Let's Go on a Field Trip
"Heehee!"
Hana, glowing with delight, held the school notice out for Maru to see. Maru took the paper Hana had handed her and read it through with care. The reason for all that joy was written right there on the page.
"A field trip to the amusement park next week?"
Maru said it only after she had read the notice all the way to the end. Come to think of it, she herself had gone to an amusement park on a school outing when she was little, the sort of trip that felt more like a proper excursion. That, though, had been in sixth grade, one of the upper years. And now Hana, only a third-grader, was heading to an amusement park...
The years really did change a great many things. Decades had passed since Maru graduated elementary school, and if the children saw her now they might well call her an ajumma. She felt she would be wounded by that. She had not so much as dated, let alone married, and hearing kids call her a middle-aged auntie seemed far too soon.
"Then we just need to get the supplies ready on the side."
"Yeah! There isn't even much to prepare, Maru. They said it's a day trip! It does end a little late, though!"
The notice said they would leave early, at eight in the morning, and come out of the amusement park at six in the evening. Hana usually finished school around two and came home, so this was undeniably a late dismissal. Still, it was summer. Even if they left the park at six, the sun would not have set.
She seemed to have brought the notice home simply so a parent could sign off. Everything else, Hana could prepare herself.
Maru still had to report it, so she spoke to Hana apart from the rest.
"Big sis will look into it and let you know."
The moment Hana heard that, she seemed to take it as a signal that she might not be allowed to go, and her face went pale. She was probably picturing herself left alone in the classroom, staring into space, while her friends Jiyu and Yumi went off to the amusement park. Anyone who did not join the trip was supposed to stay behind in class. Of course, there would not be a single student who skipped it. No child existed who would refuse to tag along on an outing like that.
Maru studied that expression, then smiled as she spoke.
"You'll be able to go too, Hana. It's just a simple check."
"You promise, Maru?"
"Promise!"
"Then I'm trusting only you!"
With that, Hana vanished in a whoosh. Maru picked up the notice and went to tell her superior. Approval was a given anyway. Unless a Gate opened, Hana was the safest elementary school student in the entire country. The ring on her finger was an extraordinary artifact, one that could stop even a rifle bullet.
Buying it had forced Kim Sehee to empty her personal fortune down to the last coin. That was how expensive the artifact Hana wore was—pricey enough that high-ranking politicians favored the same kind.
And so Hana's field trip was approved without a fuss.
I looked in the mirror and steeled myself. Today was a special day, so I had to dress the part. The girl in the glass looked like a magical girl straight out of an anime. It had been a long time since I had put on the Little Magician Rumi costume.
In the mirror I stood holding a wand that sparkled and shone. I gazed at myself with a satisfied smile. The look was so perfect that all I could do was laugh. If I went to school dressed like this, the other kids would stare at me with pure envy. The outfit was that good.
"Hana, are you ready?"
Maru opened the door and came in. I hurried over to her, delighted. It was time to show off my outfit. But the moment Maru saw me, she was horrified.
Was she shocked because I looked too pretty? That hope of mine was betrayed almost at once.
"Hana! You can't go out dressed like that!"
"Why not, Maru?!"
"Honestly, Hana... This won't do. Leave it to your unnie."
"Waaah!"
Seized in Maru's hands, I was ruthlessly changed into other clothes. Maru hid the Little Magician Rumi cosplay outfit away in a corner. She said it was in case I tried to take it with me.
"Boo..."
I ended up dressed exactly as Maru had styled me. The girl in the mirror looked like a child in clothes that fit her age perfectly. But I was sad. The Little Magician Rumi outfit is prettier than this!
My protest was not accepted. I trailed after Maru with my lips stuck out in a pout. I did not like her styling, but I still had to get in the car.
After tasting Starlight Wine once, Danaka went straight back to Japan. The price was reasonable, and above all the flavor was outstanding, which made it a drink that suited Kara Sushi perfectly. Even if they could not put it on the menu at the Kara Sushi franchises, it was a wine fine enough to sell on its own in ordinary supermarkets.
At that price, at least, it had no rival worth facing. Danaka did not know wine especially well, but he had the feeling that to buy anything with a flavor like this, one would have to go looking for the fine wines sold in France.
The taste of Starlight Food's products had already been proven, so supplying the wine to the Kara Sushi franchises would be straightforward enough.
Unlike Starlight Rice, which had to go into the sushi, Starlight Wine was something Japanese consumers would choose to buy for themselves. Because of that, Kara Sushi had no choice but to take a roundabout approach.
A wine boasting extraordinary flavor and aroma!
A wine you can buy at Kara Sushi locations nationwide!
The design was discussed separately with Kim Sehee of Starlight Food. The prototypes already produced were few, so swapping the design posed no problem. And the change was not even to the bottle itself, only to the wine label, which made it nothing difficult.
On the label, the word Starlight was tucked in very small. The wording was kept as simple as possible, so that anyone glancing at it would assume it was a new wine Kara Sushi had made. The country-of-origin mark was printed in letters so tiny that it could not be seen unless one looked with real concentration.
Kim Sehee was a little uncomfortable with it, but in the face of Danaka's fervent objections she agreed to change the design. From Danaka's point of view, it was an immense relief. A Starlight Wine with flavor like this would surely catch on all by itself. Kara Sushi had succeeded in taking the vanguard for Starlight Wine's entry into Japan. He was convinced that, from here on, Kara Sushi could become an even greater company.
"If we say outright that it's a liquor made in Korea, it clearly won't sell well. Call it Korean liquor, and people will feel a certain reluctance."
Living as he had, Danaka had come to feel as much. He was Japanese, and he himself held no particular feelings about Korea, but he could read the mood around him well enough. He had also soaked in that atmosphere, and come to hold no special fondness for Korea either.
Those feelings had changed after he tasted Starlight Rice once. Other Japanese consumers, though, were not the same. Even now, many people in Japan did not know that Starlight Rice was made in Korea. Plenty of them simply believed Kara Sushi had produced some delicious rice of its own. From Danaka's position, there was no reason to correct that mistaken idea.
"The important thing is to get them to drink it once."
Once someone tasted Starlight Wine, there was a strong chance they would keep seeking it out. That was how good it was. Even if they learned it was Korean only after they had grown addicted to it, they would not be able to stop drinking it. It was that addictive.
And so they began selling it with any mention that the liquor had come from Korea left out.
Starlight Food had already produced a stock, so it was supplied to Kara Sushi franchises across the country. The franchise owners sold it as well, taking it for a wine Kara Sushi had made on its own. Who studies a product list in detail before buying a bottle of wine?
The owners had also tasted Starlight Wine once themselves, and they were confident it would sell. A wine this delicious was sure to pair well with sushi, and the price was decent enough besides.
They were told that a premium line of wine would be produced later, and that those bottles would be supplied separately to the VIP rooms. The exact price had not yet been released, and the owners were curious. Asking headquarters, though, got them no answer.
Still, they had already tasted Starlight Rice once, so they had no particular complaint. People in business were the sort who would do anything if it profited their company. Perhaps because it was a wine chosen by people like that, the results were deeply satisfying.
On the first day alone, several thousand bottles sold. Many of the customers who tasted the wine ordered extra bottles to take home. It had not yet been supplied to supermarkets, so they bought it at the Kara Sushi restaurants and carried it out with them.