Remember not to leave the milk out of the fridge for too long

Pain.

The life is a continuous pain. All optimism was destroyed as soon as they reached the apartment. Ken was lying on the bed, feeling nothing but muscular pain.

Mirena was taking a bath, and he was hungry. The leftovers of pizza were on the table, in the middle of the room. Only a few meters. “I can do it” he thought. But he was wrong. At the moment he stood up, the pain in the quads was so intense that he fell.

—Ahh, it was so good —said Mirena, coming out from the bathroom—. Much better than bathing in the cold river, scared of wild bears or something. Eh?! What happened to you?! Why are you kissing the ground?

—Very funny, could you please help me to get up? —Of course, she immediately did that and assisted him back to bed.

—I told you not to move. What do you need?

—It’s okay, I can do it.

—No you can’t.

—It’s fine…

—No, it’s not. You promised me to go to that convention and see Yoriyuki Yamahito together. If you don’t take care of yourself then…

—There are still two weeks left… But okay, I’ll stay in bed. Bring me the pizza box, please. Oh, and a glass of water.

—Yes, sir!

She did as he wished. There wasn’t too much water left (and water was the only drink in the fridge), but it was enough to fill one glass. She left it on the ground and the box on Ken’s legs. Then she took a slice and approached it to his mouth.

—Say AAAA…

Ken just looked at her with drooping eyelids and not moving the mouth. Actually he wanted to do that, could be a wholesome moment, but would also be a little embarrassing.

—I can at least move one arm. —To be honest, even that hurt a lot, but he disguised it pretty well.

Meanwhile, Mirena was simply sitting there. She didn’t leave his side even for a second. It was a bit disturbing to eat and be stared at, but it was also a nice gesture.

—Is there anything else you want? —she asked, once Ken finished the pizza.

—Hmmm… Since someone ate and drank all of my stuff, I need to go to the supermarket. But it’s probably too much for you, never mind.

—Too much?! Don’t underestimate me.

—You don’t even know where the super is. It’s okay, I can call a delivery for tonight.

—It’s my fault that the fridge (is that how you called it?) is empty, so I must be the one who refills it. If you tell me where this “super” is, I will go.

—Will you remember it?

—Of course… —she said, not very convinced.

—You don’t have a good memory.

—How do you know? Oh, right, the books. You know what? I’m kinda awkward with the fact that you know so much things about me, like my weak points, thoughts and sentiments, and I don’t know nothing about you.

—And you won’t. I just remembered something. If you want to go so badly, then go to the wardrobe and bring me a box; it should be next to the other books.

She began to search in the wardrobe, looking at all the mangas and light novels there.

—You have a lot of this things, don’t you?

—T-that’s not important. Bring me the box.

—Maybe that’s your weakness… —humbled to herself.

—What did you said?

—Nothing, nothing. Oh! This one?

—Yeah, that box.

She approached the box to him. It was a regular carton box, slightly broken but still functional. There he kept all the useless things he didn’t want to throw away. His hand submerged in that lake of ancient relics and came out holding an old phone.

—I know that sometimes I may sound a bit hater about this world, but this thing over here is one of the greatest invents of the history. It’s called: cellphone, smartphone, mobile, or whatever.

He turned on the old phone and handled it to Mirena. Then he called her, and she was surprised when the phone in her hand rang and vibrated.

—It tickles.

—Put your finger above the red icon and slide it up.

She followed the instructions and managed to respond the call.

—Now we can talk no matter how far we are.

—Really? This is great! It’s like the Sacred Orb from the Elves.

—The cellphone has more functions than the Sacred Orb, but yeah, the analogy works.

—And if there is no magic in this world, then how does this cellphone works?

—I have no idea.

—What? Why you don’t know?

—Just like you, for me technology is also like magic. Now grab my wallet, it’s on the tiny table. I have all my money there, so take care of it.

—Worry not, it’s perfectly safe in my hands.

—I would be more confident if you were Mask.

—Shut up, I’m as good as him. So, how does the economy works in this world?

—The bills have numbers, so just give the clerk the amount they ask. If they want $50, you give them five bills of $10, for example.

—I understand. If there is nothing more, then I’m leaving. I have a mission to accomplish.

—Good look.

—I’ll do my best!

She did a military salute and went out, to the hallway.

—Okay, the first thing you need to do is call the elevator —said Ken’s voice coming out from the cellphone. However, Mirena was so focused in her objective that didn’t listen to him and opened the door without pushing the button first. The result was that she found a black and deep abysm right in front of her foot.

—Whoa! —She screamed and immediately closed the door.

—What happened?

—Nothing, how did you call the elevator again?

—Just push the only button next to the door.

—Oh, I see.

She didn’t have another problem with the elevator, and successfully went out to the street.

It wasn’t hard for Ken to guide her from the bed. He goes to the supermarket at least once a weak, so he knew the way instinctively: go down two streets, then turn to the right, go straight another three streets and then to the left. She followed the instructions flawlessly, and arrived to the supermarket.

—Okay, now you need to look for a shopping cart. They are silver and have wheels. You should find a lot in the entrance.

—Yes, I see the carts. How do I use them?

—Just push. It’s not like there are no carts in Sekaunmei…

—Oh, right. But I thought this world’s carts would be different, like mind-controlled or something.

—No, we don’t have such technology yet.

Pushing the shopping cart, she entered to the supermarket. It was way bigger than any other store she saw in Sekaunmei’s world. It was divided in hallways by the shelves full of groceries, cleaning tools, etc.

—Ok, we’ll go right to left. Make sure that the last things you grab are the ones in the fridge.

­—Why?

—Because those kind of things rot easy if they are outside for too long. —Ken said this casually. It’s just an everyday knowledge for him and for every human being, something that everyone knows and nobody actually worries about. But for Mirena, it was really important. Automatically, a countdown appeared in her mind. Once she had taken the items out of the refrigerator, the countdown would start. She swallowed.

—Understood.

—Why suddenly so serious?

—It’s nothing. I’m waiting your next orders.

—Ok then…

Even if he goes every week, he didn’t remember the exact location of the articles. So Mirena was describing as she could the things she saw, and with that Ken could imagine in which shelf they were.

­—This is a stick with a fluffy thing at the edge. It kinda reminds me to Shishun’s tail… —She said, a bit nostalgic while remembering her cat-like friend.

—This is the cleaning area. Close enough, there should be paper towels. Don’t confuse them with toilet paper.

Then, on another shelf:

—It’s round, black, and I can see my face on it.

—Hm? A mirror perhaps?

—My reflection is distorted though. I look kinda funny, hehe.

—Oh, does it have a handle?

—Yes, it does.

—It’s just a frying pan. We don’t need anything here.

And another:

—There is a lot of bottles here.

—Plastic?

—No, glass.

—Then you are in the wine area. We don’t need noth- Hey, why did I hear bottles?

—You’re hearing things.

—I’m talking serious; those things are expensive!

—Awww come on.

—*Sigh*. Okay, but just one and the cheapest.

The cart was almost at the top of its capability. There was just one place more to go. But before that, Mirena’s attention was dragged by a cute thing. It was the mascot of a famous chocolate brand: a humanoid and chubby creature made of chocolate with a big head and a huge smile. A text globe next to him said:

­—“Free samples”. That means they don’t cost money, right?

—Free means free, in this world or in your world —responded Ken in the other side of the call.

—Can I take one? —asked Mirena with her mouth already full.

—Why do you ask if you are going to do it anyways?

—For politeness.

—It’s fine, free samples are there to take. Once you finish (do not eat all, though), go to the refrigerator.

She got serious after hearing that. She didn’t know how much time she had before things got rotten, and didn’t want to ask. If she did that, then Ken would think she was nervous and that it was a bad idea send her out to shopping. So she speculated that ten minutes was enough time.

It was a big shelf with inner refrigeration. The air there was way colder, and Mirena was still astonished with modern technology. Being able to do that without magic was amazing.

“Maybe is exactly because there is no magic that this kind of things are possible. A world without magic forces the humanity to be more creative.”

When she grabbed the butter, the countdown started.

Milk, yogurt, cheese and butter. Those were the items requested by Ken. She got the last two. She was looking desperate the yogurt, and finally found it. However, there was an old woman there. She was standing in the middle, between Mirena and the yogurts. The old lady grabbed an article, inspected it, and then returned it to its place. She did the same thing over and over, slow as a turtle.

The seconds passed, and Mirena was impatient.

—Excuse me, I just need one thing —said, gently moving the lady—. Thank you, I’m sorry.

The last one was the milk. Ken specified a certain brand, without clarifying that any other was okay. Because of that, Mirena panicked when she found out that the last milk of that brand was taken by a woman.

—Ehmm, I’m sorry, could I have that milk?

—What? No, just grab any other —she replied and left with her cart.

“So mean!”

Immediately, Mirena told Ken about the problems. It wasn’t her fault, so it was okay to tell him.

—Don’t worry, just grab another brand.

—But you wanted that one! I don’t think she minds having another brand, so why can’t she lend me that one?

—It’s the same.

—But you wanted that one, and it’s my fault that there is no more milk.

—Really, it’s the same thing.

—You said everybody lies in this world, don’t you?

—Yeah, I said that —responded Ken, a bit confused because of the sudden change of topic.

—I have no imagination to lie, so please tell me one I can use to get that milk from her.

—What? —Ken finally just gave up. He perfectly knew that Mirena was stubborn, so continuing arguing was useless. He sighed and told her a perfect lie for the situation.