After moving into her new ho, Inari spent a while like a cat unsettled by a sudden change of territory. But one appliance resolved everything. Yes—the newest model rice cooker.
It had been carefully chosen because the Association knew Inari’s love for rice. This machine could draw out the natural sweetness of the grain and cook it plump and chewy.
Naturally, it was not cheap. But that posed no problem. And for the price, the functions were incredible.
It could automatically detect the type of rice, adjust itself, and even allow one to choose the texture of the finished product. This amazing feature left Inari awestruck—she even sat reading the manual in fascination, her tail swaying with excitent. She gave silent thanks to the wisdom of humankind.
And when the rice was cooked under such perfect conditions… it shone like jewels.
“Ohh, splendid… In olden days, rice was called silver grains. Truly, it shines as such.”
“…Yeah, if you say so.”
Beside her, peering into the cooker, was Hikaru. Her voice was tinged with disbelief. She had co to congratulate Inari on her move, only to be dragged into the kitchen by a beaming Inari and told, “The rice will be ready soon—let us watch together, hmm?”
It was the first ti in her life anyone had invited her to watch rice finish cooking. Just how much could one love rice?
“But still… this thing cost twelve hundred thousand yen. Is this really for normal households?”
“I simply bought everything from Yasuno’s recomnded list in one go. Fufufu, this is a fine thing indeed.”
“Ahh… makes sense now.”
From what Hikaru could see, all the furniture inside the house was luxury-brand. Compared to the spartan furnishings of the old place, it was a world apart. At first it seed like far too much of an upgrade in lifestyle, but if the Awakener Association was behind it, it made sense.
“Her sense of money is all over the place… peasant one mont, noble lady the next. And despite all this, she still just eats rice, furikake, and tea. Guess the Association wanted her to start spending sohow.”
They weren’t pushing her toward reckless extravagance, but it was clear the Association wanted her to live at a level befitting her earnings. Hikaru thought this must be why they had chosen “this direction” for her spending—luxury appliances and furnishings.
“Well, it’s not like she has anything else to spend on anyway…”
As Inari happily began shaping rice balls, Hikaru lightly touched her shrine maiden robes.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Just thinking… this outfit’s amazing. Where do you even get sothing like this?”
“I’ve no idea.”
“…What’s that supposed to an?”
The robes could transform, and their defensive power likely surpassed even the finest top-grade equipnt on the market—possibly a special-class artifact. The sword too, Hikaru suspected, was of the sa level. With gear like that, there was no need to buy any equipnt.
The auction market had been lively with items Inari herself had sold. Others, encouraged by her example, had begun putting up things they had been hoarding “just in case.” And judging by what Hikaru had heard, Inari might even view auctions as nothing more than glorified pawnshops. There was simply nothing she wanted.
“Hikaru, would you fetch the takuan from the fridge?”
“Sure. Takuan… ta—takuan!?”
“What? Has a takuan-ban been decreed?”
“No! Since when do you add pickled radish to rice balls?”
“Hikaru… dost thou an to say thou art of the ‘rice balls need no side-dish’ faction?”
“There’s no such faction! You never added stuff like that before!”
Rice alone was happiness. Furikake was the side dish. Why, then, had Inari bought takuan?
When Hikaru opened the fridge in suspicion, she found not only takuan, but uboshi, nozawana greens, salmon flakes, mayonnaise, and even canned tuna. And miso as well!
“Damn it… it’s all rice-based, but sohow it looks like a balanced pantry…”
Did unopened cans of tuna even need to be refrigerated? Hikaru decided not to question it.
“Well, they told to raise my standard of living. I thought I’d begin practicing a richer, more colorful diet.”
“Colorful… you an the red uboshi and the green nozawana?”
“And the yellow of the takuan.”
“…Just eat normal vegetables. Stop picking only salty stuff.”
Inari’s skin glowed with health, so Hikaru wasn’t too worried. Still, she peeked into the vegetable drawer—and sighed in relief.
There were tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce inside. Fresh and glossy.
“Well, yeah. That’s more like it.”
She smiled faintly and closed the drawer. But Hikaru did not know the truth—that the lettuce was bought only because Inari had seen fried rice on TV and wanted to try making it soday, while the tomatoes and cucumbers had been bought simply because they reminded her of the vegetables once grown in the abandoned village where she had lived.
Yes… she would eat them if she bought them, and she didn’t dislike other foods. But Inari’s body did not require a varied diet. And so, her rice-centered life continued unchanged.
…Incidentally, the rice balls made with the ultra-high-end rice cooker were unbelievably delicious.
The price tag had its reasons. With overwhelming clarity, both Inari and Hikaru were shown the true power of that machine.
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Translator’s Notes:
Takuan (沢庵): Pickled daikon radish.
Uboshi (梅干し): Pickled Japanese plum (more accurately an apricot-like fruit).
Nozawana (野沢菜): Pickled leaf vegetable, related to turnip or mustard greens.
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