Another World Fluffy Cafe

28: The Lively Fluff

As soon as Taichi used his skill, the Cerberus was enveloped in a dazzling light, just like when he tamed other monsters.

(—Did I succeed?)

Looking over, Taichi saw Luke with a sour expression, staring at him. Was it because Taichi interrupted the battle or because he tamed the Cerberus?

Taichi laughed awkwardly and walked over to Luke.

“Sorry for acting on my own!”

“Really!”

While Luke was sulking, a voice cried out, “Waaaah!” What’s going on!? Both Taichi and Luke turned around to see the Cerberus leaping towards them.

“‘Eh!?’”

Even though he had tamed it, was it attacking? Taichi braced himself, but he had no way to protect himself from such a massive Cerberus.

Luke seemed caught off guard as well, as he hadn’t expected the Cerberus to act this way after taming.

Oh no, I’m going to be crushed…

Just as Taichi thought this, the Cerberus began to shrink rapidly. Its once three-meter-tall body reduced to just thirty centimeters in mid-air.

“Wha—!?”

“Eek!”

“Catch it~!”

“Master~!”

The three heads of the Cerberus each spoke up.

(I understand what they’re saying! So the taming worked properly after all!!)

Taichi quickly opened his arms, and the shrunken Cerberus leapt into them.

He felt its soft, glossy fluff.

(Ahh, I’d be fine if I was summoned just to be with this…)

Taichi embraced the Cerberus in his arms and shed tears of joy over its fluffiness. Luke was great, but the Cerberus was the best.

“What’s your name?”

“Give me a name too!”

“Yay, I’m not lonely anymore!”

“Uh, I’m Taichi.”

“““Taichi!!”””

The three heads each spoke to him, causing a bit of confusion.

(Do they need individual names, or just one name for all three?)

Taichi seriously pondered this but decided it would be clearer to give each head a separate name.

“Well then, for the left head… ‘Pino’.”

“Okay!”

“The middle head will be ‘Chloro’.”

“Good name!”

“And the right head will be ‘Noel’.”

“Thanks!”

All three seemed pleased with their names, which relieved Taichi.

“By the way, I didn’t expect the Cerberus to shrink this much! It’s so cute.”

“It’s being praised!”

“I’m a strong Cerberus, so this is easy!”

“I’m glad I can stay with Taichi like this!”

It seemed that, unlike Luke, the Cerberus was very fond of Taichi. Of course, Taichi knew that Luke was just playing hard to get and actually liked him.

Luke seemed to feel like he was being overshadowed and grabbed the hem of Taichi’s clothes with his mouth.

“We should head back soon before the adventurers wake up.”

“Ah, the watchmen adventurers!!”

If he stayed here, things would undoubtedly become complicated. Thinking so, Taichi moved the adventurers to a safe location and returned to the shop.

The next morning, when Taichi woke up, he felt a warm presence in the bed.

“Hmm…?”

“Zzz…”

When he pulled back the covers, he found the Cerberus curled up and sleeping soundly.

“So cute…”

Luke slept on a beanbag, and the Berry Rabbits were all cuddled together. Waking up with so much fluff was a bit of a touching experience.

“I was so tired last night that I went straight to bed as soon as I got home.”

Taichi wanted to talk to the Cerberus about why it was in the ruins and other things when it woke up.

However, since the Cerberus had mentioned feeling lonely, Taichi wondered if it might have been tough living alone.

(Being recognized as a disaster-level monster is rare, after all.)

It would be best if it could live in a group, but if discovered, it could become a major issue. The world must be difficult for the Cerberus.

Taichi reached out and patted the Cerberus’s back.

The peaceful sleeping face was heartwarming.

“Hmm?”

“Oh, did I wake you?”

One head opened its eyes and yawned. It was Noel, the right head.

“No, it’s okay. Taichi’s hand feels nice.”

“That’s good. Noel’s fur is so fluffy and nice to pet.”

“Hehe.”

Noel smiled happily when Taichi complimented him.

“So you can wake up with just one head.”

“Yes! Our bodies are one, but our consciousnesses are separate.”

“Interesting…”

Taichi found this quite fascinating.

“By the way, Noel. Was it alright coming with me from the ruins? …It’s odd to ask now after bringing you along.”

“It’s fine! We’re always targeted by humans wherever we go, so we were living in hiding. We only recently came to those ruins.”

So, it didn’t matter much where they lived, Noel explained.

“I’m so happy that Taichi tamed us and brought us to your home!”

“…I see.”

(You must have longed for human warmth.)

Thinking this, Taichi felt a wave of emotion.

Despite having lived being attacked by humans, the Cerberus still cherished Taichi, who had tamed it.

Taichi vowed to cherish and protect the Cerberus.

(Ah, I’m getting soft with age…)

He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and got out of bed.

“I’ll prepare a special breakfast, so Noel and the others should sleep a little longer.”

“Okay.”

As Taichi patted Noel’s back again, Noel fell back asleep, likely still tired.

“I’ve got to make an exceptional breakfast!”

Stretching, Taichi headed towards the washroom.