Chapter 4

Wawawah…?

Huh—What’s with these clothes? I don’t remember changing into them…?

HaHa~ ♪ Such pretty outfits~ And they match what Mika-chan-san is wearing?

Yup ♪ It ain’t been like this since we were doin’ stuff for Ba-barrier~ I’m real glad I get to be all matchy-matchy with you on stage again, Sora-kun.

And Tsumu-chan-senpai an’ Nakkun too, of course. I sure hope y’all’ll stay close to us from here out ♪

YeS… That would be nice, but I’m still not following. It was probably your doing, but why have our clothes changed?

You’re not very perceptive, are you? I thought you would use at least a little bit of the brain you’ve been given.

If we’ve gone and changed a group of idols into stage costumes, then it would stand to reason that we want them to perform on stage, yes?

Take a look—The audience has already gathered. They’re quite different from our usual guests, but it’s splendidly fitting for this “isekai” experience ♪

An audience…? But we still haven’t released the SSVRS to the public, so there’s no way that our fans would know about it?

Ahh… All the people gathered around the stage are players, aren’t they?

Behind all these avatars are the local idols and the ES idols placed in the Tohoku region.

Now that you mention it, I recognize these faces. Since we’re the admins, we have access to all of the players’ information.

That’s why we were able to find the people posing as our teachers so quickly, too. They were people who weren’t supposed to be here.

Fufu. We ain’t none too good at variety show games, but we got a lotta SSG—That made us easy targets, right?

That’s why all those idols went an’ challenged us to battles.

We got to talkin’ an’ after those battles, I invited ‘em to this here live. Said they could come watch if they wanted~

So that’s how you did it. So while you were paying the price for your losses in SSG, you decided to take an avant-garde approach and chat up your opponents at the same time.

I had thought it was just that Shu-nii-san got pissed off that he lost and cursed them out.

Hmph. We fought fairly on the same battlefield and lost; I have no complaints.

Of course I was beyond frustrated, but protesting that won’t change the outcome.

And the other party was in high spirits after defeating us, so they graciously accepted our invitation.

As you can see, it was a great success. The area around the stage is completely packed.

That is true. You may have lost when it comes to variety, but as idols, you’ve achieved a decisive victory.

We exist to bring happiness to the people who watch us.

In that sense, Valkyrie has triumphed over everyone else in SHINSEKAI.

Mm, it’s not just a matter of distracting us from our ennui with that thought, though.

We’ve also requested for them to pay us if they watch our performance and think it was good—We’re quite poor, after all, since we’ve been losing so much.

The amount of money is left up to the discretion of the individual, and naturally we expect that some might not pay at all.

Rome ne s’est pas faite en un jour—And so our income will build up little by little.¹

And there is no one whose heart is not moved when they lay eyes on the stage I have painstakingly created. I imagine everyone’s purse strings will loosen, and we’ll be paid handsomely in SSG.

No, this is the end we’ve been working toward.

While exploring this world with Kagehira, we’d been learning more about its inner mechanisms… We looked into how we could build a stage and make costumes.

And we are exquisite creators, so as long as we understand how to do it, preparing a stage such as this is child’s play.

…I see now. I thought your money was dwindling quite rapidly, but you were using it for this large-scale stage.

I never even noticed~ I just thought it was because you kept losing, and I felt bad for you.

We had to manage the entirety of SHINSEKAI, so we couldn’t always keep our eyes on you two.

Fufu. I had no intentions of taking you by surprise.

Since when? Oshi… Onii-chan, ain’tcha say somethin’ like “Let’s give they who deceived us a surprise they won’t soon forget” before?

Well of course I wanted to crush them underfoot. They lured us into this bizarre, nonsensical work and toyed around with us without our consent.

So I was hoping to return that favor a little. I’m quite pleased seeing those dumbfounded expressions on your faces. Kakaka ♪

What do you think, dear magicians? How does it feel to be put under a spell?

Fufu. Actually, it’s kind of refreshing. I’d say I’m rather relieved—

Of course; my Nii-san would never suffer in silence while receiving blow after blow.

This is exactly what I would expect from my beloved Itsuki Shu of the Five Oddballs ♪

So you’ve foregone honorifics now? Well, it’s not as though I mind.

Hm… I jerked you around by the nose and made you see that I could do this, too, all in the efforts to be treated as your equal from here on out—

But it seems I’m still no match for my Nii-sans…

Your words don’t match your expression at all, Natsume-kun.

Yes! Shisho~ looks really happy right now?

I am happy. Of course I’m happy. The person I love is even more amazing than I ever thought he was.

I get it now. The reason why you weren’t upset by losing to the other idols is because you were planning to make up for it here.

Give a perfect performance, rake in the cash, and make a full comeback. It was at great expense, but the payoff was even greater—

That’s just how Valkyrie does things, isn’t it? Really, I’m ashamed of myself for not realizing until you spelled it out for me.

Mm. Understand what you still lack, and devote yourself to overcoming it—Natsume.

…!

You can start by performing on this stage and displaying your ability as an idol. Shine brilliantly as the idols you have made light of all this time.

Is it not your path in life to gather up those who have suffered defeat and cast aside?

Your fans would feel blessed to see you like this.

I’ve heard that the events of SHINSEKAI will be compiled into a program to be broadcast—

But if there’s no trace of you all, you’ll disappoint your fans.

I don’t understand why you get so up in arms when talking about fans, Nii-san. You’re the one who gets into fights with your fans online and receives floods of callouts because of it.

I am merely facing my fans with sincerity! Art is a clash of souls; I refuse to stay locked within an ivory tower!

If I liken myself to a god, I’ll inevitably overlook important things—like you did this time.

Rather than looking down on the world from a castle in the sky, stand firmly on the ground and grasp that which you hold dear with your own hands.

Because we do not live in a paradise or a utopia, but rather a chaotic, confusing world.

“♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪”