Since Taichi’s preparations were complete, he informed Chartelle that he would be living in the building that held his café from today onwards. She promised she would come to visit, so he was sure he would see her again soon.
Both the first floor café and the second floor living space had their own toilet and sink. That’s when it hit him—there wasn’t a bath. There hadn’t been one at the Tamers’ Guild, either. They had instead provided a warm bucket of water and hand towel so he could wipe himself down. From what he had gathered, only royalty, nobility, or those with sufficiently deep pockets could afford their own bathroom.
“I can’t stand it anymore!” Luke howled.
“Settle down. We need to clean you up.” Taichi and his wolf were locked in a fierce battle in front of the garden’s well. Taichi was insistent that Luke needed a good wash, whereas the latter was staunchly opposed.
Since Luke had lived his whole life in the forest, he deeply hated being scrubbed with soap. He would occasionally take a dip in a spring to wash himself off, but that was the extent of his bathing ritual. Since he was going to be an important member of this café, Taichi wanted to give him a more thorough cleaning.
“Kree.”
“Ka-kree!”
“Yes, yes. You all are well-behaved,” Taichi praised the bunnies who were obediently letting him wash them.
Luke watched them, growling irritably. He didn’t like the idea that the bunnies could do something he couldn’t, which was why he eventually submitted.
Aww, your rivalry with the bunnies is so cute, Luke.
“Washing you guys out here is fine while it’s warm, but when winter hits, we won’t be able to do this,” Taichi said to himself, thinking. He, too, wanted a proper, heated bath. He scanned the garden, trying to figure out how he might make one. With the right amount of space, he thought he might be able to make one with his skill.
Unlike rented properties in Japan, Chartelle had informed him he was free to make whatever renovations he wanted. She did warn him, however, that he would not be reimbursed if he eventually moved.
“Create a detached bath!” Moments after the words left his mouth, he had a fully detached bath in the rear garden.
“What is that?” Luke asked.
“Kree-kree?”
“Kree.”
“Something we’re all gonna love,” Taichi told his fluffy friends. Motioning them along, he cracked the door open to reveal a simple dressing area. The bath itself was located deeper in with a deep, wide tub situated beside a much smaller, shallower one for the monsters. The baths were even equipped with proper faucets, perhaps because Taichi had envisioned what he’d owned back in Japan.
What are they connected to? His mental imagery hadn’t been detailed enough to include the plumbing. Would water—better yet, hot water—come out of it? Hesitantly, he reached for one of the knobs and turned it. Water came rushing out of the faucet.
“How does this... You know what, better not to question it.”
It was probably the cat god’s power making it function.
“Hm.” Luke stared at the tub and the faucet mounted to it. “This thing spits out warm water? What are you going to do in here?”
“This is a bath,” Taichi explained, motioning broadly. “It feels amazing. Want to hop in and give it a try?”
“A bath, you say?” Luke seemed deeply curious about this new discovery, but he didn’t pad forward like he might normally, as if he didn’t quite have the courage.
The bunnies, on the other hand, happily hopped forward to partake, plopping into the tub.
“What?!” cried Luke.
“Kree?!”
“Kree!”
The bunnies seemed to enjoy the warm water. All ten of them were crying happily at one another.
“Stop that! Your rank is below mine. How dare you enter before me?!” Luke couldn’t abide being outdone by a herd of rabbits, so he immediately hopped in after them. Taichi wished Luke had shown the same eagerness earlier when Taichi was washing him. “Hmm?! This bath is...ahhh.”
Luke was taken aback by how relaxing the warm water was. His whole face relaxed into an expression of ecstasy. Gone was the dignified look he normally wore as he reminded Taichi he was a proud Fenrir. “Now, I understand. This is quite nice! A cold bath doesn’t suit a noble Fenrir such as myself.” Soon enough, he was relaxing and enjoying himself with a towel wrapped around his head.
“I’m glad you like it,” Taichi said.
“Indeed. You may be a strange human, but you have created something magnificent! I expect you to prepare this warm bath for me daily!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Luke liked it even more than Taichi had expected. And he was so against me washing him with the well water. He laughed to himself. Since he was already in here, he figured he might as well go for a soak himself.
“Ahh, this feels incredible.”
“Human, you shouldn’t be hogging that all to yourself!” Luke cried as he dove inside with Taichi. He had a point; the shallow bath was a bit too small for a monster of Luke’s size. The human bath was big enough that the water came all the way up to the proud Fenrir’s shoulders.
“Ooh,” Luke moaned in appreciation.
I guess he really, really likes it. Taichi would have to humor him and prepare these baths every day if he liked them this much. But he couldn’t help but wonder: Was it really okay to bathe a dog that frequently? Then again, Luke was a monster, not a normal dog, so surely it would be fine.
It was 9 a.m. by the time they all finished their baths. Today was supposed to be the opening day for the Fluffy Café. Taichi wasn’t sure if it would go well, but he wasn’t that concerned with sales. If he could create a space for people to relax and decompress, that would be more than enough for him.
He used his Create skill to fashion himself an apron, and soon enough, it was time to open.
“Okay, Marshmallow! You’re the leader of this bunny herd. I expect you to take your role seriously,” said Taichi.
“Kree!” Marshmallow gave a gleeful bounce.
It was a shame that they couldn’t communicate fully, but the bunnies seemed to more or less understand the meaning of what Taichi was trying to get across.
“When customers come, I want you to play with them,” Taichi explained. “I won’t force you if you’re uncomfortable, of course. You can always back out.” Fluffy creatures were allowed to be fickle. Taichi had no intention of forcing his tamed monsters to be friendly for the customers if they weren’t up to it.
Although Taichi had put great gusto into preparing everything for his grand opening, several hours had passed with no indication of anyone dropping by to visit. I guess it’s my own fault for not advertising the place more. At most, the Commerce Guild might have put something out to indicate his new business venture after he submitted all his documents.
Thanks to the cat god, it had been surprisingly easy for Taichi to open his Fluffy Café. Normally, it would take a person much longer to build the funds and set everything up to run their own business. He realized just how blessed he was when he thought of it that way.
“Worrying about it won’t do any good,” he said to himself. “I’m on the outskirts of the city. It may take some time, but customers will slowly start to trickle in. I just need to be patient and wait!” And so he decided that he might as well enjoy the fluffy creatures he’d recruited to work here himself.
A realization hit him. Is this what it’s like to reserve a fluffy café for yourself? That made the wait much more appealing; he was already in the paradise of his dreams. Little did he know it wouldn’t last as long as he expected.
As the sun began to set outside, a group of adventurers—Taichi’s first customers—plodded inside. There were three of them, each sporting light cuts and scrapes. From the looks of them, they’d dropped in after battling.
“Welcome,” Taichi greeted them.
The group gazed at the interior of the café in awe. The first to open their mouth was a man who took the lead in front of the other two. “We happened to spot your place on our way home to the city. Since your sign said this place is a café, we figured we could rest here.”
“Grise, there’s Berry Bunnies and a wolf in here! Get back!” cried one of the women behind him, nocking an arrow and pointing it toward Taichi’s tamed monsters. For an adventurer, it was a rather knee-jerk reaction.