The Spark That Ignited Kronendike

Glug, glug, glug.

I refilled her orange juice and handed her another freshly made toast. Liv bit into it with a slightly tense expression. I waited patiently for her to finish her meal before asking my questions.

"Do you remember anything? Especially your name, or..."

"No, nothing."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing."

"Ah, so you did remember something, but—"

"No, I said nothing, seriously!"

Perhaps frustrated by her own mind, Liv looked on the verge of snapping before letting out a long, heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry. It's just... whenever I try to force myself to remember, my head starts hurting terribly."

"Yeah, well. That's fine."

"No, I'm really sorry. Ever since I opened my eyes, I couldn't understand the language, and when they told me to do something and I couldn't, they beat me with clubs. They even put a heavy chain around my neck to keep me from running away..."

As she spoke, the memories of her past seemed to rush back, and her eyes began to well up with tears.

Lest she startle Liv, Reina—who had carefully hidden her horns, wings, and tail—gently patted her on the back.

"Th-thank you..."

Though they couldn't communicate directly, I was translating everything in real-time through the administrator chat. Once Reina confirmed it was an expression of gratitude, she smiled warmly and nodded slowly.

"So... you don't know your name."

"Yes."

"But you do realize you're speaking in Korean right now, right?"

"Ugh! W-wait a moment..."

"Ah, sorry. So, you're able to communicate in this bizarre 'otherworld' language. How does that feel?"

"...I think it's okay."

Observing Liv led me to one definite conclusion.

Trying to force her to remember is dangerous.

Last time, I had approached her casually like, "Oh, wow, you know Korean~" only for her to complain of a severe headache and regress into her Ddyudyaddya-i state.

Now that she's finally back to normal, I can't let her regress to a toddler again.

Reina might have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠found that cute, but the constant baby babbling ringing in my ears all day was giving me a massive headache.

And more importantly...

I need to get some proper information while I can.

What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly was the Hero, and how on earth did she end up speaking Korean instead of the common tongue? Since we could actually communicate now, I intended to dig into it.

To avoid triggering her, I used a sneaky workaround, avoiding direct questions and taking a detour whenever I needed to bring something up.

"Spicy stir-fried pork."

"Ah!"

"A dish where pork is stir-fried in a red, spicy sauce."

"...This is fine."

"But earlier, didn't you say Isa*c Toast with your own mouth..."

"Actually, that's not my memory. The phrase 'Toast has to be Isaac Toast' just vaguely floats in my mind, but I don't really know what it means."

"Hmm..."

"Most of my memories are completely blacked out. Occasionally, it feels like a patch of black paint has peeled off, but if I try to look closely, my head feels like it's going to explode..."

Was it some kind of memory-controlling magic or curse? Since I was a complete amateur in that field, there was no way for me to know.

"But you are originally from this world, right? Do you remember where your hometown is?"

"A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little... I remember. Just a tiny bit. My hometown was a quiet ranch in the southeastern part of the Empire, but one day, people from the Church came and took me away."

"The Church? The Goddess Cult of the Ared Empire?"

"Yes... And when I opened my eyes after that, I wasn't myself anymore. Someone else's memories were mixed in..."

The Church had done something to her.

And as memories she didn't recognize flooded in, her two personalities had fused into one.

"And from then on, you couldn't speak the common tongue at all?"

"...The common tongue?"

"The language of this world."

"Ah, yes. Probably."

She had lost her family, her hometown, and even the language she used to speak. Since then, she had been called the 'Hero' and lived like a slave to the Allied Forces.

"You've had a really rough time."

Her story was so tragic that words of comfort slipped out naturally.

Then...

"Ugh, sniffle!"

"Whoa, whoa..."

Liv began to sob.

"Head Mod? You didn't say something weird, did you?"

"Absolutely not."

Fortunately, Reina pulled her into an embrace and patted her back, and she calmed down quickly.

"By the way, what is the Hero's ability?"

"Ah, that?"

When Liv opened her palm...

Ping!

A UI window resembling the gallery screen appeared in the air. However, unlike the gray gallery, its overall color scheme was a bright, vibrant light green.

"Is this... the Yggdrasil Network?"

"You knew about it?"

"I've only heard of it."

Originally, the humans, elves, and dwarves each had their own single-race galleries, but for some reason, they were currently abandoned and dead.

Probably because galleries are public spaces open to anyone, and the Head Mod position can only be granted by the Operator...

There was only speculation that this was why they were abandoned.

Instead of the galleries, the three allied races used a new community based on the power of the World Tree: the 'Yggdrasil Network'.

Demons are IP-banned from it by default, so I never even dreamed of entering.

But thanks to Liv, I was able to peek into it indirectly.

"Are you in charge of managing it?"

"I have some administrative functions, but that part is mostly handled by the World Tree. I'm in charge of this section."

Liv pointed to a tab labeled 'Receive Supplies'.

After going through a few more steps, she clicked on a post titled [50kg of Dwarf Iron Ore].

"If I do this..."

Flash!

Right where Liv's palm was facing, a thick iron ingot materialized.

"Huff, puff, huff. I... I can summon things like this."

So she was in charge of supply logistics.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes? Ah, this much is fine. Usually, I have to handle much larger quantities..."

"That's enough. You don't have to do any more."

I poured another glass of orange juice for the panting Liv and asked Reina:

"Can you check her condition?"

"It's not good. She exhausted a massive amount of stamina using that ability just now. The mental fatigue has piled up heavily as well."

No wonder. There was a reason they worked a Hero with such an insanely overpowered ability like a slave. The performance was guaranteed, but the physical and mental toll was immense.

And they made her use this to cover the supply demands of an entire army? Even if someone offered me a hundred gold coins, I wouldn't do it. No, anyone desperate enough for money would probably die doing this.

No matter how much wealth and fame it promised, any sane person would have no choice but to run away.

"Um, excuse me..."

"Yes?"

"It's a bit late to ask, but where is this place, and who are you all?"

"Ah, right."

I forgot to explain.

"Actually, I am—"

At that moment...

Whoosh!

Reina's tail wrapped around Liv's arm and pulled her in, burying Liv's face into her chest.

"Mmph?!"

Then, wrapping her hand in purple mana, she gently stroked Liv's head.

"Mmm... yawn..."

Unable to resist, Liv fell fast asleep.

"Honestly, how could you try to tell her so bluntly?"

"Come on, what's the big deal?"

"If she finds out you're a half-demon and the Head Mod of a Demon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Realm gallery, and that I'm a succubus, she'll be utterly terrified! After all, Liv is a human. If you add that shock to her accumulated fatigue, she might regress back into a child!"

That would be troublesome.

But honestly, that's just prejudice. Half-demons, succubuses, and even our Yurix, who spends all day wandering around mountains and valleys doing nothing...

If you lined us up next to humans, the only difference is whether we have horns and wings or not. We don't look that different.

Well, I did agree that taking the red pill of "they are demons" would cause a massive shock.

"And I just analyzed her—there are two souls tangled up inside Liv's body."

"What?"

Is that even possible? She's not a double-yolk egg.

"If her emotions fluctuate wildly in this state, she could end up in even greater pain than before."

Even if they couldn't communicate, Reina didn't want to see Liv in pain.

"Good job."

We could take our time to explain things gradually and soften the blow. We had plenty of time, after all.

On the contrary, the ones who didn't have time...

...are probably the people of Kronendike, who are currently suffering because the gallery shop they always used is gone.

After Reina and I laid Liv down on the bed, we went back downstairs, and I turned on the gallery.

"Head Mod...?"

"No, even I didn't expect it to be this bad..."

I was met with absolute, terrifying chaos.

"What on earth is this..."

I had certainly lit a small spark. It was supposed to be a tiny, insignificant spark, smaller than a pinky fingernail. I figured they would just feel a bit of emptiness, get slightly annoyed, and realize how precious the gallery was.

But that tiny spark has flared up as if it landed on aviation fuel.

Is Kronendike burning?

The strike on the heart of the Demon Realm, which the joint forces of the humans, elves, and dwarves had so desperately desired, was currently being executed with spectacular success. All because of a protest by angry Mabung-is who couldn't access the gallery shop.

"Does this even make sense?!"

Aren't they a bit too angry over a gallery shop? Even when I scrolled through other popular posts, they were all the same. From the beggars begging on the streets to the Vampire Lord, one of the Eight Elders of the Demon Realm.

Countless Mabung-is had united, marching down the main avenues and demanding an explanation from the Demon King.

And...

"You really had a master plan all along..."

"No, seriously, I didn't do this."

"Right, right~ You drew up a plan to burn Kronendike to the ground for Liv's sake, executed it perfectly, and yet you're still playing dumb. If you keep doing that, I really won't be able to hold back, you know?"

"Whoa, wait. Why are there hearts forming in your eyes..."

Whoosh!

Reina lunged at me, but—

Thud!

"As if that would work."

"Hmph..."

Thank you, Operator. Thank you, Gallery Barrier.

"Now is not the time for this. First, I need to clean up this mess..."

Just as I was about to write an official announcement, a new message arrived via the Exchange's 1-on-1 chat.

To think the snowball would roll all the way here.

"Head Mod? What's wrong? Why is your mouth hanging open like that?"

"...I just got a message from the Regent of the Demon King."

"What?!"

Just how dire was the situation that the Regent, who should be right by the Demon King's side, had traveled outside the IP-banned zone just to access the gallery?

"Is this really him?"

"Yes, that is indeed the Regent's seal. And those thick, rough fingers belong to a troll. It is definitely Yugelt, the 'Rock Breaker' himself."

What a terrifying title. Wait, so a giant of his stature was personally reaching out because of this mess...?

"Head Mod, don't you think this is enough?"

"Huh?"

"Since the Regent himself has stepped forward to contact you first, it's best to wrap things up here while saving face for both sides."

"Y-yeah, I suppose so."

I didn't want to blow this out of proportion any further either. So I was about to type my reply when—

"...What did he say?"

"He's asking me to sell him chocolate."

"...What??"

Reina and I stared at each other in utter bewilderment for a long time.

"...In the midst of all this, he needs chocolate?"

"...I didn't think the Regent was that kind of person, but he's incredibly selfish."

And thus, yet another misunderstanding piled up.