I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 287

Having agreed to receive a new training method from Heavenly Demon and handing over the fruits, I chatted with the other gallery regulars as well.

Most of them seemed astonished upon hearing the fruit’s performance, and with good reason—gaining mana just by breathing.

Normally, to recharge consumed mana, one had no choice but to rely on Internal Energy Regulation or potions.

But since this filled up mana just by taking a breath, it possessed a groundbreaking performance.

’Was it Ash? I heard her constitution itself was one where mana accumulated just by breathing.’

I wondered what would happen if a person like that ate this fruit.

Would it have no effect at all, or would that constitution upgrade to the next level?

Well, it wasn’t like I knew her personally, nor was it something I needed to care about.

Whatever the case, if this fruit was good for the body, it was good—there was nothing bad about it.

[Passing Dwarf: Instead of this, can’t you give me the candied sweet potatoes you gave before? This doesn’t look like it’ll cut it as a drinking snack.]

[Wild Grylls: I’ll just give you a few more, so go make some fruit wine.]

[Passing Dwarf: Are you a genius? Going to make it right now.]

[Wild Grylls: Give me a bit when you’re done making it kek]

[Passing Dwarf: OK OK, look forward to it. My mouth’s watering already kek]

I specially gave a few more to the dwarf.

Because I had barely rewarded him compared to all the help I’d received so far. I was giving it using this opportunity.

’World Tree fruit wine made by a dwarf, huh....’

I was certainly curious. Food originally varies wildly in effect depending on the cooking process.

I became curious whether it would become ordinary alcohol or a miraculous elixir with incredible properties.

[Praise the Sun: So you’re saying if I just eat this, consumed mana recharges rapidly?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. If you breathe right. At least for me and Lackey it did. I don’t know if it’s permanent or has a time limit though.]

[Praise the Sun: If this is a permanent ability, that’s broken in its own way. Anyway, thanks. I’ll accept it gladly. Is there anything you need?]

[Wild Grylls: Nothing comes to mind right away. I’ll think about it slowly.]

[Praise the Sun: Just say the word whenever you need something. And try drying that fruit to eat. I wonder what it tastes like.]

I gifted a few more to Praise the Sun as well. Because I hadn’t repaid him often compared to what I received from him either.

Taking the advice obtained from Praise the Sun, I dried the World Tree fruits in the drying area.

While I was at it, I brought over the date palms dried previously. As Praise the Sun said, they were coated in pure white powder.

’Wow. It’s really sweet.’

So sweet my tongue tingled. To think there was a food sweeter than honey—it was a bit surprising.

Eating too much of this would get sickeningly sweet, so it would be better to use it as a snack.

"Kkyuuuuu!"

"Ppiiiiik! Ppiik!"

Besides, my kids really loved it.

Seeing those guys who lost their minds over sweet treats made me naturally feel heartwarming.

"Ggansu-ya. Delicious, right?"

"Kkirik! Kkiiik!"

Ggansu also ate it delightfully. I should tell him to eat one whenever times are tough.

There was no need to worry about Wonmo and Tyranno’s gluttony either.

As I said earlier, it was so overwhelmingly sweet that even they quickly got sick of it.

For me, having found a cost-effective snack brought peace of mind.

’By the way, does this fruit not have seeds?’

I looked over the harvested fruit from various angles.

Usually, fruits have seeds inside, but no matter how hard I looked, there were none in this one.

I heard even strawberries have tiny millet-like seeds, but this fruit didn’t even have that.

’It could be that the World Tree intentionally made it so it leaves no seeds.’

A so-called seedless watermelon. But even this was a scary hypothesis in its own way.

Since it meant a mere tree caused a ’genetic mutation’.

Absorbing the Immortal Herb Core was one thing, but it was by no means an ordinary plant.

’As long as it doesn’t harm the Shelter, it’ll be fine.’

Above all, there was an even more extreme entity than this World Tree. The fully matured World Tree I had seen a few times before.

A World Tree that practically managed this forest—no, this entire sector.

When would I be able to reach there? It would take at least several weeks.

’If we’re talking about size alone, its sphere of influence must be massive....’

So I asked the squirrel. Whether it could make a path leading to the giant World Tree.

The squirrel’s answer to that was ’impossible’. When asked why, it said it was beyond its authority.

As Cain had mentioned before, the one originally managing the World Tree was the legendary squirrel ’Ratatoskr’.

Unless that Ratatoskr directly dug a burrow, one couldn’t go there.

’Conversely, if we just have Ratatoskr, teleportation is possible anytime. And....’

We could even connect a passage with the ’World Tree’ located on the outside. This was a hypothesis I had thought of before as well.

But Ratatoskr was an animal that appeared beyond legend, in mythology.

I heard that at least for the World Tree of Alfheim, Ratatoskr had never been discovered.

’Since Let’s Grow Trees also said he had never seen one.’

I heard that in the first place, the World Tree couldn’t be easily approached. That was why saplings were precious.

First, it seemed best to confirm the existence of Ratatoskr. Only then would the probability go up even a little.

It was right when I was scribbling future plans in my notebook.Visit novelpi⁠ng.com for the full chapter.

"Master. A guest has arrived."

"Huh? What?"

"A guest has arrived."

Lackey came to the cave and announced the arrival of a guest. At those words, I blinked.

A guest all of a sudden. For one, it wasn’t the gorilla pack.

If it were the gorilla pack, Lackey wouldn’t have reacted so nonchalantly.

Harboring doubt, I walked out of the cave.

"Muu-oh."

Stepping outside, I saw a familiar deer fellow.

Having not visited the Shelter since winter, it showed up for some reason.

Whatever about other guys, this fellow could be received as a ’guest’.

"Ah, it’s the deer. Why are you here?"

"Muu-oh. Muu-oh-oh."

"I sensed a powerful energy, so I visited."

If it meant good energy, don’t tell me it was talking about the World Tree.

When I pointed at the World Tree in that sense, the deer shook its head side to side.

Then it gestured with its chin toward me. As if that good energy was me.

Puzzled by that action for a moment, I pointed to myself in disbelief.

"Don’t tell me, me?"

"Muu-oh."

"Correct."

"I’m powerful? The strongest guy is this fellow though?"

I pointed to Bbareumbo perched on my back.

The strongest animal in this Shelter was undeniably Bbareumbo.

But as if being strong and having a powerful energy were separate matters, the deer spoke.

"Muu-oh-oh-oh. Muu-oh."

"Even so, the one possessing vast energy is you. That is why I intended to absorb it."

"W-What?!"

"Muu-oh-oh. Muu-oh-oh-oh."

"Now that I know it is you, I will not eat it. Do not worry."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness I didn’t have to fight the deer.

Come to think of it, Cain mentioned something before. As long as I couldn’t control aura, all kinds of things would be attracted.

For now it was just the deer that arrived, but who knew what might come next.

’It’ll be trouble if a monster as strong as the deer comes.’

Thanks to that, I could raise my vigilance.

Since something might intrude at night like the Saber-toothed Tiger, I planned to constantly set up security devices.

"Muu-oh-oh. Muu-oh."

"May I eat this?"

While I was pondering, the deer expressed interest in the World Tree fruit.

I didn’t mind giving it to the deer, but there had to be a fitting price for it.

"I don’t mind you eating it. But what can you give me in return?"

"Muu-oh-oh."

"Is there something you want?"

An unexpected answer came back. It had a nuance as if it could obtain literally anything.

Indeed, it was a fellow that brought honey and Golden Apples using teleportation before. Obtaining things wouldn’t be hard for it.

Hearing those words, I thought for a moment, then held up one finger and asked.

"Then one more Golden Apple... wait, no, can you take me to the place where the Golden Apples are?"

"Muu-oh-oh."

"Taking you along is impossible. Cannot do it."

Regrettably, the deer’s teleportation was strictly one-person only.

Soothing my disappointment, I asked the deer for a Golden Apple.

Soon, the deer tilted its head high as if understanding.

Paat!

It vanished in an instant.

Paat!

Then it reappeared in an instant, holding a Golden Apple in its mouth.

I received the Golden Apple from the deer.

The deer also ate one of the fruits borne on the World Tree.

’The Golden Apple should be more valuable though.’

Since it harvested Golden Apples so easily, their value seemed diminished to the deer.

Well, from my perspective, I could obtain a rare item, so it didn’t matter.

’I should give these to the gallery regulars I couldn’t give gifts to before.’

So I chopped it into suitable slices and sent messages to each of the regulars.

[Passing Dwarf: Should I turn this into fruit wine too?]

[Wild Grylls: No way in hell;;]You are reading on novelping dot com, the official source.

[Passing Dwarf: Putting it in for now. W8 W8]

[Wild Grylls: I told you to brew liquor, and you’re sitting there doing alchemy, fuck]

Feels like I shouldn’t have given it to him.

Grylls distributed slices of the Golden Apple to the gallery regulars.

Most people conveyed their gratitude, and Starlight Lady was one of them.

’To give such a precious thing as a gift.’

She looked at the Golden Apple slice radiating a brilliant aura.

Her benefactor’s gift, which felt a waste to even eat. Ideally, she wanted to keep it stored.

But she couldn’t do that. She took a bite out of the Golden Apple slice.

The sweet fragrance spreading in her mouth as soon as she took a bite.

A subtle apple scent harmonized with a sweet honey fragrance simultaneously.

’Delicious.’

Having consumed the whole Golden Apple slice, she waited to see what changes would occur.

Didn’t the honey she received before add radiance to her skin?

The Golden Apple she received this time would surely bring a change upon eating.

"Mmm... Nothing in particular has changed?"

There was no noticeable change. Originally, the Golden Apple possessed the effect of restoring youth.

Meaning it had no major effect on people who were already young. It merely extended the duration of youth significantly.

Still, it was fine. Starlight Lady conveyed her thanks to Grylls and resumed her paperwork.

’Since I officially sent a letter to the Magic Tower, a reply should arrive soon.’

A letter dispatched borrowing the name of Sword Master, Ash.

It would be great if the Mage King, Kadir, reacted upon seeing that letter, but that was merely wishful thinking.

If it failed, it couldn’t be helped, but Starlight Lady hoped he would develop curiosity.

Only then would the chances of rescuing Grylls increase. She had to do whatever she could.

’Count Menethil said to send a message anytime if her help was needed, but....’

With both parties already knowing each other’s handles, direct messages were a great medium.

But the rules of the Gallery imposed restrictions. Namely, the strict prohibition of cliquishness.

Even if they met by chance, conversing via messages could get them banned.

Because Orange Badge could look into all direct messages between gallery regulars.

’Unless you are a Silver Badge, sending personal messages is impossible. It is only allowed during trades.’

In that short time, the only thing one could do was make promises like "Let’s meet somewhere~".

The mere act of setting up a meeting was a sufficient reason for a ban.

Therefore, for now, there was no choice but to communicate through letters or personal crystal balls.

However, personal crystal balls became incapable of communication beyond a certain distance, so letters were relatively better.

’Even so, I can’t just tell Count Menethil to reside in the Dukedom.’

Doing so had a high likelihood of triggering political problems.

The martial might of a Sword Master and the faction of a Duke.

If those two combined, they would have no counterargument even if the Emperor suspected, ’Are you guys plotting a rebellion?’

That was why she had to be careful. At the same time, it was frustrating.

’Should I try combining Orichalcum with a personal crystal ball? There’s some left over from last time... Huh?’

While doing paperwork, something suddenly caught Starlight Lady’s eye.

Normally, paperwork was the duty of the family head, Duke Mercedes, but she had been famed as a genius from long ago.

Even before her convalescence, she had helped with various administrative tasks. Thus, helping out was not strange.

’The movements of monsters in the Cantata region are unusual, huh....’

The Cantata region was important even within the Dukedom. Because it was a breadbasket region.

As a breadbasket, a significant number of monsters resided there, committing raids from time to time.

In reality, it was at the level of dealing with barbarians rather than mere monsters. Dispatching a considerable number of troops here was natural.

’Normally, documents like this wouldn’t reach all the way up to the Dukedom headquarters.’

The Mercedes Dukedom had many talented people who could be trusted with tasks.

So there was a culture of handling things at their own discretion.

Even more so if it concerned monsters. Furthermore, such things were usually commissioned to adventurers.

’Is issuing commissions to adventurers not enough?’

Though not written in the document, Starlight Lady was able to deduce that far with her extraordinary mind.

If it was difficult even with commissions given to adventurers, it must be an unusual omen.

Particularly, the monsters in the Cantata region frequently formed packs.

If those packs grew to form a ’Legion’, an uncontrollable disaster would unfold.

Originally, each of these minor things becomes the flutter of a butterfly’s wings to cause a typhoon.

’It doesn’t hurt to be careful.’

Starlight Lady signed the budget request. As a bonus, she added instructions to focus efforts on scouting.

This way, the butterfly’s wing flutter could be blocked in advance.

[Regarding information gathering related to Zhongyuan’s ’Heavenly Demon Cult’....]

’This... let’s pass it up to the superiors.’

Starlight Lady skimmed through it and passed it along.

Foreign matters were not problems for the Dukedom to handle. The Imperial Family should solve it.

’I want to finish quickly and give an Elixir to Grylls-nim.’

She intended to faithfully repay him for the Golden Apple.