By the way, the difference in perception between non-Awakeners—i.e., ordinary people—and Awakeners when it came to Atsuage had a very clear reason.
To explain that, we first have to understand what an Awakener’s job actually is. From a layperson’s point of view, it’s simply “defeating monsters.”
But in reality, very few people truly grasp what that entails.
Naturally so. Dungeons are life-or-death places. They are not somewhere you can bring a television crew and expect to proceed safely. Even if that were possible, showing the mud- and blood-soaked reality of dungeon battles to the general public would no doubt lead to an avalanche of complaints. TV personnel don’t want to die, and Awakeners don’t want to take responsibility for them either.
As such, to the average modern citizen, “what Awakeners do” remains a rather vague concept.
On top of that, monster data is often not publicly available. So to the average person, the Block Golem looks like nothing more than an adorable toy-like creature.
But to Awakeners, the Block Golem is the infamous boss of the Saitama Dungeon No. 3.
And that gap in awareness is as clear as day. Which is why when Atsuage rides on Inari’s shoulder, ordinary people don't bat an eye, but Awakeners regard it with awe and Inari with reverence.
So what about Akihabara?
The answer is simple: Akihabara is full of Awakeners. Meaning Atsuage draws stares of fear and wonder, and Inari, admiration and envy.
“Look! That’s the rumored Block Golem!”
“Dang… If only I had one of those.”
“Saitama Dungeon No. 3, right? I heard it’s totally swamped with reservations…”
Indeed, the Saitama Dungeon No. 3 was currently overwhelmed with reservations. But that didn’t mean the difficulty had changed.
Those trying to cut the line by going solo or in small groups were leaving their fates to the dice—literally.
The Awakener Association figured the rush would calm down in a few weeks.
In other words, for now, Atsuage remained the only partner Block Golem “outside”. That made it even more of a marvel in the eyes of the Awakeners of Akihabara.
For the record, Inari hadn’t come to show Atsuage off. She was simply en route to FoxPhone at Akai’s request.
Standing out like this was, as always, not by choice.
Atsuage hated going into the Divine Concealment pocket. Even if Inari stuffed it into her clothes, it’d just crawl back out. In the end, she had no choice but to let it be.
And that meant it would naturally perch on her shoulder or head—drawing attention whether she liked it or not.
Inari had already resigned herself to it.
“Miss Kogami! I’m a huge fan! May I shake your hand!?”
“Hoeh? Well, I suppose that much is fine…”
“Oh! Me too, please!”
“Same here! Please shake mine too!”
“Eh!? Then me too—”
“Nuoooo!? Wh-What’s all this!?”
Of course, Inari wasn’t the type to have learned how to deal with celebrity treatment. And so, before she knew it, she was surrounded and an impromptu handshake event had begun.
Even without malice, it was impossible for her to refuse sincere goodwill. But people just kept gathering, and she had no idea when to stop.
“Ooooh… Wh-What am I supposed to do now… I cannot very well declare this to be over…”
“Next is me!”
“Almost my turn!”
With sparkling eyes turned toward her, Inari found herself completely frozen.
And then… A whistle sounded, sharp and commanding.
The crowd turned as one toward the sound, where a single girl stood.
“Alright, everybody, attentionnnn!”
The girl called out in a voice that rang clear, exhaled deeply, and then shouted even louder.
“Disperse! You’re blocking the street and bothering poor Inari-chan! You’re crowding too much!”
“S-Sorry!”
“Everyone, let’s go! Disperse!”
“Sorry, Miss Kogami!”
As if a fever had broken, the crowd rapidly scattered. But Inari could sense there was something else at work here.
There was definitely a subtle power in that voice—not malicious, but one that clearly drew attention and then, with her silly tone, snapped everyone back to reality.
“Fuum… Now that was quite the technique.”
While Inari muttered in admiration, the girl walked up to her.
Something about her looked familiar—her face, her outfit. And then Inari recalled the lion-themed armor.
“You okay, Inari-chan? I’m Seo Hikaru! First time meeting, huh?”
“Mu… mumu.. Umu, I remember now! From that Lion Telecom!”
“Yup! I’m Lion Telecom’s Seo Hikaru! Pleased to meet you, da zo~♪”
She struck a sharp pose, and for a moment Inari hallucinated maids again. Though she couldn’t help wondering… why did Hikaru’s eyes look a little dead?
In any case, a greeting should be returned in kind—that was only proper.
“I am Kogami Inari of FoxPhone. A pleasure to make thy acquaintance.”
As Inari replied with a graceful bow, Hikaru muttered.
“Ugh… I like that better…”
Of course, Inari had no idea what she meant by that.