Vol 2 Chapter 2 – Let’s Check Our Skills!【Volume 2 – Main Story】

“Mm.”

Sakuya is staring at my face. Um… I’m pretty sure you said we were going to check our skills?

“Even if my face is that good, stop cutting off the flow just to stare at me.”

“Huh? What are you even saying? I said we’re checking skills, right? Just because you’re an idol doesn’t mean you have to be that self-conscious. Oh, wait—if you weren’t self-conscious, you wouldn’t aim to be an idol in the first place. Otome Big Sis, the one who worried about having a smaller chest and tried all sorts of stuff to reach an F-cup, but got no results and stayed a B-cup?”

“Guh!?” That one hit me right in the chest!? I reflexively covered my boobs and took half a step back. Looking at me like that, Sakuya’s real exasperation comes through. She looks like she’s about to sigh.

“…You don’t have to go that far.”

It’s true I have some confidence in my looks, but with my chest situation, it’s not that bad—bad enough to be called self-conscious! And I only say stuff like that out loud around Sakuya! She’s two years younger and somehow still grew bigger than me—no, wait… I mean, I would never say that to anyone else! I’m not about to increase my enemies on purpose, right!?

“You’re the one who started saying dumb stuff.”

“Sakuya-chan? Want to remember what you were like a little while ago?”

You were saying you wanted to use me as a body pillow, you know?

“I was looking at you because I tried using my skill.”

“Oh, really?”

Then I wish you’d said that from the start. We could’ve avoided this pointless back-and-forth—though in this case, it’s my fault for saying something extra, I guess….

“Yeah. I asked God for all sorts of things, right? And it looks like I even got skills I don’t remember asking for… Maybe he threw in some extra service?”

“Who knows?”

I don’t know, but… that God was kind in his own way, so it doesn’t feel impossible.

“Looks like I have an appraisal skill. I can see my own skills and other people’s too.”

“Huh. So what do I have?”

I’m genuinely curious. If Sakuya got bonus service, then maybe I did too? I can’t help getting my hopes up.

“Just like God said—an idol skill.”

“Yeah, figures. Anything else? Right before we got sent here, I asked for a combat skill… Did I get anything?”

“Nope. Just idol. If you get into a fight, I’ll protect you, so you’re fine! I’ve already killed someone before, so I think I can fight people without hesitating. Don’t worry♪”

That is not something you say with a smile… And honestly, the fact Sakuya really wouldn’t hesitate makes it hard to even respond….

“Don’t I at least need something to protect myself?”

“Big Sis… I think it’s better if you don’t have combat skills. You’d panic and do something weird on instinct, then die really easily. God probably thought the same thing, so he ignored it.”

“………………”

I—I can’t deny it… Even when I was watching myself get attacked, I was mentally roasting my own actions… And no matter how much I reflect, if you ask whether I can actually change what I do in the moment… yeah. That’s pretty questionable. It’s frustrating, but I get what Sakuya means.

“Let’s see the idol skill’s effect… It says: physical ability boost for fans who watch your live performance. Increased recovery speed for stamina and mana, too. The effect is strongest while they’re watching you live, and it fades over time. Depending on their fan level, it can last up to a day.”

Mana… right. He said it was a swords-and-magic world, so of course it exists.

“This feels like it’s telling me to just perform somewhere safe.”

“It’s not just a feeling—that’s basically God’s message. But… depending on how you use it, it could also mean sending you to the front lines, right? If you set up solid defenses and sing on the battlefield so your voice reaches allied soldiers, that’s a wide-area buff.”

At Sakuya’s words, we end up looking at each other. The word incitement pops into my head. I’m pretty sure the same word crossed Sakuya’s mind too.

“…Isn’t this the kind of skill you absolutely should not have in a swords-and-magic world with wars? If you really wanted to, you could incite people with it…”

“Big Sis? You’re banned from going to the battlefield. Just be a normal idol, okay? And don’t you ever whip your fans into going after antis either, got it? That’s incitement too. Seriously, don’t. Big Sis, you’re thick-skinned, so you can ignore antis, right?”

Sakuya cut herself off there, but I can easily imagine what she swallowed next: “Because you’ll get stabbed again. Because I don’t want to see you burned by magic or cut to pieces. Because I don’t want more trauma.”

Something like that. But if that’s the case—then I watched Sakuya die too… and Sakuya would probably keep shielding me until the last second.

And as for antis, there’s just no way to reduce them to zero… Like Sakuya said, all I can do is let it slide. Thankfully, with my personality, enduring it isn’t a problem—though if someone says something to my face, I’d probably fire back… That’s probably what Sakuya’s really worried about….

“I won’t!! What do you think I am!?”

“A pretty-type idol♡”

“……”

Oh no, my cheeks are hot. I’m probably blushing….

“Ah, you blushed.”

“Shut up!”

“Hmph.”

Sakuya suddenly lets out an irritated little sound.

“H-Hey, what now?”

Sakuya’s always been expressive, but this level of mood-whiplash is rare.

“Big Sis… you’ve got titles. Three of them: Star of Misfortune, Human Luck, and Charm (Same Sex).”

I don’t even need to ask what they do… And I also get why Sakuya’s in a bad mood—because of Charm (Same Sex). Did I have these back in Japan too…? Each one rings a bell. Still, charm… and specifically toward the same sex. I did have a few friends who got weirdly clingy… Honestly, I don’t want charm, but as an idol, being liked by other girls isn’t a bad thing. It’s a headache when it attracts someone like Sakuya, but it’s way better than making enemies out of women.

Also, the reason God didn’t give me a combat skill… it’s definitely Star of Misfortune, right… Even an amateur would know you shouldn’t make someone like that fight. And… we came to this world to “cleanse” our souls, but it’s still here. Or maybe in Japan I had even more—something tied to reincarnation. Does that mean this is better now? If so, that’s still awful….

“…So what titles do you have, Sakuya?”

I’m curious about skills too, but this is honestly more interesting.

“Me? I’ve got the title ‘Siscon’♡ The effect is, my abilities drop if you aren’t nearby. So I want you to always be with me, Big Siiis♡”

“…………Got it.”

Instead of being offended by being labeled a siscon, Sakuya looks happy and rubs her inner thighs together. I’m not even going to say anything anymore.

“For skills, first there’s Hero, right? Then Person Judgment, Appraisal, Sisterly Love—”

“Wait, stop. Siscon and Sisterly Love are separate?”

“Looks like it. Sisterly Love says my combat ability shoots way up when I fight to protect you.”

“Huh.”

“And there’s Idol Bodyguard and Idol Attendant. The first one boosts my combat ability a lot when I fight to protect an idol. The attendant one says I can use my mana to generate whatever the idol wants. I guess that’s the skill I asked for—to get Japanese stuff.”

“So that means you have mana, right?”

“Looks like it. Want to try?”

She means testing Idol Attendant, right? Of course I do. And if she’s a Hero, can she use magic too? I’m curious about that too….