Chapter 19
Health (4)
As ridiculous as it sounded, even the highest levels of society kept a close eye on the gallery.
It was useful for gathering intelligence, monitoring leaks, assessing the political climate, and even observing daily life in foreign countries.
The gallery was filled mostly with nonsense posts, but every so often, something incredibly valuable could be found there.
More importantly, it was one of the few places where those in power could gauge public opinion.
Given the era, accurately understanding public sentiment was nearly impossible, making the gallery their only real window into it.
Of course, relying solely on the gallery had its drawbacks.
There had been many occasions when people in power trusted gallery opinion too much, only for protests and rebellions to erupt in the opposite direction.
Since then, they had learned to be wary of the "loud minority" and to separate useful information from noise.
Even so, no one could deny the gallery's influence.
After all, everyone used it—young and old, nobles and commoners alike.
One famous story involved a noble who constantly criticized the gallery, only to be exposed as a hardcore gallery addict himself.
Status did not erase human desires.
If anything, those who had to maintain an elegant public image often vented their stress in the gallery instead.
That was why the upper class went to great lengths to hide the fact that they used it.
Even when caught, they usually insisted they only lurked without posting.
Almost nobody believed that excuse, but personal privacy was still respected.
As a result, there was an unspoken rule among nobles:
Never bring up the gallery.
Unless you were speaking privately with someone you trusted.
"Your Highness, we cannot simply ignore this matter."
"I know that. But that man is living on borrowed time. Isn't this a bit too hasty?"
The man speaking wore golden hair and blue eyes.
With his handsome features and well-built physique, he lacked for nothing in appearance.
Yet even he sounded reluctant.
Across from him, a middle-aged man with graying hair answered in an urgent tone.
"That is precisely why we must secure as many mature mandrakes as possible before he dies."
"Count Gorgon. I thought you were usually the cautious one."
"There are times when decisive action must be taken."
The blond prince fell silent, considering the advice of his loyal retainer, Count Gorgon.
He was Arnold Louis Messiah, the future Emperor of the Messiah Empire.
With the current emperor bedridden due to chronic illness and overwork, Arnold was serving as acting emperor.
"If we can establish trade with him, we can greatly weaken the Magic Tower's influence. We could even pressure the Kingdom of Iris."
"That's an awfully optimistic scenario. The elves have been behaving unpredictably lately. We have no reason to provoke the Magic Tower as well."
"But, Your Highness..."
"Enough. I have no desire to discuss someone who may die tomorrow."
"If we supported him, wouldn't that change the situation?"
Count Gorgon refused to give up.
Though unusually stubborn, Arnold did not rebuke him.
Count Gorgon was famous for his remarkable foresight.
It was almost amusing to see someone like him influenced by rumors from the gallery.
That alone showed how much influence the gallery truly wielded.
"If we support him, he may survive longer. But let me ask you something. Who exactly will handle this matter?"
"I know someone."
"Not you?"
"..."
Arnold's blunt question immediately silenced Count Gorgon.
The count merely blinked in surprise.
Arnold chuckled to himself before waving a dismissive hand.
"So you planned to take advantage of the gallery's anonymity. You're rushing this. That will be all."
"Your Highness..."
"If you insist, I'll leave it to your discretion. Just don't complain when everyone assumes you're the one buying mature mandrakes in bulk."
"..."
"You haven't been insulting me on the gallery, have you?"
"Absolutely not."
Yeah, right.
Arnold didn't believe him for a second.
People cursed even their king whenever no one was listening.
The gallery was obviously no exception.
He himself had been showered with insults more than once simply because of unpopular policies.
"It's only been three days since this Grylls fellow entered the Forest of Four Seasons. Be patient."
"...Understood. I may have been too hasty."
"Good. Now go. I have work to attend to."
At Arnold's dismissal, Count Gorgon quietly left the room.
Soon, Arnold was alone.
Leaning back in his chair, he stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.
It's not as though I'm unconcerned either...
His gaze drifted toward the gallery.
At the moment, it was ablaze with rumors.
The spark had been Passing Dwarf's photo of the mature mandrake.
Although Grylls had gifted mandrakes to those who had helped him, none of them had posted proof.
There was no reason to.
Doing so only risked revealing their identities.
As a result, many people had remained skeptical.
But Passing Dwarf's post convinced them.
To make matters even worse, Grylls had previously uploaded a picture of an entire colony of mature mandrakes.
Anyone following the gallery naturally reached the same conclusion.
If you help Grylls, you'll receive a mature mandrake.
This realization had spread within only a few hours after Grylls went to sleep.
***
Title: There Are Way Too Many Similar Posts for This to Be Just a Rumor
My friend serves in the Imperial Guard, and the Emperor supposedly ordered them to bring back a mature mandrake lol.
└ Seriously?
└ Yeah. The rumor's already spread everywhere.
└ They're probably holding meetings about it by now.
└ Come on. There's no way that's real.
Arnold smirked as he read the thread.
It sounded absurd.
Yet it was difficult to dismiss outright.
Count Gorgon himself had just pleaded the exact same case.
If even someone as cautious as Gorgon felt that way, many other nobles were probably thinking the same thing.
They would all try to establish trade with Grylls and earn his favor.
***
Title: Has the Magic Tower Said Anything Yet?
The Magic Tower monopolizes mandrakes. Haven't they reacted?
└ Not yet, but they probably will soon.
└ Isn't the Magic Tower in the Kingdom of Iris?
└ Could this end up causing conflict with the Empire?
└ Over one mandrake? Seriously?
└ Maybe not a war, but they're bound to say something. Besides, I doubt the Magic Tower likes this situation.
└ Why not?
└ Because they have a monopoly.
***
Title: Current Situation Summary
- Mandrakes are extremely rare and are essential ingredients for elixirs.
- The Magic Tower has traditionally managed all known mandrakes.
- Their monopoly generates unimaginable profits.
- Grylls has discovered not only mature mandrakes, but an entire colony of them.
- A single mature specimen is enough to make a top-tier elixir.
- Rather than accepting unfavorable deals with the Magic Tower, it would be far better to buy directly from Grylls.
└ Sure, but Grylls can't keep supplying them forever. Once he harvests them all, that's it.
└ The same applies to the Magic Tower. They don't cultivate mandrakes—they only manage existing ones.
└ So they source them from the wild too?
└ Exactly. Their job is preserving mandrakes so they're always healthy enough to be turned into elixirs.
└ And they built a monopoly around that? What a bunch of crooks, lol.
└ One more thing: Grylls is in the Forest of Four Seasons, so no one's in a position to pressure him.
└ I can't believe this is actually happening. Damn...
If someone could establish trade with Grylls and secure a steady supply of mature mandrakes, the rewards would be immeasurable.
The problem was Grylls himself.
He was far too unstable.
Living inside the Forest of Four Seasons meant he could die at any moment.
And it isn't something money can solve...
What Grylls needed was not wealth.
He needed supplies to survive.
Since he had recently received a fortune from the regular known as Allfather, money was probably no longer a priority for him.
That meant bartering was the only viable option.
And that, too, made the situation unpredictable.
For now... it's better to simply watch and wait.
It would be the worst of both worlds if they acted rashly.
If even one factor had been stable, it might have been worth considering, but everything about the situation was uncertain, making it difficult to commit.
Still, obtaining even a single one would be worthwhile...
If it were for personal reasons rather than official business, that was another matter entirely.
They see one thing but miss another.
Arnold shook his head.
With the Emperor's health declining rapidly, the temptation was unavoidable.
Even the Imperial Palace's budget struggled to afford a top-grade elixir.
If a mature mandrake could restore the Emperor's health, Arnold's position would become unshakable.
It wasn't as though his siblings were competing for the throne.
Arnold had two younger brothers and two younger sisters.
One might expect at least one of them to covet the crown, but surprisingly, none of them did.
I suppose I've been fortunate...
His second brother was deeply interested in culture and had become the Minister of Culture.
His third brother was devoutly religious and had entered the clergy. According to rumor, he had become a Holy Knight.
As for his two younger sisters, they both married into noble families, naturally removing themselves from the line of succession.
It would be far better if Father handed me the crown himself than merely approved my succession.
Unless the Emperor personally passed on the throne, there would always be those looking for excuses to question Arnold's legitimacy.
To prevent that from happening, he needed at least one mature mandrake.
Even so, Arnold hesitated.
It wasn't because approaching Grylls made him uneasy.
With a sigh, he looked at his gallery username.
A name he had created in his youth, unable to restrain his childish impulses.
[UltimateZZoneArnoldRocks]
"...Sigh."
It was embarrassing just to look at.
Why had he ever chosen a name like that?
He should have stayed anonymous from the very beginning.
No matter how many times he thought about it, he could not understand his younger self.
Fortunately, no one knew the truth.
If anyone ever found out, he would have abandoned his position as Crown Prince and fled long ago.
Can't I at least change my username?
The gallery was a civilization far ahead of its time, but it was not perfect.
Over countless revisions, numerous conveniences had been added.
Changing your username, however, remained impossible.
Was there a way to become anonymous again?
There was exactly one.
Completely expel every trace of mana from your body and refill it with new mana.
It was essentially the same as completely replacing your body.
Even someone who underwent Reforging the Bones and Cleansing the Marrow couldn't accomplish such a feat.
Once a username was registered, it was yours for life.
If I obtain a mature mandrake or help Father recover... people will inevitably figure it out.
And once that happened, his username would naturally be exposed.
He didn't even want to imagine it.
Nor could he simply wait.
Managing mature mandrakes was extremely difficult.
There was a reason the Magic Tower had taken responsibility for preserving them.
At least he had deleted all of his old posts.
If the gallery hadn't allowed users to delete their own posts, they would have remained as permanent black history.
Should I make my brother do it instead...?
Arnold folded his arms and pondered.
His second brother might officially be the Minister of Culture, but in reality he spent most of his time loafing around.
Whenever he had free time, he went to watch soccer or baseball.
He claimed it was far better than taking on a position that involved nothing but hard work.
For now, it'd be best to keep watching the gallery... and see who ends up with the mature mandrakes.
At the moment, that seemed like the wisest course of action.
Only three days had passed.
It was too early to make a fuss.
As Arnold browsed the gallery, he thoughtfully stroked his chin.
Still, I should at least familiarize myself with the culture.
The easiest way to do that would be by making a post.
Although his username embarrassed him, asking a simple question couldn't hurt.
***
Title: Hello. Nice to meet you.
UltimateZZoneArnoldRocks
I'm new to the gallery. How does this place usually work?
└ Newbie?
└ UltimateZZoneArnoldRocks: Yes, I am.
└ Then stop using polite speech, dumbass.
└ You're a newbie and you're using honorifics?
└ Look at that username, lol.
Arnold's eyes filled with confusion.
"...Ugh..."
I stretched, working the stiffness out of my body.
Thanks to the mat and pillow I'd bought at the auction house, I didn't wake up sore all over.
I should've bought them sooner.
At least I realized it before it was too late.
The gallery...? What the...? Why are there so many trade requests?
My eyes widened.
A surprisingly large number of trade requests had arrived while I was asleep.
Once you logged out of the gallery, you received no notifications whatsoever.
That was great for getting a good night's sleep, but it still left me puzzled.
Most of these are from regulars I don't even know. Are they all asking for mature mandrakes?
That seemed likely.
Passing Dwarf had uploaded his post yesterday.
Even a single mature mandrake was worth an enormous amount.
If someone could genuinely help me survive, I was willing to trade.
One at a time.
Not in bulk.
My own survival came first.
There was no point supplying everyone else if it cost me my life.
[A Typical Gallery Initiation][118]
"Hm?"
One particular post caught my attention.
Not only were there a mountain of comments, it had an impressive number of upvotes as well.
What happened while I was sleeping?
I guess all the entertaining things really did happen while you were asleep.
[I'm the Crown Prince, you bastards.]
[What is wrong with you people?]
[Seriously.]
[I didn't even do anything wrong.]
[Why is everyone insulting me?]
[No, listen to me first.]
[Is this really normal here?]
[This gallery is pretty rough.]
[Hello. Nice to meet you.]
Read from the bottom up.
***
Title: A Typical Gallery Initiation
[Welcome back, buddy.]
└ Talk about adapting fast, lol.
└ What's with that username?
└ Looks like another old-timer wandered into the gallery.
└ Sounds like something my dad would come up with.
└ If your username has words like "Ultimate," "Zone," or "Rocks" in it, you're probably old.
└ These days, some people actually choose names like that on purpose.
It was just another peaceful day in the gallery.