I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 476

There is a continental proverb: Fine clothes make the person.

It meant that if the clothes worn were good, the person looked entirely different.

On the flip side, though there was a saying that face completes fashion, even if someone’s beauty was outstanding, if the clothes didn’t suit them, it faded considerably.

’Who was it? I saw it on the Gallery.’

There was a certain soccer player. Handsome, tall, and as a soccer player, possessing a great physique.

Yet he was famous for the truly bizarre situation where his damn sense of fashion ruined it all.

Selena was the exact opposite case, beautiful enough that it wouldn’t be strange if she flew into the sky right now.

Of course, thanks to Selena’s beauty being what it was, whatever clothes she wore suited her well.

"I’ve seen many pretty clothes in my life, but nothing as pretty as what you’re wearing. It really suits you."

"Eonni, if you wore a dress like this, it would suit you too, you know?"

"No. That’s not it."

Ash waved her hands in denial. A uniform might be one thing, but clothes like that didn’t suit her.

The biggest reason was discomfort. Every time her waist was constricted, it felt like her breath was suffocated!

Having lived as a knight her whole life, her style leaned heavily toward practicality.

’The only time I’ll wear a dress from now on will be a wedding dress on my wedding day.’

Ash muttered internally. Bitter laughter almost escaped because she had no idea when that time would be, but she managed to hold it down.

More importantly, there was something else at hand. At this, she sat opposite Selena and opened her mouth.

"So, did your conversation with the Demonic Cult go well? If you can share how it went, tell me a bit."

"To summarize it simply, I was thoroughly played."

"Huh? You were?"

Seated Ash widened her eyes. It was an incomprehensible answer.

Though it hadn’t been long since she formed a bond with Selena, one thing was certain.

Her brain wasn’t just brilliant; if she set her mind to it, she could play the world like a fiddle.

Without looking far, wasn’t there summoning magic that summoned creatures of the Forest of the Four Seasons?

That magic alone could drop a massive meteorite onto academia, which was why she kept it secret.

Because it was a magic developed not for wealth or honor, but solely for one single person—Grylls.

"What on earth did they do for you to say something like that? Did they suffer from Nine Yin Severed Meridians too?"

Even so, saying she was thoroughly played was beyond Ash’s comprehension.

Because the Heavenly Demon Cult advocated mysticism, almost nothing was known about them.

Consequently, not to mention who was there, they didn’t accurately know how much military power they possessed.

The same went for Wi Seol-ak who visited this time. It was difficult to predict what wicked scheme he harbored or how intelligent he was.

"They didn’t really do anything specific. It’s just that meeting us in itself accomplished their goal."

"I don’t quite get what you mean..."

"To put it simply, the Demonic Cult is preparing for a game of chicken right now."

Selena explained in a quiet, composed voice. Starting from Wi Seol-ak’s intentions to the results investigated up to now.

The Demonic Cult possessed a suspiciously large amount of funds, and though they tracked the routes, nothing came out.

As the saying goes, a rich man ruined can still feed his family for three generations; the Imperial Court of the Central Plains was operating dissolutely, but its wealth remained robust.

In many ways, the funding source of the Heavenly Demon Cult was suspicious. While investigation was incomplete, not a single clue had turned up.

"I wondered if by any chance the Demonic Cult had made a secret pact with the Dwarves—that is, Mountain—but that wasn’t it either. Mountain is already fighting Alfheim after all."

"Could they have secretly received expensive items from the Gallery?"

Ash lifted her teacup and brought up a reasonably logical opinion. Something similar had happened in the past.

Back then, the Orange Badge and a certain fief formed a secret relationship, smuggling all kinds of goods.

With this single incident, the victimized fief went bankrupt, and the state also suffered a huge loss.

Fortunately, neither the Orange Badge nor the main culprits were particularly smart, so it was a relief that they were all tracked down and executed.

If they had been just a little smarter, people would have been robbed blind.

"Would Orange Badge just stand by and watch that with both eyes wide open?"

"True, knowing that person’s personality, they definitely would’ve publicly archived it."

Why did such a person grant her a Blue Badge position? No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

Anyhow, knowing Orange Badge’s nature, if smuggling occurred, sanctions would have been imposed immediately.

In other words, it wasn’t smuggling, meaning a separate source genuinely existed.

"The most plausible remaining possibility would be currency counterfeiting... but that’s a method that chokes one’s own neck, so it’s unlikely."

"There’s no need to rush so anxiously. Up until now, almost nothing was known about the Demonic Cult. If things go wrong, your informant will be the only one in danger, so be careful."

Ash had performed all kinds of missions as a soldier. Thus, she well knew how dangerous an informant’s mission was.

Especially since most such informants were of the ’spy’ category, they received no legal protection.

In a situation where every single piece of information conveyed by an informant was critical, acting hastily would be irreversible.

"Thank you for the advice. So I intend to leave this part to the higher-ups. In my heart, I’d like to take charge of it directly, but I have things to do, after all."

"If you’re careless, you could get dragged into a war, so just dip your toes in. So you can pull back anytime."

"What about you, eonni?"

"As for me..."

At Selena’s sharp point, Ash swallowed her words. It was quite an ambiguous matter.

Since it was a civil war occurring in another country, ignoring it lightly didn’t matter.

The problem was that the country was the Central Plains. Depending on the situation, the Messiah Empire might have to provide assistance.

’From our perspective, rather than a one-sided fight, it’s better if they fight each other and exhaust their strength.’

Even if they maintained good relations with the Central Plains, in the end, it was another country. Meaning it was a rival entity.

Let alone the moment the Heavenly Demon Cult claimed the title of ’Revolutionary Army’, providing direct aid became awkward.

Ultimately, if help were to be given, a small number of personnel would have to be dispatched...

"There’s almost no chance I’d go. Normally in cases like this, even if dispatched, keeping one’s mouth shut is enough, but..."

"For various reasons, they won’t recklessly dispatch you, eonni. Is that what you mean?"Read the latest chapters at nov⁠elping.com.

"A blade is most threatening when it’s in its scabbard."

Even if a disagreeable situation occurred from the Messiah Empire’s stance, the likelihood of sending Ash was extremely low.

Unless the Heavenly Demon Cult provoked them or sank a merchant ship of the Messiah Empire.

Therefore, letting the Central Plains handle Central Plains affairs and focusing only on what she originally did was enough.

"Alright. Then I need to return to the Holy Kingdom soon, do you have any items you need?"

"None. More than that... there’s something more important."

"Something important?"

Selena set down her teacup at the sight of Ash speaking so seriously.

Just what was going on for her to even knit her brows? It was none other than Ash.

It had to be something out of the ordinary. Because of this, Selena also tensed up slightly.

"Actually..."

"Yes."

"I became a Blue Badge."

"...?"

Selena slowly tilted her head. Contrary to the serious atmosphere, the words coming out of her mouth were close to a farce.

But Ash’s expression was more serious than anyone’s. Thus, she had definitely not misheard.

"That... Blue Badge? The Blue Badge I know?"

"Yeah. That’s right."

"...Did you do something wrong?"

Aside from feeling somewhat deflated, she was curious. That was because of the disposition of Orange Badge, Don’t Abandon the Hero.

A person who said Blue Badges weren’t needed since she could handle all the hard work herself.

Her self-sacrificing mindset was thorough, with a pushover-like trait to boot.

Moreover, her work processing was solid and she had a surprisingly sharp side, so many viewed her favorably.

So Selena couldn’t help but think along the lines that Ash must have done something wrong.

"Before that, let me ask one thing. When you talk with him, what do you talk about?"

"Occasionally giving Elixirs or asking if there’s anything he needs... that’s it, right?"

"You don’t really do private chats?"

"He is busy in his own right too. He’s a person who cleans up after the kids every single day."

"Ssssshhhh..."

Ash sucked in a breath. The thread was pulling toward her being in the wrong.

Perhaps Orange Badge was also keeping a close eye. Because Grylls was such a unique case.

"What on earth did you do to be appointed Vice-Manager? The Admin wouldn’t appoint you without any reason."

"Just... well... flirting?"

The moment she heard the word ’flirting’, Selena’s brain spun fast.

For just one second. A memory of throwing a flirtatious remark less than ten minutes ago came to mind.

"Don’t tell me you asked him to marry... wait, you did. Did you do it persistently? Even through private messages?"

Selena’s complexion gradually hardened. The current image of Ash was plummeting.

Who was Ash? Lauded as a Sword Master, wasn’t she the pride of the Messiah Empire?

Furthermore, she was revered as a self-driven woman who wouldn’t marry unless a man was stronger than her.

Yet it turned out she was clinging to one man. She wondered what would happen if people found out about this fact.

Her reputation wouldn’t drop, but in many ways, it would spread as continental gossip.

"I wasn’t persistent. Telling him to hurry outside so we can chat a bit was all. Isn’t this much completely fine?"

"That much is something I’ve mentioned too... Be honest. You said other things, right?"

"I don’t know how my image has changed in your head, but absolutely not. Rather, I even heard something akin to a confession."

"...A confession?"

The moment Selena heard that she heard a confession, her mood turned strange. Feeling like her chest was suddenly choked!

She wondered why she suddenly felt this way, but forcefully suppressed it as she listened to the next words.

"Hmm... You won’t understand night watch duty so let’s skip that. Do you remember? When he was bitten by Mad Dog and I gave him an Elixir."

"Of course I remember. It was when he was in extreme danger."

In a way, it was a watershed moment and likely the worst crisis in Grylls’s survival story.

Due to the tradition of fraudsters overflowing, a culture of ’donation’ virtually didn’t exist in the Gallery.

Even in that situation, Ash willingly donated a costly Elixir. Literally giving it out of pure goodwill.

If she hadn’t given it, severing his arm would have been the best option. It was equivalent to saving a person backed against a cliff.

"He still kept the Elixir bottle he received back then. He said he’ll definitely give it to me once he escapes later."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Isn’t that truly admirable? I didn’t even think of it."

Ash shrugged her shoulders. Somehow it naturally turned into boasting.

Seeing this, Selena felt envious for a moment, then felt subtly displeased.

She didn’t express that feeling through her poker face, but for some reason, she was uncomfortable.

"Hmm... By any chance, does he know your identity, eonni?"

"Not at all."

"Really? Aiming for you after knowing your status would be..."

"If anyone’s aiming, it’d be me aiming for him! Would he aim for me? Even now, he’s announced as the Divine Herald."

Trying to slander—though not quite slander—all of it was refuted. Selena nodded her head, agreeing it made sense.

’...Wait a minute. What did I just say?’

Then she flinched upon realizing the meaning of the words she had uttered.

Because it was a question that had room to look down on the party if things went wrong.

If it were a social gathering, it was close to saying "Let’s fight," making it a dangerous situation.This story is hosted at nоvelping.com.

Fortunately, Ash didn’t seem to realize Selena’s intention. Remembering that event, she wore a happy expression.

At this, Selena cooled down her slightly heated head and dug into the essence.

"Certainly, being appointed Vice-Manager over just that is incomprehensible."

"Right? In her own words, she told me not to bother people and if I have nothing to do, manage the Gallery, but I really don’t get it."

"Hrmm..."

Aside from feeling subtly displeased, it was an incomprehensible situation.

Just what was so uncomfortable for her to resort to the drastic measure of forcibly appointing a Blue Badge?

Ash did bother Grylls, but had she committed a huge wrongdoing? One could declare no.

’Meaning, this is close to an extremely emotional coping response...’

An emotional response. Selena dug deeply into this part.

The Gallery held an extremely powerful shield called anonymity.

Name, gender, age, residence, and so forth. Even Orange Badge didn’t know many of these things.

’The Gallery can be accessed regardless of age or gender. Therefore, it’s hard to discern gender simply by tone of speech.’

Crude speech did not discriminate between men and women. Especially making people appalled was in the realm of talent.

A refined noble daughter becoming an absolute overlord herself was a common occurrence on the Gallery.

’Though not me.’

Even if she sarcastically bit at someone occasionally, she never used crude speech.

Selena muttered that internally, then analyzed slowly.

’Ash-eonni kept pestering him to marry her, so she might’ve guessed she’s a woman... but that’s strictly a guess.’

A man pretending to be a woman. A woman pretending to be a man. These were common breeds on the Gallery.

Why else would users make the half-joking half-serious statement that they wouldn’t believe it without verification?

Ash was the same. Even if she was a ghost residing on the Gallery, she had never posted a picture.

The grounds to ’definitively’ distinguish gender were severely lacking.

’Even excluding this, the feelings the Admin harbors toward Grylls-nim. This is also important.’

Tapping the table, Selena fell into deep thought. The more she mulled it over, the more baffling things became.

Though for Ash it was close to reaping what she sowed, Orange Badge’s reaction was beyond understandable bounds.

It was such an overly emotional measure that it instilled doubt in Selena.

’Why among so many methods did she appoint her as Vice-Manager? It feels as though she wants to keep her under herself. Making it feel like she’ll monitor her continuously.’

If she had suspended her for a few days, she would have accepted it and moved on.

But appointing her as a Blue Badge felt like a scheme to tear the two apart from each other.

Neglecting duties as a Blue Badge? Justification for suspension would be met. Effectively throwing an unblockable move.

From Orange Badge’s stance, it reduced work and dropped an eyesore in the process—killing two birds with one stone.

Combining these factors, one hypothesis could be presented.

’The Admin, Don’t Abandon the Hero, harbors goodwill toward Grylls-nim. And a massive amount of it.’

It was highly probable that Don’t Abandon the Hero had also received a massive grace from Grylls.

She didn’t know what that grace was, but at minimum, it was likely of equivalent value to having her life saved.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have out of nowhere appointed Ash as a Blue Badge.

’Heavenly Demon showed goodwill often too... but that was close to gratitude toward a benefactor.’

She wasn’t the type to flirt openly like Ash.

How to put it? She treated bestowing infinite gratitude upon a benefactor as natural.

Her gender was also uncertain, so there was no way to determine if it was romantic interest.

’To say she was annoying, the things other fixed-nicks did were far worse. I heard trade requests fly in day in and day out.’

In the first place, Heavenly Demon voluntarily became a Blue Badge, and other fixed-nicks were more annoying.

Did she appoint those people one by one as Blue Badges? Not at all.

Specifically picking her to be appointed was purely retaliatory.

’To summarize: through some event, the Admin harbored deep goodwill toward Grylls-nim, and seeing Ash-eonni and Grylls-nim talk made her angry. Can it be summarized to this extent?’

Though an absurd assumption, it was the highest probability.

To raise the probability further, she would have to flirt with Grylls herself...

’...It’s too embarrassing.’

She couldn’t do it out of bashfulness. Selena was someone who maintained ’politeness’ even on the Gallery.

She didn’t have the confidence to put on a shameless front and seduce him like someone else.

’I don’t want to put Grylls-nim in a spot just to test a hunch.’

She wanted to become a Blue Badge even less. She was already busy, so getting busy on the Gallery as well was a hard pass.

’Either way, Don’t Abandon the Hero knows Ash-eonni’s gender. On an anonymous Gallery no less. And the Admin is...’

...able to track fixed-nick locations in real time. This was decisive.

Clearly recognizing Sword Matstar’s gender meant knowing who she was in reality.

Having reached that point, Selena asked Ash probing elements.

"Eonni."

"Yeah? Done thinking?"

"Yes. May I ask one thing?"

"Ask away."

Now only one task remained.

"As far as I know, the day the new Admin was appointed on the Gallery was about 1 to 2 years ago."

"Right. It was after the culprit of the Academy Stalking Incident was caught."

"Back then, you were also in seclusion, right, eonni?"

"Because I had no reason to go out?"

It was a process of narrowing down the scope step by step.

"Could you tell me the people you met during that period?"