WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 105: Hostage (1)
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Whatever they were, they had really gotten on Fast Sloth's bad side.
Thinking that, I made a post in the gallery. These were footprints, not handprints.
I could upload the handprints later. Right now, the urgent thing was finding the culprit.
Fast Sloth's main food had vanished completely, but I was in serious trouble too.
Whether they had taken advantage of us being gone or the timing had simply been terrible, everything went to hell in that short window.
‘So I can't just leave home whenever I want.’
Should I have put up a wire fence? I wasn't sure.
Maybe I should have made a proper door instead of a fence. It was something I needed to start thinking about.
[Post title] Anybody know who made these footprints?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of animal footprints)
[Post] (Photo of animal footprints)
[Post] (Photo of Fast Sloth's back, radiating hollow despair and rage)
[Post] (Photo of Wonmo nervously watching Fast Sloth's reactions beside it)
[Post] I went out scouting today and came back to find my Fasting Pills gone.
[Post] These are the footprints of the suspected culprits. There are a few different kinds, so does anyone recognize them?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: They look more like handprints than footprints. Still, even through the photo, I can feel Fast Sloth's rage.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Right? Wonmo looking nervous beside it is cute too. Does he know something serious happened?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Wonmo is surprisingly quick on the uptake. Heavenly Demon, if it isn't too much trouble, could I ask for more Fasting Pills?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: It is no trouble, but it will take time. The Fasting Pills use rare medicinal herbs, so there is a shortage.
The moment I read that comment, I checked on Fast Sloth. It was still staring at the spot where the Fasting Pills had been.
For a person, it would probably feel like every meat dish piled in front of them had suddenly disappeared.
And from now on, they would have to eat nothing but vegetables or wild greens without a single bite of meat.
Thinking about it that way, I would have been pissed too. This problem didn't affect only Fast Sloth, either.
‘They weren't satisfied with trespassing into my territory. They stole my things too.’
Embarrassing as it was, whenever I needed to take a dump, I usually did it nearby.
I wanted to mark this place as my territory, even if only a little. Before that, I had covered it with dirt.
Still, since I would be staying here for a long time, establishing a territory of my own was essential.
└ [Starlight Princess]: They're terrible, stealing food like that. What will you do if you find them?
└ [Wild Grylls]: There isn't enough time today, so it'll be hard to look for them. I'll search tomorrow.
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: The uniform's okay, right?
└ [Wild Grylls]: It was lying on the floor, though?
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: ……
└ It got passed over lol
└ Even animals turn their noses up at Chaenggu's uniform lol
└ The design is kind of ugly lol
└ Putting the design aside, that deer emblem lol
└ [Allfather]: Hmm. From the footprints alone, they appear to be those of an ape.
└ [Wild Grylls]: An ape?
└ [Allfather]: Yes. I don't know the exact species, but they are certainly ape tracks.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Then they're probably gorillas. Do gorillas trespass into other animals' territory?
└ [Allfather]: It is not common... As I mentioned before, they are not particularly aggressive, so unless there is conflict within the group, they rarely fight outsiders.
That meant there was a high chance something had changed in the gorillas too.
Whether it was aggression or something else, none of it would be good for me.
‘It looks like there are several, not just one...’
There were a lot of footprints. Looking closely, every print had a different shape.
After roughly sorting them out, there seemed to be around four or five gorillas. One alone would have been difficult enough, but a whole group had invaded.
This wasn't something I could overlook. I needed to make an example of them.
‘But how?’
I didn't know exactly where the gorillas lived, nor when they would come again.
They could raid the place whenever my animal friends and I were gone.
It looked like I had no choice but to set traps and wait. Entering their territory was too dangerous.
‘I never thought they'd strike first like this.’
I might trespass into other animals' territories, but I had never imagined they would raid my home.
Like I said before, I should have realized it when the raccoon dog openly stole the Fasting Pills.
The animals in this forest seemed to be evolving in directions far beyond my expectations.
└ [AllHailTheSun]: What will you do if you catch the thieves? Just kill them?
└ [Wild Grylls]: If they do it again, I'll have no choice but to kill them. This is where I live.
└ [AllHailTheSun]: You've hardened. Didn't you spend forever agonizing over Fast Sloth?
└ [Wild Grylls]: I didn't spare it. I couldn't kill it;;
└ [AllHailTheSun]: Ah. Right. I forgot.
└ Fast Sloth seems properly pissed this time, doesn't it?
└ Whoever it is, they're definitely dead lol
└ Gorilla vs. Fast Sloth. Now this is an epic showdown.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: What's this? You got robbed?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Fasting Pills. It's what Fast Sloth eats. They're also my emergency rations.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Ah. Is that so? You should put in a door from now on lol
└ [Wild Grylls]: I'm seriously considering it.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: No. Don't bother. Even if you put one in, they'll just break it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: That's true too, isn't it? Ha. Fuck.
└ Destined to get raided;;
└ You have no choice but to leave it wide open lol
└ Everything in Grylls's house is free for the taking.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Shut up, you bastards.
└ Grylls. Culprits always return to the scene.
└ The comment above is right. They might come back tomorrow.
└ [Wild Grylls]: So I'll have to wait until tomorrow, then. Fine for now.
After talking about this and that in the gallery, I looked around the shelter.
Aside from the cave, the outside was mostly open space.
It was blocked off with barricades, but small animals could still get in easily.
‘Like Passing Dwarf said, even if I make a door, they'll just break it.’
A wire fence could keep out small animals. Big animals would be difficult to stop even with a door.
There were just too many abnormal creatures around here, and I couldn't think of a proper solution.
The best option was to make this area my territory and keep anything from entering freely.
‘Should I comfort Fast Sloth first?’
Fast Sloth was still zoning out. It seemed more dejected than angry.
I started to put a hand on its shoulder, then stopped. Come to think of it, this bastard still hadn't washed.
I quietly lowered my hand and offered some words of comfort instead.
"I'm angry too, Fast Sloth."
"......"
"At least we have food for today, so don't worry too much. But I can't promise we'll find the Fasting Pills."
I could get more through Heavenly Demon.
Still, it would be better to consider the stolen Fasting Pills gone for good.
As Allfather had said, gorillas were herbivores. They might have already eaten every last pill.
"For now, just hold on. They might come back tomorrow, and we can punish them then. Okay?"
"......"
"Lighten up a little. Wonmo is nervous and watching your reactions."
Only then did Fast Sloth turn its gaze to the side, toward Wonmo.
Wonmo flinched when their eyes met, but soon began nuzzling his cheek against Fast Sloth.
"Kyoo. Kyoooo."
"......"
Maybe Wonmo's adorable nuzzling had softened its heart.
Fast Sloth slowly raised a hand and placed it on Wonmo's head.
It seemed to see Wonmo as a pet or family member.
I smiled at the heartwarming sight for a moment before thinking about what to do next.
‘Traps are pointless... Don't they have anything like CCTV?’
There was an Orichalcum vein nearby, so I wondered whether there was similar magic.
If Broadcasting Magic existed, there had to be something like CCTV too.
If I couldn't stop my home from being raided, I at least wanted to see the culprits' faces.
‘Or I could make an alarm to scare them away.’
That wasn't a bad idea. PrincessChaenggu might know something about it.
Just as I was about to access the gallery, I heard it.
Rustle-
"......"
I clearly heard something brushing through the grass outside.
The moment I heard it, I stopped moving entirely.
Wonmo, who had been acting cute, must have sensed something too. His eyes went round, and he froze.
Lastly, Fast Sloth...
Swish-
It turned its head toward the cave entrance. I did the same.
Without making a sound, I slipped my hand into the Subspace Bag.
What I pulled out was a crossbow, the crossbow I always carried just in case.
If I had picked it up off the ground, there would have been at least some noise. Since it came from the Subspace Bag, there was none.
Drawing the string wasn't difficult either. My strength had improved, so this much was easy.
-Ooh! Ooooh!
-Ooooh!
Monkey calls echoed from outside the cave.
I couldn't tell whether they came from small monkeys or gorillas.
To find out, I needed to see them with my own eyes.
I erased every trace of my presence and crept forward.
And just as Anonymous User had said, culprits always returned to the scene.
"Ooh! Oo!"
"Ooooh."
Two gorillas outside were making sounds as if they were talking.
One beat its chest and made a frustrated gesture, while the other seemed to be trying to stop it.
As expected of creatures that understood the concept of theft, they seemed more intelligent than ordinary gorillas.
Even so, they were nothing more than thieves to Fast Sloth and me.
Those bastards who stole food in the wild deserved to die.
They knew that could happen when they stole it in the first place, didn't they?
Swish-
I slowly raised my crossbow and aimed at the gorillas.
They still had no idea we were back and continued chattering among themselves.
I wanted to pull the trigger, but I held myself back with superhuman patience.
They needed to come closer for my accuracy to improve. It was too early.
Splash!
"Ooooh!"
Apparently, the Fasting Pills hadn't been enough. One of the gorillas pulled out a fish that had been stored in the metal drum.
The fish was so large that even the gorilla had to hold it with both arms.
The sight made my rage gauge rise a little.
The otters had tried to steal my fish too, and every last one of them died.
That gorilla would suffer the same fate.
Swish-
As I silently aimed, Fast Sloth took a position beside me.
It didn't move ahead. It stuck right beside me.
It felt like a spotter assisting a sniper.
"Ooh! Ooooh!"
"Oo."
Before long, the delighted gorillas turned their backs and began to leave.
I aimed at the one greedily carrying the fish.
I held my breath, and when the crosshairs settled perfectly on target...
-Shoot.
It might have been my imagination, but a voice that seemed to belong to Fast Sloth rang inside my head.
The moment I heard it, I pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Fwoosh!
The bolt tore through the air the instant the string snapped forward.
Its tip flew straight for the gorilla's broad back.
Thwack!!
"Kwaaaaaah!!"
"Whaaa?!"
Flap, flap!
The bolt struck squarely into the gorilla's back.
At the same time, it howled in pain and let out a thunderous roar.
The fish it had been carrying flew into the air and flailed wildly.
Creak-
I didn't stop there. I immediately took out another bolt and loaded it.
Then I aimed at the gorilla again. The other one had already fled into the bushes.
The gorilla pierced by the bolt was desperately trying to escape as well.
It didn't seem to have the presence of mind to pick up the fish that had fallen to the ground.
A person would have collapsed after taking a shot like that, but a beast was still a beast.
Even so, there was a way to make a beast lose its mobility.
Thwack!
"Whaaaah!!"
I aimed for its leg.
The bolt lodged cleanly in the gorilla's calf.
I had fired immediately after loading, so I was pretty lucky.
Or maybe I had gotten better. Either way, the situation was good.
The moment the gorilla fell to the ground, I picked up my sword and shield and stepped outside.
Fast Sloth climbed onto my back, ready to join the fight at any moment.
"Whaaa......"
The gorilla stretched a hand toward the bushes, trying to escape somehow.
Its companion had already abandoned it. There was no one left to help.
I approached the gorilla as it desperately crawled away.
Maybe it sensed my shadow falling over it, because it slowly turned to look at me.
"Oo... ooooh......"
The gorilla stared at me with a terrified expression.
Then it saw Fast Sloth clinging to my back and its eyes widened.
It was as if it were asking why Fast Sloth was here, unable to believe the situation before it.
I didn't know what had happened, but it was clear the gorilla knew Fast Sloth.
"Uh... ugh......"
The gorilla pointed a finger at Fast Sloth, then promptly fainted.
It foamed at the mouth, as though it couldn't handle the physical and mental shock.
It couldn't speak our language, but its reaction felt just like a person's. Had its intelligence really increased?
More than that, its reaction confused me.
"Fast Sloth."
"......"
"What did you do to these guys?"
Had it been the local bully around here? I wasn't sure.
‘Looking at how it acts, it seems possible.’
The fact that it had shaken me down for food before gave that theory some strange credibility.
Footnotes:
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