I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 743

After spending a festival full of memories, the morning sun rose before I knew it.

Partly because the days were getting longer, and because I enjoyed the festival so much, I lost track of time.

Asella and I returned to our respective lodgings after seeing the morning sun rise, and took a good rest.

Normally, even if I stayed up all night, a single session of Internal Energy Regulation would completely relieve my fatigue, but this time was a bit different.

Because of the rough battle with Ash, it was difficult to fully recover my condition with just Internal Energy Regulation.

So I lay on the bed, browsed the Gallery, and rested deeply.

When I woke up later, it was slightly past noon.

It seemed the people of the Heavenly Demon Palace also knew I had returned late and purposely didn’t wake me.

’I need to set my biological alarm, considering I have to return to the Forest of the Four Seasons.’

Maybe I’ve grown too slack, but I’ve been oversleeping occasionally.

It’s funny how I’ve already grown slack when it’s only been a few days since I fell here.

It kind of reminds me of when I had to return to the military after a long leave.

Anyway, I couldn’t just lounge around, so it was best to start preparing little by little.

’Fortunately, my body seems to have recovered for the most part.’

Maybe because I rested well, my body felt light enough to fly.

Perhaps because of what I had eaten in the Forest of the Four Seasons all this time, my recovery rate was truly outstanding.

Unless it was a severe injury, most wounds would heal immediately once I circulated my mana.

It wasn’t for nothing that Ash complained about it being unfair.

She had honed her skills for over twenty years, while I had only spent nearly a year in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

’What is Ash doing right now? Is she sleeping?’

I thought of Ash as I gathered my clothes to wash up.

She had said before that we should meet separately the day after the festival ended.

It wasn’t to do anything weird, but she said she had something she wanted to do in a truly pure sense.

’Fortunately, she did give me a orb.’

As soon as I washed up and came out, a green orb caught my eye.

It was the communication orb Ash had casually given me to contact her.

If I channeled mana into that orb and waited, Ash would receive it.

’If I didn’t even have that, I would have worried about how to contact her.’

There was the Gallery, but that would be too obvious.

Moreover, no matter how favorable Asella was to me, she usually showed an inflexible side.

In particular, since an ’offline meetup’ was one of the most serious taboos in the Gallery, not only Asella but others would also point it out.

Tuk-tuk—

I lightly tapped the crystal orb while drying my hair with a towel.

When the crystal orb began to blink green, it meant the call was going through.

’She’s not picking up. Is she still sleeping?’

Even though about twenty seconds had passed, Ash did not answer the call.

I could fully understand, so I was thinking I could call again later, when...

Ttok-ttok-ttok—

A light knock was heard from beyond the door of the room I was in.

When I asked what was going on, a familiar voice was heard.

"Heavenly God-nim. Are you by any chance communicating inside?"

"Yes. Someone I know asked me to contact them earlier."

"I see. It is because an unidentified signal was detected. Since it is you, Heavenly God-nim, I will say nothing more."

"Ah."

So that’s how it is. I nodded.

Indeed, the Heavenly Demon Palace was, in a way, a palace where the supreme leader and high-ranking officials resided, like the Blue House or the White House.

They would be extremely sensitive to wiretapping, so it was indeed my mistake.

’Even if they can’t block the Gallery, they have to block things like this.’

After apologizing to the person outside, I quietly changed my clothes and headed out.

Since I couldn’t cause a nuisance here, I planned to go meet Ash directly myself.

Since I knew where Ash’s lodging was, I just had to wait in front of it.

’If I meet Selena on the way, I should talk to her.’

Of course, only if I met her. I wanted to talk to her one more time before leaving.

As was originally the case, she was the person who would collaborate with me to steadily produce Elixirs in the future.

Soon, wearing changed clothes and even a Satgat, I walked out of the Heavenly Demon Palace.

Perhaps because the festival had ended right after the Heavenly God Martial Festival, I could see carriages lined up heading out of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

’Everyone is leaving little by little.’

Since they had finished all their business, leaving was only natural.

Moreover, they were not ordinary people, but distinguished guests from numerous countries.

I watched the various races and ethnicities leaving, then waited near Ash’s lodging.

Just in case, I kept sending calls through the communication orb, but she didn’t answer.

’She must have really passed out.’

When a person truly passes out, they often sleep for over twelve hours.

Especially if it’s severe, the brain practically shuts off completely.

This was something I naturally realized after escaping death several times in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

"Oh my. What are you doing here?"

"Hmm?"This chapter is updated first at nоvelping.com.

It was while I was waiting for Ash’s call while looking at the Gallery. A familiar woman’s voice reached my ears.

Turning my head, Kaylin, a beauty with impressive blue skin, was looking at me.

"...You recognized me right away?"

I blinked, looking up at her.

Currently, she was riding in a carriage with Mephisto’s characteristic dark and blue background.

But strangely enough, she recognized me even though I was wearing a Satgat, which made me feel bewildered and amazed at the same time.

"There is such a thing as an aura. Gryl... no, I can notice your aura immediately, you know?"

Kaylin replied, a soft curve forming on her lips.

I scratched my cheek, feeling somewhat embarrassed by that answer.

"I see. Are you leaving right away?"

"Why? Are you sad that I’m leaving?"

Kaylin rested her chin on her hand and replied in a playful voice.

I’ve felt this since before, but she seemed to have a slightly mischievous side.

To the point of even giving up her qualification as the winner of the Heavenly God Martial Festival just to draw me in.

I chuckled at her question and replied lightly.

"Of course I’m sad. So, would you like to stay with me?"

"You’re not going to add ’in the Forest of the Four Seasons’ after that, are you?"

"Well? I wonder."

"You are an interesting person."

Kaylin giggled like a young girl. Her cheeks turning slightly red was a bonus.

As we exchanged words like that, the carriage she was riding in began to move slowly.

Though it was a pity, it was time to let her go. I waved my hand toward the gradually receding Kaylin.

"See you later if we get the chance."

"Yes. Oh, right. I have something to show you."

Kaylin, who was slowly moving away, went inside the carriage.

Then she poked her face out of the window again, wearing her characteristic mischievous smile.

Just as I was feeling puzzled by that smile, Kaylin reached her hand out of the window.

Seuk—

"...Uh?"

It was a flowerpot. A flowerpot was placed on her delicate, jade-like hand.

A flowerpot with only buds formed, having not yet fully bloomed.

But even without being told, I immediately realized what that flowerpot was.

While I stared blankly at the flowerpot, the carriage moved further and further away.

However, Kaylin’s face remained clear, and she mouthed something.

’You know what you have to say, right?’

Even while I couldn’t recover from the shock, her lip movements were clear.

I let out a hollow laugh filled with various meanings, then silently clenched my fist and moved my lips.

’Chaeyu fighting!’

When I mouthed those words, Kaylin wore a satisfied expression.

She was so happy that she seemed to forget her dignity as a princess, even waving her hand enthusiastically.

I also waved my hand to send her off as she moved away.

’The world is really small.’

How is it that I meet everyone at the Heavenly God Martial Festival?

Since I met Princess Chaenggu, Kaylin, the only remaining flowerpot is Allfather.

Given Allfather’s personality of showing a scholarly side, the probability of him participating in the Heavenly God Martial Festival is extremely low.

’If we meet... we meet.’

Woong!

It was around the time I was thinking that. The communication orb vibrated.

Soon, when I pulled out the orb, wasn’t it blinking green?

It seemed Ash had woken up. I was going to have lunch if it was any later, but the timing was great.

Jiing—

"Hello?"

[I just woke up...]

A deeply raspy, low voice flowed out, as if she had truly just woken up.

Ash’s voice was originally on the lower side, but now that it was raspy, it was even more attractive.

Not to mention, even the feminine scent hidden behind her easygoing nature wafted over, making my ears tingle.

"If you’re tired, sleep more. I’ll come back after having lunch."

[No... I have to go soon anyway... I’ll wake up quickly...]

"Is your body really fully recovered?"

[It feels heavy, but I’m okay...]

You don’t seem okay. It’s a voice that clearly says you need more sleep.

So I told her not to overdo it, but she said she would snap out of it right away.

[By the way, where are you right now?]

"I’m in front of your lodging, though?"

Kudangtang! Kwadang!

[Eonni? What is that sound?]

[O-Oh, it’s nothing. I just tripped!]

[You’re okay, right?]

Even Selena’s worried voice could be heard over the communication orb.

[Ahem! T-Then I’ll wash up quickly and head down. How long have you been waiting?]Follow the newest chapters on n⁠ovelping.com.

"I haven’t been waiting long. You can take your time, so don’t rush."

[How can I not rush when you’re waiting!]

As we bickered, the call naturally disconnected. I quietly waited in front of the lodging.

Since there were many passersby around, almost no one paid attention to me.

It was just that Kaylin was exceptionally good at spotting me earlier; this was normal.

How long did I wait after that? I could see the silver-haired beauty, Ash, hurriedly coming out of the lodging.

She had come out in such a rush that her hair wasn’t even properly dried. Seeing that, I let out a hollow laugh.

Still, I should wave my hand. When I waved, Ash approached immediately.

"Phew... I’m sorry. I went to bed early yesterday knowing this would happen."

"I understand, so don’t blame yourself too much. But I heard Selena’s voice earlier, what were you doing?"

"We’re preparing to return. So we don’t have much time."

"What did you want to do that made you ask to meet now?"

I expressed my curiosity. What on earth did she want to do that she even split her time to meet?

Ash smiled broadly at my question and replied in a shy voice.

"You’ll know when we get there. Will you follow me?"

Ash gently took my hand and began to lead me somewhere.

Since she said she wouldn’t do anything weird, I followed her guidance.

As time passed, the place we arrived at was the outskirts of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

It was sparsely populated, a place where even the eyes of the security forces barely reached.

"What are you planning to do here?"

"Just a moment."

It was while I was looking around. Ash rummaged through her clothes.

What came out of her clothes next was not a communication orb, but a different kind of orb.

Seeing that it was blue, it seemed to be used for another purpose, but I didn’t know what it was.

"What is this?"

"A recording crystal orb. And it outputs in really high quality. It can even print."

"Photos?"

"Yeah."

Ash, still looking shy, tucked her hair behind her ear and spoke.

"They say photos are what remains."

At the same time.

-Photos are what remains, you know.

A completely different person was projected onto Ash like a mirror, and a strange woman’s voice pierced my ears.

No, rather than piercing my ears, it would be more accurate to say it echoed in my mind.

"..."

I tightly closed and opened my eyes at the sudden auditory and visual hallucination.

As if those things from earlier were all illusions, only Ash’s figure remained.

"...What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?"

"Huh? Oh, no. It’s not that. I was just a bit taken aback."

"Really? That’s a relief. Let’s take it here."

I took photos together with Ash under her guidance.

There was a minor problem here, which was that both of us were terrible at taking photos.

It might be different on the Gallery, but taking photos in reality was quite a challenging task.

"Taking them up close is fine, but taking them from afar is hard."

"Can you get me a tree branch? I’ll try to make a temporary tripod."

"Ohh~ did you develop that kind of dexterity from living in the Forest of the Four Seasons?"

"It’s the basics."

Chalcak! Chalcak!

Fortunately, through the dexterity I had honed in the Forest of the Four Seasons, we were able to take them without trouble.

And so we took the last one standing side by side.

Jjok!

As if to remember the end, Ash even saved a photo of her kissing my cheek.

My embarrassment was brief, and I soon chuckled. I never got used to this kind of offensive of affection, no matter how many times I received it.

Once I enter the Forest of the Four Seasons, I won’t be able to receive it anymore.

"I’ve taken them all. I should print them as soon as I get home."

Ash hugged the recording crystal orb to her chest with a jubilant expression.

Who would ever think that figure belonged to a woman in her mid-thirties?

One might call it acting childish for her age, but it suited her well, so let’s let it slide.

’I should take photos with Ha-yoon and Tae-seok too while I’m at it.’

Ha-yoon cannot see, but the memory of taking a photo itself is important.

"I should meet Selena before I go."

"Then let’s have lunch together while we’re at it."

During the few days spent in the Heavenly Demon Cult.

"When are you coming out again?"

"It’s not like I can come out whenever I want to."

It was filled with memories that could never be forgotten.