WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 135: Winter (3)

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It was around the time Grylls's activities became limited by an untimely winter.

Outside the Forest of Four Seasons, things were bustling for all sorts of reasons.

El Dorado, the Holy Kingdom, was in an uproar over the investigation group and the Undying King incident.

Mephisto's hooligans were setting everything on fire because they couldn't accept the match result.

Even the relatively quiet nations had not stopped moving, each for their own reasons.

"Was it you who presented the Adult Mandrake to me?"

His expression radiated exhaustion with every worldly matter. Even so, there was no hiding his dignity.

His blond hair still shone brightly, and his beard was neatly groomed.

The man, a perfect example of a handsome middle-aged gentleman, spoke in an indifferent voice.

His face was full of annoyance, but his solemnity remained impossible to hide.

"Y-Yes! That is correct, Your Majesty."

Count Gorgon bowed deeply from across the room.

A short distance away, Arnold, a handsome blond young nobleman, watched on.

"Raise your head. You are practically my benefactor."

"I-I am deeply honored, Your Majesty."

"No need to be so honored. So, what do you want?"

The middle-aged man who skipped straight to the point was Robert.

Robert Louis Messiah II, Emperor of the Messiah Empire.

He had the somewhat odd reputation of being a domestic-only emperor, yet he held enormous power.

In truth, that domestic-only reputation referred to his administrative ability, something that was only possible with immense authority.

Because he wielded such terrifying authority, he had steadily governed the foundations of the Messiah Empire.

"I-I desire nothing. I am satisfied simply knowing that Your Majesty has regained his health."

"Is that so? Very well. I will consider a reward suitable for you, so withdraw for now."

"May Your Majesty live a long and healthy life."

Count Gorgon bowed once more as he offered his farewell.

Wishing someone long life and health was an unusual but thoughtful greeting.

Robert kept his blunt expression even after hearing it.

Before long, only Robert and Arnold remained in the emperor's bedchamber.

Robert stayed silent for a while, and Arnold remained still until his father opened his mouth.

"...My son."

"Yes, Father."

"You have done something truly unnecessary."

Robert finally spoke amid the heavy silence. It was a reproachful remark.

Arnold flinched and glanced at Robert.

Robert stared at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

"Thanks to you, my plans have been ruined."

"What plans... are you referring to?"

"..."

Robert did not answer. He made it clear he did not want to.

Then he looked at the flustered Arnold and quietly spoke.

"You said it was something you got from the Gallery?"

"Yes. That is... correct."

"It has all sorts of things. Even items obtained from the Forest of Four Seasons..."

Robert stroked his beard as though pondering something, then continued.

"What was that man's name? Count Gora?"

"Count Gorgon."

"Right, of course. Leave this matter entirely to that man. I have work to do."

"Work, meaning..."

"We must prepare your succession ceremony."

"!"

Arnold's eyes widened. Robert spoke calmly, but the content was anything but calm.

A succession ceremony meant inheriting the throne. Arnold would soon become emperor.

Arnold was briefly excited that what he wanted was approaching, but quickly calmed himself.

His past experiences had taught him that excitement ruined things.

"I will have the succession ceremony prepared within a month. It will be quite busy."

"Father, I am not yet..."

"Even after eating the Adult Mandrake, my health is not what it used to be. It is difficult for me to endure any longer."

Robert cut him off before Arnold could say anything.

Arnold inwardly cheered and waited for Robert to continue.

"So you must prepare yourself well too. The Holy Kingdom's recent movements, as well as Alvenheim's, are far from ordinary."

"I will remain vigilant."

"If you overcome this hardship, you may become a greater emperor than I am."

"No. Father strengthened the Empire's foundation even further."

"That was all Ash's doing."

"Pardon?"

Arnold's eyes went round, wondering if he had heard wrong.

"Cough! Cough! Khuurk!"

Robert's violent coughing quickly turned Arnold's doubt into concern.

Startled, Arnold turned to call the imperial physician.

Before he could, Robert lifted a hand to stop him.

"Cough. It is nothing. At my age, a little cough cannot be helped."

"Father."

"Anyway, the Empire has plenty of talented people, so there is no need to worry about things internally. If it comes to it, I can write to the former captain of the Imperial Guard."

There was only one person that could refer to.

A martial artist bearing the title Swordmaster, and the Empire's strongest sword, Ash Menesil.

She had entered a semi-reclusive life, but she would gladly grant Robert's request.

The emperor had been the patron who fully supported Ash, and Ash had repaid that favor.

Someone had leaked a huge amount of useful information onto the Gallery, raising the continent's average combat strength, but that was fine.

Ash's name alone kept anyone from treating the Empire carelessly.

"So you need only focus on matters outside the Empire. It seems things are growing bigger."

"Yes. I understand."

"Then withdraw. I wish to be alone."

"The imperial physician..."

"I will call for them myself."

"Yes, Father."

Arnold bowed and left the bedchamber. Robert was left alone.

Robert blinked for a while after being left alone, then let out a sigh.

A wistful look, one never seen before, crossed his face as he quietly muttered.

"I didn't want to work..."

It was the complaint of an office worker worn down by work. That was not all.

"Why did an Adult Mandrake even have to exist... I was going to enjoy my retirement in comfort..."

Robert muttered in a voice filled with irritation and weariness with the world.

Had his health worsened? That was true to some extent.

But he was not sick enough to be unable to work.

It was closer to faking an illness, though that fake illness involved poison.

He drank poison that made him feel sick like he had a cold without affecting his health.

He had already informed the imperial physician, allowing them to make it look like a serious problem.

Why did he do this? Simple. He did not want to work.

The position of emperor or king inevitably came with overwork.

Robert could not avoid it either, and eventually caused this situation.

It could be said that he lacked responsibility as emperor, but there was no problem.

He had already transferred all state affairs to his son, Arnold.

Only the succession ceremony remained, but he could not even bear to wait for that and took to his bed.

'I hope El Dorado and Alvenheim don't pull any bullshit over the next month.'

Recent troublemakers were already causing chaos. Robert wanted the succession ceremony done quickly.

To make that happen, he would have to work again. The thought alone was horrifying.

After briefly growing overwhelmed by what lay ahead, Robert looked into the air.

As he stared into empty space, a window floated before him.

It was the Gallery that his son Arnold had recently started enjoying as well.

'It was nice, though.'

What had he done while pretending to be sick? He hung out on the Gallery.

Even a dignified emperor could not resist secret entertainment.

Having worked hard all this time, he had become absorbed in the Gallery as a form of compensation.

'I want to have fun like that too.'

Why was he an emperor? The nickname domestic-only emperor was fine, but why did he have to be emperor?

Why had his father only had one son? All kinds of thoughts crossed his mind.

As Robert browsed the Gallery, he found a post by someone who had recently become popular.

[Post title] Fast Sloth Is Zoning Out by the Fire

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] (Fast Sloth zoning out by the fire)

[Post] This bastard was zoning out by the fire, so I tried to pull it away, but it wouldn't come off.

[Post] Even when I forcibly pried it away, it just came back. Its fur got singed, and it's still doing that lol.

└ [Heavenly Demon]: It is oddly cute. It seems to know how precious warmth is.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Fast Sloth has a surprisingly cute side too.

└ [Starlight Princess]: Is Wonmo there too? I want to see him.

└ [Wild Grylls]: (Wonmo sleeping curled into a ball) Here he is.

└ He's seriously cute every time I see him lol.

└ Doesn't that one wake up? Is it actually hibernating?

Wild Grylls was said to have fallen into the Forest of Four Seasons, and those daily records had recently become Robert's favorite thing.

Robert wanted nothing from Wild Grylls. He already possessed everything an emperor could have.

'I'm a little jealous.'

That was all. He was simply jealous of the life Grylls was currently living.

It was not completely raw wilderness living, but a life in the wild supported little by little by others.

Robert wanted to live like that too. He wanted to build an oven, hunt, and catch fish.

He thought he understood why people wanted to farm as they grew older. After living a busy life, they desired freedom.

Not complete freedom, but freedom won through one's own efforts. A life where the results came from one's own actions.

As Robert entered middle age and read Grylls's posts, that feeling grew even stronger.

'It would be nice if safety were guaranteed...'

Of course, Grylls's goal was survival and escape, not a comfortable life.

Robert, on the other hand, wanted life in the wild but did not want danger.

Whenever Grylls was in danger, Robert was terribly alarmed.

'I can at least live vicariously through Grylls.'

For that, Grylls could not die. Robert was lonely these days, and this was just right.

He made up his mind. In a month, he would be free from life as emperor anyway.

Robert decided to provide whatever support he could until then.

'First, I need to make a registered username...'

A short while later, the registered username Robert created was...

AbsoluteZLJ0nRobertJjangJjang

"Hehehe."

It was a perfect case of like father, like son. His own son used a similar username too.

Robert chuckled as he tried to register it.

[System] That username is already registered.

"..."

Robert was momentarily speechless.

'Someone actually uses a fucking stupid username like that?'

His own son did.

* * *

Fast Sloth gave me trouble zoning out by the fire all day, but I decided to let it go for now.

I'd only lose out if I wrestled with it, so it was better to leave it alone.

Maybe Fast Sloth would move away from the campfire someday. That was what I thought.

Whoooooosh!!!

Aside from that, the blizzard still raged outside.

I wanted to take down the flapping cloth and look outside, but I held back.

If I did that and everything holding the cloth in place got blown away, it would be a disaster.

In the end, I had no choice but to stay inside the cave all day.

Considering it had rained yesterday, I had spent nearly two days in the cave.

'What would I have done if I hadn't smoked the meat?'

I ate smoked meat for dinner. Fast Sloth ate the Inner Cores it had stored.

This fucked-up weather could continue, so I thought I'd have to hunt more from now on.

If that didn't work, I'd have to make do with fish. Smoking food was essential.

'If the blizzard stops tomorrow, it's going to be rough.'

I wondered how much snow had piled up. I was a little worried.

To wrap up the day, I added more firewood to the campfire.

Normally, one person had to stay awake to keep it going, but that was difficult under the circumstances.

I could only keep adding fuel.

'Isn't there some kind of device that automatically adds firewood?'

That would be perfect. I went to sleep and brought the day to a close.

Then the next day arrived...

"...You still haven't slept?"

"..."

The campfire was still burning brightly. Fast Sloth was still in front of it too.

Did it add the firewood? That was ridiculous.

'Still, thanks to it, I stayed warm.'

The cloth was not flapping either, so the blizzard must have stopped during the night.

I pushed at the tent flap to check the situation outside.

Crunch!

"Hm?"

Something was strange. Why wouldn't the tent flap move?

I had even removed the stones securing it, so something was definitely wrong.

For a moment, I wondered if the tent flap had frozen too, but that wasn't it.

When I pulled it backward instead of pushing it out, it came right along with me.

"...What is this?"

Instead, there was a pure white wall behind the tent flap.

At first, I wondered what it was, but I soon realized.

"Oh."

It was all snow. Snow that had hardened solid.

How much had fallen for it to block the entire cave entrance? I was pretty flustered.

But there was a bigger problem, one directly tied to my survival.

'How am I supposed to clear all this?'

As if trash falling from the sky wasn't enough.

Bang! Bang!

"Aaaahhh!!!"

It also taught me the value of time.

I swung my pickaxe and diligently "mined" snow as I shouted.

"There's a person in here!!!"

I was starting to hate winter.

Footnotes:

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