WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 125: This Hellish (2)

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It was unusual from the very start. That was Lace's first thought after seeing Ludwig's post.

Creating a registered username the moment he logged in was impressive enough, but he had even used his real name.

Considering a registered username could never be changed once created, it was even more astonishing.

What truly shocked her, though, was that he had verified his face too.

Most people wrote their name on a sheet of paper for verification, but Ludwig had openly shown his face.

"...Commander."

"Speak."

"Do you know how widely recognized you are?"

If Ludwig were not famous, it might have ended as a minor incident.

Besides, Ludwig was a warrior through and through. He knew nothing about the gallery.

Others had at least heard bits and pieces, but he had devoted himself solely to martial arts.

Normally, his face should only have been known within the Holy Kingdom, especially among the Holy Knight Order.

"I do not believe it is known to that extent."

"You showed your face during the Hero's escape. Everyone probably knows what you look like after that."

"I see. I only read the papers from time to time."

"Good grief. At least leave a comment. What's done is done."

After the Hero's escape incident, Ludwig had no choice but to enter the public eye.

He was the teacher who had taught the Hero martial arts and all manner of knowledge besides.

They had dragged him into court, claiming he had instilled subversive "ideology" in the Hero, prompting the goddess to issue an ominous prophecy.

His face had been exposed by the media in the process, and together with all the testimony, he had become a public figure against his will.

'But is this really okay? Someone must be checking the gallery in real time.'

Lace glanced out the carriage window.

The investigation group included not only holy knights, but personnel assigned to assist them.

They were called assistants, but they were really a monitoring group. The Pope's people had sent them to stop the group from doing anything rash.

It was not as though those people never used the gallery. They must have seen Ludwig's post.

Scribble, scribble. Rustle.

Ludwig scribbled something in his notebook.

Then he stared intently at the page before putting it away again.

Watching that, Lace logged into the gallery. It was the post Ludwig had just written.

└ I've seen that guy's face in the papers. Wasn't he a witness during the Hero's escape incident?

└ Probably? His name's common, but even his surname is the same.

└ Isn't it just an act? Grylls said he'd give gifts, so he probably rushed to make it.

└ You're still saying that after seeing his face? lol

└ If you really want to verify yourself, write your name and the date on paper.

└ Ludwig van Errold (Photo of a paper with his name and the date written on it) Would this do?

└ Whoa. He's the real deal lololol

└ That guy joined the investigation group? I thought that was just a rumor;;

└ So these Holy Kingdom bastards really do purge everyone they don't like lol

└ Then they call it an investigation instead of a purge lol

└ Ah lol they didn't kill them, they just marked them as missing lol

└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: Why...? Why has Sir Ludwig been assigned to the investigation group?

└ [Ludwig van Errold]: I received an order. That is all.

└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: I see. Understood.

└ What's with Head Mod all of a sudden? Didn't they used to put exclamation marks at the end of every sentence?

└ Yeah. Didn't people say they used to be a holy knight?

└ Ludwig's an instructor in the Holy Knight Order. He trained the Hero too.

└ Must feel pretty complicated.

The whole story had been laid bare. Lace swallowed a dry laugh.

What was the point of saying it, though? It was already an open secret.

They called it a disappearance, but El Dorado had formed the investigation group as a purge meant to make an example of them.

'I want to see Asella's face.'

At times like this, she missed the Hero, Asella.

She was a woman whose innocent yet sharp personality had left a strong impression.

The way she beamed while dropping a hard fact on someone was truly something.

"Mm..."

"..."

"Oh?"

Ludwig, who had been browsing the gallery for some time, let out an exclamation.

Lace logged in, wondering what was happening, but nothing stood out.

Just as she tilted her head in confusion, something changed around Ludwig.

Swish!

"Huh?"

A sword. A longsword with a dull silver sheen.

It had appeared out of nowhere on Ludwig's lap.

There was only one thing that meant. Grylls had given Ludwig a gift.

"Oh."

Yet Ludwig seemed more impressed by the fact that an item had arrived than by the gift itself.

He had exclaimed the instant the sword arrived rather than marveling at it.

It was like watching a father encounter new technology.

"...Commander? What on earth is that...?"

"Someone named Wild Grylls gave it to me. They told me to use this to come to where they are."

"..."

With that dull-looking sword? Lace looked doubtful.

It was an unimpressive sword at a glance. An ordinary steel sword would have been far better.

"What did they say that sword was?"

"I cannot tell you. They asked me to keep it secret."

"..."

Did it have some other ability? Lace still did not know what to make of it.

It was a gift from Grylls, and it had fallen into Ludwig's hands of all people.

That made it hard for the monitoring group to forcibly take it away.

They were an investigation group, not prisoners.

Creak.

Not long after Ludwig received the sword, the carriage came to a stop.

There was usually only one reason for a carriage to stop: to rest.

But they had rested just thirty minutes ago. That left only one possibility.

"We have arrived. Everyone, disembark."

They had arrived at the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons. Lace squeezed her eyes shut, thinking that it had finally come to this.

She did not want to get out. She did not want to go in. If she went in, she would die.

Every worry in the world rushed through her head, but it did not last long.

Ludwig was already preparing to get out, gripping his new sword.

She looked at him as if asking whether he really intended to go along with this.

Ludwig met her gaze, then turned away.

A silent sign that he would not answer. Lace sighed.

'This is too disappointing.'

Ludwig could be frustrating, but he was generally flexible.

She did not know whether he had yielded to power or simply lost heart.

Lace barely managed to compose herself and stepped out of the carriage.

Outside, the holy knights assigned to the investigation group and the monitoring group were all looking in the same direction.

"There it is."

"..."

They were staring at what was known as the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons.

Even its appearance was far from ordinary.

An aurora, a phenomenon said to appear only in extremely cold regions, covered the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons in countless colors.

Beyond it stretched a variety of terrains.

One area was filled with nothing but barren trees.

Another was a desert containing nothing but sand.

Another was a snow-covered mountain wracked by blizzards.

Another was an utterly ordinary forest.

That was why it was called the Forest of Four Seasons.

No one knew where they would begin the moment they entered, which was why it was called a labyrinth no one could ever escape.

"...It's fucking beautiful, at least."

"..."

At Lace's lamenting assessment, Ludwig silently nodded.

Endless hell surely lay within that beautiful phenomenon.

A region that could not be explained through magic, science, nature, life, or any field of study.

"Well, well. It has been a while since I last came here, but it truly is beautiful."

As the holy knights watched the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons, a man's voice came from behind them.

Lace turned at the sound and faced its owner.

"Isn't it ironic? Hell is hidden behind such beauty."

A smiling face, plump cheeks, and a short, stocky stature.

Greed overflowed from his blunt nose and drooping eyes.

"...Archbishop Odon."

Lace frowned as she spoke his name.

Her expression openly showed her disgust. It was not a friendly reaction in the slightest.

Odon belonged to the Pope's faction, and he served as one of its lackeys.

He was currently the leader of the monitoring group, there to confirm that the investigation group entered the Forest of Four Seasons.

Click.

As the archbishop stepped forward, the holy knights protecting him lined up beside him.

Unlike Ludwig and Lace, whose faces were exposed, they wore helmets.

Perhaps because of their silent bearing, an intimidating air seeped from them.

Their role was to ensure that the investigation group could not rebel.

"Do not make such a face, Lady Lace. If you refuse this mission, His Holiness will be displeased."

"Fuck that."

"That foul mouth of yours has not changed. I like it all the more for that."

Odon looked at Lace with greedy eyes. Her expression twisted harshly.

She had cut her hair into a bob, giving her an androgynous appearance, but Lace was strikingly beautiful.

Her features stood out so distinctly that she was popular with both men and women.

Attractive flowers always drew bugs. Odon was one such example.

"I would rather go inside. Move aside."

"How unfortunate. It appears I was too greedy."

"..."

Lace turned away as if she no longer wished to deal with him.

Even while the conversation continued behind him, Ludwig only stared blankly at the Forest of Four Seasons.

Odon did not fail to notice it. He quietly approached Ludwig.

That allowed him to clearly see the sword Grylls had given Ludwig.

Ludwig's usual sword was sheathed, while an unfamiliar sword rested in his hand.

Odon immediately realized that it was the sword Grylls had sent him.

Monitoring the gallery was essential in case some members of the investigation group leaked information.

"Sir Ludwig. I never imagined you would log into the gallery."

"..."

"What do you think? Do you feel like eliminating the subversive inside?"

Instead of answering, Ludwig turned and looked at Odon.

The height difference between them was considerable, leaving Ludwig looking down at him.

"And that sword was given to you by the subversive, was it not?"

"That is correct."

"Hand it over. Since it was given by a subversive, it should naturally be confiscated."

What nonsense. Grylls was not a subversive, but a survivor.

Someone who had struggled to survive and accidentally uncovered the truth.

Even if Grylls had an agenda, there was little chance it was all a lie.

But El Dorado had already declared Grylls a "subversive."

"..."

Ludwig stared at Odon for a moment, then held out the sword. Odon's expression brightened considerably.

Just as Lace's fury was about to erupt, something unexpected happened.

Grab!

"Huh?"

Ludwig grabbed Odon's wrist as he reached for the sword.

Whoosh!

"Arghhhhh!"

Then he threw him straight into the Forest of Four Seasons.

The holy knights guarding Odon leaped forward in shock, but it was already too late.

Odon had fallen into the Forest of Four Seasons and vanished completely.

No one had been able to react in time because it was Ludwig, of all people, who had acted so suddenly.

"What do you think you are doing?!"

"Do you think you can return safely after this?!"

The monitoring group members drew their weapons and threatened Ludwig.

Naturally, the investigation group, Lace included, gripped their weapons too.

It had been sudden, but they could not possibly fail to understand Ludwig's intentions.

"Teacher! We're running away, right?!"

"Whew..."

At Lace's shout, Ludwig let out a complicated sigh.

Then he looked toward the Forest of Four Seasons and muttered quietly.

"I had thought I would retire and take up farming..."

"Teacher!"

"I suppose I shall have to sow different seeds."

Ludwig muttered something incomprehensible, then turned around.

The moment he did, they saw a force several times larger than the investigation group surrounding them.

The Forest of Four Seasons was behind them. The monitoring group was in front. It was a fight they had no chance of winning.

Yet Ludwig did not give up. He gripped the sword Grylls had gifted him.

[Reina. I will open a path through one section. Run and find Asella.]

In that hair-trigger situation, Lace heard Ludwig clearly. It was his voice.

No. It had not reached her ears. It had been driven directly into her mind.

Voice Transmission, a technique said to be usable only by the strongest fighters.

Lace flinched at the Voice Transmission, then glanced at Ludwig.

'What are you going to do, Teacher?'

[Do not concern yourself with me. I will do what I must.]

As he spoke, Ludwig slowly stepped forward.

In his hand was a sword shining like a green Milky Way.

A light so resplendent it seemed as though it would suffuse one's whole body.

It had been dull only moments ago, but it was completely different now.

"What is that sword...?"

"Be careful! It has been confirmed as a gift from a subversive!"

It seemed someone who had overheard their earlier conversation was shouting.

The fact that Grylls had given Ludwig a gift was now known to all.

It did not matter. Lace looked at the sword glowing like a green galaxy.

'It must be a good sword, right?'

Fwoooosh!!!

The moment she thought that, Ludwig moved.

Unlike a certain someone who got stronger like a fucking idiot, this aura had a definite form.

Aura Blade, or Sword Force, was a benchmark of the strong.

But its size was extraordinary. Normally, it only grew slightly larger.

The Aura Blade coating the sword had expanded beyond a longsword, becoming larger than even a greatsword.

"T-Teacher... what on earth is that...?"

Even the energy it gave off was terrifying. It felt so intense that touching it would cut one's hand clean off.

As someone had said, increasing the size of aura was inefficient.

But that only applied when using aura alone. The Aura Blade stage was different.

One could judge a person's ability by the size of their Aura Blade.

In that sense, it meant Ludwig's strength had improved, but...

"...I do not know."

"Pardon?"

"I do not know. What is this?"

Even Ludwig looked baffled.

"That's terrifying."

"..."

The fact that he seemed sincere made it even more absurd.

* * *

Meanwhile, Wild Grylls had sent the sword beyond his own world.

"Cough! Cough! Ugh, spicy. So damn spicy. I shouldn't have checked."

I was clearing the forest to make a large amount of charcoal.

'I can always make another sword.'

A sword was no big deal. I could just make another.

'More importantly, who was that person the Head Mod asked me to personally give a sword to?'

I got a little curious.

I should ask once they make it to where I am.

Footnotes:

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