Hymeria deflated when the Berry Bunny she’d been loving on forsook her for Taichi and his platter of food. “Aww,” she whined, face falling. “Are those strawberries for them?”
“Yep. They’re hungry, which is why they’re all crowding around me.”
They were bouncing around below him, their expressions saying what they could not: “Hurry up and feed me!”
Taichi stepped over them and made his way to the middle of the room, then set the plates down in intervals so there was enough space for everyone to dig in. He’d designated this space as the feeding spot for the monsters.
“So this is where they eat,” Hymeria commented as she watched, nodding to herself.
Things looked calm at first, but that wouldn’t last long.
“Kree!”
“Kree kree kree!”
“Kreeee!”
The bunnies closed in on the plates the moment they were placed down. Some leaped through the small space between Hymeria’s feet as they beelined for their food.
“Eep!” cried Hymeria, spinning around to watch them. “Goodness, that was something else. I didn’t think they’d be that intent on their food.”
The bunnies circled around the plates and began hungrily nibbling on the strawberries with singular concentration.
“Kree!”
“Kree kree!”
“Aw, they look like they’re really enjoying their meal! It’s adorable!” Hearts appeared in Hymeria’s eyes as she watched them.
Taichi nodded energetically in agreement with her. I know exactly what she means. I’ve seen them eat countless times now, and I still love to watch them! It was fun watching them from the front, their little cheeks swelling as they hurriedly chomped away, but seeing them from behind and watching their cute little fluffy butts wiggle was no less entertaining.
Hymeria and Taichi watched the Berry Bunnies feast in companionable silence.
Minutes passed after that. Time moved achingly slowly yet painfully fast at the same time. It was enjoyable, but now it was over.
“Oh, goodness! They captivated me so much, it almost felt as though I was in a trance. I can’t believe how addictive they are to watch,” said Hymeria with a laugh. “And they’re so fluffy too!”
“I know exactly what you mean. They’re adorable,” said Taichi.
“They are! It’s so cute how their little butts wiggle while they eat! I could watch them forever!”
“Yes, exactly! That’s how I feel too.”
It seemed so trivial, but that little bit of entertainment relieved the days-long exhaustion he’d built up when he was a corporate drone. He’d seen the cats at the café feast numerous times. Seeing how eagerly they chomped down their food was indescribably delightful. In fact, the whole reason I worked so hard doing overtime was so I could have a little extra time off to go feed those cats!
By the time the bunnies finished eating and Taichi began scooping up their empty plates, the little critters had already hopped away, true to their whims. Taichi found that part of them endearing too. Once they were satisfied, their bellies full, many of the bunnies began to doze off. They gathered on one of the cushy beanbag chairs to drift off.
“Thank you for letting me stay so long even though you’re not even open yet,” said Hymeria. “Next time, I’ll be sure to come as a customer. Can’t wait to see the bunnies again.”
“Thank you for coming. I’m glad to have found a fellow lover of fluffy creatures,” said Taichi. Before he realized it, it was already less than an hour until opening time.
“Oh, right. How much do I owe you for the food?”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t open for business, so you don’t owe anything. Your feedback is all the payment I need.”
“You’re sure? Thanks. In return, if there’s ever a time you find yourself in a pickle, I’ll be sure to help out. You might not realize, but I’m an accomplished adventurer!”
“That’s reassuring to hear. I’ll be sure to let you know if anything comes up,” said Taichi.
“Yeah! I’ll be there when you need me.”
Taichi was glad to make these connections so quickly after coming to this world, and if anything ever did crop up, he fully intended to take her up on her offer. She’s got a good head on her shoulders for being so young.
“See ya!” Hymeria called over her shoulder.
“Yeah, be safe out there.” Taichi saw her out, and soon as she was fully gone, he shouted to no one in particular, “Time to gear up for another day of work!”
Taichi returned to the café and mentally checked over what he needed to do for the day. “For light food, I guess I can offer the same spaghetti I made earlier. It’s easy to throw together.”
It would be hard to accommodate customers if he made his menu too robust all at once. He preferred to increase his repertoire slowly but surely. I’m trying to shrug off my mindset of overworking and embrace a healthier balance!
“I’ll need to fix my menu board, though. Create!”
With his skill, Taichi added spaghetti under a meal subcategory in addition to his drink and snack offerings.
“Huh. I thought I would need to remake the menu from scratch, but it looks like I can make changes to something I’ve already created.”
This was a big discovery. He could easily make improvements to the shop this way and repair any wear and tear without hassle. If he made any mistakes creating something, he could always edit and fix it after. Taichi was something of a perfectionist, if only because his boss would always erupt at him if he made even the tiniest of mistakes. He wanted to take this opportunity to be a little easier on himself.
“I’m out of a lot of things, so I need to go ahead and restock. Interdimensional Shopping!” When the memo pad appeared, he swiped it and jotted his order down. “There, I’m making good progress already!” Taichi stepped outside and flipped the sign on the door to indicate the café was open for business. “Guess it’s a little too soon to be excited, since I still don’t have many customers coming.”
The only people who had come thus far were the three adventurers and the other people in town he’d told about his café, such as Chartelle. If he kept that pace, he’d be pretty deep in the red financially.
“It’s fine,” he told himself. “Things always start off slow. Better to set my expectations a little lower and go from there. If I can get this café in the black a year from now, I’ll be doing good.”
Modern society focused far too much on immediate results, in Taichi’s opinion. Sometimes it was important to plant seeds and wait for them to grow.
Taichi wrapped up his business outside and reentered the café just as Luke awoke from his nap and rose from his beanbag chair. He was the first to wake; the bunnies were still snoozing.
“What’s the matter, Luke?”
“I’m hungry,” said the wolf, letting out a large yawn. “Make me some of that Dragon Steak.”
“Oh, you mean that meal I made before with my skill.”
Luke’s stomach gave an adorable growl of protest. Taichi had to slap a hand across his mouth to keep from laughing, which earned him a glare from Luke. “How dare you insult a proud Fenrir such as I?! You have only yourself to blame, since this whole place is filled with a delicious aroma!”
“Oh, you mean the pasta I made earlier. I guess it is pretty cruel to tease you with that smell.”
He nodded sagely. “Precisely what I mean. Now prepare my steak!” Luke’s hackles rose in annoyance as he barked at Taichi to get a move on, but his tail was wagging again, as though he was trying to get Taichi to pay attention to him—though, honestly, he may have also been jealous of the attention Taichi had been giving to Hymeria.
Nah, Taichi decided. I’m reading into it.
“All right, I’ll make it for you,” he said. Since he kept the ingredients in his Bottomless Bag, he could make it just fine.
And so, another peaceful day passed at Taichi’s café in another world.