Chapter 246: This is Soul Food
“I’m sorry, Nil.”
After discovering that shopping was possible, we headed back to the convenience store to stock up on more items before stepping outside. The parking lot, which had a decent amount of space, was sparsely populated with cars, so we decided to set up a meal in one corner. Ideally, I would have liked to find a park, but unfortunately, I was not well-versed in the geography of this place… or perhaps I just wanted to eat rice balls as soon as possible.
“Woof!”
I bought some meat-based food for Nil, along with some pet-friendly jerky, and it seemed to put him in a good mood. He might be easier to please than I thought. I pulled a small table out of the Dimensional Box and stored away anything we wouldn’t eat right away. There were a few people passing by on the road, but it wasn’t anything too conspicuous.
“Delicious!”
Phonia eagerly opened the lid of the cake, fork in hand, while Rio prepared the cup miso soup. She opened the lid, added the miso and ingredients, and poured hot water from her fingertips using magic. That made three servings, including mine and Ivan’s. She stirred it with a spoon and distributed it to us one by one.
“…Thank you.”
Ivan, who received his serving, immediately sniffed it, and I could understand his apprehension about the brown, sludge-like soup that was just dissolved in hot water. When I took mine from Rio, I gave it a sniff as well. Yep, it smelled like miso soup. So nostalgic… As I took a small sip to let it cool, the fragrance of the miso spread gently.
“Ah… this is good.”
It reminded me a bit of the meals my master had made for me after wandering through the Forest of Enchantment.
“It’s delicious…”
“Oh…?”
Ivan, following Rio’s lead, slurped his miso soup while tilting his head in confusion but seemed unable to stop after that, which was a relief.
“It’s a comforting taste.”
“That’s because it’s our soul food.”
“I see.”
“Next up is the rice balls.”
I peeled the film off the top of the triangular rice ball and pulled it apart to reveal its contents. I demonstrated with another rice ball for the bewildered Ivan and handed it to him. He tilted his head at the first bite, but by the second, he must have reached the filling, as he quickly devoured the rest.
“Delicious.”
“Glad to hear that.”
“…Can I have some too?”
Phonia, who had been satisfied with her cake, finally seemed to relent. After finishing her dessert, she received a bite of rice ball and miso soup from Rio. One bite quickly turned into more.
“I’m full. That was delicious!”
“There are still plenty of tasty things left.”
“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it!”
I wanted to go somewhere we could stock up even more than just the convenience store, but I wondered if it was okay to keep using the smartphone for payments. I wasn’t even sure if it was prepaid or credit. If it was prepaid, there should be a balance left, but if it was credit, it would be over if it got cut off. I probably shouldn’t have used it in the first place, but I couldn’t resist buying the rice balls and miso soup…
“What’s wrong?”
Ivan asked, noticing the furrow in my brow.
“Hmm? Oh, it’s just that I was lucky to be able to shop this time, but I’m wondering what we should do in the future…”
“That’s true. We can’t just hunt monsters and sell their parts randomly.”
“Is that so?”
Ivan tilted his head, not quite understanding what I meant. I wanted to earn some money, but I had no idea how. For a regular high school student, getting a part-time job would be an option, but that seemed impossible for us right now.
“Well, now that we’ve filled our stomachs, what should we do next? Even if we go back, Rio’s MP isn’t fully restored yet.”
“About thirty percent, I’d say.”
“I want to explore!”
Rio nodded slowly as she answered, and Phonia raised her hand straight up, shouting.
“Even though I’m not Phonia, there are many rare things here. I want to see various things!”
Ivan scratched his cheek and honestly admitted his feelings. I understood completely. It was like the first time we had encountered magic.
“Hehe, but we might not be able to shop.”
“What? Can’t we buy things with that smartphone?”
“It’s not cash, but it belongs to the original owner. In this country, that’s probably a crime.”
“Why? Usually, the one who lost it is at fault, right?”
Ivan couldn’t accept it, but I supposed this was just a cultural difference, shaped by our environments. Japan, where lost wallets often returned with their contents intact, was truly wonderful.
As we discussed this, the smartphone we had placed on the table began to ring.
“「「「「!？」」」」”
Caught off guard by this unexpected situation, Phonia, Ivan, and even I tensed up.
“W-What is this?!”
Nil also briefly showed signs of caution but quickly sensed there was no danger and relaxed.
“Um, should I answer this…?”
“Well…”
I muttered, but no one had an answer.
“But it might be a clue about this world?”
“That could be true.”
This place was remarkably similar to Japan, the country we originally lived in. But that was all we knew. More importantly, I was very curious about who was calling. Even though it was a smartphone I had encountered in this fantasy Otherworld, it seemed like I could return to my original world. I wasn’t sure if I was projecting my own feelings onto it, but I picked up the smartphone that displayed “Grandfather” as the caller ID.