The Smile Movie Gallery, Part 3

Regin, an ordinary Mabung-i, had set out on the road to evacuation.

As the eldest son, he climbed onto the wagon last, only after ensuring that all five of his siblings were safely aboard.

"We're off," Jeke, the head of the household, called out as he started the ox cart.

Moo— The slightly warped wheels of the wagon rattled along the dirt road.

"What a relief."

"Indeed. If it weren't for our son, we'd still be frantically packing like the neighbors next door."

Having been the very first to escape the village, Regin's family breathed a collective sigh of relief as they embarked on their aimless journey. For now, they decided to head as far south as possible.

According to the Concept Posts Regin had read, the Machine's Wrath would strike the royal capital of Kronendike first, before sweeping through the major cities and trading hubs where the demons congregated.

"Regin."

"Yes, Father?"

"To be honest, I couldn't stand watching you stay cooped up in your room all day, doing nothing but browsing that 'Gallery' thing. But to think it would actually come in handy like this... Your father is truly proud of you."

At those words, Regin—a ten-year veteran of the Smile Demon Gallery and an absolute gallery addict—felt a deep sense of pride for the first time in ages.

"I'll keep an eye on the situation in real-time."

"Yes, please do."

He immediately dove into what he did best: scrolling through the Gallery's Concept Posts. His younger siblings huddled around him, their eyes sparkling with curiosity as they stared at the screen.

Just then, the Head Mod pinned a new announcement.

It claimed that the post by the new Patak, RD1234, was fake, and that the 'Machine's Wrath' was not a real event.

The comment section was dominated by users calling it a blatant lie. Regin agreed with them.

"Why would he lie about this?"

The gallery users weren't idiots. The Machine Race had literally posted GIFs of terrifying weapons and explicitly stated, 'We will punish you.' It was right there in black and white.

But just a few minutes later...

"The movies were real?" Regin muttered blankly, staring at the comment section.

"Ah! Ah-ooh!" The baby of the family, cradled in his arms, flailed a tiny hand and accidentally tapped the link.

And then...

"This is..."

A grand, booming voice echoed as the movie began to play.

"W-What is this?"

"They say it's a movie..."

Stopping their wagon by the side of the road, the family of eight stared intently at the Gallery screen.

Roughly two hours later, Regin and his family turned the wagon back toward home.

The 'Together Watching' feature. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was an incredibly broken ability that generated Gallery Points based on the number of viewers and the volume of comments left afterward.

"Points be damned, let's just show them the movies first."

The priority was resolving the chaos spreading through the Demon Realm. I still had plenty of points, but if the Mabung-is suffered or the Gallery's reputation took a hit, it would negatively impact future user influx and activity.

"In the long run, it's bad for gallery level-ups and point farming."

In the worst-case scenario, if the Gallery went under, it would be a bottomless descent. If it truly died out to the point where only two or three posts were uploaded a month, my cozy life of clicking buttons from the comfort of my room would be gone forever.

"And that would be a real disaster."

So, I quickly purchased and uploaded the movies.

To clear things up, I uploaded the original sources of the Patak's GIFs: <The Matrix> and <The Terminator>.

And as a personal recommendation for the Patak to watch, I threw in <WALL-E>. They were sold individually in the Point Shop.

As soon as I did, the chaotic gallery fell dead silent.

"The spiritual pressure of the gallery's posts... has vanished?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The Smile Demon Gallery was as quiet as the calm before a storm.

"They all went to watch the movies."

Since I didn't want to just sit around waiting...

"Reina."

"Y-Yes?!"

I slid over next to Reina, who was sitting on the sofa staring at the Gallery screen, and held it out to her.

"Want to watch a movie while we wait?"

"I-I'd love to..."

I turned off the living room lights, drew the curtains to block out the sun, and cranked up the volume.

Finally, I opened the Point Shop to buy the essentials.

"Ah, this is the life. Here, have a Coke."

"Huh? Oh, thank you."

Just as I slipped a straw into Reina's cup, the familiar intro music echoed through the room, and the movie began.

By the time the ending credits rolled, I waited a bit before turning the lights back on. And then...

"Waaahhh~"

Reina burst into tears, clutching my hand tightly.

The adaptation was actually pretty well done.

The masterpiece animation, <WALL-E>.

In this version, the humans of the future were depicted as chubby demons, while the polluted Earth and the spaceship were adapted into a polluted continent and a massive ark floating across the sea.

The robots, representing the Machine Race, remained as they were, though they looked slightly more rugged than the designs I remembered.

Other than that, the plot was almost identical to the original.

A small robot, 'WALL-E,' had spent hundreds of years cleaning up a continent severely contaminated by demonic energy.

Then, an advanced model robot, 'Liv,' was dispatched to check the progress of the purification.

Though they were wary of each other and bickered at first, they eventually grew close.

Later, during a visit to WALL-E's humble home, Liv discovered a 'plant'—the ultimate proof that the pollution was subsiding.

Upon sending a signal, recovery personnel from the Ark arrived, and both Liv and WALL-E were brought aboard.

However, certain factions of demons and robots on the Ark opposed returning and tried to cover up the plant's existence.

But thanks to the heroic efforts of WALL-E and Liv, they successfully made their return.

In the final climax, WALL-E was severely damaged while protecting the plant, but Liv's desperate efforts brought him back to life.

Of course, there was one final twist.

When WALL-E woke up, he had no memory of Liv.

It seemed they were destined to part ways forever.

But at the very last second, Liv pressed her forehead against WALL-E's. A spark of telepathy surged between them, and his memories came rushing back.

WALL-E held onto Liv just as she was about to leave, and the movie concluded with the blessings of their friends.

The tiny sprout of hope, symbolizing the restoration of the polluted continent, was the perfect cherry on top.

That final emotional curveball seemed to have hit Reina particularly hard.

"Sob, sob... It's so beautiful..."

I handed a tissue to the sobbing succubus and nodded.

"<WALL-E> is a famously touching movie."

I wasn't about to cry over it, but I had to admit it was a masterpiece.

After comforting Reina for a while and cleaning up the popcorn, I tidied up the house and went to check the Gallery's reaction.

And when I opened the app...

"Yep, that's more like it."

The familiar, chaotic mess welcomed me back.

With just a few movies, the Smile Demon Gallery had been completely normalized.