I made a chair by mixing clay and snow, then a primary residence with a modern design. It was a combination of resiliency and aesthetic sense. Meanwhile, Sophien was still eating with all the etiquette expected of a royal diner.
“Let me explain.”
Sophien put down her spoon, drawing my eye.
“There was no lag in my bedroom. I took possession of the cat as soon as you picked up the Snow Globe and made you stop. But there was a delay outside the bedroom.”
“Yes. Then-“
“Perhaps this Snow Globe has put a force field around my bedroom. It must be projecting a certain radius around both the outside and the inside of the snow globe. It must be a defense mechanism of its own.”
“Yes. And-“
“This time difference may increase over time, or it may be constant.”
Sophien closed her eyes for a moment, sending her mind out to possess Munchkin.
Tick-tock-
My watch ticked on.
“…”
She opened her eyes again and followed my line of sight to my watch.
“The time lag is gradually increasing. Four days here is about a day in the outside world.”
“I see.”
It was a reasonable inference. Sophien placed her chin atop her hand.
“Aren’t you suspicious?”
“Your Majesty can’t say anything wrong.”
I mimicked her as she grinned and opened another cup of ice cream.
“…But, it’s amazing.”
I checked the blood flowing through my body to guess the concentration of external mana and calculate the speed at which mana was restored. Midas’ Hand and Understanding the Snow Globe consumed 5,000 mana, but 200 mana was refilled.
“There is nothing different about it from the outside world. Rather, the concentration of mana is thick. It’s perfect for practice.”
I looked back at Sophien, who tilted her head like a child told to study.
“Your Majesty?”
“…You practice. While waiting for you, I trained in speaking and swordsmanship, so I used up all my mana. I ran out of it now.”
“Is that so? So let me ask, Keiron.”
I called Keiron instead because his position still stood firm behind Sophien.
“Keiron.”
“…”
“Keiron?”
“That guy is a statue.”
I tapped his body, hearing a metallic ring.
“He left this statue and went on an expedition to find out how wide this world is and what else there is.”
“…”
“It will take him a while to come back. If your brain is stupid, your body suffers.”
I nodded. Sophien raised her eyebrows, her expression turning sullen.
“Why, are you uncomfortable that it is just the two of us?”
“I am just grateful to be with Your Majesty.”
“…”
Sophien stared at me, scouring my face for a hint. Then, her expression wrinkled up into a frown.
“Those aren’t empty words.”
“Of course.”
“…”
Sophien could grasp human emotions at a startling speed, mine included.
Whoooosh—
A chilled wind wrapped around us, and she pulled up the collar of her coat.
“Are you cold?”
“…It’s because I almost don’t ever leave the Imperial Palace. I also ate cold food in a cold place.”
I took off my coat. Sophien looked at me with mild bewilderment as I handed it over.
“My suit coat is an artifact. It will keep you warm.”
“…”
Sophien put the coat over her own without a word. Since Midas’ Hand was applied to it, its performance was certain.
“It is warm.”
“Yes.”
“But… Deculein.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know?”
The Emperor’s face suddenly turned hard.
“Freyden was involved in my poisoning. Your fiancée’s family.”
The air stopped for a moment. No, even time halted. In the cold world of the Snow Globe, with even time frozen for a moment, I stared at Sophien.
“It wasn’t only Freyden, but also many other families. Among them was Yukline.”
Sophien ate another scoop of ice cream.
“Nearly all the prestigious families on the continent worked together to kill me. Its principal axis was Freyden.”
“…”
“But… why did they do that?”
Sophien, staring at the ice cream, raised her head. Her gaze was as dry as the sand in the desert.
“Of course, I have no intention of blaming you now. Your ancestors are the problem.”
“Are you going to get revenge?”
“…Even that is faint.”
Sophien sighed.
“If I punish them all, just imagining the ripples on the continent is troublesome enough. And even if I punish them, they will not suffer as much as I do. It would be pointless.”
“…”
“So I want to run away.”
I looked at Sophien. Now, strangely enough, a death variable was spreading from her. It was a sign of suicide. How ironic.
Freed from her boredom and indolence, she easily learned more about herself and eventually grew skeptical. Compared to her revenge and the time and passion needed to plan the continent’s future as the Emperor, the reward she would receive was extremely small.
“I will be by your side. So, don’t say that.”
“…Hmph. No need. Will anything change if you are by my side?”
“No.”
Sophien let out a morose laugh, but I continued to stare at the red aura that fluttered beside her. The death variable was burning like a bonfire.
“I will always be there for Your Majesty’s process.”
For a moment, her face stiffened with shock. Of course, this was a way to suppress the death variable, but it was by no means a lie.
“And at the end of Your Majesty’s process, I will surely be there. I will face Your Majesty. Even if I die.”
I didn’t add, ‘Because your death is Game Over anyways.’
“…”
“So, don’t run away. The ruler of an empire never turns their back.”
Sophien’s expression turned as cold as ice, and a heavy silence hung over us. But soon after, she forced an awkward smile to reach her lips.
“Deculein. Do you know?”
“What?”
Swooosh-
A whirlwind kicked up snow outside, forming a blizzard. As I watched, Sophien spoke as lightly as that wind.
“You have already died for my sake.”
“…”
I turned my gaze back to her.
“…Your Majesty?”
A small smile crept across Sophien’s lips.
“Forget it. Just focus on the current situation. This Snow Globe is not a romantic object like a bunker or a cradle.”
She looked at the blizzard on the horizon without a word, darkening the Snow Globe’s world with a deafening roar. At the same time, the surface began to crack.
“Deculein…”
The ground sank away before Sophien could say anything.
Rumble-!
We were sent into a freefall. Plummeting, I looked to Sophien, and she to me.
Whoooooooosh-
The mana’s air pressure made it impossible to breathe, but I did what I had to do. I connected the statue of Keiron above with Sophien by making a line with Psychokinesis. Thanks to that, Sophien snapped out of the fall, but I continued to head straight down.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough mana to connect myself.
…Due to wasting 4,000 mana on that damn ice cream earlier.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Red Garnet Adventure Team arrived at the high-grade dungeon Deracal, named after the first to discover it, in the western part of the island.
“Heeyaaah—!”
Lia’s cry echoed inside the dungeon. Epherene watched her fight with admiration, impressed by the mana releasing from her bloody and battered form.
“That kid is talented. Did you say something about attribute change?”
Their mid-stage attack was almost over. Ganesha nodded as she watched the battle in the corner of the dungeon she was making her gain experience.
“Of course. It is our treasure.”
「Attribute Change」 was one of Lia’s magical talents. As its name suggested, it was a talent that could freely transform water into earth, earth into fire, fire into the wind, and so forth. It was still undeveloped, though.
“And this is a secret.”
Ganesha approached, leaning in close to Epherene. Originally, she didn’t want to tell her this, but…
—Our Lia looks like the Professor’s first fiancée. It’s not just a resemblance; she’s like a doppelganger.
Ganesha coveted Epherene. As a mercenary wizard, she was truly the perfect skill burning through entire dungeon rooms with a single destructive spell.
“What?!”
Epherene’s eyes bugged out as she turned to regard Ganesha.
“By the first fiancée—”
“Shh. Now it’s your turn to speak. Why are you continuing to investigate Professor Deculein?”
Epherene hesitated for a moment, pondering what to say. She wasn’t sure if she would believe her.
“It’s okay. Even if it’s too absurd, I’ll believe in you~. I’m an adventurer, after all.”
Ganesha encouraged her as Epherene took in a deep breath.
“I met my future self… a while ago.”
“Is it a coincidence? Me too.”
“…What?”
“You don’t have to be surprised~. I even know how I’ll die~.”
“Huh, Ganesha, have you been in Locralen too?”
“No.”
Ganesha laughed softly.
“De-mon~.”
“…Oh.”
“They know very well how to destroy a human ~. So they showed me my death. Whether it is the future that cannot be changed, the future that can be changed, or the future that we desperately tried to change, it makes us have nightmares every night.”
Ganesha sighed, then laughed, her ponytail fluttering.
“What the demon wants is solely human corruption. Of course, sometimes the demon wants more than that, but in the end, the essence is the same.”
“I see… Pfft.”
Epherene, listening intently, involuntarily burst out laughing. Ganesha tilted her head.
“Why?”
“It reminds me of the Professor.”
Epherene thought of Deculein, the man whose fall was most desired by all demons. The only person in this world who would never be tricked by their cunning ploys.
“If the demon enjoys human corruption, there is the Professor…”
“That’s right. The Professor never goes along with a demon’s will. Yukline’s Deculein, even demons tremble in fear~.”
Clap, clap—
Ganesha applauded to cheer on Lia, Leo, and Carlos, who continued to struggle on the battlefield.
“Great! Well done, everyone! Now, butchering the carcasses and material collection begins!”
“““Yes, captain!”””
After giving orders to the three, she returned her focus on Epherene.
“So. I still didn’t hear why you are investigating the Professor. What would you have heard from your future self~?”
Epherene smiled faintly.
“…She told me not to hate him too much. The Wizard Gindalf also said some strange things to me.”
“What?”
“This is even stranger… he said that the Professor values me or something. He has a pendant with a picture of me as a child…”
“Oh?”
Ganesha’s brow furrowed. Epherene shook her head as if it were ridiculous.
“How amazing. If that’s true, maybe it’s true?”
“No way. Still…”
“No. Professor Deculein certainly has reasons to cherish or hate you. Perhaps the cause is… in your family?”
Bone snapped and crunched apart behind them as Lia cut into a monster’s shell. Epherene looked back in amazement, but Ganesha soon grabbed her attention again.
“And, Decalane is not dead yet.”
“What?!”
“If he appears in your dreams, it means that Decalane is after you.”
“…”
Epherene grabbed the hem of her robe.
“But don’t worry too much. Your talent is definitely enough to beat Decalane.”
“…Okay.”
“Plus, the Professor won’t let Decalane do what he wants. That reliable professor will protect you, right?”
…Deculein would protect her. Those words battered at Epherene’s heart. Looking back, Deculein was always like that.
Even then, she was on the brink of expulsion from the disciplinary committee at the beginning of the semester, even when she blundered into the mountain of darkness and was almost attacked by that demon. Even when she attended the hearing as a witness against Deculein…
Epherene clenched her jaw, and her eyes grew wet with some unidentified water.
“So, I have no choice but to say the same thing as your future self.”
Epherene turned to Ganesha, accepting the handkerchief she offered.
“Don’t hate the Professor too much.”
“…Sniff”
A stream of water flowed from Epherene’s eyes, the dam broke.
* * *
Bang-!
My body slammed against the ground. I must’ve been falling for a long time, as the impact snapped me back to consciousness. Suffocating darkness pressed in around me, obscuring my sense of direction. My body was in shock, so I couldn’t keep track of the passage of time. And, above all else, a harsher cold than I had thought possible was tearing me apart.
But I thought it wasn’t all that bad. This Iron Man body developed under extreme conditions. In that sense, this moment was a wonderful training opportunity. How would the Iron Man that accepted Carla’s Authority develop? This was the perfect time to test that question and build my foundation with self-control.
…But. It was cold. I said it was cold, but no voice came out. The mental power greater than any other prevented my consciousness from fading, but more than that was impossible. A laugh leaked out.
The severe cold was such that even the body of the Iron Man could not endure. I could easily say that it was approaching absolute zero. I used the little mana that I still had, trying to create a flame, but the magic composing the circle froze. The shape of the magic circle hardened in the air.
The mana was frozen, turned to crystal by the chill. It was a theoretically impossible phenomenon.
I woke up slowly in the dark, frigid cold. My consciousness itself was frozen. Still, I moved my legs. I don’t know how many steps I took. But without realizing it, my body leaning against the walls of ice, I moved.
“Ha…”
‘…Am I enduring or dying?’
Was the self that never bent being broken? I slowly, slowly closed my eyes.
‘…This damn.’
I ground my teeth. I would never, ever lose to the cold. I forced my body upright, accelerating the flow of my blood.
…And, at the moment when I was desperately struggling-
[Action Quest: Endure the unbearable magical chill.]
◆ The flowering of Authority of Iron Man.
: Acquired Cold Adaptation.
◆ The versatility of Iron Man has expanded.
Unbeknownst to me, an action quest was cleared.
