Chapter 49

It was supposed to be a simple gift of a single lamp.

The Sub-mod had completely lost her mind.

"Stop!"

Are you trying to set the gallery on fire again?

Is she seeing things in 3D or something?

Did inserting the magic stone into the lamp cause some kind of issue?

Just in case, I asked RD1234, who had received the same product.

It seemed RD1234 was perfectly fine.

"Then what's the problem?"

For now, the Gallery's Eye was still active.

So...

"Reina."

"Yes, Head Mod?"

I had Reina analyze the emotional state of our Sub-mod, 'Ancient Demon God'.

Reina observed intently for a long moment.

Soon, she detected the emotions of the 'Ancient Demon God' flowing through the Gallery's Eye.

"...It's because of the light."

"The light? The light from the lamp?"

"Yes. Seeing light after so long has stirred up emotions that Senior has suppressed for an immeasurable amount of time."

"...Just how long has it been?"

"I-I don't know! If I try to probe any deeper, I feel like I'll get sucked in..."

"Ah, okay, okay. Stop right there."

If Reina lost her mind too, I wouldn't be able to handle it.

"So the issue is just normal, bright light, right?"

Then I could at least perform some basic first aid.

"Now a wave of obsession, greed, and possessiveness is rushing over her!"

"Seriously?"

Why were only such complex and impulsive emotions surging up?

The lamp was returned.

"Alright, got it back."

However...

It seemed her overflowing emotions weren't subsiding easily.

Because she was throwing a tantrum demanding a replacement, I hurriedly scrolled through the Point Shop.

"What would be good?"

Instead of a bright light, something calming would be better.

A glow-in-the-dark light? A mood lamp? A night light?

Just then...

*Whoosh~*

"?"

With a cute sound, Reddy suddenly flew over my head and spun in circles.

Liv, who had been playing with it, followed it out into the living room.

"Ah! Where are you going?"

*Whoosh whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!*

"...What is it saying?"

Even if it was an ultra-rare, top-grade magic stone with a certain level of intelligence, I couldn't understand it if it just made whoosh sounds.

Reddy kept buzzing around, then finally landed on Reina's palm.

*Whoosh!*

"Wait a moment. I can feel its emotions."

Unbelievable. Since when could we analyze the emotions of a rock?

"It says the cave where Senior is located is dark and filled with red magic stones."

"...That makes sense. It looked like that through the Gallery's Eye earlier."

"Reddy says a soft, dim red light would be highly effective in soothing Senior's mind and body."

"...Are you sure about that?"

At that moment...

*Bzzzt!!*

Reddy suddenly emitted a soft red glow.

"So that's a yes?"

*Whoosh whoosh!*

It bobbed in the air as if nodding, then flew off with a whoosh, luring Liv back up to the second floor.

"Then I guess I should send her 'that'."

A certain item that was all too familiar to any military veteran, carrying rather unpleasant memories.

"A red night light? Ugh, my head..."

My head throbbed at the memory of a place that woke people up at 6:30 AM every day, gathered them in a wide yard, made them do calisthenics and running, and then forced them to line up in perfect order just to eat.

"Ah, there is a night light..."

Honestly, I wished there wasn't, but the Point Shop literally had everything.

I purchased it immediately and sent it over.

I activated the Gallery's Eye to check on her, but...

"Huh?"

Ancient Demon God was spamming the 'Decline' button.

"KYAAAAAAAH!!!"

Sub-mod Ancient Demon God clutched her head with both hands and wailed.

Her scream-filled cry echoed through the vast cavern.

Thanks to the red night light she received from the Head Mod, the turbulent storm of emotions had settled significantly.

However, when she peeked at the posts and comments she had just written...

"Ughhhhhh!!!"

She slammed her face into the ground and howled.

She felt like she was going to die of sheer embarrassment.

When she turned on the lamp the Head Mod ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had sent her to "live brightly," she had faced bright light for the first time in thousands of years.

It felt as if she were standing on the surface of the earth, gazing directly at the sun in the sky.

She had felt an inexplicable flutter and a profound shock.

In particular, her affection for the Head Mod, who had gifted her such a precious item, had swelled exponentially.

She had completely lost control of her emotions.

Ugh... even remembering it makes me want to shrivel up in shame.

The emotions she had kept tightly bottled up had surged from her subconscious, hijacking her mind.

And so, she had made an absolute fool of herself in the gallery.

"I thought everything was fine now... Why did I lose my self-control?"

She calmly analyzed the cause.

After a self-examination, she reached a conclusion.

"...The seal itself has weakened."

Had it crumbled under the weight of time?

No, that couldn't be it.

"It is not because of the gallery either."

She had been lurking and posting in the gallery for ages; there was no way it would suddenly cause a problem now.

If so...

"Head Mod... it is because of thee."

The Head Mod had shaken her heart.

As someone who drew power from intense emotions, eating the fried chicken, cheese balls, and other delicious foods gifted by the Head Mod had shattered the seal of 'emotion' she had bound so tightly.

Furthermore...

"It seems using a power I had not touched in ages exacerbated the issue."

Ever since she used a speck of her power to intercept Bernheiter to help the Head Mod last time, cracks must have been slowly spreading across the inner seal that locked away her emotions.

"Phew. Truly, had it been even a moment later, disaster would have struck."

If the Head Mod hadn't taken measures in time, she would have reverted to her past self, unable to control her emotions and power.

If that had happened, the entire Northern Mountain Range might have collapsed. Shaking off the thought with a sigh, the Ancient Demon God looked at the softly glowing night light in front of her.

While the gentle light sent by the Head Mod calmed her mind, it also kept bringing the Head Mod to her thoughts, hindering the restoration of her seal.

"N-No! I must not!"

She shook ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her head violently from side to side and fell into a deep meditation.

After temporarily repairing the seal, she opened the moderator chat.

"What on earth..."

She closed the chat room and checked the gallery.

The gallery users' First Form:

'If there's a good item, sell it to us too!' had been activated.

At that, the Ancient Demon God muttered softly.

"I-I am sorry..."

"What do they mean, sell the lamps?"

Even now, the food situation in the Demon Realm was so dire that putting up a day's worth of ingredients resulted in an instant sell-out.

Even though my exchangeable points had increased, selling lamps instead of food felt a bit off.

"You guys are getting way too comfortable, aren't you?"

"Ungrateful bastards."

I try to look out for them, and this is what I get?

Just as I was about to ignore them and close the gallery, Reina placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Head Mod."

"Yeah?"

"I think selling the lamps might not be such a bad idea."

"Why's that?"

"Didn't you say that you benefit when more users join the gallery and write more posts and comments?"

"That's true."

That was the only way to level up the gallery and unlock more functions for me to use.

"Right now it's summer, so the days are long, but when winter comes, night falls quickly. What do you think would happen if they had lamps?"

"Since it's bright, they won't go to sleep early, meaning they can browse the gallery for longer?"

"Yes, that's what I think."

It didn't sound like a bad idea.

"Then, just to test the waters, I'll list 500 of them..."

"I'll let you off just this once."

After that, I went to the shop.

"...What?"

In less than a minute, all 500 lamps were sold out.