Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 70

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

70. Yagor’s Harsh Snowfield (4)
“You’ve captured the White Tiger? Already?”
We arrived back at the Village roughly two hours after we’d departed.
It was just past noon.
The villagers tilted their heads at our unexpectedly swift return. They looked not only surprised but also skeptical.
It was hard to imagine that the White Tiger, which had tormented the Village for so long, would be captured this quickly. And we hadn’t even brought the corpse with us.
A low rumble echoed.
So I opened the Subspace and pulled out the White Tiger’s corpse to show them. The villagers gasped and stumbled backward in shock.
“Good heavens!”
“It’s… it’s the White Tiger!”
Of course, once they confirmed the body was real, they became overjoyed.
“The adventurers have slain the White Tiger!”
“Hurrah!”
Some villagers embraced one another and cheered, finally understanding just how much the White Tiger had tormented them.
The Village Elder approached and bowed deeply.
“Benefactors, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“It’s nothing.”
“You must be exhausted. Let me prepare a meal for you at once.”
“Ah, a meal isn’t necessary. We’ve already eaten outside.”
After the battle, we’d harvested the essence stones and eaten a quick meal. It wasn’t a proper fight, but everyone had exerted themselves, so we figured we should eat.
Especially since Min-jae had been complaining about being hungry, so we just went ahead and had lunch. I’d half-expected this situation anyway.
‘I’d rather complete everything first and then accept their hospitality.’
What we were focused on now was the newly discovered hidden quest. I was intensely curious about what it could be.
“By the way, could you tell us the location of that place where you felt the mysterious power?”
“Of course. Todd!”
At the Village Elder’s call, a young man from the Village rushed over. It was the same youth who’d been standing in front of the carriage that morning.
“This one knows the exact location. Todd, guide these adventurers to the place you discovered.”
“Yes, sir!”
A thought suddenly struck me. This was the youth who would have died to the tiger. So perhaps he was the key after all.
Of course, the Village also needed the massive provisions to be treated as benefactors.
‘If I’d simply followed the narrative flow of this Gate, I would never have obtained this.’
I realized I needed to think from multiple angles even within narrative-type Gates.
“Shall we depart right away?”
“It seems to be lunchtime. Are you sure you don’t need to eat?”
“We’ve already eaten! And please, speak comfortably!”
“Mm.”
Well, he doesn’t seem to be that much younger than me…
Perhaps because I was being treated as the Village’s benefactor, I could sense Todd’s wariness toward me.
“Then let’s go.”
Since he seemed to prefer it that way, I decided to drop the formality.
“Are you benefactors leaving again?”
“You’ve worked so hard catching the White Tiger—please rest a while before you go!”
The simple-hearted villagers held us back. Since we’d solved their troublesome problem and even resolved their food shortage, they were all extraordinarily kind to us.
However, what mattered to us was the Hidden Quest rather than their kindness, so I politely declined.
“I was curious about it when I first saw it, but what exactly is this?”
As we were leaving the village, Todd showed interest in the snowmobile.
Hmm. How should I explain this?
“It’s a magical device. One that lets us move quickly even across the Snow Field.”
“Ah, that’s right! You’re a mage! That’s amazing!”
Because of the Subspace, I’d somehow become a mage. In truth, Min-jae was the one closer to being a mage.
I glanced at Min-jae and saw him wearing a bitter smile. I didn’t bother explaining further.
“Let’s go! It’s quite far from here. I’ll guide you!”
* * *
Since we had one more person, Min-jae and Todd rode together on the snowmobile, while Mister flew over on Yong-yong.
I was a bit worried since he was taking the wind head-on.
“Aren’t you cold?”
The snowmobile was open too, but it had a windscreen to block the wind.
Concerned, I asked, and Mister shook his head.
“I’m fine! Yong-yong’s warmer than the mobile!”
So it really was a Red Dragon.
We were managing by placing one heat stone in each of our clothing pockets, but Mister was sitting on a massive heat stone.
“Hehe, it feels like I’m on an electric heating pad!”
Mister spoke proudly, and his words made me regret my choice slightly. I should have ridden Yong-yong.
“Should we switch?”
I asked, and Lee Shin-hee seemed to have the same thought—she stared at Yong-yong for a moment before opening her mouth quietly.
Quietly enough that Mister couldn’t hear, only I could.
“Um, could I perhaps….”
“Ride too?”
But Mister scoffed and refused. I looked at Lee Shin-hee and shrugged.
“Looks like we can’t.”
“Pardon?”
“You said ‘could I perhaps,’ didn’t you?”
“Did I?”
Lee Shin-hee tilted her head shamelessly. Hmm. She definitely heard herself say it.
Looking more carefully, beneath her expressionless face, I could see a hint of embarrassment.
‘She’s more shy than I thought.’
It seemed she’d unconsciously said “could I perhaps” and then realized her mistake too late.
Being magnanimous, I decided not to press further and let it slide graciously.
“Just slightly to the left from that stone pillar over there!”
Following Todd’s guidance as we moved, the distance was indeed considerable. It felt even farther than the Tiger’s Cave.
“How did you come all this way?”
“To find food, I need to gather decent medicinal herbs. We’ve already collected most of what’s available around the village, so I had no choice but to venture farther out.”
I supposed that surviving in such an extreme region must be quite grueling.
As we continued forward, a Forest Area appeared, but we couldn’t ride the snowmobile into it.
“We’ll have to walk from here.”
“Yes. That would be better. We need to climb the Mountain a bit.”
After storing the snowmobile in the Subspace and moving on, I asked Todd about things that puzzled me.
“By the way, why is this place called Yagor’s Harsh Snowfield?”
“Ah, you said you adventurers came from the south, didn’t you?”
I nodded, and Todd continued with a smile.
“It’s just a legend, really. Long ago in the Northern Region, there was a demon of bitter cold that tormented people. It dwelled at the very edge of the Northern Region, in an extremely frigid place, making it difficult even to organize an expedition to subjugate it.”
The story followed the conventional arc of a heroic epic.
“One day, a brave young man named Yagor from the Northern Region set out to punish that demon.”
“Did he defeat the demon?”
“Yes. Yagor pushed through the bitter cold toward where the demon dwelled.”
For a moment, I felt a twinge of concern. A snowfield where a demon died—wasn’t that the perfect setting for something to be sealed away?
What if we accidentally disturbed something and the demon was revived? That was my worry.
“Yagor fought for two full days in the bitter cold and brought down the demon. However, Yagor himself didn’t emerge unscathed.”
Todd spoke with a smile, as if recounting mere legend.
“Exhausted from the battle, Yagor collapsed in the harsh snowfield and never returned.”
Looking back, it wasn’t a conventional heroic epic at all—it was a tragic one. Or could it even be called conventional?
There were certainly many stories of this type.
“The people of the Northern Region, freed from the demon’s torment, praised Yagor. Though he could never return. That’s why this snowfield is called Yagor’s Harsh Snowfield.”
As I listened, my eyes met Chul-gi’s, and we both gave a slight nod.
I had a rough idea of what we were looking for.
‘Probably Yagor’s legacy or something related to the demon.’
Honestly, I hoped for the former. A hero’s legacy from one who fought a demon would surely be extraordinary.
The latter made me uneasy. Hadn’t I already encountered a demon god before?
Chul-gi’s spear had specs that made it unusable regardless of grade before it was purified.
Something related to a demon could have similar properties. Or perhaps we’d have to fight a sealed demon.
‘I should prepare for combat too.’
Unlike us, Todd’s concerns lay elsewhere.
“But what if we get there and find nothing?”
I’d noticed he was becoming increasingly cautious and lowering his head as we approached our destination—this must have been why.
“I did sense some mysterious power, but I haven’t actually gone inside. I only discovered it a few days ago and haven’t come back with the villagers.”
“It’s fine.”
It fell to Chul-gi to reassure him.
“We’re adventurers, after all. We’ve come up empty-handed hundreds of times. We don’t go only when something’s guaranteed to be there—we go because something interesting exists.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Coming to a snowfield like this is an adventure in itself, so don’t worry too much.”
Perhaps because he’s a father with a child, he may often lack sense, but occasionally he displays such mature moments.
His help toward me, a Gate orphan, must have stemmed from that mature side of him.
Whether Mister’s words provided comfort or not, Todd stopped worrying and began searching for the location.
He moved forward without hesitation, as if he’d visited this place many times before.
“Ah, it’s over there!”
And the place Todd pointed to was a small cave located beneath a cliff. It appeared ordinary at first glance.
However, it was clear that Todd hadn’t been mistaken about sensing a mysterious power.
“The mana concentration is quite high here.”
Min-jae, being a mage, reacted first.
“Right. There’s definitely something here.”
Indeed, I could feel a slightly higher concentration of mana emanating from the cave compared to the surrounding area. It wasn’t an enormous difference, but it was noticeable.
It was hardly unreasonable for an ordinary young man like Todd to describe it as sensing a mysterious power.
“Is there something there?”
Perhaps because the probability of our search bearing fruit had increased, Todd brightened at our words.
“We won’t know until we go in, but there’s definitely something.”
Mister spoke in a grave tone. It was because of what we’d communicated through our eyes earlier—there might be remnants of a demon.
At that gravity, Todd shrank back slightly.
“Should I go in first and take a look?”
It was the safest choice in a situation where we didn’t know what might be waiting. I had Leap and Subspace, after all.
There was no need to recklessly lead the group into a narrow space and risk encountering a sealed demon, which could cause problems.
“Todd could be in danger too.”
And what concerned me somewhat was Todd. After all, wasn’t it said that the sealed demon had been tormenting the people of the Northern Region?
I couldn’t help but imagine the worst—the demon possessing Todd, a local, and causing trouble.
“That would be better. Though I am curious.”
Mister nodded in agreement. We were in a situation where we’d discovered a hidden area that was difficult to find.
There might be something even more challenging ahead.
“I’d like to go too, but… I’ll defer to your judgment, hyung.”
“I’m fine. I’ll wait here.”
With the group’s consent, I entered the cave alone. Of course, I consulted briefly with Chun-bae first.
‘What if a demon appears? I won’t have my body taken over, will I?’
-Negative. It would be difficult for such a thing to happen to Han Hye, unless that young man is someone from inside the Gate.
That was at least reassuring.
-Of course, there is some possibility, but I can handle a demon’s schemes to some extent using the holy power I possess.
‘You can do that too?’
-Affirmative. I am fundamentally a life form combining holy power and magic. If holy power is abundant, I can use auxiliary magic as well. Though the cost-effectiveness is extremely poor.
Interesting. So Chun-bae had yet another ability I didn’t know about. The fact that he could protect me from such demonic schemes was another weapon in my arsenal.
The more I experienced, the more my gratitude toward the Previous-Previous Princess grew.
‘You’re reliable as always, Chun-bae.’
-Affirmative. I excel.
‘…?’
-…?
Chun-bae wasn’t originally like this—was he simply mirroring those around him? He seemed to be growing more and more like Mister.
‘You were imitating Mister, weren’t you?’
-I was imitating Han Hye, actually.
‘Now you’re getting good at lying too.’
-Negative. I am incapable of lying.
‘That’s a lie in itself.’
Imitating me? No, he was clearly imitating Mister.
-Didn’t you enjoy this kind of conversation?
‘I don’t dislike it.’
It’s just slightly disconcerting, that’s all.
-I shall do so frequently.
Or perhaps not? If Chun-bae were to talk back to me the way he does to Mister, I’d feel oddly unsettled. Maybe I’m being hypocritical?
Lost in such thoughts, I continued walking when a cavity suddenly came into view. And I couldn’t help but start.
“G-good grief.”
Inside the dark hollow lay a skeleton, its back resting against the stone wall.
What’s more, the bones were stained pitch black.
‘A demon?’
I gripped the Flowing Style Blade and advanced cautiously toward the skeleton, step by step.
I advanced toward the skull little by little, vigilant with my sword drawn.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————