WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 99: Firewood (2)

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This world was home to many different races and peoples living together.

That made it incredibly complicated, and vast cultural differences had caused conflict since ancient times.

People tended to discriminate against those who were different or view them unfavorably.

So it was only natural for conflicts to grow into disputes, large and small.

Yet among all those differences, there was one thing capable of bringing many people together.

Gods, that is, religion.

Religion had wielded tremendous influence from the conflict-ridden ancient era to the present day.

Especially since the existence of gods in this world was undeniable. The proof was divine power.

A sacred power received from the gods, said to be the purest form of mana.

Those who wielded divine power could wield power far greater than other beings.

Of course, it required genuine faith, but that was a condition people could live with.

[Post title] Where'd all the gods go?

[Post] They say gods used to descend in person. Where'd they all go now?

└ They went home, obviously.

└ What home? LOL

└ It was too long ago for anyone to know. Even the elves and demonkind don't know.

└ Maybe teaching humanity magic and mana was all they did?

└ They're probably somewhere. They wouldn't be gods for nothing.

Many gods existed, but the most famous among them was Aris.

The Goddess of War and Wisdom, and the younger sister of Aragon, the God of Magic.

There was also a chief god above them, their father, but he held less influence than Aris.

That was because Aris had protected humanity from the evils of the world when humanity was weak.

That was why so many people worshipped Aris. Demonkind was no exception.

As the Goddess of War, there was no reason demonkind would not worship her.

Gods like Aris had left a great mark on human history, and they continued to do so even now.

Take El Dorado, a nation founded to worship the gods.

Bang!

"How did this happen?! We thought we'd hidden it so well!"

A severe-looking old man slammed his hand on the table and shouted.

His voice was frail with age, but he could not hide the venom behind it.

"How could we have expected this? Please calm down for now. The people are only demanding an explanation. They don't fully believe it yet."

An old man seated across from him replied.

His thick beard suited him well, but his snake-like eyes gave off a sinister air.

His voice was no less stubborn than the first old man's.

"Cardinal Morgan is right. The people are still waiting for our answer."

An old man with an unusual mustache spoke as he gently tugged at it.

The way he held his chin slightly raised made him seem quite arrogant.

They all looked different, but they shared one thing in common.

They wore white clerical robes that gave off a holy air.

Yet the gold-plated-looking patterns seemed to reveal their greed.

"This isn't the time for us to argue. People outside are demanding an explanation, so we must find a solution."

The voice was grave and solemn, carrying a subtle pressure.

The old men turned their gazes toward the seat of honor.

His wrinkles were deeper than anyone else's, but his eyes were as sharp as a young man's.

That sharpness gave off an unsettling feeling, yet the old man possessed an untouchable presence.

"If you have a good idea, please speak."

Pope Louis II, the current pope of the Holy Kingdom of El Dorado, spoke quietly.

At the pressure-laden command, the old men cleared their throats.

The old man who had slammed the table spoke first.

"First, we must deny it outright. The only evidence is what was posted on the gallery, isn't it?"

"Cardinal Howards is correct. Gallery posts are famous for being unreliable."

El Dorado had been in chaos since morning.

The Undying King rumors that began in the gallery had spread into reality.

The Undying King incident had happened only thirty years ago. Its scars still ran deep.

Those who had lost parents or children. Those who had lost their homes. Those who had lost parts of their bodies.

Those who had lost everything.

They had gathered before the Papal Palace and were protesting.

Crash!!!

The meeting had been taking place in secret.

A stained-glass window shattered, spraying fragments everywhere.

The startled cardinals flinched. Then fierce shouts began to rise from outside.

[Give us back our son! Give us back our son!]

[You call yourselves clergy? You claim to believe in the gods?]

[If you've got mouths, then speak!]

The voices came through the broken window.

In truth, they were far from the entrance to the Papal Palace.

They had held the meeting on a high floor for safety, but someone had still thrown a stone at them.

There were former knights among the protesters, so it was only natural.

"W-What are you doing?! Drag out whoever threw that stone!"

"W-We can't identify them...!"

"You useless fools!!"

There was no point scolding the holy knights who had arrived late.

That was how fiercely the people's anger burned.

It might have seemed absurd for things to get this bad over a single gallery post, but...

This was a world with newspapers and media outlets.

And when the media found a provocative story, they pounced.

It did not matter if it had started as gallery bait.

We believed in the gods, not you bastards!

If the Pope has a conscience, step down!

Are you trying to disgrace Lady Aris?!

El Dorado's already poor reputation had played a large part as well.

El Dorado had been founded to worship the gods, so it had originally held a clean image.

It had risen at just the right time, when demonkind from Mephisto ran rampant, and brought "justice."

But time passed. Demonkind became obsessed with that silly ball game, and the conflict between the two sides gradually faded.

As that conflict faded, the atrocities El Dorado had committed began to come to light one by one.

'How irritating.'

Louis frowned and pressed his fingers against his brow.

The other cardinals hurriedly tried to gauge Louis's mood.

Louis, the current Pope, held the greatest power of any person in El Dorado's history.

One wrong word could cost them their heads. Being a cardinal meant nothing.

"...Come to think of it, have there been any statements from other countries?"

"Ah, no! Not yet."

"Not yet..."

As mentioned before, El Dorado had committed more than a few atrocities.

One of them was pressuring neighboring nations by invoking the gods' names.

It did not matter if it was Alvenheim, the elven nation.

El Dorado's will was the gods' will. Those who defied the gods' will became enemies of the world.

Normally, the gods' will should have become El Dorado's will, but the relationship had been completely reversed.

That showed just how immense religion's authority and power were, and as always, stagnant water eventually rotted.

The stench of corruption had become stronger than the will of the gods. Things had reached a point where they could no longer be ignored.

"So, do you have a plan?"

"Pardon?"

"I asked whether you have a plan. If you're going to keep your mouths shut, leave this room."

The moment they left, their heads would roll. The cardinals could see their future.

How hard had they worked to reach this position? They could never give it up.

"It will be difficult to deny it all outright. If a survivor of the Balkan Kingdom appears, things will become even more complicated."

"We should appeal that there was nothing we could do. The issue is the order of events, isn't it? They say the Undying King first experimented on his people to turn them into undead."

The cardinals wracked their brains to avoid the Pope's anger.

Anyone who heard the contents of this meeting would realize that the records Grylls had posted in the gallery were true.

Just as stagnant water rotted, there was not a trace of noble faith left in them.

They were only desperate to hide their own wrongdoings.

"Good. Then let's proceed that way."

"Once the angry people hear our side, they will repent."

"More importantly, what will you do about that gallery?"

At the mustached cardinal's words, the cardinals who had been about to laugh the incident off instantly sobered.

The current situation had begun in the gallery.

No one knew what other bait might spread there later.

"That's simple."

Louis spoke with an unsettling smile.

When the cardinals looked toward him, Louis presented his solution.

"We should use this chance to declare the gallery evil."

"The gallery...?"

"Yes. We are those blessed by the gods. Our will is the gods' will. Therefore, if we declare the gallery evil, it means the gods have declared it evil as well."

As mentioned before, everything was backwards. Their desire to follow the gods' will had become twisted long ago.

But the desire for power was not easily controlled.

"That sounds good. We should use this chance to restrict the gallery completely. Hahaha."

"Nothing is more dangerous than ignorant people encountering false information."

"Come to think of it, don't indecent things get posted there too? What is this world coming to?"

They began declaring the gallery evil.

Of course.

'I'll still use it, though.'

'Just have to do it in secret.'

'As long as I don't get caught.'

Hypocrisy was second nature to them, so they only spouted pretty words in public.

After the meeting ended, a spokesperson stood before the people.

In a situation like this, the Pope should have appeared himself, but the fact that he had sent a spokesperson instead showed his arrogance.

"Children of the gods, hear me! This incident was caused entirely by a misunderstanding! The Undying King, the wicked ruler of the Balkan Kingdom, had long been conducting Necromancy experiments on his people...!"

This is what happened.

The Undying King had carried out wicked experiments on his people.

The Holy Kingdom had discovered the situation in advance and had no choice but to commit a massacre.

Was it not far better to die as a human than to die as undead?

All of this was the gods' will, and the people who lived through that incident were suffering from psychological trauma.

At that explanation, the people gradually began to calm down. Of course, they still did not seem convinced.

Still, an explanation was better than none. At least they had the nerve to show their faces.

Trust in the Holy Kingdom had already hit rock bottom. They were simply waiting to see if there was somewhere even lower to fall.

"Furthermore, His Holiness has declared the gallery to be true evil, and those who believe the gallery's false information will face severe punishment...!"

"You XXXs!!"

"I knew it! You're saying that because you've got something to hide!!"

"What did you say about the gallery?! Are you dying to get your heads chopped off like the Central Plains Emperor?!"

"Stop blaming everything on the gallery! We've had enough already!!!"

Someone once said that even rock bottom had another bottom beneath it.

Blaming the gallery whenever something went wrong had been their routine for a long time.

Normally, people would have just brushed it off with, "Ugh. Those bastards are doing it again."

But their anger had passed its breaking point, and even that no longer worked.

"Everyone! Breaking news! Wizard King Kadir has released a statement!"

"What? The Wizard King?"

"Isn't he a friend of the previous Hero?"

Someone brought news into the growing chaos.

The spokesperson had a bad feeling at those words, but it was already too late.

"The previous Hero did not die alongside the Undying King! The previous Hero chose to die alongside the Undying King! Because of pressure and coercion from the Holy Kingdom!"

"What does that mean?"

"The previous Hero chose death? Are you saying the Hero committed suicide?"

"Can you even call that suicide? That's like...!"

At just the right moment, Kadir threw another oil-soaked log onto the fire.

"Bring out the Pope! Come out and explain yourself!"

"Give me back my son!"

"Give me back my father!"

There was no sign that the flames would die down anytime soon.

* * *

At the same time, in the Forest of Four Seasons.

"Cough. Cough! Ugh. Did I put in too much firewood?"

Grylls was adding firewood to prepare breakfast.

Footnotes:

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