"Alright, let's go."
After completing the , Snow stood up about five minutes after taking a short break.
Despite looking so exhausted just moments ago, her body now seemed to be brimming with vitality.
However, while she appeared to have regained her energy, I couldn't shake the feeling that the situation hadn't improved much compared to earlier. What had changed, I wondered?
"Can we really win?"
In response to my doubt, Snow smirked proudly.
"You'll see."
Saying that, she casually stepped into the area where the previously overwhelming boss, the Golem, had been— a Golem that had only been capable of retreating up until now.
Before I could even say "watch out," the Golem began to move, but before it could do anything, the entire room was frozen solid.
"Oh, I may have overdone it a bit. I had a feeling, but your magical power is just insane," she said, her voice slightly regretful.
— A bit? This catastrophic result is what she calls a minor mistake?
The air in the room felt unbelievably cold, but before I could feel the chill properly, I felt something else.
— It was beautiful.
That's the only word that came to mind.
"Sleep."
Snow raised her right hand, and in an instant, a giant ice pillar appeared above her. Its tip was so sharp that it could easily pierce even the largest of beasts.
Without a sound, the pillar shot through the frozen Golem, completely shattering it in a matter of seconds.
As diamond dust sparkled in the air, Snow, her face calm but with the slightest hint of a smirk, looked back at me and tossed her twin tails casually.
"Well, that's about it."
I couldn't help but laugh a little. I was starting to figure out how to handle Snow. Essentially, she wanted praise.
"You're amazing, Snow."
"Heh, of course. But I'm still not using my full strength," she said, with a playful wink.
As I finally started to feel the cold, I wrapped my arms around myself. Snow snapped her fingers.
In an instant, the cold vanished.
It was like magic.
— No, it really was magic.
Magic from a spirit.
I hadn't expected such a huge difference in her power before and after the .
And yet, she was saying this wasn't even her full strength.
"What would happen if you went all out? Could you fix global warming or something?" I joked.
Snow winked at me mischievously.
"Oh, how rude. It wouldn't be as simple as that. In a week, I could even start an ice age."
"...That's a joke, right?"
"Who knows?"
She chuckled softly. It was the cutest smile I had seen so far, but the things she was saying were terrifying.
...For now, I made a mental note to never piss Snow off.
2.
"It's kind of cramped."
"Sorry about that. It's a one-room apartment, so it's not a big deal for me."
After giving Snow my hoodie to wear— to hide her incredibly conspicuous presence— we had returned to my place. The moment we stepped inside, Snow immediately complained about the size of my room.
It was a one-room apartment.
The rent was 70,000 yen.
With just a bed and a desk, there was barely enough space to even stretch my arms.
As I nervously watched her sit down on my bed, Snow spoke up again.
"Are you a university student?"
"Yeah... but I'm surprised you know so much about this world, especially for a spirit."
She had even known about certain aspects of popular manga.
She casually dropped the term "university student," which threw me off for a moment.
"Spirits wander the world until we're summoned by a master. We're invisible to the human eye, though," she explained.
"Huh, so you're like a ghost?"
"Something like that."
I immediately regretted saying that, but it seemed like the concept was somewhat similar.
"After the , I can pull information directly from your memories without needing to contact you directly. So it's not hard for me to blend into society."
"So it's different from what happened when we made the contract earlier?"
"That was just a momentary scan of the situation. The kind of shared knowledge we're talking about here is a whole different level. It's really just about the amount of information, but it's a big difference."
I suddenly felt a little uneasy. Would she be able to see all my secrets too?
Snow seemed to pick up on my unease and casually added, "I won't pry into your personal hobbies or anything. There's no need for me to know that."
"Well, that's a relief... but it still feels like this is all very convenient for me."
"Well, it's only fair. If I didn't make things easier for you, I'd end up being a burden, wouldn't I? It's only natural for things to work in your favor."
...That made sense. When she put it like that, it did seem logical.
Still, I wasn't sure how Snow would manage to fit into modern Japan.
Her beauty was just too otherworldly.
The fact that this stunningly beautiful girl was now in my tiny apartment made me feel like I might be losing my mind.
Was this some kind of setup? Was it really happening?
"Ah."
Just as my thoughts were starting to wander into dangerous territory, I suddenly remembered something.
"I kind of got distracted, but I should probably report to the ."
The Dungeon Management Bureau was a private company in Japan.
They were in charge of managing all the dungeons currently in Japan.
The founder was said to be the first person to successfully clear a dungeon, but very little was known about them.
There was only information about that first conqueror.
Technically, there was no obligation to report a newly discovered dungeon, but it was an unspoken rule to inform the Bureau about anything related to dungeons.
In reality, almost all dungeons in Japan were managed by this Bureau.
"...But how should I go about this?"
As I muttered that, Snow tilted her head, her twin tails swishing.
I was pretty sure that if I pulled one of those tails, I'd probably end up frozen.
"What's up?"
"The Dungeon Management Bureau is, for the most part, a legitimate company."
"And?"
"It closes its office at 6 p.m."
"Ahh..."
There was probably a 24-hour phone line I could call, but since I had a few things to organize and Snow had things she wanted to discuss as well, we decided to take care of everything the next day.