I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 675

How long does it take for stereotypes toward a nation or a race to change?

In truth, it is nearly impossible. The most representative group is the Jewish people.

Persecution and discrimination against Jewish people trace all the way back to ancient times, with records even remaining in the Bible.

At the very least, having suffered the unprecedented genocide known as the Holocaust during World War II, sympathetic views toward them increased.

The problem is that even though less than a century has passed, negative perceptions toward the ethnic group are once again creeping up.

Erasing stereotypes toward a specific nation or race is incredibly difficult, meaning that change itself is an extremely arduous task.

In that sense, the elves have achieved a remarkable feat. In less than a century, they have been branded as an unlikable race.

Of course, this is partly because humans are the race that drives global public opinion, but the influence of the Gallery is also significant.

Territorial disputes arising from encouraging tree planting? Honestly, this is a method used by many nations, not just the elves.

Slyly erecting structures to act as if it were their own territory, or fighting because maps changed due to the influence of nature and climate.

They were bound to fight for various reasons, but because it was the usually quiet elves, the exaggeration was much stronger.

Title) You say the elves’ toxicity is exaggerated?

Those elf bastards usually call humans an inferior race, say the Demon Race does nothing but bicker, and mock dwarves as a race that just chugs alcohol all day lol

ㄴWhat about the Beastfolk?

ㄴThey hate Beastfolk because of shedding fur. I saw it myself.

ㄴWhat race do those pointy-ears actually not hate?

ㄴNone, except themselves lol

ㄴIt’s hilarious how they don’t even realize it and pretend to be super victimized haha

Title) Here’s how "likable" these pointy-eared bastards are

As everyone knows, below race, there are ’ethnicities’.

Each ethnicity has different skin colors, different cultures, and just many different things.

Because of this issue, humans constantly fight among themselves. It’s the same for Beastfolk. That’s why it’s treated as a chronic disease.

Still, at least they haven’t messed up so badly as to classify ethnicities as different ’races’.

Because even if their skin color is different or their appearance is different, they are ultimately the same species.

But what about the elves? They did something so amazing as to classify Dark Elves as a completely different race haha

(Rough photo of elves posing in uniforms)

See this? These bastards kicked all the Dark Elves out to the desert and made them establish a separate nation lolol

I don’t know why they’re trying to cover the sky with their hands lolol

ㄴPeople say humans have a high peak of toxicity, but looking at the elves’ toxicity, their peak is also high;;

ㄴFor humans, their malice pierces the ceiling, and for elves, their toxicity pierces the ceiling.

ㄴCould they be good friends?

ㄴAccording to actual statistics, the proportion of half-elves between humans and elves is the highest.

ㄴThey hate each other, but their bodies are honest...

ㄴBut what happens when one of them reaches the end of their lifespan?

ㄴThere are many novels about that, let me tell you an awesome one.

Title) For the record, what Alfheim pursues is

Freedom and equality.

(Rough photo of elves who banished Dark Elves)

These guys?

ㄴShouldn’t they open parentheses and add ’only for us’?

ㄴlolololol

ㄴlololol

ㄴlolol

ㄴWow. You really hit the nail on the head;;

Of course, it wasn’t that they had no karma at all. Rather, they had quite a lot of it.

Things that normally should have been overshadowed by the Demon Race’s misdeeds burst out all at once.

Instead, as the Demon Race became considerably milder due to the development of sports, stereotypes shifted.

Thus, as time passed, their past deeds that had been buried were unearthed, branding them as an unlikable race.

Furthermore, with the recent coronation of the Elf Queen, she openly expressed an expansionist mindset, branding them as troublemakers.

Yet, despite that, they hadn’t caused any major incidents compared to expectations. Rather, more incidents and accidents had occurred on the Holy Kingdom’s side.

It was just that their impression was very poor; in most cases, they would shrink back like ghosts whenever they were about to cause trouble.

"Your Majesty. What do you think of the letter sent by the dwarves?"

An elderly, middle-aged elf spoke in a quiet voice.

The fact that he looked middle-aged despite being an elf, who aged extremely slowly, meant he was at least over two hundred years old.

Also, the fact that he directly questioned the Elf Queen, Elia, meant he held a high official position.

"Are you referring to the talk that there might be a ruin of Lord Lucas within Alfheim’s territory?"

"Yes. For your information, the Senate has already formulated an opinion, but I am curious about Your Majesty’s thoughts."

"Hmm~"This chapter was taken from novelрing.com without permission.

Hearing that, Elia let out a subtle hum. The confident smile she usually wore faltered slightly.

Discussing opinions among themselves and even making a decision, completely excluding her, the supreme authority?

It was so obvious they were trying to keep her in check that she could only snort. However, showing this openly would make her an amateur.

A moderately skilled politician would have laid out their logic clearly to expose exactly what the Senate did wrong.

"Then let’s do that!"

"P-Pardon?"

"Since the Senate has already decided, shouldn’t we just follow it? It’s great, since I was feeling too lazy to think about it anyway!"

Finally, a master would readily accept, telling them to do whatever the fuck they wanted.

When Elia smiled and readily granted permission, the Senate’s representative was instead flustered.

Although it was an ideal outcome for a faction that usually kept the Queen in check, the problem was that this could escalate into a political issue.

If a good policy came out of the Senate? In that case, another fight could break out within the Senate itself.

Fighting over who did it first was what politics was originally about.

Even if a bad policy came out, it wouldn’t affect Elia at all.

All she had to do was announce first that the Senate had ignored procedures and decided among themselves.

With her approval rating already high, the Senate’s action was bound to be a self-destructive move.

"...However, Your Majesty. I would like you to verify it before signing off. This could be heavily intertwined with the religious community."

"The Senate isn’t stupid, so I assume they’ve already taken that into account?"

"Our perspectives are different. We also need Your Majesty’s opinion."

"Fine. Before that, what opinion did the Senate express?"

The other side took a step back. In addition, Elia inwardly mocked them as foolish people.

The reason she was able to ascend to this position was partly due to her ambition, but also because the Senate was so rotten.

The fact that they called this keeping her in check said it all. They were failing to keep up with the rapidly changing world.

"The opinion is that we must protect Lord Lucas’s Brewery no matter what."

"Well, that’s a given. But are you referring to the territory, or the brewery itself?"

"Both."

"Even if it is within Alfheim’s territory?"

"Yes."

At that reply, Elia’s smile vanished. Her lips drew into a straight line, hardening into a stern expression.

Yet, her eyes were still smiling, exuding a rather chilling atmosphere.

The disappearance of a smile from someone who always wore a gentle grin was a highly dangerous signal.

"Are you insane?"

"P-Pardon?"

Harsh words spilled from Elia’s mouth.

Though unsuitable for the leader of a nation to use, it oddly suited her given her usual impression.

Still, the Senate’s representative was just as flustered. He hadn’t expected her to swear so openly.

Regardless, Elia continued with a refreshing eye-smile.

"While war with the dwarves was an expected course of action, it was scheduled to end within one to two years at most. I believe the Senate is aware of this as well."

"Th-that is true, but..."

"But the moment we claim the brewery they treat as a ’holy land’, it won’t be one year, but will stretch to a hundred years."

Although Elia was widely rumored to be a madwoman, she was surprisingly quick to grasp reality.

Recall how she had proudly ascended as Queen in a political world full of sly foxes, and in a highly stagnant Alfheim at that.

She only seemed like a madwoman because her initiative was ridiculously high; her situational judgment was actually extremely outstanding.

"Whatever else we do, we must not touch Lord Lucas’s Brewery. Even if we have to yield territory, it is better to hand it over."

"Yielding our territory just for a single brewery? Does that even make sense?"

The attendant who had accompanied the middle-aged elf spoke up, unable to watch any longer.

It wasn’t just that elf; others felt the same. Giving up a brewery and yielding territory were entirely different matters.

But Elia did not back down. Instead, she pressured them with a chilly voice.

"What is your name?"

"I am called Ciel."

"Mr. Ciel. Then I shall appoint you to the delegation, so go ahead and say that in front of the Dwarf King. Tell him that if the brewery is inside Alfheim, we will treat it as ours. Do you think your neck will remain intact if you do that?"

"...."

A heavy silence descended over the obvious situation. The elf who had protested first also shut his mouth tightly.

In truth, everyone probably knew what it meant to touch a holy land.

To dwarves, alcohol was tradition, culture, and ’faith’.

Moreover, with Grylls recently finding Lucas, their faith had grown even more devout.

Under these circumstances, touching the holy land would mean the relationship between the two nations would cross a point of no return.

"I will partially adopt the Senate’s opinion. However, those opinions will all be reconsidered after we locate the brewery."

"But..."

"Shall I send you as part of the delegation?"

"...."

When she indirectly asked if they wanted their heads chopped off, the Senate had no choice but to back down.This chapter was copied from NovelPing without permission.

Having handed off all the tedious work, Elia was left alone.

She sighed at the Senate’s incompetence and shook her head.

"That damn self-preservationism."

Some say the Senate is too conservative and full of old fogies.

But humans naturally become conservative as they age.

To be precise, once they secure their position and a peaceful life continues, they become conservative.

The problem was that elves were a long-lived race. If that tendency became too extreme, it degenerated into self-preservationism.

Elia also understood this, and at first, she acted to cater to their tastes, believing that only then would Alfheim develop.

But it wasn’t so. Alfheim only looked fine on the outside; its core was slowly rotting away.

This grew even worse, especially as the Demon Race implemented appeasement policies.

’If there had been another human nation on Alfheim’s border instead of the Holy Kingdom, we would have been devoured.’

Furthermore, the Holy Kingdom poured most of its resources into stopping Mephisto’s expansion.

Mountain was also decent enough, aside from the occasional border clashes.

But not anymore. The elves within Alfheim had united, and they only had to hold their heads high now.

Crucially, thanks to the Ghost Ship, the overall atmosphere of Alfheim had become extremely positive.

’Thanks to that, tree planting has become even more efficient.’

Aside from her incredibly fast situational judgment, that damn tree planting remained the same.

There was a reason they called her a madwoman. Elia’s ultimate goal was consistently the same.

To plant Alfheim’s trees all over the world. It was an ambition and a modest (?) wish.

Though it sounded crazy, there was no point in saying that to a crazy person. One just had to accept it and move on.

’If we plant Alfheim’s trees all over the world, the world will surely realize Alfheim’s majesty.’

Simply put, it was like a badge of authority—that is, planting a flag. Planting trees instead of flags.

Though that process was... rather imperialistic, Elia didn’t care.

"Make Alfheim Great Again!"

Because she had only one goal.

In that sense.

"Tomorrow, I will board the Ghost Ship and head to the border."

"...Are you really going to wage war?"

"Of course not. I plan to lure out those heavy-bottomed dwarves."

Dialogue with the dwarves was essential. Right now, many things were unfolding at the border.

It was perfect for sending a signal: ’The Elf Queen has personally made an appearance, so what are you guys doing?’

The dwarves wouldn’t be able to just watch a show of force, so they would have no choice but to come out themselves.

Furthermore, if she brought up matters related to Lucas’s Brewery, they would come out despite their unease.

"But it is close to the entrance of the Forest of the Four Seasons..."

"The Chief God-nim said so. We just shouldn’t go inside."

To the Senate’s anxious worries, Elia replied with her characteristic confident smile.

"Even if something happens, we can just get off the ship, can’t we?"

"Are you... actually considering abandoning the Ghost Ship?"

"We have to abandon it someday."

As she had said earlier.

"Regardless of the contract we made, we can’t keep holding onto it forever, can we? It must return to the embrace of the gods eventually."

Elia was among those who were extremely quick to judge situations and grasp reality.

It was just that sometimes her direction acted strangely, causing various side effects.

’If I just listen to his words, good things will come to me even in my sleep, so of course I must listen!’

Moreover, having received help from Grylls before, she listened to his words diligently.

Starting from turning the Artificial Guardians to farming, to delaying the war as much as possible.

In a way, it was no different from Grylls putting a ’leash’ on Elia, but Grylls himself had absolutely no idea.

That was how much Elia controlled the entirety of Alfheim.

It also meant that if she were absent, a great chaos would descend upon Alfheim.

"But they say Mountain also has a Ghost Ship..."

"Using the legacy of the gods for war? Good heavens! Does the Senate want to wage war with the Holy Kingdom as well?!"

"N-No, of course not!"

She was truly an extraordinary figure in many ways, and...

"I am truly working hard for Alfheim. You can believe me, right?"

"Yes, yes..."

Her heart for Alfheim was more sincere than anyone else’s.

Not a lie, but truly.