220. Winter Palace (2)

“Wow—what is this…?”

Everyone’s eyes were wide and their mouths wide open as they looked at the Winter Palace.

Ikeik─

I chuckled at their reaction, opened the door, and went inside.

“Go, let’s go together!”

There was warm air inside and I could no longer feel the cold outside.

Beautiful furniture made of colorless and transparent ice was lavishly decorated inside.

“Why is this place here?”

Shin Se-hee shook off the snow that had accumulated on her body and said with wonder.

“Interesting. It’s ice, but it’s not cold.”

Ichika fearlessly touched the furniture placed inside.

“Hmm, with such an artificial structure in the dungeon, doesn’t that mean monsters come out here too? Or maybe it’s an undead monster with that intelligence… “

“Hey——!”

Yuri Lee looked around the inside with a stern expression, wondering if she should raise her shield

Lim Ga-eul, who has no tolerance for fear, screamed angrily at the word undead.

“No, I said I came to rest today. There is no such thing.”

I shook my head lightly and dismissed their concerns.

It was true.

Although this is a magical space, it is not a place where monsters or the like appear.

“······Then why does this place exist?”

“Guess what it is.”

“Hmm, is this Lina, the chairman? There is a familiar scent of magic power.”

The person who answered correctly the fastest was Master.

Who would have created such an absurd space?

There is only one person.

It is the essence of magic, the work of the demon emperor Lina.

If you go further inside, you will find various evidence that this is Mazzerina’s work.

There is no particular reward, but an event pops up where you can guess various things in the form of a mini game.

‘But you figured it out right away with your magic power. Is it really the teacher?’

Tsk.

Still, it was an event that was fun to look for.

The secret was exposed from the beginning due to Chairman Lina’s best friend.

Of course, I don’t know why she made this or why she made it in this place.

Because that part didn’t come out separately in the game.

‘Should I ask Chairman Rina later when I meet her?’

It’s not a game, so if you go and ask in person now, wouldn’t you be able to answer?

While I was thinking about this for a moment, Master spoke again.

“Ah. This place. “At first I didn’t recognize it because it had changed so much, but it’s a place I know.”

“Yes!?”

At those words, everyone’s eyes turned to Master.

“This is the Fire Dragon’s Nest, which was once an SSS-level gate. Hmm, after dealing with it at that time, they said they didn’t tell the outside world for a while because it was dangerous due to the overflow of magical energy… Has it been completely forgotten by people since then?”

“······Yes?”

An unexpected behind-the-scenes story suddenly appeared!

What is the Fire Dragon’s Nest?

This is my first time hearing it.

“S, Master. “Can you explain in detail?”

“I came here when I was very young, so my memories are vague…”

According to the teacher,

It is said that originally, this place was once a dungeon where a fire monster, a fire dragon, resided.

Director Lina had been conquering this dungeon for almost a year, and even she had used up a lot of her strength during this time.

“······Was the monster called Fire Dragon here so strong that Chairman Rina couldn’t deal with it?”

“No. “It was the environment of this dungeon that was more problematic than the monsters.”

It’s impossible to imagine from the current snowstorm,

Originally, the entire dungeon was a bubbling lava field, a dungeon with a harsh environment where an average hunter could not survive for less than 10 minutes.

It is difficult to approach the fire dragon nesting in the middle of the dungeon.

Therefore, Chairman Lina came up with a plan.

‘If heat is the problem, wouldn’t it be okay to freeze the entire dungeon and then deal with the fire dragon?’

That’s why it took a long period of one year!

“Then, here… After visiting the dungeon for a year, I guess this is a lodging built inside the dungeon?”

“Well, back then, there were times when he would come here to stay overnight while working. That’s very likely. And needlessly flashy things are just Rina’s taste.”

Freezing the entire dungeon with magical power.

It was a glimpse of why Chairman Rina is praised as the unrivaled number one in the world.

“······Then, Master. Are the hot springs here like remnants of that fire dragon?”

“Well, if there is a hot spring here, then yes.”

Master nodded his head at my question.

“But you don’t have to worry, it’ll be okay. “I clearly remember the story about how Chairman Rina dealt with Hwaryong at that time.”

Master said so.

Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this.

‘Sseu-eup, I came here to rest. It’s a typical flag where the sealed fire dragon suddenly awakens and battles with it…’

Even though I brought all of my characters here to watch the hot spring cut scene in the game, this is a place that has never exploded.

That’s going to explode this time?

Oh no way…

‘But Hwaryong…? If it’s a fire dragon, is it similar to a water dragon?’

Clearly, the dragons that appear as monsters in Velvetsra are like a medicine that there is nothing to throw away.

Experience is experience, buff is buff. Material: Material.

He was famous for hunting as he was for the ring he got from Jukai Forest.

And because it was so rare, there were many cases of clearing the game without ever meeting it.

‘It’s a fire dragon… Here, there is a teacher who is overbalanced, and there are also Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee who have strong intolerances…’

I was shocked as I unconsciously assumed that a fire dragon had appeared.

‘Oh, no! You came to rest with the kids today! ‘I need to focus on resting!’

But while I tried my best to ignore it, at the same time, I began to plan in my head what to do if the fire dragon appeared.

‘Well, just in case.’

I really don’t know!

No, if our Hwaryong suddenly appears and we are unprepared, he will be disappointed, right?

Hmm, I need to give a proper welcome greeting!

The look in Jin Yu-ha’s eyes as he internally rationalized like that was that of a greedy hunter.

* * *

Let’s announce to the party members that we will rest here.

The group dispersed and occupied an empty room one by one.

Same goes for me.

‘······Really, I heard Chairman Rina is quite good too.’

I looked around the room and let out an absurd laugh.

In the room, a soft blanket made of magical power is laid out on a bed made of ice, which is not cold.

The dresser is even stocked with clothes made from monster leather.

The groceries piled up in the refrigerator are a bonus.

What can Chairman Lina say?

Should I say that even if I make something, I don’t make it roughly?

In fact, it would have been fine if it had just been made small and simple since it was only for sleeping alone.

It is on a scale of building a castle.

Also, the instructor said that Rina attacked this place when she was young, so even though it must have been abandoned for a long time, everything sparkled like new.

So, this means that preservation magic has been applied to each and every item here.

Probably after making it again without any hesitation.

‘Ah, while I was making it, I ended up overdoing it again…’

I remember her expression as she looked at the castle with her dead eyes. I chuckled.

‘There is no character with a level of story as real as Chairman Lina.’

As an all-rounder when it comes to magic, her abilities are actually closer to a deus ex machina than a munchkin.

Such a person is always unable to unleash his / her power due to the constraints of causality.

It’s really funny that they’re fighting with me.

‘But I’m still getting a lot of help.’

Even though she has adjusted it in her own way, she has been a great help to me and our party so far.

Still, in the next episode, Chairman Rina’s existence is treated as quite important.

It’s her turn to pay off all her debts at once.

It was then.

“Jin Yuhani~~!”

I heard Sophia’s voice calling me from outside.

‘Sweet, I really need to come visit and stop thinking about this.’

I smiled bitterly and went outside.

*

Today is my day off!

In other words, it is a utopian official rest day.

In order to ensure that party members rest, only one person needs to be tired.

Who is that?

It’s me!

I declared in front of the party members with a confident appearance.

“As long as we are here, I will do anything I can if you ask me.”

“Well, anything?”

Sophia said in an embarrassed voice.

“Yeah, whatever. “This is also my apology.”

“······What is the junior apologizing for?”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper rest since leading Utopia. As the head of the party, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Let me say so.

“······.”

A sudden, heavy silence.

‘Huh?’

Something was strange.

‘What? If you say it like this, it’s okay here. Or not. ‘Shouldn’t there be at least one word of refusal?’

But everyone kept their mouths shut and just looked at me.

Even with dangerously sparkling eyes.

‘······Have I really accumulated that much from not being able to provide rest?’

An ominous premonition, like sprinkling blood in front of a swarm of piranhas that had starved for several days.

I shivered from an unknown chill.