124 Registration Closed

Sohe arrived in a fury, only to acknowledge Joss as his big brother with equal fervor.

Everyone present was left utterly dumbfounded. Even Ilson had never imagined that Joss possessed such incredible power, while the few underlings who had come along merely because of Ilson were practically worshipful.

Yet no one noticed that Joss himself was even more bewildered than they were.

What the hell? I have never drawn a skill like “Imperial Dominance” from my system! Why did some incredibly powerful-looking character suddenly appear and bow down to me? Have I turned into a lucky koi fish or something?

There were, however, a few people present who understood what had happened. Sohe’s wife was one of them.

Sohe might have been a mad dog feared by everyone, but a dog’s most important quality was naturally its ability to read the situation. That was how he recognized the people Joss had just beaten senseless.

They belonged to A_to, the largest and strongest gang in the area.

They always moved in groups of three, using white as their symbol. They were fiercely aggressive; whenever they encountered someone, either they beat the other party to death or were beaten to death themselves. They were, in short, an exceptionally troublesome bunch.

And yet this gang, which everyone had once assumed would inevitably destroy itself, had somehow survived. Now, after recruiting a massive number of members, it had grown into a genuine local powerhouse!

But this very gang had just been thoroughly beaten by Joss!

Sohe knew that although his own gang was not weak in this district, if they provoked A_to, they probably would not survive even a single day. The ashes of every last one of them would be scattered to the winds.

And so he immediately surrendered—so quickly and completely that everyone was caught off guard, including Joss himself.

Still, Joss naturally had no reason to refuse free labor when it came knocking. He promptly gathered the entire group together, rewarded each of them with a piece of Malteser—no, with a Three-Corpse Brain Spirit Pill—and then assigned them their respective tasks before sending them all away.

What he lacked most at the moment was manpower. Even with Ilson bringing his own followers over to pledge allegiance, there were still too many matters for them to handle properly.

Now that Sohe had brought such a large group of people to him, it was like being handed a pillow while falling asleep. The relief was indescribable.

After dealing with Sohe’s people, Joss’s open auditions could finally begin as scheduled.

With so many people on-site acting as security, combined with the pitiful sight of troublemakers hanging in midair and squirming endlessly, the place suddenly displayed a level of order rarely seen on Saka—not even in the Grandmaster’s arena.

“Hello... I’m here to take part in the Saka I-I-dol... program...” As the auditions began, applicants came before Joss one after another. The girl standing in front of him now looked rather timid and meek.

Joss raised an eyebrow as he examined her. Her appearance was fairly ordinary, but her voice had an unmistakably adorable quality. With a grand wave of his hand, he immediately let her through.

“What a joke! That little girl can get in, so why can’t I?”

The decision infuriated one of the earlier applicants who had been rejected. Even with so many security guards around, he could not stop himself from shouting.

Joss looked up at the muscular, bearded man whose chest was still smeared with his own snot, and the corner of his cheek twitched.

At first, Joss had deliberately imposed no restrictions in order to attract as many applicants as possible. But now it seemed that had not been such a wise decision after all.

Still, he knew that if he did not offer an explanation, these people would inevitably linger outside, grumbling and gossiping, making the screening process more troublesome by the minute.

“Go find yourself a sheet of metal and take a good look. Are you as cute as she is? You’re a rugged old brute trying to become an idol? At least come back after you’ve learned how to be cute!”

Joss pointed toward Ilson and made a few gestures for emphasis, decisively silencing the man.

If the recruitment requirements had involved something else, the man might have argued. But if the requirement was cuteness and beauty...

He might as well go back to hunting.

“Y-you... hello... I’m here to take part in this...”

“Here’s your bread. Next.”

After driving the muscular man away, the new applicants continued surging forward like a tide. Joss hurriedly turned back to his work.

As more and more rejected applicants spread the word, those still waiting outside gradually came to understand that the so-called idol selection was looking for young and adorable girls.

There were even rumors that as long as someone was cute, it did not matter whether they were female—or even whether they were human. Thanks to this, most people whose looks were unfortunate and who possessed at least a little self-awareness left the line, making Joss’s screening considerably easier.

They did not leave entirely, however. On the one hand, they wanted to see whether some other opportunity might arise. On the other, they were curious about what this so-called idol actually was.

...

“Hey, hey! This is the registration point for that idol thing, right? I heard that anyone who signs up gets something to eat?”

Suddenly, a palm slapped down on the table in front of Joss. He looked up and saw a girl with hair as red as fire.

Wait.

“Uh... miss, your hair is actually on fire.”

After staring for several seconds, Joss finally confirmed that this girl’s hair was not merely fire-red. Sparks were genuinely flying from her forehead.

“Tch!” Although this was their first meeting—and she was about to work under him—the girl clicked her tongue in obvious irritation. “I was born this way. It’s not a big deal, is it? More importantly, where’s my bread?”

“Er... before that, may I ask one question? Do you have any relatives named Shana or Hades?”

“What? Who are they?” The girl frowned, looking completely baffled.

“Never mind. It’s not important. Here’s your bread. Go on in.”

Joss had long since grown accustomed to people failing to understand his jokes. He casually produced a piece of bread, tossed it to her, and waved her through the registration process.

...

The stream of applicants barely diminished from morning until night. Even after a large portion of those who knew they had no hope of passing had left, Joss still had to stay up through the night in order to barely finish screening everyone. In the end, he selected several hundred suitable candidates.

During that time, even the bread supplied by the system ran out. Joss had to take some money and send people to the arena to trade for several cartloads of bread before the situation was finally brought under control.

Those who passed the first round rejoiced. Those who failed shook their heads, put this dreamlike day behind them, and returned to their ordinary lives.

And so the cruel yet hopeful light of the idols was about to shine across the planet Saka.