Chapter 2
Reviving those timeless figures for a limited time using the SSVRS… What meaning is there in doing that?
There’s immeasurable meaning. And plenty of value in it, too. If you were given the chance to see a collaboration between a beloved idol from the past and one who’s currently popular, wouldn’t you be at least a little interested?
If you can revive the past, you can make use of all the great things in history as resources of sorts.
And the more history we have, the more resources we have.
Consider why the classics or other masterpieces of old are so beloved, and why the revival boom persists.
Ahh~ Things like Vampire Shogun have been all the rage these days.
I’m pretty sure the original aired nearly half a century ago.
Yes. New things are not always better; there’s a certain charm in the antique. And as long as there’s a significant crowd asking for it, there will be a business to sell it to them.
Where there’s demand, there’s supply. This renaissance of classics isn’t limited to just the idol industry—You can see it in the manga industry and other areas of the entertainment world.
I can’t even imagine the profits that could come out of this. Someone must have realized this and, as an experiment, deployed people to act as Sagami-sensei and Kunugi-sensei in SHINSEKAI.
It’s probable that they did this to confirm that these “reborn idols” could see practical use.
Perhaps they were even thinking that if all went well, they would let them win SS and become the dominant force in the idol industry.
Mm no, I don’t think that’s the case.
If that’s what they were trying to do, wouldn’t they have used a more famous superidol? Like maybe that primordial idol—You know, he who shall not be named.
Godfather, then. You’re the one who suggested we call him that, Senpai, so you should at least use the title yourself.
No, Hiyori-kun was the one who suggested it?! It was first brought up as a metaphor during Autumn Live, wasn’t it?
That’s irrelevant right now.
In any case, taking Sagami-sensei out of the equation, Kunugi-sensei was pretty lackluster as an idol—They could have picked a more renowned figure.
Kunugi-sensei was a really great idol too!
…I wonder if Sagami-sensei offered for them to use his appearance as an avatar, but only under the condition that they used Kunugi-sensei as well.
It seems that he’s entirely unmotivated to ever work as an idol again. But he never got to perform with Kunugi-sensei even once while he was active—
Maybe he wanted to see himself on a stage together with him, in their younger forms.
Even though it was a fleeting, transient dream.
That makes sense~ Any kind of dreamlike “what-if” unit can be formed with the power of the SSVRS. There might be some serious demand for that!
Yeah. For example, we could even create a fantasy performance in which the Five Oddballs sang and danced as they were during the War.
Wow, I’d love to see that! Even though it would be more of a nightmare for me!
Mm, and there is value in turning dreams into reality. There will be business wherever there is demand, and money will follow. And as long as there’s money involved, there will be plenty of people hoping to get a piece of the pie.
Because of that, there are too many suspects who could be involved in this imposter scandal. It’s probably a lost cause.
There’s no point in trying to pursue it further.
Rather, I’d like to thank them for discovering a new way to use the SSVRS and even testing it out themselves.
Ahaha, so that’s why you didn’t want to track down the imposters. I was wondering why you didn’t do any follow-up to that.
YeS. …Or rather, it wasn’t enough of a problem to force my hand.
What do you mean?
Hidaka-sensei said he was going to have the culprits answer for their crimes, right~?
He has connections with a lot more people than we do, and he can see through the fronts people put up with just a glance—
He can probably get all sorts of info just by watching what people do in video footage, so he might have already found and taken them down~
What would Hidaka Seiya-san stand to gain from that…?
Nnngh? Hidaka-sensei didn’t tell Sora all the details, so he doesn’t really know~?
He just said it would be annoying if those timeless figures were brought back from the dead…?
Mika-chan-san was the one he asked to get rid of the ghosts—the fakes—not Sora.
Maybe Mika-chan-san knows what Hidaka-sensei wanted when he asked for that.
Ahh… Mika-kun was supposed to be resting, so I was wondering why he’d come back to that place.
He wanted to do the work that was given to him—He’s such an earnest kid.
I hope he doesn’t get sick again because he was moving around when he was supposed to be taking it easy.
The rest period was only ever a recommendation from us; we never forbid anyone from entering SHINSEKAI. So we can’t scold him or punish him for breaking any rules.
Yes, Mika-chan-san did his work very seriously. He’s such a great person! Sora said he would do it for him~ But he was really stubborn about it?
Fufu. It’s no wonder—He’s Shu-kun’s child, after all.
I have no recollection of giving birth to Kagehira.
But as his teacher, I have given him instruction and guidance.
Wah—? Don’t start talking all of a sudden, Shu-kun! You scared me!
Hm. Anyone who’s logged in can use the messaging feature to send DMs but… how did you know we were floating around in the sky?
Don’t make me laugh. Fools with god complexes are like smoke: they want to rise as high as possible. Does it make you feel good, then, to look down upon the masses from the clouds?
No, no. We thought we should experience the atmosphere of the game for ourselves, so we’re here as just players right now.
Yes! Sora couldn’t help it, you know~? He loves games… ☆
If any imposters appear again, we’ll be able to deal with them quickly.
Administrators have the right to issue bansS, but we’re interested in the experiments they’re trying out. If possible, we’d even like to ask them a few things once we’ve found them.
How does it feel to act as a prominent figure in history? Or something like that?
HaHa~ ♪ It sounds fun, almost like cosplaying?
Are you interested in that kind of thing, Sora? In that case, let’s do it together sometime… ♪
If you’re going to cosplay, I’ll make the costumes for you! I’ll make a cute dress just for you, Natsume-kun…!
Gyah! You’ve been so nice to be these days, I’m almost glad to see your thorny side after so long!
…Don’t just indulge yourselves in idle chatter as if you were mere spectators. You ought to come back down to earth, too.
You, too, are all characters in a larger story known as SS.
…?