“Lion Telecom... they've seen our success and are steering hard toward an idol-like direction!”
“Yes. Suddenly appointing a new mascot and launching a nationwide commercial campaign... they’re definitely conscious of us.”
Of course, having a good mascot isn’t everything, but popularity is important. When people hesitate over what to choose, they often decide based on the mascot—that has been true in the past and remains true now. In fact, thanks to Inari’s popularity, FoxPhone had recently been outperforming Lion Telecom significantly in sales and more.
But of course, Lion Telecom wasn’t going to just sit back and accept defeat. If the formula “cuteness is strength” had already been proven, it was no surprise that they’d pivot in that direction. And if they were going to do it, they would go all-out from the very first blow.
It was still unclear how much this flashy debut would tip the scales.
“Miss Kogami! Now’s the time—you should sing and dance too!”
“I shall neither sing nor dance, I say. Why art thou so eager to force it upon me...?”
“Shrine maiden sometimes dance too, don’t they?”
“Thou speakest of kagura, aye?”
“Yes! Idol songs and dances are the modern-day kagura! They’re practically a form of faith!”
“That aside. I do neither sing nor dance, nor have I appeared in commercials either. Rather, is this not more the way of a general-purpose mascot, not of one such as I?”
Hearing that, Akai’s eyes widened in realization. She had been so consumed by her desire to turn Inari into a singing, dancing fox shrine maiden that her judgment had clouded momentarily. But Inari was right. In fact, Inari’s role as an mascot was quite different from the usual kind.
Typically, an Awakener who became an mascot was either already famous or was being carefully cultivated by an Awakener company.
Why? Because an Awakener who lacked the ability and spirit to fight when needed would quickly lose popularity. There had even been cases where an mascot chosen only for looks performed terribly in actual combat, damaging the company’s reputation.
Thus, at minimum, an Awakener had to possess enough ability to fight. Some Awakener companies running sports gyms even featured musclebound sibling duos as their mascots.
Of course, those were exceptions. Usually, visuals were emphasized too. Still, it was rare to find an Awakener who combined both visual appeal and strength at a high level.
And if one evaluated "Kogami Inari" under that assumption? The answer would be: “Eh, amazing... Please, sign with us?”
Her visual appeal was far beyond a passing grade—she would be flooded with offers. Without being asked, she already had an outstanding presence, with fox ears, a tail, and a shrine maiden outfit. Her personality was relatively gentle, her lifestyle was impeccable, and her strength could easily be considered first-rate. Moreover, she was a rookie, giving her an even greater impact on the public. And she had already produced tangible results.
When Akai first received word from the Awakener Association’s Japan HQ about Inari, she had been so overjoyed that she broke out into an impromptu original dance.
However, what about Inari’s actual activities as an mascot? So far, she had been making the rounds of Tokyo’s fixed dungeons at a fairly brisk pace, responding to requests and clearing temporary dungeons, and had even resolved the incident at Tokyo Dungeon No. 1. Merchandise was being developed and sold mainly by FoxPhone, but there were no idol-like activities.
Inari was extremely stoic in her work, earning evaluations like “She's so cute and so strong, it’s incredible.” In short, she was immensely popular.
“Indeed... You are right. For all their awareness of us, their method is surprisingly ordinary. Could it be that they leaned too heavily into the idol concept? But... would Lion Telecom really make such a basic mistake?”
“Fufufu... No matter what, they make a fine rival, methinks. It seemeth we have spurred each other onward.”
As Inari nodded thoughtfully, Akai suddenly burst into laughter and stood up.
“Lion Telecom has fallen!”
“O-Ohh?”
“Their defeat lies in underestimating Miss Kogami’s specs! The Awakener phone market is now firmly in our grasp!”
"Thou art most lively, I see..."
“Apologies. The Representative tends to get overly excited whenever Miss Kogami and Lion Telecom are mentioned...”
“Aye, nay need to fret over it…”
The employee who had earlier rushed into the room apologized profusely, but Inari didn’t think it was something needing an apology. If anything, watching it was rather amusing.
At any rate, after riding out her excitement, Akai sat back down on the sofa, regaining her composure.
“Well, I do think Lion Telecom must have some sort of strategy. They must have decent enough strength too. My guess is, for a while, we’ll start seeing a lot more news related to that girl.”
“If I gained renown by my strength, then mayhap they mean to drown that out with exaggerated tales?”
“Yes, it’s just a guess, but…”
That didn’t particularly bother Inari. Striving to clear dungeons was not a bad thing. If there was any problem at all, it was that the reservation queue for dungeons would likely get even more crowded.
“Mayhap I really should try going to Saitama... Could I pass through Akabane to get there?”
While Inari mused at her own relaxed pace... at no point did any thought like “A rival has appeared!” cross her mind.
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Kagura (神楽) is a traditional Japanese ritual dance and music performance dedicated to the Shinto gods (kami). The word "kagura" literally means "entertainment for the gods" — with "kami" (神) meaning "god" and "kura" (楽) meaning "pleasure" or "music."
Originally, kagura was a sacred Shinto ceremony performed at shrines to welcome, entertain, and honor deities, and it’s closely tied to ancient Japanese mythology. Over time, "kagura" also evolved into more entertainment-like forms, influencing modern Japanese performing arts.