Voluntary Trolling

One sharp-eyed user finally figured it out.

The criteria for banning trolls.

It's not like I hadn't anticipated this. After all, we'd already held two reporting contests.

If a troll they personally reported and saw get banned was back posting just a few days later, it was only natural for the users to be confused.

It's the perfect setup for them to think we're neglecting our duties.

Of course, neither the sub-mod nor I were neglecting our duties. Even at this very moment, we were purging all kinds of disgusting images before the users could even lay eyes on them.

I should probably just write an official announcement.

Writing a long explanation in the replies would just get buried anyway. I clicked the 'Create Post' button.

That was true. If the price of trolling was only a 7-day ban, someone could easily make multiple alt accounts and rotate them every 7 days to troll infinitely.

Starting with a 30-day ban would make managing trolls much easier.

But...

It's not like a longer ban gives more points.

Bans from 1 to 6 days only award half the points of a 7-day ban. And from 7 days to 9999 days, the points rewarded are exactly the same.

If the Operator had any brains, she'd change it, but since she hasn't... well.

So I had to exploit it in the most profitable way possible.

At those subtly sarcastic comments, the days of suffering I spent managing this gallery flashed through my mind.

Especially when I recalled the horrific memory of witnessing 'that censored thing' at the climax, my eyes flipped.

These little bastards?

In a fit of anger, I had posted a comment I really shouldn't have.

Ah, I shouldn't have said that.

Explaining any further would only disadvantage me. There was no benefit in the gallery users finding out about the Gallery Point system, how I was hogging all the sweet rewards for myself, and only occasionally throwing them some crumbs.

But...

...Huh?

The users, who usually acted like wild, untamed horses, had suddenly fallen into a solemn, apologetic silence.

"Ah."

The tactical weapon I had deployed to finally suppress the witch-hunt firestorm last time—the threat of "closing the Gallery Shop"—seemed to have left a massive trauma on the users.

Well, reading this comment, it certainly sounds like that.

Where do you think the fried chicken, sausage bread, and banana milk I handed out to you guys came from? Do you think you'd ever get to taste stuff like this if it weren't for me? If you push me, I'll close the shop. You better behave.

Perhaps because of that, they began to walk on eggshells, trying their best not to offend me. Sarcastic comments vanished, replaced by sweet, polite words.

And...

They've mostly guessed it anyway.

Since I had been handing out all sorts of unique foods and items that didn't exist in this world, they seemed to have connected the dots with a mysterious entity called the Operator.

Is this the average intelligence of the Cheerful Demon Realm Village Gallery?

I was genuinely surprised. It sent shivers down my spine to think that if I had explained just a little bit more, they would have figured out the exact mechanics of the gallery management system.

The entire gallery was incredibly favorable toward me.

I hated to admit that they imagined me as a beautiful girl.

Well, since he carried me this hard...

I decided to let it slide for a while. I chuckled and clicked on the next post.

But...

"No, what the fuck."

This was not what I wanted.

"Why are you trolling on purpose?!"

But...

- I sacrificed my eye health for the Head Mod [11]

- I'll help you too, Head Mod [17]

- Is this how I do it?? [13]

- Alright, Troll-cas, let's go! Let's go! [53]

- If it helps, ban me too [12]

The plague had only just begun.

After a three-hour life-or-death battle alongside my sub-mod...

I had made a fortune—no, a massive amount of points.

Of course, by the law of equivalent exchange, I had to sacrifice a portion of my sanity and eyesight.

Sigh, I really need to recruit more sub-mods.

Trying to handle this with just the two of us was way too exhausting. Well, I could worry about that later.

Now that I've accumulated this many points...

I could finally achieve my long-cherished dream.

"Buying my own house."

I immediately entered the Point Shop.