I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 512

The election of the Sultan of Setan proceeds in a way that seems simple on the surface.

It is a system where influential families—that is, families that exert greater or lesser influence over Setan—vote to elect him.

While it is a method adopted by several other nations, Setan has one rather peculiar twist.

Namely, that other races can also become the Sultan. In fact, half of the historical Sultans have been humans.

One might wonder why this is so surprising, but it makes sense when you consider the unique characteristics of this world.

Alfheim, Mountain, Mephisto, Wydd, and so on. There are many nations representing each race.

And in most of these nations, other races are rarely granted significant authority.

Even if they aren’t outright ostracized, strict laws and systems prevent them from participating in politics.

In a way, it is a natural phenomenon. It is always preferable to have one’s own race or ethnicity at the top; having another race rule over you would feel uncomfortable.

While there have been those who broke through that discomfort and rose to the top, they are historically extremely rare.

Because of this, Setan is exceptionally unique. The fact that other races can also become high-ranking elites.

Title) The reason Setan is so tolerant of other races

Because they themselves are immigrants kicked out of Alfheim.

I shouldn’t say that, right?

You asshole, lmao

But thanks to that, the Setan hyungs have great personalities.

I did hear they were really brutal in the old days, lol

So please, can’t someone just give me 100,000 gold?

You’ll get arrested for tax evasion for that.

?? What do you mean?

A certain rich guy from Setan. A nice-looking guy donated 100 million gold.

Lmaooo

Hahahahaha

It’s funny because it feels like that would actually happen, lol

Setan is a country with almost no racism—or rather, racial discrimination.

After all, they themselves were once outcasts, but they settled and founded their nation thanks to the goodwill of another race—specifically, humans.

As a result, they were the race with the highest number of mixed-bloods, and they had numerous inclusive policies.

While Wydd suffered from various issues due to forcibly introducing democracy, Setan was relatively more equitable.

Of course, just because it is Setan doesn’t mean everyone is nice. As the saying goes, "Generosity comes from a full granary."

Since Setan is famous for being a wealthy nation, there are many generous people, but conversely, there are also many who thirst for prestige.

Since it is a desert nation with nothing but an insane abundance of resources, it is true that they are lacking in many other areas.

Furthermore, having a history of being expelled from Alfheim made that aspect stand out even more.

"Allow me to introduce him. This is my pet dinosaur, Spino."

"Ppiyak?"

"Oh... Ohhh!"

"Is... Is that really a dinosaur? A dinosaur?!"

"Unbelievable. This is a real, living dinosaur. How on earth...?"

In that sense, the baby dinosaur Salman revealed was more than enough to draw immense interest from the nobles.

No, it went beyond merely drawing interest; it fulfilled something deep within their hearts.

"Does it breathe fire from its mouth, by any chance?"

"This is a dinosaur, not a dragon."

"When does it turn invisible?"

"I do not know yet."

"May I touch it?"

"Be careful, as he might bite."

As a bonus, it temporarily satisfied the romance of men.

Doesn’t everyone raise a small dinosaur in their hearts? Especially men—they all do.

Only after Salman had fully satisfied that fantasy and some time had passed did the crowd manage to calm down.

"But is this really a dinosaur? You didn’t just bring a Hatchling, did you?"

Once their excitement cooled, the nobles began to regain their senses one by one.

Even though they had made fools of themselves at first.

Salman’s pet dinosaur—that is, Spino—was certainly an amazing creature, but it had to undergo a verification process.

"If it only looks like a dinosaur on the outside... is it truly a dinosaur? You didn’t just bring a Drake or a Hatchling?"New chapters come out on novelрing.com first.

A human with an impressive mustache raised a doubt.

Since Setan was a place where other races, especially humans, held high status, it was not strange for a human to be among the high-ranking elites.

Furthermore, even if he looked human on the outside, there was a very high probability that he actually had Dark Elf blood mixed in.

"That part is indeed suspicious. Hasn’t there actually been a family that pulled a stunt like that before?"

"They brought in an expert and were utterly humiliated."

"How foolish of them. They should have bribed the expert first."

Their wonder was short-lived. They immediately began to judge the situation coldly.

As mentioned earlier, the wealthy of Setan often desired prestige rather than money.

Therefore, they literally threw money at everything, struggling to obtain prestige by any means necessary.

The dinosaur carcass that Grylls had put up for auction last time was the same. It was practically a sunk cost, yet the Rahman family had literally plastered it with money.

As a result, they gained fantastic prestige, so it was only natural that people who envied and resented them would emerge.

An example of this was someone who had brought a baby Drake, a subspecies of dragon, to pull a scam, only to be exposed.

"I am well aware of what you are concerned about. If it were up to me, I would love to present definitive proof."

"From the way you talk, it sounds as if you have a connection with the Herald?"

Someone saw through Salman’s sly attitude. At this, Salman merely smiled instead of answering.

With his sly yet perfectly composed smile, the people could not help but remain half-doubtful.

Since there was already a precedent of someone pulling a scam, it was a situation where they could not easily believe him.

Although Praise the Sun was suspected to be a citizen of Setan, no one knew his true identity.

"I cannot speak on that matter. However, I can tell you that I am close to him."

Salman did not reveal that he was Praise the Sun. Instead, he kept it vague.

There were various reasons, but the biggest was the threat of assassination. Dark Elves were inherently a race skilled in assassination.

Although they had been restraining themselves lately because anyone and everyone could end up dead, it was always right to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"Furthermore, in case you do not believe me, I have brought some pieces of evidence. These are the fragments of the egg Spino hatched from."

Salman did not stop there and presented the evidence. The egg Spino had hatched from.

Looking at those egg fragments, the people showed even greater interest.

And why wouldn’t they? It was a dinosaur egg. Even though it had already hatched, they couldn’t help but show interest.

"If you wish, you may examine this egg. You will realize that it is different from those of dragons or their subspecies."

"Hmph. To be so confident."

"It just so happens that there is a scholar in Setan who is knowledgeable about dinosaurs, so it would be best to bring him here."

As Salman acted so confidently, the nobles also became half-convinced. At the very least, they had come to believe half of it.

Above all, since Salman acted as if he held a decisive trump card, it was difficult to pressure him recklessly.

If he was truly the Herald of God—that is, a fixed nick with a connection to Grylls—then they would be letting go of a goose that laid golden eggs.

"So, what is your reason for calling us here? Surely you don’t wish to become the Sultan?"

The human who had raised the doubt earlier spoke. He had vaguely guessed Salman’s ulterior motive.

The people gathered here right now were all those who held voting rights in the Sultan election.

Though few in number, they were individuals who held immense power in the political sphere.

Using this as a foundation to become the Sultan was not a bad strategy either. The only problem was Rahman.

"No. At least for now, rising to that position seems a distant prospect."

Salman shook his head. According to the investigation he had asked his wives to conduct, the position of Sultan was practically locked in for Rahman.

Unlike himself, who had only just begun his activities, Rahman had already gained prestige through the dinosaur carcass.

Although his reputation had taken a significant hit recently due to his reckless attack on the Ghost Ship, he was still going strong.

Therefore, surpassing Rahman to become the Sultan was practically impossible. Even if it were possible, his foundation of support was too weak.

"I plan to aim for what comes after. After all, Rahman is merely a bird destined to fall on his own."

"Do you have some kind of dirt on him?"

"Even without digging up dirt, there are many suspicious aspects. First of all, the fact that he dumped such an astronomical sum into the Gallery was suspicious in itself."

The money Rahman had invested to purchase the dinosaur carcass. That money was an amount so colossal that even the wealthy of Setan were appalled.

It meant he was that desperate for prestige, and it was close to a signal that he would do absolutely anything.

"Indeed, the Rahman family..."

"Weren’t they caught up in tax evasion allegations last time as well?"Get faster updates on novelp‌ing.com.

"If that fellow becomes the Sultan..."

It was just as his investigation had shown. Salman smiled inwardly.

The people gathered here right now held a negative perception of Rahman.

Normally, this would have been difficult to find out, but with his wives’ help, he was able to learn everything.

’The efficacy of the dinosaur hide Grylls gave me was immense.’

Giving a hide with permanent invisibility to a Dark Elf, a master of assassination?

It was exactly like giving wings to a tiger. Thanks to it, his intelligence-gathering capabilities had become vastly superior to before.

The human who had raised the doubt also quickly grasped the atmosphere and spoke to Salman.

"It seems you have conducted a thorough investigation. I believed your family was originally on the decline."

"I was fortunate."

He really was fortunate. He had merely browsed the Gallery out of boredom, yet he had met a wonderful person.

That person was even proclaimed as the Herald of God now. Despite that, they maintained the same relationship as before.

"Ah! Come to think of it, Salman. I heard your family acquired the Cheonjam Merchant Guild?"

Amidst the murmuring, a certain Dark Elf shouted as if he had only just realized it.

At that shout, the human who had been talking with Salman also widened his eyes. A reaction of disbelief.

At this, Salman cheered inwardly. It was extremely impeccable timing.

"Yes. I have indeed acquired that guild."

"Right. That was it. Why did I only realize it now?"

Acquiring the Cheonjam Merchant Guild. This single fact instantly convinced the influential families.

They would still need to call in an expert, but their level of trust would have increased significantly compared to before.

Above all, there was one more thing. Leaving the murmuring nobles behind, Salman called the human noble aside.

The human noble, harboring brief curiosity, accompanied Salman to a private room.

And...

"I have been hearing some interesting rumors lately. Rumors that the Vespa family is planning to acquire a certain sports club."

"?!"

The human noble, who was about to sip his sweet date tea, was startled out of his wits.

His reaction clearly asked how Salman could possibly know about something they were conducting in absolute secrecy.

It was no big deal for the wealthy of Setan to acquire sports clubs and use them as playthings.

After all, Salman himself had acquired a club before. Furthermore, it had been doing quite well recently.

"It is not particularly strange... but it seems you are acquiring it for a rather unsavory purpose."

"...."

However, not all wealthy citizens of Setan acquired them with good intentions.

The most representative of these was tax evasion. Since the wealthy of Setan had so much money, most of them had to shoulder astronomical tax bombs.

To avoid this, there were quite a few cases where they acquired poor clubs to use them for tax evasion.

Of course, since it was a widely known method, it was easy to get caught, but if they hid it thoroughly, it would be impossible to detect.

"...I felt your intelligence-gathering capabilities were extraordinary lately, and it seems there was a reason."

"It is because I have a good person by my side."

"So, what is it you want? Do you want my vote?"

It seemed the conversation would flow easily. Salman wore a gentle smile.

Then, leaning forward, he looked the human noble straight in the eye.

"When Rahman falls from grace, please step forward as the next Sultan."

"And what benefit does that bring to you?"

What Salman wanted was only one thing.

"It is comfortable, is it not?"

It was pleasure without responsibility.

While the global situation was rapidly shifting, at Grylls’s Shelter.

"So..."

"Oob! Oob-oob!"

He frowned as he looked at the bound pack of gorillas.

"So these are the bastards who threw banana peels into our Shelter, right?"

He had been caught up in a low-grade provocation.