Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 9: Handmade Cat Tower

“Alright, let’s go!”

Thunk!

A delightful sound echoed around. In the inn’s backyard, Sara was preparing the boards for the cat tower to be mounted against the wall. She was skillfully chopping the wood with an axe to the right size, shaping it with a saw, and smoothing it with sandpaper.

Thanks to Sara’s efficient work, the preparation of the boards was finished in no time.

“You’re really good at this,” I complimented.

“Well, this much is easy. Splitting firewood is my specialty… But actually, big brother, I’m not that great at sports,” she explained.

She told me that while Arts took care of most household chores, Sara usually handled this kind of work. I felt a little envious since Taichi managed most things by himself for the fluffy cafe.

Still, I thought Taichi had so many useful skills that having him around felt like having several people working at once.

With all the boards ready, we immediately started installing them on the walls of the dining room and hallway.

It seemed Sara was also good at DIY projects, as she finished the installation in no time.

“Wow, this is amazing!”

Seeing the finished wall, Taichi clapped his hands. Arts, Marilia, and Shanty joined, impressed by Sara’s efficiency.

“It looks like Sara is more suited to being a carpenter than an adventurer…?” Marilia remarked.

“Hey, Marilia, how could you say that!” Sara protested, almost annoyed by the suggestion of changing her profession.

Arts laughed, placing his hand on the boards to check their sturdiness. Even when he pushed hard, they didn’t budge. They were securely installed.

“It seems like it’ll be fine for them to jump on it.”

Arts beckoned to the Forest Cat at his feet, asking, “Can you climb up?”

The Forest Cat responded with a meow and sprang off the ground. It gracefully hopped onto the board and trotted across it. Once it reached the top, it seemed to like the spot and flopped down to rest.

“Wow! The stairs I made are a hit!” Sara cheered.

Delighted, she watched as the other two cats, curious about what was happening, climbed up the cat tower one after the other.

It seemed they all preferred the top spot, and it was adorable to see them tussling over it.

Meow! Meow meow! Meooow!

Seeing this, Sara panicked.

“Hey, hey, there are other places for you to use, so play nice!”

Meow! Meow!

Even though Sara scolded them, it appeared they weren’t listening. The Forest Cat turned its head away defiantly.

“Ugh, I made this for you, and you act like that…!”

“Well, cats are fickle. Since it’s not a fierce fight, maybe just let them be?” Arts suggested.

“…I suppose you’re right. Seriously though!” Sara reluctantly nodded at Arts’ words.

Perhaps these kinds of situations happened often.

(Cats’ whims are beyond human understanding…)

We were always trying to gauge their moods, hoping to play with them whenever possible.

—But there were exceptions.

“Hey, don’t make too much trouble. Come here.”

When Arts called to the Forest Cats, all three of them obediently came down.

(I guess tamed cats listen well to their Tamer…)

With the Forest Cats in line, Arts seemed almost god-like to Taichi. He imagined himself interacting with cats in that way—and even being able to converse with the leader of the group.

(This is amazing… I might not be able to sleep tonight.)

Even though he planned to tame the Forest Cats tomorrow, he felt a strong urge to go right now.

(Ah, I hope tomorrow comes soon…)

While Taichi prayed for that, Arts chimed in, “Shall we have dinner?”

“Marilia and Shanty, you should join us. We’re having stew tonight.”

“Yay, let’s eat!”

“Thank you very much!”

After moving to the dining room and catching a whiff of the stew, Taichi’s stomach let out a growl.

(I played Frisbee all day, and then worked on the cat tower.)

Of course, he would be starving after all that. He chuckled at the thought.

Arts’ stew was exquisite, and while eating, the conversation flowed easily, mostly about the Forest Cats.

“I think I can make the toy that Taichi gave me if I try hard enough. Just attaching a piece of cloth to the end of a stick should make it fun to play with.”

“That sounds good! They love long, fluttery things.”

Cat toys tend to get quite a workout and can break relatively easily, so if Sara could make her own, that would be ideal.

If she tightly wrapped yarn around a bell, she could also create a ball toy.

“Oh, we could attach a string to the ball and hang it from the cat tower!”

“That’s a great idea!”

“Right? They’ll definitely have fun playing with that!”

The suggestion of a string-attached ball was a popular one for cat towers.

(Sara has quite a talent for making cat toys!)

As Sara excitedly discussed the various toys she could create, Taichi felt a thrill at the thought of how incredible the inn would be the next time he visited.

(I have to work hard to tame the Forest Cats!)

The anticipation for taming the Forest Cats grew even stronger within Taichi.