I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 820

Before the Hero, Asella, overthrew it, the Holy Kingdom was famous for being an extremely corrupt nation.

While corruption is inevitable wherever power resides, the Holy Kingdom took it to an extreme.

Like the Japanese proverb about putting a lid on something smelly, even if they temporarily covered it up, the stench still leaked out.

The corruption peaked during the Immortal King incident, which served as the catalyst that literally turned the Holy Kingdom upside down.

Starting with the Pope, they purged every single Cardinal and reinstated those who had been demoted for falling out of favor.

Though the Holy Kingdom was cleansed as they erased their traces over and over, they were still suffering from a headache due to lingering old customs.

Consequently, to Asella and other figures of the Holy Kingdom, the former higher-ups could never be viewed in a positive light.

"Morgan? Morgan is the name of a former Cardinal of the Holy Kingdom..."

Hearing Morgan’s introduction, Elia spoke in a rare, bewildered voice.

And for good reason, as the former Elf Queen, she would at least recognize the faces of key figures from each nation.

Before the Holy Kingdom’s name was changed to Avalon, she must have been acquainted with the Pope and the Cardinals.

"You remember me, Elf Queen-isiyeo."

"So it really is you? How on earth did you end up here?"

"I was able to find my way here through the guidance of some wonderful people."

The former Cardinal Morgan, wearing a genial smile, recognized Elia’s identity.

Hearing those words, I felt a strange sense of unease.

Aside from him being a corrupt Cardinal, his answer itself was highly suspicious.

’Normally, wouldn’t they say Aris guided them?’

A truly devout believer certainly would have.

But the former Pope and Cardinals were all thoroughly corrupted by power, far removed from true piety.

Though they had brought up Aris when they were finally banished to the Forest of the Four Seasons, that was merely a desperate struggle.

"Then please follow me. The Elders are waiting."

"The Elders? Are you saying you aren’t one of them?"

"Though I am lacking, I assist them by their side."

This is turning into more and more of a mystery.

I looked at Elia as Morgan turned to lead the way.

Elia was just as confused, her expression showing she couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Don’t tell me there are other Cardinals too?

ㄴStarlight Lady) Unless they went hand-in-hand, they would usually fall separately.

ㄴLudwig van Erolt) I wonder if the Pope is alive too.

ㄴAllfather) Depending on their luck, they might be alive or dead.

In the Forest of the Four Seasons, luck plays a massive role.

If you’re lucky, you might drop into a relatively livable area, but you could also land straight in a volcanic zone the moment you enter.

Of course, regardless of how livable it is, escaping to the outside is generally impossible.

The problem is that as the Forest of the Four Seasons is gradually liberated, those restrictions are slowly loosening.

Right now, entrances to the Forest of the Four Seasons are appearing and disappearing all over the world, causing quite a headache.

"Are you truly the former Cardinal?"

"Right now, I am merely an attendant serving the Elders."

"Then what about Lady Aris...?"

"I realized that I had been serving the wrong deity."

Did he convert?

This was absolutely not something that should come out of the mouth of a former Cardinal.

No matter how corrupt he was, she was once a god he served with sincerity.

I was highly skeptical of how they had brainwashed him to make him turn out like this.

’Then, could Gu-chil be like this too?’

Even Gu-chil, who had revered the Blood Demon, Wi Ho-chang, as the strongest under heaven—was he like this too?

I couldn’t say for sure, but the probability was extremely high.

"How long have you been living in Large Field?"

"Well, I do not remember clearly. However, shortly after entering the Forest of the Four Seasons, I was fortunate enough to reach this place."

"Are you saying you started in an area filled with fog?"

"Yes, indeed."

This could be considered an incredibly lucky case.

Most outsiders are cases of struggling desperately to survive in the Forest of the Four Seasons and somehow drifting all the way here.

But for Morgan to start in the fog zone from the very beginning, I couldn’t even fathom how lucky he was.

"What kind of work did you do while living here?"

"At first, I started with various manual labors. You saw the massive fields on your way here, didn’t you?"

"Did you work there?"

"Yes. I realized just how difficult farming is."

Listening to Morgan’s past story, I looked around.

Perhaps because it was near the World Tree, various flowers were planted, creating a gorgeous scenery.

The irony was that the World Tree itself was slowly withering away.

"How many Elders are there in total?"Read this novel at nоvelping.com for the best experience.

"There are five Elders in total. They are all wonderful people."

Are they really good people?

Looking at Miren and Large Field, they certainly seemed like good people, but I couldn’t shake off a sense of incongruity.

Banning all books except for those on science and technology, distorting Aris as an evil god, and so on.

’On the surface, it looks like a pure utopia, but if you look closely, it has strong dystopian aspects.’

Right outside Large Field, an apocalypse had broken out, after all.

The people of Large Field lived in complete satisfaction, but I wasn’t so sure.

"Have you been well all this time, Elf Queen?"

"Have you forgotten that this is the Forest of the Four Seasons?"

"Ah. I had forgotten. Since it is such a wonderful place to live, I haven’t spared a single thought for the outside world. Hohoho."

I doubted whether Morgan’s affable laughter was truly genuine.

Elia was also wearing a pretty smile on the outside, but perhaps sensing the incongruity, she threw a sharp question.

"Do you not miss your days as a Cardinal?"

Since ancient times, once you get a taste of power, it’s hard to let go.

The world is full of people who would gladly give up wealth for the sake of power.

And a Cardinal is a position of immense power and authority, second only to the Pope.

Since he was forcibly ousted from that position, it wouldn’t be strange for him to miss it.

"Not at all. I am perfectly satisfied with my life here."

"Sincerely?"

"Of course."

"I see. That is a relief."

What exactly was a relief?

I thought about this for a brief moment, then made eye contact with Elia.

She looked at me and shook her head, and I could roughly grasp what she meant.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Does that mean he’s completely lost his mind?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) It seems he is forcing himself not to think. All of his personal agency has vanished; he appears to have fallen into blind conformity.

Currently, Morgan was strongly suspected of having lost his mind.

I didn’t know the exact cause, but I knew it was related to the Elders.

And so, following behind Morgan, we eventually reached a vast grassland.

’No, wait. The grass is way too short to call this a grassland.’

Beyond just being short, it was neatly manicured.

It was practically flat, and the rolling hills here and there were no different. There were also deep pits? Or something similar, along with ponds filled with water.

’This is somewhat...’

Suddenly, a sports field famous for being high-class came to mind.

"There they are."

Just as I was looking around, wondering if it really was that place, Morgan pointed somewhere.

Turning my head, I saw a group of people huddled together in the distance.

Pak!

One of them in the center swung a long club with great force.

And with that, a tiny ball soared far into the distance.

The ball hit the ground, rolled along, and stopped near a flag.

Jjak-jjak-jjak-jjak!

As soon as the ball stopped, a round of applause followed.

I stared blankly at the scene and muttered softly under my breath.

"...Golf?"

I thought the surrounding scenery looked familiar, but to think they were actually playing golf.

Though nothing is surprising in the Forest of the Four Seasons, this was still beyond common sense.

"It seems some of the Elders are enjoying their leisure time."

"What is it that they are doing right now?"

"It is called golf, a sport developed by the Elders."

"Bullshit."

I muttered to myself in Korean without realizing.

Golf was a unique sport that had been passed down since the days of Earth.

A pastime enjoyed by corporate presidents due to its characteristically high-class image and proportionally high cost.

In this world, it would be a sport enjoyed by nobles, so claiming they developed it themselves was utter nonsense.

"That was truly magnificent, Elder!"

"Haha. You’re flattering me too much."

While quietly observing, a booming voice from afar caught my attention.

It was a familiar voice, so I narrowed my eyes and looked closely.

Soon, I could spot a familiar face among the huddled crowd.

’Isn’t that Gu-chil?’

Unlike when he lived with the gorilla pack, he was clean-shaven, making him temporarily unrecognizable, but his distinct features were definitely Gu-chil’s.

Gu-chil was flattering a man assumed to be an Elder, looking incredibly servile.Find the original chapter at NovelPing.

I wondered if he had acted the same way when he was by Dolsoe’s side.

"Please follow me. I will take you to another Elder."

I looked at the group busy enjoying golf, then followed Morgan.

In terms of hospitality, this was extremely rude, but they were essentially dictators.

Since they were the rulers of Large Field and he said there was another Elder, I could let it slide.

"Does everyone serve a different Elder?"

"No. We serve all the Elders, so that question is meaningless."

Saying so, Morgan gradually drew closer to the World Tree.

The size of the World Tree was grander than most super-tall skyscrapers, requiring one to tilt their head back completely just to look up at it.

"Huh?"

By the time we drew quite close to the World Tree.

As I looked around at the cracked World Tree, which seemed as if it had suffered a drought, I noticed something strange.

The cracks weren’t just randomly scattered; they spread out like a spiderweb from a single point.

Looking at the center, I could see a small wedge driven into it.

"What is that? There’s a wedge driven into the center of the cracks."

Elia must have seen it too, as she pointed at it and asked.

Morgan, who was guiding us, turned his head in the direction she pointed.

"Ah. That wedge? According to the Elders, it is a wedge that has been driven in there since long ago."

"It looks like it’s absorbing the World Tree’s mana..."

"Precisely. However, no one dares to pull it out. To be exact, it cannot be pulled out."

"Why is that?"

"Because the moment you try to pull it out, all of your mana will be absorbed, turning you into a mummy. Just like the monsters in the fog."

It wasn’t even some cursed Holy Sword, yet it produced such side effects.

Suddenly, the Bow of the Lord God and its arrows that I had recently acquired came to mind, but this was on a completely different level.

Those two at least only absorbed mana, not life force.

’Was it made of something similar?’

Anyway, putting that aside, we made our way toward the World Tree.

The place where the Elder resided was a building erected in front of the withered World Tree.

"This building is..."

"It is where the Elders primarily conduct their business."

It had an appearance that looked familiar from somewhere.

A square building constructed of bricks.

And crucially, even the name placed above the entrance.

’This is Sung Sim Dang?’

Did they move the entire building here, or was it originally here?

Why on earth were they using the Sung Sim Dang building as a residence, and so on.

Amidst the confusion in my head, Morgan added an explanation.

"The name of this building is Sung Sim Dang. It means a building containing a sacred heart."

"Aside from its holy name, the exterior is rather plain."

"True authority does not stem from outward forms, after all."

Ah, is that so. I didn’t bother mentioning that the original form of this building was a bakery.

It wouldn’t mean anything to them anyway, and the building itself wasn’t what was important.

Thus, we entered Sung Sim Dang, and surprisingly, the inside looked like an ordinary residence.

"Elder. I have brought the outsiders."

"Have a seat over there."

And there was the ’Elder’ seated at the central table, as if he had been waiting in advance.

He was an elderly, middle-aged man with a very ordinary appearance, except for his thick beard.

My first impression of him was closer to favorable rather than bad.

Just as I was wondering if I had been too narrow-minded.

"I shall take my leave now."

"Yes. Good work."

Chwareureuk!

The Elder’s arm stretched out long like a tentacle, piercing Morgan’s chest.

Kkumul-kkumul—

Like dough used for making bread, Morgan turned completely mushy and was absorbed.

Before long, Morgan was completely absorbed by the Elder, his figure vanishing entirely.

In that shocking situation, just as we were left speechless.

"Allow me to introduce myself. We are the Elder who manages Large Field."

As if nothing had happened, the Elder offered a greeting.

"Who might you be?"