Free Burgirs and Secret Coalitions

A small live-update thread launched by some random gallery user. Because of that, the gallery's hot topic once again became: The Head Mod fought the Demon Realm's high-ups and won!

Lately, a certain word had been slipping out of my mouth more and more.

"Seriously..."

"Seriously" was always the first thing to pop out.

"Drawing aggro like this never leads to anything good."

Especially if rumors of my involvement spread, all eyes will be on the Ministry of Finance. If things go south, our mutually beneficial copper-for-bad-currency exchange program might fall through.

"Stop!"

I need to divert this useless topic to something else. Of course, I knew some highly effective methods.

1. Post gore.

2. Post shock images.

3. Ban the topic entirely and block everyone.

And so on.

But...

"The Head Mod himself starting a flame war? That's basically declaring a legal Purge Day."

It would only dump a massive burden on the Sub-mods. I trusted RD1234's ability to handle trolls, but...

"There's no need to make a scene."

My remaining points were still plenty, so I didn't need to pull out my ultimate point-farming move just yet.

"The final method..."

There was a way for everyone to move on happily without getting hurt.

The legendary Gallery Shop Breathing: Free Soup Kitchen.

"Time to hand out free burgirs."

[Fast Food / Burgers]

- Bulgogi Burger: 2 pt

- Cola (355ml/can): 1 pt

Is it because they're slider-sized? They're dirt cheap. I even threw in a can of cola in case they choked on them.

"Limit one per person. Dropping 5,000 sets for free."

After putting up a free Bulgogi Burger and a can of cola in the Gallery Shop, I wrote an announcement.

"Great response."

The topic about me and the Ministry of Finance had already been buried.

"Heh."

It seemed like a massive tier war had broken out between the Sausage Bread & Banana Milk faction and the Bulgogi Burger & Canned Cola faction.

"If they don't keep it in check, I can just wipe the whole board later anyway~"

However, since it was a good distraction, I didn't stop them and let them have their fun. I had more important things to worry about.

"Now then, shall we continue our conversation?"

— Finance Minister: T-Thank you.

Afterward, I calculated the amount of copper coins I had incinerated so far. And after confirming with the Ministry of Finance that 1 ton of copper could produce roughly 200,000 coins, I began coordinating the schedule.

"You don't need all that volume right away, do you?"

— Finance Minister: Not at all. The minting process will take quite some time anyway.

— Finance Minister: However, I will send the bad currency to you as soon as we collect it.

"I'd appreciate that."

I could buy enough copper for 200,000 coins with just 13,000 points. No matter how I looked at it, this was a highly profitable deal for me.

For about a week, I continuously supplied copper, while receiving bad currency from the Ministry of Finance in return.

Some coins were rejected for point exchange, likely because they were severely damaged or fell short of the required copper purity.

"Well, it wasn't that many."

Maybe two hundred at most? As long as they weren't in terrible shape, the system usually accepted them.

Looking at the damaged coins reminded me of modern coins. Don't they have serrated edges? There's a very good reason for that.

"Ah, by the way, there's one thing I wanted to suggest."

— Finance Minister: What is it?

"How about minting the new coins with serrated edges?"

— Finance Minister: Why is that?

"If you do that, it becomes immediately obvious if someone tries to shave off the edges. It prevents coin clipping, and the added complexity makes counterfeiting much harder."

Of course, it wasn't entirely my idea. It was actually proposed by Isaac Newton—the guy inspired by the falling apple—when he worked at the Royal Mint.

Back then, people frequently shaved the edges of gold and silver coins to steal precious metals without anyone noticing.

We should definitely implement that here. Even though all I had were copper coins, I saw quite a few with shaved edges or holes drilled through the center. Once the purity of the copper went up, coin clipping would only get worse.

— Finance Minister: That is an excellent idea!

— Finance Minister: I will order new coin molds to be made immediately. Thank you!

We kept in touch like that for a while. Then, one day, while I was taking a break after teaching Liv the common tongue...

"Head Mod, Head Mod."

"Hmm?"

Reina suddenly called out to me.

"Did you need me?"

"Yes, I just had a wonderful idea."

"What is it?"

"Lamps. What if we sent some more to the Ministry of Finance?"

"Huh? Lamps?"

Reina nodded.

"I saw a post by a gallery user who works at the Ministry of Finance. They said it's one of the departments that works day and night, but they don't even have mana stone lamps, so they have to work by candlelight."

"Ah, really?"

Now that I thought about it, she was right. The lamps I sold were relatively cheap, but I had only released a thousand of them.

"We cleared up the misunderstanding, and more Ministry of Finance employees are joining the gallery. Wouldn't this be a great opportunity to win over the entire department?"

"Oh, are you a genius?"

To be honest, I'm a bit dense and not exactly a social butterfly. I'm pretty clueless and indifferent when it comes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to winning people over. But thanks to Reina, I realized this was a golden opportunity.

"Alright. Let's send them some right away."

They were already working hard to stabilize the Demon Realm's economy. If I helped them out a bit, it would probably come back to benefit me later, right? So, I generously sent a hundred lamps to the Ministry of Finance.

I immediately activated Eye of the Gallery, and the Finance Minister eagerly accepted the transfer.

— Finance Minister: W-What is this?!

"They're called electric lamps. If you insert a mana stone, they emit a bright light. Don't risk using dangerous candles at night anymore; use these instead. Ah, I forgot to send the mana stones—"

— Finance Minister: N-No, it is fine! We have plenty of mana stones, we will use our own!

With that, the Finance Minister began rummaging through his desk drawer.

"Hmm? What's that?"

A thick stack of blood-red documents slipped out.

— Finance Minister: Ah, this? Remember how I mentioned a petition had been filed against you?

"Ah, right. You said there were people trying to frame me."

— Finance Minister: Yes. I was so busy that I completely forgot about it. How dare they deceive me and slander the Head Mod? I will ensure they are properly punished.

He picked up the documents as he spoke.

Thud! A luxurious-looking navy blue envelope fell from the stack.

— Finance Minister: Hmm? I have never seen this before...

He tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents. A bold, prominent message was written at the top of the first page.

"What?"

— Finance Minister: W-What on earth is this?!

The utterly bewildered Finance Minister jumped in shock. I was just as stunned.

"An Anti-Head Mod Coalition?"

Why the fuck does something like that even exist?

"Have they been playing me this whole time?"

Or are they traitors who joined hands with the Hum-Elf-Dwarf alliance?

Suspicion began to billow in my mind.

However, it would be a long time before I learned that the Ared Empire was far too chaotic and busy to even think about plotting against me at the time.

Aredria, capital of the Ared Empire. The imperial palace was bustling with activity.

"Hmm, is it today?"

"Yes, Your Imperial Highness."

Standing at a distance, the Crown Prince watched the Emperor head toward the palace cathedral, accompanied by a massive entourage of attendants, guards, and priests.

"An oracle."

The Emperor of the Ared Empire regularly received divine oracles from the Goddess. However, word of a particularly special oracle scheduled for today had prompted grand, elaborate preparations.

With the war growing bleaker by the day and public unrest mounting, the Emperor was likely hoping to use this event to turn the tide of public opinion.

The Crown Prince clicked his tongue in disdain.

How foolish. It would be far better to use those gold coins to feed the starving soldiers on the front lines.

Through the dense crowd, a familiar face rushed forward, only to be stopped by the imperial guards. The two watched as the man trudged back, looking utterly dejected.

"Count Palatine."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Bring that man to me."

At the Crown Prince's command, the Count Palatine slipped into the crowd.

Moments later, the Gallery Surveillance Director, who had been frantically running somewhere, was escorted by the Count Palatine and delivered right before the Crown Prince.

They stood in a secluded, dimly lit corner away from the bustling crowd.

"Your Highness?"

"You have been working hard, Director."

"N-No, not at all, Your Highness."

"So, what brings you here in such a hurry today?"

"I... I have a matter to report..."

"Report it to me."

"...Pardon?"

"Weren't you just blocked by the guards? If it is an urgent matter, I am willing to review it myself."

The Gallery Surveillance Director had been branded a criminal for failing to filter out false information, which had led to the disastrous defeat of the grand offensive. He had only recently been released from house arrest.

If he spoke out of turn to the Crown Prince and drew the Emperor's ire, he would be completely finished. Thus, he kept his mouth tightly shut.

"Does His Majesty recognize your loyalty?"

"W-What do you mean by that..."

"I know everything. You simply did your duty, yet you were scapegoated and punished for it, were you not?"

"!"

To be honest, the Director was deeply resentful and bitter. He had gathered the new information and rushed to the palace in time, but it was the Emperor who had refused to meet him and proceeded arbitrarily. And yet, the Emperor had pinned all the blame on him and placed him under house arrest.

"I... I understand, Your Highness."

The future of the Empire. If he could align himself with the Crown Prince, the next Emperor, wouldn't that actually be a massive upgrade? With that thought, he handed over the report.

The Crown Prince read it thoroughly, then handed it back without leaving a single trace on the document. He patted the Director on the shoulder and spoke.

"I have witnessed your loyalty. I shall allow you to spread your wings and fulfill your ambitions."

"..."

"What do you say? Will you take my hand?"

"Yes, Your Highness. No... Your Majesty."

The Crown Prince smiled in satisfaction. At the same time, he turned and gave a subtle nod to the side.

The Count Palatine nodded and signaled. Soon, heavily armed imperial guards stationed throughout the palace began to gather. A group of high priests approached, surrounding a woman wearing a long, flowing veil.

The Crown Prince looked around at his conspirators, a confident smirk playing on his lips.

"Let us begin. For the Empire."