Snow Globe (3)

Kim Woojin, 'place' Woo [宇] and 'true' Jin [眞]. I told the giant my true name, a melody that I hadn't spoken in a very long time.

—…

The giant smiled, looking down at me without a word. His silence was not threatening but had a warmth to it that contrasted sharply with the cold.

—Human. This is a graveyard, not a prison or a cradle.

The giant first solved the question I hadn't asked but had been running around in my head.

—The cemetery prepared for me.

I had read the giant setting once before. They were a race that crossed the continent and the Great Sea to see the ends of this vast world. They were wise people who knew nearly everything and possessed a profound insight. Therefore, humans, as seen by giants, were not so different from how ants were seen by humans. Still, it was thanks to the giant's wise and benevolent heart that he didn't trample me.

—Human… when I see you, I know that there is a world I don't know yet.

"…Is that so?"

-Yes.

His voice shook my soul violently.

—This is my fault for not hiding the cemetery properly.

"…"

—The passage leading to the outside is here. You can open it at any time, but you won't go out alone if you do.

The giant read everything in my mind and gave me the right answer. But I picked out a very awkward word from the giant's explanation.

"By fault, you mean it's not a mistake?"

—…

The giant smiled again.

-Yes. I expected this kind of meeting someday. Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, however long it required, but at least once.

"…It's amazing."

The wisdom of giants transcended humanity. If so, did he foresee my existence? Also, did he understand? That from the world called Earth, I was incorporated into the world of this game.

—It is too early to find an answer. The human race collapses the moment it reaches the end. As our giant race collapsed before in a greater time…

He meant for me to find the answer myself. I nodded; this was nothing new. It had always been that way since I became Deculein.

—The height of this cliff is tens of thousands of meters high. It will be difficult for a human to bear because it is the end of the world I have created.

I paid no attention to the giant's warning, taking out the wood steel and jabbing it into the ice wall.

Crack—!

I made a support stand that I climbed up. I looked back at the giant.

"I will come back with my friends."

—…

The giant smiled softly and closed his eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gindalf guided Epherene to a small airship.

"Get in."

"…Here?"

"Yeah. Back seat."

At Gindalf's prompting, Epherene hesitated but soon climbed into the back seat.

"I'm kind of nervous…"

As soon as she put the helmet on, the airship set off.

"Wait, whoa!"

The airship rocketed through the orbit of the Floating Island, Epherene's face shaking with the force of the sudden acceleration.

"Bwaaaah- Baaaaaah-"

"Hahaha. What do you think?"

"Brrrwaaah—"

"Isn't it exciting?"

"Buaaaaaaah-"

One of the neighboring islands of the Floating Island was the place they flew to, the island known as the Inn.

"Now! We're here. How was it, wasn't it fun? Hahahaha."

"…It's so lame."

"Hmm, lame? Really? Anyway, the new generation these days use strange words."

"It means no fun… gosh."

Epherene rubbed her chapped lips and shook her head while Gindalf opened the door of the Inn.

Ding-

With the soft sound of a bell, Gindalf went inside. Epherene stood outside for a moment longer to look around.

"…Wow."

She was in a parking lot holding dozens of small airships. Behind it was not a cliff but a space with no end in sight.

"Come in now. It is dangerous when the wind blows."

"Yeah!"

At Gindalf's call, Epherene headed inside. It was surprisingly mediocre and quiet inside compared to the outside, which was extraordinary. There were several tables, and the menu board was full of food with appetizing names.

"Epherene. Here."

Gindalf, who was already seated at a table, raised his hand. The pink-haired woman next to him winked at her.

"You're here."

"…Wizard Rose Rio?"

Epherene's eyes went wide. Rose Rio flapped the magic thesis she held, picking her teeth with a toothpick.

"Yes, it's been a long time. Sit down."

"Yes, yes."

Epherene sat down next to Gindalf. Then, she looked at the paper that Rose Rio was holding.

"Oh~, this?"

Rosé Rio noticed her gaze and shrugged.

"Isn't it the Floating Island fad lately? At this rate, we'll have to put a badge on our chests to see how many pages we have read. If we don't know, we can't even join the conversations."

"…Aha."

"Yeah, I'm also trying to challenge it~. Um, how can I say this? Should I say that this is useless to me?"

"Haha…"

Epherene smiled bitterly and nodded. After all, it would have been an inappropriate thesis for Rose Rio, who specialized elsewhere.

"Haha. But I heard that this friend has already understood up to page 130?"

Gindalf said it loudly for all to hear. The air in the Inn grew stiff, and everyone looked over. Epherene was embarrassed, but soon the atmosphere relaxed as if nothing had happened. It seemed like she was being dismissed as if the very thought were absurd. But Rose Rio regarded her with narrowed eyes.

"…Is it true?"

"Yes, yes… I got it a while ago. So-"

"Even if you received it beforehand, it is not something you can understand to page 130. From 30 pages onwards, understanding each page is treated as a small achievement."

Among the addicts, the thesis climbing relay was in full swing, and it was even considered an opportunity for reversing one's rank. If only it were true that a mere Solda understood up to page 130-

"Haha. For now, let's shelve that talk for later. Come on, Epherene. This Inn is a little bit special. Take a look around."

Gindalf stopped talking and pointed somewhere. Epherene's eyes followed.

"Carla and Jackal are over there."

"!"

Epherene's jaw dropped. Carla and Jackal, who she had seen before on Ghost Island, were indeed sitting right there. Jackal was yawning with a twig in his mouth, and Carla was mixing sugar into her latte.

"And Zukaken."

One of the clan masters, Zukaken. The handsome long-haired man was chatting with another male wizard. For some reason, his whole party was formed of handsome men.

"And there's… haha. I didn't think he would be allowed in even though it's the Inn."

"Who?"

Epherene looked to the next one he pointed out. Rose Rio chuckled, sipping her coffee.

"He's called Gerek. He's a person of some interest."

The very handsome man she pointed at was giggling and acting erratically with an unknown old woman standing beside him.

"And behind them is Ihelm."

Rose Rio pointed her thumb to the corner of the Inn. Epherene's head whirled around.

—…So we need to analyze this part. I don't care about the Floating Island guys, but we can't fall behind those from the magic tower.

Ihelm, his hair tied back, was studying the thesis with his students in the shadows. He probably didn't want it to be found out that he was studying Deculein's thesis independently.

— Gather them all and leave the labor of various calculations to them.

-Yes. I will contact them right away.

Gindalf began to stroke his long beard.

"Haha. What do you think? It's rather curious, isn't it? Anyone who is a wizard can enter the Inn on the Floating Island. Even the wizards of the Volcano who do not have the official approval of a Magic Tower."

Volcano, the official name of the Ashes. Epherene grew increasingly nervous.

"Especially Glipper and Helgun. Get used to those two faces. They are some crazy guys."

The two men in question had tattoos and scars covering every inch of their exposed skin.

"Yes. Okay. But old man. Why did you bring me here…?"

"Hmm. Can't you feel the immense power in this Inn? Doesn't the aura that each of them emits make your skin crawl?"

"…Yes? Oh, yes. That's right. It's a little hard to breathe."

Epherene nodded. That must be the reason that her chest felt tight. Gindalf continued.

"To fight against that man, Decalane, you will need the training to strengthen your mental power. To do that, you have to face the strong-"

Ding—

The bell rang. The unwritten rule of the guests was that they wouldn't look at the other guests, but Epherene, unaware of this fact, glanced toward the newcomer involuntarily.

"Huh!"

And then she stood up without realizing it. All eyes in the Inn were focused on her once more, but Epherene paid them no mind as she smiled brightly at the girl who had just entered.

"Sylvia!"

Sylvia. She wore a robe with pure gold embroidery on a black background, indicating the Monarch rank.

"…"

She was going to have dinner with Idnik, but Sylvia, suddenly noticing Epherene, glared at her.

"…Stupid Epherene. You can't show you know-"

"Here. Sit here!"

Epherene smiled brightly and pointed to her table. Of course, Sylvia tried to ignore the invitation.

"Hmph."

"Oh, nice!"

Idnik grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to them.

"What is?"

"Let's go. Introduce me to your friend."

"We're not friends."

Sylvia was more or less forced to sit down at Epherene's table. Epherene smiled and pointed to the wad of paper she had clasped in her hand.

"Is that also Professor Deculein's thesis?"

Sylvia clenched her jaw and shook her head.

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"It's none of your business."

Idnik answered instead.

"It's a novel."

"Oh."

Idnik, lightly ignoring Sylvia's resentful gaze, added.

"This is a novel written by this girl herself."

"…Why did you tell her?"

"If you publish it, they will see everything anyway."

"No. Why are you this kind of person?"

Idnik let Sylvia's annoyance pass in one ear and out the other, but Epherene wasn't one to let this amazing news pass.

"You, a novel?! I want to read it too! Give it to me!"

She reached out with both hands and a grin reaching from ear to ear.

* * *

…A week went by, and Sophien concluded that there was no point in waiting any longer.

"This is unacceptable."

But it wasn't over for Keiron. He couldn't accept Sophien's decision.

"Hmph. How dare you, a knight, say such things to the Emperor?"

Sophien's lips twisted as she stared at him. Still, Keiron did not waver.

"I am sorry, but this is my mission. To protect Your Majesty no matter what-"

Sophien chanted a spell. In an instant, Keiron slipped, but he stood and grabbed his sword. At least this sword he wouldn't let be taken away.

"Keiron. If you think I can't do it with you around me, you are mistaken. I even hit my head on rock and died once."

"…"

"You don't have to be so worked up. We will meet again anyway."

Keiron disobeyed his master's orders and became still like a statue. No, he changed into a statue. It was a statue made to be almost impossible to break.

"…Boring guy. Even if I don't commit suicide, there's no way out of this place. Starving to death or suicide is one thing…."

Keiron didn't respond. Sophien, letting out an exhausted sigh, suddenly had an ingenious idea. Even though it was a spell, would this work?

"תעשה חרב"

A phenomenon caused by only a single syllable. Mana swelled from her voice and permeated the snow, pulling it together into a sharp blade.

"No!"

Surprised, Keiron woke up quickly and rushed to take Sophien's sword, but she pushed him away with another spell.

"Stop being stubborn. It's all over, and I'll see you again, Keiron."

Yet the moment she was about to cut her wrist with that blade-

"…You have learned very well."

A different voice arrived. Surprised, Sophien and Keiron glanced around. No one was there.

"As expected from Your Majesty."

They looked up into the sky at the compliments that followed. Nothing. It was just a clear and dazzling sky.

"…"

Then… neither left nor right, nor up, there was only one other way. Sophien looked down into the crevasse.

"Huh."

A smile from the bottom of her heart found its way to her lips. It was Deculein. He had risen from the endless pit of the crevasse, crawling up the wall using his wood steel as support.

"…"

Keiron let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"…You made me wait. Even so, there is still no choice but to commit suicide if there isn't another way out. What did you find down there?"

Deculein first dusted off his clothes, melting away the frost clinging to him. No, it melted thanks to Iron Man naturally.

"I found a way out of this Snow Globe. But…"

Deculein looked at Sophien's physical condition with Vision. The key was how much cold Sophien could withstand.

"It will be very cold."

"Will it be worse than death? If it's too cold, I'll just die."

"No. I will not let Your Majesty die."

Deculein took the Snowflake Obsidian out. It was a very small corner, but after giving it the authority of Iron Man, it was thinly spread around Sophien. This gave Deculein some peace of mind. But…

"Keiron."

Deculein looked back at her faithful guard. Could he withstand it? A severe and biting chill lurked right underground. Even if he was one of the top knights on the continent, without the help of a trait—

"I have no fear."

Keiron responded sternly.

"…Yes."

Deculein nodded. Sophien looked at the two men facing each other with an expression of ridicule and disbelief.

"…Let's go right away."

"Don't you need to take a little rest?"

"Even if I rest, there is no food, so it's all the same."

The moment Sophien agreed, her body moved freely thanks to the Snowflake Obsidian attached to her.

"…Explain this."

A truly bizarre and unexpected situation. Sophien, clinging to Deculein's back, asked the question. She simply wanted an explanation; she wasn't even disconcerted.

"You need to be as close to my body as possible so you won't be cold."

"It's already cold enough. That is no reason."

"…When we reach there, you will understand."

"What-"

"Trust Professor Deculein, please."

Keiron helped. But, strangely, he had a face that suggested he was holding back laughter.

"It's the words of the professor who came up from below."

"…All right."

Sophien frowned to make her dissatisfaction known but soon accepted reality.

"Yes. I'm going."

So, Deculein carried the Emperor down.