It might sound ridiculous, but even the upper crust keeps a very close eye on the Gallery.
Gathering intelligence, checking for information leaks, monitoring political developments, observing the daily lives of other kingdoms, and so on.
Although the Gallery was mostly filled with shitposts, one could obtain extremely valuable insights from it.
Above all, its greatest advantage was allowing the ruling class to gauge ’public opinion’—the very thing they needed to care about most.
Given the nature of the times, reading public sentiment accurately was notoriously difficult, making the Gallery their sole window into it.
Of course, relying solely on the Gallery had plenty of shortcomings.
After all, there had been frequent instances where leaders trusted Gallery opinion blindly, only to be hit with backfiring protests and rebellions.
Ever since then, they began guarding against the ’vocal minority’ while taking everything with a heavy grain of salt.
Even so, there was no denying the massive influence of the Gallery.
In particular, anyone could use the Gallery regardless of age, gender, or social class.
There was even a famous story about a noble who used to slander the Gallery in public, only to be exposed as a hard-core Gallery addict!
Being highborn didn’t mean human desires magically vanished, after all.
On the contrary, quite a few nobles worked so hard acting noble and dignified that they vented all their built-up stress on the Gallery.
Because of this, the highborn tended to desperately conceal their Gallery activities.
Even if caught, most made excuses claiming they were only lurking.
Hardly anyone believed such excuses, but privacy had to be respected.
Thus, an unwritten rule existed among nobility never to mention the Gallery.
Even if it was brought up, it was only acceptable between close personal friends.
"Your Highness. This matter must never be ignored."
"I know that as well. But that man’s life hangs by a thread. Aren’t you being far too hasty?"
Blonde hair, blue eyes, and the classic appearance of a handsome young lord.
Combined with a solid physique, a man who lacked nothing voiced his skeptical opinion.
At that opinion, a gray-haired middle-aged man spoke up in a somewhat urgent tone.
"That is precisely why we must secure as many mature mandrakes as possible before he dies!"
"Count Gorgon. I thought you were the cautious type."
"Sometimes, one must make swift decisions."
At the advice of his loyal subject, Count Gorgon, the handsome blond youth pondered.
He was the man destined to become the next emperor of the Messiah Empire, Arnold Louis Messiah.
Because the current emperor was bedridden due to chronic illness and overwork, Arnold was currently serving as the acting emperor.
"If we can establish trade with him, we will be able to drastically reduce the influence of the Magic Tower. In particular, we could exert immense pressure on Iris Kingdom."
"That is nothing more than wishful think—ahem, overly optimistic thinking. The elves’ recent movements are unstable enough as it is; there’s no need to needlessly get on the Magic Tower’s nerves."
"However..."
"Enough. I have no desire to discuss a man who might drop dead tomorrow."
"If we provide him with support, wouldn’t the story change?"
Count Gorgon pleaded till the very end without giving up.
It was a remarkably stubborn display, but Arnold did not chide him.
After all, Count Gorgon was well-renowned for his outstanding foresight.
The fact that such a man was being swayed by Gallery rumors was quite amusing.
It only went to show just how much influence the Gallery wielded.
"If we provide support, he might survive longer. But let me ask you in turn: who will be in charge of this matter?"
"I know someone suitable."
"Not yourself?"
"...."
At Arnold’s blunt retort, Count Gorgon’s mouth snapped shut. His eyes went wide to boot.
At this, Arnold chuckled internally, thinking ’I thought as much,’ and waved his hand dismissively.
"It seems you intended to utilize the Gallery’s anonymity, but you were far too hasty. You may take your leave."
"Your Highness."
"If you are truly set on it, I shall leave it to your discretion. Mind you, if anyone trades for mature mandrakes in bulk, everyone will deduce it was you."
"...."
"You haven’t been posting insults about me on the Gallery, have you?"
"Absolutely not, Your Highness!"
’Like hell you haven’t.’ Arnold didn’t believe a word of it.
In this world, people cursed out their sovereign when nobody was listening.
How much worse would it be on an anonymous board like the Gallery?
He had been dragged through the dirt plenty of times over a single flawed policy.
"It has only been three days since that man named Grylls dropped into the Forest of the Four Seasons. Let us remain calm."
"...Understood. It appears I was indeed hasty."
"Then make your exit. I have much work to attend to."
At Arnold’s dismissive command, Count Gorgon quietly exited the room.
Left alone in the room, Arnold leaned back into his chair and looked up at the ceiling.
’It’s not as if I’m unconcerned either.’
The Gallery screen caught Arnold’s eyes.
Right now, the Gallery was set ablaze with sudden rumors.
The spark was Passing Dwarf posting a photo of a mature mandrake.
Grylls had gifted them to the fixed handles who helped him, but those fixed handles hadn’t posted verification photos.
They felt no need to prove it, plus there was the risk of exposing their personal identities.
Hence, people were half-doubting at first, but Passing Dwarf’s post confirmed everything.
To top it off, Grylls had previously posted a photo of an entire wild cluster of mature mandrakes.
Thus, everyone watching the Gallery reached the same conclusion:
If you help Grylls, you can get mature mandrakes.
This had all unfolded within the few hours Grylls spent asleep.
[Imperial Nobles Going Crazy RN]
[My friend’s in the Imperial Guard and the Emperor ordered them to bring back mature mandrakes lolol]
[> Fr?]
[> Yeah fr. Rumor spread everywhere already]
[> They’re probably in an emergency meeting right now]
[> Come on. Isn’t that just a bullshit rumor?]
[> Calling it a rumor when there are way too many identical posts?]
Arnold snorted as he read the thread.
It was bullshit, but one couldn’t dismiss it entirely as bullshit either.
Count Gorgon had literally just begged him moments ago.
Count Gorgon was bold enough to speak up like that, but the other nobles were undoubtedly acting the same.
They would be scrambling to open trade with Grylls and curry his favor by any means necessary.
[No Response from the Magic Tower?]
[Magic Tower has a monopoly on mandrakes, any reaction?]
[> None yet, but probably coming soon?]
[> Magic Tower was in Iris Kingdom, right?]
[> Yeah, if things go wrong, could they clash with the Empire?]
[> A war over a single mandrake is a bit much;;]
[> Meaning diplomatic tensions could arise. Plus, the Magic Tower must hate this situation in the first place]
[> Why would they hate it?]
[> I just said they have a monopoly.]
[Current Situation Summary]
[1. Mandrakes are extremely rare. Critical reagent for Elixirs.]
[2. Originally, mandrakes were managed exclusively by the Magic Tower.]
[3. Because of their monopoly, the Magic Tower’s profits are astronomical.]
[4. But what Grylls found are MATURE ones, and in huge quantities.]
[5. A single mature one crafts a supreme-grade Elixir instantly!]
[6. Better to buy directly from Grylls than get ripped off trading with the Magic Tower.]
[> That’s all great, but Grylls can’t maintain supply, right? Once he harvests them all, it’s gone.]
[> By that logic, same goes for the Magic Tower. They literally just ’manage’ them; they can’t farm mandrakes either.]
[> So they sourced them all from outside?]
[> Yeah. Their main job is maintaining mandrake health so Elixirs can be brewed anytime.]
[> They monopolize it just with that? Total thugs lolol]
[> FYI: Grylls is stranded in the Forest of the Four Seasons, so he can’t even be pressured]
[> Things really blew up like this? Shiver...]
’They see the trees, but miss the forest.’ Arnold shook his head.
Establishing a trade route with Grylls to secure mature mandrakes would indeed be ideal.
However, Grylls was unstable. Extremely so.
As long as he lived in the Forest of the Four Seasons, he could drop dead at any moment.
’And it’s not something money can buy either.’
What Grylls needed was survival supplies, not cash.
Having recently received a hefty sum of money from the fixed handle Allfather, Grylls likely had little greed for gold.
That meant barter was the only option, which introduced yet another layer of instability.
’Better to just watch and wait.’
Making a clumsy move might result in getting nothing at all.
If there were even one reliable factor, it might be worth a shot, but the situation was riddled with risks—hardly tempting.
’Still, securing just one for personal use would be worth it...’
If it were a private matter rather than official state business, the narrative changed.
With the Emperor’s health recently deteriorating, Arnold couldn’t help but covet it.
Even for the Imperial Palace’s massive budget, a supreme-grade Elixir was exorbitantly expensive.
If a mature mandrake could restore the Emperor’s health, Arnold could solidify his standing even further.
Not that his siblings were plotting against his throne.
Arnold had two younger brothers and two younger sisters in total.
One would expect at least one of them to aim for the crown, but surprisingly, none did.
’Should I call myself lucky...’
The second son was obsessed with culture and took up the post of Minister of Culture.
The third son was deeply devout and renounced secular life; rumor had it he became a Paladin.
The two younger sisters got married off, naturally eliminating any succession rivalries.
’Rather than Father granting permission from a sickbed, it is far better for him to hand over the crown in person.’
Unless the Emperor handed it over with his own hands, naysayers were bound to find fault.
To nip that in the bud, he needed at least one mature mandrake.
"...."
Yet Arnold hesitated.
It wasn’t because contacting Grylls was burdensome.
He let out a deep sigh and checked his Gallery handle.
A username he had created back in his youth, unable to curb his childish bravado.
Absolute Supreme Arnold Best
"Haah..."
It was a cringe-inducing handle just to look at.
Why on earth had he set his handle to that?
He should have just posted as an anonymous floating handle from the very beginning.
No matter how much he reflected, he couldn’t comprehend his past self.
The only saving grace was that nobody knew about this.
If anyone found out, he would have abandoned his Crown Prince title and fled long ago.
’Is it really impossible to change a username?’
The Gallery was an artifact far ahead of its time, but it wasn’t perfect.
Even after countless convenience features were added through trial and error, changing handles remained impossible.
A way to revert to an anonymous floating handle? There was exactly one.
Drain every last drop of mana from one’s body and replenish it anew.
Essentially equivalent to scrubbing one’s entire biological core.
Not even undergoing Body Metamorphosis could accomplish it, so the handle stuck for life.
’If I acquire a mature mandrake or aid Father, people will connect the dots.’
And if that happened, his handle would naturally be exposed... He didn’t even want to imagine it.
Nor could he afford to delay, as preserving a mandrake was excruciatingly difficult.
There was a reason the Magic Tower handled its preservation.
A small mercy was that he had deleted all his past posts.
Had the Gallery lacked a post-deletion feature, his dark past would have been permanently immortalized.
’Should I order my brother to do it...?’
Arnold crossed his arms, lost in thought.
His younger brother, the Minister of Culture, was minister in name only—he spent all his time slacking off.
Whenever he had free time, he darted off to watch soccer or baseball; he was practically a playboy.
He claimed it was better to lounge around like that than sit in a stressful job full of hardships.
’Better to keep watching the Gallery for a while. And identify whoever holds a mature mandrake.’
For now, this seemed like the best course of action.
It had only been three days. Too early to make a scene.
Arnold stroked his chin while browsing through the Gallery.
’Still, it would be wise to sample the culture a bit.’
To do that, posting a comment or thread would be best.
Arnold immediately wrote a post.
Embarrassing handle aside, a simple question thread shouldn’t hurt.
Title: Hello. Nice to meet you all.
Absolute Supreme Arnold Best
I am new to the Gallery. How do things usually work around here?
[> Newbie?]
[> Absolute Supreme Arnold Best: Yes. That is correct.]
[> Then stop using polite speech, you motherfucker.]
[> A mere newbie dares to speak formally?]
[> Look at his fucking handle lololol]
’???’
Arnold’s eyes filled with utter confusion.
"Nghhhhh..."
I stretched out, loosening up my stiffened body.
Thanks to the mat and pillow I bought from the auction house, my entire body didn’t ache for once.
If I’d known it’d feel this good, I would’ve bought them sooner. Good thing I realized it early enough.
’Now, as for the Gallery... What the hell? Why are there so many trade requests?’
My eyes widened.
A massive flood of trade requests had arrived while I was asleep.
When you log out of the Gallery, no notification sounds alert you.
Thanks to that, I had slept like a baby, but I was still bewildered.
’Most of these are fixed handles I don’t recognize. Are they asking for mature mandrakes?’
High probability. Passing Dwarf posted about it yesterday, after all.
A single mature mandrake was a plant that commanded an extraordinarily high price.
If it helped my survival, I was more than willing to trade.
Just individual pieces, not in bulk. My own neck was on the line here—what supply was I supposed to maintain?
If I died while trying to supply them, it’d all be meaningless.
[[A Commoner’s Guide to Adapting to the Gallery] [118]]
"Huh?"
That’s when a particular post caught my attention.
Leaving the comments aside, the upvote count was massive.
What on earth happened while I was sleeping?
As expected, crazy fun drama popping off while you sleep was an unwritten rule of the internet.
A Commoner’s Guide to Adapting to the Gallery
[[I’m never coming back here again fuck]]
[[I’m the Crown Prince, you bastards.]]
[[What kind of dumbasses live in this world.]]
[[Ah. Seriously.]]
[[I didn’t do a single thing wrong.]]
[[Why is everyone cursing at me?]]
[[No, wait. Just listen to me.]]
[[Is this the fucking average level here?]]
[[The Gallery sure is rough.]]
[[Hello. Nice to meet you all.]]
Read from the bottom up lol
[> Hahahahaha]
[> Lmaooooo]
[> He adapted so damn fast lolol]
[> WTF is wrong with his handle?]
[> Idk, guess some kid joined the Gallery.]
[> That looks like a handle my dad would make though?]
[> Words like ’Absolute’, ’Supreme’, ’Best’... usually mean boomer]
[> Nah, some people do that ironically these days.]
’...’
Just another peaceful day in the Gallery.