Unlocking the Exchange
I heard that back in the day, the Demon Race Gallery used to have barter trading and item transactions. ㅇㅇ
The feature was there, but I left it locked because it seemed like it would cause issues if I released it right away. But now that we've recruited a new Sub-Mod and have some extra management hands, I've decided to unlock it.
And no, it's absolutely not because I want to get my hands on Harpy eggs easily. ㅇㅇ;
Anyway, I've added the rules to the pinned notice. As long as you don't break them, you're good.
What happens if you do break them?
[You will be banned from accessing the Gallery Shop for 14 days.]
Just so you know, the Sub-Mods can even check your emotional state to see if you're trying to scam someone, so don't even think about pulling any shady crap. ㅇㅇ
Thanks to the movie, the massive misunderstanding known as the Machine's Wrath was quickly put to rest.
After adjusting the Sub-Mods' duties and making sure the gallery was being managed properly, I opened the Exchange.
"RD1234 is the absolute best Sub-Mod."
The new Sub-Mod's processing speed was absolutely insane. If the Ancient Demon God was a marathoner-type Sub-Mod who stayed up twenty-four hours a day to manage the gallery consistently, RD1234 was a monster who ran a marathon at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.
Not only did he surpass the Ancient Demon God's reaction speed by over a hundredfold, but his processing speed was lightning-fast, and he was capable of flawless multitasking.
And yet, the number of users banned by friendly fire was still zero. Of course, the Ancient Demon God's help played a huge part in this.
[RD1234] HeadMod, I do not know whether to delete this image or leave it.
[RD1234] Although it is fanart, the covered area is less than 10% of the total surface area.
[RD1234] This unit still does not understand the clear distinction between lewd images and suggestive images.
[HeadMod] Hmm...
If he were human, he would have judged based on a vague standard of yeah, this seems about right. But RD1234 was a robot, and he was weak when it came to areas lacking clear-cut criteria. So...
[HeadMod] Hey, take on a junior.
[HeadMod] If you have questions, she'll explain them in detail.
[Ancient Demon God] Dost thou speak of Us?
[HeadMod] Yep.
[Ancient Demon God] But what of Our other successor...?
[HeadMod] Dangmanba is busy managing the exchange, so she's got her hands full. ㅇㅇ
[Ancient Demon God] What is this 'Dangmanba'?
[HeadMod] Just a shorthand for the second sub-mod's username.
[Ancient Demon God] Thou truly abbreviatest the strangest of things...
Thanks to getting real-time verification from the first Sub-Mod and self-proclaimed Ancient Demon God, no innocent victims were made. Of course...
There were already people who had suffered due to the "misunderstanding" RD1234 had caused. They were mostly rowdy Mabung-is who had ended up in prison or fined for causing a ruckus. There were also victims who had been scammed by priests pulling tricks like, "It's the end of the world, so donate to the church!" or "The only salvation to reach paradise is to give us your money!"
But hey.
"I said it wasn't the end, and the Sub-Mod said it wasn't either."
I really tried my best to argue against it back then. So isn't that their own responsibility?
...Actually, I'm just kidding. For the Mabung-is who were truly innocent victims, I dipped into the copper coins rotting away in my warehouse and gave them generous support. If their livelihoods were threatened by this, they wouldn't be able to browse the gallery in peace anymore.
"That won't do. Get out of jail and get back to posting."
Turns out, there's nothing money can't solve. So everything was mostly resolved, and the gallery regained its peace once more.
The marketplace for gallery users, officially dubbed the Exchange, was running smoothly. The gallery users, having snapped out of it, tracked down the church priests and publicly humiliated them, but...
"Do whatever you want."
I had no intention of interfering that far. I had a much more important task at hand.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Come down already."
I looked up and gestured for her to come down. But what descended was...
*Crunch, crunch.*
Only popcorn crumbs.
"Hey, stop eating so much popcorn!"
"N-No!"
Reina fluttered her wings, refusing to come down from the ceiling. There was only one reason: to protect her popcorn.
"You need to eat real food later."
"T-T-To me, this is real food!"
She was acting like a five- or six-year-old child who is incredibly picky, eats only two or three spoonfuls during dinner, claims to be full, and then cries for snacks exactly ten minutes after the table is cleared.
"If you keep this up, I'm not buying you any more popcorn."
"I-I can just buy it from the shop!"
"I'm the one who lists it in the shop."
"?!"
"If you don't come down right now, the popcorn and cola combo is gone forever."
"Heeeying..."
Reina yielded to the final ultimatum and descended to the sofa. I cleaned up the fallen popcorn crumbs with a cordless vacuum. Reina, who had stayed quiet until the cleaning was finished, looked up at me with teary eyes and asked.
"A-Are you really going to take it off the shop?"
"Depends on how you behave."
"W-What should I do?"
"Cut down on the snacks and eat real meals when it's time. Eating only popcorn is bad for your health."
"I don't eat that much..."
"You've already eaten five bags today alone. And you have five more unopened bags piled up."
"I-I'll cut down. How about four bags a day...?"
"Two bags."
"T-Three bags..."
"One bag."
"T-Two bags!"
After reaching that dramatic compromise, about thirty minutes passed.
"HeadMod."
"Why?"
"I think you need to look at this."
I was eating a cup of instant ramen because I was feeling a bit peckish when Reina called me.
"A trade request? To me?"
"Yes, but the item is..."
I checked the trade item, and it was so shocking that I almost dropped both my cup ramen and my chopsticks. Fortunately, I managed to grab the cup ramen just in time to save it.
"What the hell??? Who is this bastard?"
"Their username is 'Transport3rdPlatoon.'"
"This is absurd."
I searched through the regulations, but it wasn't listed under the prohibited trade items. I quickly updated the rules and called the user using the one-on-one chat feature attached to the Exchange.
[Transport3rdPlatoon] H-HeadMod?
[Transport3rdPlatoon] Oh, thank goodness. You checked the trade request!
[HeadMod] Ffs, what the hell are you doing?
[Transport3rdPlatoon] Huh???
[HeadMod] What's with the item? Explain yourself right now or you're getting permanently banned.
[Transport3rdPlatoon] I know you must be confused! I can explain everything!
The other party didn't reply immediately, probably because he was typing a long message. Just in case, I asked Reina.
"Didn't the Demon Realm abolish slavery?"
"Yeees, right? That's what I know too."
"Then what on earth is the purpose of this trade request?"
The Exchange proposal read as follows:
Proposed by: Transport3rdPlatoon
Trade Item: Nameless Human Female (22)
The War of Humans and Demons. The prolonged conflict had resulted in countless prisoners of war. So, how were these prisoners handled?
In the beginning, they were dealt with arbitrarily. However, as the war dragged on and high-ranking figures from both sides were captured, some were returned home after a ransom was paid. If they couldn't afford it, they were taken to the rear and used as unpaid labor.
Their treatment was practically no different from slavery, but they were managed directly by the warring nations. They were never put on the slave market to be sold for money.
"For starters, the Ared Empire itself had abolished slavery."
Supposedly, it was a policy designed to screw over rival nations that made high profits by selling slaves to the Empire. Anyway, the abolition of slavery applied to the Demon Realm as well. That was why villages had been established near labor camps in certain regions of the Demon Realm, populated by Hum-Elf-Dwarf prisoners.
"What on earth is his intention?"
I couldn't understand it at all. He suddenly proposed a trade to me, and the item was a "young human female."
[Transport3rdPlatoon] HeadMod, this is what happened...
The other party introduced himself as Hoot, a member of the supply transport platoon. He said he had been captured during a fierce battle on the central front but had luckily managed to escape. However, a problem had arisen.
"During his escape, he ran into a woman, and she gestured for him to take her with him?"
[Transport3rdPlatoon] It's hard to believe, but it's true...
[Transport3rdPlatoon] Furthermore, she couldn't speak the common tongue, so we couldn't communicate. But she seemed intelligent enough to gesture that she would scream if I tried to leave her behind...
[Transport3rdPlatoon] But once I rescued her, I realized there was nowhere suitable to take her.
It made sense. Prisoners of war were mostly robust adult men, and the work assigned to them was backbreaking labor. No matter if she was a woman, she was still a human.
"If she's caught, she'll be sent to the prisoner village."
I had seen posts about the notoriety of that place in the gallery a few times. It was incredibly harsh.
[Transport3rdPlatoon] I once stopped by the prisoner village to deliver supplies.
[Transport3rdPlatoon] The poor environment, the brutal workload. It is absolutely not an environment where a fragile woman can survive.
"Hmm."
Even if Hoot brought her back to his hometown, she would be sent to the prisoner village if discovered. Hoot knew she would spend the rest of her life suffering under harsh labor there until she died.
[Transport3rdPlatoon] I contacted you thinking that perhaps you, HeadMod, might be able to help.
He contacted me hoping that the HeadMod—the all-powerful, beautiful archmage of the gallery, or whatever they called me—might have a solution.
"As if I have a solution."
In the first place, it was doubtful whether a person would even transfer properly through the Exchange feature.
"I looked up the trade logs from about two hundred years ago, and it says one person can arrive safely at a time."
"Ah, really?"
"Yes, but if you send multiple people at once..."
"Stop!"
I can guess the rest. I haven't finished my cup ramen yet, and if I hear that with my own ears, I'll lose my appetite and have to throw it away.
[Transport3rdPlatoon] Um... HeadMod?
[Transport3rdPlatoon] Actually, my current situation isn't very good...
[Transport3rdPlatoon] We escaped, but I think we'll have to walk for a few more days to get out of the forest. Both I and the human woman I brought along are exhausted.
[Transport3rdPlatoon] Since all my copper coins were confiscated when I was captured, I can't even buy food. If possible, could I get some help?
[HeadMod] Okay. Is there anything you want to eat?
[Transport3rdPlatoon] If possible, I would like spicy stir-fried pork.
[HeadMod] Sec.
"That's easy enough."
Two spicy stir-fried pork lunchboxes and four 500ml bottles of water. I decided to send two frozen bottles and two regular ones.
"I just need to send it like th... wait."
Hold on. Ah, I made a mistake.
I should have clicked the one-way delivery button. Did I lose my mind listening to his story?
I accidentally clicked the "Accept Trade" button.
You have accepted 'Transport3rdPlatoon's trade proposal.
The trade items from both parties have been retrieved.
Trade complete!
"Ah."
A flash of light erupted. Soon, a filthy, black-haired woman appeared in front of Reina and me.
"Ugh... uuugh."
*Thud.*
The sweat-drenched woman collapsed weakly.
"Heeey..."
She opened her mouth, basking in the cool breeze of the air conditioner.
"H-HeadMod? Did you decide to accept her?"
"...No, I misclicked."
"Eeeh???"
[Transport3rdPlatoon] As expected of the HeadMod!
[Transport3rdPlatoon] Thank you so much for granting my unreasonable request! I'll enjoy the lunchboxes! Thank you so much!
[Transport3rdPlatoon] has left the chat room.
"Ffs."
I can't even return her now.
The woman, who had been dazed for a moment, soon came to her senses. I questioned her in the continental common tongue, as I always did.
"Um. Hello?"
"......"
"Can you explain what happened?"
"...Ddyu?"
"?"
A completely innocent expression that showed she didn't understand a single thing. And...
*Ruuuumble!!!*
A thunderous growl from her stomach answered in her stead.
So, I bought one more spicy stir-fried pork lunchbox and handed it to her along with a spoon. She just stared at it blankly for a while. So I opened the lid and mimicked the motion of scooping and eating with a spoon.
"Ddyudyaddya-i!"
Only then did she begin to eat.
In the meantime, I went to the bathroom and dampened a towel. Her feet were so filthy that if I didn't wipe them, the entire house would be covered in dirt.
"...--?"
"HeadMod, did you hear that? She just spoke!"
"What did she say?"
"Um... I don't know. I didn't understand her at all."
"Do humans normally speak a different language?"
"I heard some countries do, but most of them should know how to speak the common tongue, right?"
"What is she?"
The woman wolfed down the lunchbox.
"Why did you bring a towel?"
"To wipe the dirt off her feet and body."
"Trying to seduce another girl... I'll do it."
"No, I'm not."
Reina snatched the towel from me and began wiping down the sweat- and dust-covered woman. But just then, the woman, who had been eating heartily, suddenly clutched her head and groaned in pain.
"Argh! Ah! M-My head!"
"You heard that, right? I told you I don't understand what she's saying."
"N-No..."
It made sense that Reina didn't know. After all...
"Hey. No, wait. Ahem, yeah, hey. Can you understand me? I'm talking to you."
"H-Huh?! What??? Y-You... you can understand my words???"
"Yeah. Does your head hurt?"
"Yes, y-yes... Argh!"
Reina asked, "HeadMod? Is that a language you know?"
"Of course. There's no way I wouldn't."
It was the language I used in my past life. My feelings were a bit complicated.
She doesn't look Korean at all.
Her black hair had a subtle blue sheen to it. Her eyes were blue, and her pupils were filled with white specks, as if sprinkled with stars. Where on earth would you find a Korean who looks like this?
Anyway, I tried to continue the conversation. After all, I had a good feeling about this.
"Are you Korean? Do you know why you crossed over to this trash world?"
"Ko... rean?"
"We're speaking in Korean right now."
But good feelings...
"What is... that? Ugh! Uuuugh!!!"
"Hey? Are you okay? Hey!"
...always tend to go wrong.
"...Ddyu."
"What."
"Ddyudyaddya-i."
She broke.
"What on earth is happening here?"
And just like that, another housemate was added to my home.