I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 622

There were quite a few photos of me and my parents together. I recall there being at least two albums.

Plus, considering the photos left on my phone, I could proudly say we had built many memories.

But now, I thought it was all meaningless and a lost record. Until I saw that photo with my own eyes.

’Even after my parents passed away, I made sure to keep the photos, but...’

The religious figure who looked after me once said:

If you live in regret like this, nothing will change, but if you live cherishing their memory, you can escape the sadness.

That’s why I remembered never throwing away the photos and constantly taking care of them until the very end.

[Parents... Come to think of it, the World Tree showed them to me.]

"I saw it last time too, but Master really looks like he never listened to a word."

"Don’t let your guard down. Even if he looks like that, his hidden weapon throwing ability has stood out since he was a kid."

"You bastards?"

I chuckled at the brothers’ half-joke. Yet, I didn’t take my eyes off the photo.

My childhood self, smiling like a mischievous rascal. My parents, smiling brightly with me in between them.

My heart grew heavy, but now was not the time to get sentimental.

If nothing else, why was our family photo here, and how was this house moved?

There were too many things I needed to know. I quickly snapped out of it and investigated the surroundings.

’Aragon must have left this place.’

This Theme Park itself was Aragon’s creation.

So he must have somehow brought the house where I used to live with my parents as well.

’From the perspective of the twin siblings, it would be their home too.’

If it were Aris, wouldn’t she have known where Aragon hid the secrets?

I searched around, retracing my memories as much as possible to see if there was any space where something could be hidden.

"Master. There’s a seed here."

"A seed?"

"I think it’s that flower we saw earlier."

While rummaging through every nook and cranny of the house, Lackey discovered a seed.

As for where the seed was, it was inside the refrigerator. Come to think of it, I heard that if you store seeds properly, they can be preserved for a long time.

Perhaps the seed placed inside was stored for that very reason. I checked the seed Lackey had found.

Unlike ordinary seeds, it had hair-like fibers around it. Along with that, there was a description stating it was a Rose of Sharon seed.

"Should we take it and plant it?"

"...Let’s take it for now."

I didn’t know if it would sprout, but I should try it first before thinking.

I checked to see if there was anything else in the refrigerator, but realizing there were only seeds, I moved on.

The place I moved to was a private room presumed to have been shared by the twin siblings.

’After growing up, Aragon probably stayed with the Chief God, and Aris stayed in this room alone.’

That prediction hit the mark perfectly. Even if Aris was a tomboyish, immature girl, a woman is still a woman.

As soon as I entered the room, it felt exactly like a girl’s room. The overall atmosphere was bright.

Also, as if to show that she had always dreamed of being a knight, various equipment hung on the walls.

I looked around meticulously, wondering if there was anything useful to be found here.

The equipment hanging on the wall consisted only of training gear that could hardly be used in actual combat.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) The wooden sword used by Lady Aris-nim...! It’s an artifact of immense value!

ㄴAllfather) It must possess a value no less than that of the Holy Sword.

ㄴPraise the Sun) How much is that worth in cash?

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu) It probably can’t even be converted to money, yong.

ㄴStarlight Lady) It’s not just a simple artifact, but a sacred relic, so it must be handled with care.

Of course, this was by my standards; by the outside world’s standards, every single one of them was a sacred relic.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to pack them, thinking I could gift a few to Asella.

’Is this really the authentic one? Or is it a replica made by Aragon?’

Such a thought suddenly occurred to me. Whether this place was truly the real house.

One might ask how it could not be, given that there was even a family photo. I thought of it this way:

"There’s a high probability that this house and these items are nothing more than decorations."

[For what reason?]

"Because if it were a truly precious home, a home filled with family memories, they wouldn’t have left it here."

With the technology of Aragon and the gods who followed him, copying an entire house would be child’s play.

Therefore, perhaps this house itself was a message sent to Aris.

If you want to see me, return to the house where our memories dwell.

"There’s a high probability that Aragon is in the real house. Though I don’t know if Aris is aware of this."

[A complicated relationship indeed.]

"It feels like looking at my brother and me in the past."

Lackey made a quite fitting remark. Seeing Dolsoe nod his head, he seemed to share the same thought.

Just how massive was the Chief God’s presence that a once-harmonious brother and sister had drifted apart like this?

And by what circumstances did I get swept up in this storm? It was a truly complicated situation.

’I want to go outside, but they’re making it so I can’t leave.’

It was a situation that naturally brought a bitter smile. What if an opportunity to go outside arose, but I couldn’t leave because I was too preoccupied with this?

If nothing else, since this entire situation was directly or indirectly related to me, it was hard to simply ignore.

"It seems this is where Aragon used to study."

[It looks like a bedroom, though?]

"He must have remodeled it."This chapter is updated first at novеlping.com.

Was it because Aragon had a strong passion for learning since childhood?

His room had far more books compared to Aris’s. The books packed tightly in the study were impressive.

Checking one of them, I saw incomprehensible formulas and explanations written inside.

’It looks like the text was copied directly.’

It wasn’t written directly in a notebook by Aragon, but rather in a format that seemed to have copied the written text as-is.

It wasn’t just this notebook; the others were the same. There was a strong feeling of them being copies.

Through this, I realized that this house itself was a replica, but there was a puzzling part.

’But this seed seems to be the real deal.’

Specifically, the Rose of Sharon seed. If nothing else, this was real.

Whether it was simple craftsmanship or if there was another reason hidden behind it, I had absolutely no idea.

"Nothing particularly stands out."

[How about taking at least the notebooks written by Lord Aragon-nim?]

"But they’re all copies?"

[That alone makes them valuable enough.]

"You nagged me when I took the bungeoppang mold earlier, though?"

[Ahem, ahem. It would be a waste to leave them like this. And they are replicas, not the originals anyway.]

It seemed Cain’s conscience had finally partially eroded. I welcomed it inwardly.

If Cain had known my thoughts, he would have immediately retracted it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t read minds.

Thus, I took every single book stored in the study. If I searched slowly, something would eventually turn up.

"Master. Aren’t you going to pack this?"

"Ah. Come to think of it, there was a refrigerator too. Hmm..."

I didn’t know what principle it operated on, but the refrigerator was still running steadily despite hundreds of years having passed.

However, its operation itself wasn’t much different from what I knew.

"There’s no point in taking this. It’s not like we have a generator at our house."

"What a shame."

"We have a cold storage anyway, so what does it matter?"

"I wanted to take things out and eat them while staying at home."

"You really are a sly one."

"Master. Then how about that?"

After Lackey, Dolsoe pointed somewhere. It was the bathroom.

In the bathroom, there wasn’t much worth taking except for the bathtub and the showerhead.

"What do you want to take from the bathroom?"

"I want to take the bathtub. We can’t keep bathing in a hard wooden tub forever."

"Hmm..."

"And this looks very useful too."

After the bathtub, Dolsoe pointed to the toilet. I nodded.

Unlike the refrigerator, those two would be highly useful even if brought to the Shelter.

Although their only purpose was to eliminate discomfort, progress always begins with recognizing inconvenience.

’Or it might not be a bad idea to set up a separate bathhouse altogether.’

To clarify, not a bathroom, but a bathhouse.

Since I didn’t have the ability to build a separate sewage system, this was the best option.

In that manner, I detached and packed the bathtub, the toilet, and finally, the showerhead.

If I somehow modified the showerhead, I would be able to use it sufficiently.

Aren’t we already freely supplying drinking water by connecting a hose to the river?

’If it gets too difficult, I can just ask the dwarves.’

Thus, having packed everything worth taking, I stepped out of the house.

Ah. Let me correct myself. I packed a few more things.

"Master. Why are you taking this?"

"I’m just taking it."

The photo of me and my parents. The photo taken with the twin siblings. I packed these as well.

The former was to avoid forgetting my parents’ faces, and the latter was to compare them when I encountered the twin siblings in the future.

"Put it in like that... Yes. Good job."

"Master is the strongest, so why do we have to do the work?"

"If you don’t like it, you become the master."

Lackey grumbled at my blunt retort. Still, I was the one who carried the heavy things.

Although the items were quite large, storing them wasn’t difficult thanks to the Subspace Backpack.

[No matter how I look at it, you look like grave robbers...]

"You’re a grave robber too. And one who serves Aris, at that."

[O Lady Aris. Please forgive my sin of failing to stop them.]

Cain lamented his situation while drawing the sign of the cross.

Still, I was glad he was a reasonably flexible person. If his faith had been a bit more devout, he would have been horrified and tried to stop me.

Thus, I was able to pack almost everything obtainable from the Theme Park. As it was gradually getting dark, I planned to return quickly.

’The next time I return, the house won’t have vanished entirely, right?’

A sudden anxiety crept in that the entire Theme Park, not just the house, might disappear.

Well, I could verify that in due time; what mattered right now was returning.

Eventually, through Cheongseol’s ability, we were able to return to the Shelter.

Perhaps because we had gone through a particularly grueling journey today, I had the illusion of returning after a very long time.

"Master. Let’s install the bathtub first."Visit novelpi⁠ng.com for the full chapter.

"Wait. We have to fill it with hot water first anyway."

Since we had obtained so many things from the Theme Park, the chores to be done increased exponentially.

It seemed I would have to stay cooped up in the Shelter for at least two days.

’I also need to store the Sky Whale’s tears.’

On top of that, I had to prepare dinner for the group.

To make matters worse, the kids had played so hard today that they were trying to sleep without even washing up.

"Daddy... I want to sleep..."

"No. You have to eat dinner, wash up, and then sleep."

"Heeeying..."

"Should I not give you food?"

"I want to eat."

The Sun Wukong brothers lent a hand, but it was still not enough.

After finishing the sweet dinner, I filled the bathtub with hot water.

Since I planned to use it after the Sun Wukong brothers were done, installing the toilet was the priority.

’I just need to keep the frame and pierce only the bottom part, right?’

Jjang-geurang!

"...."

It wasn’t. When I hit it with a hammer, the entire thing shattered like glass instead of just the bottom.

I blinked my eyes, staring at the disaster that had occurred, and let out a hollow laugh. I hadn’t thought it through.

’...I’ll just make it out of wood.’

At least the bidet was safe, which was a relief. It would be best to work on this tomorrow.

Soon, after roughly finishing all the clean-up, I stripped down to get into the bathtub.

’Ah. Right. I didn’t turn off the broadcast.’

I almost put on a naked show in broad daylight. I immediately ended the broadcast.

"Good work, everyone. See you tomorrow."

ㄴSword Matstar) Tsk. What a waste.

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu) I could have seen a nice body, though.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Don’t say such weird things!

Once the broadcast was completely turned off, the strange pressure I felt in my eyes also vanished.

Honestly, broadcasting consistently now wouldn’t have been much of a problem.

Since my mana was steadily increasing.

"Phew. Refreshing."

After washing my body clean, it was gradually time to go to sleep.

Normally, I would have logged into the Gallery to spend my remaining time, but not today.

I just... just wanted to rest. Today, especially, too many things had happened compared to other days.

Like how I, Park Jong-hyuk, was actually the Chief God of this world.

Or how there was a possibility that this body was a fake and not the real one, and so on.

I let out a sigh, then took out and checked the photos I had brought from the house. They were photos of my parents.

’Seeing them like this makes my heart feel heavy.’

Looking at the photos, memories came flooding back. But they were people who had already departed.

Though I might yearn for them, I couldn’t live buried in the past. I stood up and hung the photos on the wall.

The photo taken with the twin siblings... I hadn’t hung it up yet.

While memories with my parents existed, I had absolutely no memory of them.

Furthermore, the me they remembered and the current me might be entirely different entities.

’Even if I am the Ship of Theseus... I must live on steadfastly.’

I had already built memories in my own way with my companions and the people outside.

These memories were by no means a lie, and at the same time, they were the driving force that allowed me to move forward silently.

Even if someone in the future called me a creation modeled after the Chief God, or a fake, it didn’t matter.

Since I was already a different person, calling me a fake or whatever held absolutely no meaning.

I was just a person struggling to escape this godforsaken forest.

"That’s enough of that... Maengkkongi."

"Bpi-yung?"

"Play a song for me."

I asked Maengkkongi, not the Jukebox Mimic, for a song.

Maengkkongi seemed to ponder for a moment upon hearing my words, then quietly opened his mouth.

"Tting~ tting-tting-tting-tting tting~"

"...."

"Tting-tting-tting-tting tting~"

A song starting with a sweet piano melody. From the very beginning, it was a song I had heard somewhere.

Soon, other instruments joined the piano, transforming it into a grand atmosphere.

’...Isn’t this a song that often appears in short videos?’

A song that plays whenever showing someone’s sad narrative or their growth process.

Why Maengkkongi knew this song didn’t matter. He was just that kind of creature to begin with.

It was just surprising how uncannily similar it was to the situation I was in.

’...Yeah.’

Listening to the song that was growing increasingly grand, I slowly closed my eyes.

’This is my home now.’