Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 32: How to Spend a Day Off

Today is the regular day off for the fluffy café, which happens twice a week. I thought it would be nice to sleep in for a change, so I was enjoying the warmth of my bed when—thud!—Luke jumped on me and reminded me, “It’s time to eat!”

“It’s heavy…”

“Hmph.”

At my feet, I noticed Cerberus had snuggled in as well.

(Whoa, I’m surrounded by fluffy love… bliss.)

With this kind of weight, I feel like I could endure it forever, grinning as I bask in the moment. But Luke quickly reminded me it was time to prepare breakfast.

“Alright, alright, I’ll get it ready right away.”

Opening the window for ventilation, I headed toward the kitchen of the café.

After having breakfast and giving Cerberus and the Berry Rabbits some fluffy attention, I wondered what to do with the day. Finding ways to improve the shop might be a good idea, but that’s hardly something to do on a day off.

I glanced over at Luke, who was happily napping on a beanbag cushion, with a few Berry Rabbits snuggled up around him. They all looked quite cozy together.

“I’ve been in this world for quite a while, but there’s still so much I don’t know.”

While spending time in the house-café surrounded by fluff is great, it might also be nice to take a stroll around the city.

“Oh, I could drop by the Tamer Guild, too.”

As much as I’ve learned about this world, I realize I still don’t know much about being a tamer. Sure, I understand that tamers can tame monsters and have them as familiars, but that’s about the extent of it.

With that in mind, I decided to go out and gather some information today.

“Ah, Taichi-san! Welcome.”

“Good afternoon.”

At the Tamer Guild, I was greeted by Shalti. Once again, the place was almost empty, with no other tamers in sight.

(With it this quiet, is the tamer profession really okay?)

While worrying about that, I explained to Shalti that I’d come to learn more about taming.

“Even though you’ve already got so many familiars, Taichi-san, it’s surprising how much you don’t know!”

“Ahaha… I came from a really remote area, you know.”

Shalti chuckled at my reply and brought out a book.

“This is… a monster encyclopedia?”

“That’s right. It’s a guide that lists all the monsters known to exist in this world. This is the first volume, by the way.”

“Oh, interesting.”

Flipping through it, I guessed it was about 300 pages long. It seemed to be quite a detailed guide, and the fact that it was just the first volume meant there were more to come.

(It’s going to take a while to get through this…)

Thinking that, I skimmed through the book. Each entry had a picture of the monster, along with descriptions of its characteristics, typical size, strength level, and the types of attacks it might use. It was definitely a book aimed at adventurers.

“Oh, it even lists habitats.”

Monsters are generally divided into two types: those that live in specific places and those that can appear anywhere under the right conditions. Then there are creatures like Cerberus, whose habitat is completely unknown. For example, Berry Rabbits live in grassy plains, while Ice Wolves only inhabit particular snowy mountains, which were also noted in the guide.

Flipping through the illustrations, I wondered if there were any new fluffy creatures to discover.

“Oh wow, there are so many kinds of wolf-type monsters.”

I nodded as I looked at the various wolf-like creatures, imagining how great it would be to cuddle each one. Seeing my enthusiasm, Shalti peered over my shoulder with a laugh.

“You really do love fluffy creatures, don’t you?”

“Nothing beats that fluffy feeling! It’s like paradise on Earth!”

No matter how much I talk about it, I can never do it justice. Some familiars are affectionate, while others maintain their distance, but they’re all charming in their own way.

“Conquering all the fluffy wolves sounds like a great goal… Wait, what!?”

My focus had been entirely on the wolf section when suddenly, something caught my eye.

“This… this is…”

“Huh?”

Seeing my shock, Shalti tilted her head in confusion. The page didn’t seem to feature anything out of the ordinary to her.

“Oh, that’s a Forest Cat.”

“Forest Cat!!”

“You’re really excited… It’s not a particularly strong monster, so not many people bother taming them. But then again, knowing you, Taichi-san…”

Considering I had already tamed ten Berry Rabbits, Shalti’s amusement was understandable.

“The Forest Cat lives in the forests of the neighboring country.”

“Neighboring country!!”

(That’s not too far away!)

According to the encyclopedia, the Forest Cat looks like an ordinary cat, except for the leaves growing on its head and tail—a forest cat, quite literally.

“I really want to tame one… How long would it take to get there from here?”

“Well, it’s certainly the type of monster you’d like, Taichi-san… If you take a carriage, it’s about a month one way.”

“A month…”

The trip sounded longer than I had expected, making me hesitate.

(If only there were airplanes or bullet trains…)

But this was another world, so that wasn’t an option.

(Wait, if I ride on Luke’s back, we could get there much faster!)

Suddenly struck by what seemed like a brilliant idea, I clapped my hands.

“That look on your face… you’re going, aren’t you?”

“Ah, you can tell?”

“Of course. The Forest Cat is cute, and it would fit perfectly in your café.”

Smiling, Shalti pulled out a map.

“If you don’t have a map, you can take this one. It’s not too detailed, but it’s what the Tamer Guild provides.”

“This is perfect, thank you!”

The map showed villages, towns, large forests, lakes, and even country borders. It was more than enough for what I needed.

“The names of major locations like towns and notable mountains or forests are on there. If you need more detailed info, you can ask locals as you travel.”

“Got it.”

(Alright, time to talk this over with Luke!)