WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 51: Shoes (3)
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Shoes make up one part of clothing, one of life's three basic necessities, so their importance is immense.
People are bipedal animals, which makes shoes especially essential.
Walking around barefoot means getting pierced by something sharp or slipping at the wrong moment.
Those things could land someone in a dangerous situation, so the importance of shoes cannot be overstated.
Early shoes had to be sturdy and safe.
Otherwise, there would be no point in wearing them.
They had to withstand the harshest treatment while supporting bipedal movement, so the requirements were demanding.
[Post title] Bought football boots lol
[Post] (A photo of football boots with two stripes)
[Post] Saved up my allowance and bought football boots lol. What do you think?
└ Those are fakes, though? Why do they only have two stripes?
└ Yeah. They're supposed to have three.
└ Ah, fuck. I only just noticed. Why are there only two stripes?
└ LOL
└ Showing off counterfeit boots so proudly lmao
└ How much did you pay?
└ 300,000 Yura;;;
└ Oof lol
As time passed and technology advanced, shoes also became fashion items.
Some people sacrificed performance for design, while others began wearing shoes made for performance simply because they looked cool.
The rise of sports was the beginning of it all.
Ordinary people valued comfort over performance, so they did not care much about the functions of sports shoes.
If anything, they only cared about better grip.
Public demand like that also led to the development of the sportswear industry.
[Post title] Do beastfolk wear shoes?
[Post title] Or do they walk around barefoot?
└ [SuspiciouslySo]: We wear shoes too. What, do you think beastfolk are barbarians?;;
└ Weren't you?
└ [SuspiciouslySo]: I guess you're the barbarian, judging by how rude you are. Want your skull cracked?
└ Sorry;;;
└ LOL
└ Lmao
└ Beastfolk wear shoes too. It's not like they don't have homes just because they're beastfolk.
└ Then how do you get shoes fitted? Their feet come in so many fucking sizes.
└ Custom-made, obviously. Look at rabbit beastfolk. Their feet alone are fucking long.
The existence of beastfolk had a major impact on the development of shoes.
There were combat boots worn by soldiers, and safety boots for adventurers crossing dangerous terrain across the world.
The varieties of shoes were endless, depending on who wore them and what profession they had.
"So you want me to make this?"
"If you don't want to, forget it."
"Hey now. Look at this dwarf. Who said I didn't want to?"
Short in stature, with muscular arms, broad shoulders, and a thick brown beard that could be called a trademark.
The brown-bearded dwarf grabbed the shoulder of the dwarf who had turned away.
The dwarf turned back around.
Slightly unfocused eyes and a nose red as a strawberry.
Anyone could tell this dwarf was drunk.
The red beard suited the flushed face particularly well.
This dwarf's name was Gareth.
A common drunkard dwarf one could find in Mountain, the dwarves' country.
"Did you think this through?"
"Of course I did. But what's in it for me if I make these?"
Gareth's friend, Wagner, asked a perfectly reasonable question.
They had been through thick and thin together for many years, and they usually granted each other's requests.
Still, the item Gareth had asked Wagner to make raised questions before Wagner could agree to it.
"You suddenly show up and ask for durable shoes, fine. But these are obviously shoes for humans, aren't they?"
Wagner asked, waving the paper in hand.
It was the paper Gareth had handed over, saying it contained the conditions for the order.
Gareth glanced at it, then nodded.
"That's right."
"Where did you even get a request like this?"
"From the Gallery."
"That damn Gallery."
Wagner frowned at Gareth's answer.
Wagner knew about the Gallery but had never logged in even once.
There had never been a reason to. People overwhelmed by their day-to-day lives had no time to visit the Gallery.
Entertainment was not an issue, either. To dwarves, inventing was entertainment.
In that sense, Gareth was eccentric enough to be called a weirdo, a dwarf who had become completely absorbed in the Gallery instead of inventing.
Even so, natural talent meant there was no trouble making a living.
"What did that person promise you for taking an order like this?"
"Ah. I'd rather not say."
"Why not?"
"It has something to do with alcohol. Hic."
"Alcohol?"
The mention of alcohol made Wagner's eyes widen with interest.
Dwarves and alcohol were inseparable.
It went beyond personal taste and was considered a racial trait. They were famous for having alcohol-only refrigerators or even breweries in every home.
They had even invented locomotives and airships to make distribution easier.
Mountain, the dwarves' homeland, was a place where mechanical civilization had developed for alcohol alone.
"Right. Alcohol. You remember the infused liquor I gave you last time?"
"Of course I do. That bright red stuff. It was seriously delicious. Slurp."
The moment Gareth mentioned the infused liquor, Wagner swallowed unconsciously.
The memory was still vivid. Gareth had found some red herb somewhere, then brought over liquor infused with it.
Normally, drinking made someone sleepy as the buzz set in, but that liquor did the opposite.
It filled the body with strength and even made the mind feel clearer.
And the taste had been incredible. The herb's bittersweet flavor blended with the alcohol for a remarkably clean finish.
It was so good that Wagner could confidently call it the best, enough to make the mouth water just thinking about it.
"The human needs shoes this time. They got stranded in a dangerous place, so they need high-performance footwear."
"They said they'd give you alcohol if you made them?"
"Not alcohol, an herb. If you want, I'll give it to you."
"Ooh! I'll make them right away!"
The dwarves thought of an Adult Mandrake as nothing more than an ingredient for infused liquor.
If Grylls had heard this conversation, Grylls would have been appalled, but would have let it slide as long as the shoes turned out well.
Anyone else who saw the scene would have foamed at the mouth over them treating an Adult Mandrake as a mere liquor ingredient.
But alcohol was the most important thing in a dwarf's life. It might look modest to others, but that was their happiness.
"By the way, what was that herb called? It was bright red, so it did look medicinal."
"They called it an Adult Mandrake, but I don't know much about it. Just think of it as a Mandrake."
"Hmm. Mandrake-infused liquor tastes good too, so this must be even better?"
"Probably? I heard one of those can make a top-grade Elixir."
"Really? Then isn't it incredibly expensive?"
Wagner had doubts. Elixirs were quite expensive.
To dwarves, alcohol itself was Elixir, but an Elixir was still an Elixir.
Wagner did not care much about them, but the question was unavoidable.
"Hic! Very expensive. But think about it."
"Think about what?"
"It's liquor made from a top-grade Elixir ingredient. Can you resist that? It's worth more than selling it and drinking ordinary beer."
"Oh. I didn't think it through. You're a genius, as expected."
"Don't mention it. Hic!"
The two of them were doing a fine job of egging each other on, but dwarves were just like that.
A race that loved alcohol so much they were practically one with it.
Their life expectancy was longer than humans', yet their average lifespan was about the same because of liver disease.
A race where it was impossible to find even one person who did not drink.
That was what dwarves were.
Telling them to quit drinking was no different from a death sentence.
"But this is... harder than I thought."
Wagner studied the paper Gareth had brought and frowned.
Gareth nodded, clearly agreeing.
"That's why I came to you. I may know iron, but I'm hopeless with leather."
"That may be true, but shoes that are sturdy as a baseline and waterproof too? And slip-resistant? You've added every useful feature there is."
Dwarves were not experts in every field. Each had their specialty.
Gareth specialized in metallurgy, while Wagner specialized in leatherworking.
"We'll need good materials from the start. You said it was a stranded human?"
"Yeah."
"Then the durability needs to be good too. If we do it like this..."
Wagner began sketching out a design with a pen.
Even a rough sketch looked stylish, coming from a dwarf leatherworking artisan.
"It'll inevitably be heavy. Tell them they'll need to account for that."
"All right. They should understand that much."
"But where exactly did this stranded human end up to offer an Adult Mandrake?"
"They said the Forest of Four Seasons, but I don't know much more."
"Tsk. Of all places."
Wagner had heard of the Forest of Four Seasons too.
A forest that was itself a maze, one no one could ever escape once they entered.
Getting custom shoes would not dramatically raise someone's odds of survival.
Still, it would be enough if it raised those odds even a little.
"Have you got the estimate worked out? Hic! How long will it take?"
"I have suitable materials, so a week should..."
"Hey. Look at this."
Gareth cut Wagner off and headed somewhere.
Wagner wondered what Gareth was doing, but soon stared wide-eyed at the item Gareth brought back.
"Th-that is...!"
It was a glass bottle with a peculiar shape one might see in the Central Plains, narrow around the waist and broad at the top.
Inside, a plant resembling a human face held its mouth wide open.
As if that were not enough, the bottle was filled to the brim with red liquid.
It was infused liquor Gareth had made from an Adult Mandrake.
"Hic! Finish faster, and you can drink all of this."
"Cough. Then three days..."
"Plus tomorrow's crab for a drinking snack. That person said they'd provide it."
At that, Wagner held up one finger with a serious expression.
"One day."
Dwarves did not need more money.
Alcohol made from rare ingredients. That was everything.
"Good. Then we'll drink this after the work is done. If you half-ass it, forget the deal."
"What do you take this dwarf for? Just wait. I'll turn out a killer pair of shoes for them."
"All right. I trust you."
Wagner briefly went into the workshop to make the shoes.
Gareth did not go home. Staying as both a supervisor and drinking companion was fine.
'They said the Forest of Four Seasons, so there must be herbs even better than an Adult Mandrake, right?'
Gareth looked at the Adult Mandrake-infused liquor.
One drink filled the body with strength.
Perhaps there were ingredients even better than this.
And if those ingredients were made into alcohol? Just imagining it made Gareth's mouth water.
'It doesn't even have to be alcohol. A drinking snack would be enough.'
The Adult Mandrake was one thing, but Gareth also had high hopes for the drinking snack.
Yesterday, Grylls had caught a huge fish, and today, Grylls had caught crabs.
Mountain was a country surrounded by mountains, so it had no access to the sea.
Naturally, seafood was expensive, and the best option was to get it from the Gallery's Auction House.
But the notoriously brutal fees made even that an unattractive option.
'Let's see what they're doing now.'
Gareth had recently begun to enjoy interacting with Grylls.
After all, the Adult Mandrake had come as thanks for a favor Gareth had happened to do.
Even aside from the Adult Mandrake, it was fun.
[Post title] Honestly, demonkind makes better liquor than dwarves these days. Agree?
"This bastard?"
Gareth could never resist taking the bait. Gareth immediately opened the post.
Countless users were already arguing back and forth.
Many of them were losing it, and most were clearly dwarves.
Dwarves could tolerate being called short or whatever else. That was a racial trait, so it could not be helped.
But anything involving alcohol, especially brewed liquor, was intolerable.
It was a racial rage button. The topic appeared in the Gallery whenever someone got bored.
└ Honestly, demonkind does make tastier liquor. They invented refrigeration and freezing magic first too~
└ [Passing Dwarf]: The dwarves were the ones who incorporated that magic into machinery. Know your facts.
└ Yeah~ And you still can't make refrigerators without demonkind~
└ Dwarf liquor is honestly just bitter. Demonkind liquor is sweet and tasty lol
└ You guys don't even get the fun of cracking open a beer while watching sports, do you? LOL
"You bastards!"
Bang!
Unable to contain the anger, Gareth slammed a hand down on the table.
Another peaceful day in the Gallery.
* * *
"Why is this guy throwing a fit again?"
Grylls had demolished three crabs with the animal companions in no time.
While resting, Grylls had been browsing the Gallery.
Grylls opened a post with an unusually high number of comments and found a full-on shit-flinging contest underway.
The topic was whether liquor made by demonkind tasted better than liquor made by dwarves.
'Is it like saying Chinese-made kimchi tastes better than the kimchi we make at home?'
If that was the case, Grylls could understand.
Footnotes:
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