I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 734

I almost lost my mind at Praise the Sun’s novel nonsense, but I managed to snap back to reality.

Even after returning to reality, Ash’s overwhelming flirting didn’t disappear. Still, since I could focus solely on her, I was able to brush it off.

Above all, no matter how much she flirted, as everyone knew, Ash possessed her own unique stubbornness and conviction.

"As I’ve said repeatedly, I have absolutely no intention of marrying a man unless he is stronger than me."

"Do you really think I’m stronger than you, Ash-nim?"

"That’s why I’m trying to check for myself, isn’t it? You never know until you measure them side by side."

Ash replied with a bright smile. Judging by her demeanor, she didn’t seem serious at all.

However, since she held the same consistent thought whether in reality or on the Gallery, I leaned toward believing she was sincere.

’Surely she won’t lose on purpose, right?’

Just as I was harboring such doubts, perhaps having read my mind, Ash responded.

"You were thinking, ’Surely she won’t lose on purpose, right?’ weren’t you?"

"Ahem."

"And it’s not that you’re secretly hoping I’ll lose, is it?"

Ash asked in a suggestive tone. Resting her chin on her hand as she looked at me, she perfectly exuded mature beauty.

While the majestic Yoo So-wol became infinitely soft when dealing with me, Ash was the exact opposite.

She was completely straightforward, with no looking back. She was the most aggressive woman I had ever met.

"That’s not it. I’m just worried I might disappoint you, Ash-nim."

"It’s strange to hear such words from someone who, even with the help of his companions, subjugated a Bone Dragon—and the remains of a mythical-era dragon at that."

"You would have been more than capable of subjugating it too, Ash-nim."

"I don’t think so."

Ash spoke in a firm voice. Though she still wore a smile, the strength and atmosphere carried in her voice were entirely different.

I stared blankly at her face. Her beauty was one thing, but her unique aura was on par with Yoo So-wol’s.

She usually showed a carefree side, but occasionally revealed a presence worthy of her reputation as a ’Sword Master’.

She was the exact opposite of Yoo So-wol, who always displayed the dignity of the ’Heavenly Demon’ but occasionally radiated an eccentric charm.

"Many people think of you, Grylls-ssi, as just the type who is strong in pure power or destructive force. But that’s not the case at all."

"What do you think my strengths are?"

"One is your adaptability to turn unfavorable situations around. The other is your precision in delivering that immense destructive force directly to vital points. It’s those two."

I quietly sipped my tea. Yoo So-wol had said something similar before.

That once I identify an opponent’s vital point or weakness, I relentlessly exploit it.

A vital point is dangerous even if pricked by a thin needle, but it’s far more lethal when pierced by a large, beautiful sword, she had said.

"It’s embarrassing to have someone of a Sword Master’s caliber heap such praise on me."

"Praise? You are praised as the Chief God, after all. Well then, shall we slowly get to see that power of yours?"

"Not here, of course."

I didn’t want to get banned from this place for life. Ash also laughed lightly, as if she had been joking.

While we warmly shared our tea, I briefly accessed the Gallery.

My duel with Ash wouldn’t be a normal one; I might have to unleash my full power.

Therefore, it would be best to retrieve the weapons I possessed beforehand. So, I made a request to Bbareumbo.

[Wild Bbareumbo: You’re coming back after that’s over, right?]

[Wild Grylls: Probably? Is our house okay right now? You should be eating around now.]

[Wild Bbareumbo: (Photo of a giant octopus fighting inside the house) Look at this.]

"...?"

What on earth is that? I blinked as I stared at the photo Bbareumbo had sent.

Thinking I had misseen, I rubbed my eyes, but even after rubbing them again, the image didn’t change.

’...Is that seriously an octopus? Even if they caught it in the river, what the hell did they do to make it grow that big? Is it because it’s the Forest of the Four Seasons?’

Even though I had survived in the Forest of the Four Seasons for a long time, this was a first for me too.

"What is it?"

"An issue arose at my house... Just a moment."

When I asked how such a thing had happened, the story was roughly as follows.

An octopus had been caught in a trap set in the river, so they had attempted to cook it. It wasn’t even a poisonous one.

Despite having completely killed and even lightly blanched the octopus, it had somehow revived and turned the house into a complete mess.

[Wild Grylls: Lackey didn’t cook it, did he?]

[Wild Bbareumbo: The female cooked it. She is currently caught in the tentacles, screaming for her life.]

[Wild Grylls: Go save her quickly;;]

Even without me, the Forest of the Four Seasons is still the Forest of the Four Seasons. A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

I then sent a message to Ash to let her know what was happening.

Perhaps she was looking at the Gallery, as she stared blankly into the air before slightly parting her lips.

Even for Ash, who had been through all sorts of hardships, this must be a first.

"...Isn’t that a Kraken?"

"I wouldn’t know."

"It truly is an amazing place the more I see of it."

I couldn’t agree more. I nodded at her words and sipped my tea.

And in the brief silence that settled over us, Ash spoke up cautiously.

"...Are you going back?"

"Yes."

"You didn’t even hesitate."

"There are many things I want to know. Besides, it looks a bit odd for me to come out here all by myself."

’Descent’ was merely a coincidence piled upon coincidence. I glanced at a corner of the table.

There sat a flowerpot containing a Rose of Sharon that had only formed flower buds.

Once that Rose of Sharon bloomed, I would probably come out again. All by myself.

"I see. I desperately want to stop you, but I’ll respect your decision. Everyone has their own path to walk."

"Have you ever harbored greed, Ash-nim?"Visit NovelPing for the full chapter.

"The greed of wanting to marry Grylls-ssi right now?"

I shouldn’t have asked. I shook my head from side to side.

Ash also smiled warmly, as if it were a joke to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

We continued to banter back and forth like this before finally rising from our seats.

Now, all that was left was to quietly move locations without anyone knowing. The true main event hadn’t even begun yet.

"By the way, who knows about this?"

"No one on my side knows. What about you, Grylls-ssi?"

"I did mention it to the Heavenly Demon-nim, but...."

"Ah. She’s fine."

That was unexpected. Honestly, I thought she would be displeased.

I didn’t know the details of their relationship, but I figured there would be at least some wariness between them.

"I know she’s the type to watch from afar rather than interfere directly."

"Have you two met in private before?"

"Yes. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant meeting, though."

Sensing that I shouldn’t ask any further, I simply nodded.

Right now, I was busy enough just sharing various conversations with Ash.

Soon, the two of us stepped outside the Heavenly Demon Cult and slowly made our way toward the sprawling mountain range.

Although we walked out in the open, no one paid any attention to us, perhaps due to some measures Ash had taken.

’How can one acquire a technique like this?’

To be honest, I wanted to use mysterious techniques like Yoo So-wol or Ash. Not only were they practical, but they also looked incredibly cool.

Since they were highly practical and looked cool to boot, there was absolutely no reason not to learn them.

In particular, what Ash was demonstrating right now was closely related to presence. It would be extremely useful in the Forest of the Four Seasons as well.

But since that wasn’t what was important right now, I suppressed those thoughts. Besides, as Ash had said, walking my own path was also important.

"It would be best to head up the mountain, right?"

It was around the time we had distanced ourselves a fair amount from the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Our current location was the grassland between the Heavenly Demon Cult and the mountain range that served as the border.

Perhaps thinking this wasn’t secluded enough, Ash suggested we hold the duel up in the mountain range.

"Have you ever climbed a mountain before?"

"I climbed them a lot when going on operations in the military. I did plenty of marches too. What about you, Grylls-ssi?"

"Same here. Ah, by the way, what is the full gear like here? I’m curious."

"Well, various clothes, a blanket, socks, a towel, rain gear, a whetstone, a spare sword, combat boots, and things like that? What about you, Grylls-ssi?"

As I had felt before, since Ash was a former soldier, we had a lot of common ground to talk about.

In particular, if nothing else, we found each other’s stories about ’absurd military hazing’ quite fascinating.

’In my case, after we started using smartphones, a lot of the hazing and physical punishment disappeared, but...’

Since this world also had the Gallery, there was almost no useless hazing to establish strict discipline.

There were simply other forms of hazing that defied imagination.

"I heard that in some units, anyone below a low-ranking knight is banned from using the Gallery."

"But even if they ban it, how would they know if someone uses it?"

"That’s why they apparently put restraints on them during personal maintenance time."

"...."

For the record, that was nothing. There was even a custom where apprentices had to carry their seniors’ gear during marches.

They claimed it was a way to raise them strong, but because of mana, all sorts of absurd hazing and physical punishments seemed to exist.

"Did you endure all of those absurdities, Ash-nim?"

"Do you think it was just hazing? I’ve even been sexually harassed without anyone noticing."

"...."

I narrowed my brow slightly. Though she mentioned it in passing, it must have been a truly unpleasant memory.

Even if she had been favored by the previous Emperor, there was no way there wouldn’t be internal discontent. Humans were simply those kinds of creatures.

"Well, in those cases, I physically forced them into retirement."

"Still, you must have gone through a lot."

"It’s all~ memories, just memories. Besides, seeing those who were weaker than me acting so foolishly was just pathetic."

Ash giggled as she spoke. Her easygoing personality shone through completely.

Perhaps because of that, the two of us slowly climbed the mountain, maintaining a distance where our arms barely brushed against each other.

Although it wasn’t as extreme as the snowy mountain I had set foot on before, this place also boasted a considerable chill.

The higher we climbed, the more common it became to see thick snow piled on the ground.

Even when viewed from afar, I recalled the white snow being noticeable from the mountainside up.

’Did they discover Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron in this mountain range and forge the sword?’

I glanced at the Sword of the Heavenly Demon hanging at my waist. It was the sword I had received from Yoo So-wol and had been using consistently ever since.

According to her, it was crafted from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, and I had a rough idea of where the material had come from.

"Come to think of it, you went to a snowy mountain in the Forest of the Four Seasons last time, right? How does this place compare to that?"

"It’s much better since there’s literally no bone-chilling wind, no cold that freezes you from the inside out, and no snow mountain giants blowing blizzards from their mouths."

"Just hearing that makes this place sound like a livable area."

"Wouldn’t it be fine if we just found a suitable spot?"

Having finally reached a suitable spot, we sat side by side on a fallen log on the ground.

The cold unique to the snowy mountain was not an issue. I was already immune to the cold, and Ash must have prepared her own countermeasures.

"...."

"...."

Sitting side by side, a strange silence settled between us. It wasn’t that we had nothing to talk about.

We could bring up trivial daily life, or talk about our military memories, which served as a common denominator.

But since we were about to duel soon, it was time to gradually bring up other topics.

"...Grylls-ssi."

"Yes. Go ahead."

"It might be a bit strange to ask this, but... can we speak casually?"

Was it because her request was rather cute in its own way?This chapter was taken from novelp‌ing.com without permission.

I looked at Ash, who had made the request shyly. Knowing it was a somewhat bold request, she was fidgeting with her fingers.

Furthermore, she even glanced at me from time to time. Her usual easygoing self was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a shy person in her place.

"It’s just a bit awkward to keep speaking formally. Ah, of course, I know that Grylls-ssi is the Chief God...."

"Yes. It’s fine."

"...but... yes?"

"You can speak casually."

So I readily gave my permission. To get closer to someone, dropping formal speech is always the first step.

When speech becomes closer, hearts follow. After all, when do friends ever use formal language with each other?

Except when forced to in public settings, or when teasing each other, there was rarely a need.

"Then should I call you noona, Ash-nim?"

"W-Why am I a noona? You’re older than me."

"Biologically speaking, I’m still in my early to mid-20s, though?"

"Even biologically, you’d be older than me... considering all the memories you’ve acquired up until now."

Of course, we couldn’t help but bicker over other details. Namely, who was actually older.

Since both my point and Ash’s point made sense, we came to an agreement.

"So, we both speak casually?"

"Sure. I mean, let’s do that."

"Great. From now on, when it’s just the two of us, I’ll call you Grylls. It’s a bit embarrassing, though."

The way she scratched her cheek and blushed looked pure yet cute.

With the agreement to speak casually when alone, the awkwardness dissipated slightly.

All that was left was to prepare for the duel. It was just as I was quietly checking my equipment.

"Grylls."

"Yeah, go ahead."

"As I said before, I won’t hold back at all."

It was something I had heard repeatedly. Losing on purpose was something her pride would never allow.

Though she had been flirting consistently up until now, this was her final line.

"I know. So don’t worry."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Then let’s get up."

I stood up at Ash’s words. I had finished checking my equipment long ago.

The Sword of the Heavenly Demon was at my waist, and my favorite bow and arrows were on my back.

Unlike the duel at the Heavenly God Martial Festival, this was a fight where we intended to go all out.

’But she won’t go for my life, right?’

Just as I was having that slightly naive thought, Ash stood before me.

She wore Central Plains-style martial robes just like me. Perhaps because it was a female martial robe, it clung tightly to her figure.

It was close to a cheongsam in design, with dragon embroidery on a white background.

Far from being uncomfortable, it allowed her to move her lower body freely, so there would be no restrictions whatsoever.

"Grylls. Are you ready?"

"I’m ready."

With those words, Ash slowly raised her sword. It was a dull, grayish blade.

Just as I tilted my head, finding its shape strangely familiar for some reason.

Ziiiiing!

A galaxy flowed. It was a galaxy that glowed beautifully in green.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but go, ’Huh?’ It was unmistakably a Mythricon sword.

I might have given one to Yoo So-wol or Ludwig, but I had no memory of giving a Mythricon sword to Ash.

"That sword...."

"Ah. This? I happened to obtain it by chance while subjugating a horde of orcs. Pretty, isn’t it?"

"...."

Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to be lying.

But that was only for a moment. The smile on Ash’s lips vanished, and then—

"Now then...."

Chwaak!

In the blink of an eye, she lunged at me.

"Let’s begin."

She swung the sword containing the green galaxy straight down at me.

Carrying a clear ’intent to kill’.

Jjeo-eong!!!

The moment I felt that intent to kill, my body moved reflexively.

I immediately drew the Sword of the Heavenly Demon from my waist and blocked her strike.

It was because I had been subjected to all kinds of murderous intent in the Forest of the Four Seasons that I was able to react like this.

"...You’re really serious, aren’t you?"

I asked Ash as our blades clashed.

I thought it would be a simple duel, but her actions completely defied my expectations.

"I told you."

Ash said to me, flashing a bright, toothy grin.

"I truly like you. So...."

I realized then.

"Please don’t disappoint me."

Ash was more serious than anyone else.