Chapter 5: I'm the Moderator.
Human nation, Krantz Empire. Founded by the first emperor blessed with dragon blood, who gathered the persecuted humans. A great empire that endured for 50 years even after the great catastrophe. The secret to not collapsing despite endless food shortages wasn't anything special.
"Food, we're short on food. At this rate, we won't last a few more years before everything crumbles..."
The emperor donned a straw hat instead of a crown, work pants instead of ornate robes, and headed to the fields with a plow in hand. With the emperor leading by example, everyone in the imperial family had no choice but to follow, and even Crown Princess Eleonora took up the plow in line with the long-standing tradition since the catastrophe.
"We've done everything we could. We've really tried everything..."
A woman clutching her plow, gripping her head and on the verge of tears. Today, like yesterday, Eleonora was drowning in despair.
"New farming methods don't work, breed improvements are hopeless, there's nothing left to try. There's really no hope now..."
The previous emperor, Valerian, who had overthrown a tyrant to take the throne, did everything in his power to solve the food crisis. He permitted the people to cultivate all imperial lands, and even plowed up the palace gardens—prized for their ancient history and tradition—to relentlessly test high-risk experiments like new farming techniques and breed improvements.
A loud rumble echoed from her stomach.
"...I'm hungry."
The roar shook her whole body, snapping Eleonora back to reality. It was too early to give up. Even though this year was another poor harvest, it wasn't five years in a row yet. Records showed no five consecutive years of famine so far.
"There has to be a way. There must be..."
It didn't matter if it was something tiny. Eleonora's whole life had been spent failing to find even that.
"Eleonora-sama! Eleonora-saaama!!"
Her maid came running, straw hat bobbing, urgently calling the princess who was lost in thought about possible solutions. Clara, who never raised her voice, was this flustered—something big and unexpected must have happened.
"Clara. What on earth is it that's got you so urgent?"
Eleonora quickly checked Clara over for any injuries. Her plain but clean clothes showed no signs of harm.
"Look at this, please!"
Clara hurriedly pulled something from her bosom.
"...Bread?"
Bread. A very long loaf emerged from her arms.
"Wh-where on earth did this come from? Bread this appetizing...?"
It looked warm and soft. In a world where eating two meals a day properly would make waves, this was unimaginable.
"Sob... Please check the Gallery! You'll understand right away!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, Clara burst into tears.
"The Gallery? What's there that's so..."
Eleonora logged into the Gallery as Clara suggested.
Hey everyone. I'm the brand-new, piping-hot Moderator just appointed. Nice to meet you all.
First greetings come with a gift. Saw y'all starving to death lol;; Check the Shop tab and you'll see right away. That's it for now.
Her eyes widened at the words about acquiring food. "A shop? Where's the shop?!" Her hands trembled so badly she could barely tap the screen. Her gaze darted frantically between the bread in Clara's hands and the display.
"Eleonora-sama, calm down! It's right on the main screen...!"
"R-right. I need to calm down. Maintain my dignity. I must."
Eleonora took deep breaths to preserve her imperial poise, then tapped the shop button.
Welcome to Gallery Shop 'Just a Shop'!
Remaining P: 0
[Item Purchase / Exchange]
Purchase first. Entering the purchase tab should reveal what was going on. Heart pounding, Eleonora tapped purchase and saw:
A very long bread. Dry it out and swing it as a blunt weapon too.
500/48-
Designated as Gallery basic food item. Stock auto-replenishes on depletion.
"Cl-Clara? That bread... you bought it here...?"
Please say yes. Staring with desperate hope, Clara nodded vigorously.
"Sob... Eleonora-sama. Waaah..."
Bread. Bread! She didn't care how much the exchange system skimmed off the top. Gems overflowed in the palace, but no amount of gems could buy food.
"Kyaaah!!! Bread! It's bread, Clara!!!"
And she could sell useless rocks for food...? She had to excavate the palace and exchange it all.
"His Majesty went to the fields outside the east wall after court today, right? Is my memory correct, Clara?"
"Y-yes...! With Her Majesty the Empress. The prince is studying with Retired Emperor Valerian in the palace... Sniff..."
Far. The two who needed reports were inconveniently distant. Eleonora tore off half the baguette and ordered Clara.
"You take this and inform His Majesty! I'll tell Retired Emperor Valerian!"
Forgetting all imperial decorum, she simply cheered and ran off. The moment hope for solving the food crisis appeared.
A rundown room reeking of ammonia. Double-checking the rationed bread at cost sales announcement, I jolted in surprise.
"What do the dragons' IRL bans mean, Gallery folks..."
Lounging on the table, scrolling announcement comments, I spotted a super confusing one.
Dragon IRL ban? For me, too scared of the Four-eyed Wolves to even step outside, it was an insurmountable trial. If only I knew the criteria. Time to ask Sora.
"Soraaa, got a question."
Yes, Rain. Please speak.
"Tell me the criteria for dragon IRL bans."
I tugged Sora's ring like always.
No clear criteria known. However, speculation possible from Gallery posts. Needed?
A more vague answer than expected. Still better than nothing.
"Yeah, please."
Greed and incompetence. Severe cases of either led to IRL bans, per speculation.
Prime greed example: Post-catastrophe chaos, using Gallery to build personal kingdom.
Prime incompetence: Fear of IRL bans led to minimal system use by that era's lone Moderator.
Truly greedy and incompetent. Greed, huh...
Welcome to Gallery 'Exchange' System!
[Item Registration]
2% fee deducted from exchanged item value. Deposited P usable as currency in Gallery Shop.
I snuck an extra 1% fee on top. Baguette refillable with initial 1000P, but for more work, needed points—slight bump seemed fine. Not greed, right? No complaints yet, so probably okay.
Calming my racing heart, I checked the Gallery.
No big greed, tons of good deeds—should be fine. And my small greed wasn't pure avarice.
Welcome to Gallery 'Moderator Exclusive Shop'!
[Housing - Safe House Search Results]
[Personal Small & Medium Bunkers]
[Military & Large Bunkers]
"This place is too scary... Hate Four-eyed Wolf howls..."
Constant life threats 24/7 left me sleep-deprived. Toilet stench was bad. Really bad—I said it twice. Plus, tension meant no signals down there; time to release after a week.
[Personal Air Raid Shelter 10,000P / Details]
[...]
[Personal Bunker 50,000P (Customizable post-purchase) / Details]
[...]
[...]
[Personal Luxury Bunker 10,000,000P / Details]
My target: Customizable personal bunker at 50k. Cheap ones were just shelters, not livable. Too pricey ones risked dragon house calls and took forever to save for. 50k livable bunker was perfect. At this rate, one or two more days.
"Urgh... Hngh..."
Light stretch, then sprawled on the table. Rare satisfaction. And exhaustion. Couldn't go out, but mind at peace.
"Good night, Sora."
Have a peaceful night, Rain.
Felt like I could finally sleep soundly in ages.