Got a Gallery in the Wild

I was stunned by the shocking news for only a moment before immediately commenting.

The comment section was already a complete mess, but I couldn’t contain my curiosity.

└WildGrills: What the hell is that? Are they going to send survivors in because of me?

└The protagonist has arrived.

└Grills. You won’t be alone anymore.

└They’re saying the Holy Kingdom is going to send a tracking squad after you lmaooo.

└The Holy Kingdom accomplishes what nobody else could!

└WildGrills: I can take this as stupidity, right? Damn. You’re giving me unnecessary hope.

└Normally you should be scared, but Grills is excited lmao.

└Well, it’s the Forest of Four Seasons, so it makes sense hahaha.

└But who the hell are they going to send?

└They’re saying they’ll send people who oppose the current Pope’s system.

└Basically they’re using this to eliminate political enemies hahaha.

└And do they even have the ability to find the Head Moderator?

└They’ll never be able to hahaha. Unless the moderator reveals the location in real time, it’s impossible.

└Didn’t they say a Head Moderator once revealed the location of someone who announced the assassination of an emperor?

└Yeah, but he only showed the person’s real-time location. He didn’t reveal their personal address.

└And that moderator ended up losing his eyes for stalking lmaooo.

└So they can send messages to the moderators, huh?

└Yeah. Those bastards will definitely try sending messages.

So they were only pretending.

I more or less understood how it worked.

Normally I’d think this kind of thing only happened on Earth, but since the gallery existed here, the situation ended up developing in a similar way.

I guess this was what they called a media war.

After all, the gallery was practically the only place where public opinion could be seen.

‘They keep stepping on every possible landmine.’

As expected, public opinion toward the Holy Kingdom was at the worst level imaginable.

There were a few people trying to defend them, but they were a minority among minorities.

All I had to do was quietly watch the show.

Even if the Holy Kingdom wanted to declare the gallery something evil, well.

‘Didn’t they say an emperor from the Central Continent ended up getting beheaded for trying to stop people from using the gallery?’

It was a pretty famous incident.

The assassination of the Central Continent’s emperor.

I knew about it too because it occasionally came up as a topic of conversation.

They said the emperor had tried to block access to the gallery and ended up being assassinated.

The imperial family claimed he died from illness, while people on the Central Continent suspected an internal power struggle.

Although, considering the attitude of Central Continent users in the gallery, almost nobody there believed that version.

‘I’m sure they’ll know how to handle it.’

I didn’t care if Eldorado kept making mistakes or even if they ended up entering the Forest of Four Seasons.

What mattered was how the Head Moderator, HeroDontThrowAway, would react.

After all, he could even display my location in real time and apply penalties to me.

‘Although he told me not to worry, considering how the Holy Kingdom is acting…’

Besides, the Head Moderator was probably originally from the Holy Kingdom.

His deep devotion to the goddess Aris hinted at his origins.

But seeing the miserable state of his country, perhaps he had already lost all patriotism.

After all, he worshipped the gods, not the Kingdom of Eldorado.

‘I guess all that’s left is to wait and see.’

It seems the small ball I threw ended up becoming a gigantic meteorite.

It would take time to clean up this mess.

Though if the Holy Kingdom kept stepping on landmines, the flames would never die out.

Until then, I would simply continue minding my own business.

Title) WildGrills

(A fairly well-built oven)

I made an oven using bricks and mud. How did it turn out?

└HeavenlyDemon: It looks like a pretty decent oven. Are you planning to make bread or something?

└WildGrills: More than bread, it’ll be for cooking fish. I think it’ll save me a lot of time.

└HeavenlyDemon: I wonder what fish cooked in an oven tastes like.

└WildGrills: Would you like me to give you some later?

└HeavenlyDemon: Even just a piece.

└Swordmaster: Weren’t you the one talking about extracting the liver from even a flea? Haha.

└HeavenlyDemon: I simply realized this is not a flea’s liver.

└Swordmaster: What a pathetic excuse.

└HeavenlyDemon: I can do something even more pathetic, you know?

└Swordmaster: Ah. Ma’am;;

└He got crushed instantly lmao.

└Swordmaster, if you’re angry, you know what to do.

└You just have to turn blue ^^.

└Swordmaster: I’m not going to die just to become a secondary moderator;;

└StarlightPrincess: Did you build it yourself? It turned out quite impressive.

└WildGrills: Thank you haha.

└StarlightPrincess: Now that you have an oven, you’ll be able to make a greater variety of meals. Do you have anything in mind?

└WildGrills: I only have fish…

└StarlightPrincess: I can give you flour if you want. Would you like to try making bread?

└WildGrills: It’s fine. No need to go that far.

Bread was a luxury.

Unless I personally cultivated wheat, it was a ridiculous idea.

Though at least I could reheat smoked food.

That was practically what it would be useful for.

As I said before, the main reason for building the oven was to save time.

‘Although this will still be complicated until the dwarf gives me the iron plate.’

He said he’d deliver it together with the barricades at noon.

Until then, I could continue training.

This morning’s training would be sword practice.

Ding!

Just as I was about to close the gallery, a notification appeared.

Notifications only appeared when someone commented on one of my posts or sent me a message.

If it was a comment, I normally just checked who had left it.

But this time it was a private message.

Thinking it might be from the Head Moderator, I opened it immediately.

[NecromancyIsLove: Are you the one who uploaded Rice Craone’s final records?]

It was a nickname I had never seen before.

After reading the message, I raised an eyebrow.

Come to think of it, if I had privileges similar to those of the Head Moderator, then it wasn’t strange for others to be able to send me messages as well.

‘Although that nickname is pretty weird…’

Right now, the only group that might send me something like this was the Holy Kingdom.

Wondering what kind of nonsense they were about to say, I replied politely.

[WildGrills: If you’re asking about the books related to the Immortal King, yes, I was the one who uploaded them.]

[NecromancyIsLove: Then you’re also the one who gave the books to Kadir.]

Kadir?

The Mage King?

I had vaguely heard about the Mage King Kadir in the gallery.

A being who not only knew all the magic in the world, but had also understood the very laws of reality.

They said he had defeated the Immortal King together with the previous Hero and had even slain a crazed dragon.

There were also rumors that he was eccentric, but beyond that, he was simply someone extremely famous.

‘The person I gave the books to was AllFather. No, wait.’

How the hell did he know I had handed over the books?

There were too many suspicious things that didn’t add up.

Maybe he was simply probing me.

There was no need to answer hastily.

[WildGrills: I don’t understand what you’re talking about.]

[NecromancyIsLove: There’s no need to pretend ignorance. I’ve already seen the books in Kadir’s possession.]

[WildGrills: Are you saying AllFather is Kadir?]

[NecromancyIsLove: Correct.]

[WildGrills: Then who the hell are you?]

[NecromancyIsLove: The Immortal King, no.]

NecromancyIsLove seemed to hesitate for a moment before revealing his identity.

[NecromancyIsLove: I am Kazan Craone III, the last king of the Kingdom of Valkhan.]

[WildGrills: I heard the Immortal King was dead.]

[NecromancyIsLove: My body disappeared, but my soul remains. I am currently sealed inside Kadir’s refrigerator.]

[WildGrills: That’s roleplay, right? Where the hell did you get tha— no, wait. You’re saying nothing but nonsense. They sealed the mighty Immortal King inside a refrigerator? You might as well say they’re fermenting you like kimchi.]

It seemed I had accidentally guessed correctly about the books being given to AllFather.

But that user was so committed to his character that he continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

[NecromancyIsLove: Whether you believe it or not is up to you. That’s not what’s important to me.]

[WildGrills: Then what do you want?]

[NecromancyIsLove: I simply wanted to thank you. Even if it wasn’t your intention, you helped clear our kingdom’s name.]

It was strange to feel genuine sincerity in a private message.

And honestly, I didn’t feel it.

I just thought he had chosen an extremely bizarre character.

After all, the world was full of weird people.

Besides, the Immortal King was supposed to be an undead.

And I seriously doubted an undead could use the gallery.

Didn’t they say undead didn’t even have egos?

Nothing he said made sense.

‘Even if AllFather really is Kadir, it doesn’t matter.’

To me, they were still just people from a distant country.

Even if I told someone this, nobody would believe me.

It would be easier to believe that HeavenlyDemon was actually the Heavenly Demon of the Central Continent.

I figured it was best to just play along.

[WildGrills: I uploaded those books to obtain useful information too.]

[NecromancyIsLove: I see. Then, is there anything you desire?]

Come here and help me out a little.

[NecromancyIsLove: Unfortunately, I lost my body, so that would be difficult.]

Just as expected. I hadn’t had any hopes to begin with.

I snorted and continued the conversation.

[WildGrills: Then at least tell me something that can help me. I’m curious how the person who wrote those books survived.]

[NecromancyIsLove: First, I’ll tell you how my brother died.]

[WildGrills: You’ve already deciphered it?]

[NecromancyIsLove: This king never forgot the kingdom of those happy days, even if it was poor. Nor could I forget its language.]

[WildGrills: Ah. Yes. I see. What a peculiar concept.]

Even so, it was good to know he knew the cause of the book owner’s death.

Of course, he had absolutely no credibility, so I planned to ask AllFather separately afterward.

[NecromancyIsLove: The cause of my brother Rice Craone’s death was an infection.]

An infection?

[NecromancyIsLove: The wound slowly began to rot, and unable to endure the pain, he eventually took his own life.]

[NecromancyIsLove: That was what he wrote in his final lines.]

[WildGrills: Who injured him?]

[NecromancyIsLove: It seems he was attacked by a troop of gorilla-like apes.]

Gorillas…? Could he mean those things over there?

I remembered those monkey-like sounds I had heard while traveling upstream.

He had probably encountered those creatures.

‘This is important information.’

I didn’t know how far that person had explored, but it definitely seemed better to avoid that area.

After all, he was talking about several creatures, not just one.

[WildGrills: Thanks for the information. It helped a lot.]

[NecromancyIsLove: If you have more questions, go ahead.]

[NecromancyIsLove: This king will retire for now.]

[WildGrills: And what are you planning to do?]

[NecromancyIsLove: I plan to observe the world. After so much time, it feels strange.]

He was simply dressing up the fact that he was going to spend the day browsing the gallery.

His character radiated a level of insanity comparable to HeavenlyDemon’s.

I ended the conversation there and immediately sent a message to a certain user.

[WildGrills: Mr. AllFather.]

[WildGrills: May I ask you a question?]

[AllFather: Go ahead.]

[WildGrills: A user just told me that you are Kadir the Mage King.]

[AllFather: Yes. That’s correct.]

Huh?

Now I was the confused one.

I never expected him to admit it so easily.

[AllFather: Do you believe me?]

[WildGrills: Mmm… No?]

That also made sense.

‘I guess it’s better to think of him as just a weird old man.’

There was no need to make things more complicated.

***

The current Heroine and Head Moderator of the gallery, Asella, was in a difficult situation.

It wasn’t because a tracking squad was on her heels, nor because she had run out of money.

Everything was still related to that gigantic bait that had spilled over from the gallery into the real world.

‘Not… a single message has arrived.’

What Asella was waiting for was a message from the Holy Kingdom of Eldorado.

To send private messages, it was mandatory to have a fixed nickname.

In other words, sending a message to Asella was practically equivalent to admitting that one actively used the gallery.

Fortunately, she hadn’t received anything so far, but that was also a problem.

‘Could it be that the Holy Kingdom… has no intention of resolving this?’

If messages arrived, it would be a problem.

And if they didn’t arrive, it would also be a problem.

The former would mean they had a guilty conscience.

The latter would imply they had no intention of solving anything.

No matter which answer it was, Asella couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

‘If I received a message…’

Perhaps she could reveal that she was the Heroine and gain an opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding.

But the moment she thought that, she quickly shook her head.

As had been said before, Asella could be naive in some respects, but she wasn’t stupid.

Even if she managed to resolve the misunderstanding, Eldorado would surely try to use her as the Head Moderator.

And then they would pressure whoever had leaked the information.

In other words, Grills.

In the worst-case scenario, they might even demand his permanent suspension.

For someone whose survival rate depended heavily on the existence of the gallery, that would be devastating.

‘This… isn’t right.’

The gallery was a space accessible to everyone.

Not even a country should have the right to regulate it arbitrarily.

At least, that was what she believed.

But the actions of the Holy Kingdom were completely removed from Asella’s convictions.

A country blessed by the gods using those blessings to commit atrocities.

‘I would rather…’

Asella closed the gallery.

Her mood was becoming more depressing by the moment.

‘I would rather they do nothing.’

That way, at least, she would be a little less disappointed.