Got a Gallery in the Wild

Title) Praise Aris.

(Photo of Cain’s gigantic statue)

(Video of Cain’s statue moving)

(Video of Cain’s statue ascending into the sky)

(Photo of the Hero smiling radiantly)

The great Aris has revealed Her will, and in response to Her call, Cain descended!

ㄴShouldn’t we be praising the Hero instead of Aris?

ㄴThey say the Hero stopped the entire army by herself. Now that’s a true Hero.

ㄴAs expected of the Hero. She never shows mercy to a Demon King.

ㄴThink of the Hero as both Aris’s sword and Her will.

ㄴSo what will happen to Eldorado now? Everyone at the top has been removed.

ㄴNo idea. They say it might even become a republic.

ㄴAnd what would happen if it became a republic? Would the Papacy disappear?

ㄴNo, that’s not it. First, the Hero is restoring the commanders who were demoted to their former positions. I suppose the system itself will remain.

ㄴIt seems they’re simply going to create another power to limit the Pope’s authority. The Pope, the Hero, and a third faction.

ㄴIf there are three, they’ll be able to keep each other in check.

ㄴBesides, with Cain’s appearance, Aris’s influence might grow even stronger. It means Aris is watching over us.

ㄴWhere the hell did that statue come from?

Title) That doesn’t matter.

(Photo of Eldorado’s stocks soaring)

(Photo of the market filled with red numbers)

Give this an upvote if your stocks skyrocketed! Hahaha.

Don’t tell me there were idiots who sold just because there was a protest? Hahaha.

ㄴDude, they didn’t skyrocket—they just returned to normal…

ㄴJust three hours ago they were at rock bottom.

ㄴDidn’t they almost hit the absolute bottom when Hans’s condition was posted?

ㄴYeah. But why does Eldorado even have so many stocks?

ㄴBecause it’s between Alvenheim and the Messiah Empire. If Eldorado collapses, trade practically ceases to exist.

ㄴCain literally saved every small investor. Hahaha.

ㄴNot only did he restore the Holy Kingdom, he also revived the stock market. Truly a Knight of Aris.

Title) Putting that aside.

Where exactly did that statue come from?

Did it really fall from the sky?

ㄴYes. At least that’s what the witnesses say.

ㄴ(Showing the video of Cain falling from the sky.) Look at this. This is how he fell.

ㄴWow, he fell at an absurd speed and barely damaged the ground.

ㄴDo you think she’ll be able to summon that over and over again?

ㄴNo one knows. Judging by the Hero’s reaction, it seems even she summoned it by accident.

ㄴEven so, the most important thing is that Aris is truly watching over us.

About two hours had passed since Cain’s statue fell like a meteorite.

During those two hours, I had been struggling to repair the collapsed roof.

I even used up all of my spare building materials, so I had no choice but to drag Lackey out to help as well.

“I don’t want to work! It’s way too cold!”

“I’ll confiscate your sweet potatoes.”

“To be honest, I’ve gained weight. I’ll get some exercise.”

That’s more or less how I convinced him.

Every time I talk to him, I end up wondering if he really isn’t a person.

In any case, the protest in Eldorado ended well.

Now only the Blood Cult remains.

According to HeavenlyDemon, they still haven’t made any major moves, although she assured me it would happen soon.

‘Even so, did that statue really become that huge?’

I looked at Cain’s statue, which had apparently saved Eldorado.

In the Gallery photos, it was two or three times larger than any building, but the one I was looking at now was quite small.

Could something this small really transform into a statue much larger than a building?

There were too many coincidences.

Even its appearance was exactly the same.

And above all, after falling, it had moved on its own.

That practically confirmed that it possessed a will of its own.

‘Even if it’s the same one, why is it here? And why was it inside the Mimic?’

The more I analyzed it, the less sense everything made.

But this was the Forest of Four Seasons.

Here, it was better to burn common sense and move on.

‘What if…?’

What if I could ride it and fly out of this place?

To anyone else, it would sound ridiculous, or even like a method of committing suicide.

But I was considering it very seriously.

To do that, I first needed one condition.

The Hero.

‘According to Ludwig, it shot off saying it was answering a call.’

And in the Gallery video, it also stated that it had answered a call.

Most likely, that call had come from the Hero, HeroDontThrowAway.

The Holy Sword probably acted as some kind of beacon, allowing Cain to arrive there.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to appear so precisely right in front of Eldorado’s Papal Palace.

‘In other words, if I want to run an experiment, I’ll need the Hero’s cooperation…’

To be honest, I already have a pretty good idea who the Hero is.

The Gallery’s Main Moderator, HeroDontThrowAway.

Despite some of his slightly absent-minded (?) comments, he has always shown himself to be a person of integrity.

There are also the times he mentioned being pursued, as well as his devotion to Aris.

And above all, the fact that he has done so much to help Ludwig.

‘Although I also have to consider the possibility that I’m wrong.’

Right now, he must be far too busy dealing with the aftermath of all this, so I’ll save that question for later.

The same goes for posting it in the Gallery.

If I did that carelessly, I have no idea what kind of uproar it would cause.

If people found out that the statue had actually moved, some might consider it a sacred relic and come to the Forest of Four Seasons completely unprepared.

Wouldn’t it be a good thing if more people came to the forest?

I repeat—unprepared.

If they came fully prepared, I wouldn’t have any reason to stop them.

‘Even so, I’m really curious about how it actually works.’

I’d better ask AllFather. For this kind of thing, he’s the right person.

For now, I’ll set aside the idea of posting it in the Gallery. First, I need to understand what’s happening.

[WildGrills: Hello, AllFather. Are you around?]

[AllFather: Oh! Hello, Mr. Grills. It’s been a while since we spoke directly.]

Had he also heard about what happened in Eldorado?

He was connected to the Gallery.

The last time we talked was when he asked me for more ambergris, so I’d been worried since I hadn’t heard from him after that.

[WildGrills: Did everything get resolved properly?]

[AllFather: Thanks to you, everything went well. I was just thinking about how to repay your kindness.]

[WildGrills: Then, instead of a reward, could you do me a favor?]

[AllFather: With pleasure. What is it?]

[WildGrills: (Photo of Cain’s statue) Do you recognize this?]

[AllFather: I’ve been following every post you’ve made, Mr. Grills.]

That made things much easier.

I briefly explained the situation.

I didn’t know if it was just a coincidence, but there was a high probability that the statue that appeared in Eldorado and this one were the same.

Both because it had shot into the sky and because it had fallen back shortly afterward like a meteorite.

AllFather listened to my explanation in silence before exclaiming in astonishment.

[AllFather: My goodness! Something like that happened as well? I can feel my curiosity burning once again…!]

[WildGrills: Is it also a mythical being?]

[AllFather: It is, but more than that, I’d say it’s a myth made real. Statues with a will of their own shouldn’t exist in this world. Or rather, I believed they were impossible. Would you be willing to trade that statue?]

The truth was, I had been thinking of sending it to him so he could examine it more thoroughly.

But the moment I tried to register it for trading, a message I never expected appeared before my eyes.

[Living beings cannot be traded.]

“……”

The Gallery’s first rule.

Living beings cannot be traded.

In other words.

That statue was considered a living being.

‘A statue… is alive? Is this a joke?’

No matter how much I refused to believe it, that was the reality.

The gigantic statue that had appeared in the Gallery had truly behaved like a living being.

It had even spoken.

Suddenly, I remembered that the Mithrilcon in the cave, which couldn’t even speak, had also been considered a lifeform.

[WildGrills: It says I can’t trade it because it’s a living being.]

[AllFather: Then that confirms it possesses a will of its own. It may even be a higher concept than a Guardian.]

[WildGrills: Then how do you explain it growing so much larger after leaving the Forest of Four Seasons?]

[AllFather: It may have reacted to the Holy Sword. It could also be because of the immense pressure unique to the Forest of Four Seasons. Or perhaps it’s both.]

[WildGrills: So, in other words, it’s hard to tell.]

[AllFather: We’re talking about practically a relic—no, a sacred artifact from the Mythological Era. Even I can’t make an accurate prediction.]

In short, I had no choice but to keep observing it.

If something happened in Eldorado again in the future, Cain would probably react once more.

Maybe then I’d be able to find out whether there was any possibility of escaping.

It didn’t sound like a bad idea.

[AllFather: However, there is one thing that seems certain. It’s connected to the Holy Sword. But let me warn you of something. You’d be better off abandoning the idea of escaping using that statue.]

[WildGrills: Huh? Why?]

[AllFather: So you really were thinking about that. Are you familiar with the concept of fixed coordinates? It’s similar to how a warp works.]

[WildGrills: Can you eat that?]

[AllFather: Think of it like a pneumatic tube.]

Pneumatic tubes were a kind of communication system.

In a steampunk world, they replaced landline telephones.

The Holy Sword and the statue seemed to operate under a similar principle.

The problem was the mechanism.

[AllFather: Do you know what’s beyond the sky?]

[WildGrills: Space.]

[AllFather: Exactly. My theory is that it first ascends into space, then travels toward pre-established coordinates.]

[WildGrills: …It doesn’t teleport?]

[AllFather: No. If it were teleportation, it wouldn’t launch upward first.]

No freaking way.

What kind of rock has a missile system built into it?

And not just any missile.

Practically an intercontinental ballistic missile.

What the hell kind of technology is this?

Even if it was only a hypothesis, it sounded incredibly convincing.

First it ascended into the sky, then descended like a meteor.

That said.

Its accuracy was extraordinary.

There was almost no margin of error.

[WildGrills: Then how does it come back?]

[AllFather: That I don’t know. By any chance, has Mr. Ludwig ever prayed in front of that statue?]

[WildGrills: Several times.]

[AllFather: Then there’s a high probability that’s how the coordinates were set. Especially considering he possesses a great affinity for divine power.]

The moment I read that, I looked at Ludwig.

Since I’d told him everything that had happened, he was quietly praying in front of the statue.

I was speechless.

For a moment, I even felt like throwing it in the trash.

[WildGrills: So I should give up on using it to escape, right?]

[AllFather: Unless you wish to become a meteorite yourself, I won’t stop you.]

[WildGrills: Couldn’t I survive it?]

[AllFather: We’re talking about several thousand degrees. Do you think you’d survive?]

[WildGrills: ;;]

In the end, I completely abandoned the idea of escaping with the statue.

I didn’t even know when it might suddenly launch itself into the sky again.

The only thing I could do was continue living normally while waiting for another opportunity to escape.

‘I’d better not post this in the Gallery.’

It wouldn’t accomplish much.

Might as well leave it as decoration.

That said, since I had no idea when it might launch itself again, I’d have to build some kind of exit shaft for it.

‘I could build it over there.’

Right where the statue had smashed through the roof twice.

For now, I’d covered it with wooden boards.

Later, I could turn it into something like a chimney.

“Mister. Stop praying and come help prepare the meal.”

“Hmm.”

Besides, I couldn’t obsess over a mere statue forever.

I called Ludwig, and we started preparing the meal.

A little later, Tyran went outside, and I was just about to move as well when—

Clack.

I heard a noise behind me.

When I turned around, I saw that the statue, which I’d left on top of a box, had fallen onto the floor.

Now that I thought about it.

It had also been making those noises right after it fell.

Remembering that, I looked up at the roof covered with wooden planks.

“…Hey.”

“……”

“Stop pretending you’re a toy and get over here already.”

What does it think it is, some toy from a children’s movie?

I already knew perfectly well that it had a will of its own.

It had even spoken in Eldorado.

So even if it was small now, it should still be able to talk.

“I’ll give you three seconds. Come over here before I use you to scrape the calluses off my feet.”

“……”

“Three… two…”

Just before I reached one.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

The statue began walking stiffly, just like a nutcracker.

To anyone else, the scene would have looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

But to me, it was just a nuisance that had wrecked the roof of my cave.

At last, Cain’s statue proudly came to a stop in front of me.

And then.

[$%$#%$…… #$%#%]

The statue spoke in the same language as Ludwig.

Naturally, I didn’t understand a single word.

But I did understand the tone.

It had answered the call.

“…Hah.”

First a dragon.

Now a talking statue.

This place really has everything.