Taichi was enjoying another relaxing day running the café when an exhausted Hymeria dragged herself inside.
“Welcome! Wow, you look pooped,” said Taichi.
“I am!” she whined back at him. “I’ll have a bag of cookies and hot black tea, please.” She flopped onto the low-sitting sofa. Hymeria normally fussed over the Berry Bunnies whenever she came, but she was too spent to do that this time.
As worried as Taichi was about her, he hurried back to the kitchen to fulfill her order. She’s always helping out. I should treat her to some chocolate as a pick-me-up. Once he had everything on a tray, he hauled himself back to the main floor, where he found Hymeria fast asleep on the sofa.
“I guess she was so exhausted she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore,” Taichi said to himself.
He shook his head, smiling despite himself. She should have gone home to rest, though he could understand the urge to curl up and sleep here at the café. In fact, Marshmallow had already crawled up on her lap and was worriedly gazing into Hymeria’s face. Papaya had, at some point, snuggled up beside Hymeria to join her in napping. He put the tray down on the table for now, placing it carefully so the Berry Bunnies couldn’t grab the treats.
“We really need a blanket. Create!” He used his skill quickly, since Hymeria was asleep and there were no other customers around. In moments, he produced a thick, fluffy blanket. It was made of the softest fabric, the kind you wanted to wrap yourself up in and never leave.
“I don’t know if it’s a good thing that the café is this deserted, but you can take your time and rest,” Taichi whispered to Hymeria as he draped the blanket over her. He would take it easy too and hang around the main floor for now.
It was about two hours later when Hymeria’s eyes shot open. “Ack! Uh... What—” She found she couldn’t move because Marshmallow had perched on her lap. Hymeria’s heart leaped in her throat. It was such a precious moment, and she really appreciated the affection, but her tense body was eager for a good stretch.
While she struggled over how to handle the situation, Taichi let out a laugh. “What a wonderful way to wake up.”
“Taichi!” she gasped. “Yes, I mean it is, but...”
He came over and gingerly lifted Marshmallow up. The bunny let out a sleepy, “Kree?” and went limp in Taichi’s arms.
“Thanks for that!” Hymeria stood up and stretched. Through the nearby window, she could see that the sun was already beginning to set, the sky painted orange. “Oh, gosh. Did I sleep that long?!”
“Two hours,” Taichi told her.
“Darn it, I only meant to take a short break!”
Taichi could relate. He’d had moments before where he’d meant to rest his eyes, only to wake the next morning.
Hymeria’s eyes fell to the tray on the table. “Oh, thank you for this!”
“Hold on—I’ll get you a new cup.”
She shook her head. “I don’t have the time for that, so it’s fine! In fact, it’s easier to drink now that it’s cold. Hey, hold on. Did I order chocolate...?”
“It’s on the house, since you always do so much for me. Thought you might need it,” Taichi said with a smile.
She beamed at him. “Aw, thank you! Ack, I’d better get going! I’ll drop by another time!”
“S-sure thing. Thanks for stopping by.” Taichi’s expression faltered. Was her work taking that big of a toll on her? She’s a mage, so maybe she’s hunting a monster or something like that?
While he puzzled over what was wearing Hymeria so thin, the three adventurers that frequented his café stepped through the door. Grise was at the front of the line and slightly out of breath.
“Are you still open?” Grise managed in between gasping breaths.
“Welcome. Yes, still a half hour until we close,” said Taichi.
“Yes! That means there’s still some time to play with the bunnies!” Grise’s shoulders slumped with relief. “I’ll have my usual then!”
Nina and Arle trailed in behind him and said, “Same for us, please.”
That meant two green teas and one black tea.
“Coming right up,” said Taichi. As soon as he had their drinks ready, he returned with a few questions of his own, unable to shake his curiosity about Hymeria’s condition. “Is being an adventurer that difficult of a job? This mage I’m acquainted with came in earlier and looked really worn out.”
“Oh...” Grise and Nina traded glances, as if they knew something.
“Actually, there are some ruins in the forest a little ways from here,” explained Grise. “Word has it a ten-foot-tall Cerberus showed up out there.”
“Oh, huh. You don’t say.” Stands to reason such a typical fantasy creature would exist in this world, since there are Fenrir like Luke too. He wondered if the Cerberus was fluffy.
“Come on, you should be more shocked about this!” Nina interjected. “A Cerberus is like a walking disaster! Most humans never see one in their entire lives!”
“That’s right!” Grise agreed emphatically. “You need a handful of S-Rank adventurers to hope to take down a Cerberus! There’re even stories of a Cerberus sneezing and wiping out a whole town!” He spoke so passionately as he tried to express the true terror of the monster.
I guess that means it’s pretty rare, huh? Wait a second...
“Did you say ‘walking disaster’?!” Taichi blurted, reality belatedly sinking in.
Now that was news! S-Rank adventurers were the top of their vocation—the strongest out there. And they needed a handful of them to even stand a chance of defeating this monster? It must be a real threat. Worse, they mentioned it wasn’t that far from Taichi’s café. Panic started to set in.
“Uh, hold on, it’s not gonna come to the city, is it? Will we be okay here?”
Fluffy Café was located outside of the city wall. If a monster came to the city, this place would be one of the first casualties. Taichi had only just gotten his hands on it. He couldn’t bear to let some monster take it away from him.
“Now you’re starting to get how scary the situation is,” Nina said with a satisfied nod. “Seems like it hasn’t moved from the ruins, so you should be okay. Oh! By the way, this isn’t public knowledge, so I’d appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself.”
“Huh? Hey, you shouldn’t be sharing confidential information with me,” Taichi grumbled at her.
If rumors of the Cerberus started swirling in the city streets, people would try to flee. The fact that he hadn’t seen anyone heading for the hills was a good indication that few people knew about this. I’d rather not shoulder such a big secret!
“The Adventurers’ Guild is controlling the flow of information as best they can, but if there are any leaks, it’ll affect more than Rellim. The sweeping panic could cause trouble in nearby nations as well!” said Nina. As she explained it, the Adventurers’ Guild had people watching the monster around the clock to make sure nothing happened.
That’s rough. If this “walking disaster” is the reason for Hymeria’s exhaustion, then no wonder.
“We didn’t get to see it ourselves,” explained Grise. “We only delivered goods to the other adventurers. The atmosphere was oppressive. I get the feeling that creature’s not something most of us could beat.”
“That bad?” Taichi gulped.
“Yep. Problem is, we can’t just leave it there forever. They’re gathering the strongest adventurers they can get. At the soonest, they should have a squad ready to exterminate it a couple days from now at the latest.”
“I guess that’s reassuring.”
It certainly wasn’t good for the heart to be exposed to this level of danger. At least Grise’s assurance about a professional squad was heartening. Before Taichi knew it, it was time to close the café.
“Oh, wow, it’s already this late.”
“Aww, but I haven’t had enough bunny time,” whined Nina.
They had gotten preoccupied talking to Taichi about the Cerberus the entire time that they’d only just managed to polish off their drinks. They had no time to play with the bunnies, save for Arle. She was occupying her normal seat with Chocolate secretly nestled in her lap. Neither Grise nor Nina had noticed.
Seems the adventurers have it tough with the Cerberus problem.
“If you’d like, why don’t I make dinner for you all?” Taichi offered.
“Really? You mean it?!” Grise gaped at him.
Nina shot upright. “No kidding! That’d be awesome!”
They jumped on the opportunity immediately, while Arle silently nodded to show her approval.
“People like me wouldn’t be able to lead such tranquil lives if not for the efforts of adventurers like you guys taking out dangerous monsters. Just think of this as my way of thanking you. I’ll whip something up and have it out in a jiffy,” Taichi said.
“Thank you!” Grise and Nina cried in unison.
Grise and Nina waited for Taichi to disappear into the kitchen before they whisper-shouted at the bunnies, beckoning them over. “C’mere!”
“We gotta make the most of the extra time he’s giving us,” said Grise.
“Yep, we need to give these guys lots of love!” agreed Nina. “Aw man, you guys are as adorable as ever!” Wistfully, she wished she had ordered a bag of treats for them, but she didn’t want to come off as ungrateful asking now that it was after hours.
Grise snuggled a bunny, bringing it to his face to sniff its fur. He looked like he was in paradise.
Nina preoccupied herself by rolling a ball and playing with the bunnies, who were clever enough to understand fetch.
“Kree!”
“Aww, what a good bunny you are! It’s incredible you guys know how to chase and bring back the ball!” She praised them effusively.
“Hey, Nina, this one over here is cute too! Look, it climbed on my lap!”
“Hey, you’re right. Unbelievable how you’ve managed to get such tiny critters to like you. Granted, they’re monsters.”
He puffed up his chest. “I mean, I’m not trying to brag, but these guys are the only ones who’ve ever taken a liking to me!”
Nina pulled a face at him. “Seriously? That’s not something to be proud of.”
When Taichi returned to the main floor, Grise and Nina were on the floor, surrounded by bunnies. Arle sat primly, sipping at her black tea with Chocolate still perched on her lap.
“Dinner’s ready,” Taichi declared.