Chapter 247: Extra Chapter - Magic Snow Hut

“It’s starting to blizzard.”

Having accepted a subjugation request for a certain monster, we had come to a snowy mountain in the north.

According to the client, the village chief, the monster is apparently quite cunning—a troublesome creature that cautiously targets houses on the outskirts of the village or hunters entering the mountains with its pack.

Being such a sly creature, the target monster dodged our pursuit time and time again. On the contrary, we ended up having to fight monsters from other territories over and over.

Those monsters weren’t a big deal, but still, pointless back-to-back battles don’t feel good.

Moreover, while we were unable to find our target, it started to snow, which eventually turned into a full-blown blizzard.

“We’d better bivouac here for today.”

Having the rug pulled out from under us so many times, everyone is quite exhausted.

If we force ourselves to return to the village in this situation, we might be attacked by the monster, which has been waiting for us to get tired, thinking it’s the perfect opportunity.

That’s why I suggested we spend the night here.

“But if we rest in a place like this, we’ll freeze to death in no time, you know? Wouldn’t it be better to head back to the village for now?”

Mina-san proposed returning while shivering.

“No, I’m going to make a snow hut, so it’ll be fine.”

“A snow hut?”

“Yes, please wait a moment. SNOW CONTROL!”

I gathered the surrounding snow with magic to create a small mound.

“SNOW COMPRESSION!”

Furthermore, by applying Compression Magic to the mound, I condensed it to create a hard block of snow.

“SNOW TUNNEL!”

And when I opened a hole in the mound with Excavation Magic, a makeshift snow hut was completed in the blink of an eye.

“Everyone, get inside.”

Going inside the snow hut, it felt quite warm thanks to being shielded from the wind.

“Ooh, it’s warm!”

That being said, the temperature was still quite low, so the danger of freezing to death still remained.

“TEMPERATURE CONTROL!”

Thereupon, by using Temperature Manipulation Magic, I raised the temperature inside the snow hut for real, not just as an illusion.

“Ooh! It’s super warm!!”

However, if I left it like this, the snow hut would melt from the heat, so I applied State Preservation Magic so it wouldn’t melt.

“I’m going to build a wall around the snow hut so the wind doesn’t get in, so everyone, please take care of preparing the meal.”

” ” ” ” ” Okay! ” ” ” ” “

Leaving the meal preparation to everyone, I went outside the snow hut.

“Now then, normally just building a wall would be fine, but we still haven’t found the target monster.”

I heard the opponent is a cunning monster. In that case, they must have long noticed our presence and are probably keeping a close eye on us, waiting for the moment we let our guard down.

“Thinking about it that way, it’s better to make it as sturdy as possible.”

I applied every possible countermeasure I could currently think of to the snow hut and its surroundings.

“Yeah, this should do it.”

“Lexus-san, the meal is ready~.”

Just as a snow hut I was satisfied with was finally completed, Liliera-san called out to me with good timing.

“Coming!”

Bring it on anytime, monsters! We’re fully prepared over here!

And the next morning.

“They didn’t come after all, huh.”

I had cast an Alarm Magic just in case the monsters came while we were sleeping, but in the end, no monsters ever showed up.

“Are they planning for a long, drawn-out battle?”

Considering we came here for subjugation, there’s a high possibility they intend to do the same.

“But that’s fine too. We can just consider this our base of operations.”

With this, we can rest without returning to the village, and it can also be used for defensive battles.

Building it surely won’t turn out to be a waste.

“Ah, I’m sleepy.”

“Nn, walking in a snowy mountain is surprisingly exhausting. I slept super soundly.”

While I was preparing breakfast, everyone else also woke up.

“Good morning, everyone.”

“Mornin’, I’m going to bathe in some cold air to wake myself up.”

“Ah, me too.”

Everyone went outside the snow hut to wake themselves up. Then…

” ” ” ” ” What the heck is thiiiiis!? ” ” ” ” “

I suddenly heard voices expressing shock at something.

“What’s wrong, everyone!?”

Could it be a monster attack!?

Did they somehow slip past the warning magic!?

I hurriedly dashed outside, but there was no sign of anything resembling a monster around.

“Huh?”

Wondering what on earth everyone was surprised by, I turned my gaze and saw that, for some reason, everyone was facing the snow hut, frozen with shocked expressions.

“Everyone, what’s wrong?”

When I called out, everyone turned their faces toward me, moving like magic items that had run out of oil with a creeeaaak.

” ” ” ” ” That’s not a ‘what’s wrong’ mattterrr!! ” ” ” ” “

“Eh?”

“What is this!? Why is there a castle built in a place like this!?”

Ah, so everyone was surprised by the snow hut.

Come to think of it, I didn’t say anything about its design.

“This isn’t a castle, it’s a snow hut.”

” ” ” ” ” THIS is!? ” ” ” ” “

“Umm, there are castle walls built…”

“I made them a little higher to both block the wind and prepare for monster attacks. By layering Compression Magic and Defensive Magic, the walls are harder than iron.”

“Defensive Magic… is this even on the level of just being ‘sturdy’?”

“It’s built all the way up high, though.”

“In case monsters attack by crossing over the walls, I built upper floors to secure an evacuation shelter and to allow us to attack from above.”

“How did you build something like this all by yourself!?”

“By stacking the Snow Manipulation Magic, Compression Magic, and State Preservation Magic I used when making the snow hut, one person can easily build it, you know.”

“It’s huge!! So freakin’ huge!!”

Jairo-kun was super excited by the size of the snow hut.

“With this, we have a base, so tracking the monsters will be much easier.”

“Ah… yeah, I guess.”

For some reason, Liliera-san agreed while dejectedly dropping her shoulders.

What on earth is wrong with her?

To share the result, we didn’t find our target monster after that.

That’s because the target monster pack was actually among the monsters we had scattered while we were searching.

Hmm, apparently it was a monster whose actual strength was inversely proportional to its cunningness.

“Right this way is the specialty of the Langar Territory: the Castle of the Ice Spirit King.”

A male guide leading dozens of people gave an explanation while guiding them through the interior of a castle made of snow.

“This castle is a castle made of snow that suddenly appeared about 375 years ago. It’s said that a hunter who fled here after being attacked by monsters was the first to discover it. Furthermore, the castle is so solid it’s hard to believe it’s made of snow, and what’s more, the inside is as warm as the spring sunshine.”

“If it was made so long ago, why is it still here? Doesn’t snow melt when spring comes?”

When a small child threw out that question, the guide smiled as if saying, ‘I’m glad you asked.’

“That, you see, is because a State Preservation Magic was cast over this entire castle. When this magic is cast, things do not age or degrade, and snow doesn’t melt easily either.”

“Heeh, so that’s how it is.”

“Huh? But isn’t that weird? State Preservation Magic was invented 200 years ago, right?”

Replacing the satisfied child, a student tilted his head at the fact that the timeline of magical technology development didn’t match up.

“Yes, it isn’t just State Preservation Magic. Several magical technologies that did not exist at the time were used in this snow castle. The fact that the inside of the castle is warm is also thanks to magic. Because it is an OOPArt created using technologies that couldn’t possibly exist in that old era, people began to think that the one who created this castle was the legendary Ice Spirit King.”

When the reason for the castle’s naming was revealed by the guide’s explanation, the tourists who had come from afar raised voices of admiration.

The snow hut that Lexus had once casually built as a side thought during an adventure had, in the far future, become a tourist attraction…