Gallery Stalker, Part 3: Past and Present Lives
In both my past life and my current one, I had never once been involved with a biological female who wasn't related to me by blood. But just now, that record was shattered.
As the voluptuous beauty lunged at me fiercely—
“Mod-kiyaaaaaah!!!”
Having never held a woman's hand in my entire life, I couldn't even dodge. I just shrieked in place.
“...What? Are you really the Head Mod?”
“I-I don't know what that is, but I'm just an ordinary person.”
“Then why did you put 'Mod' at the front of your scream just now?”
“...I must have babbled some nonsense out of sheer panic.”
The woman glared at me suspiciously.
“Then do you know the Fixed Nick 'PurebloodDemonsMustDie'?”
In times like this, one must answer tactfully.
If I said, 'Never heard of them,' or 'I don't really know,' it would immediately give away that I at least knew what the Gallery was.
Therefore...
I have to pretend I don't know a single thing about the Gallery.
“A Fixed... Nick? What's that?”
“You don't know what the Demon Realm Gallery is?”
“De... Demon Realm Gallery? Never heard of it.”
“Hmm. Is it because you live all alone in the mountains?”
Even as she said that, she strode across the room with a deeply skeptical look on her face.
And then, she spotted the trash I had neatly piled in the corner.
“...Then what is this?”
There lay a heap of vinyl and plastic waste that absolutely could not be found in this world. Leftovers from sausage bread, banana milk, convenience store bento boxes, and bottled water.
There was only one place in the entire world where one could obtain such things: the Gallery Shop.
“I-I wonder. Why would those be in my house?”
“You are the Head Mod! Who else but the Head Mod would live in seclusion deep in the mountains behind a powerful barrier?!”
Tsk. Sharp girl.
In a panic, I grabbed the backscratcher I had bought from the Point Shop and took a defensive stance.
“How did you even get through the barri—whoa, whoa!”
“How? I'll have you know I'm the daughter of the Succubus Queen!”
She lunged forward, aiming a circular magic circle that materialized in her palm right at me.
“Urgh!”
I felt my limbs tightly seized by something invisible. I floated up into the air.
I hung limp, looking exactly like a cat being dragged to the bathtub by the scruff of its neck.
“Why are you doing this to me...?”
“You really have to ask? You banned the Fixed Nick 'PurebloodDemonsMustDie'! Why did you do it? No, wait. He wasn't the type of person to just stop posting. Did you... did you kidnap him?!”
“Kidnap?! No, I didn't!”
I had no idea how her train of thought had jumped to that conclusion, but...
“First, please calm down...”
“Do I look like I can calm down right now?!”
“I mean, what exactly is your relationship with him that you're...”
“W-with me?!”
Her face suddenly flushed bright red, and she took two steps back.
“W-what do you mean, what relationship?!”
What is wrong with her?
I had absolutely no acquaintance with this woman who was currently committing aggravated breaking-and-entering and extortion.
Unless my mother had wiped my childhood memories as clean as a fresh Windows reinstallation, I had never, in my entire life as Derek, met a voluptuous beauty like her.
“W-we are...”
“We are?”
I was curious, so I decided to listen.
“W-we're in love!!!”
“?”
Me? With you?
“Huh?”
The Operator was busy trying to find a way to save the Head Mod.
“I have to find a way, somehow.”
However, ever since she had granted him the Gallery Barrier, there was virtually no way left for the Operator to directly intervene in the physical world.
“The Demon Realm Gallery's performance has been so good lately, too. If only we could wait just a little longer...”
The problem was that she had no usable means right now.
“No, find a way!”
She whipped herself into action, desperately trying to save the Head Mod.
How hard had she worked to secure such an excellent Head Mod? She couldn't afford to lose him like this.
Glancing past the admin console, she saw that the Head Mod was fortunately still safe. In fact, he was cleverly deceiving his captor with some dazzling acting skills.
“If things go well, he might even get her to back off on his own...”
But then.
—...Then what is this?
“Ah!”
The Head Mod had been caught red-handed because of the trash he hadn't cleaned up.
“I told him to throw away his trash, but did he? No! And he kept putting off claiming his auction winnings, saying he'd check them later!”
At that moment,
“Wait, the auction winnings?”
A brilliant idea struck the Operator.
Conveniently, the intruder was lost in her own little world, busy rambling on about some bizarre delusion.
—And so, you see? Soon-Ma-Juk-nim delivered a devastating fifteen-line truth bomb to those filthy, disgusting demons who do nothing but discriminate and hate! Isn't he just amazing?
“Operator?”
Suspended in midair, the Head Mod replied in a low whisper.
“What is it?”
The Head Mod was incredibly sharp. He understood exactly what the Operator meant in an instant.
“Got it.”
The Operator manipulated the system.
[By the Operator's discretion, the unclaimed auction winnings of the Gallery Administrator are hereby distributed.]
“...And so, Soon-Ma-Juk-nim... Huh???”
*Rumble! Clatter-clatter-clatter!!!*
An avalanche of gold coins and items rained down directly on top of the Fixed Nick 'OnlyLookingAtYou'.
“Kyaaaah!”
*Thwack!*
In particular, the heavy pommel of a treasure sword struck her dead center on the crown of her head, knocking her flat.
With her concentration broken, the Head Mod was released from his invisible binds.
“Nice one, Operator!”
He dashed toward the cupboard.
“Not so fast!”
She tried to cast her magic again, but—
*Vroooom!*
“What are you?!”
A pitch-black treasure sword, dark from hilt to tip, blocked the path of the Fixed Nick 'OnlyLookingAtYou'.
It was the item that the Vampire Lord, the Fixed Nick 'RedDuke', had willingly offered up in exchange for the auction item: seasoned fried chicken.
The red magic stone hovering and humming in the air was the item the Sub-Mod 'Ancient Demon God' had also paid for chicken.
Both items already recognized the Head Mod as their master. Thus, they flew forward to protect him, but...
“Out of my way.”
*Flinch!*
With mana saturated in immense yin energy, she instantly suppressed the high-grade magic stone and the treasure sword.
“Head Mod! I'm not holding back anymore!”
“Do whatever you want.”
His strangely relaxed expression only infuriated her more. Determined to inflict some real pain this time, she lunged at him—
*Splat!*
“Hieeeek?!”
As a moist droplet splashed against her cheek, she froze dead in her tracks.
“Oh, so that's how it stops them?”
I had barely managed to subdue her.
After being hit by the potion, the intruder turned a static gray, flickering like a broken television screen.
“That's actually possible?”
“You saved my life.”
I felt glad that I had played matchmaker for those two.
The rewards from the first secret auction, which I had left sitting there because I forgot to claim them. I saw several heavy pouches of gold coins. Along with the treasure sword and the high-grade magic stone,
“Is this a grimoire?”
There was an ominous-looking grimoire wrapped tightly in chains, and a chest full of potions. And then...
“This one?”
◈ [Property] Cannot be untied without the owner's permission.
◈ [Property] If you intend to use this for "play," please make sure to set a safe word in advance (wink).
“What kind of item description is this?”
The last line was a bit disturbing, but aside from that, it was the perfect tool for the current situation.
“An unbreakable rope. What a convenient artifact.”
I immediately tied the intruder up securely.
About thirty minutes passed.
“Ugh...”
The girl regained consciousness.
“Are you awake?”
“Huh?!”
The intruder, presumably the Fixed Nick 'OnlyLookingAtYou', strained to break free from the rope, but—
“Hwaaaah...”
Failing to loosen it, she let out a defeated, deflated sigh and began to snivel.
“I-I'm sorry, Soon-Ma-Juk-nim... I couldn't avenge you, waaaah~”
“Hey, look, just calm down for a second...”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!”
She was getting on my nerves. Should I just smack her?
“What? How did you know?”
“Whoops! Did that without thinking.”
The Operator pointed at a pouch of gold coins.
“Like this?”
[Item has been transferred.]
And then,
[The Operator has transferred an item.]
*Thud!*
“Ouch!”
She summoned the gold pouch directly onto the intruder's head.
I mean, she wasn't wrong, but...
“Ouch, ow, ow...”
But thanks to the Operator, she finally stopped crying.
“I think you've got the wrong idea. Soon-Ma-Juk is alive.”
“R-really? So you did kidnap him...”
“I didn't kidnap him either.”
At this point, there was no other way. To have an honest conversation, I decided to reveal my identity.
“I am Soon-Ma-Juk.”
“?!”
She trembled, her face filled with utter disbelief.
So, I pulled up the Gallery login screen and attempted to log into my main account.
Nickname: PurebloodDemonsMustDie
This account has been banned for '9999 days' by the Gallery Administrator.
“Satisfied?”
“Y-you never know. You might have stolen Soon-Ma-Juk-nim's ID...”
“I'm telling you, I didn't.”
“T-the Operator!”
As the unfamiliar message window popped up, 'OnlyLookingAtYou' hung her head with a complicated expression.
And then, when she finally raised her head, having sorted through her thoughts...
“Sniff, hic, waaaaaah~”
She started bawling all over again.
Another thirty minutes later. Only after the Operator dropped the gold pouch three more times did she finally stop crying.
“What's your name?”
“It's Reina, sniff, Reina Alieze.”
“Alright, Reina. Here's what actually happened.”
I explained everything that had happened, softening the details as much as possible and speaking with utmost sincerity.
“I was constantly being threatened by various trolls, so I was on edge. I also thought it would get annoying if people found out the Head Mod used to be a famous Fixed Nick in the Gallery.”
“T-then, it wasn't because you hated me?”
“Of course not.”
How could I hate someone I didn't even know?
“I-I knew it. I'm so sorry. I never dreamed you'd get confused just because I changed my nickname...”
I should dig through the Gallery's admin logs later to see what her old Fixed Nick was.
But then she started sniffling again.
“Stop crying. Come on.”
“B-but... sniff... I'm just so happy...”
I opened the Point Shop.
“Here, open wide. Say 'ah'.”
I unwrapped a chocolate and popped it right into Reina's mouth.
“Ah? Mmph?!”
“Whoa, don't swallow it whole. Chew it. That's it.”
She chewed for a moment, and soon, a pure, innocent smile spread across her face.
“Hehe, ehehehe...”
“You're not going to cry anymore, right?”
“Y-yes!”
Since she seemed mostly calmed down, I untied her.
I sat beside her, unwrapping and eating a few chocolates myself while I waited. I sent half of them to the Operator as well.
“Right?”
Maybe because it had been so long, but they tasted incredibly sweet.
Reina sat quietly, staring at me with sparkling eyes before she spoke.
“Thank you. This really helped me calm down.”
Sweet chocolate is always the best remedy when you're feeling down. But for some reason, she stopped eating and started glancing at me tentatively.
“It's fine, they're cheap. Eat as much as you want.”
The moment she got permission, she unwrapped two or three at a time and stuffed them into her mouth. With her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel, she wore an expression of pure bliss.
About five minutes passed.
Having eaten her fill of chocolate, Reina spoke up.
“I'm sorry for causing such a scene. But I was a bit surprised... I never expected you to become the Head Mod...”
“It's not a position I wanted. Anyway, take the rest of the chocolates and head back ho—huh?”
The moment I told her to go home, Reina clung tightly to my thigh.
Panicking, my inner forum moderator instantly took over.
“...Bro, what are you doing?”
“I don't want to.”
“What?”
“I don't want to go home!”
“???”
I tried to pry her off, but...
Why is she so ridiculously strong?
Were those massive breasts actually filled with raw, superhuman strength?
“Finally... I've finally met someone so kind. I can't just part ways after such a brief encounter...!”
“Whoa, whoa!”
*Crash!*
Reina squeezed tighter, causing me to lose my balance and fall backward.
“I just can't!”
Flat on my back, I could only watch as Reina slowly crawled up on top of me. In both of her pupils, deep pink hearts were clearly drawn.
“Uh, you seem a bit excited...”
“Not just a bit. I think I'm very excited.”
What was going on? Those chocolates definitely didn't contain alcohol.
“O-Operator!”
I immediately reached for the pouch where I kept the potion, but—
*Whip!*
“Ah!”
Reina's tail wrapped around my wrist. It coiled so tightly that no matter how hard I pulled, my arm wouldn't budge.
“I won't fall for that twice!”
“No! Stop! Don't do this!”
“It's okay! I know my breasts are ridiculously huge compared to other succubi, and my hair isn't blonde or black, but I can proudly say my love for you is greater than anyone else's!”
“Wait, hold on. What did you say?”
“...Huh?”
Hearing something that rubbed me the wrong way, I lowered my voice. Confused, Reina paused her movements.
“Your breasts are ridiculously huge? No way, this is a perfectly great size. At least, I think it's awesome.”
“?!”
“And what's wrong with not being blonde or black? Honestly, I think this hair color is incredibly unique and beautiful. It suits you perfectly.”
“?!!!”
Reina trembled violently, as if she had just heard the most shocking statement of her life.
What? Did I say something I shouldn't have?
“What?”
Reina let out a deep breath and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Soon-Ma-Juk... no, Head Mod. This is entirely your fault.”
“Excuse me?”
“When someone who is lovely just by existing gives me sweet treats and says such seductive things to me...”
“...Ah?”
The hearts in Reina's eyes grew larger and turned a deeper, darker shade of pink.
“I can't hold back anymore!”
“Hey! Whoa! Stop!!!”
Just as I was about to be completely devoured—
“Son~ Mom's ho—Oh my, I didn't expect you to clean your room, but what on earth were you so upset about that you smashed the front door to pieces? Are you even ho... Oh my?”
“M-Mom?”
“Oh my. Oh my goodness.”
My mother, returning home after a long time with her hands full of bags, spotted Reina and me tangled together. She set her luggage down, covered her mouth with both hands, and let out a series of gasps.
“Right, right. My son is all grown up now. It's only natural for you to be seeing girls at your age. Yes, indeed.”
“Uh... she's the one who broke the door, and your son is literally about to be eaten—”
“I must have been too inconsiderate. I'll go take a short walk outside, so please, carry on with your business.”
“No, I need you to save me!!!”