I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 700

I had no choice but to stare blankly at the massive tree before my eyes for a moment.

Vanir had mentioned before that World Trees exist not only near my house but also in other regions.

Because of that, I had searched for other World Trees, trying to recover my lost memories.

But this time, after paying my respects to my parents, my friends, and their families at the ossuary, my memories unfolded.

It wasn’t that the memories were forcibly injected into my head, but rather presented to me, and yet even that was enough.

Furthermore, every time I found a World Tree, major and minor changes occurred in the outside world, but that was something I could check slowly later.

First, the priority was to confirm whether this World Tree was the one I knew.

"Hmm... It seems a bit different..."

I looked around various parts of the World Tree. Actually, looking around the entire thing was difficult.

Since the thickness of the World Tree’s trunk alone was close to the size of a small village.

Looking around all of it was practically impossible, but at least judging by its outward appearance was quite easy.

First, the lush leaves. The leaves of the World Tree near my house had fallen in heaps last time.

So only rather bare branches had been visible, but the one in front of us now was different.

Crucially, more than the World Tree itself, it was the things surrounding it. The World Tree we had encountered before was surrounded by a forest.

[There is a city nearby. Looking at it, the illusion magic or the ossuary might have been some kind of device.]

"So it’s a false space like those found in ruins! Usually, they use subspace applications to hide things like this!"

Just as Cain said, the surroundings of the World Tree were the scenery of the ghost city we saw earlier.

Considering the size of the city, it would be more than enough to surround the World Tree.

In other words, I hadn’t returned home, but had coincidentally found another World Tree.

Although it was quite a pity that I hadn’t returned home, it didn’t mean there was no way.

’Usually, World Trees are connected to each other. It would be great if I could use this...’

Although I rarely use it now, in the past, I had opened passages connecting the World Trees in various places.

With the help of the squirrel and marmot laborers (?), I used to use them quite usefully in the past.

But with the appearance of Cheongseol and Lackey’s specialization in magic, they were hardly used anymore.

"I wonder if we can use the World Tree to travel to another World Tree..."

I approached the World Tree and quietly caressed its trunk. Hardness and softness coexisted.

Its strength itself was definitely as hard as steel, but the texture was as soft as leather.

Thinking that maybe touching the World Tree would allow us to travel, I touched it here and there.

[...What are you doing?]

Cain, who was watching from behind, asked in a lukewarm voice.

It wasn’t directed at me, but not knowing what was going on, I turned my head.

And I could see it clearly. Elia bowing her head toward the World Tree.

Since she was prostrated in a posture that was beyond reverent and highly submissive, I couldn’t help but be bewildered.

If it were any other elf, I would have just shrugged it off, but she was the Elf Queen.

It was to the point where I wondered if she was overdoing it when kneeling on just one knee would have been enough.

"Phew..."

Then, Elia gracefully raised her body.

It was a good thing she was wearing winter clothes now; if she had been wearing that fluttering dress from earlier, it would have been a dizzying sight.

"I am paying homage to the World Tree, and to the Chief God-nim who awakened it."

"...."

"I merely planted a tree in Alfheim, but...! Chief God-nim actually awakened the World Tree from its slumber! How magnificent is this!"

This is driving me crazy. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but does she only see things that way?

To the point where even Lackey was making a face that said, ’What is wrong with this crazy bastard?’

After letting out a dry laugh, I tried to figure out if there was a way to return through this World Tree.

First, checking the coordinates. When I checked the coordinate tracker, there wasn’t much difference from earlier.

Meaning the ossuary was closer to a trigger, and the World Tree had been here all along.

’The dragons of the Mythological Age absolutely loathed the World Tree. Did they hide it because of that?’

Honestly, who in their right mind would think that someone had engraved a device in this vast city, and in an ossuary of all places?

Unless it was me, or someone with a deep connection to me, they would never know.

"Usually, the person who would do something like this... would be Aragon, right?"

"Of course! To hide such a massive World Tree, it would be impossible without Aragon-nim’s magic!"

"Hmm..."

I had expected it, but since my expectation was correct, it felt strange.

Even though they committed unethical acts to forcibly resurrect me because they didn’t want to lose me, to think they respected something like this.

Or maybe they just completely forgot about it. More important than that was the way to return home.

Since it was said that World Trees are connected by their roots, wouldn’t it work if I somehow made contact with the roots? That thought occurred to me.

"Therefore, we shall dig. Begin."

"...."This chapter is updated first at novelрing.com.

At my simple and ignorant method, not only Cain and Lackey, but even Elia reacted as if they were speechless.

Elia even looked around at the others, as if wondering if this was really okay.

Apart from her near-madman mindset, her faith was exceptionally outstanding. In a way, it could be said to be on a similar level to Asella’s.

[Get used to it. Since that subhuman human is the Chief God, you will have to adapt to this kind of thing in the future.]

"Uh... Since he is a god, isn’t it correct that he is not human?"

[He never treats me like a human, so he lacks a human heart.]

"Cain-ssi, you are a Dullahan, so can you even be treated as a human?"

[What a perfectly matched pair of fools.]

At Elia’s terrifying human rights roast, Cain lamented the world.

Although there was a brief commotion, what was needed right now was shoveling. Thus, I purchased a shovel from the auction house and began to dig.

I didn’t know how long it would take to reach the World Tree’s roots, but what I wanted was whatever would happen when I disturbed them.

If only I could summon Nidhogg, who manages the World Tree’s roots, it would be absolutely perfect.

Paak! Pak!

"...You’re surprisingly good at shoveling?"

"To plant trees, this much is basic!"

The funny thing was that Elia was extremely good at shoveling.

Perhaps because she was usually crazy about planting trees, her shoveling skills were extraordinary.

I wondered what on earth this elf had been doing in the past, but I could tell that her survival skills were exceptionally outstanding.

If she could use mana, she would become even more capable. So it was slightly terrifying.

"By the way, Grylls-nim. You’re shoveling to stimulate the World Tree’s roots, right?"

"That’s right."

"And you’re doing it to summon Nidhogg."

"That’s also correct."

"Mhm! As expected of the Chief God, you even know how to manage the roots! In the past, the Dark Elves managed them in this way!"

"...This is the first time I’m hearing of this?"

I have no idea what kind of rose-colored glasses she’s wearing to act like that.

Anyway, as we shoveled diligently, the World Tree’s roots were very faintly revealed.

An infinitely small size compared to the inside of the roots we had constantly used as a passage.

I speculated that the inside of the roots was probably a concept similar to a kind of subspace.

’Now, if I channel mana into this, Nidhogg will feel the stimulation and come, right?’

I placed my hand on the root and quietly channeled mana. As I channeled the mana, the root wriggled and then grew quiet, as if slowly sucking in my mana.

How much time had passed like that? It was roughly ten minutes after it began to greedily devour my mana.

Jjiiiik!

A very familiar noise entered my ears. The sound of someone forcibly grabbing and tearing space apart.

Looking up, a massive blue lizard was staring intently at us through the torn space.

It was definitely Cheongseol’s mother, Nidhogg. I spoke to her.

"Hello? Long time no see."

"Grrr...?"

Nidhogg’s expression was exactly like this: ’Why are you coming out of here?’

Explaining the whole story would be a long tale, so it wouldn’t matter if I explained it on the way.

"Oh! To behold Nidhogg, who manages the World Tree’s roots, in the flesh...!"

"...."

Elia clasped her hands together in admiration.

Then, Nidhogg flicked her tongue and looked at her as if to say, ’What is that thing?’

I couldn’t wrap my head around what kind of person Elia was either, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

Soon, Nidhogg tore the space even wider so we could enter.

Stepping through that space, a familiar sight unfolded before my eyes. The inside of the World Tree’s roots, filled entirely with blue light.

Perhaps because it was a real World Tree root and not the World Tree at my house, the place we were stepping on was also extremely wide.

"Grrr. Grr."

"She says to get on her back. She said she’ll take us home."

"Thank you."

Climbing onto Nidhogg’s back, the end of the long, long journey was in sight.

Meanwhile, I roughly explained to Nidhogg what had happened.

Nidhogg also listened to my story and brushed it off as, ’Ah, so that happened~’.

Indeed, it wasn’t a very important matter to her. More than that, there was something I was curious about.

"By the way, Nidhogg, are you the only one of your kind?"

"Grrr."This chapter is updated first at novelp‌ing.com.

"That is not so. There are kin who manage each sector. The reason I came this time was because I felt a familiar energy."

"Would it have been trouble if another Nidhogg had come?"

"Grrrr."

"Probably not. Thanks to my daughter constantly licking you, our kin will also recognize you as one of us."

It was a relief, if anything. We traveled for a long time while chatting with Nidhogg.

Perhaps because we were quite far away, it took nearly an hour of traveling before we finally arrived home.

Reaching the root connected to my house, it was clearly noticeable that the ground was narrower than before.

Jjwaaaak!

Nidhogg showed us kindness until the very end, seeing us off.

After thanking Nidhogg, I stepped through the torn space.

Soon, as I stepped outside, a very familiar scenery welcomed me.

A World Tree the size of an ordinary tree, not the massive one I saw earlier.

The buildings we had built ourselves all over the property, and the children playing in the vast yard.

"Huh? Papa? It’s Papa! Papa!"

Wonmo, who was vigorously playing with a ball, spotted me and ran over with open arms, pit-a-pat.

The other children were the same. As soon as they realized I had returned, they approached with bright smiles.

I first hugged Wonmo tightly and then greeted the other children.

Heukgu, who had been playing well until just now, turned his head away with a coy "Hmph!", but his tail was wagging continuously.

A reaction that clearly showed his joy. Indeed, a dog is a dog.

"Yes, yes. Papa is back now. Have you been doing well..."

As I said that, I looked for Bbareumbo and Dolsoe, who had been guarding this place.

But what was this? The state of the two of them could not be described as good, even as a polite lie.

Since both of them were sitting in chairs with their heads slumped, vividly showing that they had burned themselves out completely.

Indeed, even if the Hobgoblins took care of the chores, taking care of the children must have been difficult.

The funny thing was that even the highly skilled Bbareumbo showed clear signs of fatigue. It seemed that childcare was not easy even for Bbareumbo.

’How hard must it have been that they couldn’t even send a message.’

I convey my gratitude to them.

Soon, after sending the children away, I decided to relieve the fatigue of the journey.

Although my heart wanted to announce the Elf Queen’s survival right away, it was difficult to do so.

Perhaps because of the relief of arriving home, fatigue rushed over me rapidly.

During the journey, I didn’t even have the leisure to perform proper Internal Energy Regulation. I had just moved forward silently.

Moreover, when I looked up, it was a pitch-black night. Now was the time to rest comfortably.

"Let’s wash up first and plan for tomorrow. Since everyone must be tired."

[I am not tired at all, though?]

"That is why you do not have human rights."

I retorted casually to Cain’s words. First, I told Elia to wash up.

It wasn’t out of consideration because she was a woman, but there was a reason.

"Elia. How long has it been since you properly washed your body?"

"It’s probably been over two weeks?"

"Doesn’t it feel uncomfortable?"

"Up to five days, I felt like I was going to die of discomfort, but after a week passed, it was fine! I understand the heart of a homeless person now!"

Since Elia had lived a homeless life for much longer than us.

The Elf Queen’s state was a mess, and she was the one in most urgent need of cleanliness.

"Go wash up quickly. Only after you wash can we wash too."

"Understood! Ah! By any chance, would you grant me the honor of washing Grylls-nim...!"

"Shut up and just wash yourself."

I realized anew how terrifying pure goodwill could be.

After Elia went in to wash up like that, I immediately accessed the Gallery.

Since I had been steadily recording videos, I could turn it off now. Of course, I hadn’t posted it on the Gallery yet.

More than that, I was worried about whether anything had happened outside. Since we had found a new World Tree this time.

’Fortunately, nothing like that happened.’

I didn’t know yet. Perhaps the opening time of the Forest of the Four Seasons had increased further.

Thus, the end of the arduous journey was in sight.

"I’m done washing! But I don’t have any underwear, what should I do?"

"Ah."

I faced a hardship of a different kind.