Since I also intended to prepare sushi today, one type each per person might work out well. Even if it's not kakiage, regular tempura can be delicious in the noodles.
Just as I ordered some kakiage, I suddenly realized I had forgotten to buy noodles. I was certain I had seen them at the supermarket earlier, but it slipped my mind, which shows how much my brain is starting to rust. It would be nice if a healing potion could fix that, but I doubt it's possible. Maybe a premium healing potion might help, but who knows? If there were some kind of youth elixir or memory enhancer, I'd definitely grab some. But since that's unlikely, I'll just try to find a memory aid before bed tonight.
After settling the bill, I headed back to the supermarket. I made my way to the dry goods section and picked up some dried udon, soba, and somen. I noticed a fancy brand of somen that was oddly expensive, so I decided to give it a shot. I also grabbed some seaweed that caught my eye.
I made sure not to forget to buy a few bottles of tsuyu. Close call—I almost left without the green onions! There might be green onions in the New World, but if there are, they're probably not the right kind for my noodles.
Feeling relieved after purchasing the green onions, I noted that quite a bit of time had passed due to all the back-and-forth in the supermarket. Now it was time to head back to the mansion, grab a quick rest, and prepare lunch. It'll be easy—just some fried chicken, and I have chilled cola and juice ready in my item box. If that's not enough, I can whip up as many hamburgers as I want.
"Well then, let's head back to the mansion."
As we slipped into a side street where the foot traffic thinned, I called out, "Transfer!"
I arrived directly in the living room.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back!"
"Welcome back!"
Lily and the children were gathered around Bunny's birdcage.
"Huh?"
"Mr. Rockwell, something's wrong with Bunny."
Lily's voice trembled, nearly breaking.
"What happened?"
I approached the cage and peered inside. Bunny was stretched out in the nest, not moving at all.
"Is it having a seizure?"
"I don't know. It suddenly fell off its perch, and when I put it back in the nest, it stayed like this."
"This is troubling. It ate well this morning, right?"
"Yes, it had half a paradise apple. It seemed like it wanted more, but it hadn't pooped since yesterday, and I thought it best not to overfeed it."
"I see. So it's still alive, right?"
"It occasionally shakes its legs, so I think it is."
"Understood. I'll try giving it a healing potion, even if I'm not sure it will work."
I pulled a high-quality healing potion from my item box and handed it to Lily.
"Open your beak and pour about one-fifth, roughly 20cc, into your mouth. Since it might be difficult for Lily alone, someone should help her," said the first voice.
"I'll help," Eva responded.
With that, Eva bent down and crawled into the birdcage, followed closely by Lily, who carried the potion bottle. Once inside, Eva placed her hands on Bunny's beak.
"Hmm," she murmured, straining to pry it open, but it wouldn't budge.
"Let me try, Eva. Can you hold the potion bottle?" Lily asked.
"Sure," Eva replied.
Lily took her turn, gripping Bunny's beak gently but firmly, and it opened readily. Quickly, she tilted Bunny's head up and said, "Eva, open the potion bottle and let it drip into its mouth."
"Okay," Eva answered. She twisted the cap off the wax-sealed potion bottle and carefully dripped some of the potion into Bunny's mouth.
"That should be enough," Lily said, watching closely. The potion seemed to go down smoothly; Bunny's throat moved as it swallowed.
After a moment of observation, Bunny's previously closed eyes blinked open, and its stiff body relaxed. In an instant, Bunny flapped its wings and hopped onto Lily's shoulder.
"Ah, that's a relief," she sighed.
"Hanane, I'm really glad for you!"
"Thank you, Eva."
But Bunny, now perched on Lily's shoulder, began chirping repeatedly, "Pyon, pyon."
"What's wrong?"
"After eating all those paradise apples yesterday, maybe half a paradise apple wasn't enough." I said as I retrieved one from the item box. Bunny hopped off Lily's shoulder and landed on my arm, chirping just like before.
"Looks like you're hungry. Just a moment."
I wasn't sure if Bunny understood me, but it shifted from my arm to my shoulder. With a knife in hand, I divided the apple into eight pieces, just like yesterday, and placed them in the feeding box. As soon as I did, Bunny jumped from my shoulder to the front of the box and eagerly started devouring the apple.
Lily and Eva emerged from the birdcage.
"I can't believe the food was insufficient. I'm sorry, Mr. Rockwell. Sorry, Bunny!"
"It's understandable since it's the first time. I'm just glad the heal potion worked. But it's a bit odd to have such an appetite without… you know,"
"That is strange."
"Bunny might be a parrot, but having been in the dungeon, it's probably different from the animals we know."
"It seems so," I replied.
It turned out that Parrot Bunny's sickness was due to Sky's belly issues. Thanks to a quick dose of healing potion, Bunny regained enough energy to eat. Truly, the healing potion worked wonders.
"Paradise Apples are great, but will Bunny eat anything else? I'm not sure if parrots are omnivores, but I bought fried chicken; should I give it a try?"
"Fried chicken for Parrot Bunny?"
"I think there's a world of difference between chickens and parrots, almost like the gap between pigs and humans."
"Now that you mention it..."
"Besides, Bunny was raised in a dungeon. It's fundamentally different from a chicken raised on Earth."
"That's true."
I retrieved a bag of fried chicken from my item box, and from the paper box inside, I took out a boneless piece just to be safe and placed it in the feeder. I'd heard that giving cats bones could lead to them getting stuck in their throats.
After devouring a whole Paradise Apple, Bunny, now revitalized, perched on its branch, preening its feathers, completely uninterested in the fried chicken. The smell of the spices from the chicken was quite overpowering.
Not wanting to leave uneaten food in the feeder, I put the boneless fried chicken back in the item box. Stored in the material box, it could transform into meat for a burger or something similar.
"Bunny seems to be feeling better, so let's have lunch soon," I said.
"Okay!" everyone replied.
As we headed to the dining hall, we saw Lisa arranging a deep dish filled with salad on the table.
"Welcome back!" Lisa greeted as she spotted me.
"Thanks, I'm back."
The children hurried to the kitchen, bringing back the remaining salad, knives, forks, and plates.
I pulled out a bottle of ketchup from the table and said, "Since we have fries, let's grab some small plates."
The kids returned with small plates, and we all finally sat down together.
"Today's lunch is fried chicken and French fries. If there's not enough, we have hamburgers too. The fried chicken is deep-fried with a rich flavor, so just bite into it as is. The fries should taste the same as always."
I placed two boxes of fried chicken on the table and distributed the bag of fries to everyone.
"Each person can have two pieces of fried chicken, so take what you want on your plates. You can grab them with your hands, but they'll get messy, so use this paper to hold them," I explained, handing out the napkins that came with the order.
"If you run out of napkins, you can use tissues."
On the corner of the table, there's always a box of tissues, and everyone knows how to use it.
"The flat, uniform pieces are boneless chicken. I gave Bunny one earlier, so there are eight in total. That's one for each of us. I'm not a big fan, so if anyone wants two, feel free to take my extra."
I spread the plastic bag that held the chicken set across the table.
"What do you want to drink? I think cola goes well with fried chicken."
It might seem like I'm imposing my preferences, but I'm just sharing what I like.
""Cola!""
The kids, it seems, have received a decent education at the slave trade house, as they are well aware of the world around them.
So, I distributed 500cc bottles of cola for everyone, including my own. Of course, they all know how to open the bottle caps.
"Alright, let's eat!"
""Let's eat!""
Two bottles of a slightly more expensive dressing I bought earlier were placed on the table, and everyone began to drizzle it over their salads.
"Now, I'll try this," Olivia said, reaching for a piece of fried chicken.
"I'll take this one." "Then I'll have this one."
Everyone dug into the bone-in fried chicken.
"It has a bit of a unique flavor, but it's really delicious!"
"I love it!"
"Me too!"
"Burp!"
The fried chicken received rave reviews.
I had completely forgotten about Bunny until Lily spoke up.
"Actually, Lily, I wanted to tell you about the pyramid and dungeon that appeared in Japan…"
"Wow, I had no idea that happened. I used to take that park as a shortcut to the station on my way to and from school. I'm glad it hasn't turned into a big deal."
"Absolutely. Our comfortable life here is thanks to the calmness of Japanese society."
"What do you think will happen to Japan from now on?"
"Based on my knowledge from light novels, it seems like ordinary citizens will become adventurers, entering dungeons, defeating monsters, and bringing back treasures and valuable resources. Eventually, among those adventurers, some will stand out due to their talents and be celebrated as stars by the media."
"But they'll still be ordinary people, right?"
"That's true. As long as we lack those skills, we're just regular folks. However, it's possible that something like our skill books might be discovered, leading to people with skills emerging. While we don't know how to use them yet, they'll have large groups to research together, so they'll probably figure it out quickly."
"If that's the case, we can definitely use that information, which is great," I said.
"Rockwell has impressive skills, but luckily he doesn't misuse them. However, once people acquire skills, they might change and start behaving recklessly."
"I guess I can be reckless too, but I don't intend to cause trouble for anyone. In that sense, I'm fairly mild. It's natural for rules to emerge as various kinds of people appear, so we might end up seeing some public organization formed, like the 'Japan Adventurers' Association,' for instance."
"That does seem plausible," Lily agreed.
As we were having this conversation, Iona, who usually spoke very little, unusually asked, "What is your country like, Master?"
"Well, it's a land overflowing with various goods, and if you have money, it's incredibly convenient. The population is enormous. The machine in the living room that shows anime might not be from my country, but we do manufacture it there. Some of the anime I watch is also produced in my country."
"I want to visit!" Iona exclaimed.
"Sure, I could take you all, but while adults can wear whatever they like without anyone batting an eye, if children are dressed strangely, it might be seen as abuse. So first, we need to get you proper outfits. Plus, if I, an old man, were seen with four girls who don't resemble each other at all, I'd never hear the end of it."
"What does it mean to report someone?"
"It means to inform the authorities that a person might be a criminal."