All those new idols currently being trained under the idol program, and even the school idols still being developed at Hatsuboshi Academy, can all be considered idols under this Producer.
Of course, so far he is only a Producer in name. In reality, the one who arranges the idols' daily training is Saegusa Hazuki, who was originally supposed to be his assistant.
And because there are simply too many beautiful girl idols in the agency, Saegusa Hazuki is not the only staff member responsible for the beautiful girl idols under him.
Perhaps after he takes care of things with his childhood friend from the countryside, he should visit the idol agency more often. He can't stay holed up at Sobu High and the Service Club all day. If he keeps taking Saegusa Hazuki's credit, he feels a little bad about it.
As for some of the idols who are heroines from the hidden side of the world, he doesn't object to using sexual relationships for business. They can take their time and gradually develop feelings for each other. But for idols who are heroines from the ordinary side of the world, surely they can't play it that way too, right? At the very least, there needs to be some emotional foundation. Only then can it be considered romantic.
"Assisting the Producer is one of my duties. Producer, there's no need to worry about it."
"Um... Producer, I'll go call them over to take pictures. If we don't take them now, we won't have enough time!"
Just from having Hachiman take two pictures of her, Saegusa Hazuki felt her body grow warm and her legs tremble slightly. Hearing not the slightest trace of negativity in Hachiman's words, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly got up to leave.
Although it was somewhat rude to leave before Mr. Producer had even assigned her a task, Mr. Producer, who had never come to work at the idol agency before, seemed to have an astonishing amount of charm.
If she didn't get up now, she suspected that she would end up like Himemiya Elisa and the others, being pulled down by Elusi...
She was an employee assisting the Producer, not a beautiful girl idol. How could she also play that kind of sleeping-with-people-for-business game?
———
["Character mission completed, the goal is Idol Master."]
["An idol is regarded as the 'embodiment of dreams.' Through stage performances and character-building, they convey positive energy and a beautiful image, satisfying fans' longing for a perfect or ideal life."]
["It can be said that being an idol is a profession that sells dreams and youth. You don't necessarily need dazzling professional skills, and you may not necessarily have an impressive work to your name. The truly dazzling part of an idol is precisely the idol herself."]
["However, if you want to become an excellent idol, how can you have only dreams?"]
["Capture, train, adjust, evolve... Please show your ability and make the different idols who carry dreams shine!"]
["Mission completion reward: Idol Master."]
Hearing another mission notification from the system, Hachiman, who was looking at Saegusa Hazuki's back, couldn't help secretly complaining.
Is this talking about Idol Master? It feels like it's talking about a Pokémon Master. A Pocket Monster Master?
Although the process of training idols did indeed seem rather similar to raising Pokémon.
No, it seemed that he had already completed this mission. Did simply recruiting idols into the agency count as completing it?!
Hachiman suddenly realized that the system notification just now was not a mission activation, but a mission completion notification. The mission reward, [Idol Master], had already been issued.
[Idol Master: As a Producer, you carefully observe the true thoughts deep within every idol's heart. In the idols' hearts, you are instead the idol they admire most.
Your words are more likely to make idols trust and accept you. Around you, an idol's learning ability and training concentration can receive special bonuses.
When an idol completes the training according to the training tasks you establish, the training results will also receive a significant boost, even breaking through the idol's own limits.]
(PS: The bonus effect of Idol Master is proportional to the number of idols you are responsible for and the average favorability all idols have toward you.)
So the [Idol Master] ability was a growth-type ability whose effects increased along with the progress of idol development. It even calculated its bonus according to average favorability.
The more idols there were, the stronger the bonus effect became, but the more idols there were, the harder it was to raise their average favorability. He needed more idols, but he also needed to put his heart into it. It felt a little complicated.
Simply put, the more the idols liked and trusted him, the stronger the bonus effect brought by Idol Master would be.
Hmm... Then it really was necessary to issue the mission reward ahead of time. Otherwise, if the reward were only issued after he had finished developing all of them, no matter how powerful the Idol Master ability was, it would only be a title.
But this ability effect that allowed the idols under him to break through their own limits...
This was a supernatural world where elves, angels, and demons all existed. The Idol Master ability might be able to display unimaginable power.
If Idol Master could be combined with the Servant Aura, Awakened Magic Essence, and Magical Girl Awakening Template, then he could let Kaede, Suzu, Tsubaki, Iris, and the others give it a try. They could debut within the Service Club, with everyone becoming idols.
"Producer? Club President? Are we starting the photoshoot?"
"Mm, let's start."
Hearing Elusi's question, Hachiman temporarily put aside his idea of studying the [Idol Master] ability.
There was no need to think about so many things. Building relationships with the idols now was already increasing the bonus effect of Idol Master.
"Then... this one. The girl holding the parasol, you go first."
Once she saw that Hachiman was ready, Elusi looked toward the idol groups on the shore. Suddenly, she pointed at a purple-haired, heterochromatic-eyed girl holding a parasol, whose pointed ears made her look like an elf.
"Lady Elusi? Didn't you say we could arrange the order ourselves?!"
Saegusa Hazuki had just left and was preparing to have a less nervous five-person idol group go over together. Upon suddenly hearing Elusi call someone out by name, she didn't know what to say.
She had thought that giving them so much time to prepare meant they could arrange things themselves. She hadn't expected Elusi to randomly pick someone now.
"I didn't say you weren't allowed to arrange your own order. But I think this girl is pretty cute, so I'll let her cut in line."
Elusi smiled at the bewildered Saegusa Hazuki, then urged the purple-haired girl.
"Come on over. The Producer isn't going to eat you."
The purple-haired girl in a Gothic-style dress had no choice. Holding up her parasol, she stepped out of the crowd and slowly walked toward Hachiman and the others in purple bow high heels.
"H-hello, my name is Ka-Kanzaki Ranko. The character I'm cosplaying is Vivian from Zenless Zone Zero."
Although she was obviously very nervous and stammered slightly, she still managed to complete her introduction.
"Don't be nervous, Ranko. Isn't your usual state cute too? I'm your Producer. You don't need to be so formal around me. I recruited you because I recognized your potential."
Looking at Kanzaki Ranko cosplaying Vivian, Hachiman smiled and reassured her.
"Come on, Ranko. Introduce yourself in your usual state."
Kanzaki Ranko in Idol Master was a very classic chuunibyou, an evil-eyed, dark-themed girl idol with chuunibyou tendencies.
But Kanzaki Ranko was actually quite cute. She didn't cause trouble for others; she simply liked playing around with her own chuunibyou persona. At most, sometimes people needed to translate what she said, and she could normally hold a conversation as well.
"My usual state...? This... cute..."
Hearing that Hachiman seemed to understand her very well, Kanzaki Ranko stared blankly at him.
She actually hadn't heard what he said afterward clearly. She had only heard Hachiman tell her not to be nervous and that she was cute normally.
However, seeing the smile on Hachiman's face, she suddenly relaxed completely.
"You wish to attempt to touch the forbidden... Then I shall grant your wish."
Kanzaki Ranko spread her legs, raised the parasol high with one hand, and held the other hand in front of her eyes, looking at Hachiman through the gaps between her fingers.
"Kukuku! My name is Kanzaki Ranko! A fallen angel flying here from the Land of Fire! Opening the gate to the celestial realm, I have come by invitation to the promised land!"