The next morning, Ben woke up before the sun rose in the sky like usual. But he didn't sleep in Elfman's room because he moved around too much while sleeping, so he moved to the couch in the family room.
Mira and Bella were still asleep, so Ben is alone now. He decided to train like usual by running around the town and doing some physical exercises. It's really nice to change the location of his training.
This reminded Ben of his past life where he exercised in a lively town. Although this place is very different from Earth, it is very lively too. At least there are people here and not just trees like in the forest where he usually trained.
Ben returned to the Strauss home after 2 hours. He didn't have a difficult time finding it because he had A.I Chip's assistance. A.I Chip always mapped the location Ben visited, so he can return there easily.
He entered the house and sighed as the others were still asleep. The sun had risen and the town was beginning it's activities. But these guys are still asleep as they are very tired after completing yesterday's job.
"And they wanted to play before going to sleep? They should've known the condition their bodies were in." Ben sighed.
Ben went to the kitchen and checked every drawer. He tried to find some food or ingredients to make it. But there was nothing there, not even a grain of rice.
The siblings never cook because they don't stay in the house for that long. They always eat in the guild hall which serves food and drinks. That's why they never bothered to fill their kitchen drawers.
Ben sighed before heading out and going to the market. He passed the market when he ran around the town before. He bought some food and ingredients at the market to be cooked in the house.
After buying some ingredients, Ben returned to the house and cooked the food. It wasn't any fancy cuisine. They're normal foods like toasted bread, fried eggs, stir-fried vegetables, etc.
Ben can just buy all of that and didn't need to cook. But he wasn't used to buying cooked food and just cooked it himself. He can control the nutrition of the food if he cooked it himself.
It's not like he never bought cooked food, he just didn't buy it too often. Besides, he can't buy cooked food in the forest. The people in his village always cook their food themselves and Ben learned how to cook from them.
The smell of Ben's cooking woke the others up. It's not the best food smell, but it was still good. Besides, they're really hungry, so the smell of food woke them up immediately.
"What a nice smell." Mira said.
"Wow, you can cook. I never expected that." Elfman admitted.
"My jobs often require me to stay in the wild for days. That's why being able to cook is very important. I won't say my food is good, but at least they're not bad." Ben said.
"Hmm, it should be better than our cooking though." Elfman said.
"You can't cook?" Ben asked.
"We-well, we can but the taste isn't very good. Usually, Lisanna will cook for us and her food is delicious." Mira said embarrassed.
"Hmm, then you should learn how to cook correctly because you'll need it in certain situations." Ben replied.
"D-Do you-" Mira trailed off before finishing what she wanted to say.
"What is it?" Ben asked.
"N-nothing." Mira said, looking away in embarrassment.
Elfman looked at his sister and knew what she wanted to say. He scratched the back of his head before sighing. Elfman then got closer to Ben and whispered something to him.
"Hey Ben, I'm curious. Do you like a girl who can cook or not?" Elfman asked after whispering.
"Well, if you ask it like that then I prefer the one who can cook. It's not a requirement, but a girl that can cook is better." Ben replied.
He didn't whisper back to Elfman, so everyone can hear him. Mira looked down before she regained her spirit. But Ben didn't realize this because he is looking at Elfman.
"Why'd you ask me this? Do you have someone you like and want to ask for advice?" Ben asked curiously.
"Eh? N-no, I'm just curious." Elfman stammered.
"Hmm, if you want to ask about love, then don't ask me. I don't have experience with this kind of thing." He said.
Well, that's not exactly true. Ben did have some experience with it in his past life. But his love life was rather poor and his relationships didn't last long. He was too focused on his career and family to pursue a love life.
The longest relationship he ever had only lasted 3 months. He had girlfriends in the past, but they all left him for the same reason, he never had time for them. His military duties and family were his number one priority, so he didn't have time for his girls.
That's why he didn't dare give advice about love to someone else. It's better to say that he doesn't have any experience. Besides, he is 15 years old in this world, and indeed, he never had a girlfriend in this life.
But Ben didn't realize that his answer actually made someone happy. Mira was very happy to hear that Ben didn't have any experience with love. That meant he is still alone and she had a chance.
Ben told them to wait at the dining table as he finished his cooking. It didn't long for him to finish and he placed it on the table. The food didn't look fancy, but it did look appetizing.
They start to eat and the Strauss siblings are surprised by it's taste. It was beyond their expectations and tasted really good. They were left speechless and can only enjoy the food.
It didn't take long for them to finish the food. The siblings were drawn in by the taste and kept eating the food. Both of them ate almost 3/4 of the food on the table. Ben and Bella can only look at them with stunned expressions.
"I didn't know that you were this hungry. I should've bought more ingredients in the market." Ben said.
"Ah ha ha, it's not that we're really hungry, your food is just too delicious." Elfman laughed.
"He's right, your food has exceeded our expectations." Mira added.
"Oh, thanks then. So, what will we do after this? I assume you already have some plans with Bella, right?" Ben asked.
"Hospital. Park!" Bella exclaimed excitedly.
"Alright, let's just do what you want." Ben said.
"Ah, I can't join you. I have some plans in the guild." Elfman said.
"Oh, alright then." Ben replied.
Elfman looked at his sister before his left eye blinked. Mira blushed knowing Elfman made his plans up. Now she can go on a date with Ben, even though Bella was with them.
They left the house after that and headed to the hospital. Elfman joined them there as he also wanted to see his sister. They went to Lisanna's room and saw her still lying in bed.
Ben scanned Lisanna with A.I Chip and was relieved to know that the condition of her body was good. At least there's nothing to worry about physically.
After that, they went to the park while Elfman headed to the guild. Bella sat on Ben's head while looking around excitedly. Many things excited her in this town like the food and toys.
Ben bought the food and toys that Bella wanted as it was a rare chance for them to get these things. He also wanted to buy some for Wendy and Carla, but not now. It's better to buy them later after they return from the park.
Ben also saw some book stores that sold magic books and he notes them to buy the books later. He still liked to buy magic books to collect and scan. But it had become more difficult to find magic books that he doesn't have as the books in public book stores are limited.
After walking around for a half hour, they arrived at the park. This place is very calm, a stark contrast with the busy town. There are many people here, but they are quiet and just enjoy the scenery.
Ben's group went to a small hill and sat on the grass. They play with Bella using the toys they just bought. They look like a small family on vacation.
At the park gate, 2 men looked at Ben's group. One of them had short blue hair while the other had brown pompadour hair.
"Isn't that Mira? Who is that boy? He he, this is interesting. We need to tell everyone in the guild." The one with blue hair said.