WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 209: Winter Has Come (1)
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While Grylls and Ludwig thoroughly prepared for the coming winter,
the rest of the world was going through a hectic time, with one incident after another.
The place in the greatest uproar was El Dorado.
Contrary to expectations that Ludwig's revelations would spark a civil war, the citizens focused only on protesting.
There were two major reasons for this.
The first was the lack of a central figure.
When a protest lacked a leader to take charge of the situation, the protesters tended to flounder.
Especially in unstable times like these, they needed a charismatic leader, but no one had emerged who could fill that role.
On top of that, El Dorado's citizens had immense patriotism and pride in their country.
For hundreds of years, they had fought the Demon King and demonkind as Aris's sword and shield.
With the mission of fighting a clear evil, El Dorado had become a powerful nation.
In such a situation, starting a civil war that would split their country apart?
No one could easily step forward.
The second reason was the lack of force. In truth, this was the biggest reason.
El Dorado's army was currently firmly in Pope Louis II's grasp.
After Ludwig and many from his faction were purged, there was effectively no one left but the Pope's puppets.
No matter how much pride and patriotism the citizens had, it did not translate into military strength. They could not compare to a professionally trained army.
Above all, the citizens firmly believed that the army existed to defeat external enemies, not the people.
Unless the army saw them as enemies, it would never point swords and spears at them.
[Post title] Title) El Dorado's Protests Are Fundamentally Different
[Post] Most protests happen because people can't make a living anymore.
[Post] The economy has completely tanked, there's a famine, or a war has pushed people to the brink.
[Post] But El Dorado's protests are purely because they feel betrayed by their leaders.
[Post] Honestly, it doesn't matter if the people at the top have weird fetishes or bizarre hobbies, as long as they govern the country well.
[Post] The upper and lower classes are completely separate anyway. There are occasionally commoners who get into politics, but they're a tiny minority.
[Post] They're able to band together like that without crossing a line because they're filled with nothing but anger and betrayal toward their leaders.
└ It's just because they have no power. If they did, they would've overturned the place ages ago lol
└ If Ludwig were there, he would've turned the whole place upside down, wouldn't he? lol
└ What has the Pope been saying lately, anyway? Nothing?
└ He says never to believe the false rumors coming from the Gallery. Apparently Ludwig committed serious crimes too?
└ He still hasn't come to his senses. Is there anyone who believes that?
└ Yeah, surprisingly fucking many. All the cardinals say the Pope is right.
└ That's because they're all lackeys;;
└ The army isn't going to wipe out the protesters, right?
└ Maybe if it were a riot or rebellion, but doing that to ordinary protests would be insane;
└ The rumors would spread all over the Gallery. How would they stop the information from spreading?
└ Looks like they've been laying the groundwork for that. They've been telling the press that an evil being is operating behind the scenes.
└ That evil being isn't Grylls, is it?
└ Yeah. They don't say it outright, but it's practically certain. They say there's a faction defending the Undying King.
└ Meanwhile, Balkan Kingdom survivors talk shit about the Undying King nonstop lol
└ There were Balkan Kingdom survivors?
└ Yeah. The territory is still there, though it's been incorporated into El Dorado.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Why me?
└ Oh, Grylls. Congrats. Looks like you'll be the Demon King soon.
└ [Wild Grylls]: ??? What are you talking about now?
└ The Pope says he'll label you the Demon King if you keep this up lol
└ Louis: You're the Demon King from now on.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Seriously lol Tell him I wouldn't take that tiny country even if he gave it to me lol
└ What country would you want instead of El Dorado?
└ [Wild Grylls]: I don't need any of them. I just want to go home.
└ Aren't you already home?
└ Seriously. Why does he keep saying he wants to go home when he's already at home?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Fuck.
[Post title] Title) But It's a Fact That This Is Unsettling
[Post] The fact that the Pope keeps warning them is what bothers me most.
[Post] He said he wouldn't stand by if they refused to back down.
[Post] Saying things like, “You're all being deceived,” and, “You've fallen under an evil spell worse than Necromancy.”
[Post] They aren't going to call it a riot and send in the army, are they?
└ Wouldn't other countries condemn them if they did that?
└ What can they do besides condemn them? If El Dorado insists it was a rebellion or riot... Other countries interfering could start a war.
└ There's a Gallery, and they're just going to lie right to everyone's faces? lol
└ Even with the Gallery, plenty of people only see what they want to see;
└ Once someone gets trapped in the logic of “What I see is the truth!” there's no answer.
└ What is the Hero doing? It feels like there could be some kind of compromise if the Hero stepped in now.
└ If the Hero joins the protesters, things will get even more fucked;; The Pope will go, “Now's my chance!” and call it a rebellion.
└ The Pope is getting cursed out like crazy right now, but that doesn't mean the Hero has been cleared of being a traitor.
└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: The Hero isn't a traitorrr! There's been a misunderstanding!
└ Yeah, we know, but how are you going to explain that?
└ Anyone who needs to know already knows, Head Mod. The situation is just fucked.
└ Whenever I see this, the Pope is damn good at politics lol
└ The problem is that he only does politics when he needs to maintain his own power...
As El Dorado's situation gradually grew more ominous,
the Hero, Asella, silently headed for the capital with Reina.
Checking on the situation while managing the Gallery now and then was an added bonus.
Just as they reached a waypoint, Reina, who was riding ahead, spoke.
“What are you thinking about?”
“...Is this really okay?”
They were currently riding horses.
Naturally, they had not obtained them through legal means.
Then where had they gotten them?
“What does it matter? It's not like I said anything untrue.”
“I'm not a wanted criminal...”
“I think so too. The other side probably sees it differently. Or would you rather I call you a traitor?”
“N-No, I hate that even more!”
The situation had gone roughly like this. They had been fleeing from their pursuers.
Reina suggested that, rather than continuing to run, they should strike back.
Asella, who had an upright nature, naturally refused, but Reina kept pushing.
Most of the pursuers rode horses or other forms of transportation.
That meant there were surely stablehands managing them.
If they found and threatened those people, they could secure transportation.
“Hey, friends. Are any of you armed, or wanted fugitives being pursued by the Holy Kingdom?”
“N-No...?”
“We're both of those.”
“...”
“So you get it, right?”
After being threatened like that, the stablehands obediently presented them with two horses.
Now that was eloquence. Reina got what she wanted without spilling a drop of blood.
Asella could not understand Reina, but she let it go.
Her beloved country was in crisis. This was no time to be picky.
“How much farther is it to the capital?”
“Two days, to be safe? If we're lucky, we'll get there tonight.”
Though Asella was being pursued, she had not fled abroad.
Leaving the country required an illegal route, and Asella knew nothing about those.
As a result, Asella had been circling within El Dorado, near the capital.
That was why Reina had found Asella so quickly.
“I wish we could go faster...”
“No. The horses will get tired. We don't even have enough to feed them.”
“Couldn't we walk?”
“You might be fine, but my knees ache.”
She's only two years older than me. Asella grumbled to herself.
Still, Reina was right. They had no fodder for the horses, so traveling long distances would be difficult.
They needed to preserve their strength by riding as much as possible, then travel on foot if the need arose.
“Are you that worried?”
“...Yes.”
At Reina's question, Asella nodded heavily.
Unlike the Gallery, where all sorts of rumors spread around, the newspapers kept their focus on the protests.
No matter how important the Gallery was, it was not more important than reality. Asella felt the same way.
The reason she had not been able to fulfill her duties as Head Mod recently was because of El Dorado's protests.
“Don't be too anxious. If the Pope can't withstand the pressure, he'll step down on his own.”
“Will he...?”
Despite Reina's optimistic words, Asella could not shake off her unease.
Would that Pope really step down voluntarily? The man who had overseen such large-scale purges?
There was also something occasionally said on the Gallery. The current Pope was raising an army.
What role could an army possibly have in this situation...? Without realizing it, Asella imagined the worst.
‘Holy knights are Lady Aris's sword and shield. They would use that sword and shield against the citizens...?’
That would never happen. If Lady Aris learned of it, she would surely be enraged.
‘If it really is happening...’
What should she do? Asella wondered.
That question remained unanswered until she reached El Dorado.
* * *
As Reina and Asella slowly drew closer to El Dorado,
the Papal Palace was making large-scale operational plans.
Groups that normally used the word “operation” were quite limited.
One of the most representative was the army, the embodiment of a nation's military force.
“As you have all heard, the protesters are currently under the Undying King's evil curse.”
It began with the commander's plausible bullshit.
The problem was that every soldier there believed that bullshit without question.
The holy knights receiving their orders wore tense or resolute expressions.
They clearly saw the protesters outside as people who had been cursed.
Constant indoctrination and lies. Above all, the army was usually a closed-off organization.
When people only absorbed the stories circulating in an enclosed space, certain ideas were bound to take root.
“We must stop them. As Lady Aris's sword and shield, we have a duty to protect El Dorado.”
Protect the country. Hearing only those words would fill them with a sense of purpose.
The problem was that the country's citizens were not included in those words. The holy knights did not notice.
But could the Papal Palace really shut the holy knights' eyes and ears when the Gallery was right there in the open?
The Gallery had always been notorious for its lack of credibility.
They said it too had been contaminated by the Undying King's curse, and that what people said there was not the truth.
The Undying King incident thirty years ago had been so horrifying that it did not seem impossible.
As all these factors piled up, the army came to see the protesters as enemies.
“First, we will repeatedly warn the protesters. The clergy will continue performing curse removal.”
The protesters were not cursed. They were only overwhelmed by betrayal and anger.
Those were emotions anyone would naturally feel. Yet they called those emotions a curse.
“If the curse does not lift...”
The commander paused, then let out a truly regretful sigh before continuing.
“We will have no choice but to lift it ourselves.”
El Dorado's sweltering summer was approaching.
“You are the heroes who can save El Dorado. Do you understand!”
“Yes!!!”
This summer looked like it would become a season of biting cold.
* * *
Elsewhere, in the Forest of Four Seasons.
“...What are you?”
“Snort.”
Grylls, who was likewise preparing for a bitterly cold winter, found himself face-to-face with an unexpected guest.
It looked like an ordinary deer, but its cynical expression felt familiar. He had met it before.
The deer had an apple in its mouth, and surprisingly, it shimmered gold.
It was not sparkling because of the snow. The fruit itself was golden and gleaming.
Like a Golden Apple that might appear in a myth. Grylls could not help feeling confused.
“Moooh. Moo.”
“Cold days. Coming. Give fire. Like before. Then I give this.”
“...You want me to make you a fire?”
“Moo.”
Thanks to Kkobong, the animal interpreter, Grylls could understand what the deer was saying.
After hearing the deer, Grylls considered it for a moment, then turned his head.
In that direction stood the brick house he had struggled to build.
“...Do you want to live there through the winter?”
“Moo.”
Thud.
Once Grylls gave permission, the deer dropped the Golden Apple.
A strange winter was approaching.
Footnotes:
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