Chapter 5:
Ack! Sir, You Can’t Do That!
“WOW! I DIDN’T realize there was a café out here!” Hymeria eagerly entered the café upon Taichi’s invitation, taking in his beautifully curated interior. She gingerly pet the Berry Bunny that hopped over to her, a big grin on her face.
From Taichi’s experience, the Berry Bunnies were friendly to everyone and would readily approach whoever entered. Luke was completely unfriendly, but his crotchety attitude added some flavor to the café.
The café wouldn’t open for two more hours. Luke was already napping on his beanbag chair, even though he’d woken up for the day not that long ago.
“Goodness, this is amazing!” enthused Hymeria. “I see one Berry Bunny—no, two...wait, ten?! And you have Luke, too. So that’s eleven tamed beasts at once?! Taichi, you’re something else!”
“Aha ha...”
“Kree?”
What a trivial thing to be complimented for. It made Taichi anxious about how low level most other Tamers must be for people to react this way. Or maybe it was simply that there were so few Tamers to begin with that people didn’t know much about them.
“By the way, you aren’t open yet, right? Are you sure it’s okay for me to barge in like this?” Hymeria paused and glanced up at him.
“Hm? Oh, it’s fine. I’m pretty lax with the way I run the place, and there aren’t many people out there who are interested in cozying up to monsters. I’m happy to welcome anyone who’s interested in—oh. Sorry, I hadn’t realized inviting you like this might come off as inappropriate. That wasn’t my intention!”
Taichi had genuinely viewed her as a fellow lover of fluff. He had no ulterior motives in inviting her out here, but he realized how it might look, asking a girl to come alone to his place on the isolated outskirts of the city. She’s way too young for me, anyway!
Hymeria met his impassioned denial with a hearty chuckle. “Aha ha, Taichi, you’re hilarious. It’s fine. I might not look it, but I’m pretty strong!” She held up her wand as if to emphasize the point, and Taichi believed her. She looked the part of a proper spell caster in that robe, and she’d probably seen far more battles than he ever would. Even if he had an ulterior motive and tried something on her, she could easily fight him off.
“Oh. Right.” He gulped. “Since you’re wearing a robe, I’m guessing you’re a mage.”
“Yep. And if you wanna get technical, I’m also an adventurer!”
“Interesting,” said Taichi, and he meant it. Deep down, he wanted to try using fire magic, but he figured Tamers were incapable. “Oh, wait. I invited you spur of the moment and didn’t even think about the time. Have you already had breakfast?” Taichi had only eaten one skewer himself.
“I haven’t eaten at all today, if I’m being honest,” Hymeria said bashfully.
“Then, I’ll make us something simple. You can play with the Berry Bunnies while you wait.”
“Thank you!”
“Interdimensional Shopping!” As soon as Taichi stepped into the kitchen, he accessed his skill. He’d meant to buy his ingredients at the city market, but after running into Hymeria, he wound up inviting her to the café without fetching any groceries. This was as good a time as any to look to the cat god for help.
When the memo pad appeared, he quickly scribbled down “pasta,” “spaghetti sauce,” “2 premade salads,” and “Italian dressing” on it. Everything he ordered would arrive shortly. In the meantime, he began heating up a pan of water and setting out the tableware.
“Good thing I used Create to make everything in a style that would suit the café’s theme.”
The plates, bowls, and silverware were all perfect, in Taichi’s eyes. As a girl, Hymeria might be willing to give her opinion. If any of the tableware was difficult to use, he would make adjustments for future customers.
Just as the water in the pan began boiling, the ingredients Taichi had requested arrived. He paid the requisite fee and began preparing everything. It’s actually pretty simple. I just have to boil the pasta and chuck the sauce packets in to heat them up, and it’ll all be ready to go. He tossed the ingredients in and waited for the pasta to soften and cook. In the meantime, he dumped the salad in a bowl and coated it in dressing.
“Ooh. I know I didn’t do anything special, but the plates look so professional that it makes the dish feel like it came from a proper café.” Next, he mixed the pasta and sauce and heaped it onto both plates. He added a glass of infused water onto the tray and carried it out of the kitchen. “Sorry it took a bit.” He paused. “Wow, you seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Oh, um.”
“Kree!”
Hymeria had occupied one of the plush beanbag chairs and was playing ball with the Berry Bunnies.
“Goodness! I got carried away. I couldn’t help it. They’re just so tiny, adorable, and fluffy. Their coats are beautiful. Makes me feel awful for using my magic to exterminate them in the past!”
“Kree.”
Hymeria turned to the Berry Bunny protesting at her and added, “I promise to never hurt one of you again, even if I run into one in the wild.”
Taichi understood that some things were simply par for the course for an adventurer, but the more fluffy creatures were allowed to proliferate, the better, so he quietly nodded in encouragement.
Taichi set the tray down on the table and called Hymeria over. “Let’s eat before it gets cold. Sorry, but it’s nothing too complex.”
“Wow, thank you! I love pasta.” Hymeria quickly took her seat at the table. Her eyes widened. She could tell just by looking that the dish had incredible depth of flavor. She hesitated, almost scared to take her first bite. But it would be rude to sit there without sampling the dish Taichi had painstakingly made for her. Scooping the pasta up with her fork, she carefully tucked it into her mouth. Intense, meaty flavor spread throughout her mouth. Never before had she experienced something so delicious. “Mm! This pasta is divine!”
“Really? It’s a pretty simple dish,” Taichi said dismissively.
“No, no, not at all. The noodles are perfect, and the sauce has so much depth! Taichi, I didn’t realize you were a chef.” Hymeria’s whole body trembled, her arms wrapping around herself as wave after wave of delicious decadence hit her. “It’s almost a shame you’re running a café and not a proper restaurant.”
“Thank you. I didn’t think it warranted that level of praise,” said Taichi. I guess I’m happy she likes it so much, since it’s my favorite brand of pre-packaged sauce. This world was far less developed. He could see why the people here thought the cheap, instant food from Japan was on a more luxurious level than they were accustomed to. I wonder if the meals the aristocrats eat are that much better.
“Aww, you’re so cute,” Hymeria cooed at one of the Berry Bunnies. “Here, I’ll give you a bite.”
“Whoa, wait! These guys have their own food. Let’s give them that,” said Taichi.
“Oh, do they?”
Taichi understood they were monsters and not animals, but he still wanted to avoid giving them human food. Instead, he’d been feeding them strawberries, carrots, and the like.
“I’ll go prepare their meals. I’ll be right back,” Taichi told Hymeria before hurrying back to the kitchen.
Taichi washed the strawberries he always kept on hand and piled them onto five separate plates which he then carried back to the café on a tray. Hymeria was waiting with an excited look on her face. The bunnies had learned to discern the word “food,” and were therefore gazing up at him with large, sparkling eyes.
You guys are too cute, using those eyes on me. That can’t be allowed! His heart skipped at their adorable pleading for food. Was there anyone out there who could resist them? Taichi didn’t think so.