I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 215

"Wh-what on earth is that...?"

The Pope’s faithful servant, Cardinal Morgan, could not hide his panic.

When the traitor Asella made her sudden appearance, he was flustered, but he was able to deal with it then.

Because the Pope had already considered every single scenario that could occur. The Hero was one of them.

But that... he didn’t know about that. He couldn’t even grasp how to describe it.

A stone statue that looked easily two to three times larger than the neighboring buildings.

Normally stone statues were gray, but that one had a proper mix of gold and white.

Rather than a statue, it felt like looking at a living giant.

"I-isn’t that Cain-nim...?"

"Judging by the appearance, it’s Cain-nim?"

The paladins were also greatly shaken.

Naturally so, for the appearance of the statue was nothing short of a ’descent’ itself.

A stone statue falling out of the empty sky to shield the Hero.

The wings on its back and the shield held in one hand were unmistakably Cain.

The legendary first paladin who always appeared in the founding myths of Eldorado.

Even if it was a stone statue, the fact that such an existence appeared right before their eyes bound them to be shaken.

-C-everyone, remain calm! That too is an undead...

Cardinal Morgan tried to speak hurriedly, but hesitated.

Could that statue really be called a remnant or minion of the Immortal King?

A Cain that seemed to have descended directly from the sky at the Hero’s call?

The Holy Sword plunged into the ground was still shining brilliantly, and Cain stood firm in the street.

No suitable words came to mind at all. It felt as though everything had gone awry.

Step— step— step—

In the meantime, Asella emerged from Cain’s embrace and walked forward.

As she walked over, the paladins reflexively aimed their crossbows.

In an atmosphere thick with tension, Asella stood before the Holy Sword embedded in the ground.

Chwaak!

Soon, pulling out the Holy Sword, Asella aimed it toward the Papal Palace.

At an intent that anyone could see as hostile, the paladins faltered, but quickly regained their stances.

Kuuung! Kung! Kung!

However, as Cain began to walk forward, their morale couldn’t help but hit rock bottom.

A stone statue that easily defended against not just arrows, but even cannonballs.

If that defensive power turned into offensive power... they couldn’t even imagine what would happen.

Above all, the fact that they had to fight a hero out of legend weighed heavily on their minds.

After all, the paladins were also citizens of Eldorado. Hesitation crept into their hearts.

"A-all units, prepare to fire! Do not fall back!"

The commander frantically yelled to prepare to fire, but morale was already broken.

Several paladins flat out lowered their crossbows, half-rebelling.

The commander shouted at the top of his lungs, claiming he would punish them under military law, that the Pope would execute them, and so forth.

However, all of his screaming was drowned out by Asella’s shout.

"Everyone, listen!"

A clear yet powerful cry.

Even though she hadn’t used magic or tools, her voice echoed across the entire square.

Shaaaaaa!

At the same time, the Holy Sword began to emit a light as bright as the sun.

As if proving that she was not a traitor, but the Hero, it was a light that illuminated everything.

"Lady Aris has answered the call! As proof, she has sent Cain-nim, the first paladin, right here!"

At the critical moment, the stone statue of Cain descended from the sky.

Even though it was a statue, it was undeniable that it had been sent by someone’s ’will.’

Whose will that was went without saying. The true master of Eldorado.

"Put down your weapons! You are guiltless! Guilt lies only with the master who wields the weapon!"

-That person is a traitor! Are you going to listen to a traitor’s words?!

At Asella’s cry, the Papal Palace hastily refuted.

However, as God raised her hand to show who was righteous and who was evil, the situation became crystal clear.

There were already many paladins who harbored skepticism toward this whole affair.

Moreover, since Aris’s ’will’ had manifested right before their eyes, they had no choice but to break down.

Clatter—

One paladin threw his crossbow onto the ground. That was the signal flare.

Clatter— clack— clang—

Crossbows, swords, shields, and so forth.

The paladins tossed all their weapons to the floor and surrendered.

Finally, the cannons. The cannons had their muzzles blocked.

"Y-you bastards...! Are you really...!"

"Stop it."

"Wh-what?"

The commander watching this roared in anger, but that too was short-lived.

For he was cut off by the words of a single paladin.

"It’s already over. Lady Aris has manifested her will."

"This brat...!"

"Even if you order us to fight, we will not comply."Find the original chapter at novelpin⁠g.com.

At that, just as the commander was about to use violence.

"..."

"..."

"..."

He couldn’t help but cower under the dozens of gazes pouring in from all around.

Originally, a commander must have knights or soldiers who follow him.

Without followers, he was a entity in name only.

In the end, the commander kept his mouth tightly shut. Now there was no one left to issue orders.

"O Aris..."

"Forgive our sins..."

There were only those making the sign of the cross and praying.

All of the paladins knelt down and began to pray.

Asella smiled with joy as she watched all the paladins surrender.

’Now...’

The short yet long winter of Eldorado.

’It’s... all over.’

Now was the time for a warm spring to arrive.

Following Cain’s descent, the situation was resolved swiftly.

The paladins lost all will to fight, while conversely, the protesters’ morale skyrocketed.

"B-but wasn’t the Hero a traitor?"

"What does that matter! She protected us!"

"The traitors are those Papal Palace bastards! It’s obvious the Pope pulled some scheme!"

Asella naturally shed the stigma of being a traitor.

From the protesters’ perspective, she was undeniably the ’Hero.’

Even Cain had personally protected her, so who could dare call her a traitor?

Thus, the protesters advanced into the interior of the Papal Palace and managed to purge all those involved.

"Ugh..."

"Hans ahjussi!"

"Clergy! Is there no clergy around?!"

"There are clergy scattered everywhere."

During the purging, Hans, who had undergone various interrogations, was also rescued.

However, having suffered severely during that time, he didn’t have a single uninjured spot on his body.

Afterward, Hans received basic treatment and headed to the temple.

Since the temple served as a hospital, he went there.

"Let go of me! Do you know who I am?!"

"What should we do with these bastards?"

"Don’t know. The Hero will handle it."

"Can’t we just throw them into the Forest of the Four Seasons?"

"That’s not a bad idea either, but how about letting everyone hit them once first?"

"Great idea. But there’s probably way too many people."

The Pope, failing to grasp the situation until the very end, struggled even as he was dragged away.

"All of this is a conspiracy... Keuck!"

Peock! Puck! Puck!

Of course, he quieted down after getting beaten up once by each of the protesters.

The citizens felt like hanging him from a rope right away, but held back.

Simply because it wasn’t right. For those sins had to be weighed in a different manner.

As Asella had put it, the citizens of Eldorado were almost too nice for their own good.

"What are you going to do about the paladins?"

"First, we need to sever all the commanders. And restore the commanders whom the Pope purged to their original places."

"You’re going to be very busy. Are you going to handle all of it yourself?"

Asella wore a soft smile and nodded her head.

Because the Papal Palace’s atrocities were so extensive, there were places needing handiwork scattered everywhere.

Especially since Ludwig’s faction had been purged en masse, leaving a massive void in their military power.

She would restore them if possible, but Ludwig alone was beyond help.

"Once everything stabilizes... I have to go find Master. And the savior as well."

"Savior? You don’t mean that person?"

"Yes. If it weren’t for him, the Holy Kingdom would have been destroyed."

A group that loses its goal is bound to stagnate, and stagnant water eventually rots.

As the Demon Race grew culturally mature, conflicts naturally decreased, and the significance of the Demon King also faded.

However, Eldorado held onto old-fashioned customs until the end under the single-minded belief that they had to subjugate the Demon King.

Yet that created a path through which Eldorado itself became the Demon King.

"From now on, this country will not be able to use the name Eldorado."

"...What kind of crazy talk is that again?"

"Because the name has been stained."

Eldorado was originally a national name bestowed directly by Aris.

However, as long as that name was dirtied by this incident, it could no longer be used as the nation’s name.

Therefore, it was Aris’s judgment that a new national name was needed.

"It’s not a decision I can make on my own, though. I plan to gather the opinions of the citizens."

"You know what changing the national name implies, right?"

"Yes, I know. It means being reborn as a new nation."

There was a reason the expression ’predecessor’ existed.This chapter was taken from nоvelping.com without permission.

Still, it wasn’t a total abandonment of Eldorado’s identity. For they would continue to believe in Aris.

Just as a chrysalis sheds its cocoon to become a butterfly, the Holy Kingdom was undergoing a similar process.

"Before that..."

Asella raised her head. Looking up, a giant stone statue stood guarding its place.

Currently, the Cain statue was proudly standing guard in front of the Papal Palace.

Adults and children alike were completely absorbed in looking at Cain.

Currently, the crowd had been backed off for safety reasons, so only Asella and Reyna guarded its side.

"Cain-nim, what do you plan to do from now on?"

At Asella’s question, Cain lowered his head.

Simply lowering his head carried a terrifying sense of pressure.

It was also proof confirming that the statue possessed an ’independent consciousness.’

Whether he was truly the Cain from when he was alive, she didn’t know, but he was probably similar.

[I shall return to where I originally was.]

As expected. Hearing Cain’s answer, Asella could not hide her regret.

She wished he would remain here to protect the Holy Kingdom, but that would be greed.

"Can you help us again later?"

[I shall always answer the call.]

This alone was reassuring. Asella smiled.

From here on, Cain would remain as the eternal guardian of the Holy Kingdom.

He would be a guardian who answers the call at every moment of crisis.

Paat!

At that moment, a massive pillar of light descended from the sky.

The pillar of light was so large it completely enveloped Cain’s body.

The people watching were greatly flustered, but Asella alone remained serene.

"You are leaving, then."

[That is so.]

"Can you tell me where you are going?"

[Thou already knowest.]

She already knew. There was a place she roughly guessed.

What kind of place could that be? Just hearing the words ’inhospitable demon realm’ made her reluctant to even approach.

However, curiosity now sparked within her. It was a region where a mythical existence had been proven to exist.

Seueueuk—

Cain’s massive body began to ride the pillar of light upward.

Asella slowly raised her head and quietly saw him off.

[As I have always said.]

Just before departing, Cain looked at Asella and spoke.

[I shall answer the call.]

Reassuring words promising to always answer the call.

Syuuuuuuung!

Before long, Cain soared into the sky along the pillar of light.

Watching that figure disappear into the sky, Asella murmured softly.

"...Thank you."

"Whew. What a nightmare. Is that finished over there?"

"It is finished."

I was completely occupied repairing the place where the statue had soared upward—in other words, the roof.

Because the speed at which it rocketed up was so fast, the hole was quite large.

Since this couldn’t even be patched with bricks, there was no choice but to roughly block it with raw timber.

’What a hassle on such a cold day.’

However, this was finally over too. Since the work was done, all that was left was to climb down.

It was just as I was about to jump down into the cave holding various tools.

Syuuuuuuung!

An ominous noise rang out from above. Hearing that noise, I raised my head.

Some small object was falling toward this direction. Don’t tell me that’s a meteorite.

While I was thinking that, the meteor-like object crashed into the cave.

Kwagwagwang!!!

Smashing to bits the ceiling we had worked so hard to patch up.

Since it was falling, the hole became much bigger than before.

"..."

"..."

Ludwig and I stared blankly at the hole where dirt and dust fluttered.

It was so absurd that words didn’t come out. What the hell dropped down?

Suppressing the surging anger, I looked beneath the hole.

Clack! Clack!

The statue was clacking while embedded in the ground.

Next to it, Speed Sloth was looking at it with a face that said, ’What the hell is this again?’

Fortunately, Wonmo right underneath wasn’t hurt. He was just sleeping soundly.

’...Should I just throw it away?’

What kind of garbage is this thing?