Demon Lord Gallery

“….What does that mean?”
I couldn’t help but question after hearing the main manager’s announcement of the final revision.
What on earth was it that made it so shocking?
What on earth was it that suddenly caused shouts and loud voices to resound throughout the conference hall?
I had no idea what to expect.
“That? Simply put, it means they’ll just let it be even if a Demon Lord dies away from home.”
“Dies away from home?”
“To put it more directly, it means they’ll just leave it be even if a Demon Lord is killed by someone.”
“Wasn’t it like that until now?”
“Yeah. No wonder Manmajeon Demon Lords were criticized as a cartel.”
It was quite a shocking fact in its own way. My goodness, was Manmajeon such a place where if one of its Demon Lords died, the entire Manmajeon would take revenge and back them up?
As an awakened Demon Lord with no connections or power except for the gallery, I felt incredibly unfair.
Well, if I think about it, it’s not that I don’t have any connections, and I’m receiving a lot of help, but anyway.
“But it’s shocking that they’re really abolishing that. We awakened Demon Lords are facing life threats every day… but that’s not the case for those from Manmajeon.”
“That’s right. Without that, probably at least dozens of Demon Lords will be cut down. Aren’t Heaven, Hell, and the Hero Gallery all waiting to beat up Manmajeon right now?”
“Probably? In the first place, the Manmajeon guys have a lot of karma compared to their abilities.”
After blankly listening to Leon and Ferma’s conversation for a moment. I couldn’t help but interject with a question.
“Um, sorry to interrupt. But isn’t the main manager from Manmajeon?”
“Rather than being from there, he’s closer to being the creator, ruler, but well. He is from Manmajeon, right? He’s the famous Solomon after all.”
“Solomon?”
“Yeah. He was quite famous in other dimensions too. Didn’t you know?”
How could I not know the name Solomon?
A figure related to the 72 demons that popped up while searching for various materials about Demon Lords and demons before participating in the meeting, and a figure called the Wise King in Earth’s history.
Looking at Earth’s records, he was a figure close to good with no connection to Demon Lords except for the unofficial history .
Therefore, if you think about it, the question of why this figure is a Demon Lord might come up, but.
‘After seeing Odin, Moses, and Noah, it’s too late to be surprised by Solomon now.’
Having seen quite a lot already, it wasn’t surprising anymore.
At this point, even if Santa Claus or Jesus Buddha popped up as a Demon Lord, I’d probably just think, ‘I see.’
“So the main manager was Solomon.”
In any case, the fact that the main manager was Solomon was new information.
However, the question of why the main manager, no, Solomon, was proposing an agenda that would be disadvantageous to Manmajeon-origin Demon Lords remained.
“It seems like the main manager is trying to do a major reshuffle. Seeing as he’s proposing an agenda that blatantly forms a strong faction… Isn’t that right, old man Moses?”
“It seems like he might be trying to touch something related to the scales.. Hmm. I’m not sure about the details. You should ask the secluded girl in the corner over there.”
“..The auntie seems to be sleeping now, so I’ll have to ask later.”
Fortunately, perhaps understanding these questions of mine, Leon and Moses naturally continued their conversation and leaked information.
After resolving my questions to some extent and turning my head back to the Manmajeon conference hall, I started to see Demon Lords causing a commotion by standing up from their seats here and there.
‘Are they going to fight again?’
When I enhanced my hearing to eavesdrop on the situation outside to some extent, I could hear quite a lot of fierce opposition to the main manager’s revision, such as ‘Are you crazy to pass such an agenda’, ‘How can you pass this without prior notice’, and so on.
It was clearly different from the meeting process so far where they couldn’t say anything, suppressed by the main manager’s momentum.
Seeing voices getting louder and actions becoming rougher, it seemed certain that another brawl or fight would break out in just a little while.
It felt like the arena that was supposed to open after the meeting might be pushed forward a bit.
“…They’re not going to break into another brawl, are they?”
“No matter what they say, once it comes out of the main manager’s mouth, it’s over. The previous agendas were for receiving opinions, but this one clearly has the main manager’s opinion in it, and also─”
Leon’s following words contained an explanation that in Manmajeon, the main manager, Solomon, was closer to an omnipotent king in reality, though formally a chairman.
In fact, even this kind of meeting is close to Solomon dumping his work onto the lower Demon Lords.
“─Anyway, don’t worry, the meeting will definitely end here.”
“As long as the meeting doesn’t get extended, I’m fine.”
No matter how comfortable the rest area was, enduring a meeting that goes on for dozens of hours was grueling.
Originally, I wasn’t the type to suit these kinds of meetings anyway.
“Then let’s wrap up and head out soon! Today’s arena should be worth watching!”
With Leon’s words, the Demon Lords scattered around the rest area slowly started to get up.
Moses, Edward, and Ferma briefly said they would go to the pub first and quickly left the rest area, and the Succubus Queen Asha left an unidentifiable eye smile and disappeared in an instant.
Before I knew it, only I, Leon, and the unidentifiable girl Demon Lord buried in the blanket pile were left in the rest area.
“…They disappear so quickly.”
“That’s how Demon Lords usually are. Look, the conference hall is already completely empty now, right?”
“What?”
Startled by Leon’s words, when I looked at the main conference hall outside the window, it was indeed completely empty.
“Manmajeon meetings are always like this. It’s almost a tradition for everyone to rush to the arena and pubs as soon as the last agenda ends, without any closing ceremony.”
I suppose this is a Demon Lord-like closing ceremony? No, perhaps the arena itself might be replacing the concept of a closing ceremony.
“Then let’s wrap up and go too. Old man Moses will be securing seats at the pub for us.”

“Alright.”
When a superhuman and a sword master join forces, room cleanup and tidying could be finished quickly. However, there was one problem.
“What about that person over there?”
It bothered me that the girl Demon Lord was still buried in the corner, rolling up in blankets without any reaction or movement even when we made noise while cleaning.
Is it okay to leave her like that and go?
“It’s fine, just leave her and go. Anyway, she’ll stick to that corner like that and then at some point disappear with a poof and return to her own dimension, so don’t worry. Indifference is the medicine for that auntie.”
“..Really?”
“Then we’re good? Let’s go.”
Just as I was about to follow Leon who had left the room, leaving behind the room-bound Demon Lord who seemed to be receiving somewhat pitiful treatment.
Grab-
Surprised by the sudden hand grabbing me, when I turned my head, I saw a girl, no, a Demon Lord who had somehow approached and was clinging close behind me.
“….What’s the matter?”
“…….”
“Um…”
Unable to grasp how to respond to the Demon Lord who kept holding onto my collar without saying anything, I couldn’t help but keep breaking out in cold sweat.
‘Did I do something to offend her..?’
Just as I was retracing my memory to see if I had done anything wrong while cleaning, the Demon Lord’s mouth opened and a small voice leaked out.
“…You, outsider.”
“Pardon?”
“Help. Contact.”
“What does that…”
Just as I was voicing my confusion at the incomprehensible string of words.
Before I knew it, the Demon Lord who had been holding my collar had disappeared without a trace along with the blanket.
“……”
A Demon Lord who threw incomprehensible words and disappeared.
I couldn’t help but stare blankly at the spot where that Demon Lord had been for a moment.
“..What was that”
*

It had been quite a while since I had that incomprehensible conversation with the room-bound girl Demon Lord.
The place where I was now located, after leaving the rest area with a blank expression, was.
“Cheers!”
“””Cheers!”””
A bustling pub.
The location of this pub where Moses and Edward had secured seats was right in front of the Manmajeon main conference hall.
Perhaps because it was so close, the inside of the pub was packed with numerous Demon Lords, forming a sea of people.
I’m not sure if “sea of demons” would be more appropriate than “sea of people” for Demon Lords.
The pub had quite modern interior design, and the internal serving was being handled by robots I had seen on the way here.
From what I heard from Leon, it seemed that even the side dishes were all made by robots, which made me quite envious of these robots.
I wonder if I could take one of those home.
“Whew, as expected, old man Odin’s mead is amazing. Isn’t that right, old man?”
“You’re saying something right for once. Odin’s mead is indeed among the most delicious in the dimensions.”
“Shin Su-hyeon, what do you think? There’s nothing like this in your dimension, right?”
Seeing Leon asking me a question while guzzling down mead, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
The cheerful atmosphere and bustling pub, along with delicious alcohol and side dishes.
It had been over 20 years since I last enjoyed something like this.
And this drinking party I was experiencing after 20 years was truly…
“The best.”
It was the best.
This wasn’t just an evaluation made under the influence of the atmosphere.
The ‘spirit division’ magic created by our great main manager, Solomon, was so perfect that even I forgot I was a spirit division, with no difference from my usual body, and I could even eat and drink without any problems.
In other words, I wasn’t just getting caught up in the atmosphere, but I could actually drink alcohol and get drunk.
“I can’t believe I didn’t know there was alcohol like this, I’ve been missing out on life.”
“You have some taste too, I see!”
Odin’s mead was truly amazing in taste. The bitterness mixed with sweetness, and the smooth way it went down the throat.
The only alcohol I had tasted on Earth for 20 years was at best factory beers.
Even those had mostly become flat beers that could hardly be called alcohol after going through World War III and the ability overload incident, and more than anything else, before encountering the Demon Lord Gallery, I had been maintaining my food, clothing, and shelter almost out of obligation.
There was no such thing as enjoying and expressing emotions in meals like this current drinking party.
Therefore, for me, this drinking party was nothing short of the best time.
Moreover, it wasn’t just the alcohol, food, and atmosphere that were good.
The neutral Demon Lords sitting at the same table, that is, the ‘hero spy’ Leon, ‘Fallout’ Uncle Edward, ‘Ten Commandments’ Grandpa Moses, and ‘Retry’ Ferma, were very kind Demon Lords.
Despite meeting for the first time today, they spoke to me without hesitation, and I could feel their consideration throughout the conversation.
Perhaps thanks to the comfortable atmosphere created like this.
As the alcohol started to take effect, I couldn’t help but pour out my story riding on the intoxication.
“─That’s roughly how it happened. I think I became a Demon Lord by killing half of humanity in this process. Humans were incredibly stupid. Including myself.”
The Demon Lords listened to the end of my story, which was close to ramblings.
“Haha..”
“Your dimension is pitiful too. Humans are the same everywhere, really…”
A sense of disillusionment with humans.
It was a thought shared by all five people sitting at this table, and their own experiences.
“Isn’t that just how humans are as beings?”
Edward, who had been quietly listening to the story, also affirmed Leon’s words and continued.
“Maybe it’s because I became a Demon Lord in a similar way to you. My evaluation of humanity is similar.”
“Pardon?”
“Before you came in, I was the newbie in the Demon Lord Gallery. Well, that’s ancient history now…”
Edward’s face, as he spoke while tracing his memories, was tinged with emptiness.
Just like me when I was repeating a mechanical life before entering the Demon Lord Gallery.
“My dimension was similar to yours but different. Mana existed, but it was a dimension that grew based on scientific technology. It was a dimension with a civilization that hadn’t yet left its mother star.”
Edward’s homeland was a dimension with unremarkable scientific technology.
“Terraforming was impossible, interstellar travel was impossible, let alone space colonies, we barely managed to establish even a space station with such miserable technological capabilities.”
It was a planet where there were still places untouched by human hands, and an immature civilization.
“However, weapon technology was excessively advanced. To an extent beyond our means.”
There was no technology to mass-produce prosthetic limbs, but there were magical engineering bombs the size of a bag that could blow away an entire city.
There was no technology to respond to epidemics and pest infestations, but there were magical engineering viruses that could kill hundreds of millions.
“Humanity carrying weapons larger than their own bodies didn’t last long before they started fighting. It was a war that engulfed the entire planet.”
And in that war, Edward was an admiral of a great nation and a submarine captain.
The order that came down to Admiral Edward, who boarded a submarine when the world war broke out, was one:
To launch magical nukes towards all countries except their own.
“Everyone on the submarine refused the order. They said they couldn’t kill all of humanity.”
Edward was human.
Edward was a family man.
But
Edward was an admiral.
Edward was a soldier.
That’s why he pressed the button.
And, 90% of humanity died.
“After several years, when we surfaced, I found the world dead.”
The last admiral of humanity, who had destroyed the world with his own hands, hid back into the sea.
20 years passed, and the admiral became a Demon Lord.
Along with his subordinates who had become a Demon Lord army, and his submarine that had become his Demon Lord castle.