It seemed she'd touched on something painful.
Still, Bulma couldn't help asking what she wanted to know.
After all, it was just too hard to suppress her curiosity.
"How could you not have a mom? Did your dad pick you up somewhere?"
Chi-Chi looked a little smug. "Dad said I originally had two moms, but they were always fighting.
"He was afraid they'd teach me bad things, so he kicked them out.
"Dad even told me to say I came free with a phone bill!"
Bulma was speechless. "Heh... What kind of weird family setup is that? It's even stranger than mine.
"I shouldn't have listened to a little kid's nonsense..."
Just then, a delicious aroma and the sizzling sound of roasting meat came from nearby.
Goku looked at the two of them.
"You must both be hungry. It'll be ready soon."
With that, Goku picked up a piece of roasted dragon meat,
cut it into thick slices, and put them on a plate,
then brought it over to Bulma and Chi-Chi.
"Try it. How does it taste?"
Bulma and Chi-Chi exchanged a glance, then each took a bite.
The next moment, both their eyes lit up.
Bulma exclaimed in delight, "Wow, this is so good!"
Chi-Chi looked blissful, too, and chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! It's really delicious.
"I've never eaten anything this good in my life."
Bulma gave Goku a thumbs-up and praised him. "Goku, your barbecue is amazing!"
Goku smiled proudly. "Of course.
"Even my grandpa said my roasted dinosaur meat was especially delicious.
"It's my specialty!
"If you two like it, eat as much as you want. There's plenty!"
As he spoke, Goku picked up a big piece of meat and started munching on it.
After finishing a piece of barbecue, Chi-Chi gazed at Goku, lost in thought.
Goku noticed her looking at him and turned toward her.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop eating?"
Chi-Chi said earnestly, "Goku, you're not only really good at martial arts, you can even roast meat. You're amazing.
"I've decided. I'm going to work hard at learning how to cook, so I can be a good wife when I grow up.
"So, Goku, will you marry me when you're grown up?"
Hearing this, Bulma couldn't help furrowing her brow.
Good grief.
They'd barely talked, and Chi-Chi had already said eight times that she wanted to be his bride.
Could this really be fate?
No wonder Chi-Chi had managed to claim Goku at that World Martial Arts Tournament.
At their age, neither Chi-Chi nor Goku understood much,
and even when Goku grew up, he still didn't understand what marriage meant.
So maybe at the World Martial Arts Tournament,
Goku had ended up marrying Chi-Chi in a daze because of that childhood promise, which had been more of a joke.
No way!
Bulma was very unwilling to lose to a Chi-Chi who'd dropped out of nowhere.
Just as Bulma was about to interrupt Chi-Chi, Goku spoke.
He said seriously, "Chi-Chi, marriage is for grown-ups.
"We're both kids, so we shouldn't talk about things like that."
Chi-Chi looked at Goku and blinked.
"Oh, all right, then. My dad should be the one to decide who I marry!"
Son Goku: "Mm!"
Seeing Goku's attitude, Bulma finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed she hadn't really done anything, but as long as things had worked out, that was fine.
Chapter 19: It's Fine If Chi-Chi Is the Second Wife
The next day.
Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Little Goku squeezed together on the Flying Nimbus and headed to Fire Mountain.
They flew almost at full speed, and in just an hour, the three of them reached their destination.
The place was right next to a raging fire and unbearably hot.
The three of them were already drenched in sweat.
When Chi-Chi saw the Ox-King, she jumped off the Flying Nimbus first.
"Dad, I'm back!"
When the Ox-King saw the Flying Nimbus, he was delighted.
"Oh, Chi-Chi, you're amazing!
"You found Master Roshi so quickly and even brought back his Flying Nimbus!"
Chi-Chi hurried to explain, "No, no, Dad.
"I didn't find Master Roshi. This Flying Nimbus belongs to Bulma.
"They rescued me last night, so you should thank them properly."
As they spoke, Bulma and Son Goku also got off the Flying Nimbus.
Seeing that the people who'd come down from the Flying Nimbus weren't Master Roshi, but a man and a woman he didn't recognize, the Ox-King was curious.
"Huh? What's going on?
"Why are you riding Master Roshi's Flying Nimbus?"
"Where did you get your Flying Nimbus?"
The Ox-King asked curiously.
"Master Roshi gave it to us, of course," Bulma explained.
The Ox-King looked a little disappointed. "You got my hopes up for nothing.
"So Master Roshi didn't come after all. What a shame...
"But if he gave you a Flying Nimbus, you must know where he is, right?"
Bulma nodded. "Mm, I do."
Just then, Chi-Chi grabbed the Ox-King and explained Bulma's request.
"Dad, Bulma said she has something to ask you.
"She says she can put out the fire, and in exchange, you have to give her a Dragon Ball."
"A Dragon Ball?"
The Ox-King scratched his head. He had no idea what a Dragon Ball was.
Just then, Bulma took out a Dragon Ball.
"Mr. Ox-King, this is a Dragon Ball.
"According to my Radar, there should be one in your castle."
The Ox-King looked at the Dragon Ball and seemed to remember something.
"Oh, so that's what it is!
"That's right, I think I've seen one of those.
"No problem. As long as you can borrow Master Roshi's Basho Fan to put out the fire,
"once we can get into the castle, that ball is yours!"
Hearing that the Ox-King had agreed, Bulma's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Then it's a deal."
"It's a deal!~"
With that, Bulma looked at Goku.
"Goku, try using the Kamehameha.
"If you can't put out the fire, I'll go find Master Roshi instead."
"Okay!" Son Goku replied.
Hearing her mention the Kamehameha, the Ox-King was surprised again. He looked at Son Goku.
"You said the Kamehameha? Don't tell me you know Master Roshi's signature move, the Kamehameha?"
Son Goku nodded. "Yeah, I do!"
The Ox-King was overjoyed.
"When I studied under Master Roshi, I couldn't learn the Kamehameha.
"I can't believe someone as young as you has learned it!
"You must be very talented~!
"I bet Master Roshi would be thrilled to have a student like you!!"
Son Goku shook his head. "No, I'm not his student.
"My grandpa taught me martial arts and how to use ki."
"Your grandpa taught you?"
As soon as he said that, the Ox-King noticed Son Goku's Power Pole, too.
"Hey, that staff of yours—is it the Power Pole?"
Son Goku nodded. "Yeah, it's the Power Pole.
"My grandpa gave it to me, too. His name is Son Gohan."
The Ox-King's pupils contracted with shock.
"Son Gohan!"
"So you're his grandson!"
"Hahahaha, then we're practically family!
"Your grandpa was Master Roshi's senior disciple, and I was his second disciple.
"And you're Son Gohan's grandson, so we're really closely connected!"