Umaru looked at Takeru with surprise. She couldn't shake the feeling that Takeru's understanding of the Reincarnation Space far exceeded everyone else's, even though they had all experienced it for the first time.
Knock, knock.
"Your food is ready!"
At that moment, there was a knock on the door before it opened. A server entered and quickly served the dishes.
About five minutes later, the server politely informed them that all dishes had been served, wished them a good meal, and left.
"Alright, let's eat first," Yukino said after the server departed.
Hearing her, everyone nodded slightly and began to eat. When the bill came, Yukino paid it directly.
As she put it, since she was the one who suggested eating out, and while her money wasn't limitless, she had a few hundred thousand yen in allowance, so this five-thousand-something yen bill wasn't a big deal...
"Alright, we can continue discussing matters about that place tomorrow. As for the things Takeru-kun mentioned, Yui-chan and Umaru-kun, please relay them to Ui-chan and Taihei-san," Yukino said as they were about to part ways.
"Yes, I understand," Umaru nodded seriously. Even if Yukino hadn't mentioned it, she would have explained everything to Taihei.
"Yes, ma'am!" Hearing Yukino address her, Yui replied nervously.
"There's no need to be so tense, Yui-chan," Yukino said, shaking her head helplessly at Yui's demeanor.
"…" At Yukino's words, Yui just lowered her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Well then, I'll be going now," Takeru said, glancing at the group.
"See you, Takeru-kun!" Yuta and Hachiman said. The others waved goodbye.
After parting ways with the group, Takeru didn't head straight home. Instead, he went to a nearby large supermarket. His current total assets were around 360,000 yen, so he planned to buy some food and daily necessities.
Although he had told the others that some items might not be allowed into mission worlds, that was just his speculation.
To be safe, he decided to prepare some dry rations, water, and clothes, pack them in a large box, and store them in his item slots.
After all, Takeru doubted every world would negate the need for food, water, and other necessities. Many worlds might be in a post-apocalyptic state.
In such situations, while Takeru was confident in surviving with his high defense, dying from a lack of food or water would be utterly humiliating...
Of course, if the Reincarnation Space truly wouldn't allow such items, it was fine. He'd just use what he bought himself.
As for money, in about ten days, he would receive his first payment for the light novels… advances for volumes one and two...
Since his contract with the publisher included a fixed advance plus royalties, the royalty portion would take longer. But the first fixed advance of 500,000 yen would arrive on the 15th.
On the 10th, the first volume of his light novel would officially go on sale. The second volume would be published the following month...
He didn't need to worry much about publishing and operations. For now, he just waited for the royalties.
Of course, if the series became a hit, he might need to attend a book signing event, but that certainly wouldn't be necessary within two months.
Soon, Takeru arrived at the large supermarket. He grabbed a shopping cart and began a frenzied shopping spree.
"Hey, Takeru-kun!" Just as Takeru was stuffing his cart with various dry foods and water, a surprised voice called out.
"Hmm? Umaru? What a coincidence." Takeru saw Umaru also pushing a cart. Compared to Takeru's cart full of food, hers contained only some snacks and a large bottle of soda.
"My brother asked me to buy some snacks, so I came to get these," Umaru quickly explained, noticing Takeru's gaze on her cart.
Hearing her explanation, Takeru just smiled without calling her out, 'It seemed this world's Umaru was quite similar to the one I knew from my previous life...'
"But Takeru-kun, do you have that much money on you? Or are you, like Yukino-senpai, from a wealthy family?" Umaru asked curiously, looking at the food in Takeru's cart. A rough estimate put the total over 50,000 yen.
"I'm not from a wealthy family. It's just that I manage the household finances," Takeru replied, shaking his head gently.
"You manage the household finances?" Umaru was taken aback. After a moment, she seemed to understand something and didn't press further.
Running into Umaru was just a coincidence. After buying a few more things together, Takeru said goodbye to her. Then, he continued pushing his cart toward the fresh produce and meat sections.
Soon, after gathering about three days' worth of ingredients, Takeru headed to the checkout counter.
Seeing Takeru buying so much food, the staff was surprised but not overly concerned. For various reasons, people in this world had a habit of stockpiling food for emergencies.
So, although Takeru spent over 120,000 yen on food, people were only slightly surprised and not overly shocked.