I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 835

The Gallery typically went down for maintenance at regular intervals.

At a generous estimate, it happened about once a quarter, or once every half-year at the longest.

And that maintenance period never lasted more than five days at most.

"Hero-nim. That just now was..."

"I saw it too. Looks like the Gallery went into maintenance."

So the Gallery maintenance itself wasn’t particularly strange.

If anything, what was surprising was that it was only happening now.

’It’s been almost a year, hasn’t it?’

Back in the early days when Grylls was struggling to adapt to the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Of all times, the Gallery had entered maintenance right then, and she recalled him whining about it.

Even after maintenance ended, a Dullahan ambushed him, making his trials never-ending.

’Still, all sorts of features were added back then, like live video streaming and real-time translation.’

Asella was an Orange Badge—in other words, an administrator.

A role meant to keep the Gallery from getting toxic.

Yet she was strictly an administrator, not the operator of the Gallery, so adding features was out of her power.

’Just who is adding these features?’

She had wondered this every time maintenance took place, but hadn’t paid it much mind back then.

Ever since getting involved with Grylls, however, she had grown increasingly curious.

She knew that the beings who created the Gallery were the gods—more specifically, Aragon.

So she had guessed that Aragon was the one adding the various features, but that wasn’t it either.

’Lady Aris took measures so Lord Aragon couldn’t act.’

It was what Aris had said while eating a Korean melon all by herself, right before cremating the Chief God.

She had said she would soon be entering hibernation as well, and in preparation, she had inflicted heavy damage on Aragon.

Aris’s own state had been terrible at the time, making it a record that pained Asella’s heart in many ways.

’Grylls-nim said he would find the Gallery server, but...’

With failure after failure, there was still a long way to go.

Under such circumstances, the maintenance taking place only left Asella frustrated.

’There isn’t really anything I can do right now.’

Even with the Gallery down for maintenance, her work was piled high like a mountain.

For starters, there was Alfheim, with whom relations had recently turned sour.

She had tried her best to mediate between them and Mountain, but they had kicked the opportunity away with their own feet.

’On top of that, they even factored in the Elf Queen’s return. And not merely her return...’

Alfheim was assuming she would form a deep relationship with Grylls.

Snap!

Was it because an unholy(?) thought crossed her mind?

Without realizing it, Asella crushed the pen she had in her mouth with her teeth.

She had a habit of biting on a pen when lost in idle thoughts, and now she had finally gone and broken it.

Well, thanks to that, she was able to snap out of her thoughts and regain her composure.

’Grylls-nim is kind—far too kind, really—so that won’t happen.’

Take Asella herself, for instance.

During the Christmas miracle, she had offered to dedicate her body to repay his kindness.

Yet Grylls had politely declined, saying there was no need to rush and that he appreciated the sentiment alone.

If he went and accepted Elia after that... her heart felt like it would turn pitch-black.

Hummm!

Perhaps because of her sinister thoughts, the holy sword linked to her, Revolution, responded.

Quietly touching the holy sword at this, she felt her mind calm down.

’Right. This isn’t what’s important right now.’

Smack, smack!

Asella lightly patted her cheeks to shake off the pointless thoughts.

Before the Gallery went into maintenance, Grylls had made a request.

That if, by any chance, the residents of Large Field ended up leaving for the outside world, the Holy Kingdom would take good care of them.

Though Christmas was still a long way off, someone might leave back then, so he had asked her to prepare in advance.

’The descendants of dragons, who fought against the gods for the world. And the Holy Kingdom reconciling with those descendants and taking them in.’

Isn’t that quite a good look?

Not only would it elevate the Holy Kingdom’s prestige, but it was also a chance to bolster its national power.

After all, the individual combat strength of Large Field’s residents was formidable.

For starters, their innate heritage was second to neither elves nor the demon race, and their mana affinity was fundamentally extraordinary.

Just looking at the footage Grylls had shown her, it was clear they were unpolished gems.

’If there’s any concern, it’s the culture...’This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.

Regardless of Grylls sending them personally, the residents of Large Field were undeniably "refugees."

And taking in refugees had caused issues, large and small, throughout all times and places.

The biggest problem was failing to adapt to the culture and rules, then acting however they pleased.

There was a proverb: when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Just what kind of country Rome was remained under research, but everyone knew what the saying meant.

’Grylls-nim said they have strong adventurous streaks and wander all over the place.’

So apparently, he was putting them through rigorous training to make sure they followed the rules of that land.

And because the teachings came from Grylls, the residents of Large Field readily accepted them.

’They speak the Holy Kingdom’s language too, so that shouldn’t be a problem.’

Thanks to Grylls preparing everything so thoroughly, all the Holy Kingdom had to do was welcome them.

When and how they would arrive was the only question.

’I’ll have to re-inspect the refugee facilities.’

The Holy Kingdom of Avalon’s refugee facilities offered reasonably good welfare.

Not only did they provide training to those willing to work, but they also gave various support packages when people moved on.

With the Gallery down for maintenance for once, Asella worked through her duties step by step.

Focusing solely on work, the mountain of documents gradually dwindled.

’By the way, what could it mean that I can appoint Chroniclers?’

Taking a brief break, Asella pondered while eating a snack to replenish her sugar levels.

Incidentally, the snack was candied sweet potatoes, the recipe for which Grylls had personally taught her.

Though the flavor was blander than when Grylls made it himself, to Asella, it couldn’t have been better.

’A chronicler usually means someone who records history... but what are they recording?’

Gazing into the empty air, Asella brought up the Gallery.

As soon as she opened it, a message popped up saying it was under maintenance, but another message was visible as well.

A notice stating that along with the unlocking of administrator permissions, she could now appoint Chroniclers.

Just what kind of maintenance was this to take so long, and what could this feature possibly be?

’More importantly, nothing happened to Grylls-nim, right?’

Back when Grylls had touched the roots of the World Tree, ancient memes had begun to be unearthed.

They were still being dug up steadily even now, and among them were many capable of dealing quite a shock to academia.

She wondered if this was part of something similar, but from what she heard, all he did was touch the World Tree.

She could only lament that she couldn’t check on the situation since the Gallery was currently inaccessible.

Asella munched on the candied sweet potatoes while looking at the Gallery, then refocused on her work.

If she focused on work, time would fly by.

About three days passed from then.

"Hero-nim. We have an urgent report. It pertains to Alfheim."

"What is it?"

At the mention of a report concerning Alfheim, Asella barely stopped herself from knitting her brows.

Ever since the negotiations over God’s Brewery fell through, she had maintained informants there to keep constant watch.

If a report came from there, and an urgent one at that, it couldn’t possibly be good news.

’A change... occurred in the World Tree?’

Asella’s eyes went wide.

She had assumed it was bad news, but the contents were completely unexpected.

News that a change had occurred in Alfheim’s World Tree.

She scrutinized the details to see exactly what had happened.

’The leaves of the World Tree are gradually glowing, while its trunk is pulsating...’

Just hearing the description wouldn’t have conveyed much, but kindly enough, someone had even drawn an illustration.

As if resembling the meridians running through a human body, the trunk of the World Tree took on such an appearance.

The World Tree was a divine tree that, while a plant, possessed an intelligence closer to an animal’s.

In human terms, it was no different from circulating an internal cultivation art, so this was unmistakably out of the ordinary.

’The Alfheim Senate claimed it was a blessing bestowed by God... but they must be anxious in all sorts of ways.’

It was the World Tree of Alfheim, which had never shown any reaction until now.

What was more, all sorts of bizarre incidents had been breaking out across the world lately.

In particular, spatial rifts to the Forest of the Four Seasons had opened across various countries, causing massive headaches.

Word even had it that Kadir himself had undertaken research to predict them.

’Could it have some connection to Grylls-nim?’

To Asella, what mattered far more was what connection this had to Grylls.This story is hosted at NovelPing.

If Alfheim caught wind of this and tried to entangle themselves with Grylls, she intended to shut it down in advance.

’They’re probably already showing signs of it.’

Grylls had already been seen putting his hand on the World Tree.

Right after that, the Gallery entered maintenance, and now a change had occurred in Alfheim’s World Tree as well.

Asella pondered over this before speaking to her attendant.

"Contact Alfheim. Inform them that I will go there in person."

"Pardon? But..."

"They will have no justification to refuse."

From Alfheim’s standpoint, there was zero reason to reject a visit from the Hero.

Even more so since it was to examine a matter concerning the World Tree.

Furthermore, because the chances of an unexpected disaster breaking out were exceedingly high, it was difficult for Alfheim to decline.

"We will depart... in two days."

"Understood."

Tomorrow was the day the Gallery maintenance would end.

If she had her way, she would leave tomorrow, but unfortunately, there were procedures to follow.

Afterward, Asella swiftly obtained Alfheim’s approval and completed her preparations to leave.

The Senate must have sensed something ominous as well, for they did not blindly refuse.

And so, Asella finished readying herself to depart for Alfheim.

[Gallery maintenance has concluded.]

Right on cue, text appeared announcing that the Gallery maintenance had ended.

The moment she saw the words, Asella logged into the Gallery without hesitation.

It was only concluded in name; regular users who were not administrators could not log in yet.

The administrator could only go in early to check what features had been added.

’Doesn’t look like much has change—hm?’

Looking around here and there, something at the top of the Gallery suddenly caught Asella’s eye.

The top bar of the Gallery was divided into various categories, but this was classified even more prominently.

’Gal... Wiki?’

What was this now?

Was it a subcategory of the Gallery, or something else entirely?

Curious, Asella accessed GalWiki.

Flash!

When she entered GalWiki, a window completely different from the Gallery appeared.

She was caught off guard for a moment, but a message immediately caught her eye upon entry.

[A tree of records that anyone can plant.]

[Welcome to GalWiki.]

[GalWiki is a tree that everyone can nurture equally.]

[As such, please refrain from creating unverified or biased records wherever possible.]

A tree of records that anyone could plant.

Along with the explanations listed one after another beneath it.

Looking at this alone wouldn’t have told an ordinary person what it was, but Asella was an Orange Badge.

She was an expert at figuring out the Gallery’s various features, so understanding it wasn’t hard.

’Do I search here?’

What stood out the most was a search bar.

Asella pondered what to search before quietly typing it in.

[Grylls]

The name of the man she held so dear in her heart.

An inexplicable embarrassment flushed her face, but only for a moment.

[Roughly a photo of the real Be*r Grylls]

[Roughly a photo listing details such as his real name and nationality]

[Roughly listed information.]

A completely different person appeared.

’...What is this?’

She was bewildered.

Of course, bewilderment aside.

’...I can just make a disambiguation page, right?’

She set about creating the entry faster than anyone else.

Recorded objectively, yet entirely biased.