I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 495

Asella internally screamed in dismay. She realized too late what intention Selena had in bringing up those words.

She had long realized that Selena suspected her of being the Orange Badge.

However, because evidence was lacking and she had maintained her image thoroughly up to now, she had brushed it off lightly.

Even if she was caught being the Orange Badge, it shouldn’t cause any problems. Or so she thought.

’My thinking was short-sighted. If things go wrong, the reputation Grylls-nim has built up might crumble.’

But when Selena mentioned Grylls, her mind changed.

Because it would look as though she, the Hero, was openly favoring Grylls.

However, considering Grylls’s achievements starting from Cain’s advent, there was more than enough reason to do so.

But there was a reason she couldn’t openly declare it, precisely because of the unique nature of the Gallery.

’It is a place where one can see all the malice in the world.’

Even if they praised him in reality, the Gallery might be plastered with insults and criticism.

With Grylls’s mental strength, he could lightly ignore it, but public opinion was not something to be ignored.

Even though she, as the Orange Badge, would stop it as much as possible, no one could predict how things would turn out.

"...On what basis? I don’t know what you mean."

So for now, she had no choice but to deny it.

Selena wouldn’t use this as leverage to blackmail her or anything like that. That much was certain.

It was just, how should she put it... it was uncomfortable having her relationship with Grylls, which she had kept hidden, exposed.

A relationship only the two of them knew was entirely different from one publicly known.

"I mean, it’s as if... while the Herald certainly possesses incredible capabilities, within the Gallery he is just an ordinary user, isn’t he?"

"That is true."

"If the administrator harbors ill intent and bans him, what would you do?"

Grylls could not be banned. This was a fact Asella knew well precisely because she was the Orange Badge.

But this was knowledge exclusive to being the Orange Badge and could not be carelessly revealed.

What Asella could do right now was to trace back the actions of the Gallery’s Orange Badge—that is, Don’t Abandon the Hero.

Fortunately, Asella possessed a strongly steadfast and upright persona both in reality and on the Gallery.

Therefore, she was able to answer with confidence.

"I do not think so. Although the administrator sets somewhat strict rules, they are a faithful believer of Aris-nim."

"Hmm... That’s true as well. Every time I looked, it felt as though I was looking at the Hero-nim."

Did she have no intention of hiding it anymore? Selena smiled gently, indirectly dropping her hint.

Naturally, Asella didn’t shake in the slightest. On the contrary, she merely smiled as if proud.

A situation where her devotion was proven even in the eyes of others. As a faithful servant of Aris, she was extremely satisfied.

"Thank you for the compliment. At any rate, you may rest assured that the administrator will never cause harm to the Herald. I can guarantee that."

"If the Hero-nim says so... I feel relieved as well."

Fortunately, it seemed to have blown over well. Asella breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, Selena was certainly convinced that she was the Orange Badge.

’Circumstantial evidence and physical proof are completely different. It seems she hasn’t found physical proof yet.’

If she wanted to find physical proof, it was easy to find. Selena had already investigated her volunteer work history.

In that process, she must have noticed the existence of Empty Sky Stone Milk, which was practically halfway to gathering physical proof.

But even that was only half. To properly verify it, she would have to ask Grylls directly.

’Knowing Grylls-nim’s personality, he’ll probably make up a vague excuse.’

There was no related topic in the chat history with Selena—that is, Starlight Lady.

Rather than that, there was a point she was curious about. Something Selena would only do after finding the Orange Badge.

After checking if there were any statements that could be used against her in the middle of it all, she quietly opened her mouth.

"Is the Ducal Lady wishing to find the administrator?"

"Yes. As I mentioned before, I am deeply indebted to the Herald. I’m worried that some harm might come to him."

Selena now confidently revealed their relationship. As it was something mentioned before, Asella also nodded.

"The parts you worry about won’t happen, so please don’t be overly concerned. I, too, am indebted to him, so I will do my utmost."

"Thank you. I hope to meet him as soon as possible."

"...Meet him?"

Asella lowered her voice without realizing it. It was a tone filled with heavy discomfort.

Fortunately, whether Selena noticed it or not, she answered with a gentle smile.

"Yes. What I have done for the Herald is really nothing more than trivial things."

Trivial things. Selena usually supplied Grylls with Elixirs.

What kind of item was an Elixir? It was a top-tier potion renowned as a cure-all specifically for external wounds.

The cost of ingredients alone was nerve-racking. However, Selena usually received various ingredients from Grylls.

Crafting Elixirs through those ingredients meant it was a win-win for both of them.

"By any chance, did you speak to your parents? You were cured of your illness thanks to the Herald."Read this novel at n⁠ovelping.com for the best experience.

"Hmm? Did I ever mention that I suffered from an illness?"

"I happened to hear stories about the Ducal Lady."

That was close. Asella felt her heart sink.

Come to think of it, Selena had only expressed receiving a new life, but never explicitly stated she suffered from an illness.

Luckily, Selena’s chronic illness was close to an open secret. She managed to brush it off using quick wits.

"I see. Actually, I was suffering from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians. Do you know what kind of illness that is?"

"I understand it as a disease where one gains extraordinary intelligence in exchange for dying before reaching adulthood. You must have suffered greatly."

"Through those times, I realized that health is immensely important. Even with all the wealth in the world, one cannot buy health."

Selena smiled brightly as she said that. A smile welling up with genuine heart.

It was such a beautiful smile that even Asella stared blankly at her face.

"I visited the place where Asella-nim went for volunteer work. You granted miracles to those who were mentally ill."

"It is thanks to Aris-nim’s blessing."

"However, the one who bestowed that miracle was the Hero-nim. From the perspective of those who received the miracle, the Hero-nim must have felt like the incarnation of Aris."

"...."

Asella desperately suppressed the corners of her mouth that were trying to soar skyward.

As the saying goes, praise makes even whales dance. Selena’s heartfelt compliment served as great comfort and pride for Asella.

She hadn’t done such things for someone to recognize her. It was simply because Grylls had requested it.

Who could refuse a request wishing that there be no sick people in the world?

If Aris had witnessed this scene, She would have patted her on the shoulder.

"I merely did what was naturally expected of me. All of this is Aris-nim’s blessing."

"The Herald saving my life must also be Aris-nim’s blessing, right?"

"Of course."

"Then, if the Herald comes outside, I should naturally dedicate everything I have to offer."

"...Pardon?"

Asella was flustered. So flustered that strange words slipped out of her mouth.

Meanwhile, Selena placed a hand on her chest and spoke in a slightly excited voice. A faint blush bloomed on her face.

"Aside from the Hero-nim, there is no one as good and upright as he is. And dedicating this body of mine wouldn’t even be enough."

"...."

"The Hero-nim would surely understand. To happily dedicate this self to the person who bestowed a miracle. Am I wrong?"

"Th... That’s right..."

Asella could feel it in real time—her inside turning pitch black.

In her heart, she wanted to yell at her not to talk nonsense and stop bothering her benefactor.

But she was the Hero. Moreover, the woman in front of her possessed unwavering faith, even if the target of that faith differed.

Furthermore, had she not already proclaimed Grylls as the Herald of God? Denying that faith would only put her side in a tight spot.

"Thank you. Thanks to you, I can firm up my resolve."

"T-That’s a relief. Haha."

Her inside was burning up. Asella forced a smile and took a sip of tea.

It wasn’t clear whether Selena was doing this on purpose or if she was being completely serious.

Only after peeking at the Gallery chat logs would she be able to learn Selena’s true intentions.

The problem was right after that. What if, just as she did to Ash, she made Selena—that is, Starlight Lady—into a Blue Badge?

’That would virtually be telling her that I am the Orange Badge.’

It was literally a dilemma and a checkmate.

To somehow hide that she was the Orange Badge, she had no choice but to watch every situation unfold with her eyes wide open.

’Phew. Let’s be calm. I am the Hero. I cannot harbor impure thoughts.’

Rushing means losing. The initiative had already passed to Selena.

Having lost the battle of wits, there was only one thing Asella could do.

"It’s about time. Shall we wrap up this meeting?"

"Oh my. Look at the time already."

Hastily leaving the place. It might be a somewhat pathetic situation, but it was fine.

It was just her personal feelings rotting away inside; publicly, they were on very friendly terms.

Narrow-minded as Asella might be regarding Grylls, she wasn’t so incompetent as to fail to separate public and private matters.

If she made even Starlight Lady into a Blue Badge, it would cause a considerable amount of harm to Grylls.

’Unlike that Sword Matstar person, she consistently supplies Elixirs.’

Even if she openly neglected her duties, Starlight Lady was someone who could not be banned.

Unlike other Fixed Handles, supplying Elixirs was something only Starlight Lady could do.

"I hope I can meet the Herald-nim even a day sooner. My parents would be happy as well."

"W-Wouldn’t it be troublesome to meet Duke Mercedes?"Get faster updates on NovelPing.

"Don’t worry. I want to arrange a meeting not as nobles, but as parents."

Selena uttered words that left one unsure whether she was teasing to the end or being sincere.

Asella had no choice but to send her off with a feeling of being robbed blind while watching helplessly.

Staring coldly at her departing back for a moment, she too turned away.

’Whew. Strange. Why is my face burning up like this?’

Her face was hot, but her heart was as chilly as a raging midwinter blizzard.

Did she harbor ill will toward Selena? Or was it a different emotion?

There was no way to figure it out easily. Asella sighed and returned to her bedroom.

Since she couldn’t work with this mindset, she planned to catch some sleep for a bit.

’Catching up on backlogged sleep isn’t bad either...’

Fatigue that could be cleared through Internal Energy Regulation was limited.

Unless one overflowed with mana and various energies like Grylls, fatigue accumulated even for powerful individuals.

If anything, Asella was able to endure longer than others thanks to her divine power.

"...."

How much time had passed since she closed her eyes? Asella opened her closed eyes.

Upon opening her eyes, she could feel her exhausted physical condition cleared up completely.

’It’s not evening yet.’

Perhaps because it was summer, the daylight hours were very long. Asella got up.

"Ggggeuuung~!"

Stretching her body, her mind felt thoroughly refreshed.

Following that, she habitually scratched her belly, then raised her head.

Since time had passed, she was curious about what happened on the Gallery.

’Come to think of it, he didn’t do live video broadcasting.’

Because too many people gathered, Grylls did not broadcast live video.

Instead, he had said he would post occasionally, so quite a few posts must have gone up by now.

Furthermore, she had to start her duties as the Orange Badge, so now was the right time. However...

[This thing is a human?]

[What the fuck is Grylls really? Is that really power a human can possess?]

[If nothing else, his physical specs are fucking insane;;]

[Wasn’t that last thing a dragon?]

As soon as she entered the Gallery, all kinds of posts were popping up like mushrooms after rain.

Most of them were posts related to Grylls, and it seemed he had caused a huge incident once again.

Since it was familiar by now, she mindlessly entered the Recommended Posts.

Then, a single post that received an overwhelmingly high number of upvotes caught her eye.

’Huh? He didn’t even write a title?’

It was Grylls’s post. But there was no title.

Occasionally, some users left the title blank, but it was very rare. It was unsuitable for drawing attention.

But since it was a post uploaded by Grylls, it couldn’t be helped but draw attention.

Asella, who reflexively entered Grylls’s post like that...

"...Merciful Aris."

She could not close her wide-open mouth at Grylls’s performance in the city.

’I-If this isn’t a god, what on earth is it...?’

More important than that was Grylls’s survival status.

Fortunately, seeing that she could send messages, it was certain that he was still alive.

’...I wish he wouldn’t get hurt.’

It seemed it would take a long time for him to wake up this time as well.

Meanwhile, around the same time.

Heavenly Demon Yoo So-wol also took in Grylls’s performance with her eyes.

She was someone who rarely reacted emotionally unless it was an extraordinary matter. However, it was different if it involved Grylls.

In particular, this time even Yoo So-wol genuinely marveled at Grylls’s martial prowess.

"Truly terrifying muscular strength. He could easily uproot a mountain and hurl it."

Worrying about Grylls? She did no such thing.

Because she held the conviction that he would surely be able to survive.

Rather than that.

"I only hope no severe strain was put on his waist... The elders said a man’s waist is of utmost importance."

She was extremely worried about a different matter.

"I heard the sound of a waist shattering... H-He’ll be fine, right?"

This was similar for a certain Sword Master located on the opposite side as well.