Demon Lord Gallery

“Well, it’s a common story. If you ask awakened Demon Lords in the gallery, you can find plenty of similar stories. If anything, I’d say my situation is relatively good?”
Perhaps sensing the mood dropping, Edward ended his story on a somewhat cheerful note.
“Well, Edward’s world is in a good situation since there are no heroes.”
And Leon, seemingly understanding Edward’s intention to lighten the mood, immediately picked up on it and started steering the conversation in a cheerful direction.
“Our Ferma here is on the verge of going bald because of one hero─”
“It’s not coming. You bastard.”
Perhaps thanks to Ferma throwing the side dish he was eating and Leon persistently grating on Ferma’s nerves while throwing conversation.
Before long, the table could become bustling with a cheerful atmosphere.
“─So, your nickname ‘Retry’ is literally true?”
“Yes. I’m doing infinite ‘retries’ against the hero.”
“What try is it now? 3000th?”
“Exactly 3274 tries as of just before participating in the meeting. I’ve finally survived for a year now.”
The most interesting part of the conversation was undoubtedly about Retry, Ferma.
I was surprised by his serious and weighty appearance, which was the opposite of how he appeared in the gallery, posting all day about being chased by a hero and begging for help as if spamming, but what really surprised me was after hearing about his ability.
Retry’s power was regression.
Moreover, he could perform almost unlimited regression without any risk or limitation.
It was truly a cheat-like ability, and if there was such a thing as a protagonist, it would be an ability befitting one, but his opponent was bad.
“At this rate, wouldn’t it be faster for the opposing hero to ascend?”
“I agree. I don’t understand why such a monster exists in my dimension.”
According to Ferma, that hero had swordsmanship skills equal to or greater than Leon and Moses, and his anti-demon power and physical durability were close to that of a 2nd rank angel in Heaven.
Adding Leon’s evaluation to this, if that hero attacked Manmajeon, probably 90% of Manmajeon’s Demon Lords would be wiped out.
“If only that hero had joined the Hero Gallery and gained the absoluteness of time, he would have noticed my regression and settled things, or gone to another dimension, but unfortunately he didn’t join the Hero Gallery…”
Moreover, the problem was that despite the hero’s strength, he had no resistance to time-related effects at all, so he couldn’t even notice the regression.
Ferma had no choice but to struggle to survive against the hero who came to subjugate him no matter how many times he regressed.
“Sometimes I thought it might be better to just die, but when I think about the gallery members mocking me after my death, I get too angry to die”
“….Hang in there”
“Hey! Three more glasses of mead here!”
While we were enjoying the Manmajeon after-party, eating and drinking merrily.
“….?”
The moment I brought the glass of mead Leon had just filled to my lips, I realized that the surroundings were strangely quiet.
The pub, which had been ringing with the loud chatter of Demon Lords, the clinking of dishes, and the sound of things breaking all mixed together to the point of hurting my ears, was now eerily silent.
“What─”
As I turned my head, feeling something strange, an astonishing sight entered my view.
Leon, who had been excitedly chattering in front of me and pouring alcohol down his throat just a moment ago, was frozen in place with his glass raised to his lips.
It wasn’t just Leon.
Grandpa Moses sitting next to me was also frozen with his kind smiling face, and Edward and Ferma were also frozen in place with their glasses.
The robot serving food was stopped in a bizarre posture, and a plate that someone had thrown was fixed in mid-air as if nailed there.
As if time had stopped.
“What’s going on…”
I hurriedly stood up and looked around, but every living being and object in sight was stopped without exception.
The stopped space was filled with an eerie silence beyond mere quietness.
It was a silence that made me feel like I would go crazy if I didn’t mutter to myself.
“Is anyone there─!”
It could be considered a foolish action to call out to someone in a space where time had stopped, but even though I knew this well, I couldn’t help but shout with all my might.
The current situation seemed so surreal that I felt like I wouldn’t be able to distinguish whether this was reality or a dream if I didn’t shout.
“You don’t need to shout like that. I’m sorry for startling you.”
But surprisingly, there was someone who responded to my cry.
When I turned my qi sense towards the direction the voice came from, I felt a presence from the entrance of the pub.
After the cheerful sound of shoes on the tile floor echoed for a moment, a man soon appeared.
A tired-looking man wearing a suit coat over his shoulders and a pure white shirt.
“I’m Solomon, the chairman of Manmajeon. Nice to meet you, new Demon Lord Shin Su-hyeon”
It was Solomon, the ruler of Manmajeon and the main manager of the Demon Lord Gallery.
*
“…Um, nice to meet you too. What brings you here─”
Is it the time-stopped situation that’s the problem, or is it the figure standing in front of me?
I couldn’t say for sure what the problem was, but one thing was certain: the current situation was incredibly burdensome for me.
“There’s no need to be nervous. I’ve come because I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Ah, yes….”
He said there was no need to be nervous, but how could one not be nervous in this situation?
The main manager, Solomon, was the one who showed near-tyrannical rule over hundreds and thousands of Demon Lord gallery members.
It was only natural to break out in cold sweat thinking that such a figure was standing in front of me.
Moreover, even setting aside such reputation, the aura emanating from Solomon was bizarrely unique.
Strong individuals like Leon and Grandpa Moses, and even monsters that popped out of gates, all living beings have their unique aura, presence.
Even inanimate objects like robots or roadside stones usually have such an aura, but with Solomon, I couldn’t feel anything that could be called an aura, strangely enough.
As if he didn’t exist in this world.
“This is a conversation that shouldn’t be overheard by others, so I’ve come at the risk of being rude like this. I apologize again.”
“….It’s alright.”
“The reason I’ve come to you is none other than to ask for your cooperation. It seems your role will become quite important in the future.”
“Role, you say?”
I couldn’t help but wonder.
Compared to Solomon, wasn’t I just a speck of dust?
It was natural to question whether I, who had nothing special in terms of power, intelligence, or connections, could really be of value to Solomon.
“Self-objectification is good, but don’t look at it so pessimistically. I really need your help, which is why I’ve come like this, even stopping time.”
Seeing Solomon speak with a serious expression, I started to think deeply about this situation for a moment.
My unremarkable ability and the title of new Demon Lord weren’t worth putting on the scale of a favor.
However, there was one thing.
One thing that only I possessed.
“….Is this related to the dimension I belong to?”
The unprecedented characteristic of being from the 100 series depth dimension.
I held the title of being the first from the 100 series depth dimension, which didn’t exist even once in the Demon Lord Gallery.
“I’m glad we seem to understand each other well. That’s right. It’s about your dimension.”
The smile that had briefly appeared on Solomon’s tired face soon faded, and he continued speaking with a weary expression.
“We might need to use your dimension as a relay dimension in the near future. A relay dimension isn’t anything grand, if we compare it to your world, it would be close to a communication base station.”
“A base station?”
“We need an all-dimension communication method besides the Demon Lord Gallery. But the problem was that except for the Demon Lord Gallery, communication was impossible without encountering time lag or causality issues with any ordinary method.”
“And the means to solve this is the dimension I belong to?”
“That’s right.”
I couldn’t know exactly why they wanted to add another method despite having an excellent communication tool like the Demon Lord Gallery, but I could guess to some extent.
In my experience, there’s usually one case where existing communication methods are excluded.
When a war breaks out, or when there’s an untrustworthy enemy inside.
Combining this with the revisions mentioned in this meeting and Leon’s opinions, there was one inference that could be drawn.
Probably….
“Your guess is correct. We’re probably going to clash with the heroes soon, and we need to do some internal reorganization in preparation for that. Is this explanation sufficient?”
“Yes.”
To be honest, I wanted to say that I felt dazed.
I’m not even used to the position of being a Demon Lord yet, how could I adapt to words like hero popping up?
However, my resolution was to at least pretend to be familiar with it, as I had ascended to the position of a Demon Lord and belonged to the Demon Lord Gallery.
Of course, I also had the selfish hope that the existence called heroes wouldn’t get entangled with my dimension.
“Then can I take it that you acce─”
“I’m sorry, but I’d like to ask one thing.”
Cutting off Solomon’s words as he was naturally trying to pass off the favor, I took a moment to catch my breath.
The words I was about to utter were somewhat close to a gamble.
“Is there any benefit for me in accepting this favor now? I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s very Demon Lord-like to just throw out a favor without any give and take.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from seeing various Demon Lords’ posts in the gallery and through Odin’s words, it’s this.
Never let yourself be taken advantage of by Demon Lords.
Even if it’s Solomon, the main manager and chairman of Manmajeon, it was no exception.
“Haha─”
And hearing these words of mine, Solomon burst into laughter, opening his eyes wide as if he hadn’t expected this.
I wonder if that laughter is one of admiration or of losing one’s mind.
The answer to this could be heard right away.
“I made a mistake. You’re clearly the superior party, and I’m the inferior one, yet I spoke so rudely. I forgot that this is also a kind of contract. I apologize again.”
“Not at all.”
“Right, you’re curious about what you’ll receive? First, I’m thinking of secretly passing over some gallery management authority. I also plan to give you access rights to Manmajeon’s great library database. From what I know, there’s quite a bit of knowledge there that could be useful in your world too.”
Solomon’s words didn’t end there.
“Lastly, I’ll give you one chance to summon me. It doesn’t just end with summoning, I’ll grant one wish of yours.”
“….”
It was a proposal that could be called shocking.
The gallery management authority and database access rights were already enough repayment, but what left me speechless was none other than the [Solomon Summoning Right and Wish Right].
Even I, who was just a newbie in the Demon Lord Gallery, could assert.
That this held tremendous value.
“Ah, of course, even if I’m summoned to your dimension, the limit of the wish will only be possible within causality.”
Although there was the issue of causality, even including this, it was a reward with far too great value.
To the point where it was suspicious that he was offering this much.
That’s why I had to ask honestly.
“Isn’t this excessive compensation? Is this relay dimension worth that much?”
Hearing my words filled with doubt, Solomon smiled slightly and answered.
“It’s natural for you to have such suspicions. But I swear on the scales, this isn’t a contract to deceive you. To be honest, thanks to your appearance, a plan that only existed in theory has become practically feasible.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t doubt it. Your dimension has that much value. However, it’s not without any cost.”
Solomon emphasized the word ‘cost’ as if telling me to focus on that part in particular.
“What do you mean by cost?”
“It would be more accurate to call it a side effect of the contract for the relay dimension. It’s really nothing much. The causality correction for ‘heroes’ in your dimension will increase a bit.”
“By heroes, you mean…”
“But there are no heroes in your dimension, right? So it’s essentially a cost with no problems at all.”
Solomon grinned as he finished his explanation.
It was an incredibly pure and refreshing smile.

“What do you say, will you make a contract with me?”