In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 128

Chapter 128: Character Goods

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Today, I was called in by Yoriko-san and came to a meeting room at EXA. It seemed to be about promoting the Ultimate Hexagon Pudding.

“Character goods, you say?”

“Yes. When it comes to making promotional items, just the pudding alone is pretty weak, visually speaking. There’s talk about creating a much more appealing character—something that grabs consumers’ attention visually, a character that immediately brings the product name to mind.”

“You mean like one of those yuru-chara? Those mascot characters?”

“Something like that. But just adding arms and legs to a pudding doesn’t give it much personality, so we’d like to make it more like an animal character. You know how there are popular yuru-chara based on cats or bears? Something like that.”

“True, animals do leave a stronger impression.”

“Right? So here’s a survey. From your perspective, Yuusei-kun, what kind of animal do you think best matches the image of pudding?”

“Umm… Is any animal fine?”

“Anything’s fine. I can’t promise it’ll be used, but it’s just a survey, so feel free to say whatever comes to mind.”

“Okay… Can I have a bit of time to think?”

“Of course. I’d like to know what feels closest to the image in your mind. What could it be?”

An animal, huh. If I go by the shape of the pudding… Something with a stable lower body… Maybe a penguin is the first thing that comes to mind?

《The colour of a penguin wouldn’t suit the colour of a pudding though.》

Color. Right, since the product is food, color probably matters a lot. I’ve heard that warm colors like red, orange, and yellow stimulate the appetite more than cool tones like blue. So if we’re talking about a yellowish animal that looks like pudding… How about a giraffe? Giraffes are yellow and brown, so the color balance isn’t bad, right?

《Giraffes have large patches, so in reality they appear almost entirely brown. Also, their long necks and legs make them quite far removed from the image of pudding.》

Now that you mention it, it does feel off. This is pretty tough. Yellow animals. Yellow… Yellow. How about a tiger? Or maybe a lion, bear, or rabbit—those could work in yellow too, I guess. Hmm… But none of them quite click.

I feel like I’m forgetting something obvious. Something that’s like, this is it!

《How about looking beyond mammals?》

Outside of mammals, huh… Like a yellow frog, maybe? Could be good luck to carry one around. But amphibians give off a kind of fishy vibe, so maybe not great for a dessert image. Then fish are probably out too, because of the smell? I’ve heard reptiles have less body odor. So maybe a yellow chameleon could be cute…

《You’re overlooking birds.》

Ah, right. Birds. Why didn’t I think of that sooner? Of course.T here’s that famous yellow bird. A canary! The name canary yellow even comes from them, so the image fits perfectly, doesn’t it?

《Try considering the ingredients too.》

Ah, I see. That’s a good way of thinking. Milk is essential in pudding. Cow’s milk. A yellow cow? Like a golden cow? Sounds super adorable, but maybe I’ll put that on hold. Depending on the design, a cow might not really appeal to the main target demographic—female consumers.

Of the other ingredients, sugar and vanilla beans are plants, so the rest would be… Eggs. Eggs make you think of chickens. A yellow chicken. Hmm… Like a weathercock? Kinda stylish, I guess. But as a character, it still feels lacking…

《Chickens lay eggs, but an egg doesn’t instantly become a chicken.》

Good point. What comes out of an egg… That’s it—a chick! A custard-yellow chick. Whoa! The color is a perfect match! Being a baby bird, it’s fluffy, small, and has round beady eyes. It’s cute too, so it should appeal to women. Design-wise, it would be easy to work with. Why didn’t I think of that earlier? It’s like my brain had the memory locked away or something.

“Um, it might be a pretty obvious idea, but how about a chick? That’s the image that feels closest to pudding for me.”

“What made you think that? Can you tell me the specific points?”

“First, the color. There are lots of yellow animals, but many are closer to brown or have a vivid yellow. Chicks, on the other hand, have a soft yellow tone, just like pudding.”

“You said ‘first,’ so there are other reasons too?”

“Yes. I guess it’s the texture? That fluffy, soft impression seems fitting. And also, I chose it because it’s cute.”

“I agree. It’s a generic idea, but chicks have a friendly appeal. It might bring out a good image from the audience. I’ll bring it up as a reference in the planning meeting.”

“Even if the chick doesn’t get picked, I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of character we end up with.”

“I’ll let you know once it’s officially decided. I’m sure you’ll see it plenty in the upcoming promotional campaigns.”

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“On another note, the Sweets Satellite segment the other day was really well-received. It made a big splash, and Jun told me we’ve gotten a ton of guest appearance requests for regional food events.”

Is that so? I’m heading to Youshun Agency after this, so maybe that’s what they want to talk about?

“Guest appearances?”

“For big events, they often invite comedians or musicians to entertain the guests. In your case, Yuusei-kun, it would probably be a talk show.”

“Even if you call it a talk show, I’m just an ordinary high school student. I can’t really talk about more than I did the other day.”

Back then, I talked about the EXA audition and the commercial shoot. That was the best I could manage. Maybe that drawback made me a failure as a professional in the entertainment business, but I just couldn’t bring myself to casually reveal my private life in front of a crowd.

“That was more than enough. The number of views on the commercial video we posted on the site shot up noticeably. As EXA’s campaign representative, you’ve totally passed the test.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Your father showing up was an unexpected bonus, but the parent-child appearance got a really positive response too. By the way, is your father still in Japan?”

“No, he’s already left the country. He said he plans to come back to Japan from time to time, but I don’t know when that’ll be.”

When Dad left the country, he was dressed in a crazy get-up. Just to be safe, he reverted to that wild-man style, but since he’d shaved off his actual beard, he put on a big, bushy fake one instead.

Am I going to have to dress like that when I go overseas too? If this world has a custom of going on a honeymoon, I might need to brace myself for that.

“I see. That’s a shame. I was hoping to see him again.”

Huh? Is that for work-related reasons? Or something more personal?

Looking at Yoriko-san’s expression, it didn’t seem like work. Hmm. I’d feel bad about giving Mom a romantic rival. But knowing my dad, I felt like he would start collecting wives overseas whether I intervened or not. Yoriko-san was a good, trustworthy person, too. In that case…

“If my father comes back to Japan again, should I let him know you’d like to meet him?”

Helping out a bit should be fine. The rest was up to Dad. He could refuse if he didn’t want to meet up with Yoriko-san. 

“Really? Could I ask you to do that?”

“Of course. You and he already know each other, and you’ve worked together, so I think I can at least tell him you’d like to see him again.”

“Thank you. Even if it doesn’t work out, I’d appreciate it.”

Later, when I met with Jun-san, she also said something similar, and I gave her the same promise. Dad was only in Japan for a little while, but wow… His popularity was astonishing to say the least.

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