God's Atlantis
I sat down in the chair.
David knelt before me. Jackson lurked in the corner, quietly reading my every expression.
I hadn't killed David.
Originally I'd planned to torture him for about three hours and then finish him off—but on second thought, the bastard seemed useful enough to keep around.
Naar Entertainment. One of the major agencies that, along with Venus Entertainment and Lilith Entertainment, ranked among the top in District 6700. In other words—a competitor.
David had handled all of Naar Entertainment's dirty work. That meant he knew every single one of their skeletons.
Put simply, if I used David, I could take out Pobitz's strongest rival. Everything would get several times easier.
Killing him right away is on hold. Use him first, then kill him.
I told him I would spare his life.
With his unique trait—Lie Detector—he should have known I was lying. And yet he didn't thrash. He didn't argue. He simply bowed his head and accepted my words.
If he'd talked back, I was going to chop off one of his arms. Lucky bastard. …Or maybe just sharp.
He might have been thinking he could just weather this and run later.
"Swear your loyalty."
"I swear it. I'll gladly lick your feet."
"Lick my feet? You? Just imagining it makes me sick."
"…I'm sorry."
"Anyway, you swore loyalty to me. Right?"
"Yes. I swore. Please—just spare my life."
You have satisfied the transmission conditions for Mapung Singong.
I reached toward David. Black energy rose from my palm like heat haze, flew into him, and was absorbed. On both of his wrists, tattoos appeared—like wind swirling into form.
Transmission of Mapung Singong.
It was an SSS-rank skill I possessed. Its effect: transmit Mapung Singong to a target who has sworn loyalty.
The recipient could grow strong rapidly through the art—but there were side effects.
One of them: a demonic nature would take root, and if that nature consumed the mind, the person became a demon.
Another: they would treat the commands of the Chun Ma as absolute priority.
In short, they become my slave. The compulsion is weaker than Subjugation, sure—but still.
I stared at David. Forced to receive Mapung Singong, he went beyond kneeling—he pressed his head all the way to my feet.
Not a flicker of excitement. Perfect self-control. The bastard's got talent.
I was mildly impressed.
That was all. The plan to kill him once he outlived his usefulness remained unchanged.
His unique trait, Lie Detector?
I wouldn't deny it was useful. Pure utility alone made it enormous—interrogations, negotiations, all kinds of situations.
But it wasn't the kind of ability you'd hang yourself over, either.
There'll be things even a lie detector can't catch… and it's only A-rank, not S.
No regrets.
"Why did you choose planting hidden cameras? Were you going to blackmail Lilith Entertainment with the footage? You weren't seriously planning to blackmail Pobitz directly, were you?"
"Footage like that isn't enough for blackmail. Even at best it would only catch them in underwear, not naked…. The moment I got the videos, I was going to leak them immediately."
"Why?"
"To damage their pure-idol image."
"…Fair enough. Image is everything for pure-type idols. Is that all?"
"Yes. For now, that's all."
Irritation flared without warning. I kicked David hard in the feet, over and over. The stress eased a little.
"David, right? I'll keep this short. Pobitz has to take first place in District 6700 within a month. Cooperate however you need to. Clear out anyone who gets in the way. And if Pobitz fails to take first? You'll live forever."
"……Live forever, meaning…?"
"Curious? I promise I won't disappoint you."
"……."
David trembled with fear.
With that, the situation was settled for now. I looked over the scattered corpses and spoke to him.
"Clean this place up yourself."
"…Yes. Leave the cleanup to me."
"You said you could arrange sexual offerings, right? I'll be at a nearby hotel—bring a woman. A popular actress would be nice."
"I'll need time."
"How long?"
"Give me two hours."
"Not so long I can't wait. If you bring an ugly bitch… I'll kill you on the spot. For real."
I waved at Jackson, who was still shaking in the corner, and walked out of the house.
D-day.
Debut day dawned.
The dorm was already chaotic from seven in the morning. The girls had woken far earlier than usual and kept circling the place without rest.
"……."
Ju Seo-hyeon sat on the sofa with a rigidly set face, staring at the TV. The morning news was covering Pobitz's debut. Whether that really deserved a news slot was debatable—but this was District 6700. Entertainment news mattered more than anything here.
I turned my head.
A delicious smell drifted over. Yuria, apron on, was preparing breakfast. The scent of seaweed soup stirred the appetite.
"Producer!"
Mi-ryeong called me. Fresh from the shower, her hair still wet, her body barely wrapped in a towel. In both hands she held hangers with underwear on them.
"Which underwear do you think is better? Pick one!"
"Underwear…. Does it matter? You'll be wearing stage shorts under the costume anyway."
"You'll see them. So it matters to me. Which do you like more?"
I looked at the underwear with a more serious eye. Both were sheer mesh panties that showed a little through; the designs were similar. The difference was color. Black and red. My finger pointed to the black.
"This one? I was thinking black too… we're in sync."
"Isn't that a little too sexy for an idol to wear?"
"It's not like anyone else is going to see it, so it's fine."
Mi-ryeong went into her room.
Thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud.
My gaze drifted toward the dining table. Elena, the last to wake, sat there with her hair still a mess, not even attempting to fix it. Her fist kept slamming the table. Her brow was crumpled without mercy.
"What's wrong?"
"…I—the head of House Valdert—am going to climb onto a stage in a few hours and dance…. Become a cheap entertainer…. How can a reality like this even exist…?"
"Don't you think it's a little late for denial? And no one will recognize you. That's your illusion magic, right?"
"…Illusion magic. Right. I'll deceive all of District 6700 with illusion magic."
"Even so, you can't fool ten million people alone. Why are you suddenly panicking?"
"Haa. Don't you think the practice was far too short? Debuting like roasting beans over a lightning flash…. If we'd had more practice time, we could have been more perfect…. Yes. If we're doing this, we should become perfect idols. And yet practice was only a week…. Half of that I only remember having sex with you…. What kind of idol is this…?"
Elena's perfectionist lament went on for another ten minutes or so. I discovered an unexpected side of her.
After breakfast I took the Pobitz members to a salon. Professionals styled their hair, and we checked the stage costumes.
"This is the stage costume…?"
Ju Seo-hyeon staggered at the sight of it, visibly shocked.
"Pull yourself together, Unnie!"
Mi-ryeong caught her from behind.
"This… is serious."
Elena shook her head with a sigh.
"……Do we really have to wear something like this?"
Even Yuria narrowed her eyes.
I understood their feelings completely. The costumes were so tacky I wanted to tear them to shreds.
What is this. Fairies?
Sparkling dresses that looked like something out of a children's fairy tale. The overall design was childish and outdated. The finishing touch was the wings attached to the back of each dress. Those wings alone made the outfits look less like stage costumes and more like cosplay.
Etwaltz had designed them. Because of a promise I'd made with him, the stage costumes had to be worn no matter what.
"No choice. You have to wear them."
"…Just the wings. Let's at least take those wings off."
Ju Seo-hyeon reached out to rip them free.
"You can't! Unnie! Without these clothes we can't debut!"
"Hieek! Wh-where do you think you're grabbing?!"
"Your chest is pretty big, Unnie. Still smaller than mine, though."
"Let go…!"
"Aww, why are you like this? We've already seen everything there is to see of each other."
"Urgh…."
Ju Seo-hyeon looked at me with eyes that begged for help. Pride kept her from actually asking—she only sent the look. I stepped up behind them and grabbed Mi-ryeong's breasts.
"Kyah!"
Mi-ryeong screamed, but she didn't back off.
Squeeze. Knead.
I groped Mi-ryeong's chest; Mi-ryeong groped Ju Seo-hyeon's.
Softly.
Yuria came up behind me. She reached out and touched my chest.
"Haa… Master…."
Her sweet voice brushed my ear. I felt myself starting to get hard.
"What are you doing."
Elena, legs crossed in a chair, watched us and sighed as if she couldn't believe it.
"It's a train! Elena Unnie, you join too!"
"I'm fine. Who would play such a vulgar game…."
"You did it in bed last time."
"……I wasn't in my right mind then. Forget it."
Elena shook her head.
TKT Broadcasting Station.
Pobitz would debut at TKT. More precisely, on TKT's music program, Music Kingdom.
Their stage was the first slot.
In terms of impact, the final stage was better—but the final stage was reserved for the show's number-one act.
From next week on, Pobitz will take that last stage.
It wasn't ideal, but a music-show debut was mandatory. Viewership for music programs in this district hit a full fifty percent.
Fifty percent…. On Earth that would be an absurd number…. But here it's possible. After all, entertainment is the center of District 6700.
"Nice. Usually rookies share a waiting room with other teams…."
Samara looked at the waiting-room door with curious eyes. The paper stuck to it had only one word written on it: Pobitz.
Pobitz had been assigned a fairly good waiting room—proof that TKT was paying attention. A bathroom and shower were attached, and there was a TV and a fridge.
"Pobitz isn't an ordinary rookie group."
We went inside. The members settled onto the sofa, each showing off her own personality. I checked the time. Fifty minutes until rehearsal.
"Seong Yujin."
Ju Seo-hyeon called me.
"I told you to call me Producer."
"…Producer."
"What is it, Seo-hyeon?"
"I heard rookies usually go around greeting their seniors…. Are we just supposed to stay here like this?"
"It's fine. You don't need to do any of that. Rest."
Fuck tradition.
About twenty minutes later—
Knock knock knock.
Someone rapped on the waiting-room door.
"Who is it?"
"It's Pink Love! We came to say hello!"
A bright, lively girl's voice.
Pink Love.
An idol girl group under Venus Entertainment. Currently the most popular girl group in District 6700—and Pobitz's biggest rival.
I shot Samara a look. She opened the waiting-room door.