My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Nina-san And Snapping Turtles

I showered, washing away the sweat from my dungeon adventure, or the mucus I produced to wear my suit. Then, I hopped on my bike and headed to the local grocery store. I bought about a week's worth of instant rice porridge, canned fruits like oranges and pineapples, and ingredients like green onions and ginger.

(When you have a cold, you need rice porridge, sweet canned fruits, green onions, and ginger. Alright, that should be perfect!)

Rice porridge is gentle on the stomach, even when you're feeling weak. Sweet canned fruits can taste good even if your taste sense is off due to a cold. And as for green onions—those are like medicine! The power of green onions is immeasurable. I'll skip the details, but even the virtual world's diva has them as a standard feature, so green onions are truly amazing.

As for ginger, there's no need to explain. When you warm it up and drink it, it warms your body. If you eat it cold, it cools down your body. Ginger possesses the power of both yin and yang! In this world, there are even practitioners of ginger known as "ginger lovers."

["Clatter… Clank…]

So, with these supplies in mind, I took the train to Nana's house. Before going, I sent her a message saying, [I'm bringing relief supplies, and I'll be there on my bike shortly.[ In response, Nina-san said, [Kouchi, there's no place to park your bike around my apartment…]

[Clatter… Clank…]

"…"

A train during a weekday afternoon. It's peaceful. I've only commuted on crowded trains during my school and salaryman days, so just being on such a peaceful train gives me a sense of happiness.

(Plus, I, who has been a loner for so long, am going to visit a girl's house like this…! Teehee! It's embarrassing. I find myself hugging the backpack on my lap! Hmm, but now that I think about it.)

I remember Serai-san mentioning that Nina-san has "a lot of boyfriends". Did Nina-san not ask those boys for a visit when she got sick?

Well, there are probably various reasons. If Nina-san has a lot of boyfriends, there might be connections between the boys, and later, they might argue, saying, [So-and-so invited me over, but I wasn't invited!]

Also, if a boy is asked by a girl he's interested in to "come over", he might get all excited and jubilant. Well, at least I would. Then, he might make inappropriate advances on a girl who's weakened by a cold in her house with such a strange mood.

(I see. That's why Nina-san invited me.)

I'm Nina-san's best friend, Ruu's boyfriend, and I have a track record of safely protecting Serai-san at home. Therefore, there's no need to worry about me making strange moves, and it's safe for a guy to invite me to her house. Well, both Nana and Sekai-san are making good use of us, but for me, who has been a loner for so long, being relied upon by a girl is new. Considering everything, my feelings lean toward the positive.

After getting cold medicine from the pharmacy in front of the station, I walked to Nana's apartment. The area where Nana lives is a traditional downtown district, one of the few areas in the city that hasn't undergone redevelopment and still retains an old-fashioned atmosphere.

As a result, once you leave the main road and venture into the backstreets, things quickly become complicated. When I came to pick up Nana near her apartment during a trip, I even got a little lost. Even though I knew the location, too many one-way streets made it difficult to approach.

But for this visit, I was on foot, so I walked through these narrow, winding alleyways, feeling the atmosphere of the downtown district.

I arrived at a small bridge after passing through one of these alleyways. The river was narrow, not even three meters wide. On both sides, houses were tightly packed together, and the townscape gave the impression that reconstruction was impossible.

A turtle was floating on the river's surface looking quite content.

[Oh, is that a turtle?] I almost passed by but then double-checked its presence and turned back.

"Wait…! Isn't that a snapping turtle!?"

Upon closer inspection, I realized it was indeed a snapping turtle. A snapping turtle is an edible turtle. But I had never eaten it because snapping turtles are considered a gourmet ingredient and can only be enjoyed in high-end restaurants.

As I gazed at the snapping turtle floating on the river, I began to feel an overwhelming desire to catch it. Then cook and taste it.

"Hmm… a snapping turtle. It must be delicious. That's it! I'll catch this snapping turtle and bring it to Nina-san! Snapping turtles are nutritious, good for the skin, and just what Nina-san needs while she's recovering from a cold!"

And so, I made up my mind to catch the snapping turtle floating so contentedly on the river. From now on, I'm the Snapping Turtle Catcher!