Taichi threw himself in front of his beloved companions, arms outstretched. “Hey, hold on there! I’ve tamed all of these guys!”
“You have?” She lowered her bow. “R-right, of course. There’s no way untamed monsters would be this close to the city. I’m sorry.”
Taichi shook his head. “It’s okay. I understand it’s rare to see so many tamed monsters like this. I don’t blame you for being startled. If it happens again, though, I won’t be so nice.”
“Right. Of course. So, um...isn’t this supposed to be a café?” Her blank expression said it all: Why were there monsters everywhere?
“This is the Fluffy Café, a place where people can pet, play, and spend time with soft, fluffy monsters. It may seem novel to you, but give it a try.” He motioned them deeper in. “My name is Taichi, by the way. Today’s the grand opening. The three of you are my first customers.”
The woman’s cheeks reddened. “What an honor,” she said with a smile. “I’m Nina, a hunter. These two here are Grise and Arle. The three of us work together as a group.”
“Nice to meetcha,” said Grise.
“A pleasure, I’m sure,” added Arle.
Nina had been on guard when she first entered, but soon enough, she wore a big grin. She had brown hair cut into a bob with a bandana tied around her head and orange eyes. Her figure was slim, and she wore form-fitting shorts that were easy to move in. Though she had been cautious moments ago, she was eagerly taking in the interior. Taichi assumed, from her bubbly personality, that she was the life of their party.
Grise was a swordsman with a bulky build. His hair was shaved on the sides but left long enough on the top to cover it. His eyes were blue. He carried a bulky shield with him and looked every bit the gruff warrior he surely was in battle, but he had a gentle personality. He kept fidgeting while stealing glances at the Berry Bunnies, which made Taichi suspect Grise held a secret love for fluffy creatures.
From the little bit she spoke, Arle sounded like the privileged princess-type. She had beautiful honey-colored hair tied into pigtails. Her yellow eyes shone with a strong strength of will. She was clad in a white and red robe and carrying a staff, indicating she was a Mage. Arle didn’t even give the Berry Bunnies a glance. Taichi wondered if perhaps she didn’t like animals at all.
For their part, the Berry Bunnies were intently interested in the three customers. They hopped closer, curiously examining the adventurers. Luke, unsurprisingly, refused to budge from his beanbag chair.
“Please make your orders and pay at the counter over there. Each person is required to order their own drink. You’re welcome to interact with the monsters in the shop, so you’re free to sit wherever you like.”
“All right,” said Nina.
Cat cafés in Japan charged customers based on the amount of time they spent there. Taichi had considered doing the same, but when he asked at the Commerce Guild, he discovered no such system existed in this world. At most, top-quality shops would charge aristocrats a special fee for reservations, but that was about it. That was why Taichi had changed his mind and decided on the drink fee system instead.
Taichi and the group of adventurers moved to the counter. As they studied the menu, Nina furrowed her brows. “What’s the difference between black tea and this ‘green tea’ stuff you’re offering?”
“Oh, uh... We call this type of green tea ‘sencha.’ People drink it a lot where I come from. It’s got a kind of...refreshing flavor to it, I guess you could say,” said Taichi.
“Huh. Then, I’ll try that! Cold, please.”
I guess green tea doesn’t exist in this world. Maybe it would be best for him to add a simple explanation to the menu. Then again, he didn’t have very many customers yet, so it wasn’t a problem explaining verbally if they asked.
“I’ll have the same,” said Grise. “How about you, Arle?”
“I would prefer the black tea.”
“Oh, and give us some cookies and chocolate too!” added Nina. “Gotta have sweets after a hunt.”
“All right, each drink is seven hundred Chel, and snacks are three hundred Chel. Your final total is twenty-seven hundred Chel.” He took their coins and told them to relax in the café before ducking into the kitchen to prepare their order.
Nina watched as Taichi disappeared into the back, then knelt and held her hand out toward the bunnies. Being stared at made her uncomfortable. “I always hunted these guys whenever I found them in the wild, but seeing them here...I gotta say, they’re pretty cute.”
“Monster classification aside, they’re not much different from a normal animal,” Grise said with a nod. He was stroking a bunny that had hopped over to him. He snuck a glance at Luke, who was sprawled out on the beanbag chair. As much as Grise wanted to pet Luke, the wolf gave off an intimidating air that discouraged Grise from trying.
Marshmallow hopped closer to Nina, pressing a tiny paw against her knee. “Kree!”
Nina could feel the soft, plush toe beans and gulped. “Oh, gosh! I know I just nocked an arrow at these guys a second ago, but...holy crap, are they cute!” Her heart squeezed watching the adorable bunny knead at her leg. She’d hunted them for so long and never thought twice about it, and yet now, she couldn’t get over how cute they were.
A new bunny approached Grise, whose whole body trembled with delight.
“Kree!”
“Most small animals run away when they see me,” he mumbled.
“Yeah,” said Nina. “You may be a coward, but you’ve got a menacing look about you.”
Grise had no experience touching animals, let alone monsters. Tears pricked at his eyes as the bunny obediently sat and let him stroke its head. “Huh. Looks like you’re not scared of me, are ya?”
“Kree!”
Grise could hardly believe his luck. Their group had only entered this café to rest for a bit before they finished heading into the city. He could never have predicted how meaningful this visit would be.
Arle took a distant seat and watched them from afar. “You are all exaggerating,” she huffed.
“What’s wrong with that? We never get to do stuff like this!” said Grise.
Nina nodded emphatically. “Exactly! Aren’t you interested, even a little, Arle?”
“I will be satisfied if I can drink my black tea in peace and have a moment of rest.” Unlike her fired-up group mates, Arle maintained a cool aloofness.
The two smiled to themselves at Arle’s dismissiveness and resolved to enjoy the bunnies on her behalf.
Taichi’s customers appeared to be having a great time. He brought out their finished drinks and snacks, the sound of their cheerful gabbing filling his ears. “Sorry for the wait.” He had two iced green teas and one steaming black tea for them. The chocolate snacks were individually wrapped and sat beside a dozen or so checkerboard-colored icebox cookies.
“Ooh, this looks amazing!” Nina’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the snacks.
“Hey, hold on,” said Grise. “I’ve never seen green liquid like this before.” His whole face scrunched, wondering what it could possibly taste like as he gulped audibly.
Arle wasn’t nearly as eager as the other two, but she did cast restless glances at the tea and snacks.
Taichi set the tray on the table. “Dig in,” he said, motioning for them to try everything.
“Mm!” Nina and Grise cried in unison after taking a sip of their drinks, their eyes wide with wonder. It was so different from the fruit-infused water or alcohol that they normally drank.
“It’s got such a nice, subtle flavor! There’s a little bitterness at the very end—in a satisfying way!” said Nina. “I’ve never had anything like it before.”
“Whoa, these snacks are super tasty too!” Grise declared with surprise. “Hold on, are these really supposed to be that cheap?” He shifted uneasily. “You didn’t somehow forget to add a zero when you added up our total, didja?”
“No, no,” Taichi assured him with a wan smile. “They really are that cheap.”
Grise gawked at him.
At Japanese grocery stores, these sweets were on the cheaper side, but the people of this world treated them like top-quality delicacies. I couldn’t possibly charge more for them. I’m already compromising on the menu enough as it is.