"All right, Mashiro, you and Higokumaru go wait for me in the living room! I need to change too."
Although it would have been fine to wear her sailor uniform—Japanese school uniforms were all quite pretty, after all—this was a serious matter. Even if Iida Ayano was a friend, Rita still had to dress more formally.
Japan placed great importance on appearances, especially women... Going out to meet people without makeup would be considered impolite.
And no matter where they were, men dressed neatly in suits and leather shoes, terrified of leaving even the slightest bad impression on their clients.
Especially since Japanese companies practiced lifetime employment. If an employee was fired, it was difficult for them to recover; it was not as though they could simply switch to another company and carry on.
Compared to that, employees in Shenzhou had much more freedom. There were plenty who changed jobs four or five times a year, and their salaries doubled every time. Of course, that was only possible if they had the skills and ability.
"Okay."
Hearing Rita's words, Mashiro answered casually. At some point, she had crouched down. Quietly, she stroked the nine-tailed fox, who was nearly as tall as her knees in that position. Holding a piece of fried tofu in her hand, she slowly fed it to Higokumaru despite the conflicted look on the fox's face.
After spending so much time with Higokumaru, even Mashiro, lacking in common sense as she was, had learned that Higokumaru liked fried tofu. Whenever she asked Rita to buy Baumkuchen, she would even have her bring back a serving of fried tofu as well.
With fried tofu in hand, it did not take long for Higokumaru to become more or less friendly with her.
By now, Mashiro could even pet Higokumaru