Sushi Stream (First Half)

Sushi.

A luxury food.

A traditional Japanese dish generally made by combining rice with seafood.

"…!!"

And so Saya, having come to the supermarket to buy celebratory SuperChat-unlocking sushi—the half-off stickers already applied, just as planned—stood staring at the few remaining packs.

One was a Sukeroku pack. A set of maki rolls and inari sushi, list price 300 yen.

One was a single-type nigiri pack. Three pieces of the same topping per pack, list price 400 yen.

One was an assorted nigiri set. Squid, blue-backed fish, tamago, and several other types of sushi, eight pieces to a set. List price 700 yen.

And among the assorted packs, the expensive one labeled "Three Types of Tuna!" at a list price of 1500 yen…!!

Each had exactly one left. Now, which one to buy—

"… W-what do I do? If we're talking sushi, nigiri is the way to go, right? And the assortment with more variety is better, right?"

It may have just been Saya's personal impression, but when she thought celebration sushi, she thought nigiri. Maybe chirashi sushi for Hinamatsuri, but since she'd been picturing nigiri, she wasn't going to back down on that.

And if it was nigiri, an assortment with many kinds felt like a better deal than a single-topping one. The per-piece price on single-type packs also seemed subtly high, though that varied by topping, of course.

"… Alright! Decided."

Saya reached for the 700-yen pack, the very last one—

—and her hand closed on empty air.

An auntie had snatched it!! Unbelievable!!

What remained in the assortment lineup was the pricey 1500-yen pack!!

The expensive one that stays on the shelf precisely because, even at half-off, it's still expensive!!!

"… G-guhh!! B-but!!"

The usual Saya would have given up immediately. But the SuperChats from her earlier stream flashed through her mind. The rainbow "sushi fund" chain. They'd specifically given her that much money for sushi.

If that was the case, she couldn't compromise on sushi!! That would be her way of giving back to the Karonites who sent the sushi-fund SuperChats, a form of return on their investment!!

Yes, this wasn't running away, it wasn't settling for leftovers. This was going forward on a decision she'd made!

"…!!!"

Gripping it tight, Saya grabbed the 1500-yen Three Types of Tuna pack and put it in her basket.

Even at half-off, it was 750 yen. Just the thought of handling something this luxurious by her standards made her palms sweat; she almost let it slip.

 

*

 

Saya's headset had a scan function built in. Originally it was for scanning things like her room's walls, but she could also use it on objects, converting real-world items into 3D data and bringing them into VR space.

Combined with BCD's MR mode, she could eat the real thing and stream it as her avatar at the same time. A "meal stream"!

"Kon-Karona～! I have returned, everyone～! In the spirit of both celebration and self-reflection, I've bought some sushi… some expensive sushi～!!"

To avoid getting doxxed, Karona had scrubbed the supermarket address info off the label before scanning the sushi pack, and now held it up for the camera.

Maybe because she'd rushed home on her bike, the ikura and uni inside the pack had scattered a bit.

"expensive (with half-off sticker)"

"1500 yen half off is 750 yen… about the price of a light novel paperback, huh"

"w-well, by ojou's standards it's expensive. this is the ojou who makes a single bag of bean sprouts one meal"

"[750 JPY] sushi fund"

"[750 JPY] sushi fund"

"Hie!? You're throwing the same 750 yen I just used with the momentum of a bungee jump off Kiyomizu Stage, without the slightest hesitation!? And twice, at that!? I have to ask at this late hour, but just how wealthy are all of you!?"

Shuddering at the financial firepower of the Karonites who followed her, Karona decided to get eating right away. Even half-off sushi was still sushi, and freshness mattered. And by Karona's belief, that meant time-since-opening-the-pack.

She scanned it in MR mode while opening the pack. Taking another look: three red pieces that were clearly tuna, three white pieces, one salmon, one shrimp, and one each of ikura and uni gunkanmaki. Ten pieces of sushi in total.

"Itadakimasu… here I go!"

"props for properly saying itadakimasu"

"guess i'll eat dinner too"

"sushi looks good…"

Karona pointed her chopsticks at the sushi.