I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 621

With the puppet’s inexplicable sacrifice, the grueling battle finally came to an end.

I stared blankly at the collapsed Ferris wheel and the dust presumed to be the scattered remains of the puppet, then summoned Largo.

Unlike flesh and muscle, bones and internal organs do not heal easily, even if one’s recovery rate is high.

If I didn’t treat it quickly, my entire body could be in danger.

’It’s a relief that the injured part was at least the liver.’

I gulped down a bottle of Elixir and waited for my recovery.

The liver is an organ with truly exceptional regenerative abilities compared to others. Even if most of it is damaged, it can recover given the right conditions.

Of course, that was only the case for illnesses; physical trauma like mine would be a bit different.

After restoring my physical condition as much as possible with the Elixir, I checked on my companions first.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"I think my bones are broken."

"Me too."

The Sun Wukong brothers, who had kept the puppet in check, had also suffered significant damage.

Broken bones, damaged internal organs, and the like. Without the Elixir, their injuries would have been classified as severe.

I felt incredibly fortunate to have the Elixir that Starlight Lady had personally crafted.

’The kids... are fine.’

The children didn’t have any major injuries either.

Part of me wanted to scold them, asking why they did such a thing and if they thought this was the same as the mechanical dragon incident.

But more than that, the puppet’s final action weighed on my mind. Why on earth did he do that?

"..."

Soon, I reached the spot where the giant Ferris wheel had collapsed. Given the sheer size of the Ferris wheel, the surrounding area was completely devastated.

Fortunately, the Chief God’s domain was vast, so the damage was relatively minor.

Pa-seue-seuk—

Dust presumed to be the Chief God’s body scattered in the wind. Additionally, a mass of blood and flesh was spread beneath the heavy Ferris wheel car.

I didn’t particularly want to lift the car to check what was inside.

His body must have turned to dust and scattered due to Qi Deviation.

’Why on earth?’

The question simply wouldn’t go away.

Why did he save my companions when he had been charging to kill me just moments before?

Just as I was standing there in a daze, plagued by unresolved questions...

"Master loved children."

Heukgu appeared silently and spoke to me. I looked at him.

Heukgu was staring at the puppet pinned beneath the Ferris wheel with a highly complex expression.

The one who had bitten the puppet’s leg to create an opening when I was in danger.

I crouched down and stroked the head of the gloomy-looking Heukgu.

Since he had taken a physical form rather than remaining a shadow, I could touch him.

"You seem to know a lot about the Chief God."

"Because he cherished me deeply."

"Is that why he ordered you to watch over the Tyrant Dragon King’s corpse?"

"Yes."

Not just an ordinary dragon, but the Tyrant Dragon King. An entity ranked exceptionally high among the dragons of the Mythic Age.

Ordering him to watch over such an entity to prevent its resurrection showed just how much trust had been placed in him.

"Then you must have known from the start that the Chief God and I look alike?"

"It’s not just your face. The abilities you possess are also similar to Master’s."

"Like being incredibly strong and having an absurd amount of mana?"

"He was exactly like the guy pinned under here."

Heukgu said, tapping the Ferris wheel car. His face still looked complicated.

Not just me, but everyone who had witnessed this would likely feel the same.

Even now, the fixed-handle users were sharing their opinions, and the situation in the Gallery was unusual.

Since it was so chaotic, it seemed best not to log in for a while.

"So he sacrificed himself like this because he loved children... is that how we should see it?"

"Probably. But this guy only had the body; he was practically an empty shell. A shell with only instincts left."

"..."

"Even within those instincts, the thought that he had to protect children must have remained."

Heukgu expressed his sorrow. His ears drooped, and he even made that distinct, pitiful expression unique to dogs.

I naturally stroked him while bringing up the question I had kept inside.

"Then who do you think I am? A puppet just like this guy? Or the Chief God?"

"I won’t believe either."

"Why?"

"If Master had been resurrected, it would be more realistic for him to end up like that empty shell."

Heukgu pointed with his long snout toward Cain, who was tidying up in the back. Hearing those words, I also understood.

After all, if they had wanted to resurrect the Chief God, they would have created a mechanical body.

That made it even more of a mystery. Why did Aragon go so far as to conduct reckless experiments to create a puppet—specifically, a clone?

Furthermore, he had uttered incomprehensible words about how it was difficult to contain a healthy mind inside it.

’Right now, even my own authenticity is in doubt.’

I let out a sigh. As I had mentioned before, my last memory was being completely drunk.This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.

After that, I woke up in the Forest of the Four Seasons and went through hardship after hardship. However, it wasn’t as if I had completely forgotten my past.

A crazy bastard who enlisted in the military twice, simply because he had nothing else to do despite having ample grounds for exemption.

Suffering from PTSD in the aftermath of war, and eventually working in the shadows at the request of the National Intelligence Service.

"So you went wild back then because my name is the same as the Chief God’s?"

"Yeah. Because I thought you were insulting my Master."

"How about now? Does it feel like an insult?"

"I’ll acknowledge about one character of it."

"What do you mean, one character? It’s not even a surname or a given name."

I chuckled and stood up.

The situation remained complicated, but that didn’t mean I could just stand still.

’Still, I should show some respect.’

I took a World Tree Cigar from my pocket, lit it, and threw it onto the Ferris wheel car.

It was a reward for protecting my companions, even if he had been an enemy.

Afterward, I confirmed that my companions had recovered to some extent and moved on.

I hadn’t completely explored the Chief God’s domain yet, and there was a high probability that Aragon had hidden something more.

"Master. Look over there. A lot of flowers have bloomed."

"Indeed."

The deeper we went inside, the more flowers we saw.

However, there wasn’t a wide variety; only a single type of flower existed.

ㄴAllfather) It is a flower I have never seen before.

ㄴStarlight Lady) The five spread petals are beautiful.

ㄴSword Matstar) Pink and white are mixed here and there. What is the name of the flower?

ㄴSmart Demon) I have never seen such a flower either.

The fixed-handle users said they had never seen this flower before. It seemed this flower did not exist in the outside world.

It had been a long time since I had seen this flower in person, so I was a bit confused, but because it was a highly distinctive species, I recognized it immediately.

"It’s the Rose of Sharon."

[Rose of Sharon? Is it the ’Mugung’ as in boundless?]

"Yes, that’s right. It’s also the national flower of my hometown."

A flower name that no one from the Republic of Korea could possibly fail to know. I quietly touched the flower.

Evidences pointing to the Chief God’s identity were scattered everywhere, making it impossible not to know.

But there was no confirmation that it was me. After all, even the failed creation crafted by Aragon was based on the Chief God.

’Am I like that too?’

Once one question was resolved, another quietly reared its head.

My desire to escape this forest remained unchanged, but the newly emerged questions began to hold me back.

The anxiety of whether I could live in peace even if I made it outside.

I plucked a single Rose of Sharon and looked around.

"Kyu-e-e-eng!"

"Master! Wonmo was stung by a bee!"

"Oh dear."

I had intended to tuck the flower behind Wonmo’s ear, but he had already caused trouble.

I patted Wonmo, who was throwing a fuss after being stung by a honeybee. It seemed I would have to give him the flower later.

Thus, we explored various parts of the Chief God’s domain, checking if there was anything unusual.

Unlike other places, there were no particularly striking features, but it wasn’t as if there were none at all.

[It is a highly unusual-looking building.]

"It’s perfectly rectangular, Master."

"..."

The Theme Park overall had a theme close to medieval fantasy.

Although the knights and mages were all robots, it was fantasy, so let’s move past that.

But the building standing proudly before us now was not. It was a ’modern’ building that I remembered.

"...It’s a house."

"Our home is not here, Master."

"Right. It must be the Chief God’s house."

I said so, looking around the Chief God’s house.

It was somewhat shabby, and rather than a detached house, it looked like a home you would find lined up along an alleyway.

An appearance as if that house alone had been plucked out and moved here. Consequently, its scale wasn’t very large either.

An iron gate, a small yard beyond it, and finally, the door leading inside the house.

It was familiar, far too familiar. But I still couldn’t be certain.

’Can I go inside?’

I walked forward cautiously and stood before the gate.

Reaching the gate, I could see a plaque hanging on the adjacent wall.

It was a road name indicating the address of this house.

This, too, was beyond familiar; it was a road name I knew all too well.

Kee-eeek—

It seemed the gate didn’t have a separate locking mechanism. I knew there were quite a few houses like this in reality.

Not to mention ’my home’, even my friends’ houses were like this. Of course, we used to lock them thoroughly at night.

Above all, even if the gate wasn’t locked, it didn’t matter as long as the inner door of the house was locked securely.Enjoying the story? Read on at novеlping.com.

"Master. It’s much smaller than our home."

"This is actually quite decent."

Since Largo was too large to enter through the gate, I had him wait outside.

Cain also couldn’t enter in his Dullahan state, so he temporarily returned to his stone statue form.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) There are many flowerpots.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) It seems the gods grew a lot of plants!

Just as they said, there were quite a few flowerpots.

Growing vegetables in a house with a yard was a common sight.

Of course, rather than a full garden, things like tomatoes or eggplants that could be grown in pots were the best they could do.

ㄴSword Matstar) That is a scarecrow. Did they train in swordsmanship?

ㄴSuspiciously...) For that, the yard looks rather narrow.

ㄴLudwig van Erolt) It is suitable for children to run around and play.

Contrary to its appearance, the yard itself was on the spacious side.

It was suitable for children to undergo various training, so to speak.

That scarecrow must have been used by Aris for training.

Deol-keock!

I pulled the handle of the door leading into the house from the yard.

However, unlike the gate, a locking mechanism was installed. And it wasn’t just a simple lock.

’It’s been a while since I’ve seen a digital door lock.’

A digital door lock that opened only when a password was entered. I entered the password proficiently.

Modern door locks would just require a fingerprint scan. But this was different.

The method where you had to press the asterisk first, enter the designated password, and then press the asterisk again to open it.

If you didn’t know the password, you had no choice but to reset it or call a technician.

Bip— bip-bip-bip-bip— bee-ree-reek—

There was no need for that now. Because I got through on the first try. The password was exactly my birthday.

The other companions expressed their curiosity when I opened the door so naturally.

"Have you been here before, Master?"

"Probably."

It still wasn’t certain. I replied as such and threw the door wide open.

Normally, if a house isn’t consistently maintained, it’s bound to accumulate dust and emit a distinct, musty odor.

However, no scattering dust was visible at all, and a refreshing fragrance even drifted out gently.

It seemed someone had maintained it regularly, or perhaps there was some kind of automatic cleaning function.

[It is a cozy home.]

Cain offered a brief assessment. In terms of square footage, it wasn’t spacious but rather on the narrow side.

The living room doubled as a kitchen, and the refrigerator was an old model rather than a modern one.

A television only existed in the master bedroom, and there was only one private room.

It was familiar. Extremely so.

"Master! There’s a picture of you here!"

It was while I was examining the all-too-familiar structure of the house. Lackey shouted to me.

Hearing that shout, I entered the master bedroom where the old television was.

"Isn’t this Master? There are other humans next to you too."

Lackey said to me, pointing at a photo hanging on the wall. I looked at the photo.

The Chief God sitting in the center, dressed up reasonably well. The twin siblings standing on either side as if assisting him.

The two of them wearing just ordinary clothes, rather than heavy armor or mage robes.

[Seeing them like this, it really hits home that the two of them are twins.]

Just as Cain said, the twin siblings only differed in gender; their appearances were spitting images of each other.

Golden hair that seemed to contain the sun. Deep blue eyes like lakes.

However, while their appearances were identical, the atmospheres they radiated were completely different.

Aris had a confident smile and sharp eyes, as if some of her tomboyish days still remained.

Aragon, who had a calm personality, left an impression with his gentle smile and droopy eyes.

And right in the center. In the dead center, the Chief God, dressed in a neat suit, sat on a chair.

"...He looks like me."

"It’s not just a resemblance; he’s identical to Master."

Lackey spoke tactlessly from the side, but I didn’t pay it any mind.

Because there was a photo that caught my eye even more than that.

Not the photo of the Chief God and the twin siblings, but a photo of other people.

[Could these people be...]

"Yes."

A man and a woman sitting on two chairs. A young boy in his early teens sitting on their laps as if using them as chairs.

All three of them wore the happiest smiles in the world, and because the photo was bright, it stood out even more.

I knew who these people were. There was no way I couldn’t.

"They are... my parents."

For it was a photo of my family, whom I could never forget even as time passed.