The Cheerful Fast Food Gallery, Part 1

Dawn was beginning to break. A man sitting at the exact center of a long table spoke in a low, weary voice.

"You have all done well."

The others were still busy pouring over documents, and a few were so overworked they looked on the verge of fainting. It was only natural.

The Ared Empire had almost collapsed entirely due to a series of blunders by their incompetent former emperor. The crown prince, along with key officials and nobles who formed the backbone of the empire, had banded together to make a desperate, nation-saving decision. With the full support of the Goddess Cult, their coup had succeeded.

But there was no time for the crown prince and his officials to celebrate. They had to reorganize the retreating Allied Forces, restore crumbling public sentiment, and fundamentally reform the Ared Empire's warped economic system, which had barely been kept afloat by exploiting neighboring nations. The list of tasks to resolve was endless.

After working day and night, the crown prince—now the new Emperor, Gideon V—had managed to breathe life back into the near-corpse of the Ared Empire. He was a righteous ruler, so much so that he boldly declared, "Since our finances are depleted and public sentiment is unstable, the coronation will be a simple, informal affair," skipping the grand ceremonies entirely.

"You have all worked incredibly hard."

"Y-Your Majesty, you have labored greatly as well."

"Now, next on the agenda..."

At the realization that yet another task awaited them, the officials screamed internally. However...

"Director of the Gallery Surveillance Bureau."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Since the Director of the Gallery Surveillance Bureau was the one called upon, the rest of the officials let out a sigh of relief. If it was an issue related to the Gallery, it would be about the "negotiations" with the Head Mod that Gideon V had promised back when he was still crown prince.

"My first objective is to persuade the Head Mod not to intervene in the war. Do you believe this is possible?"

"I believe it is highly possible, Your Majesty. The Head Mod has always been cold to those who point blades at him. It mattered not whether they were Legion Commanders of the Demon King's Army, the Regent of the Demon Realm, or the Minister of Finance."

He presented a newly drafted report to the Emperor.

"Whoever disrupts the Gallery is banned, regardless of their identity. This indicates that the Head Mod is not swayed by the high-ranking figures of the Demon Realm."

The Head Mod did not bow to power, even when dealing with the Regent of the Demon Realm. In fact, when the Regent proved uncooperative, the Head Mod incited a riot in Kronendike to corner him. It was only after the Regent became submissive and cooperative that the Head Mod finally deigned to speak with him.

"Conversely, if the other party becomes submissive and cooperative, he tends to offer his full, unreserved support."

"Then there is hope for us as well."

Since it meant he was not entirely on the side of the Demon King's Army, if they could just extract a promise from the Head Mod—who had completely upended the recent tide of the war—not to interfere...

"We can somehow stabilize our forces, prepare, and gain an opportunity to strike back."

However, not everyone agreed with his opinion.

"Forgive me for speaking out, Your Majesty, but the Goddess has declared a 'Holy War.'"

The priests of the Goddess Cult stepped forward in opposition.

"I am well aware."

"Then why do you seek to negotiate with the wicked demons?"

In other words, they were directly confronting him, essentially saying, 'We supported you because we thought our goals aligned, but it will be highly problematic if you do not follow the Goddess's oracle.'

"The Allied Forces of all humanity should proudly conquer the Demon Realm and lead this war to victory. Why speak of negotiating with filthy demons?"

"Your Majesty, the Goddess watches over us always and everywhere. Please, make the right decision."

Imprisoning the former emperor and taking the throne had gone smoothly, but since then, the Cult had begun to interfere in state affairs to a severe degree.

"It is to avoid shedding unnecessary blood."

"Unnecessary, you say?! Dying on the battlefield in accordance with the Goddess's will is a noble death! Furthermore, even if the Goddess forgives you, if word of negotiations with the insidious demons were to leak, how would other nations view our Empire?"

It was unpleasant to hear, but it held a grain of truth. If the fact that the Ared Empire, the leader of the Holy War, was secretly preparing to compromise with the demons leaked out...

We would likely lose leadership of the Human Alliance.

On that very day, they would lose hegemony over the continent. Yet, the Emperor's resolve remained firm.

"One way or another, I must think of the aftermath of this Holy War. The Empire is exhausted, and we can no longer bear this strain. Director of the Gallery Surveillance Bureau."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Teach me how to use the Cheerful Demon Realm Village Gallery."

With the assistance of the Director of the Gallery Surveillance Bureau, the Emperor accessed the Cheerful Demon Realm Village Gallery. Setting his nickname as "Gideon," he entered the forum and wrote his first post.

As soon as the Emperor read the last comment...

A notification popped up, informing him that he had been banned by a sub-mod.

...And that was what had transpired just a short while ago.

It had barely been any time since I wiped out the bastards involved in the "Anti-Head Mod Coalition," and now the human Emperor was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠proposing peace.

I scanned the contents of his post once more. A few parts rubbed me the wrong way.

"First of all, I've never intervened in the war?"

If they counted "humanitarian aid" to starving refugees as war intervention, I suppose I had nothing to say, but...

Even though I could purchase such terrifying weapons, I hadn't.

"If I had actually resolved to end the war, I would have emptied my accumulated points to turn the Demon King's Army into a modernized infantry force."

If I armed the infantry with rifles, machine guns, grenades, and mortars to suppress the enemy from a distance, the Hum-Elf-Dwarf Alliance would be reduced to dust in a single day. No, in the first place, if I just deployed a few armored vehicles or tanks to the front lines...

"It would be an absolute massacre, and a highway straight to Aredria would be cleared."

But I didn't. Why?

"Why on earth would I?"

Because I had absolutely no reason to intervene in the Human-Demon War.

"Does intervening in a war put food on my table or money in my pocket?"

There was almost no benefit for me. Aside from the point loss required to supply weapons and food, the opposing side of whichever faction I joined would try their absolute hardest to assassinate me. Perhaps, like Reina, some assassin would get incredibly lucky, find the barrier, and infiltrate my home.

"Yeah, no thanks."

I didn't want to take unnecessary risks. Besides, even without my intervention, the casualties from the Human-Demon War weren't actually that high. It was a war that had dragged on for hundreds of years. Until the humans produced a Hero, both sides had simply built fortifications and spent most of their time without any actual combat. It was, in essence, a war that didn't feel like a war.

"Liv is staying at my house, and aside from humanitarian aid, I have no intention of helping the Demon King's Army."

So wouldn't things just balance out roughly like they used to? Besides...

"They'll stop trolling the Gallery if we make peace?"

Now that was absolutely unacceptable. Where did they think my points came from? If anything, I wanted them to come in even greater numbers and troll even more. Therefore...

"Should I take this opportunity to rake in some points?"

I posted an announcement designed to provoke the human Emperor.