I Have Become The Snow Maiden I Created

Translator: Marctempest

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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Chapter 7: To the Continent

-That guy…

-It’s smaller! It’s similar to Quelli!

The space inside the castle was indeed large and spacious, though not to the extent that it could accommodate a dragon clan. But it was big enough that adding one more person wouldn’t cause any issues.

The spirits were whispering as they watched Mishra and me walking down the hallway.

They immediately recognized that Mishra, now in her human form, was the very intruder they had sensed before.

The spirits could see through mana, and their eyes reacted accordingly.

Meanwhile, I was walking forward with a calm demeanor… on the outside.

My attention was entirely focused on the visitor behind me. She seemed fascinated, as she kept looking around at the Frikes with her blue eyes.

“There are still spirits like this…”

From the bits of conversation I could hear, she seemed to be taken aback by the number of them.

Well, I had put some effort into creating them.

No one had asked me to, but I had taken the time to collect them, almost like gathering treasures.

Seeing someone surprised by my creations made me feel a little proud.

‘…She’s not human, though.’

If I thought about it, Mishra was the first being I had met since coming here.

She wasn’t significant in the original story, but in terms of the world’s hierarchy, she was definitely a powerful being who couldn’t be overlooked.

It was a meaningful connection, in a way.

There was no harm in improving our relationship.

As I was contemplating what to do, I saw a Frike growling at Mishra.

-Grr…

It wasn’t just one of them; there were quite a few Frikes in their wolf forms.

The negative image of the Dragon King lingered, and spirits, being individualistic by nature, were naturally wary of anyone other than their creator.

However, this one’s posture was more aggressive than the others.

It probably had a stronger disposition than most.

Mishra’s steps halted for a moment, and I too stopped moving.

A bad omen sent a chill down my spine.

It wasn’t good if the Frikes’ wariness was provoked.

This was a situation where their cheerful nature was desperately needed.

They couldn’t act like this after behaving well until now.

Reluctantly, I walked up to the Frike, who was grinding its teeth, and gently placed my hand on the silver wolf’s head, offering a soft warning.

“Quiet, it’s a guest.”

“…”

After passing the subdued Frike, we arrived at a room I called the “reception room.”

I had named it that when I was organizing the castle’s structure and dividing the rooms, but honestly, I never expected I’d actually use it.

“This is…”

It was just a reception room by name, but its function could change at any moment.

For example, if I spread food across the table, it would instantly transform into a makeshift dining room.

Any little irritation I had would easily dissolve once I ate something delicious, so it could be a pretty good idea.

Of course, I couldn’t cook.

However, the game had a wide variety of items, and food-related items were part of the collection.

Once prepared for consumption, these items had expiration dates, but before that, they were consumables that could be stored with ease.

In the game, they were used for restoring stamina, but now, in reality, they could be tasted directly.

Mishra, who had been staring at the desserts I prepared, finally asked a question.

“…What are these? Did you make them…?”

Her tone was much gentler than before. Or maybe it was just because she appeared human now.

After all… the Dragon King’s form was quite intimidating.

I didn’t consider her question too much, but after hearing it, I realized it was a reasonable one.

Come to think of it, these were items from a thousand years in the future.

They might not have even been created yet in this timeline.

Still, I didn’t intend to boast about things I just brought from the storage. I decided to answer honestly.

“No, I brought them.”

“You brought them…?”

I was secretly pleased that my words had come out so politely.

Mishra tilted her head and then smiled slightly.

“Did food fall from the sky or something? There’s no need to put it like that…”

It seemed she had misinterpreted things a bit.

Seeing her expression brighten, I felt a little embarrassed, but there was no need to correct her.

After all, this was the best atmosphere we had had so far.

To ease the mood, I had prepared tea and cake.

It was a perfect combination for a dessert.

Mishra awkwardly picked up a fork and took a bite of the cake.

“Wow…!”

Her eyes widened, and she put her hand to her mouth.

Seeing her startled expression, I realized the taste must have suited her.

I relaxed, having been a bit tense just moments before.

It seemed it was a good choice after all.

Indeed, I owed a lot to these items.

The Snow Maiden I had created didn’t need to eat according to her setting, but now that I had lived as a human, it wasn’t possible to go without food altogether.

The White Silver Dragon King, like the Snow Maiden, didn’t technically need to eat, so it was almost unnecessary.

She could operate at peak efficiency with only a small intake.

Nonetheless, beings like her, who didn’t have digestive organs like spirits, still enjoyed the occasional meal.

And sweets were always a good choice.

In this era, where such treats were rare, it made sense.

Mishra, who was eagerly indulging in the tea and cake while glancing at me, was proof of that.

“…I’ve never had this kind of dish before. Is it a rare food…?”

After she finished everything, she finally asked.

I thought for a moment.

If I answered that it was rare, I might gain more favor. But I quickly shook my head.

“Not at all. It’s nothing special.”

That was the truth.

Since high-grade items weren’t linked yet, the ones in the storage were, to put it bluntly, cheap.

I didn’t know what other users thought, but that was certainly how I felt.

Mishra looked at me with interest after my answer.

She seemed like she had come to some sort of understanding, but I wondered what.

It was intriguing, but more importantly, I had a question to ask.

“Why did you come here?”

It had been a month since I had seen her. I needed to know the reason for her sudden appearance.

“Oh, that… I came to investigate a ruin! I stopped by here after remembering it.”

Mishra, who had briefly stiffened, suddenly spoke as if she had just remembered.

Upon further questioning, she explained that she had been at the lair for the past month, perhaps even sleeping.

Now, with the period approaching, she had come out to explore the ruins.

As a Dragon King, she had regular tasks within her domain. Investigation was probably one of them.

“A ruin… Obelisk?”

The word she mentioned sounded familiar.

There were indeed structures in the vast Snowfield that could be called ruins.

However, it was unlikely that the Dragon King would regularly check out tourist-like spots.

The only relevant object that came to mind from my perspective was the Obelisk, the relic of the gods.

“Do you know about it? …Well, I guess that’s obvious…”

While watching Mishra mutter under her breath, my thoughts accelerated.

I was glad to encounter a keyword that evoked old nostalgia.

The Obelisk, also known as the Pillar of the World, was a relic built by the primordial death gods to sustain the world.

It was said to be the greatest object on the planet.

The Obelisk, imbued with immense divine power, existed in four places—north, east, south, and west of the continent.

Except for the north, they were located in remote, hard-to-reach places.

Especially the ruins in the east and west, which were areas that could rival magical domains.

The eastern magical domain, of course, was the Far Eastern Snowfield, and one of the Obelisks must have been hidden somewhere near my residence.

I hadn’t thought about it, as it didn’t concern me.

Anyway, the Obelisk was a crucial keyword in this world, a dangerous structure containing power that even the Dragon King could not handle lightly.

Despite that, its importance in the game was relatively low, which didn’t take away from the fact that a Dragon King could manage it.

“Why did you think of me while investigating the Obelisk?”

There was just one thing I didn’t understand, so I asked back.

I hadn’t been there at all, as I completely forgotten about it.

It seemed Mishra had used the investigation as an excuse to visit because she was bored of staying cooped up in her lair.

“……”

When I looked at Mishra, hiding my discontent, she just stared back at me with a carefree gaze.

As expected, nothing eased resentment like a sweet dessert.

*

When it was time to leave, Mishra’s face no longer showed any hostility.

If anything, she seemed slightly pleased.

“It might just be my imagination.”

It would be a stretch to say we had grown close, but at least our relationship had progressed to acquaintances.

With that hope in mind, I grabbed a neat tote bag.

A journey to the mainland.

I packed the bag with carefully selected, useful items.

Of course, even the bag itself was an item.

With that, I was fully prepared.

All that remained was to set out with Yeti, but before that—

“Take care of the house.”

I had to give some parting words to the troublemakers.

-Uuuuh… Quelli…

-Take me with you! I want to go too!

-Are you coming back?

All the Frike had gathered at the entrance.

Though I had roughly explained things, it was hard for these little ones to fully understand.

It was frustrating, but I had come to understand them.

I looked around at their familiar faces.

Some were on the verge of tears, others sulking, and a few were whining incessantly.

There wasn’t a single positive reaction.

With the mood like that, my thoughts naturally drifted in an unusual direction.

Had I ever been this important to someone?

Though the me on Earth was still the “real” me, this place, where I had spent countless nights, had already become my second home.

But I thought a home was a place to return to, not a place to live in forever.

Just as my first home had disappeared.

And separation from home was something one needed to experience.

“Don’t ask something so obvious.”

Neither to me nor to the kids needs to worry.

*

Although I set out confidently, I soon encountered a problem.

“…Is this the right way?”

I was a veteran of the Four Seasons War, and my knowledge of the continent’s geography was second to none.

However, this was a time before the saying “a decade changes everything” had been repeated a hundred times.

To make matters worse, I was in the middle of a snowfield, which was even harder to navigate than a forest.

In short, I was lost.

No, it felt like I was lost.

Honestly, I just couldn’t be sure.

“The direction should be correct…”

When Mishra had flown earlier, I was able to pinpoint the direction of the ruins.

Since the location of the Obelisk had been fixed since ancient times, I had successfully inferred the direction of the Ice Mountain Range.

If I kept heading this way, I should eventually reach it.

Logic assured me of that, but my emotions wavered.

If it wasn’t, I would waste precious time—or worse, become hopelessly lost.

“…This should be right, shouldn’t it?”

A small doubt crept in, as if to hold me back.

Eventually, I decided to pause for a moment to catch my breath.

-Ugh…

The Yeti let out a low moan, as if comforting me.

Some might find it frightening, but to me, it was endearing.

Having it by my side made me feel much more at ease.

“So, the God’s Ruins…”

Mishra’s words suddenly resurfaced in my mind.

Though I had almost forgotten them, once they emerged, they kept replaying.

And not trivial details, but very important ones.

Should I check it out later?

The thought crossed my mind briefly before I shook my head.

Even though the game hadn’t emphasized its terrors, the God’s Ruins were a truly horrifying place in the lore.

They said that the faint divine energy seeping from the abandoned ruins could transform insects and bugs into “lesser gods” known as named monsters.

Moreover, one of the primary targets of that “calamity” was the Obelisk.

I didn’t know much about what the Black Calamity had done a thousand years ago, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

The Snow Maiden wasn’t equipped to handle that monster.

“Focus on the mainland, the mainland…”

There was no need to worry about anything else.

I could satisfy my curiosity by visiting relatively safe locations.

After all, my goal wasn’t to deal with some mastermind or anything.

Honestly, I didn’t even have a clear goal.

Perhaps I could find that goal on the mainland.

With that resolution, I got back up and resumed moving.

To go faster, I decided to use one of the few spells available to me.

Whoosh—

One of the Snow Maiden’s unique spells, Transformation Magic.

This skill allowed me to turn into mist or snow, making it perfect for escaping or traveling.

It consumed a lot of mana, but the Snow Maiden’s traits minimized the cost while in snowy terrains.

As I transformed into snow and moved forward, the Yeti, who had been following leisurely, began running at full speed.

…

How much time passed like that?

During the nights that followed, I didn’t sleep.

Not because I was in a rush, but simply because the Snow Maiden, as a non-living being, didn’t require food or rest.

Of course, stamina wasn’t infinite, so I still needed breaks.

Pausing here and there, riding on the Yeti’s shoulder at times, I enjoyed the subtly changing scenery of the snowfield.

After some time, I noticed different terrain and creatures.

That’s when I realized—

I had reached the Ice Mountain Range.