Alex walked through the spacious and lengthy corridors of the Demon Queen's Castle, guided by a demon maid. He had recently arrived at the castle with the Demon Queen herself, Anna, thanks to the assistance of Casey and her Wyvern Cavalry Squadron. Given that Alex had just been summoned to their world and had been utilizing his Idol Producer's Job extensively, the Demon Queen suggested that he rest for the day.
Alex had traversed these corridors somewhat before, but... he had never had the chance to truly look around and appreciate them. The first time was when Mira dragged him like a human kite to meet Demon Queen Anna for the first time. The second occasion was when he and Mira quickly ascended the Demon Queen's Castle to meet with Casey and her Wyvern Cavalry Squadron on the large open-air roof terrace, all within half a day...
Pushing aside these negative thoughts, Alex finally took in the interior of the Demon Queen's Castle, and he was impressed. Initially, he had expected a chaotic, creepy, and scary castle befitting a Demon King. However, during his first takeoff to the battlefield with Casey's wyverns, he saw the neat and beautiful architecture of the castle's structure. So, it was no surprise that the interior was also well-designed. Although he couldn't help but notice that some elements had a somewhat "demonic" vibe to them.
As he passed through these expansive corridors, Alex observed numerous demon knights, maids, and servants of the castle, along with several important-looking demons, all frantically going about their tasks. They hurried past him and the demon maid who was leading him through the corridors. 'I guess dealing with the aftermath is quite a heavy task,' he thought to himself. Even the Demon Queen herself couldn't simply rest.
Part of him wished he could help, but he still didn't fully understand the workings and procedures of the Demon Queen's Castle, let alone the society of the Demon Kingdom. Plus, he was indeed tired from all the stuff that he had been doing, so he gladly took the opportunity to rest.
One problem that has been bothering him right now though... was that the demon maid leading him has been unusually quiet. He only heard her speak once, when the head maid appointed her to guide him and Anna to the castle. It was a simple instruction: 'Sir Alex, please follow me.' Although he vaguely heard the head maid call her name... Noir?
This 'Noir' maid herself was beautiful, like many of the female demons he had seen and met. Not as otherworldly beautiful as Anna, nor as alluring and seductress as Roxane, but she possessed her own charm.
She had short, sleek black hair that fell in a bob, complementing her fair white skin. Her eyes were sharp... yet captivating, giving her a serious yet beautiful appearance. Despite her stoic expression, there was an undeniable elegance to her features. She wore a Victorian maid dress, a style he had seen online, and once during a visit to a Maid Cafe with his Idol Otaku buddies in his human world. It fit her well, adding a touch of sophistication to her demeanor as she moved with graceful efficiency; truly what one would expect from a maid. And lastly, the most striking aspect of her appearance: large, black, feathery wings adorned her back. Was she some sort of avian-related beastkin like Mira and Casey?
He was racking his brain for something to talk about with the calm and composed maid, but she suddenly stopped.
"Sir Alex, we have arrived at your personal chamber." She turned around and bowed, lifting the hem of her maid dress slightly. The mentioned 'resting chamber' was a sizable wooden door. After bowing, she opened the door for Alex and bowed again, likely expecting him to enter first out of courtesy. So, Alex stepped into the 'resting chamber.'
What he saw in the resting chamber was just as he expected: a spacious room flooded with natural light from a large window. Positioned against one wall was a regal double or queen-size bed, adorned with a canopy that cascaded down from above. Adjacent to the bed stood a study desk, complete with a comfortable wooden chair featuring armrests and red leather cushions. Nearby, a wooden wardrobe and cupboard added to the room's functionality. Overhead, a hanging chandelier that would be used for illumination during the night.
He was intrigued by what he saw and felt the medieval vibe of the room. Nevertheless, it was still neat and clean chamber for resting.
"Sir Alex, this is your designated resting chamber. Please make yourself comfortable here and rest," the maid Noir said to him while bowing again. "Is there anything that I can help you with, Sir Alex?" she asked.
Alex himself was taken aback by being asked about his needs. He paused for a moment and finally replied to Maid Noir, "N-no, I don't think so. Not right now, at least," he nervously answered back.
"Understood. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call for assistance. You can use the bell on your study desk to call for help as well," she pointed at a small gold bell sitting on the study desk. "If there is nothing else you require, I will take my leave now." She bowed once again and left the chamber. Now, he was all by himself in this spacious chamber.
Anna had suggested he rest, so he would try... at least. He took off his black suit jacket and hung it on the study chair. Then... he flopped onto the bed, landing on his back. "What a day..." he said to himself. He stared at the canopy bed's ceiling, silently contemplating the events of his life that brought him to this very bed.
Alex then remembered his Status Card and fished it out from his Item Box. After a few seconds of rummaging, he pulled out his Status Card, a piece of paper with his name and "Job" written on it. "It really looks like a business card..." he mused to himself. Activating his Status Card, a hologram-like window appeared in front of him. Since he was lying on the bed, the window appeared horizontally aligned with the ceiling of his canopy bed. However... not only did the window of his status appear, but also multiple notification windows.
[New Idol Recruited! Anna-chan!]
[Your idol is your POWER! The more idols under your agency, the more powerful you become!]
[LEVEL UP 1 --> 12]
[Talent Scouter's Eye (Idol Producer) LEVEL UP 1 --> 2]
[Idol Producer's Charisma LEVEL UP 1 --> 3]
[Musical Mastery (Idol Producer) LEVEL UP 1 --> 3]
[Arcana Realm: Idol Stage LEVEL UP 1 --> 2]
Name : Alex Lee
Race : Human
Job : Idol Producer
Level : 12
EXP : 16 / 395
HP : 391 (360 + 15%)
MP : 391 (360 + 15%)
Stats
STR : 25 (22 + 15%)
INT : 25 (22 + 15%)
AGI : 25 (22 + 15%)
END : 25 (22 + 15%)
LUK : [?] (? + 15%)
Skills
- Talent Scouter's Eye (Idol Producer), LVL. 2, EXP: 7/35
- Idol Producer's Charisma, LVL. 3 (Passive), EXP: 10/85
- Musical Mastery (Idol Producer), LVL. 3 (Passive) EXP: 5/85
- Arcana Realm: Idol Stage, LVL. 2, EXP: 1/1000
- Item Box, LVL. MAX
Available Skill Points : 22
[Allocate Skill Points?]
[Idols]
Dozens of notifications flooded his vision. He had to manually click each one to get rid of them, as if he was closing intrusive online advertisements. After clearing the notifications, he could finally see his Status. "Heh... I leveled up quite a lot," he said to himself.
Alex hadn't fought any actual battles with any sort of foes, whether human or demon, so most likely, he gained his EXP from the 'Idol Activity' with Anna. Especially when he summoned an Idol Stage for her to sing for likely thousands of crowds, consisting not just of her demon brethren but also human foes as well. 'So the more Idols that I nurture, the more powerful I could get, huh...?' he thought to himself as he managed to read the first few notifications.
Alex also noticed that there were two new buttons he could choose from on his Status. Those being the 'Allocate Skill Points' and the 'Idols'. He already had a good guess as to what the former was for, but for the latter...? Out of curiosity, he clicked on the 'Idols' button, and another window appeared.
[Alex Lee's Idol Agency]
Idols:
1. Anna Bael / Anna-chan [ S+ ]
"What the...? 'Alex Lee's Idol Agency'...?" He read the title of the newly appeared window. It seemed that this was the name of his idol agency. He sweatdropped from how simplistic it was. Clicking on it actually prompted him with another window asking 'Do you want to change the name of your Idol Agency?'. He stared at it for a moment, but chose not to... for now, at least. Alex then saw the list of Idols beneath it, which only consisting of Anna alone. He then tried to click on Anna's name and then another window appeared, showing Anna's Status like if he was using his Scouter Eyes.
Name : Anna Bael
Race : Arch Demon
Job : Demon King
Level : 91
EXP : 48 / 28675
Sub-Job : Idol
Idol Level : 5
Idol EXP : 10 / 80
HP : 90.000 / 100.100
MP : 40.000 / 91.000
Talent : Poem
Idol Power : 9200
Idol Potential : S+
Idol Skill:
- Singing LVL. 5
- Dancing LVL. 1
- Songwriting LVL. 7
- Musical Mastery LVL. 3
It seemed Alex could now access Anna's Idol status with his Status Card. He also noticed that Anna's Idol status had more details in it, and the 'DEBUFFED' status that he saw before was now gone. He was impressed that her Idol's skills were pretty high... except for dancing, something that he would learn sooner or later. He tried clicking on her Idol's skill, but nothing happened. It was possible that it could only be viewed by Anna alone, or perhaps his level wasn't high enough to access them. Either way, he was dead tired and starting to get sleepy after reading all those numbers and notifications. Alex now remembered that previously in his world, he had just finished work and was about to visit an Idol Concert with his Idol Otaku buddies, but then... this happened.
Alex's eyes were forcefully closed by his body's natural instinct, and he drifted to sleep...
But then, a voice suddenly called out to him.
"Good work out there, Mr. Producer." Alex heard a feminine voice that sounded strangely mystical, waking him up. He opened his eyes and found himself in outer space, surrounded by stars, planets, and the sun itself.
"What the-?!" He panicked as he found himself floating freely in space. However, as he realized that he could still breathe despite the supposed lack of air or oxygen in space, he began to calm himself. With that concern alleviated, he managed to regain his composure.
Then, he saw a figure in front of him - a figure of a goddess, looking at him with amusement.