her later?'
It isn't a game anymore, so maybe if I go ask her directly now she'll give me an answer.
While I was thinking that for a moment, Master spoke again.
"Ah. This place. At first it had changed so much I didn't recognize it, but I do know it."
"What!?"
At that, everyone's eyes turned toward Master.
"This place was once an SSS-rank gate — the Fire Dragon's Nest. Hm, they said at the time that after dealing with it, the Mana overflowing was so excessive it was too dangerous to inform the outside world for a while....... Did it end up being completely forgotten by people after that?"
"......What?"
A totally unexpected behind-the-scenes story suddenly came bursting out!
What's this about the Fire Dragon's Nest?
I'd never heard of it.
"M-Master. Could you please explain in detail?"
"I also came here when I was very young, so my memory is hazy, but......."
According to Master's words,
this place was originally a dungeon where a fire fiend — the Fire Dragon — had settled long ago.
Chairwoman Rina took nearly a full year to conquer this dungeon, and even she expended considerable power at the time.
"W-Was the monster called the Fire Dragon that was here so strong that even Chairwoman Rina couldn't handle it?"
"No. It was the dungeon's environment that posed the problem, more so than the monster."
Unimaginable from the blizzard raging now,
the entire dungeon was originally a seething lava field — such a harsh environment that an ordinary hunter couldn't last ten minutes.
Approaching the Fire Dragon, which had made its nest in the center of the dungeon, was itself a difficult situation.
Because of that, Chairwoman Rina came up with one scheme.
'If the heat's the problem, can't I just freeze the entire dungeon and then deal with the Fire Dragon?'
And so, that was why the long period of a year was needed!
"Then this place is....... A lodging she built right inside the dungeon while she was visiting it over the course of a year?"
"Mm, back then there were times she said she was going to this place even while she was working, and she would sleep overnight and come back. The likelihood is high. And the pointlessly extravagant style is exactly Rina's taste."
To freeze an entire dungeon with Mana.
It was a facet that showed why Chairwoman Rina was hailed as the unrivaled world rank 1.
"......Then, M-Master. Is the hot spring here something like the remnants of that Fire Dragon?"
"Mm, if there is a hot spring here, then that would be the case."
At my question, Master nodded.
"Still, you needn't worry. I clearly remember the story, at least, that Chairwoman Rina dealt with the Fire Dragon thoroughly back then."
Master said that, but.
Somehow, I had a bad feeling about this.
'Tsk, this is a textbook flag. We came to rest, and the sealed Fire Dragon suddenly awakens out of nowhere, and we end up fighting it.......'
Even in the game, this was a place where that never triggered once, no matter how many times I dragged all my characters here to see the hot spring cutscene.
And it'll trigger this time?
Nah, no way.......
'But the Fire Dragon......? If it's a fire dragon, is it, like, similar to the water dragon?'
The dragon clan that appears as monsters in Velvetsra are definitely guys where every last bit is like a health tonic.
In terms of exp, they're exp. In terms of buffs, they're buffs. In terms of materials, they're materials.
They were famous as absolutely insane prey, as much as the ring we'd gotten in Jukai Forest the other day.
And because they were just as rare, it was extremely common to clear the game without ever running into one.
'A fire dragon, huh....... We have Master here, who's over-balance, and also Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee with strong fire resistance, so....'
I caught myself involuntarily formulating a scenario of what to do if the Fire Dragon appeared, and flinched.
'Ah, no! We came to rest with the girls today! I have to focus on resting!'
But even as I tried hard to ignore it, at the same time, I began drawing up countermeasures in my head for when the Fire Dragon appeared.
'Well, just in case.'
Really, just iiiiiin case!
No, I mean, if our Fire Dragon buddy suddenly shows up and we don't have any preparations ready, wouldn't he feel all sad and neglected?
Mm-hm, we've got to give him a proper welcome!
As I rationalized to myself like that, my eyes were gleaming — the eyes of a greedy hunter.
* * *
When I notified the party members that we would be resting here,
the group each scattered and took an empty room for themselves.
I did the same.
'......Honestly, Chairwoman Rina really is something else.'
I looked around the room and let out an incredulous, hollow laugh.
Inside the room, a plush blanket made of Mana was laid over a bed made of ice that wasn't cold.
Even clothes made of monster leather were provided in the dresser.
The groceries packed full in the refrigerator were a bonus.
Chairwoman Rina... how should I put it?
Even when she makes something, she doesn't make it half-heartedly.
Actually, since its purpose was just for her to sleep alone, it would've been fine to make it small and simple.
But the scale was such that she ended up erecting an entire castle.
On top of that, the Instructor had said Rina conquered this place when she was young, so it should've been a location left neglected for quite a while, yet everything sparkled like new.
Which meant she'd cast preservation magic on every single item here, one by one.
Then, probably, after making it all in a frenzy,
'Ah, I ended up going overboard again while making it.......'
the expression she wore as she looked at the castle with dead eyes came to mind. I snorted.
'There really is no character as absurdly broken as Chairwoman Rina.'
Her ability, which is all-purpose when it comes to magic, is in truth closer to a deus ex machina than to a munchkin.
And for someone like that to be constantly unable to unleash her full power due to the constraints of causality,
always locked in a battle of wills over this and that with me — it was truly laughable.
'Still, I'm receiving a lot of help from her.'
Though she does manage it in her own way, she's given me and our party immense help so far.
Even in the next episode, Chairwoman Rina's presence will be handled with quite a lot of importance.
It'll be my turn to pay back all the debt I've incurred, all at once.
That was when it happened.
"Jin Yu-haaa~~!"
Sofia's voice calling for me came from outside.
'Tsk, I really need to empty my head of these kinds of thoughts when I'm here to have fun.'
I let out a wry smile and went outside.
*
Today was a rest day!
That is, an official rest day for Utopia.
To reliably guarantee the rest of the party members, only one single person needed to get worn out.
Who would that be?
Me, of course!
Standing proud, I made my declaration before the party members.
"During the time we are here, if you ask me, I'll grant you anything I am capable of, to the best of my ability."
"A-Anything, you say?"
Sofia spoke in a flustered voice.
"Yep, anything. This is also my penance."
"......What does hoobae have to do penance for?"
"Mm, thinking about it, it occurred to me that ever since I took the lead of Utopia, I haven't once given you all a proper rest. As party leader, I shouldn't have done that."
When I said that.
"......."
A sudden, heavy silence fell.
'Huh?'
Something was strange.
'Hm? Normally when I say something like this, shouldn't at least someone chime in with 'It's fine,' or 'No, that's not true,' or some kind of demurral?'
But everyone had their mouths shut tight and were just staring at me.
What's more, with a dangerous sparkle in their eyes.
'......H-Had I really built up that much negligence about not giving them proper rest all this time?'
An ominous premonition, like I'd just splashed blood in front of a school of piranhas that hadn't eaten in days.
An inexplicable chill ran through me and I shuddered.