The Adventurers’ Guild had been in an uproar ever since a Cerberus—a walking disaster of a monster—appeared near the city. Then, as suddenly as it had shown up, it disappeared. Those on duty to keep watch had fallen unconscious, and no one knew exactly what had transpired.
“Aw man, where could you have gone, Cerberus?”
“Either that other monster killed it, or it was injured so badly it ran off.”
“After I came all the way out here to see it?!”
Hymeria had ventured out to the ruins in the depths of the forest, thinking perhaps the Cerberus was still in hiding somewhere. Despite looking high and low, she had no luck finding it.
“Still, it was good you came to check. Now we can say the guild master confirmed it’s safe.”
“I guess so,” Hymeria grumbled.
Her subordinates had already assured her that the Cerberus was long gone. As guild master, Hymeria couldn’t take any chances. She had to confirm their reports. And, much to her chagrin, they had been right on point.
She let out a heavy sigh.
“Hymeria, we should be getting back to the guild soon.”
“I know. I’m just gonna take a little detour. You can head back without me.”
“All right.”
Hymeria watched her staff member stalk off. Once they were out of sight, she kicked a nearby stone in frustration. It shot through the air, smacking right into a monster. When she followed its trajectory, she spotted a group of ogres.
“Oh.” Hymeria had kicked it without thinking. The rock smacking into ogres was just her luck. “That settles it! Now I have no choice but to go to Fluffy Café and play with the Berry Bunnies to cheer myself up!” She whipped out her wand and pointed at them. “Your luck ran out the moment you met me!”
Ogres were so tough that only high-ranking adventuring parties could take just one of them on at once, but Hymeria was powerful enough to handle them on her own.
“Cyclone!”
Her voice echoed, the air in the area coalescing into a tornado with intense speed that barreled toward the ogres. Hymeria wasn’t guild master for nothing. Her magic was oppressively powerful; no ordinary mage could match her.
“If only you all were as cute as the Berry Bunnies.” She puffed up her cheeks and pouted. No one looking would be able to believe the same woman had just cast such incredible magic. “Back to the city!”
The tornado’s winds sliced through the ogres, reducing them to mere dust and leaving no evidence that they’d ever been there at all.
When Hymeria opened the door to the café, Taichi greeted her in his usual cheerful voice: “Welcome!”
“Heya!”
“Oh, Hymeria. Are you okay to drop by? I know you’ve been busy.”
His compassion swept away the frustration she’d felt at the Cerberus’s abrupt disappearance.
“I’m fine now!” she said. “I came to have fun with the Berry—” Hymeria froze mid-sentence, unable to finish her thought.
“What’s the matter?” asked Taichi. “Oh, this is our new addition: Pino, Chrollo, and Nord. I hope you can be friends with them too.” He nodded at each head of the three-headed pup in his arms as he spoke their names.
“Woof!”
“Arf!”
“Awoo!”
Three heads. One body. There was no doubt in her mind. This was her missing Cerberus.
“Oh, right. What do you want to drink?” Taichi’s voice cut into her thoughts.
After a long, exasperated pause, she managed to mumble, “Black tea. Piping hot, please.”
“Coming right up.” He tilted his head, confused as to why she was acting so stiff, but he trailed away and disappeared into the kitchen.
Hymeria breathed a very deep sigh and stared down at the three-headed beast at her feet. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! It’s so obvious that you’re a Cerberus!”
After all her effort to search every inch of the forest, it had all been for nothing. If only she had come to Fluffy Café sooner, she could have saved herself a lot of time and pain.
“Then again, the café wasn’t open yet.”
There was no use crying over spilled milk.
The strength fled her body as she dropped down to a crouch before the Cerberus. What she saw in front of her was not the fierce, rabid creature they had feared, but a tamed beast. She gingerly extended her hand, patting one of the heads. The pup eagerly leaned into her touch. Its dark, black fur was incredibly fluffy, and before she knew it, her mouth had relaxed into a goofy grin.
“Whoa! Oh my gosh, your coat feels so nice!” She had enjoyed petting the Berry Bunnies, but the Cerberus was somehow even softer. How many other people would fall captive to its enchanting fluff? Plus, it was super tiny compared to its normal size. There was nothing threatening about it in the least. In fact, its dewy eyes were so adorable that a fierce sense of protectiveness stirred inside of her.
“I heard some monsters can change their size once tamed. I never imagined the day would come when I’d see it for myself.” Only extremely high-rank monsters could alter their bodies in such a way. Naturally, the Cerberus was one of them.
Hymeria continued running her hands over the pup’s coat, wondering to herself who Taichi really was. No normal adventurer could tame a walking disaster like a Cerberus. One would have to be the strongest Tamer in the world to manage such a thing. It wasn’t like taming a Berry Bunny. One couldn’t simply get lucky and happen to succeed. On the other hand, Taichi spent his days running a cozy little café. He didn’t seem to be scheming anything, as far as she could tell.
“So who exactly are you?” Hymeria murmured to herself.
As suspicious as she was, she couldn’t abide anything happening to his café. If he were ever in trouble, Hymeria would be tempted to use the power and influence she held—two things she loathed and avoided—to protect him from the shadows.