Please to Kitsune-sama!

They were clearly speaking out of kindness, and Inari herself was, without doubt, a beginner. Besides… she didn’t really know how strong these “Awakeners” truly were.

Perhaps they were remarkable. Or perhaps not.

Well, judging by everyone’s reaction during the assessment, Inari had a pretty good idea that she fell into the “remarkable” category. But that alone wasn’t enough to make sweeping judgments.

“As for this 'status' thing, there’s still much I know not. 'Tis best I accept the offer, that I may better understand how this Awakener world worketh.”

With that settled, Inari gave a slight bow to the staff member.

“I am most grateful for thy generosity. I shall gladly accept thine offer to mediate this ‘party’.”

“O-oh, yes! Absolutely, leave it to me! I’ll do my best!”

“Excellent. I shall count on thee, then.”

“In that case, please take this number card—number seven—and wait in the matching service lounge over there!”

“Umu… the matchingu saabisu, aye.”

She still wasn’t used to all the foreign-sounding words, and it was frustrating. But Inari knew she’d have to get used to them eventually. With that thought, she headed to the designated area.

It seemed the place was a special hall just for party formation. It had PCs for finding teammates, monitors displaying ticket numbers, and plenty of seats for waiting.

But what truly caught Inari’s eye… was the television placed off to the side like an afterthought.

It was far larger, thinner, and the image quality far more beautiful than anything she remembered. There were no dials to be found—how did one even change the channel? With ears perked up, Inari crept closer.

“Ohh… Ohh, ohhh! To think television hath evolved thus far! And yet, how doth one change the channel with no dial? Could it be… hath Awakener technology been applied even to such humble devices?”

In that case, what kind of power did one use to change the channel?

Surely not telekinesis. More like some kind of perception-based force?

To relay your will to the device and have it obey… If such a thing were possible, well—what bliss that would be. Naturally, she had to give it a try. Though she'd never done it before, Inari began channeling her thoughts toward the TV.

“O channel, heed mine will… switch over. I wish to watch baseball. Baseball!”

She’d never tried a power like this before, but if Awakeners could do it, maybe she could too. With that completely unfounded confidence, Inari focused her will…

And then—the TV screen turned to static. While this didn’t alarm her, the modern crowd that had never known analog broadcast stood up in a panic. Then came the chilling sound from the speakers.

『Ba…se…ball…』

“UWAAAAAHHH!! The TV’s gone weird!”

“Is it broken!?”

At that moment, Inari snapped back to her senses and stopped sending her thoughts. The screen instantly returned to normal.

As the staff rushed over to inspect the television, Inari sheepishly approached them.

“My apologies… I merely wished to change the channel. It seemeth I failed to send my thoughts properly.”

“…Huh? Uh, wait—what?”

That kind of apology left the staff completely at a loss.

“Uh… excuse me, we’ll just check if it’s malfunctioning.”

“Nay, but—”

One of them started using a remote to change the channels. Inari watched and muttered with dawning realization.

“Ohh… so that is how it was operated…”

With the device deemed fine, the staff left—though they clearly remained confused. Inari decided not to stir the pot further, and quietly backed away from the TV, ears drooping in apology.

“How troubling… If ‘tis a matter of lacking strength, I could train alone in solitude. But common sense… that cannot be gained so easily. Worse yet, I know not what I lack.”

The world had changed far too much since Inari's time. Just this one TV had her completely lost. Who knew how many other things had changed? And if she ever messed up and tried to say “I did not know that was the custom”—she’d be branded hopeless, and she’d have no argument to defend herself.

She’d need to figure things out before it came to that. Which was why all that Awakener training earlier was going to come in handy.

Even if she didn’t know much about everyday society, if she could learn the rules of being an Awakener, she could manage dungeon-related matters reasonably well. The rest, she’d pick up over time by observing others.

…Or at least, she thought she was good at that.

Of course, she thought that just after turning a TV into a horror movie moment.

Anyway—figuring she should start with information, she picked up one of the magazines on the table.

And was immediately lost.

“Let’s see… ‘Pitfalls of Stock Trading.’ ‘Surge of Shady Venture-style Scams Leeching Off the Awakener Biz Boom.’ ‘Backdoor Dealings of Unlisted Stocks and Rising Fraud Cases’…”

“…Stock, eh? What was that again… I feel like I’ve heard it before…”

Surely they weren’t referring to soups?

Tilting her head in confusion, Inari gave up on the article. Whatever the details, she at least understood one thing.

“Wherever people gather… trouble doth follows.”