I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 723

At the merchant’s words, my mind momentarily went blank. I couldn’t understand what I had just heard.

Two heavens merging to create a new heaven? To anyone who didn’t know, they would have dismissed it, thinking, ’Wow, that sounds like something out of a myth.’

I wasn’t being sarcastic; it really was close to a phrase that frequently appeared in countless myths.

The idea that the heavens, originally divided into two, merged to bring forth a new heaven.

Or that the original heaven was destroyed to create a new one.

The myths of this world were closer to the latter. Originally, the masters of this sky were dragons.

The gods waged war against those dragons, achieved victory, and proclaimed a new heaven.

Although a civil war broke out among themselves afterward, let’s skip that.

"...A new heaven?"

"That’s what I heard. Don’t ask me for details; ask a martial artist."

The merchant shrugged, as if he truly didn’t know.

Selena wore a dazed expression at his reaction. It was a response she hadn’t anticipated at all.

Ash was not much different. Her eyes showed she hadn’t expected to hear such words either.

"...It seems we should ask a martial artist, just as the merchant said."

"Y-Yeah, that would be better."

The two had been wandering around the Demonic Cult even before the Heavenly God Martial Festival began. Yet, they were reacting as if hearing this for the very first time.

Given their personalities, they must have valued information, so it wasn’t like they hadn’t done any research at all.

But since it was a different field, they probably hadn’t paid attention to it.

"Excuse me."

"What is it?"

Afterward, following the other merchant’s advice, we approached a martial artist—specifically, someone presumed to belong to the Demonic Cult.

Unlike the merchant, his tone was somewhat sharp, which was likely because this was the Central Plains.

A place where spears and swords could fly from anywhere at any time. It meant the public security was that much of a mess.

It wasn’t for nothing that the Imperial Court accepted ’Non-Interference Between Government and Martial World.’ Maintaining public order was nearly impossible, so they left it to each sect.

"It’s nothing else, but there is something I would like to ask. That is..."

Selena delivered almost the exact same words she had spoken to the merchant earlier.

The martial artist also narrowed his brow at first when the respectful title of the Heavenly Demon was mentioned. It was a different reaction from the merchant.

A reaction of outrage that she dared to utter the name of the heavens and the supreme being.

It seemed we were about to get into trouble by tangling with a fanatic, but the subsequent question was different.

"The Heavenly God? Did you say the Heavenly God?"

The Heavenly God, not the Heavenly Demon, was different. His expression relaxed in an instant, and even the atmosphere shifted.

Soon, he crossed his arms, pondered for a moment, and then nodded in response.

"It seems you too desire the union of the heavens and the Heavenly God. My mistake."

"...."

I think the one making the mistake is you, not us.

Those words welled up to my throat, but I suppressed them. Listening was the priority right now.

"A union... when did this story come about?"

"Did you not see it recently? The Heavenly God answering the call of the heavens. If this is not proof of union, then what is?"

"...."

So the descent incident was the problem. We went around to other martial artists and asked.

Surprisingly, they all gave similar answers. The claim that Heavenly Demon Yoo So-wol and Heavenly God Grylls would become one to create a new heaven.

I didn’t know how such talk could arise as if it were some prophecy. Now, it had crossed from flustered to outright absurd.

"...It’s more serious than I thought. To think it has already spread this far."

"Indeed. At this rate, it’s practically a real religion."

The two had realized the seriousness(?) of the situation late. The same went for me.

I worried about what would happen if Yoo So-wol heard this and felt offended.

While it was clear she had feelings for me, this was a problematic situation regardless.

As we spent time wandering around like that, before we knew it, the day began to grow dark. It was time to head back.

"I should head back now. Where are you two sleeping? I know VIPs normally stay at the Heavenly Demon Palace, but the palace is currently damaged."

"There is a separate lodging assigned to us by the Demonic Cult. They compensated us, so we don’t really have any complaints."

"The Demonic Cult has more money than I thought. Where on earth does all that money come from?"

Ash said so while looking at me. Seeing her eyes curve playfully, she must have said that knowing full well.You are reading on novelping(.)com, the official source.

I had nothing to say to that gaze, so I turned my head away. Just what I had given to Yoo So-wol so far must be worth a fortune.

Besides, unlike the hard-to-dispose Inner Cores, hadn’t I gifted her things like Snow Ginseng?

Thanks to that, the Demonic Cult’s funds never dried up, allowing them to gain the upper hand in their struggle against the Imperial Court.

Well, the fact that the Emperor stayed holed up in the capital like a coward played a bigger part, though.

After some time passed, I reached the lodging where they were staying.

Only after watching the two go inside did I turn my steps back toward the Heavenly Demon Palace.

’It really is beautiful.’

I wasn’t talking about Selena or Ash. I was talking about the sunset disappearing beyond the horizon.

I heard it was one of the specialties of the Central Plains, and by extension, the Demonic Cult. A combination of mountain ranges in the back and a vast plain in the front.

I watched the sunset sinking lower and lower as I slowly made my way toward the Heavenly Demon Palace.

Tok-tok—

"Huh?"

But someone tapped my shoulder. They were openly revealing their presence, so I had been ignoring them, but to think they would actually touch me.

Wondering who it was, I turned my head to see a familiar face—Ash, looking at me with a refreshing smile.

I clearly knew she had been with Selena until just now, so why was she here?

As if reading my mind, Ash shrugged and spoke.

"Don’t worry about Selena. There are escorts assigned by the Demonic Cult at that lodging. They seemed quite reliable."

Hearing those words from none other than Sword Master Ash gave me confidence. I chuckled.

Still, since it would take some time to walk to the Heavenly Demon Palace, it seemed fine to chat.

"If you say so... did you come because you wanted to talk to me?"

"Isn’t that obvious? Ah, by the way, you speak our empire’s language well. Did you learn it separately?"

"I learned it in my spare time. Still, it’s a bit clumsy, so please understand."

Unlike the Central Plains language or the Holy Kingdom language, the language of the Messiah Empire had parts where I occasionally faltered.

Even so, it wasn’t to the extent that conversation was impossible. It was easy if I just spoke simple words clearly.

The sentence structure wasn’t much different from English either, so as long as I thought it through, there were no major issues.

"Clumsy? It wouldn’t be strange if you became an empire citizen right now. How about it? Why don’t you become a citizen of the empire this time?"

"I’ll consider that slowly. I still have a lot of work left to do."

"That’s a shame. But I am serious, so please give it deep thought."

Saying so, Ash naturally began to walk side-by-side with me.

Whether on the Gallery or now, the person I felt most comfortable ’talking’ to was Ash.

First of all, a big part of it was that we had a mutual understanding as former soldiers.

Didn’t I say this last time? If I had to go on night watch with Ash, I would take the final shift for her.

If others heard it, they would have said, ’What’s that?’ but Ash understood perfectly. For a soldier, the final shift of the night watch was an unspeakable piece of shit.

"Since when did you enlist in the military, Ash-ssi?"

"Including apprenticeship, since I was 15? I entered the Knight Academy early back then. From what I heard, unless it was a special case, entering at 15 was almost a first."

"If it’s a special case... by any chance, war?"

"Bingo. As expected of a former soldier, you know well."

"I just took a rough guess."

Originally, when men and women talk, there are two topics considered the most boring.

Military stories, and stories about playing soccer in the military. From a woman’s perspective, it must be incredibly boring.

But Ash was a former soldier, and one who had even served in the Imperial Guard, which was called the pinnacle.

"What kind of missions does the Imperial Guard usually do? Do you really guard the Emperor’s side every single day?"

"Usually, yes. It also practically means possessing the strongest martial force in the country."

"I wouldn’t know about others, but hearing you say that makes it believable, Ash-ssi. You said the previous Emperor scouted you, right?"

"Yes. He passed the throne to his son. Thinking about it now, even that timing was extremely appropriate. Seeing how the current Emperor His Majesty is suffering..."

"Ahem. Ahem."

Ash said so while looking at me. It was a smile laced with playfulness and mischief.

Anyone could see her expression said, ’My superior is suffering because of you,’ which made me feel needlessly awkward.

"...The Emperor isn’t swearing at me, is he?"The source of this chapter is nov‌elping.com.

"I haven’t really heard anything like that. I only came out of the house recently; before that, I was just staying at home."

"How many years were you at home?"

"Since I was 30 when I retired... roughly 5 years?"

To maintain top-tier skills even after idling around for five years.

It seemed the saying that mana accumulates just by breathing wasn’t a lie. So I became a little curious.

How strong was Ash, who had no equal when restricted to swordsmanship alone—belonging to the absolute peak of technique?

I had seen it in a video on the Gallery last time, but facing her directly would be completely different.

But bringing up this desire directly didn’t fit my personality. For starters, I avoided unnecessary fights.

This was a habit naturally acquired while living in the Forest of the Four Seasons. A martial artist’s unique competitiveness?

I couldn’t ruin my survival because of that competitiveness. Therefore, even if it was regrettable, I had no choice but to postpone it.

"But Ash-ssi, you aren’t participating in the Heavenly God Martial Festival, right?"

"No. I don’t really have a reason to participate. If I participate for no reason, it might even escalate into a diplomatic dispute."

"It’s a tiring position."

"That’s why I sometimes envy Grylls-ssi. Even if you cause such a ruckus in the Forest of the Four Seasons, you don’t need to take responsibility, do you?"

"That’s also a thing of the past now. Now that I’ve found a way to come outside."

Saying so, I looked at the flowerpot Ash was holding carefully.

Did she also have a habit of carrying a flowerpot around like Yoo So-wol? Or was it simply because it was a flower I gave her?

We conversed comfortably until we reached right in front of the Heavenly Demon Palace.

We weren’t at the point of speaking informally to each other yet, but that was something we could progress slowly.

"We’re here."

"Indeed."

I agreed with Ash’s words. I stood at the entrance of the Heavenly Demon Palace for a while.

I just needed to go inside and rest. It was a shame I couldn’t chat more with Ash, but there was someone else inside.

That was when I looked at Ash. Perhaps because of the sunset, a warm light illuminated her face.

Since we had been talking comfortably, I hadn’t realized, but facing her like this, I newly realized what a beauty she was.

"Grylls-ssi."

"Yes. Go ahead."

While I was briefly lost in thought, Ash spoke.

Until just now, she had made jokes and placed her hand on my shoulder.

She had shown bold words and actions, but now she was somewhat different.

Perhaps because of the sunset, her face was slightly flushed, and she was hesitating.

However, she didn’t hide her characteristic, straight-forward, no-brakes personality.

"By any chance, once the Heavenly God Martial Festival is over... could the two of us meet alone?"

"Are you going to propose marriage to me?"

"Yes."

A confident reply. I had said it as a joke, but I didn’t expect that response.

"...?"

This was no different for Ash. At her reflexively blurted response, her face turned burning red.

Soon, she cleared her throat and hurriedly changed the subject.

"N-No, that’s not it... Ah, seriously. My mouth is the problem...!"

"Hmm... did I beat you to the punch?"

"That’s not it. I really wanted to have a serious talk."

"What kind of talk is it?"

Now, as the reddish sunset illuminated the two of us.

"That is... well..."

Like a pure-hearted girl, Ash fidgeted with her hands before quietly opening her mouth.

"Could you... spar with me...?"

A request that was extremely typical of her, and.

"Ah, damn it...! This isn’t it...! I’m going crazy!"

A confession that had failed spectacularly.