At the Fluffy Café, feeding time for the monsters started right after open. This had prompted more customers to come early to watch. Well, the regulars, at least.
The bell rang, announcing the arrival of the usual group of three adventurers. Grise, Nina, and Arle had just visited the night before, exhausted after a long day. Taichi remembered Grise declaring he’d sleep a whole day after they ate dinner.
“Welcome,” Taichi greeted. “Uh, I thought you were gonna take a day off?”
The exhaustion showed on Grise’s face. “We had an emergency meeting this morning, so I had to get up. I’ve been working ever since. Thankfully, I can crash as soon as I get home. I realized it was about feeding time for the monsters, though, so figured I’d swing by first.”
“Oh I see. That must be tough,” Taichi said uneasily.
Man, first thing in the morning? Sounds like that crappy company I work for. No, no. What was he doing speaking in the present tense? He’d died and come to this paradise. His nightmare working conditions were all in the past. Either way, it seemed like this world was no exception to unfair labor practices. He could understand Grise’s compulsion to find solace with the fluffy monsters here.
“Oh, right,” said Taichi. “Since you guys are regulars, why don’t you help feed everyone? Keep it a secret from the other customers, though.”
Grise brightened. “You mean it?!”
“Woohoo!” cheered Nina.
Arle had an intensely pleased look on her face, though she said nothing.
“We have a new addition today, which means more mouths to feed,” continued Taichi.
“Oh, yeah? The more fluff, the better!” said Grise.
“My thoughts exactly! Come over, Pino, Chrollo, Nord.”
“Woof!” the three heads cried in unison as they excitedly trotted over. They leaped at Taichi and affectionately licked his cheek.
“Whaaaa?!” screeched Grise, Nina, and Arle in unison. The group of adventurers retreated a few steps and started whispering among themselves.
“Why does that—dog, I guess it is?—have three heads?” Grise asked.
“Um, didn’t the Cerberus we spent all morning running around trying to find also have three heads?” squeaked a terrified Nina.
Arle quickly added, “Most monsters do not have three heads!”
The three of them had been roused at an ungodly hour to scour the ruins in the forest, per an Adventurers’ Guild emergency, because the Cerberus they had been tracking disappeared. One of the lookouts reported seeing it locked in battle with an enormous wolf. His companions, rendered unconscious, didn’t get the chance to see what transpired before it was all over. As such, they launched a sprawling search for the creature. Ultimately, no one had managed to find hide nor hair of the beast. Even though this pup was only about a foot tall, it still had three heads, which was enough for them to reach the conclusion that it was their missing Cerberus.
“Or could it be the offspring of the Cerberus we saw in the forest?” Grise suggested.
“Oh, that could be!” Nona exclaimed, latching on. “I bet you the reason it was sticking around those ruins is because it was protecting its baby!”
“That’s the only way it makes sense,” agreed Arle. “I have to assume, then, that the mother lost its life in the battle with the wolf.”
“Yeah!”
“Exactly!”
And, they supposed, Taichi must have happened to be passing by when he stumbled upon the baby and tamed it, completely clueless as to what had happened.
“Hold on a moment,” said Arle. “Could he really have tamed a baby Cerberus? Is that possible?”
Nina glanced at Taichi. “Hmm. I always thought Tamer was a weak job, but Taichi is something else. He’s got a lot of tamed beasts.”
Grise shrugged his big shoulders. “Oh well, if he’s tamed it, then it should be safe. Plus, it’s cute. We just gotta play dumb.”
Nina nodded. “Yeah. It’s just a cute dog that happens to have three heads.”
“Even assuming it is a Cerberus pup, there’s nothing that we can do now that he’s tamed it,” concluded Arle.
Thus, it posed no danger, and their secret whisper-meeting concluded.
“Are you done with your discussion?” Taichi asked. He’d finished preparing breakfast while they conversed. He prepared carrots and strawberries for the bunnies, a bowl of mostly meat and a few veggies for Luke, and a mountain of fruit for the Cerberus.
“Yeah! Sorry about that. We’re all good,” said Grise.
“Don’t worry about it. Being adventurers, I’m sure you have private things to discuss sometimes.” Taichi smiled blithely. He had no clue that they were actually talking about him.
Taichi handed the bunnies’ bowl to the three adventurers, signaling the start of feeding time. “Here, Luke! Pino, Chrollo, Nord, you too!”
Luke hurried over and snapped up the cut of meat, savoring the juices. His bowl looked luxurious.
The Cerberus, on the other hand, took its time slowly sampling the fruits.
“Wow, this apple is really good!”
“This is fruit, isn’t it? It’s so yummy!”
“It’s fun eating together with everyone!”
Breakfast sure has become a lively affair. They’d only gained one additional monster to the mix, but with three heads, it added three times as much energy.
Grise and the two girls set their bowls down, calling the bunnies over. The herd had been waiting anxiously, ready to charge the second the bowls hit the floor. They flew to their spots, their tiny mouths twitching feverishly as they stuffed their faces. They were too cute.
Although a Cerberus had joined them, the Fluffy Café was as cozy as ever.