WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Unleashed a Gossip Gallery in Another World ◈
Chapter 50: The Battle to Subjugate the Fake World Tree (3)
──────
“Gossip Gallery Eraser....”
Nienie stared blankly at the silhouette holding out a hand to her, then spoke in a trembling voice.
“D-Did you come to save me, nya?”
“....”
“B-But.... It’s already too late, nya.”
She was forcing a smile, but pain twisted her face.
“I lost too much blood. I’ll definitely die before I can even get out of here, nya....”
For a moment, silence hung in the air.
“Ah, everyone! Over here!”
The Saintess broke it with her bright voice.
“Huh? What is this?”
The Witch of the West and Azrakan, who had followed behind her, were horrified by the sight before them.
“This is insane....”
“Could that really be.... the one I know?”
Meanwhile, Ciel quietly walked over to the completely shattered demon tree.
“....It was cut down in a single blow.”
“....”
“But that trajectory is physically impossible....”
She broke into a cold sweat as she muttered.
“So Gossip cut this down in one blow?”
“Uh.... Yes.”
“Can you swear to it?”
The Witch of the West stepped beside Ciel, wearing an unbelieving expression.
“You should know better than anyone.”
“...?”
“West.... No, Mage Gallery Eraser.”
But it was not Ciel who answered the Witch of the West. It was Azrakan, standing behind them with a grave expression.
“The ancient calamity, Maleficus Arbor, endlessly regenerates unless its core is destroyed in one strike.”
“....”
“That trembling beastkin couldn’t have done this. There is only one person here capable of it.”
The Witch of the West, who had been standing there dazed, began to sweat coldly.
Azrakan and Ciel were no different.
“So that’s what it means....”
“Hmm....”
“This is.... way too strong....”
All three of them were either among the strongest on the continent or close to reaching that level. Whether they wanted to or not, they could tell just how much Gossip Gallery Eraser had been going easy on the Erasers until now.
“Ah! Come to think of it, weren’t you two whispering earlier?”
“...!”
“You said you’d find out Gossip Gallery Eraser’s identity today somehow and gank him IRL, righ... mmph!?”
The two Calamities hurriedly covered the Saintess’s mouth.
“My, what a joke.”
“When did we ever say that? Hahaha.”
At that exact moment, Gossip Gallery Eraser, who had been holding out a hand to Nienie, slightly turned his head toward them.
“....”
As his chilling gaze fell upon them, the two Calamities instinctively flinched.
“If you’re a collectible, act like a collectible.”
“....”
“If you’re a slave, act like a slave.”
Everyone present easily understood the meaning behind Gossip Gallery Eraser’s ominous words.
“You may not know my identity, but remember that I can find any of you whenever I wish.”
It was a warning not to get ahead of themselves, because whether they were continental Calamities or the Empire’s Finest Sword, he could erase them in a single stroke.
“Hmph....”
“Understood....”
From then on, the Witch of the West and Azrakan completely abandoned any thought of finding Gossip Gallery Eraser in real life.
Anyone would have, after witnessing an ancient calamity get destroyed in one blow.
“Church Gallery Eraser. Come here.”
“Yes!”
After once again establishing discipline, Elrod gestured to the Saintess.
“Can you heal her?”
He pointed at Nienie, who was still trembling as her condition steadily worsened.
“No problem!”
The Saintess gave a thumbs-up and pulled Nienie into her arms.
Shaaa....
A pure, sacred energy began to envelop Nienie’s body.
“T-That can’t be true, nya....”
About ten seconds later, Nienie stared blankly at her restored body.
“My injuries were bad enough that it wouldn’t have been strange if I died at any moment....”
Her grave injuries, which had forced her to prepare for death, had completely healed in just ten seconds.
“I can even bring back someone whose head has been cut off, as long as decay hasn’t started yet!”
“Maintain anonymity.”
“Ow! I’ll watch my mouth!”
Elrod flicked the excited Saintess on the forehead, then turned his gaze back.
“Beastkin Warrior Nienie.”
Elrod spoke in a low voice.
“Decide whether you will join hands with us.”
Nienie looked up at him with a slightly intimidated expression.
“If I don’t join you.... You’ll leave me behind anyway, right?”
Her face darkened.
“B-But I’m used to being abandoned, nya.”
“....”
“I don’t want to be a burden, so.... You don’t need to look after me, nya.”
Silence again settled between them.
“If you do not wish to come with us....”
Within that silence, Elrod, concealed by a black silhouette, spoke again.
“I will provide you with an escape scroll.”
“Nya?”
Nienie, who had been trembling under his pressure, doubted her own ears.
“I will not force you.”
“....”
“I do not play games with people’s lives.”
The next moment, Nienie let out a foolish sound without meaning to.
“N-Nya.”
After scratching her head for a moment, she put a hand on the ground and stood up.
“You’re the first person who has called beastkin people, nya....”
Her face slightly red, she averted her eyes and walked toward Elrod.
“You’re a really strange human, nya!”
But as though nothing had happened, Nienie returned to her usual cheerful self and took his hand.
“...?”
She suddenly wore a blank expression.
“Good....”
The black silhouette’s eyes had curved into narrow crescents.
“...You said you were joining us yourself, correct?”
Every hair on Nienie’s body stood on end immediately afterward.
“Nya!?”
Like a cat that had found a cucumber, Nienie sprang backward and began warily examining the black silhouette.
“What is it?”
“W-Well....”
Naturally, even Nienie did not know why she had reacted like that.
‘...What was that, nya?’
All she knew was that the beastkin’s special senses, nearly capable of seeing the future, were screaming warnings all at once.
“....”
But after scratching her head again, Nienie soon muttered with a bright expression.
“It must be my imagination, nya!”
As Elrod turned and began walking away, Nienie followed after him with shining eyes.
‘There’s no way I’d get a warning about such a nice person, nya!’
Behind her, Elrod’s dedicated Erasers whispered in low voices.
“She’s next, then.”
“Tsk, tsk. Poor thing.”
“A new Eraser!”
* * *
“Everyone, this way, nya!”
About ten minutes after Beastkin Warrior Nienie joined the Eraser expedition.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?”
“I’m certain, nya! Don’t underestimate a beastkin’s sense of smell, nya!”
“Hmm....”
Already displaying exceptional ability, she quickly blended into the expedition.
‘It was the right choice to bring her along.’
Watching Nienie from behind, Elrod smiled with satisfaction.
‘Every party needs a rogue.’
Since the World Tree had been corrupted, the virtual dimension had become warped. Even its system developer had experienced some difficulty finding the way.
But after Nienie joined them, they no longer got lost. She could sense the ominous energy radiating from the Fake World Tree’s core.
“You’re Swordsman Gallery Eraser, nya?”
“...Yes.”
“Nice to meet you, nya! I’m a huge fan, nya!”
The only problem was that Nienie had not yet noticed the Erasers’ unspoken rule.
“When you first had that duel with Gossip Gallery Eraser where the loser had to dogeza, the one who wrote the analysis post was this very...”
“Anonymity.”
“...Nya!”
Elrod had no choice but to stop Nienie himself, striking her head with his sword’s hilt.
“T-That’s discrimination against beastkin, nya!”
“I beat dragons, elves, and the demon race equally.”
“Ah, that’s true, nya....”
Nienie had been hissing angrily, but she unexpectedly accepted Elrod’s absurd statement and returned to being a tame cat.
Grrrrr....
Her pupils suddenly dilated.
“Fifty-one branch-shaped tentacles.”
Nienie immediately lowered herself into a guarded stance and reported to the Erasers following behind her.
“They’ll start firing at us in about ten seconds, nya.”
The instant she finished speaking.
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
Sharp tentacles began bursting from the ceiling, just as she had said.
“Everyone, protect Church Gallery Eraser.”
The Erasers, who had been preparing for battle, tilted their heads as Elrod stepped forward and issued the order.
“There is something I want to test.”
The next moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Tentacles attacked viciously from every direction, without a single blind spot.
“Hmm.”
At the same time, Elrod’s eyes gleamed. He swung the sword in his hand and began knocking away every tentacle.
“Insane.”
Ciel, who knew her swordsmanship, and everyone else could only stare in astonishment.
“....”
Even in that urgent situation, Elrod’s sword trajectory was frustratingly slow and monotonous.
At a glance, it almost looked as though he were merely waving his sword around carelessly.
Yet astonishingly, not a single tentacle could penetrate that sluggish path and reach them.
It was as though he already knew where every attack would come from and had placed his sword there in advance.
“Tsk....”
About a minute later, all the tentacles had their sharp tips severed and turned blunt. They trembled before retreating into the ceiling. Elrod pushed his sword back into its sheath and clicked his tongue.
“As expected, I can’t bring out even half my skill with this body.”
He muttered in a low voice and was about to resume walking.
“Hey....”
“...?”
“What... sword form was that?”
Ciel asked him. Elrod answered calmly, as if wondering why she would even ask.
“Knocking them away hard.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t a sword form. I just knocked away their attacks with my sword.”
Ciel let out a hollow laugh and cursed.
“Bullshit....”
As a swordswoman and Swordmaster, everything she knew had been denied in one stroke. It was unavoidable.
“Do not become too obsessed with sword forms.”
“....”
“It has been so long since you crossed that wall. How long will you remain bound by fixed forms?”
After offering Ciel that quiet advice, Elrod started walking again.
“That’s not how you use magic.”
“Are you done talking?”
“Hand me your staff.”
From then on, Elrod’s painful unsolicited coaching, disguised as advice, began in earnest.
Kaboom!!!
Elrod took the Witch of the West’s staff, cast the exact same spell with several times more destructive power, and returned it to her.
“Your magic is unstable because you keep stacking spells without restraint.”
“....”
“Choose the core that will support the layered spells, then adjust the weight placed on each one.”
He left that advice to the dumbfounded Witch of the West, then moved to Azrakan’s side.
“That is not how you use draconic speech.”
“Huh?”
“Cut out the useless self-introductions and flowery language at the start. Focus on the essential phrases and wield it logically.”
Azrakan, now the next target, muttered with a completely blank expression.
“You understand draconic speech?”
“I understand enough to know that ridiculously long, edgy self-introduction at the beginning was pointless.”
“U-Ugh...!”
Leaving the bright-red Azrakan behind, Elrod walked over to the Saintess, who was sweeping away approaching undead with holy power.
“Church Gallery Eraser. Do you normally use a medium when you wield holy power?”
“H-How did you know? You told me to maintain anonymity, so I didn’t bring my holy relic....”
“Do not use one from now on, either. Your own output and control are greater than any holy relic’s. Why limit your power?”
The Saintess stared blankly, then nodded.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right!”
In an instant, Elrod had corrected the deeply ingrained habits of all four Erasers. He then walked over to Nienie.
“Nienie.”
“Nya!”
Her senses warned her again, and Nienie instinctively took up a guarded stance.
“...You are doing well.”
“E-Hehehe....”
Unexpected praise came her way, and Nienie relaxed slightly as she giggled.
“But why are you patting my head, nya!?”
“...Don’t beastkin like this?”
“Where did you learn such fake news, nya?”
Nienie knocked away Elrod’s hand, which had naturally begun patting her head, and started hissing.
‘That damned beastkin rogue lied to me.’
Elrod scratched his head at her words. Only then did he realize that the beastkin rogue from his past had deceived him. Grinding his teeth, he walked forward.
“...?”
Then Elrod quietly looked back.
“What are you all doing back there?”
His dedicated Erasers had stopped walking. They were glancing at him and whispering among themselves.
“Are you sure he isn’t really the Hero...?”
“Yes! The Goddess said he isn’t!”
“Fuck, then who the hell is he...?”
Elrod wore an incredulous expression as he overheard them.
[A new notification has arrived!]
A notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.
>(Goddess): (Winking Orc emote)
>(Goddess): (Proud Orc emote pounding its chest)
>(Goddess): (Orc emote with sparkling eyes, wanting something)
“...Sigh.”
Elrod quietly checked his guestbook, sighed, and moved his finger.
>Gossip Gallery Eraser: (Head-patting Orc emote)
ㄴ(Goddess): (Orc emote covering its mouth and tearing up)
ㄴ(Goddess): (Wailing Orc emote)
ㄴ(Goddess): (Wailing Orc emote)
ㄴ(Goddess): (Orc emote holding a tiny heart)
How much time passed after that?
“Ah, we’re here, nya!”
Nienie finally stopped and pointed ahead with wide eyes.
“My senses say the core is inside here, nya!”
Elrod already had a feeling that she was right.
‘At last, it is time for a reunion....’
A gate with a structure he knew all too well stood before him.
“You all wait in the rear.”
After swallowing dryly, he gave the Erasers behind him that order and began walking.
“I’ll go alone.”
“What?”
“Deal with any enemies coming from behind.”
Elrod quietly stopped before the gate.
>Verifying identity....
The device attached to the gate began scanning Elrod’s body.
“...Avatar change.”
At that moment, Elrod muttered in a voice too quiet for anyone else to hear.
“Change Elrod Durgel to the previous Hero.”
About a minute later.
>Identity verification complete.
>Welcome back, Master Administrator.
At last, the passage leading to the space where the Dungeon Master and the Fake World Tree awaited him opened before his eyes.
* * *
Step. Step....
The moment the gate opened, I stepped inside without hesitation and began walking through the familiar corridor.
‘This place has changed a lot since back then, too.’
The farther inside I went, the more I saw things slightly different from what I remembered, due to the Fake World Tree’s corruption.
“Phew....”
But when the corridor finally ended and a vast hall opened up before me, scenery both familiar and dearly missed came into view.
“Sephiroth.”
“It’s been a long time.”
Yet the Dungeon Master, who had always welcomed me, merely remained silent with the light in its eyes shining.
“Should I call you by your nickname...?”
Feeling slightly awkward, I lowered my voice.
“Sephy?”
“....”
“Answer me.”
Still, the Dungeon Master gave no response.
“Sorry, but that one cannot answer.”
Instead, I heard the voice of someone rather unexpected.
“Because.... I shut it down just now.”
She emerged from behind the Dungeon Master. I spoke without concealing my killing intent.
“Elf Queen.”
Queen Minerva of the Elves faced me with a sinister smile.
“Yes, Gossip Gallery Eraser....”
“....”
“You made it all the way here.”
It appeared she had finally succeeded in corrupting the Dungeon Master through the Fake World Tree and stealing its administrative privileges.
“What are you doing here?”
“Can’t you see?”
“...Don’t tell me.”
I gritted my teeth, and my expression hardened.
“I am restoring my life energy.”
The battery indicator showing Dungeon Master Sephiroth’s remaining energy was completely empty.
“I sacrificed half my lifespan summoning that demon you cut down in one blow....”
“....”
“So I absorbed every last bit of energy remaining in the World Tree, you see?”
The wrinkled skin of Minerva, whose hand rested on the Dungeon Master’s back, was gradually smoothing out.
Thud!
The Elf Queen kicked the Dungeon Master and walked forward.
“Even scrap metal like this can be useful sometimes.”
She approached me and smiled with her eyes, a chilling smile playing on her lips.
“My, are you angry?”
“....”
“But.... It is useless.”
A blue energy field, which should have been protecting the Dungeon Master, visibly surrounded Minerva’s body instead.
“Now that the World Tree’s corruption is complete, the administrator of this virtual dimension is no longer that tin can. It is me.”
“....”
“Unless the previous Hero, the Master Administrator, returns from the dead, no one can touch me here anymore.”
At that moment, I realized something.
“I see....”
“...?”
“Looking closer, I recognize you.”
This elf, who deserved to die, was someone I had met before.
“You were in the Hero’s party.”
“Huh?”
“One of the Hero party’s founding members. The stupid elf who was kicked out of the Hero’s party at the dwarf village for racial discrimination.”
Minerva’s amused expression slightly twisted.
“How do you know that?”
“Do I need to tell you?”
“Tsk. All the records should have been removed....”
Seeing her reaction, I became certain of another fact I had only suspected until now.
“Did you also drive out Elf Queen Sigria?”
“Ah, you mean that pitiful former queen locked underground, doing nothing but browsing the Gallery?”
“Yes. If she were here, none of this would have happened.”
The corners of Minerva’s smiling mouth began to twist grotesquely.
“Still, you really do know too much.”
“....”
“Normally, I should dispose of you myself, but....”
Fearlessly meeting my eyes and taking another step forward, she whispered languidly.
“I shall graciously make you an offer.”
Then, immediately afterward.
“Join hands with us, Gossip Gallery Eraser.”
I had silently listened, intending to extract as much information as possible, but I could not hide the contempt from my face.
“Honestly, I do not understand why you are wasting such dazzling talent in the shadows of an Unauthorized Gallery.”
“....”
“With the power of the ruler of the Southern Continent, I could bring even you into the continent’s ruling class.”
Minerva continued her ridiculous speech without caring, then held out a hand to me.
“...If you do not want that, it is fine if you join hands with me alone.”
Just as I had done with Nienie.
“If you and I combine our power.... Perhaps we can drive out that bald Emperor and stand at the continent’s peak together?”
After silently watching her for a long time, I asked while maintaining my composure as much as possible.
“Then what can you do for me?”
Queen Minerva of the Elves narrowed her eyes further.
“I can do anything for you.”
“....”
“For example.... Hmm, yes.”
Her next words were no longer worth hearing, even for someone enduring her merely to gather information.
“I could even make you the Queen’s consort.”
“Ha.”
“Conveniently, the position of husband is vacant. I buried my last husband in the Great Forest because he became too presumptuous.”
Minerva ran her hand over my body as she gave me a seductive smile.
“You have a suitably sturdy build, and your face.... I cannot see it, but that is fine. Humans are all alike anyway.”
Naturally, the sight was utterly disgusting to me.
“...You know, this is quite an extraordinary offer. Do you know how many beings desire to become the Elf Queen’s consort?”
When I gave no answer, Minerva looked slightly wounded in her pride and turned her back, moving away from me.
“Well, if you do not want it.... There are plenty of young elves.”
“...Hah.”
“Hmm, or how about human slaves?”
A sickening smile rested on her face, reflected in the metal at the far end of the hall.
“From adults to children, there are enough to trip over. Choose whichever ones you like.”
“....”
“Ah, but the matter of the human slaves is a secret.”
Silence descended upon the hall.
Step. Step....
Within that silence, I began walking toward Minerva.
“From now on....”
“...?”
“I will deactivate my silhouette only for you.”
Minerva tilted her head and turned around.
“My.”
She soon let out a small laugh.
“Hehe, yes....”
She swept her hair aside, smiled with her eyes, and stretched both arms toward me.
“So you do have an eye for things after all?”
* * *
Elrod continued walking forward until he finally stopped directly before Minerva.
“Silhouette deactivated.”
As he muttered in a low voice, Minerva began smiling seductively again.
“Hehe....”
She raised her head, about to see the identity of the man everyone had been curious about.
“My husband, let me see your fa....”
“...Ghk!?”
A sudden impact struck her abdomen. Her waist bent at a ninety-degree angle as she lifted into the air, then collapsed to the floor and began retching.
“U-Uwaaagh...!!!”
Elrod strode toward Minerva and suddenly grabbed her hair so roughly that her tiara came off, yanking her head upward.
“....”
The Elf Queen, still dazed and unable to understand what had happened, turned pale.
Tremble....
Because only in her eyes, the face she had never wanted to see again since the Hero party’s expulsion incident was reflected in full.
“Elf Queen Minerva.”
The previous Hero, who should have long been dead, gripped her throat and muttered in a chilling voice.
“Are you ready to experience hell?”
Footnotes:
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