Despite hearing those unexpected words, Sop did not seem angry.
Rather, he looked a little forlorn.
[I remember now. That fellow was very attached to Shamara.]
At Sop’s words, the spirit smiled brightly and said,
—He said she was someone precious to him.
When the spear was on the stand, Sop was able to converse with the spirit as well.
The conversation was going better than expected, so I asked cautiously.
“Don’t tell me, by ‘liked,’ he meant that kind of feeling?”
Seeing the two of them talk, it didn’t seem like the sort of relationship you would find in a trashy drama.
Sop answered my question.
[Who knows. There must have been many feelings mixed together. However, in my memory, Esh never treated us carelessly. On the contrary, that child was quite fond of me.]
—Yes. Whenever Lord Esh was with me, he always said he respected Lord Shamekh.
If he even respected Sop, then it was probably closer to affection for a parent, or perhaps admiration.
No, that was not something I, as a third party, could know.
In any case, it seemed this matter would pass without any major trouble.
Just as I was feeling relieved, Sop asked the spirit,
[Can you not change your appearance? When a spirit is born, the creator’s thoughts determine its form, but if the spirit has a strong desire, it should be able to change it.]
Damn.
It seemed I would have to take back what I had just thought.
“Weren’t we just going to let this pass?”
[I acknowledge there is no need to be angry, but leaving that face as it is is another matter.]
At the magician’s words, I could only smack my lips,
—I don’t want to change into another appearance, though?
And the spirit tilted her head with a smile.
Seeing her expression, I could understand Sop’s words a little.
The spirit’s face was one I had also seen in my memories.
With the same face showing such different behavior and expressions, even I, as a third party, felt somewhat uncomfortable.
I asked Sop,
“She’s the spirit managing these ruins, isn’t she? Then can’t you give her an order?”
A moment ago, Sop had said he would connect to the stand and seize control of the facility.
Since the connection had gone well, he should have taken over these ruins too, and if so, he ought to be able to give orders to the spirit.
[…….]
Sop said nothing in response to my question.
The answer came from elsewhere.
—A moment ago, Lord Shamekh’s mental body, the one you call Lord Sop, attempted to register as the administrator of this facility, but I refused. I don’t know about other places, but I am the administrator of this facility.
The spirit pointed at herself with her thumb and lifted her chin.
Seeing that face, which suited a gentle smile, act so smug made it feel like I was watching a film with the wrong actor cast in the role.
The spirit did not stop there.
—Besides, Lord Sop’s level of magic is not high enough to forcibly change the administrator. You are not as skilled as the original, Lord Shamekh.
The spirit had seen through Sop’s entire condition.
She knew that only his mind remained in the staff, and that his skills had diminished because he had lost his memories.
[Gnngh. This won’t do. I must recover more of my memories at once.]
Sop grew angry.
Leaving Sop to make the sound of grinding teeth despite having no teeth, I asked the spirit,
“Then am I going to be kicked out again?”
—Of course not. The person before me…
“I’m Hyeon Myeonghan. You can call me Captain Hyeon.”
—Captain Hyeon, the owner of Lord Shamekh’s staff, has already been registered as the laboratory’s deputy administrator. Since you are the rightful owner of the staff and a magician, you are fully qualified to take on the position.
At the spirit’s words, a hollow laugh escaped me.
No matter how I looked at it, this was thanks to Sop.
I had not come here alone, and before we viewed Sop’s memories, the spirit had said she would only hear me out.
And yet, suddenly, I was a deputy administrator.
At a glance, it was obvious the spirit was teasing Sop.
Or perhaps it was revenge for his attempt to take the administrator position.
Sop seemed to think the same, because he said nothing in response to the spirit’s words.
Instead, I asked,
“What authority does a deputy administrator have?”
At my question, the spirit counted on her fingers, then said to me,
—There aren’t any particular restrictions. Aside from registering new administrators and staff, you can do almost everything.
I could only tilt my head.
If all that was possible, it did not seem right to call it deputy administrator.
As I looked puzzled, Sop, who had been silent, spoke up.
[Before the people withdrew, what did they call the highest-ranking administrator among them?]
—I’m the administrator, so they called him the deputy administrator. Since there’s no one here now, it’s only right to appoint Captain Hyeon as deputy administrator.
Though she called it deputy administrator, no matter how I looked at it, it seemed to mean the person in charge of management.
“Then I can use the spatial movement device.”
—I’ll release it for you right away. Done. You should be able to use it now.
That was a relief. Things had gone better than expected.
“I should let the team members know.”
—Surely you aren’t leaving right away, are you?
At my words, the spirit clasped both hands together and looked at me pleadingly.
Seeing that, I could not bring myself to say I was leaving.
Besides, I had no intention of leaving immediately.
Since things had gone more smoothly than expected, there was no need to move in a rush.
The team members, who had been moving busily, needed time to rest as well.
Once my thoughts reached that point, I remembered something I needed to ask the spirit.
“Can the team members up above come down too?”
This control room was colder than the storage room where the team members were, but the area near the stairs had been very warm.
It seemed better for them to come down here than remain in a storage room still below freezing.
At my words, the spirit tilted her head.
—The corridor outside is fine. But this place and the underground really cannot be entered by anyone except authorized personnel. By authorized personnel, I mean myself and the deputy administrator.
I understood what she meant.
It was only natural that just anyone could not enter the control room.
Besides, this place was too cold for anyone to have a reason to come near it.
It would be enough to let the team members rest beside the stairs over there.
However, there had been a word in her reply that I was hearing for the first time.
‘Underground?’
I asked the spirit,
“Is there something below here too?”
At my words, the spirit’s expression brightened.
As if she had been waiting for my question, she opened her mouth excitedly.
—That is…
It was then.
Beeeep!
Along with a sharp sound like an alarm, red light filled the room.
The ice walls were flooded with crimson light, and the spirit also raised her head to look at the ceiling.
It was an unexpected situation, but I could immediately tell what was happening.
“Is it an enemy?”
[It seems to be an intruder alarm spell. But can there even be an outside intruder on this star?]
This was not Trappist 4, the planet we had been on.
This star was the lifeless fifth star, filled with ice.
And yet, an enemy.
As Sop said, it made no sense.
—Don’t tell me those things have started moving?
The spirit, who had been tilting her head, waved her hand through the air.
Ice powder gathered from all directions, forming an ice mirror in midair.
An image appeared inside the ice mirror.
What the image showed was a black monster using its tentacles to brace itself against the stairs and walls as it descended.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
What was visible in the image was a scout.
An Akzar scout, at that, descending the stairs toward the basement.
At the end of those stairs was the storage room where the team members were.
“Damn it, they showed up here too…”
Its appearance was abrupt, but this was no time to simply be shocked.
I grabbed the spear lying on the stand and tried to leave the room.
At that moment, the spirit asked from behind me,
—Is that monster a problem?
Hearing the spirit’s words, a thought flashed through my mind.
“Can you contact my companions right away? We need to tell them to flee downward!”
I had to evacuate the team members before I arrived.
They would not be able to communicate with the spirit, but if we used this base, there might be some way.
At my words, the spirit tilted her head.
—Wouldn’t it be enough to stop that monster?
At her words, I nodded urgently.
“That would be even better.”
At my words, the spirit smiled brightly.
—Understood. Then wait here. I’ll send the children.
With those words, the image within the ice mirror changed.
The screen showed the storage room where the group was.
The group was holding their weapons, glaring toward the stairs we had come down.
Black tentacles emerged from the stairs, and just as the team members retreated,
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ice golems began to move.
It seemed the spirit intended to move the ice golems to stop the monster.
Seeing that, I bit my lip.
“I think I should go. That monster could not even be stopped by earth golems.”
The earth golems had only bought us time.
What killed that monster had been the sandstorm, the golem Sop created, and finally, me entering the monster’s body and pulling out the black stone.
And yet she was going to deal with it using only ice golems.
They might buy time, but that would not be enough.
I tried to move again, but this time Sop stopped me.
[Wait and see. Those golems seem to be different.]
—Those golems are not simple guardians. They are extreme-cold exploration golems made to pioneer this star.
As she said that, one of the ice golems was smashed apart by a tentacle that came flying in.
It was an absurd sight, but I continued watching the screen.
Its head had burst apart, but the golem seized the tentacle in that state.
The tentacle began to freeze.
The other golems also clung to the torrent of tentacles, and as they were smashed apart, they seized the tentacles and froze them.
The golems clung to the monster’s body as well, which emerged from the stairs after the tentacles.
The golems shattered, and the monster’s body froze over too.
It was not only the monster’s body that froze.
The stairs, the floor, even the air were all freezing.
In that way, dozens of golems were destroyed, and in the end, the monster too was frozen solid.
It was a ridiculous sight.
The team members, who had retreated as far as they could, were also staring at the frozen monster with pale faces.
—The storage room must have gotten very cold. I’ll send the people down.
In the image, I saw an intact ice golem appear and guide the team members toward the inner staircase.
Perhaps because of what they had just seen, the team members obediently followed the golem’s instructions.
“How did I break that thing?”
—Because your magic skill is excellent, Captain Hyeon. And because I told it not to attack you.
At the spirit’s words, I was left speechless.
Then Sop’s voice came.
[However, it seems that one is not the end of it.]
Even though the monster had been frozen, the red light still had not disappeared from the room.
That meant there were more monsters.
The spirit knew that as well.
The image changed again.
This time, it was outside the ruins.
The image showed the vast ice field surrounding the ruins.
A huge, empty ice field.
That ice field was different from when we had arrived.
Black monsters were running across it.
They were scouts.
Several scout monsters were running toward us.
It was a terrifying sight, but the spirit was not surprised at all.
—They’ve all awakened. Is it because people came?
With a hand on her chin, the spirit looked at the image, then grinned and said to me,
—Before I show you the underground, I’ll show you this first. The results I have built on this star over long ages under the orders of my creator, Lord Esh.
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire room began to glow.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The room shook.
No, it was not just the room.
The fields visible in the image were shaking violently as well.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
The monsters running toward us stopped, and the ice of the field began to surge upward like mountains.
As I watched the astonishing sight, the spirit entered the ice pillar at the center.
Her figure faded away inside the pillar.
And then, her form appeared on the screen.
Above the ice field that had risen like a mountain, the spirit floated hundreds of meters in the air.
Her body floating in the air grew larger and larger.
Ten meters, fifty meters, one hundred meters, two hundred meters…
In the blink of an eye, she had grown hundreds of times larger.
The monsters that had stopped looked up at the sky.
The monsters shrank back and retreated.
The sight of her looking down at the monsters from the sky was that of a true snow spirit, a Snow Queen.