Idol in a Gender-Reversed World

Boom!!

(≧Д≦) [Kiyahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

Crash!!

"I'm not letting you go this time!!!"

Swish!!! [Waaaaah~!!!!]

"Hah-chaaat!!"

I jumped with all my strength, stretching my arm out. I won't let go!!

Aaaaaaah!!! Aaaaaaahhhhhh~!!!!

"I got you!"

[Let gooooo!!! Let me go!!!!]

"Not a chance!"

I couldn't let this opportunity slip by. After being caught once, I would be extra careful next time. I stuffed the pony I caught into the insect collection jar I had prepared. It struggled, refusing to go in, but pony was no match for my strength.

[You evil bastard!!! Demon! Devil!]

Pony, who was fiercely struggling and running around inside the jar, began to curse at me. I sighed, realizing I wasn't doing this because I enjoyed it.

"Do you think I like doing this? Kidnapping and locking you up. Why did my life end up like this?"

[Let me out!! I'll curse you! You'll see the curse of the butterfly tribe!!]

"The problem is with your attitude. You always disappear, saying you're busy. If I wanted to catch you, this was the only way."

[I won't let you get away with this!!]

"Look at you now. You're still talking only about yourself. You're not listening to me at all."

I decided I needed some time until the pony exhausted itself. It needed to be left alone for a while.

"I'm telling you, I have no intention of hurting you. What I want is a conversation. You don't seem ready now, so I'll give you some time. I'll come back in 5 minutes, so just calm down."

I left the room with pony sitting in the insect collection jar. I knew it was dangerous to leave the pony alone, as I couldn't fully trust its identity.

'That's why I prepared this. Hidden camera!'

Pony would definitely try to hide everything in front of me. But what about when it's alone? Since I had prepared in advance, I went to the computer and turned the screen on. I checked if the insect collection jar was set properly, and the pony's movements were clearly visible.

[So annoying, so annoying, so annoying~!!!!!!!]

[Why do I have to go through this!!!]

[Aaaah~ so annoying, so annoying.]

For a while, pony's complaints filled the speech bubbles.

[This is really annoying….]

[Above, poking me, below, being clingy! It's stressing me out.]

[What should I even say to this guy?]

[Why is my life like this? Sob…!]

'Tell me something interesting. I'm dying from curiosity because of you, damn it.'

I had to figure out why pony's attitude changed so suddenly from being friendly to not wanting to talk to me at all.

[A little commission isn't a big deal, right? Heeey!]

[If I had something to hide, I wouldn't feel wrong. Why did I get caught?]

[I didn't do anything with the commission I took!]

[Ahh~ I can't live with this unfairness. I can't live with it!]

'Commission?'

What's a commission? I was puzzled, but I could tell it was about me. It seemed pony had secretly stolen something from me and got caught.

'Probably coins, huh?'

Thinking about it, it made sense. The only person who knew how many coins I had earned was pony, and it was pony who told me how much my stats had increased. Each time a coin was put into the jar, one stat would increase, but bonus coins could be taken without a second thought. Bonus coins could increase by 1 or 2, depending on the situation.

"So you took that part, and you got caught."

Alternatively, if the ability increased by 0.20% but was reported as 0.10%, using an extra coin could also be a way to steal coins.

'If I hadn't figured this out, I would have been an easy target.'

The commission was pocketed without any notice. Since this was the beginning, the coins stolen weren't that much. But that didn't change the fact that pony was trying to scam me.

'Since I'm still under her care, I guess the conclusion was already made. The damage isn't big, so they just decided to let it slide.'

The real issue is that this matter couldn't be handled with the 'law' against pony and these mysterious beings. Even if I, as a mere human, tried to confront them, would they listen? If I brought up human laws to beings that were obviously superior to humans, wouldn't they just laugh at me?

'Still, it's not like there's no way.'

As frustrating as it was, there was a way to make use of this information.

'Pony's weakness is now firmly in my grasp.'

Until now, pony had been very uncooperative with me. At first, when they brought me in, they treated me well with the idea of taking commission, but once they got caught in a crime, they couldn't take commissions anymore, and naturally, their enthusiasm dropped. That attitude would not change. They would get more and more annoyed with me and become even more uncooperative. In the end, I would be the one to suffer, since I knew very little about their dealings.

'I'll threaten them and get them to cooperate.'

Honestly, when I first planned this, I felt bad about trapping pony in the insect collection jar, but now, after learning the truth, all sympathy was gone. It had been more than 5 minutes by now. I went back to the room with the pony.

[Where did you go?! Kidnapper! Trash!]

As soon as I entered, pony started swearing again. I approached it leisurely and spoke.

"If I'm a kidnapper and trash, what does that make you? You're the one hiding the crimes you committed."

[…What, what?]

Pony was flustered.

"You secretly took the commission and got caught, didn't you?"

[H-how did you… know that?]

Pony's face turned pale as it stammered.

"You just said it. And I have the video proof. Don't try to deny it." 

[What? Huh? Haa!!]

I pulled out the hidden camera. The pony finally realized the situation and looked utterly defeated.

"Seems like it was your first offense, and the embezzlement wasn't big, so you got away with it. But my situation is different. I'm the victim, and you can't just sweep this under the rug."

[Ugh! How dare you! As a human, what are you going to do about it? If you're so wronged, go ahead and sue me!]

"Haha, sue you? I don't want to solve this that way."

[Then what do you want? Hmph!]

Pony still spoke arrogantly, despite its pale face from the revelation.

"I'll trust you if you cooperate. Honestly, now that I know this, how can I trust you with my coins? I can't know how many coins I've earned or how much my stats have increased unless it's through you. Honestly, I'd like to change my manager."

[No, you can't! Absolutely not!]

Pony shook its head vigorously in protest. Even if I asked for a new manager, I wouldn't want one. If someone like the pony came along again, it wouldn't be any better. The best course of action was to calm the pony down and use it for my gain. It was time to reverse our roles.

'Pony is now the subordinate, and I'm the superior.'

[Changing the manager is absolutely impossible.]

The pony's tone was more firm and urgent than I expected. It seemed I had touched a nerve with its Achilles' heel.

"Why is changing the manager impossible?"

[It just is.] "

Actually, it's not impossible, is it? You just don't want to step down from being my manager."

Pony went silent, realizing I had caught it. It started to tremble, and its wings fluttered nervously.

[We've been getting along fine so far. Do you know how hard I worked to prepare for your body? You said you liked your face, and you've been adapting to your idol life quickly, thanks to me. The house you live in? That's me too. I even thought about you possibly feeling out of place on Rakote, and I made sure to help you adjust!]

"You've been trying to take advantage of me, right? You were hoping I would adapt quickly so I could earn coins."

Honestly, I never imagined the pony would covet the coins. Now that I knew, I realized that coins weren't just used to increase abilities, but could also be traded.

[Ughhh! This is too much!]

Do you think I'll let you off just because you're whining? I coldly looked down at pony, who had started crying.

It finally stopped crying and, sniffing, said:

[I-I'll give you the status window.]

Oh, really? The status window that they said I'd get after impregnating ten women is now offered?

"Is the status window the one I'm thinking of? Don't tell me it's some cheap version of it."

[Do you think I'm a scumbag?! I won't do such a low thing!]

"You've already done something low."

The speech bubbles disappeared. Is it crying again?

I didn't know how it got caught, but if it hadn't been for the hidden camera, it would have continued sucking my resources for a long time. Not everyone can be a successful scammer. Only those who are smart and capable can pull it off. I needed to keep the pony around while it was still an inexperienced scammer.

I smiled coldly as I watched Pony, who was crying while pale.

'All those times you ignored me? I'm going to make you pay for it.'

I wonder if Pony will realize that I know how to take advantage of it too.

••••••••••••••

As compensation, I got Pony's status window. To be exact, it was the status window the pony had been using. Though I didn't like getting a second-hand item, Pony had mentioned that status windows were expensive.

That wasn't all. I was able to borrow the pony's ID to purchase a 'special item.' That was a big achievement.

'Is this illegal? But what can I do? Pony was the one who committed the crime first.'

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got at Pony. When I checked the status window, I saw that Pony was listed as my guardian. Since it was registered as my guardian, Pony had been able to check and use the coins I earned.

"That was a close call. I almost got completely scammed."

Unless I personally canceled the guardian status, the pony could freely use the coins I earned. The duration of the registration was 10 years. At first, it might have been small amounts, but you know how small-time crimes eventually grow, right?

"This system is such crap."

If I hadn't set up the hidden camera? I would have been stuck for 10 years, helplessly draining my resources. The more I saw the power of the status window, the more furious I became at Pony.

"I wonder if it's still crying. So tempting, so tempting."

Now that I had drained everything from Pony, I could easily discard it. The status window was an incredible item, so I didn't want to throw it away entirely. But completely discarding Pony was still a loss for me. I needed a certain identity to make purchases and receive items. I wasn't talking about Rakote's official identity. So, unfortunately, I had to keep Pony around.

'If pony disappears, another manager will be assigned, and I don't want that.'

It was fine for now since it was an inexperienced scammer, but if a seasoned one took over, I'd be left with nothing. This is why information is so important. If you don't know, you'll get screwed. Pony, realizing it had to keep its promises, swore it wouldn't change managers.