Inari had noticed that Hikaru was troubled.
Until then, Hikaru had been answering lightly when the topic of urban legends ca up, but suddenly, she had cut the subject short.
For there to be “nothing behind it” was impossible.
“Mhm… sothing must have happened that changed Hikaru’s mind. I’m certain her eyes flicked toward sothing that wasn’t there… hmm?”
That, too, was familiar to Inari.
System ssages. They seed invisible to others.
And another thing—ssages from beings akin to gods.
Inari had once received one from The Bearer of Endless Agony and Delight.
They looked similar to system ssages at first glance, but Inari felt instinctively that they were sothing else entirely.
She couldn’t say for sure which it had been in Hikaru’s case. Even the “system” sotis gave off the impression of a will behind it.
But at the very least, she could guess Hikaru had received a ssage—sothing telling her to end the conversation.
And most importantly: Hikaru clearly had no intention of sharing it.
“She is sharp. She must have known cutting the talk so abruptly would make suspicious. Yet she still chose not to go deeper… well. Perhaps that is my own failing. Proof I have yet to build that level of trust with her.”
But that wasn’t sothing to reproach Hikaru for.
After all, sharing everything wasn’t the only way to have a healthy relationship.
Secrets. Things you deliberately don’t say. Things not worth saying.
Would forcing one’s partner to hear one through ten truly be right?
Inari thought not. One could be friends without it. Even family.
She had seen people in the old village live happily that way.
So—secrets were fine. As long as they weren’t ant to harm.
And Hikaru’s secret didn’t feel like that.
Therefore, Inari felt no need to force it into the light.
Thinking so, she bit into a rice ball.
Pickled plum.
The sharp salt and sourness of the uboshi spread through the rice, blending together in her mouth into just the right harmony…
U rice balls were a staple, a foundation of the form. And after so many years, Inari could see why.
Aniki Mart sold all kinds of novelty rice balls, but in the end, people always ca back to u. That was why it remained on the shelves. Its power was undeniable.
In sum—u was yokozuna. The grand champion. Superb.
“Mhm… in the end, u reigns supre.”
“I thought for sure you’d call plain salted rice balls the ultimate.”
“Mhm. They are indeed marvelous. Rice and salt. That simple pairing draws out the grain’s flavor. I would honor its power. Yet, I resolved to raise my standard of living. Thus I fill them with ingredients now.”
“Ohh, I see. …Though I don’t think the Awakener Association ant that kind of standard when they talked about improving your lifestyle.”
Hikaru imagined they’d expected more French, Italian, Chinese—or at least kaiseki or sushi.
Still, rice balls with fillings and pickles were a step above plain rice with furikake every al.
“So then, you’ve graduated from the furikake diet, huh.”
“Furikake rice is perfection.”
“Uh—right.”
The serious gleam in Inari’s eyes made Hikaru drop the point.
Besides, furikake was delicious.
“Man, it’s still a mystery. I’ve looked into old awakeners, but none had fox ears or tails. Then again… with awakeners, nothing is impossible.”
For example, the “Submarine” Suzuno Shion, one of the top rankers.
No one had ever explained how she could breathe underwater.
No new organs had been discovered—yet she did it anyway.
Compared to that, ears and tails weren’t so strange.
So even speculated Inari was a “new generation” awakener, but Hikaru couldn’t care less.
To her, Inari was Inari. Anything beyond that was just unnecessary talk.
“Oh, this one’s salmon… salmon flakes?”
“A convenient age indeed. Cost a bit, but it spares the work of grilling and flaking it myself.”
“Yeah, fish is a pain. You know, back in the day, fish was a common dinner-table dish.”
“Mhm. But with the state of the seas now…”
Fishing was a life-or-death venture, requiring awakeners as escorts.
Of course it was expensive.
“Still, she probably makes enough to buy a whole salmon outright with pocket change… but nah. Saying that’d just be rude.”
And besides, there was no point in buying an entire fish.
Better to buy a sack of rice.
Hikaru understood Inari well enough to know that much.
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