Convenience Store Food (1)

A creak echoed as the door opened. The person who entered was someone Eleanor knew all too well.

“Huh? Senior? Why are you here?”

“Lindsy Gaiel...”

Unforgettable. Once, she had been Eleanor's most cherished junior.

Lindsy brushed her pink hair behind her ear as she approached.

“Director, you said you had urgent business?”

“Ah, sorry. I'll wrap this up quickly, so please have a seat.”

“Make it quick, please. My stupid pawns are face-down in the dirt, waiting for a single revelation from me. I set up the board so perfectly; if it gets ruined because of this, it's all your fault, Director. You know that, right?”

“Ahem, cough. You might have heard recently, but the Demon Realm department is drawing attention again.”

“Huh~?”

Lindsy looked at Eleanor with a look of utter disbelief.

“Pfft! You got kicked out after completely ruining it, and now you're trying to pull something?”

There was no sympathy or respect for a fallen senior. Eleanor knew this well, so she didn't point it out.

After all, Lindsy was currently managing the Ared Empire department, which boasted the best performance. Eleanor, on the other hand, was back in charge of the Demon Realm department, which she had failed once before.

Even if the Demon Realm was gaining attention due to the Head Mod's recent exploits, the gap between the two departments was still massive.

“So, the higher-ups ordered the two of you to collaborate and create a good picture. Besides, there are complaints that the Human-Demon War has been dragging on for too long and is getting stale. What do you think?”

“Pfft! Simple. If my pawns march smoothly and their beggars fall one by one, the reaction will be explosive. You don't need a separate proposal, do you?”

“Right. You two coordinate it well. I'll trust you with this.”

“Of course. Who do you think I am? Unlike some people, I won't take a thriving department and drag it down to dead last.”

Lindsy left the Director's office.

“......”

Eleanor could do nothing but tremble, clenching her fists.

Behind her, the Director coldly dismissed her, saying she could leave now that her business was done.

Head Mod, I have to protect you somehow...

Eleanor's mind was filled with the sole thought of protecting the Head Mod, her final hope, at all costs.

“Why isn't she replying?”

The Operator hadn't answered for half a day.

“Well, I guess she's busy like last time.”

She was the Operator of the Gallery, after all. A mere mortal like me didn't need to worry about her. She was definitely a much grander existence than me.

She'd probably pop up out of nowhere like last time and send a message saying, I was busy with work.

Rumble.

“Time for dinner.”

Putting worries about the Operator aside, I put the leftover kimchi fried rice—which I'd made too much of and stored in the fridge—into the microwave.

“Time for some featured posts while I wait.”

I browsed the gallery.

The front page was still dominated by reviews from users who had eaten the potato dishes, and others crying because the stock had run out instantly.

“Too slow, even just to enter the shop.”

Since I was annoyed at the users who sided with the Harpy Queen, I had set up a custom message when they clicked on sold-out items: Oops~ Too slow to buy it? Come back tomorrow~ or If you're mad, you should've come faster, right?

The reactions were fantastic.

“So, what can you guys even do?”

What could they do besides cry miserably and beg me to restock?

I chuckled and scrolled down.

Beep! Beep!

The microwave chimed.

“It's done.”

Right in the center of the steaming kimchi fried rice sat a massive, beautifully fried Harpy's Egg, boasting its presence.

“Mmm, how is it still this chewy even after being in the fridge?”

From texture to taste, the Harpy's Egg was truly the ultimate ingredient, making regular chicken eggs look like absolute garbage.

“Oh, right. Should I leave a review too?”

So, I wrote a post.

“Whoa, why is everyone so hostile?”

Did only I think this was WWE?

Sensing that something had gone horribly wrong, I quickly deleted the post.

But then, the Harpy Queen sent me a message in our 1-on-1 chat.

[‘HarpyQueen’ has sent an item.]

A basket containing three eggs appeared in front of me.

She actually sent them.

And above all...

“They're... warm?”

All three possessed a warmth as if they had just been freshly laid.

“W-Wait a minute!”

This was definitely a misunderstanding. Since this was highly prone to misinterpretation, I carefully placed the basket of eggs on the dining table and began drafting an explanation to send to the Harpy Queen.

The longer you drag these things out, the more people let their imaginations run wild, turning headcanons into official facts.

“Once that happens, it's a nightmare to correct.”

Fortunately, I thought of a decent excuse and started typing.

Or rather, I tried to.

“HEAD MOOOOOOOD!!!”

Thud!

Before I could, an intruder burst into my house with a screeching yell.

“Wait, did that damn barrier break again... No? Why is it perfectly fine?”

“My mother registered me to the barrier, you know?!”

“Ah, she did? Wait, what?!”

The intruder was none other than...

“How could you do this to me! How?!”

It was the Sub-mod, 'Only Looking At You'—Reina.

But her face looked incredibly sorrowful.

Reina approached me, holding hideous purple clumps of mana in both hands.

Seeing that, I tried to negotiate first.

“W-Wait, time out! Let's talk, let's talk this out!”

“How... how could you do this to me?!”

Ah, she's completely out of it.

I ran up to my room on the second floor, abandoning all hope of a peaceful resolution, and frantically searched the Point Shop.

Self-Defense, Weapons, Non-Lethal Weapons, etc.

“A bear trap? That's a bit much... Should I grab a flashbang first? Or a smoke grenade...”

“Head Mod??? Why did you lock the door?”

Crash!!!

Right before I could purchase the items, the door was smashed open.

“Eek!”

“Head Mod, why are you avoiding me?”

Because you burst in looking like you wanted to murder me... The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I barely held them back.

“...Could you please get rid of that stuff in your hands first?”

The dense mana gathered in Reina's hands emitted a terrifying aura, and something resembling a ghost was screaming inside it.

“...Ah.”

Fortunately, she hadn't done it on purpose. As soon as Reina regained her senses, she dispelled the magic.

“...Are you okay now?”

“I-I was perfectly r-rational... even before I came here.”

A 100% lie. Her eyes were darting around awkwardly, and she stuttered so hard she seemed to have bitten her tongue.

But I decided to play along for now. If we could resolve this through dialogue, we should.

“R-Right. Of course.”

“Anyway, proposing to the Harpy Queen in a public space like the gallery, and right in front of me! I cannot forgive this!”

“I'm telling you, I really didn't know...”

“How can I believe that?”

Let's stay calm. My opponent is an obsessive succubus. And the target of her obsession is me.

Which means...

Even though she's interrogating me, deep down, she wants to believe me, right?

If I play my cards right, I can get through this crisis.

“Wait a moment, Reina.”

“!!!”

She flinched, startled by me calling her name.

“You asked how you could believe me, right?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Then let me ask you instead. Do you not trust me?”

“!!!!!”

Yes, that got her.

“O-O-Of course I trust you! I trust you, but... you keep seducing other women in the gallery...”

I have never seduced anyone. Seriously. There's no way a shut-in, gallery-addict, virgin loser like me could suddenly become a ladykiller just because I reincarnated in another world.

But that wasn't the answer Reina wanted to hear.

I was dense when it came to women, but my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠survival instincts were picking the right dating sim options for me. Or was this a survival simulator, since picking the wrong option meant death?

Either way.

“What can I do to make you trust me?”

“T-Then, a soul-binding contract with me...”

“That's a bit much.”

“Hmph...”

Just then.

Ruuuumble!

“!!!”

At the roaring sound of her stomach, Reina quickly covered her face with both hands.

“D-Don't listen!”

“You're the one who blasted it at me.”

“Y-You!”

She was cute, so I teased her, and Reina threw a serious punch right next to my face.

Thud!

“Um...”

It was powerful enough to crack the concrete wall. Of course, even if it had hit me directly, the Gallery Barrier would have saved me, but I didn't particularly want to test it.

Instead...

“Come on, let's go downstairs.”

“...Eh?”

“It's dinner time. I'll share half of what I made.”

I offered her a bite of the kimchi fried rice I had prepared.

“I-Is it a dish you made yourself, Head Mod?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah? It's nothing fancy, but—”

“Then I'll eat it!”

Fortunately, I managed to divert Reina's attention.

Reina, the youngest daughter of the Succubus Queen.

I had imagined her growing up pampered and cared for by countless servants since childhood...

Chomp, gulp.

But seeing her practically inhale the kimchi fried rice, maybe that wasn't entirely the case.

Well, who can resist kimchi fried rice loaded with Spam?

“Does it taste okay?”

“It'sh delicioush!”

As long as it suited her palate, that was all that mattered. Eating delicious food naturally puts people in a better mood.

Once Reina's mood improved, I made a few agreements with her.

No unannounced, sudden visits.

On the condition that she wouldn't attempt to restrict my physical or mental freedom in any way, I told her she could visit whenever she wanted.

“As long as you keep to this, you can come over whenever you're bored. No limit on visits.”

“So this is what they call 'starting as friends.' I understand.”

“I guess you could call it that... Wait, what are you doing?”

Looking closely, she was writing a post in the gallery.

“Hey, I told you not to make it obvious in the gallery!”

“B-But! You publicly proposed to the Harpy Queen too!”

“That was not a proposal.”

If this kept up, people would complain about favoritism, saying the Head Mod only gave special treatment to the Sub-mod, and the gallery would descend into chaos.

“Delete the post, quick.”

“N-No!”

“What if the gallery gets ruined because of this?”

“It won't?”

“Huh?”

I checked the reactions.

“...So favoritism isn't the issue?”

Instead, the issue was, “Why are you guys the only ones eating delicious food?”

“Is that how it is?”

To quickly resolve the crisis now that the opportunity had presented itself, I opened the Point Shop.

And...

“I didn't make them myself, but I do have something similar.”

“I'll show you the true taste of a convenience store.”

So that they wouldn't pay a single shred of attention to the Sub-mod's silly post.