I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 209

While Grylls and Ludwig were thoroughly preparing for the upcoming winter.

The world was spending a very busy time with various incidents and accidents.

Among them, the most chaotic place was Eldorado.

Contrary to expectations that a civil war would break out following Ludwig’s exposure, the citizens focused solely on protests.

There were two main reasons for this.

First, the absence of a central figure.

Protesters tend to falter when there is no leader to lead the situation.

Especially when the political situation is unstable, a charismatic leader is needed, but there was no such entity yet.

Moreover, the citizens of Eldorado possessed tremendous ’patriotism’ and ’pride’ toward their homeland.

For hundreds of years, as the sword and shield of Aris, they had fought against the Demon King and the demon race.

With the sense of mission of fighting against a clear ’evil’, Eldorado was able to be reborn as a powerful nation.

Under such circumstances, starting a civil war that tears apart their own homeland?

It was a situation where no one could readily step forward.

Second, the absence of military force. In fact, this was the biggest reason.

Currently, the Eldorado army was tightly held within the palm of Pope Louis II.

As Ludwig and his faction were purged en masse, there were virtually only puppets of the Pope left.

No matter how outstanding the pride and patriotism of the citizens were, that did not translate into martial power, so they were bound to fall short compared to a professionally trained army.

Above all, the citizens firmly believed that the military existed to strike down external enemies, not the people.

As long as they weren’t considered ’enemies’, the army wouldn’t point spears and swords at them.

Title) The Eldorado protests are fundamentally different

Usually, most protests happen for the reason of "we can’t live like this."

Cases like when the economy gets extremely bad, when a famine occurs, or when driven to the limit because of war.

However, the Eldorado protests are pure rage from feelings of betrayal toward the leadership.

Honestly, whether higher-ups harbor strange sexual desires or bizarre hobbies, as long as they govern the country well, it doesn’t matter.

After all, the top and bottom are thoroughly separated. Even if commoners occasionally enter politics, they are a minority.

It’s precisely because they are filled with pure anger and betrayal toward the leadership that they can unite like that without crossing the line.

↳ That’s just because they lack power lol. If they had power, they would’ve flipped it over long ago lolol

↳ If even Ludwig were there, he would’ve completely overturned it, right? lol

↳ But what is the Pope saying these days? Is he saying nothing?

↳ He said never to believe rumors coming from the Gallery. He even said Ludwig committed a grave sin?

↳ He still hasn’t come to his senses. Is there anyone who actually believes that?

↳ Yeah, surprisingly a fucking lot of people. The Cardinals all say the Pope is right.

↳ That’s obviously because they’re all suck-ups;;

↳ The army won’t sweep away the protesters, right?

↳ A riot or rebellion is one thing, but doing that to a normal protest would be insane behavior;

↳ Rumors would spread all over the Gallery, right? How are they going to block information from spreading?

↳ That’s why it seems they’re constantly doing background work right now? They keep telling the press that an evil entity is operating in the shadows.

↳ Could that evil entity happen to be Grylls?

↳ Yeah, even if they don’t say it outright, it’s almost certain. They say he’s a faction supporting the Immortal King.

↳ Yet the Balkan Kingdom survivors are fucking cursing the Immortal King like crazy lolol

↳ There were Balkan Kingdom survivors?

↳ Yeah, they’re incorporated into Eldorado now, but the territory itself remains.

↳ Wild Grylls) Why me?

↳ Oh. Grylls. Congratulations. Looks like you’ll become the Demon King soon.

↳ Wild Grylls) ??? What the hell does that mean.

↳ If you keep acting like this, the Pope says he’ll label you as the Demon King lolol

↳ Louis: You be the Demon King from now on.

↳ Wild Grylls) Sheesh lol Tell him I wouldn’t take that booger-sized country even if he gave it to me lol

↳ Where would you like to have instead of Eldorado?

↳ Wild Grylls) I don’t need any of that, I just want to go home.

↳ Isn’t that already your home?

↳ Right. Why does he keep saying he wants to go home when he’s already home?

↳ Wild Grylls) Fuck

Title) But it’s a fact that it’s uneasy

What bothers me the most is that the Pope keeps giving warnings.

Saying things like he won’t sit idly by if they don’t back down.

Saying that everyone is being fooled right now, or that they’re caught in a dark spell more evil than necromancy.

At this rate, he won’t deem it a riot and push through with the army, right?

↳ Wouldn’t other countries condemn it if that happened?

↳ Is there anything they can do besides condemn? If that country insists it’s a rebellion or riot... And if other countries interfere, it could lead to war?Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping(.)com.

↳ With the Gallery right here, they’re gonna tell blatant lies? lol

↳ Even with the Gallery, there are plenty of people who only see what they want to see;

↳ "What I see is the truth!" Once you get trapped in that logic, there’s no answer.

↳ What is the Hero doing? If the Hero steps up now, some compromise might be possible.

↳ If the Hero sides with the protesters, things will get even more fucked up;; The Pope will take the opportunity to count it as a rebellion!

↳ Right now the Pope is getting cursed at insanely, but that doesn’t mean the Hero is cleared of being a turncoat.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) The Hero is not a turncoat! There’s a misunderstanding!

↳ Yeah, we know, but how are you going to explain it?

↳ Everyone who knows already knows right now, Orange Badge. It’s just that the situation is shitty.

↳ Whenever I see stuff like this, the Pope really is fucking good at politics lol

↳ But doing politics only when it’s necessary to maintain his power is really....

Around the time the situation in Eldorado was gradually turning ominous.

The Hero, Asella, was silently heading toward the capital together with Reyna.

Managing the Gallery and gauging the situation along the way was an added bonus.

Before long, around the time they arrived right at their destination, Reyna, who was riding ahead, spoke up:

"What are you thinking about?"

"...Is it really okay to do this?"

Currently, they were mounted on horses.

Naturally, they hadn’t obtained them through legal procedures.

Then where had they gotten them from?

"What does it matter? It’s not like I said anything wrong anyway, right?"

"I’m not a wanted criminal..."

"I think so too. But from their perspective, it’s different. Or should I call you a turncoat instead?"

"Th-That’s even worse!"

The situation was roughly as follows: It was when they were being pursued by trackers.

Reyna suggested that rather than being chased, why not strike back instead?

Naturally, Asella, with her upright nature, refused, but Reyna pushed through to the end.

Most of the tracking party pursued them using transportation like ’horses’.

If so, there would certainly be grooms managing them.

If they found them and intimidated them, they could secure transportation.

’Hey, friends. Are any of your friends armed, or happen to be a wanted criminal pursued by the Holy Kingdom?’

’Uh, no...?’

’We’re both.’

’....’

’So you understand, right?’

Intimidating them roughly as above, the grooms obediently presented two horses.

The art of speech to get what one wants without shedding a single drop of blood.

Asella couldn’t understand Reyna, but decided to let it slide.

Because her beloved homeland was in crisis, and this was no time to be picky.

"How much further to the capital?"

"Taking a generous estimate, two days? If we’re lucky, we’ll arrive tonight."

Even though Asella was in a position of being hunted, she didn’t flee abroad.

To flee abroad, illegal routes were mandatory, but Asella knew nothing about them.

Therefore, she had been running in circles near Eldorado—specifically, near the capital.

It wasn’t for nothing that Reyna had found Asella so quickly.

"I wish we could go faster...."

"No can do. Otherwise, the horses will tire out. We don’t even have fodder to feed the horses as it is."

"Shouldn’t we just walk?"

"You might be fine, but my knees ache, so it’s hard for me."

She’s only two years older than me. Asella grumbled internally.

However, Reyna was right. There was no fodder for the horses, making long-distance travel difficult.

It was a matter of conserving stamina through horses as much as possible, and moving on two legs when push came to shove.

"Are you that worried?"

"...Yes."

At Reyna’s question, Asella nodded her head heavily.

Unlike the Gallery where various topics circulated, the newspapers were consistently focusing on the protests.

No matter how important the Gallery was, it wasn’t more important than reality. The same went for Asella.

The reason she hadn’t been able to fulfill her duties as Orange Badge recently was also due to the Eldorado protests.You are reading on NovelPing, the official source.

"Don’t be too anxious. If the Pope can’t withstand the pressure, he’ll step down on his own."

"Will he... really?"

Despite Reyna’s optimistic words, Asella couldn’t shake off her anxiety.

Would that Pope really step down on his own? He who had even led a mass purge?

Moreover, there were occasionally words heard in the Gallery that the Pope was currently gathering an army.

In this situation, what role would an army play... Asella involuntarily assumed the worst-case scenario.

’Paladins are Aris-nim’s sword and shield. Using that sword and shield against citizens...?’

That couldn’t happen. If Aris knew of this, She would be furious.

’If it really comes to that....’

What should she do? Asella agonized.

That agonizing doubt was not resolved until they arrived in Eldorado.

At the point when Reyna and Asella were getting closer to Eldorado step by step.

The Papal See was currently setting out to establish a full-scale operation.

Usually, groups that used the term ’operation’ were quite limited.

Among them, the representative group was none other than the culmination of national military power: the army.

"As you all have heard, the protesters are currently under the evil curse of the Immortal King."

It started first with the commander’s plausible bullshit.

The problem was that there were only soldiers who firmly believed that bullshit.

The paladins listening to the operation plan looked tense or put on resolute expressions.

They clearly perceived the protesters outside as people ’under a curse’.

Consistent brainwashing and lies. Above all, the military is mostly a closed group.

Acquiring only the stories floating around in a closed space naturally gave rise to a fixed ’notion’.

"We must stop them. As the sword and shield of Aris-nim, we have a duty to protect Eldorado."

Let’s protect our homeland. Hearing only this phrase, one would feel a sense of mission.

But the problem was that within that ’homeland’, ’citizens’ were absent. The paladins failed to notice.

With the Gallery existing right there, could they really block the eyes and ears of the paladins?

In the first place, the Gallery is famous for lacking ’reliability’.

Claiming that the Gallery was currently contaminated by the curse of the Immortal King, and that what was being said there was not the truth.

As the Immortal King incident that broke out 30 years ago was extremely terrible, there was also the reason that it might not be impossible.

As various complex factors stacked up like this, the army’s enemy came to be perceived as the protesters.

"First, we will repeatedly warn the protesters. The clergy will continuously perform exorcisms."

The protesters were not cursed. They were merely overcome with feelings of betrayal and anger.

Emotions that a human being should naturally have. Yet those emotions were dismissed as a curse.

"If the curse is not lifted...."

The commander paused for a moment, then let out a sigh of genuine regret before opening his mouth:

"We will have no choice but to lift it ourselves."

In Eldorado, sweltering summer was currently approaching.

"You are the true heroes who can save Eldorado. Understood!"

"Yes!!!"

This summer seemed set to become a chillingly cold season.

Meanwhile, in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

"...What are you?"

"Purook."

Grylls, who was likewise preparing for the chillingly cold winter, met with a certain guest.

On the outside, it looked like an ordinary deer, but judging by its familiar cynical expression, he had met it before.

The deer was holding an apple in its mouth, which surprisingly was sparkling in a ’golden’ hue.

It wasn’t sparkling because of snow, but the color itself was sparkling golden.

Just like the Golden Apple that might appear in mythology. Thanks to that, Grylls couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

"Mwoo. Mwoo."

"Cold day. Coming. Give fire. Like last time. Then give this."

"...You want me to light a fire?"

"Mwoo."

Through the animal translator Lackey, he could understand what the deer was saying.

Grylls pondered for a moment after hearing the deer’s words, then turned his head.

In the direction he turned his head was the brick house he had painstakingly built.

"...Do you want to live there during the winter?"

"Mwoo."

Thump-

As Grylls granted permission, the deer dropped the Golden Apple with a thump-.

A bizarre winter was approaching.