I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 826

A lot had happened, but fortunately, they hadn’t taken Elia.

Her ideas might have bordered on problematic, but her ultimate goal was just planting trees, after all.

Still, as far as the Elders were concerned, seeing Elia’s approval rating(?) climb wasn’t exactly welcome, so it ended with a light reprimand and release.

"Grylls-ssi. This is so unfair."

"I know, so just go watch a movie."

Instead, they’d handed Elia an unusual punishment.

Though if you actually looked at it, it was hardly a punishment at all.

"How can I relax and watch a movie while leaving you behind, Grylls-ssi?"

"I heard it’s a good one, though."

"Planting trees is much more fun to me, you know."

The punishment was watching movies, one of Large Field’s signature attractions.

It wasn’t an actual cinema like back on Earth, just people huddling together in a group to watch.

I didn’t know what movie it was either, but from what I’d heard, it was some mindless action flick.

’Are they trying to keep her from getting strange ideas?’

Then again, from the Elders’ perspective, someone like Elia was the biggest headache of all.

The kind of person who didn’t preach religion or ideology, yet managed to gather followers(?) anyway.

To put it bluntly, she was practically built to be a cult leader, which had been an issue outside, not just here in Large Field.

Elia had wielded enough formidable leadership to guide Alfheim while fending off endless checks from the Senate.

Even with completely different races and cultures, her trademark eloquence was unchanged, so sharing her hobby(?) wouldn’t be hard at all.

"Just watch it quietly, and I’ll come pick you up later. Where did you say it was?"

"The building right next to our lodging. It’s white, so you won’t miss it."

"Got it. Just relax there."

"Like I said, how on earth am I supposed to relax?"

Elia asked with a worried face.

Judging by her long, drooping ears, she genuinely felt sorry.

I gave a smirk and answered with a light pat on her head.

We might have to leave Large Field once this was over anyway, so there was no need for her to feel bad.

"By the way, Master. I have something to say."

"Speak."

After sending Elia off, Lackey spoke up.

His tone suggested he didn’t understand, which was only natural.

"Why are you bringing me along?"

"Just because."

I’d decided to bring Lackey with me to this meeting with the Elders.

Normally, Lackey was too busy indulging in the novelties of Large Field.

Having a precious day snatched away like a bolt from the blue, his reaction was only to be expected.

"Because I hate seeing you slack off."

"If that’s the real reason, I’m actually going to cry."

"I’m kidding. It’s because you have a job to do."

To be honest, watching him mess around while doing nothing did tick me off a little.

One of us was desperately scrambling to set up a plan, while the other was living the high life, so naturally it rubbed me the wrong way.

"Master. Instead of all this, can’t we just live here?"

"You won’t live out your natural lifespan like that."

"Expecting to live out one’s full lifespan in this dangerous forest is absurd in the first place."

I dragged Lackey along by force, his eloquence flaring up only at times like this.

Lackey grumbled that there was still a movie he hadn’t seen and that he was supposed to watch it with the locals today, but I brushed him off.

"Shut up and just follow me. Ah, Cain-ssi, please do as I said. Here, take this."

[Understood.]

Before setting off, I handed Cain a crystal orb.

It was a crystal orb given to me by Princess Chaenggu, and it would probably come in very handy today.

Apparently, she’d incorporated the Orichalcum I’d steadily gifted her over time, boasting that its performance was exceptional or something.

By the time we left, I noticed Lackey’s lips pouting a mile out.

He really, really didn’t want to go.

"Come to think of it, do they give you lots of sweet potatoes here? I haven’t seen a single candied sweet potato, and you love those."

"There is something similar. But it’s far worse than what we eat at home."

"Don’t want to go home? If you stay here, you might never get to eat them again, you know."

"Hmm. Now that I think about it, I want to go home."

Simple-minded bastard.

Well, I wasn’t wrong either.

The honey used in our candied sweet potatoes wasn’t ordinary honey; it came from the bees that had made their home in the World Tree.

It went beyond just being sweet—it carried a deep, rich flavor that was on an entirely different level.

’If the World Tree here had been intact, would the Bee Kings have come too?’

Pushing that thought aside, I set off to meet the Elders.

Our current party consisted of three: me, Lackey, and Miren.

Miren was bewildered by the Elders’ summons, but had decided to come along anyway.

"No matter how much I think about it, I have no idea why they summoned me..."

"Is it rare for the Elders to summon a resident?"

"Yes. Usually, it’s either for a trial, or they summon the elderly."Read the latest chapters at novelping dot com.

"Hmm..."

Summoning the elderly, huh.

Between the monsters in the mist and various other factors, the average lifespan in Large Field was short.

However, perhaps because they carried dragon blood, their natural life expectancy seemed extraordinarily long, much like other long-lived races.

Even the resident from earlier who said he was over fifty looked like a young man on the outside.

"What happens after the summons? Do they come back?"

"No. Most often, they become Elders themselves. Once that happens, they rarely come down."

"Really? What if their families want to see them?"

"It’s hard to speak out once they’ve become an Elder. But yes, you can still meet them."

You can meet them, huh. It didn’t sound like people could meet freely, and even if they did, would that really be the same person?

Manatology could inherit the exact appearance and build of the person it absorbed.

And according to Gu-chil’s testimony, it inherited their memories as well.

He said he’d seen it clearly with his own two eyes, so it was credible.

’By the way, is that bastard Gu-chil doing alright?’

Gu-chil had returned to the Elders’ side before I started opening my bundle of stories.

He’d looked like he’d rather die than go back, but knowing all too well what would happen if he refused, he’d been dragged away.

As he was being hauled off, he gave me a look pleading to be saved, but well...

’Even when this is over, I don’t want to bring him to my house, and leaving him in Large Field is awkward too.’

If he were needlessly competent like Lackey, maybe, but he was just generic errand boy number one.

On top of that, his loyalty to the Blood Cult remained intact, making it uncomfortable to take him in.

’If he dies, that’s a shame, and if he survives, well...’

I’d think about that when the time came.

Lackey, Miren, and I got into the car and reached the World Tree where the Elders resided.

Miren had been thrilled when getting into the car, but I just let it slide with an amused chuckle.

"I-I’m really getting an audience with the Elders...!"

"You said you respected the Elders a lot, right?"

"Yes! Being able to enjoy everything in Large Field is all thanks to the Elders, after all."

I nodded. Most of the residents probably felt the same way.

Yet, while sharing various stories up until now, I’d realized that respect and dissatisfaction were two different things.

They certainly respected them, but being isolated for so long had caused petty grievances to pile up.

Large Field in particular was an isolated enclave with virtually no influx from the outside, making interpersonal conflict downright fatal.

’It seems they banish criminals or just absorb them themselves, but...’

That alone couldn’t completely dilute their discontent.

The fact that outsiders occasionally planted a longing for external civilization, consciously or not, also played a major part.

Now that I’d pried open the minor cracks that had already existed, it was practically a turning point.

"Welcome, outsider. The Elders are waiting for you."

"...Not playing golf today, I see?"

As we neared the Elders’ residence, someone came out to greet us.

Normally, former Cardinal Morgan, who had become part of the Elders, would greet us, but today Gu-chil had come.

Wondering if Gu-chil had ultimately become part of the Elders too, I quietly asked.

"Hey."

"Yes, go ahead."

"Say ’Wi Ho-chang is a son of a bitch.’"

"...I am not a person who badmouths others."

"Glad to see you’re still in one piece."

So he wasn’t. It seemed the Elders were just using him as a servant.

"Master. Cursing my master in front of me is a bit..."

"You talk behind my back whether I’m looking or not."

"I don’t do it behind your back. Only petty bastards do it behind someone’s back."

"Oh yeah?"

"Indeed. That’s why I will continue to talk trash to your face."

"..."

The more I listened to this guy’s smart mouth, the more I wanted to smack him one.

The situation was precarious right now, so I decided to let it slide generously.

In any case, the fact that Gu-chil had come to escort us meant not just one Elder, but all of them were waiting.

They seemed to mean business, so I couldn’t let my guard down.

"Please follow me."

"Y-Yes!"

Miren, tense in a completely different way, followed behind Gu-chil.

And so, we arrived at Sung Sim Dang, where I’d confronted the Elder last time.

As far as I knew, this place was originally built to help the needy, yet seeing it turned into a monster’s lair was truly bitter.

If the founder saw this, he’d probably burst out of the afterlife and beat the shit out of the Manatology bastards himself.

’Borrowing just the name and the building, yet doing this kind of crap.’

There were even the skeletal remains of a dragon lying solitary in Sung Sim Dang’s basement.

In more ways than one, calling this place a devil’s den wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

"Resident, please wait here."This story is hosted at novelрing.com.

"Only me and Lackey are going in?"

"That is correct."

If that was the case, gladly.

Following Gu-chil’s words, I stepped inside Sung Sim Dang.

Stepping inside, the familiar sight from before came into view.

"Welcome."

"Is this our second meeting?"

"Have a seat in front."

I could see the Elders sitting side by side, each with entirely different appearances.

Gender, face, race, voice, and even species.

Everything about them differed, but I knew full well they were actually one.

Because of that, I couldn’t help but tense up as I took a seat where they indicated.

"Master. This looks delicious."

"...Yeah."

Surprisingly, a wide variety of breads was laid out on the table.

Hot steam rose from them as if they’d just been baked, more than enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

"This was the food made back when this building served its original purpose."

"We do not know if it suits your palate, but please, help yourself."

"It is one of the specialties passed down since ancient times."

Hearing that come out of your mouths feels bizarre as hell.

Swallowing those words down, I didn’t touch the bread.

Not only had I no idea what tricks they might have pulled on it, but it also sounded like an insult to the founder.

Perhaps realizing how serious the atmosphere was, Lackey only glanced around cautiously.

"It has been over a week since you entered Large Field. Isn’t it about time you made your decision?"

"What about me spinning stories and riling up the residents?"

"Though that made us frown a bit."

"In the end, it is nothing more than an idle delusion."

"As long as the mist exists, there is no way out."

Will it really just end as an idle delusion?

When I frowned, one of the Elders let out a hearty chuckle.

"Outsider. Do you know the term ’eighth-grader syndrome’?"

"Huh?"

An Elder suddenly bringing up something so bizarre out of nowhere.

As I blinked in momentary confusion, another Elder continued.

"Though close to a derogatory term, it can be described as a condition where the ego inflates."

"When the ego grows bloated, it becomes harmful to the world we have cultivated."

"And that harm will ultimately bring ruin upon Large Field."

Crude choice of words aside, the Elders’ explanation was simple.

Large Field had no need for people with strong egos.

It was enough for them to turn like cogs and maintain the existing system.

The greatest threat to that system was eighth-grader syndrome—in other words, someone’s inflated ego.

"As we always say, we simply want to live."

"What is wrong with wanting to live?"

"..."

Faced with this plea—if you could even call it that—from the Elders, I said nothing.

It certainly wasn’t because I couldn’t, but because I intuitively knew what an insane piece of sophistry it was.

Part of me wanted to thoroughly demolish their bullshit, but it wasn’t my place to step forward here.

"...I understand what you’re saying, Elders. I’ll be more careful from now on."

"We are grateful you will take care."

"We hope you will dedicate your efforts to Large Field going forward. Outsider—no, resident."

Did they think I’d bought into it?

Every one of the Elders praised me with a gentle smile.

They clearly had different faces, yet wearing the exact same expression made the dissonance intense.

Presently, I rose from my seat.

"By the way, take care regarding one thing, Elders."

"What is it?"

And before leaving, I offered them a word of advice.

"Getting eighth-grader syndrome in eighth grade is a blessing."

Most scholars warned about this.

The more you forcibly suppress a child’s puberty, the fiercer the backlash will be.

Specifically, that once they reach college age and gain independence, it’s bound to blow up completely, likely causing far bigger disasters than before.

"Wanting to live is fine. It’s a fundamental instinct."

I left one last remark for the silent Elders.

"But being alive and wanting to live are strictly two different things."

To that, the Elders responded:

"We see no difference."

"Is that even something worth debating academically?"

They reacted as if they had no idea what I was talking about.