Chapter 626: Enjoying the Petting Zoo, and Jingisukan
The lodge-style restaurant attached to the petting zoo had an elaborate interior that was clearly designed to evoke the image of a farm. The ceilings were high, and the wooden chairs and tables created an atmosphere with character. The back area was set up like a balcony, offering a distant view of the free-range area where we had played earlier. It was truly a restaurant steeped in a pastoral atmosphere.
We took seats at two large tables on the balcony, and I immediately grabbed a menu.
Oh, they have Wagyū beef stew, beef curry, gyūdon (beef bowl), butadon (pork bowl), lamb steak, and venison roast rice bowl set… There’s definitely a lot of meat. Well, they have ordinary ramen and onigiri too, but it feels like a waste to order those here.
Maybe I’ll go with the lamb steak… Lamb is young sheep, right? It feels a little awkward to eat the sheep I was just petting, but I’ll eat it with gratitude, so please forgive me.
Everyone else placed their orders, and while we waited, we looked through the pamphlet we received at the petting zoo entrance, discussing where to go next.
“I want to go to the Athletic Field here!”
“It looks like we can make cheese and butter over here.”
“We mustn’t forget to buy souvenirs at the gift shop.”
It looks like we’ll be buying a huge amount of souvenirs here, too. Ah, I personally want to eat butter candy.
Just as we were talking, our ordered meals started to arrive.
My lamb steak arrived. Wow, it looks delicious, like slightly rare red meat. I quickly cut a piece with a knife and took a bite with the sauce.
“Mmm, delicious.”
I thought it would have a stronger gamey taste, but it’s not too strong. It certainly has a unique flavor, but it’s mildly sweet and juicy, making it easy to eat. It goes great with rice. Well done, sheep.
Everyone else seemed satisfied with their meals, too. Fuyuka was in a good mood with her children’s plate. The chicken-shaped omurice (omelet rice) was a nice, detailed touch.
My father’s roast beef bowl looked delicious, too. …Surely they aren’t using the animals from this petting zoo for the meat, right…? Although expired beef is a thing, they would surely just buy their supply through normal channels rather than using their own animals.
Holding complex thoughts, I finished my lamb steak, and then dessert arrived.
“Huh, are you still eating?”
“We can’t miss out on soft-serve ice cream made with fresh milk, can we?”
She had a point. I agreed with Leen and ordered a soft-serve ice cream too.
A little while after everyone else, my soft-serve, stood in a cone holder, arrived. Everyone else seemed to have chosen flavors like chocolate, matcha, or even a unique one like ramune, but I chose simple milk soft-serve. I figured this would be the best way to taste the milk.
“Delicious…! It’s so rich…”
Just tasting the tip, the milkiness spread throughout my mouth. It was rich and creamy, yet the aftertaste was refreshing, allowing me to truly taste the milk’s natural sweetness. Is there such a difference when using fresh raw milk? It’s completely different from the soft-serve you buy at a convenience store…
Leen was right; this was definitely not to be missed. I almost missed out on it. The children were also happily eating the soft-serve, proclaiming how delicious it was.
“This makes me want a ranch in Brunhild…”
“That’s an excellent idea, Yumina! Fresh milk opens up so many possibilities for different dishes!”
Yumina and Lucia were getting excited about something. I suppose it’s not impossible, but things are complicated in the other world. If you keep herds of food animals, they are definitely targeted by magic beasts and monsters. While there aren’t many strong magic beasts around Brunhild, we still get wolves and goblins. And we can’t keep armed adventurers protecting the cattle twenty-four hours a day.
Well, there’s a trick to it, like building it adjacent to the Adventurers Guild, but a ranch near town would have problems with smell and other things… It also costs money. We can’t use precious tax revenue just for fresh milk. For a private business, maybe it’s possible.
A ranch directly managed by the Brunhild Royal Family… Do we need one…? But this taste is hard to resist… Perhaps we could manage it on the Dungeon Island.
In the end, I finished my soft-serve without an answer. It was delicious, but I couldn’t concentrate on the taste during the latter half…
Full from lunch, we left the restaurant and headed to the Athletic Field the children had mentioned earlier, not necessarily to work off the food, but to play.
I thought it was just a field with some minor playground equipment like you’d find in a park, but it was a more serious area than I expected. There were rope bridges, log crawls, slides, zip lines, monkey bars, and swings—lots of play equipment.
There was even a Dog Run and a Go-Kart track next to the field. It was almost like a small amusement park…
“Now, everyone, be sure to come back here in exactly one hour. Be careful not to drop your smartphones. And please don’t cause trouble for the other children around you. Understand?”
“Yes!”
The children shouted their answer in unison to my mother’s instructions. At least their replies are good…
“It’s fine. We’re going with them.”
“We will watch them carefully, for sure.”
“Please, you all take a rest.”
With that, the three athletic-types, Elze, Yae, and Hildegard, headed to the Athletic Field with the children. I hope they’ll be okay? I’m slightly worried that they’ll end up playing along with the kids…
As an Athletic Field, the area also had benches and tables made of logs, providing a space to relax. The children were getting exercise to digest their meal, while we were taking a rest.
In the adjacent Dog Run, several dogs were running around. Are those not the dogs from here? So you can bring your own dog. Maybe I should have secretly brought Blanca with a [Gate]. No, he’s a god, after all… The other dogs might get scared and retreat. Better not.
Fuyuka also went to the Athletic Field. She was happy on a simple slide and a bench-style swing. She has completely bonded with the children.
“…Fuyuka will be lonely when everyone leaves,” my father murmured, watching Fuyuka playing happily with the children.
“Hmm, there’s nothing we can do about that… Well, the future me will probably bring the current children back, so it’s not like they’ll never see each other again…”
It’s already been decided that the children’s first meeting with my father and mother will happen in this timeline. That means even if Yakumo or Frei were born later, bringing them to Earth now would change history, so it’s not allowed. We could use Granny Tokie (Goddess Space & Time)’s power to change things, but doing so when it’s not a world crisis would cause other gods to criticize her for favoritism. I can’t let my actions cause trouble for Granny Tokie or the God Almighty. It’s regrettable that my father and mother can’t meet the children when they were babies, though…
My once-a-year trip home must also be without the children (since time doesn’t pass if we return to the same moment), so I feel a little guilty. At the very least, I should take videos of their growth and show them to my parents.
“How many more days will you be here?”
“Um, four days.”
Fun times pass quickly. I wanted to visit more places.
“Since we’ve enjoyed Japan, I’m thinking of going overseas next.”
“I’m jealous. If I didn’t have work, I’d want to join you. But I really need to start cutting the manga drafts soon, or I’ll end up working until the last day we say goodbye…”
My father sighed with a distant look in his eyes. He said that creating the drafts, or names, which form the story, is more mentally taxing than the drawing work. Drawing will eventually be finished as long as your hands are moving. But for the name process, if ideas aren’t coming, they simply don’t come, and there’s no end in sight.
“I can help with the drawing work, but I can’t help with the name work…”
“No, Touya, you could help with the drawing work… oops.”
My father quickly covered his mouth. Sorry to be such a terrible artist, “The Painter.”
“Aha, so where are you planning to go overseas?”
He asked about our schedule to cover up, as I was glaring at him. …Well, fine.
“I plan to avoid the places we went to on our honeymoon. I want my wives to enjoy places they’ve never been.”
On our honeymoon, we visited Italy, Switzerland, Thailand, France, Easter Island, and various other countries. We ended up spending a lot of time in Europe. Should we try America this time? Showing them the skyscrapers of New York or the Statue of Liberty might be nice.
Leen mentioned she was interested in Chichén Itzá. Maybe we should focus on North America and South America. However, natural tourist spots like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls aren’t very popular because there are similar places in the other world… They seem to prefer man-made structures in big cities, like buildings. They found the Leaning Tower of Pisa amusing. Showing them Mount Rushmore, with the faces of four presidents carved into it, might surprise them.
Thinking about all this, an hour passed quickly, and the children returned, looking satisfied. There seemed to be no particular trouble. …Right? Elze and the others looked a little tired, though…
Afterward, we watched the dogs playing in the Dog Run and played on the Go-Karts. I was a bit interested in this, so I drove one, and it was quite fun. You can enjoy yourself even without high speed.
I had a hard time dealing with Quun, who was trying to crawl on the ground to inspect the Go-Kart‘s structure. Leen almost gave him a knuckle-chop.
Then we watched an animal show at the outdoor stage and interacted with birds like owls and horned owls in the raptor enclosure. After all the fun and games, we finally decided to buy souvenirs at the gift shop.
The gift shop was vast, almost like a small supermarket.
“Wow, as expected, there are lots of animal goods…”
They had stuffed animals of cows, horses, pigs, dogs, and cats, as well as animal mugs, cow-print towels, pig-shaped cushions… Ah, a Zabuton (cushion) shaped like a pig (Zabu-ton?)… There were lots of punny items. Of course, they also had sweets besides animal goods. Butter candy, ranch pudding, milk rusks, milk sablés, and something unusual like Jingisukan curry.
“Wait, they’re just selling raw meat…”
This can’t be the meat from the animals here, can it? They’re selling beef, pork, chicken, and even lamb…
They were selling many other things, but dairy products were the most common: cheese, butter, and yogurt.
As is now customary, the children, except for Kuon, rushed straight to the stuffed animal section. It was exactly like at the aquarium… And just as predictably, Lucia and Arcia went to the raw meat section. Is Jingisukan for dinner tonight…? Do we have a Jingisukan hot pot? Ah, Lucia and the others bought one at Kappabashi Kitchen Town…
Oh, I need to buy some things for everyone at the castle, too. Butter candy and fresh caramels are standard; they’re easy to give to a large group. The smoked sausage and bacon set might be good for the old men of the Takeda Four Generals. Cheesecake for the maids, perhaps? Oh? Milk-blended hand cream… They have that too. I’ll buy this as well.
“Mommy, there’s a roll cake!”
“What!? That cannot be missed!”
Steph and Sue were excited, having found a roll cake. Is the roll cake here different somehow? Is the cream richer…? I’m starting to want to try it myself.
“Blanca!”
“Oh my, it really looks like her, doesn’t it?”
Fuyuka was delighted, looking at a pure white dog stuffed animal. It certainly resembles Blanca. If we put them side by side, they might look like mother and child. My mother is apparently going to buy the Blanca-like stuffed animal. …Surely Blanca won’t be jealous of a stuffed animal that looks like her, right?
The wives also bought animal-themed tableware like mugs, rice bowls, and chopsticks. They bought tons of that kind of stuff at Kappabashi… I feel like my purse strings have been completely loosened since coming back to this Earth. Well, loosening them a little is fine, but our funds are already less than half. Everything costs money for over twenty people…
Well, we have four more days. I plan to spend the last day at home, so essentially three days. We probably won’t spend huge amounts of money. In the worst case, I’ll ask the God Almighty for a loan…
Oh, I must buy a souvenir for the God Almighty, too… Is this beef jerky good as a snack with liquor? They have pork jerky and chicken jerky, too.
Ah, speaking of liquor, I forgot about Suika (Yuehua). I need to buy some bottles of alcohol at a liquor store somewhere… No, since we’re going overseas tomorrow, maybe some rare foreign liquor would be better? Well, she probably doesn’t care as long as she can drink it.
In any case, I’ll look around for various things. After buying a pile of souvenirs, we left the petting zoo satisfied.
Let’s eat!
As expected, or rather, as predicted, dinner was Jingisukan hot pot. Two portable stoves were placed on the table in the living room, and two more on the kitchen table, each holding the distinctive Jingisukan pan.
The lamb sizzled as it cooked, and the surrounding cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, and bell peppers added color. The meat juice from the lamb, cooked in the raised center of the pan, seeped out and flowed along the grooves, further flavoring the vegetables below… The person who invented this pan must be a genius.
Still, it feels strange to eat the sheep we were petting during the day at night… How sinful humans are… Well, it’s not the exact same sheep. Mmm, delicious.
The lamb steak during the day was good, but eating it this way is also tasty. …Wait, I’m the only one who ate lamb twice today. If I had known, I would have ordered something else at lunch.
The vegetables are delicious too. Both the crunchy ones that haven’t been fully cooked yet and the ones that have softened from being simmered in the meat juice are great.
I glanced beside me and saw Sue making a face as she put a bell pepper in her mouth, and Steph, seeing her, also put a carrot in her mouth with fierce determination. Both of them were chewing and eating their despised vegetables. It seems they’ve become able to eat the vegetables they disliked. Sue probably has the added reason of setting a good example for the children.
Thank you for the meal!
Full, full. I ate a little too much… I always misjudge how much this body can handle.
…It just occurred to me, am I gaining weight these past few days…? It doesn’t show in my child’s form, but my stomach might be sticking out when I return to my original body. I should exercise when I get back…
After dinner, everyone individually read books, watched TV, or took turns bathing. Since there are so many of us, we connected a [Gate] to my parents’ house and borrowed their bath, somehow managing the logistics. I could use transfer magic to go to a public bath, but on days when we’ve been out, like today, changing out of our room wear, getting everything ready, and going out again is a hassle… I think spending time relaxing in a private space with just the family is important. Yes.
However, we can’t just relax lazily. We need to decide on tomorrow’s schedule.
“New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Vienna, Paris, Orlando, Machu Picchu…”
Everyone wants to go to a different place. Vienna is probably Sakura and Yoshino, right? Paris must be Lucia and Arcia? I bet they want to eat authentic French cuisine. But we already went to Paris on our honeymoon… Also, Las Vegas is probably a bad idea, educationally speaking…
“…Where is Orlando again?”
“Florida, in America. Apparently, it has one of the largest theme parks in the world.”
Hearing Leen’s explanation, I immediately understood. I see, the dreamland with the mouse who steers a steamboat.
“This Machu Picchu one is Leen, right?”
“Yes, I want to see that magnificent view with my own eyes.”
I agree that I’d like to see that sight once. The guidebook says you fly from Japan to Cusco, then take a train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Village), and then a bus. It seems to take over thirty hours from Japan, but with transfer magic, it’s instantaneous. Just to see it and return, two hours would be plenty. It really would feel like we just did the sightseeing and then it was over.
If we focus too much on one place, we’ll run out of time, so maybe we should just hit the main highlights… That’s what happened toward the end of our honeymoon trip.
The original intention of this trip was to show the children their birthplace, Japan. Going to foreign countries can be a hassle because I don’t know the rules… Each country and region has its own unique rules. For instance, the fine for littering in Singapore. The guidebook also mentions that if you litter, the fine can be up to 1,000 dollars. Over 100,000 yen taken away is terrifying… Well, since there are trash cans everywhere, we probably don’t need to be too afraid.
I should try not to break the laws of that country… wait, that’s rich coming from someone who entered illegally.
Tomorrow, it looks like we’ll be hopping between famous spots in various countries using transfer magic. I need to carefully check the destinations on a map site tonight.
