Chapter 288 - The Day the Idol Died
Though, I can't imagine finding such conveniently suitable talent would be easy...
"Oh, it changed."
After confirming the light had turned green, Rio and I crossed the crosswalk with our arms intertwined.
When we got about halfway across, a group of female high school students coming from the front raised their voices, saying, "Hey, isn't that Nakamoto and Rio Saito?"
Following behind, the sound of smartphone shutters. They're probably filming our lovey-dovey moment and uploading it to some social media. Privacy converted into likes.
But there's nothing to fear.
The public security bureau monitors this country's social media day and night, and they carry out manipulation activities to ensure no public opinion unfavorable to me gets posted.
While groping Rio's ass, I sent a glance toward the high school girls from earlier.
...Should I try it out.
"Status Open."
"?"
Enjoying the sensation of her soft buttocks, I performed an ability appraisal on the girls.
"...Just as I thought."
"Hey, what are you doing? Could you not look at other women while fondling my body? That kind of thing gets me excited!"
"Your true feelings are showing."
Rio likes being treated this way, so I'll leave things as they are.
The female high school students staring at me suspiciously were all Level 1. However, their MP was around 20 to 30.
"Not bad."
"..."
I could see Rio's lips trembling slightly.
If I don't clear up the misunderstanding soon, she might get so jealous she'll demand sex right here on the spot.
"It's not like I'm picking up girls. It's part of scouting for talent."
"...Are you saying those girls have talent?"
"It's not like they have none at all. If they patiently level up, they'd probably become decent users."
"You're kidding."
Rio shot a terrifying glare at the girls who had photographed her without permission.
"Are you planning to train those girls?"
"No. With that level of aptitude, it would take years of training. There's no way they'd be ready in time for the war to start."
"Hmph."
Next, I appraised a female office worker passing by.
Her MP was also around 20. With about ten years of rigorous training, she could have become a decent mage, but...
"Why are you only checking out women? If you're looking for military strength, you should just talk to men."
"It's true that men have higher physical stats, but those can be substituted with modern weapons. If the Self-Defense Forces were deployed, they could probably fight on equal footing with knights from another world. The problem is the power that science can't compensate for — magic. Women tend to have higher magical stats."
"Hmph."
People have probably called the power that words can't explain psychic intuition or curses.
Shrine maidens, witches, fortune tellers, psychics. It's no coincidence that women tend to be drawn to the mystical.
"And the younger and more emotionally unstable a girl is, the higher her magical power."
"In other words, the more mentally unstable a woman is, the more magical talent she has?"
"Could you choose your words a little more carefully?"
Also, you had pretty high MP for a normal person.
"So, wouldn't going to a psychiatric hospital work? I think there are plenty of unstable girls lying around there."
"...That's like giving a knife to a child. We need to choose people who won't misuse the power even if we give it to them."
"Then we need to find women who are appropriately crazy."
What does "appropriately crazy" even mean, I wonder.
Young women who are emotionally unstable but can still hold a proper conversation. A place where lots of those kinds of people gather would be—
"Ah."
That's the definition of "hidden in plain sight."
The facility we were about to head to — the TV station — is full of that sort of person.
After all, girls belonging to the entertainment industry are all broken in some way.
"Jackpot."
As soon as I entered the dressing room, I appraised the status of my co-starring girls one after another, and plenty of them had MP exceeding 100.
Last time I did this, I couldn't tell because of Chloe's appraisal interference.
I never imagined they were such a talented group.
Thinking about it, entertainment is originally a job closely related to religious rituals.
Beings like shamans who communicate with the gods through song and dance. That's what "entertainers" originally were.
It makes sense that girls involved in music activities have higher stats than girls who came from modeling.
Moreover, the girls belonging to popular groups had rarer skills.
It might be the result of unconsciously utilizing their own magical power and skills in their performances.
In other words, what I need to do is — get close to popular idols, tell them all about the otherworldly circumstances, and then level them up. Just repeat this over and over.
Of course, to build that level of trust, the quickest way is to become romantically involved.
"..."
Whether they have a no-dating rule or not doesn't matter at all.
To protect this planet—
I—
Will devour every last idol.
"Hello, is this Producer Kurosawa? I'm sorry for the sudden call, but lately there are more and more idol shows hosted by comedians, right? Yes, uh-huh. If there's an open slot..."
Feeling a slight twinge of guilt and a faint sense of exhilaration, I began my pitch.
Sorry, idol otaku everyone.
I have no choice. The fate of the world is at stake. I can't let my principles get in the way...!