People commonly said that Sora Akino was terminally optimistic. She loved herself, had little sense of danger, and came across as an airheaded pacifist.
While some of that must have been with her from birth, a good deal of it also came from her upbringing. She was brought up in an affluent and overprotective household that waited on her like a princess. Being both attractive and bright, she never suffered setbacks or frustration, each and every one of her desires being granted for her as a matter of course. Of course, those wishes were all rather easily fulfilled. From the beginning, she had never wished for very much.
In her eyes, the world was a warm, kind, and gentle place. It was only natural for a girl in her position to feel like everything revolved around her. Of course, she also understood that acting like that would make people despise her. Though there may have been some exceptions, she knew that a measure of humility was necessary in most situations. No matter how much money she had or how talented she was, she wasn’t the richest person in the world, nor was she the head of some dictatorship. It was clear to her that she needed to distinguish between what was possible and impossible for her.
In that respect, her desire to become an idol was something well within the realm of possibility. She felt like becoming one was something of an obligation she had to the world. She knew her appearance, musical talent, and physical fitness were well above average. She honestly felt like hiding that talent away would be a crime. In the end, after considering a number of ways to put her skills to use, she decided that becoming a pop idol was the most effective option. It wasn’t the result of a childhood dream, nor of any admiration she held for the profession. Despite all that, her talent was undeniable. She immediately took center stage as the leader of her idol group, a result she thought was only natural.
After becoming an idol as a middle school student, she applied to enter an ordinary high school rather than one specialized in the performing arts. There was no particular reason for her decision, except perhaps that the school was quite close to her home. She had no intention in the least of leaving her gracious and supportive parents’ home. One might have expected a girl of national fame attending an ordinary high school to cause something of an uproar, but her daily life ended up being rather calm and ordinary.
That was all a result of her aura. Sora’s natural disposition had a way of influencing the people around her. Ordinary people she passed on the street found it difficult to approach her, while her classmates interacted with her like any other student. It was almost as if the world was responding to the way she wished it would be. Normally, dreams and reality diverged sharply, but for Sora, that wasn’t the case.
There had been no doubt in her mind that this peaceful life would continue forever, but it had eventually come to an end with her being drawn into another world. Even she felt helpless after such a bewildering experience.
However, she didn’t lose her composure. She had been summoned by the Sages to another world. Considering herself the protagonist of the story, she didn’t think it was all that strange. She felt no need to step up and become a leader for the class after their arrival. At school, she was just another student, and she had no issue maintaining that here. If there was someone else suited to the task, she was happy to let them handle it. Luckily, Suguru Yazaki had taken the reins of leadership, and she was happy to let him.
His first decision had been to abandon their classmates who had failed to receive the Gift, using them as bait while they fled to the nearest city. Though she objected, Sora ultimately cooperated. There may have been a way they could have saved everyone, but with their limited time, there was only so much they could do. Yazaki had proposed the plan, and Haruto Ootori had approved it. As much of a pacifist as she was, she wasn’t personally or proactively involved in the plan, so she excused herself of guilt.
Whether thanks to their efforts or not, the class managed to reach the city, clearing their first mission. The second mission quickly appeared in the corner of their vision.
Second Mission
Objective: Accomplish Great Feats
Advice: A great feat is an accomplishment that anyone would recognize. Defeating a Demon Lord or pioneering untamed wilds would be examples. However, with no knowledge of this world, it will be difficult for you to understand what might be counted as a great feat. With that in mind, I have enlisted the king of Manii. I imagine he could use your help, so I suggest you assist him.
With that advice, they had no choice but to head for the capital. At some point, a number of their classmates broke off from the group, but she was sure they had their own reasons. Without making any effort to find them, the remainder of the class pressed on. Riding the train would get them to the capital quite quickly, but they wouldn’t grow at all on the way. So instead, they decided to train while heading for the capital on foot.
At first, things went quite well. Yazaki served as leader, while the rest of the class supported him. But as they passed through the Haqua Forest, the future started looking bleak. As their Gifts developed, a clear gap in abilities was starting to form. The Gift changed depending on the personalities and skills of the people who received it, so there was no equality in how it developed. At this rate, those who excelled in fighting would continue to grow, leaving the others behind. It was natural for those who couldn’t fight to become ashamed and timid, while those with the strength to fight grew condescending and overbearing.
Yazaki was losing his ability to keep the class united. The General class had skills based on leadership, but they were only effective if everyone involved agreed with the plan. He had no way to force people to comply. Yazaki didn’t have the power to lead everyone alone. Realizing that this failing put their chance of clearing the second mission in jeopardy, Sora decided to take the role of leader for herself.
Once she had decided to keep everyone together, the rest was simple. She already had the charisma to make people love and obey her without relying on something like the Gift. On top of that, her class of Idol gave her the Oath skill, which granted wishes in exchange for vows taken by the wisher. In short, by drawing vows out of her classmates not to attack each other, she leveled up all of their abilities. In this way, she was able to prevent their classmates from using their Gifts against each other.
Once Sora assumed her new role, things proceeded smoothly. At least on the surface, the class was fully united, and training progressed without issue. Their growth continued at an efficient pace, so they made the decision to leave the Haqua Forest.
From there, they took a train to the capital and met the challenge of the Underworld beneath the city. Sora had thought they would find some way to clear the Underworld together, but in the end, she died before it could be accomplished. Upon reaching the sixth level, they had all been thrust into a death match with each other. In the middle of the death match, she had been caught and devoured by a strange blob.
And then the world was reset.
Unlike their first experience, this time, a strange new life form had invaded the world. Sora decided to join Cavern Quest, where she received a message from the Great Sage. The disappearance of a number of their classmates was because of Yogiri Takatou’s powers. So the natural course of action for her was to kill Yogiri and save her lost classmates.
Her reason was that there would be fewer victims this way. Comparing the lives of her many innocent classmates to that of a single mass murderer who would only continue to kill, there was no other conclusion she could have reached.
Yogiri apparently had the power to kill anything and everything, but Sora wasn’t afraid of him. She was rather optimistic. Her opponent wasn’t a god, or a king, or a mindless monster. He was a high school student, someone she could speak to and reason with. If she could make him listen, he would realize the weight of his sin. She honestly believed he would sacrifice his own life to save his classmates.