I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 426

It can be asserted that the greatest haul from this exploration was the jukebox.

Music—the only drug allowed by the state. The greatness of music required no further explanation.

Not only did it enhance focus, but it was also perfect for relieving stress, which was the biggest hurdle in survival.

It was to the extent that when a person stranded during an Antarctic expedition tried to discard their musical instrument, the team leader stopped them.

It implied that even in extreme situations, an instrument—that is, music—played a substantial role in mental survival.

[♫♪♩♩♫~ ♫♬♩♪]

An upbeat song flowed out from the jukebox. I knew it to be quite an old song.

Of course, by today’s standards, it was probably ancient to the point of myth. But a masterpiece remains a masterpiece no matter how much time passes.

"I! Love! You! Baby~ Ta-da-da ta-da-da~"

Singing along to that iconic song, I cooked joyfully. For the record, I only knew the highlight—and only the beginning of it at that—and knew nothing of the rest.

But that was fine. After all, the chorus of a song was the sweetest cream of the crop.

"Master. Noisy."

"Ah. Sorry. Should I turn off the song?"

"No. Want to listen to song, but Master is interfering."

"Man, that’s really harsh."

See? Even Lackey, to whom music was unfamiliar, was enjoying it.

Even the stoic Ludwig closed his eyes quietly, appreciating the sound. Did it matter that he didn’t know English?

It didn’t matter because the music itself granted peace of mind. One doesn’t constantly translate lyrics line by line when listening to pop songs anyway.

↳ Heavenly Demon) A sweet song. One can even feel a sense of sorrow in it.

↳ Sword Matstar) I wish my boyfriend would sing a song like that for me...

↳ Princess Chaenggu) It’s not really a song suited for demons.

↳ Passing Dwarf) Is there even a song suited for demons?

↳ Let’s Grow Trees) Even if there were, wouldn’t it just be a funeral dirge!

↳ Princess Chaenggu) What on earth do you take demons for? We have dozens of sports team fight songs alone!

↳ King Reor) Chaeyu’s chant is a bit lame among them. Ours, huh? Ours is mind-blowing.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) Shut up.

On the other hand, it was different for the Gallery people. The lyrics were likely translated directly into their hearing.

Since it was translated even matching the pitch, it was essentially identical to listening in their native tongue.

Well, not that I was complaining. Knowing the lyrics didn’t mean I would sing along anyway.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Is there by any chance a song of praise for God!

↳ Starlight Lady) Surely there are pieces fitting for nobles too?

↳ Suspiciously...) I would like to hear music suited for a Great Warrior.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) I want to listen to exciting songs!

Everyone seemed thrilled by the jukebox’s outstanding performance and the songs coming from it.

But the owner of this jukebox was me. I firmly declined.

Catering to every single request of theirs would be endless, and I might not be able to play them due to constraints.

"I’ll ask when I have time later. And I don’t know all the songs either."

"Play exciting and joyful song."

Lackey interjected while I was responding. Fittingly, the song had just ended.

However, the mimic merely flopped its tongue out and didn’t play a song.

It wasn’t ignoring Lackey, but rather looking somewhat exhausted.

"Looks like it’s hungry?"

"Give food quickly."

"Alright. Hang on a sec."

Anticipating this, I had brought along a piece of the Butcher Ogre’s corpse. I pulled the Butcher’s head out of my Subspace Backpack.

When I held it out to the mimic, the jukebox popped wide open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Despite its somewhat threatening appearance, it didn’t eat living humans.

Ujeok! Ujeok! Kkwadeudeuk!

The creature devoured the Butcher’s head with relish. The sound of crunching bones echoed quite cheerfully.

Soon after, the jukebox played the song Lackey requested. At first, it had a peaceful atmosphere.

"Ah. This song."

"Know what it is?"

"I just recognize it. It takes a bit long to reach the climax."

It was a track with a very impressive guitar solo. The symbol of an endlessly ’free bird’ was a bonus.

While Lackey quietly listened to the song, I finished preparing dinner.

As it was spring, dusk had already fallen. We enjoyed dinner relying on the light of the campfire.

[♫♬♩♪~]

Just in time, the climax of the song Lackey played broke out—a fiery guitar solo.

We appreciated the song while eating dinner. Though there were no lyrics during that part, our spirits soared.

[Were there many songs like that in the time you lived?]

"There were plenty. Masterpieces that would endure for centuries were everywhere."

[Fitting for an age where gods lived, both science and culture seem to have been extraordinary.]

"That’s right."

An indisputable truth. Even the instrument behind that guitar solo was an electric guitar.

The technology of this world couldn’t even mimic it.

In the first place, that jukebox was only a jukebox in appearance; its actual capabilities were supreme.

↳ Starlight Lady) Who was the most famous bard when Grylls-nim lived?

"Bards... I see people who sing are called bards here."

↳ Starlight Lady) Usually, yes?Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping(.)com.

"Who is the most famous bard? Let me search the Gallery real quick."

The moment I said that, names of countless bards were listed out.

It seemed each nation and region had different preferred bards.

Even so, there was a commonality: bards possessed incredible abilities.

↳ Starlight Lady) A bard’s song produces effects similar to a priest’s blessing. It raises party morale and causes confusion in enemies.

↳ Heavenly Demon) Similar to Sonic Arts.

↳ Starlight Lady) It’s not just similar; it is a type of Sonic Art. Through music, it creates waves of mana that deliver various effects.

↳ Allfather) What’s interesting is that bards themselves cannot intentionally produce such effects. They manifest various effects based on emotion. Therefore, the variance in talent is extremely severe.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) That’s why fight songs are so important in sports too! Through fight songs, you can boost the home team’s morale and abilities!

↳ Passing Dwarf) Then what about teams that lose anyway?

↳ Princess Chaenggu) Trash teams ^^

Truly a fantasy world. Far beyond anything I imagined.

Put this way, bards might sound broken, but they weren’t. Just as Allfather said, it was a profession with the most extreme talent variance.

Producing such effects through simple music meant one had already far surpassed ordinary people.

Furthermore, because every bard had a different style, the effects were night and day.

’Does the Pied Piper actually exist here?’

That sounded dangerous in its own right. I pushed aside useless thoughts.

↳ Starlight Lady) By the way, could you give an answer? Who was the most famous bard back when Grylls-nim lived?

"Hmm... based on that era? Or overall?"

↳ Starlight Lady) Overall, if possible, please.

I pondered Starlight Lady’s question. It was a difficult topic to answer carelessly.

Even among the entities popping up right now, there wasn’t just one, but two.

One was a group that revolutionized music history, and the other was a man who became culture itself.

Since both were beings who reshaped the destiny of music, I couldn’t recklessly affirm who was superior.

"..."

Then, a fun thought suddenly occurred to me. Not a comparison, but a meme perspective.

So I made a request to the jukebox.

"Jukebox. Play a Michae* Jackson song."

Soon, an upbeat melody began flowing from the jukebox.

But apart from the cheerful melody, I knew the lyrics were somewhat dark.

"Do you know what nickname the owner of this song had? It was none other than Heavenly Demon."

↳ Heavenly Demon) ?

When she was brought up, Heavenly Demon left only a single question mark. Her flustered state was fully palpable.

Since this was the reaction I hoped for, I decided to enjoy it a bit more.

"No joke, people all over the world respected and revered this person. There were even people who fainted just by him appearing."

↳ Sword Matstar) Sounds incredible just listening to it?

↳ Starlight Lady) Was his other title by any chance God of Music?

↳ Smart Demon) Right. That’s a real Heavenly Demon. Not unruly like someone else.

↳ Suspiciously...) Just listening to the description, it sounds like he walked the path of a Hegemon King?

↳ King Reor) Was there by any chance a Demon King?

↳ Heavenly Demon) St-still, am I not superior?

Heavenly Demon stammered. How flustered was she to not even edit her typo?

I felt I could tease her a bit more. Meanwhile, the song played steadily.

"Of course, Heavenly Demon-nim here is also remarkable. But that person enchanted the whole world through music alone, not force. Moreover, he belonged to an oppressed race at the time, making his stature even higher."

↳ Allfather) An oppressed race? Now that is interesting.

"I know it was an era where people suffered all kinds of discrimination just for having dark skin."

↳ Praise the Sun) So back then there were creatures like point-eared elves too? This is kind of fun.

↳ Let’s Grow Trees) I’m not like that! Dark Elves came from the same roots after all! I can embrace them!

How would Heavenly Demon react? I was extremely curious.

Would she feel jealous, or show intrigue? If she pouted, I planned to soothe her gently.

↳ Heavenly Demon) A persecuted minority reaching the pinnacle of the world... Similar to myself.

"...Huh?"

↳ Heavenly Demon) A being worthy of the title Heavenly Demon. I readily acknowledge him.

↳ Smart Demon) That shameless demeanor is honestly admirable;; I’m starting to respect it.

For a moment, I almost agreed with Smart Demon.

Neither jealousy nor mild intrigue, but acknowledgment. An exceptional response for Heavenly Demon.

I felt taken aback, but smirked. Acknowledging it like that wasn’t bad either.

↳ Heavenly Demon) Then did that person possess any techniques?

"It was called Heavenly Demon Moonwalk—he often used a technique where he appeared to move forward while moving backward. People went wild whenever he used it."

↳ Heavenly Demon) It seems worthy of research.

"There’s really no need to do that..."

A moonwalking Heavenly Demon. Just imagining it created a massive sense of cognitive dissonance.

To begin with, Heavenly Demon was plenty strong without using such techniques.

Anyway, moving past this. I chatted about various topics with the regulars while listening to songs.

↳ Internal Cultivation Master Robert) Um... this song seems to be about bringing down a kingdom through rebellion?

"Guilty conscience?"

↳ Internal Cultivation Master Robert) Absolutely not. I can guarantee I governed my domain well at least.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) This song should have played during the El Dorado protests! It definitely would have been a huge help!Visit novelрing.com for the full chapter.

↳ Absolute Supreme Arnold Best) Uncomfortable as it may be, it is a magnificent song.

The song with the striking church bell sound in the chorus hit a nerve with several people.

↳ Sword Matstar) Wow. This song makes me seriously want to get married. Marry me right now.

↳ Starlight Lady) You...?

↳ Princess Chaenggu) You’re acting foolish.

↳ Sword Matstar) And you don’t want to get married?

↳ Princess Chaenggu) I’m still young lol

↳ Sword Matstar) How old are you?

↳ Princess Chaenggu) I’m not even 100 years old yet

↳ Sword Matstar) That goes for me too?

↳ Princess Chaenggu) I’m a demon so I have a long lifespan, but what about you?

↳ Sword Matstar) Shut up.

Someone had a complete spasm over a sweet confession song.

Watching emotions shift rapidly through simple songs was fun just to watch.

But time was always limited. I ended the stream to head to bed.

When was the last time I relieved stress so leisurely? The jukebox was a huge help.

"You get some sleep too. Is there a power button on this?"

I touched the power button on the jukebox. Naturally, the jukebox lights went out.

Its extended tongue drooped down limply, and sound of deep sleep could be heard.

Apparently pressing the power button automatically put it into sleep mode.

"Master. Can’t sleep with song playing?"

"What if its fuel runs out midway? You might get eaten, you know? If you’re going to stand guard beside it all night, go ahead."

"Actually, sleeping quietly is important."

After persuading Lackey, I drifted into a comfortable sleep.

Thanks to the music stabilizing my body and mind, a pleasant, deep sleep was possible.

Thus came the next morning. The moment I opened my eyes, I logged into the Gallery.

’It’s still 6 o’clock.’

I should play the jukebox around 7. That way everyone can wake up comfortably.

I shuffled outside to prepare breakfast.

Fortunately, no one attacked during the night.

’Buying that disturber was a damn good decision.’

Glancing at the disturber operating hard, I began breakfast prep.

About an hour passed before breakfast preparation was completely finished, and I walked back inside.

"Jukebox. Play a song fitting for waking up in the morning."

At my request, the jukebox played a serene song.

Jolt!

Simultaneously, Ludwig bolted straight up from bed.

"Woah! What’s wrong?"

"I thought it was reveille."

"..."

"It is a sensation I haven’t felt in a long time."

He seemed to have instinctively reacted to the song played upon waking. Very soldier-like.

Following that, I finished breakfast accompanied by peaceful music.

Having suffered so much yesterday, I intended to rest today. Coincidentally, yellow dust mixed with pollen was blowing outside.

’Is there anything fun... huh?’

It was while I was idly listening to music and browsing the Gallery. One title among the Recommended Posts caught my eye.

[Isn’t this the song Grylls played yesterday?]

It seemed to be a post related to the song I played.

Did one of the bards re-arrange and sing it? If so, that would make sense.

’Not like copyright holders are alive to complain anyway, so I can’t really object.’

Holding that thought, I clicked into the post.

Title: Isn’t this the song Grylls played yesterday?

(Video 1 of playing a lyre but sounding like an electric guitar and drums)

(Video 2 of playing a lyre but sounding like an electric guitar and drums)

Song is fucking exciting lol

↳ How is he playing that?

↳ Dunno, as long as it’s hype, who cares lol

↳ I’ve seen that guy somewhere? Isn’t he a famous bard?

↳ Yeah, it’s Pheus

↳ I heard his skills get underrated because of his face, but he plays insanely well lol

↳ But how does he make that sound with a lyre?

↳ He’s a bard. He must have his own trick.

Seeing this, I blinked in disbelief.

The world is wide and geniuses abound, but I felt this was pushing it too far.

’...Is this even possible through Sonic Arts?’

This was on a whole different dimension from beatboxing machine sounds with one’s mouth. I was so flabbergasted I couldn’t speak.

Still, well...

’As long as it’s enjoyable, that’s enough.’

It didn’t matter.