Now then—while Inari-chan Furikake was in full swing with preparations for its release, that was that. Three days later, Inari could be found inside a certain establishment.
A large table with a grill set into its center... yes, it was a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant. Sitting across from her was none other than Seo Hikaru, the image character for Lion Telecom. Why were the two of them here? The answer was simple: Inari had said, “I want to go to a yakiniku restaurant.”
…
“So like… why yakiniku? Not that I don’t like it.”
“Aye. The tale be a long one, but…”
It started after the meeting with Wado Foods—when they sent over a whole mountain of furikake “for Inari.” It was all their own products, and there was an enormous variety. Among them was one particular flavor… something Inari had once considered buying but ultimately passed on.
“…I feel like I see where this is going, but go on?”
“Aye. Hikaru, dost thou know the panda?”
“A panda? Yeah, I know it.”
“The black-and-white creature, the panda. But if one were asked to draw it, I’ve heard few could do so accurately.”
“Okay…?”
“’Tis because even if one knows of the panda, they oft have never truly seen one. If someone who knows not the panda were shown something merely resembling it, could they truly tell it apart?”
The point being: if you don’t know the real thing, then even if you see a fake, you might just accept it as “that’s how it is.” And if you see something made to resemble the real deal, you won’t be able to appreciate how well-made it is. Proper judgment is only possible when you’ve experienced the real thing.
In fact, making such judgments without that experience just leads to vague impressions and dulled appreciation. Brushing things off with “I guess that’s what it’s like” means you’re throwing away what could have been a meaningful experience. That’s why truly knowing something—encountering the real thing—is so important.
“So you got yakiniku-flavored furikake.”
“Ahh! That be the most important part of the tale, is it not!?”
“How should I know? Your preamble was way too long. So basically, you can’t appreciate yakiniku-flavored furikake without knowing what yakiniku actually tastes like. You really didn’t need the panda analogy.”
“Dost thou dislike the panda?”
“I prefer lions.”
“Ohh, is that so? As for me, I know neither of them.”
“Then the panda analogy was even more useless. Also, I’m not sure you’d even be able to recognize a panda if you saw one.”
“Hmm… mayhap I should go see a panda then.”
Anyway, that’s how Inari invited Hikaru to yakiniku, and she ended up booking a private room at Gyuutenrou, a restaurant where you can enjoy yakiniku in peace. They couldn’t just waltz into a normal yakiniku place—doing so would almost certainly cause a scene, and people would start taking photos. In that sense, it was a smart and risk-conscious move on Hikaru’s part.
What’s more, Gyuutenrou was famous in Tokyo for being a high-end yakiniku restaurant. From the perspective of the average person, the price per meal would be enough to give serious pause. When Inari hesitated with a, “Isn’t this a bit pricey?” Hikaru managed to talk her into it. Incidentally, Inari earns more than enough to eat three meals a day here without batting an eye—she just lacks awareness of that fact, and since she’s not particularly interested in money, she doesn’t have much of a sense for that kind of thing. Regardless, this was the sort of place meant for customers who could afford to pay without hesitation, and the private room option existed precisely for people who wanted to enjoy their meal without disturbance. It was perfect for Inari and Hikaru.
“Well, whatever. I was in the mood for meat anyway.”
“Dost thou not normally eat it?”
“As part of my public image, I usually eat sparkly, cutesy food.”
As she munched down on the starter salad, Hikaru made a somewhat displeased face. As the mascot of Lion Telecom, she was marketed with a “cute” image, and so the food she was seen with needed to match. While she could eat whatever she wanted inside the company building, out in public, she couldn’t be seen scarfing down something like a big beef bowl. Instead, the manager at Lion Telecom wanted her to stick to bagel sandwiches and similarly photogenic fare. Since you never know who might be watching—or photographing—it was all part of the job.
“You don’t seem to be bound by that kind of image stuff. Why haven’t you ever had yakiniku before?”
“Even if thou dost ask why…”
Really, the only answer was “I just kind of never did.” But knowing that wasn’t the answer Hikaru wanted, Inari took a moment to actually think about why she’d never eaten yakiniku before. And then—she found her answer.
“Aye. Because... as long as I have furikake and rice, I am content.”
“…R-Right. I see. Well, I hope you eat a lot. I heard the rice here is really good too.”
“Ohoho… I look forward to it, indeed…”
“Yeah… same…”
“She looks happier than when the meat arrived…”
The fact that Hikaru didn’t say that thought out loud shows she’s actually a pretty good person too… no doubt about it.