[42] An Apple a Day Keeps the Nest Away

Once I finished and withdrew my hand, Bunny hopped down from the branch and quickly devoured every piece of the apple without leaving a crumb.

"Was he really that hungry? I wonder if he'll be alright after eating such a large apple." Although Bunny's belly didn't seem to bulge, he remained standing in front of the feeder rather than returning to his branch.

"Could he still be wanting more?" I thought, considering that overfeeding could be dangerous. But what to do? I suddenly remembered wondering what kind of nests parrots live in. Surely, parrots have their own nests too, don't they?

"Lily, since the parrot needs to sleep too, wouldn't it be better to have a nest for it?"

"Should we line the cage with a towel?"

"That sounds good. There should be a cage in the kitchen. Please bring one."

When I asked the children, instead of sending just one, all four of them rushed to retrieve it. They quickly returned with the cage, and I lined it with a kids' bath towel to create a cozy bed for Bunny. After Lily placed it inside the birdcage, away from the water and food dishes, Bunny walked over and flopped down inside. It might have been tired, but considering that Bunny was a creature of the paradise known as Parrot, it was unlikely to have the same traits as the parrots sold as pets in Japan. We could only observe and adapt, but as long as Lily was caring for it, mistakes were unlikely to happen.

The next day.

Yesterday's dungeon exploration was cut short thanks to Bunny. But after Bunny ate a paradise apple, it immediately crawled into the cage and settled down on the towel for a nap. Still, by dinnertime, it seemed to have woken up, and I noticed it perched on the branch. I carefully checked for droppings on the floor, but thankfully, there were none.

After eating so much, it seems quite unpleasant not to release any of it, yet there's no sign of bloating and they don't look sick at all. This morning, Lily is taking care of Bunny. I handed her two paradise apples for Bunny's food, thinking it's better to have too much than too little.

Meanwhile, I'm heading back to Japan to restock on essentials. First on the list is milk, followed by flour. Speaking of which, I've never seen fried food here in the New World. Tempura, of course, has never crossed my path. I'm not sure about the layout of this town, but while I've seen fish, shrimp remains elusive. Given my culinary skills, frying tempura might be a bit ambitious, so I'll probably just pick up some from a supermarket or a local tempura shop.

As I pondered tempura, cravings for soba and udon began to stir. Soon after, I found myself longing for sushi. My desires may seem small, but they are limitless!

"Lisa, I'll take care of lunch today. Could you just prepare the salad?"

"Sure!"

Today's lunch will be fried chicken and cola, with dinner featuring sushi and tempura.

"I'll also handle dinner, so don't worry about that."

"Should I prepare a salad for dinner as well?"

"No salad for dinner; just take your time and relax."

I felt that salad didn't quite fit with sushi and tempura, so I declined it for dinner.

"Well then," I said.

"Have a good time," came the response.

I changed into my usual Japanese casual wear and made my way to the kitchen entrance, taking off my shoes before stepping inside. I removed my smartphone from the charger, where I had left it plugged in, and put it in my pocket, fully charged and ready to go.

In my alchemy workshop, I'd easily be able to make a copy of my smartphone. However, since the copy would be identical to the original, there was a risk of signal interference if I took them out at the same time. Also, switching them might trigger my mobile carrier to request information during the "Sky white period." It sounded like a hassle, so I decided against making a copy.

If only my phone had a replaceable battery, but I would need to take it to a shop for that. It seems like as the world becomes more convenient, some aspects are becoming inconvenient in return.

Since the only task I had at my apartment involved my smartphone, I was putting my shoes back on at the kitchen entrance when I suddenly remembered the kitchen scraps I had stored in my item box. Today was supposed to be the collection day for burnable waste. Somehow, returning to Japan made me feel more domestic all of a sudden.

I stepped out of my apartment, locked the door, and walked to the residents' trash disposal area, only to find it completely empty.

"Wait, that's strange. Today is supposed to be garbage collection day."

I pulled out my smartphone and confirmed it was indeed the scheduled day for burnable waste. Usually, the collection truck came close to the afternoon, so it shouldn't have arrived yet.

"This is odd. Surely, no one has put out their garbage. Did they change the collection schedule and circulate a notice? I haven't seen one, but since I'm often away, it's possible they skipped notifying me."

If I was the only one to put my burnable waste out today and it sat there all day, that would be unpleasant. Maybe I should just hold off on taking out the trash today.

I abandoned the garbage run and decided to head to my usual large supermarket.

When I arrived, however, the area was dark; only the emergency lights were on. "Huh? Is it closed today? That's strange."

As I walked to the grocery section and glanced towards the entrance, I saw the shutters were indeed closed.

"It really is closed. This is weird. I thought this place was open 365 days a year from 7 AM."

Something felt off. "I wonder if something happened at this supermarket. I should check online."

I searched for the supermarket XXX on my smartphone and was greeted by a notice of temporary closure right on the homepage. "Due to being designated a disaster evacuation area, the XXX store will remain closed for the time being."

That XXX store is the supermarket I'm at now. The sky looked blue when I stepped outside, but is that just the calm before a major typhoon?

Curious about the news, I looked up updates on my phone. Words like "golden pyramid," "dungeon," and "Self-Defense Forces" jumped out at me. What the heck??? I read on in shock.

"… So all this happened while I was over there? Japan has finally become a fantasy world."

Still, it seems only one store in this supermarket chain is closed, so society must be holding together, at least for now.

"Huh? The average stock price is rising? What's going on?"

The articles suggested that the dungeons might hold treasure troves of precious resources. I'm not sure how Japan's dungeons stack up, but those in the New World might have that potential. The possibilities are always endless.

I skimmed through more articles, and the sense of urgency regarding the dungeons appeared quite low. It seems the current evacuation order will likely be lifted tomorrow or the day after.

The crucial pyramid seems to have appeared in a park near my apartment. This means my apartment is likely within the evacuation zone. I haven't seen a single car on the road, which makes sense since a garbage truck wouldn't come either; not taking out the trash was the right call.

The park where the pyramid has emerged is quite spacious, but if the Self-Defense Forces have cordoned it off, the area will be filled with their vehicles. I'd love to see that golden pyramid, but it seems like civilians can't get close, so I'll have to give up for today.

Since the supermarket I usually rely on is out of commission, I decided to head to one in the neighboring town. This supermarket is located in the basement of a commercial building, but I barely remember that entire complex, so I can't just jump there directly. Still, I can teleport nearby, so I should be able to buy some essentials there. I also recall a fried chicken place nearby, and if I cross the station, there should be a sushi restaurant lined up with some tempura shops on the other side.

After transferring to the neighboring town, I made my way to my target supermarket, and the town itself felt completely normal. Cars and buses were driving on the roads, and people were walking along the sidewalks. I felt reassured that life went on, unaffected by the pyramid or any dungeons. However, the road I was walking on was a national highway, and I noticed the occasional Self-Defense vehicle passing by, likely due to the proximity of the pyramid. They might not have sirens like emergency vehicles, but they cruised by without any fuss.

The supermarket I visited sells only groceries. Its products are somewhat upscale, unlike the nearby large supermarket that mainly stocks its own private brands. I pushed a cart and loaded it with a considerable amount of milk and flour, and added a decent quantity of butter that caught my eye.

When I reached the deli section, I saw various items on display, but they didn't look appealing, so I didn't buy anything. I took a quick look around the small supermarket but found nothing else worth buying, so I headed to the checkout, paid, and promptly left the store.

Having purchased milk and other items at the neighboring town's supermarket, I then went to a fried chicken shop. With seven people in my household, including myself, I needed fourteen pieces of chicken—two for each person. So, I bought three sets of five pieces. Each set contained five regular fried chicken pieces, three boneless pieces, and a small fries. Since the set fries were small, I bought large fries enough for everyone.

After getting the chicken, I transferred back to the station in my town. The station isn't far from the park where the pyramid had appeared, so it's likely within the evacuation zone, but it seems they haven't shut it down completely. While the entrance by the park was deserted, the entrance on the other side of the station had people coming and going.

I thought the area across from the station wouldn't be under evacuation orders, so I made my way there, but every shop in front of the station had its shutters down. At this rate, the sushi and tempura places I intended to visit might also be closed.

It seemed likely that the evacuation orders were issued by city blocks, so the other side of the road could be outside the restricted area. When I arrived at the sushi restaurant I knew, it wasn't closed, but it was still in the process of setting up. Checking the time on my phone, I saw it was just after 10. There was no way a sushi restaurant would be open at this hour. The sign at the entrance indicated opening time was 11:30 AM. Given this awkward timing, I figured it would be better to come back in the afternoon.

Next, I headed to the tempura shop, which was right next to the sushi place, so I was sure it would also be outside the evacuation zone. When I turned the corner to the tempura shop, I was pleased to find it open. I ordered two pieces of each type for takeout, totaling 14 pieces of tempura per variety.

The selections included shrimp, kiss (a type of fish), anago (conger eel), shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, lotus root, sweet potato, pumpkin, okra, shiso leaves, and eggplant. Although I didn't plan to eat them today, I also bought 14 small shrimp kakiage (tempura fritters) for udon and soba. The order came with dipping sauce and salt.