Got a Gallery in the Wild

What is the thing that irritates a farmer the most?

Living creatures that interfere with agriculture.

Droughts, floods, typhoons, and other natural disasters were, in the end, things people could only accept as the will of the gods and mourn together.

But creatures that ruined crops were different. You never knew when they would appear, yet you could prepare for them, which was why farmers regarded them as a genuine curse.

Moreover, this was a fantasy world.

A land where all kinds of monsters appeared.

It wasn’t unusual for monsters that lived in groups, such as goblins, orcs, or gnolls, to raid farmland.

They were also famous for their intelligence, which had earned them the absolute hatred of farmers.

Title) Look What My Uncle Hunted Yesterday

(Photo of a farmer smiling while holding the head of a hobgoblin.)

A hobgoblin, no less!

He was supposed to hire adventurers, but he said he’d had enough and killed it himself.

Are hobgoblins really that easy to kill? He says he killed it with a sickle.

ㄴNo way. Normally, a hobgoblin has to be defeated by a knight.;;

ㄴWhat was your uncle’s previous profession?

ㄴI heard he was training to become a knight, but got fed up and quit. After that, he became a farmer.

ㄴAh, then that makes sense.

ㄴHow does that make sense? Hahaha. That’s still insane.

ㄴSince ancient times, the people who led rebellions weren’t knights—they were farmers.

ㄴDon’t underestimate farmers. Those people have completely absurd stamina.;;

Title) At Least You Can Wipe Out Goblins

But those damned locusts and sparrows have no solution. All you can do is watch them destroy everything.

ㄴWell, locusts are one thing, but can’t you just put up a scarecrow for sparrows?

ㄴThe real disasters are locusts. They’re even mentioned as a plague in the Scriptures.

ㄴThere’s a reason the Demon God who fought Goddess Aris is so closely associated with locusts. Hahaha.

ㄴThe problem is that it’s impossible to exterminate them completely…

Leaving aside the devastating locust swarms, sparrows could at least be kept under control.

The most common method was putting up scarecrows. Of course, even those didn’t stop them completely.

But did that mean it was impossible to eradicate them?

Not necessarily.

If you hunted them indiscriminately, it was possible.

In fact, someone actually did.

The very same person who uttered the phrase that would go down in history.

That bird is a harmful bird.

‘And the result was that tens of millions starved to death.’

Ecosystems were frightening precisely because no one knew how they would change once they were disturbed.

That was why, no matter how careful you were, it was never enough.

Even so.

Seeing the wheat reduced to nothing but bare stalks left me devastated.

I couldn’t help but think.

‘What if I tried that here in the Forest of the Four Seasons as well…?’

It had been completely stripped.

Nothing remained except the stalks.

Crunch. Crunch.

Actually, let me correct myself.

Largo was eating the stalks too.

The wheat kernels were already gone, and since I wasn’t planning to use the stalks for anything, I decided to let her.

‘Now I understand why they call them harmful birds.’

Watching them steal every last grain right in front of my eyes was heartbreaking.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

I didn’t even know where that many sparrows had come from.

Until now, I’d only heard their usual chirping, but suddenly they’d appeared in a massive flock.

‘No wonder I hardly ever saw any insects.’

Except for that one time there was an infestation, I’d always thought it was strange how few insects there were around here.

After seeing those birds, I finally understood why.

If all those birds disappeared.

Then the insects would be the ones attacking.

And to think that, even with that many birds, insect swarms still appeared every summer.

That was even more terrifying.

“$%%%#”

“What should we do? I don’t know either.”

That was one thing; farming was another.

I gave Ludwig a rather irresponsible answer when he asked what we should do.

Because I’d never seen anything like this either.

Even putting up a scarecrow would be useless.

We’d been standing right beside the field, and they’d still eaten everything as if we didn’t exist.

On top of that, they’d done it so quickly that we hadn’t even had time to react.

‘What the hell do we do now?’

Not even a farmer with thirty years of experience could solve this.

If they had at least been locusts, we could’ve used pesticides to keep them away.

After all, the trading company had been supplying us with pesticides regularly lately.

But these were birds.

Birds that ate both grain and insects.

‘And they showed up the exact moment the wheat grew…’

As expected of the Forest of the Four Seasons.

There was always something that exceeded every expectation.

Ludwig and I couldn’t solve this on our own.

We needed the Gallery’s help.

But first, I had to record a video.

There was also something I wanted to verify.

“Sir, let’s run a test.”

“#%#”

My plan was simple.

The moment the wheat finished growing, we’d harvest it immediately.

And if those birds showed up, I’d display my enormous, magnificent aura and wipe every last one of them out.

Flap flap flap flap!

“Arghhh!”

“Uaaagh!”

We failed spectacularly.

I had correctly predicted that the wheat would grow and that the birds would appear.

The problem came afterward.

The instant I swung my aura-coated sword, the birds scattered in perfect formation.

It was exactly like a school of fish dodging a predator.

Except this wasn’t happening in the sea.

It was happening on land.

And in midair.

It was enough to drive anyone insane.

And then what happened next?

The birds dove straight at Ludwig and me.

Fortunately, they didn’t start pecking us.

They simply rammed into us.

No.

Rather than ramming into us, it would be more accurate to say they dragged us away.

In the end, not only did we fail to harvest the wheat.

We didn’t even manage to catch a single bird.

“……”

“……”

Ludwig and I ended up looking like complete wrecks.

Feathers were stuck all over our bodies, and we had a few superficial scratches.

I could only hope those birds hadn’t infected us with some disease.

“Kyuu?”

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

There was nothing better than Wonmo for calming a restless heart.

I sighed once again as I looked at the wheat reduced to nothing but bare stalks.

Just when I thought that, for once, everything was finally going smoothly.

It turned out it wasn’t.

As expected of the Forest of the Four Seasons—even maintaining a simple vegetable garden was incredibly difficult.

Title) Do You Know What’s Worse Than a Locust Swarm?

WildGrills

(Video of the birds devouring the wheat.)

(Video of the birds swarming Grills while his screams can be heard.)

(Photo of the wheat reduced to nothing but stalks.)

(Photo of Ludwig sitting there with a completely defeated expression.)

A flock of sparrows from the Forest of the Four Seasons.

These bastards are even worse because pesticides don’t work against them.

So I tried to catch them, but they ended up grabbing Ludwig and me and throwing us through the air.;;

In the end, they robbed us right in front of our noses. Does anyone have a solution?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) What an astonishing sight. They really do look like a swarm of locusts.

ㄴSwordmaster) They aren’t even migratory birds, and yet they gather like that? It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it.

ㄴThey do flock together, but never in numbers like that. That’s literally a locust swarm.;;

ㄴEven the birds have evolved in bizarre ways now.;;

ㄴWhat kind of birds are they? At first glance, they look like sparrows.

ㄴAllFather) They are indeed sparrows. However, they normally do not gather in flocks like that.

ㄴWildGrills) It’s been a while since I’ve seen you around here. I thought you were busy.

ㄴAllFather) I’ve resolved most of my affairs. Though if I fail, I’ll become busy again.

ㄴWildGrills) Do you know any way to drive those birds away?

ㄴAllFather) Normally, this kind of problem solves itself once a predator appears. Are there any around there?

ㄴWildGrills) (Adorable photo of Wonmo.) Would this one work?

ㄴAllFather) There are problems that even cuteness cannot solve.

ㄴWildGrills) That’s a shame.

ㄴ”That’s a shame,” he says? Hahaha.

ㄴMaybe if Wonmo were a little bigger, but right now he’s still too small. Hahaha.

ㄴGrowGrow) Normally, there aren’t that many sparrows, so people simply let them be, but I honestly wouldn’t know what to do about that. Besides, hunting them wouldn’t accomplish much.

ㄴWildGrills) Because then the insect population would increase?

ㄴGrowGrow) Exactly. How about putting up a scarecrow?

ㄴWildGrills) Could you watch the video one more time?

ㄴGrowGrow) That’s not what I mean. Coat the scarecrow with the blood of a carnivorous animal. Don’t you think they’d at least avoid it because of the smell?

“Oh?”

It was actually quite a reasonable idea.

After all, those birds were still just sparrows acting as a flock.

If they believed there were predators nearby, they would most likely stay away.

‘The problem is where to get that blood…’

A predator that could actually be considered a threat in this place?

There was only Wonmo, who was adorable and lovable.

But Wonmo was still far too small.

Maybe things would be different if he grew to two or three times his current size.

For the time being, he was the one who needed looking after.

ㄴWildGrills) What are sparrows’ natural predators?

ㄴGrowGrow) Mainly snakes. Besides them, birds of prey such as eagles and hawks are also their predators.

ㄴSparrows are pretty low on the food chain, so just about any large beast can eat them.

ㄴThe moment they see a snake, they start trembling.

Ssshhh.

Speak of the devil.

While browsing the Gallery, I spotted a snake climbing a tree.

As expected of a creature that lived in the Forest of the Four Seasons, it was enormous.

Judging by the length of its body alone, it had to be around three meters long.

It slithered.

The snake slowly approached a bird perched on a branch.

The bird also noticed the snake at the last second and tried to escape, but the snake was far too fast.

“Ssshaaa!”

Crunch!

Just as the bird spread its wings to take flight, the snake shot its head forward like a bullet.

The bird desperately struggled to avoid being eaten, but it was already too late.

In the end, it became just another meal for the snake and disappeared into its stomach.

‘……But why aren’t they running away?’

Something felt off.

Even though their greatest predator—a snake—had appeared, the other birds didn’t flee.

Instead, they all stared at the snake with sharp, piercing eyes.

The atmosphere was strange.

“……#%#”

“……That’s exactly what I think.”

It seemed Ludwig had gotten the same impression I had.

Did I understand what he said? More or less, it probably meant, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Meanwhile, the snake began stalking the other birds.

Apparently, one bird wasn’t enough for a body that large.

Flap, flap!

But before the snake could make its move, the birds acted first.

Without anyone giving a signal, they all took flight at once.

And, just as expected, they flew straight at the snake.

No matter how well they worked together, it was still a predator.

And a snake with an overwhelming size advantage.

“Ssshaaa!”

“Chirp! Chirp!”

“Chirp, chirp!”

Sure enough, the moment the snake opened its mouth and lunged, several birds were swallowed whole.

However, the rest didn’t retreat and charged at it.

Before long, just as they had done to us, they completely covered the snake’s body.

Just when I thought they were about to peck it with their beaks.

Riiip!

A loud tearing sound echoed through the air.

At the same time, the birds covering the snake were flung apart in opposite directions, like magnets with the same pole repelling one another.

The instant I saw that, I could more or less imagine what would happen next.

Riiip! Riiip! Rip! Rip!

The snake was literally torn to pieces.

Chunks of snake fell to the ground with a series of Thud! Thud!

By nature, a snake’s body continued writhing even after it had been completely torn apart, making the scene even more grotesque.

“……”

“……”

Neither Ludwig nor I could utter a single word.

After seeing that snake become S/N/A/K/E in an instant, who could possibly open their mouth?

If we’d killed those birds, I might have ended up just like that snake.

“Kyuuuu~”

Taking advantage of the moment, Wonmo ran over to the pieces of the snake.

As if he instinctively knew the head was dangerous, he started eating from the tail.

There were also a few dead birds scattered around, but fortunately, he didn’t pay them the slightest attention.

“Chirp, chirp.”

“Chirp! Chirp.”

As if nothing had happened, the birds calmly returned to the tree branches.

I silently watched the scene and, without saying a word, scattered wheat seeds across the field.

Flap, flap, flap!

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

The moment the wheat grew, the birds immediately appeared, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

I didn’t try to stop them.

On the contrary, once I felt they’d eaten as much as they wanted, I sowed more seeds.

Flap, flap, flap!

Perhaps they still had a bit of conscience, or perhaps they simply thought that was enough.

After eating a reasonable amount of grain, they began leaving one by one.

Thanks to that, as time passed, the number of birds gradually decreased.

Ludwig immediately caught on and started helping me.

‘Yeah. I’ll let them eat until they’re full first. Just don’t hurt me.’

I’d learned something after spending a month in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

As long as the other side didn’t attack first, it was better to take a friendly approach.

At least that way, my life wouldn’t end in some ridiculous fashion.

“#$%#”

“I know. Me too.”

As always, I didn’t understand what he said.

But I understood the tone.

He was probably saying something like.

‘So this is how you’ve managed to survive until now?’

I don’t know whether sparrows are migratory birds. All I could do was pray that they were.

Because no matter how hard humans tried, they were powerless before the forces of nature.

So it was only after the birds had finished feeding that we were finally able to harvest the wheat.

Both the seeds and the amount of wheat we harvested were quite good, so the harvest itself was a success.

“Munch, munch.”

I gave the remaining wheat stalks to Largo.

She happily ate them.

Rather than raising a giraffe, it felt like I was raising a cow.

“What should we plant next?”

“#%%^^”

Ludwig showed me with a drawing.

He wanted to plant sweet potatoes.

Since the sparrows kept carrying off the rice and wheat, he seemed to have decided to switch to staple crops.

I felt the same way, so I asked GrowGrow.

[GrowGrow: I have seeds, but for potatoes, it would be better to use seedlings. Does that work for you?]

[WildGrills: If we just plant the seeds, they’ll grow on their own.]

[GrowGrow: Understood. But could you give me a little more soil?]

[WildGrills: Of course.]

I suppose, being a farmer, he had a wide variety of seeds.

Normally, sweet potatoes are grown from seedlings, but whatever—they’ll probably grow on their own.

This time, they’ll grow underground, so there won’t be any risk of the birds stealing them.

Whoosh!

“Oh!”

“Oh.”

The plant grew at incredible speed just moments after we sowed the seed.

Now all that remained was to dig up the sweet potatoes underneath.

Whoosh!

“?”

“?”

Suddenly, the vines that had been growing so well began sinking into the ground.

And it wasn’t just one; all the others did exactly the same thing.

I thought it might simply be part of the growing process, so I kept watching closely.

“……”

“……”

Instead of sweet potatoes, all that greeted us was a completely empty hole.

Only then did I understand.

A mole had stolen them.

I’d only ever heard of something like that before; I never imagined I’d experience it myself.

I never imagined I’d end up experiencing it firsthand.

‘Wow this world is full of thieves.’

Looks like I’ll have to modify the garden too.

I never imagined I’d end up experiencing it firsthand.