WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 124: This Hellish (1)
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News that the Holy Kingdom of El Dorado had assembled an investigation group and sent it into the Forest of Four Seasons.
The news spread beyond El Dorado and across the entire world.
Despite the sudden announcement, almost no one seemed surprised or flustered.
Just as it was only natural for trash to act like trash, people simply shrugged and said, “The Holy Kingdom is being the Holy Kingdom again.”
There was a reason it could dispatch an investigation group so quickly.
The Forest of Four Seasons lay along El Dorado’s border.
The forest was as large as a small country, and several nations bordered it.
El Dorado was one of them. That was why it could so often carry out its so-called “dirty work.”
Ever since El Dorado began rotting from the roots up, there had been an unusually high number of disappearances.
And the Forest of Four Seasons was a hell from which no one who entered could ever escape.
Considering how many of the missing were high-ranking figures, there was no way people would not be suspicious.
El Dorado is only increasing the number of scapegoats. Reveal the truth.
Why are they trying to bury their own sins beneath other people’s deaths?
Those who believe in God will one day be struck by God’s hammer.
This is happening too fast. It looks like they were already prepared...
More than anything, the time between preparation and action was far too short.
The investigation group had been dispatched as smoothly as though they had been waiting for this to happen.
They called it an investigation group, but people openly wondered whether it was really a purge.
We would only have drawn suspicion if we had not responded quickly.
We are confident because we have done nothing wrong.
How dare you doubt God’s representative? All of this was ordered by the Pope...
El Dorado’s response was remarkably simple: brazen it out.
With word that the Pope, one of God’s representatives, had personally given the order, other nations had no choice but to hold back.
Who was the Pope? If the Hero was a pillar supporting El Dorado, the Pope was its main beam.
With the Hero now accused of being a traitor and on the run, the Pope wielded truly unchecked power.
The Pope’s words were effectively El Dorado’s will. And now they were shamelessly doubling down.
No matter how rotten it had become, El Dorado was one of the great military powers that had endured since ancient times.
Even without the Hero, its fundamental strength was formidable enough that no one could criticize it carelessly.
Kadir’s statement was not a lie. El Dorado is desperate to hide the truth.
How exactly is El Dorado’s investigation group composed? It consists of...
Another purge has begun. Blood covered in light is seeping out.
Countless arguments went back and forth, but El Dorado had already sent out the investigation group.
Not even a week had passed since the truth about the Undying King came out.
It might have meant they were in a hurry, but it was more likely just a so-called “show.”
Still, El Dorado was making its position clear. If we do not put on a show, everyone will curse us, so what do you want us to do?
The ones sacrificed to that shamelessness were innocent holy knights and clergy.
“Fuck.”
“Watch your language.”
“If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you be cursing too?”
A carriage headed toward the Forest of Four Seasons. Inside, a man and a woman chatted.
The middle-aged man had a steadfast bearing, a square jaw, deep-set eyes, short gray hair, blue eyes, and a stylish gray beard.
“No chatter. Think about what lies ahead.”
“Wow. You really are suffocating. Teacher! Do you know where we’re going? The Forest of Four Seasons, the Forest of Four Seasons!”
The young woman across from him shouted in frustration. Her cry was filled with resentment.
Her brown hair was cut short for ease of movement. Her upturned eyes gave her a cynical look.
Her husky voice sounded almost androgynous, but her beauty could not be concealed.
“I know.”
“And you can stay this calm?!”
“Orders came from above. Do not forget that we are holy knights, but we are soldiers as well.”
“Hah...!”
The gray-haired man only answered in a composed voice, his arms folded.
At the maddening response, the young holy knight Lace let out a frustrated breath.
Then, as though she could not accept this no matter how much she thought about it, she voiced her objections.
“Teacher, honestly, they’re just shoving us out there to die. All because the people above told us to.”
“...”
“Why do we have to take on a mission like this? Could it be because you used to be the Hero’s teacher...”
“Quiet.”
At Lace’s appeal, the gray-haired holy knight Ludwig rebuked her in a solemn voice.
It was only one short word, but the pressure behind it was enough to shut Lace’s mouth.
She only stopped speaking, though. Her expression did not ease.
If anything, her anger seemed to rise as her rebelliousness deepened.
“An order was issued from above, and we follow it. That is all.”
“Teacher.”
“Do not call me Teacher from now on. Call me Commander. We may know each other, but I am your superior.”
“...”
His rigidity was so stifling it was hard to breathe.
Lace frowned at it, but she could not offer any rebuttal.
No matter how much she complained, nothing would change.
“Lace.”
“...”
“If you are afraid, you may run. I will pretend I did not see it.”
Ludwig was the first to speak in the deathly silence.
For a moment, Lace was startled by Ludwig openly suggesting desertion. Then she frowned.
“What? Honestly, I’m more surprised you spoke up.”
“I can tell right from wrong too.”
“If that’s how you feel, wouldn’t it be better to charge straight at them?”
“Finding even the slightest hope is better than dying like a dog.”
“Sure it is.”
Lace laughed as though that was absurd. She was not a fool.
She knew exactly what situation the Holy Kingdom of El Dorado was in and why she had been included in the investigation group.
Knowing all of it inside and out, all she could do was laugh bitterly.
“It’s pretty sad to die because you’re smart.”
“There are times when you need to pretend to be stupid.”
“If you know that so well, why did you train the Hero?”
“It was a mission bestowed by the Goddess.”
“Ugh.”
Lace shook her head.
Ludwig had once taught the Hero martial arts and was known as a devout believer.
That made him one of El Dorado’s most respected holy knights.
At least, until the incident that ruined everything.
“Commander.”
“Speak.”
“Do you really think the Hero is a traitor?”
The rumor was that the Hero, Asella, was a traitor and had fled because of it.
In El Dorado, “traitor” was the most infamous label of all, reserved for betrayers personally identified by the Goddess Aris.
The Holy Kingdom was currently pursuing the fleeing Asella.
The rumor that the Hero was a traitor had spread beyond the Holy Kingdom and throughout the continent.
“According to the prophecy, she must be.”
“What if the Pope’s side rigged it?”
“I do not know. Only cardinals and above are allowed to hear the prophecy.”
There was a reason El Dorado had maintained its status as the Holy Kingdom despite committing countless atrocities, known and unknown.
It was prophecy. Prophecies the Goddess herself supposedly bestowed whenever the Holy Kingdom faced a crisis.
Back when humanity had been weak, the gods, including Aris, issued prophecies.
Now, a prophecy was issued whenever a new Hero was selected.
And the moment Asella drew the holy sword, Revolution, the Goddess delivered a prophecy.
A prophecy that Asella would destroy the Holy Kingdom of El Dorado.
Prophecies normally left room for interpretation.
This one, though, had been shockingly direct.
“Even if it was rigged, Asella ran the moment she heard that prophecy. Would that alone explain it?”
“Why would the Goddess...?”
“Only the Goddess knows why.”
After hearing the prophecy, Asella seized the holy sword and fled.
With the Hero, who should have held authority equal to the Pope’s, now gone, no one could stop the Pope.
That was why the Pope was acting so wildly now. There was no one to restrain them.
The Pope assigned everyone they had long considered a thorn in their side to this investigation group.
“So, are you going to run?”
“No. Even if I did, they’d chase me down right away.”
“There is a saying, ‘Better this world than the next, even if you have to roll in a field of dog shit.’”
“I’m sure our noble Goddess will guide us.”
Ludwig snorted at Lace’s sarcasm. Even when she grumbled like that, he could not dislike her.
At the same time, he felt sorry for her. Such a promising talent would be lost in a purge like this.
He wanted to charge in and fight, but he lacked both power and justification.
It was a reality so cruel it was unfair. Yet no one could change it.
What could they even hope for when the Hero herself had been declared a traitor?
“Come to think of it, Commander.”
“Speak.”
“You know the person who exposed the contents of the book on the gallery?”
As Ludwig lamented inwardly, Lace brought up an interesting subject.
The one who could be called the chief culprit behind all this.
Usually, things that happened on the gallery did not spill into reality, but this time was different.
An event serious enough to shake one of a nation’s pillars could not be ignored.
“Why do you ask about them?”
“Do you think they’re really in the Forest of Four Seasons?”
“I do not use the gallery, so I do not know. But I hear their existence has already been proven.”
“That’s true, but I’m wondering whether it’s realistically possible.”
Perhaps because they were about to enter the Forest of Four Seasons, it was a natural question.
Ludwig considered her words carefully, then casually asked a question.
“Do you use the gallery too?”
“I just lurk.”
“What is lurking?”
“Wow... You really reek of an old man.”
“My apologies for smelling old.”
“I’m joking. Anyway, it means I only look around. It’s not like you read every single word of every newspaper, is it?”
“I do.”
“...”
Lace looked sick of him. Now she could see where the Hero had learned such stubbornness.
After sighing inwardly, she skipped the needless remarks and got to the point.
“Anyway, do you think the person who made the exposé could really be living in the Forest of Four Seasons? Even if they proved it, it’s not easy to believe.”
“Little is known about the Forest of Four Seasons. There may be safe places within it.”
“If you say so, I have nothing to say, but...”
Lace trailed off before quietly speaking again.
“Do you think we can survive there?”
“It will be my first time in the Forest of Four Seasons as well. I do not know.”
“Right. I was stupid to ask.”
With only a perfunctory answer coming back, Lace gave up on asking further.
Instead, she browsed the gallery to pass the time.
When Ludwig saw Lace staring into empty air, he became curious and quietly asked, “Are you logged into the gallery?”
“Yes. I’m looking at the posts that person wrote.”
“What kind of posts?”
“They say that if we make it to where they live, they’ll hold a grand welcome party for us. They’re begging us to come.”
Lace explained with a snicker, as though she had found something amusing.
Ludwig showed greater interest for a moment, then asked another question.
“Is there anything else?”
“Yeah. Well... if we prove that we’re part of the investigation group, they say they’ll give us one really fucking good gift.”
“What?”
“A gift, a gift. Want me to ask what it is?”
Ludwig frowned at the casual profanity, then nodded as if to tell her to do as she pleased.
Lace stared into the air for a while before clicking her tongue in disappointment.
“That’ll be difficult. Why are the verification requirements so strict?”
“What are they?”
“There are several conditions. First, we have to take a picture of the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons. Second, we have to belong to the investigation group. Finally, other people have to recognize us as legitimate.”
“A thorough person.”
“We don’t even know what they’ll give us. I’d rather not get it.”
Just as Lace was about to finish grumbling...
“How do I access the gallery?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked how one accesses the gallery.”
Ludwig, who had only been watching until now, asked how to access the gallery.
It was such an unexpected question that Lace could only blink.
Then she asked in an uneasy voice.
“...Are you serious?”
“Think of it as our final amusement. So, are you not going to tell me?”
“No, it’s not that, but...”
Lace taught Ludwig how to access the gallery.
Accessing it was not particularly difficult, so Ludwig connected without trouble.
Then Ludwig fixed his gaze on empty air for a long while.
“Lace.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Could you lend me a mirror?”
“?”
It was such an unexpected request that she was puzzled, but she lent him one anyway.
Ludwig took the mirror, checked his face from several angles, then immediately returned it.
Soon, he resumed browsing the gallery. His face was one of deep concentration.
Lace watched him for a while, then logged into the gallery herself.
She wondered what that stubborn man had written there.
Of course, if he was only lurking, there would be no point...
[Post title] Ludwig van Errold
There it was, plain as day, in the list containing only featured posts, posts that had received a large number of recommendations.
Ludwig van Errold was Ludwig’s full name. People might share a given name, but not a surname and middle name too.
With a sense of disbelief, Lace opened the post.
[Post title] Ludwig van Errold
[Author] LudwigVanErrold
[Post] (Photo of Ludwig’s face reflected in a mirror)
[Post] (Photo of Ludwig’s face reflected in a mirror)
[Post] (Photo of Ludwig’s face reflected in a mirror)
[Post] Ludwig van Errold, commander of the Holy Kingdom of El Dorado’s investigation group.
[Post] Verified.
└ ?
└ ?
└ Who the fuck is this? Why is he suddenly posting pictures of himself?
└ What the hell? It’s pretty unsettling when someone suddenly posts their face without warning.
└ How are we supposed to react to this? Should we call him ugly?
└ Wait, he says he’s the investigation group commander? Is that real?
└ Why would anyone post something like that?;;
└ Is he bragging about being handsome?
└ Did he do this because Grylls said they’d give them a gift?
└ Why does this reek of an old man?;;
“Hmm. Strange. I clearly verified myself.”
“...”
Even his first post reeked of a lonely old bachelor.
Footnotes:
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