Chapter 101

Firewood (4)

I was stunned by the shocking news, but only for a moment. I immediately left a comment.

The comment section was already a complete mess, but I couldn’t suppress my curiosity.

└ Wild Grylls: What’s that supposed to mean? Are they saying they’ll send survivors in there for me?

└ The man himself has arrived.

└ Grylls, you won’t have to be lonely anymore.

└ The Holy Kingdom is sending a search party just for you. Kekekeke.

└ The Holy Kingdom accomplishes what no one else could!

└ Wild Grylls: I can just dismiss that as bullshit, right? Damn it, they’re getting my hopes up for nothing.

└ Normally, you’d be terrified, but Grylls is actually looking forward to it. Kekekeke.

└ Considering he’s in the Forest of Four Seasons, that’s understandable. Kekeke.

└ But who exactly are they planning to send?

└ Rumor has it they’re sending people who oppose the current Pope’s regime.

└ So they’re just using this to eliminate their political enemies. Kek.

└ Do they even have the ability to find the head mod?

└ Absolutely not. Kekekeke. Unless the head mod openly gives them his location, it’s impossible.

└ Didn’t the head mod once tell them where the person planning to assassinate the emperor was?

└ Even then, the head mod only gave them the culprit’s location in real time. He didn’t reveal his own address.

└ And that head mod got his eyes gouged out for stalking someone. Kekekeke.

└ So they can send messages to the moderators?

└ Yeah, they can. Those bastards will definitely send one.

So it was all for show.

I had a rough idea of what they were trying to do.

I thought this sort of thing only happened on Earth, but since this world had the Gallery, events seemed to follow a similar pattern.

It was what people called a battle for public opinion. After all, the Gallery was practically the only place where public sentiment could be gauged.

’They just keep stepping on land mines.’

Naturally, public opinion toward the Holy Kingdom was as bad as it could possibly get.

There were occasionally people who defended or made excuses for it, but they were an exceedingly tiny minority.

All I had to do was sit back and enjoy the spectacle. The Holy Kingdom might declare the Gallery evil, but I wasn’t so sure that would work.

’Wasn’t the Emperor of the Central Plains beheaded after he tried to stop people from using the Gallery?’

It was a fairly famous incident—the assassination of the Emperor of the Central Plains.

It occasionally resurfaced as a hot topic, so I knew the story well.

The emperor tried to ban people from using the Gallery, only to be assassinated one day.

The imperial family officially announced that he had died of illness, while the people of the Central Plains assumed that he had fallen victim to an internal power struggle.

However, considering how ominously the Gallery users from the Central Plains had been behaving, most people on the Gallery didn’t believe either explanation.

’I’m sure they’ll handle it somehow.’

Whether Eldorado made another blunder or entered the Forest of Four Seasons was none of my concern.

The key was how the head mod—Don’tAbandonTheHero—would respond.

He could reveal my location in real time, and he could even impose penalties on them.

’The head mod told me not to worry, but judging from the Holy Kingdom’s behavior...’

Moreover, the head mod was presumed to be from the Holy Kingdom himself.

The fact that he was a devout apostle who worshiped the goddess Ares provided a clue to his origins.

Still, considering what a mess his country had become, hadn’t he probably lost whatever patriotism he once possessed?

The head mod worshiped his goddess. That didn’t necessarily mean he felt any loyalty toward Eldorado.

’I’ll have to wait and see how things unfold.’

It seemed the small ball I had set rolling had transformed into a massive meteor before crashing down.

Cleaning up the aftermath would take time. But if the Holy Kingdom continued stepping on land mines, the fire would never go out.

Until then, I could simply go about my business.

Title: I Made an Oven

Wild Grylls

(A photograph of a fairly well-made oven)

I made an oven out of bricks and clay. What do you think?

└ Heavenly Demon: That is quite a decent-looking oven. Are you planning to bake bread?

└ Wild Grylls: It’s meant for fish rather than bread. I think this will save me time.

└ Heavenly Demon: I wonder what oven-roasted fish tastes like.

└ Wild Grylls: Would you like me to give you some later?

└ Heavenly Demon: If you can spare a single piece.

└ SwordMaster: Weren’t you the one who said taking anything from him would be like squeezing blood from a stone? Kekekeke.

└ Heavenly Demon: I have realized that he is no stone.

└ SwordMaster: That excuse is pathetic. Kek.

└ Heavenly Demon: I can do something even more pathetic, if you wish.

└ SwordMaster: Ah. Come on, man...

└ Instantly subdued. Kekekeke.

└ Master, you know what to do if you think it’s unfair, right?

└ You merely need to turn blue as well.

└ SwordMaster: I’d rather die than become a junior mod.

└ Starlight Princess: Did you make that yourself? You did a wonderful job!

└ Wild Grylls: Thank you, hehe.

└ Starlight Princess: Now that you have an oven, you’ll be able to prepare many different dishes. Is there anything you have in mind?

└ Wild Grylls: I only have fish, though.

└ Starlight Princess: I could give you some flour. Would you like to try baking bread?

└ Wild Grylls: No, thank you. I don’t need to go that far.

Bread was a luxury.

Unless I grew wheat myself, it would be absurdly extravagant.

At most, I could use the oven to warm up smoked meat. That was essentially the extent of its usefulness.

As I had said earlier, the only reason I made the oven was to save time.

’Though even that will be difficult until the dwarf gives me the iron plate.’

He had said he would give it to me at lunchtime along with the barricade.

I could train until then.

This morning’s training would be swordsmanship practice.

Ding!

Just as I was about to close the Gallery, a notification sounded.

Gallery notifications appeared whenever someone commented on one of my posts or sent me a message.

If it had been a comment, I would have merely checked who had left it. This time, however, it was a message.

Thinking it might have come from the head mod, I immediately checked it.

[NecromancyIsLove: Are you the one who uploaded the final record of Rice Kraone?]

It was a username I had never seen before.

I raised an eyebrow as I read the message.

Come to think of it, if this person possessed authority similar to that of the head mod, there was no reason they would only be capable of messaging him.

They could send messages to me as well.

’The username is a little strange, though...’

At present, the Holy Kingdom was the only party likely to send me a message like this.

Curious about what kind of bullshit they would spout, I greeted them politely.

[Wild Grylls: If you’re asking whether I uploaded the book about the Immortal King, then yes.]

[NecromancyIsLove: Then you must also be the one who gave the book to Kadir.]

[Wild Grylls: Kadir? The Sorcerer King?]

Kadir, the Sorcerer King.

I had vaguely heard about him on the Gallery.

He was said to have gone beyond merely mastering every form of magic in the world and reached an understanding of the fundamental principles behind it.

He had joined the previous Hero in subjugating the Immortal King and had slain a dragon driven mad.

He was a truly legendary figure.

Some people said he had an eccentric side, though I didn’t know anything about that. In any case, he was famous.

’But the person I gave the book to was Allfather. No, before that...’

How did this person know that I had given the book to someone?

There were many things I didn’t understand, and the entire situation seemed suspicious.

Perhaps this user was merely fishing for information.

There was no need to answer carelessly.

[Wild Grylls: I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.]

[NecromancyIsLove: There is no need to play dumb. We have already seen the book in Kadir’s hands.]

[Wild Grylls: Are you saying Allfather is Kadir?]

[NecromancyIsLove: That is correct.]

[Wild Grylls: Then who are you?]

[NecromancyIsLove: The Immortal King—no.]

NecromancyIsLove appeared to contemplate the matter for a moment before revealing his identity.

[NecromancyIsLove: We are Kazan Kraone III, the final king of the Kingdom of Balkan.]

[Wild Grylls: I heard the Immortal King was dead.]

[NecromancyIsLove: Our physical body has perished, but our soul remains. We are currently sealed inside Kadir’s refrigerator.]

[Wild Grylls: This is just role-playing, right?]

What kind of scam was he trying to—no, what kind of nonsense was he spouting?

The overwhelmingly powerful Immortal King had been sealed inside a refrigerator? Why didn’t he just say he was being aged in there like kimchi?

It seemed he had simply made a lucky guess about me giving the book to Allfather.

However, this user was apparently so committed to his role that he continued speaking without the slightest hesitation.

[NecromancyIsLove: Whether you believe us is your choice. That is not what matters to us.]

[Wild Grylls: Then what does?]

[NecromancyIsLove: We merely wished to express our gratitude. Whether you intended to or not, you vindicated our kingdom.]

It was rare for genuine emotion to come through in a message.

And right now, I could... not feel any sincerity at all.

I merely thought he had chosen an exceptionally strange role to play. Then again, there were plenty of strange people in the world.

Besides, I had heard that the Immortal King was undead. Could undead beings even use the Gallery?

Weren’t undead supposed to lack a sense of self?

Nothing about his story made any sense.

’It doesn’t matter even if Allfather really is Kadir.’

He was someone from a distant land who had nothing to do with me.

Even if I told anyone about this, no one would believe me.

He might as well have claimed that Heavenly Demon was the actual Heavenly Demon of the Central Plains.

It seemed best to humor him for now.

[NecromancyIsLove: Regrettably, that would be difficult, as we no longer possess a physical body.]

I knew it.

Not that I had expected anything from him.

I snorted and continued my conversation with NecromancyIsLove.

[Wild Grylls: Then tell me something that might help me. I’m curious how the person who wrote that book survived.]

[NecromancyIsLove: First, we shall tell you how our brother died.]

[Wild Grylls: You translated it?]

[NecromancyIsLove: We have not forgotten the kingdom from those impoverished yet joyful days. Nor could we forget its language.]

[Wild Grylls: I uploaded it because I wanted to obtain some information too, you know.]

[NecromancyIsLove: We see. Is there something you desire?]

[Wild Grylls: Come here and help me.]

Ah, yes. Of course.

What a unique character he was playing.

Still, it was fortunate that he claimed to know why the book’s owner had died.

Of course, there wasn’t the slightest shred of credibility to his story, so I intended to ask Allfather separately.

[NecromancyIsLove: Our brother, Rice Kraone, died from an infection.]

[Wild Grylls: An infection?]

[NecromancyIsLove: His wound gradually began to rot. Unable to endure the pain, he ultimately took his own life. That is what he wrote in his final entry.]

[Wild Grylls: What injured him?]

[NecromancyIsLove: He wrote that he was attacked by a group of gorilla-like apes.]

Gorillas...

Could they be the creatures living in that place?

I remembered hearing something resembling monkey cries when I traveled upriver.

It seemed Rice Kraone had encountered the creatures that lived there.

’That’s important information.’

I didn’t know how far he had explored, but it would probably be best to avoid that area if possible.

After all, I already suspected that there were several of those creatures rather than just one.

[Wild Grylls: Thank you for the useful information. That helped a little.]

[NecromancyIsLove: Ask us if there is anything else you wish to know. We shall take our leave now.]

[Wild Grylls: What are you going to do?]

[NecromancyIsLove: We intend to observe the world. Seeing it again after so long has left us with a peculiar feeling.]

He was just going to browse the Gallery. Did he really need to dress it up like that?

His commitment to the role was so unhinged that it nearly rivaled Heavenly Demon’s.

I ended the conversation there and immediately sent a message to another registered user.

[Wild Grylls: Allfather, may I ask you something?]

[Allfather: Go ahead.]

[Wild Grylls: A registered user told me earlier that you’re Kadir. You know, the Sorcerer King.]

[Allfather: Yes. That’s correct.]

[Wild Grylls: What?]

Now I was the one caught off guard.

I had never expected him to admit it so readily.

[Allfather: Do you believe me?]

[Wild Grylls: Hmm... No?]

He had a point.

I accepted that answer immediately.

’I’ll just assume he’s another strange person.’

There was no reason to overcomplicate things.

***

Asella, the current Hero and head moderator of the Gallery, had found herself in a difficult situation.

It wasn’t because a search party was hot on her heels or because she had run out of money.

It was an extension of the enormous controversy that had spread beyond the Gallery and into the real world.

"No message... has come at all."

Asella was waiting for a message from Eldorado, the Holy Kingdom.

Only registered users could send private messages.

Therefore, sending Asella a message would practically amount to admitting that they used the Gallery.

Fortunately, she hadn’t received any private messages so far...but that created a problem of its own.

’Does the Holy Kingdom... have no intention of resolving this?’

It would be a problem if a message arrived, but it would also be a problem if none came.

In the former case, they would be exposing their own guilt. In the latter, it would mean they had no intention of resolving the issue.

Either way, Asella couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

’If they do send me a message...’

Couldn’t she reveal that she was the Hero and gain an opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding?

The moment that thought occurred to her, Asella hurriedly shook her head.

As previously mentioned, she had a foolish side, but she wasn’t stupid.

Even if she cleared up the misunderstanding, Eldorado would undoubtedly attempt to exploit her position as the head moderator.

Among other things, they would pressure Grylls, the person who had released the information. In the worst-case scenario, they might even order her to permanently ban him.

That would be devastating for Grylls, whose chances of survival differed drastically depending on whether he had access to the Gallery.

’That... wouldn’t be right.’

The Gallery was a platform that everyone could use.

Even a nation had no right to regulate it recklessly. At least, that was what she believed.

However, the Holy Kingdom’s actions were completely at odds with Asella’s principles.

How could a nation blessed by the gods use those very blessings to commit such abuses?

’It would be better if...’

Asella closed the Gallery.

She could feel herself growing increasingly depressed.

’It would be better if they did nothing at all.’

Then, at least, she would be a little less disappointed.