Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 18: The Fluffy Café’s Backyard

Having completed his registration at the Tamer Guild, Taichi left the shop in Himery’s hands and headed to the backyard with Cerberus.

With the number of fluffy companions increasing, the space inside the shop had become a bit cramped for playtime.

“Wow, are we remodeling the garden?”
“How about a flower field?”
“Will butterflies come?”

“We’re not doing that much remodeling… Butterflies might come in the spring, though?”

Taichi chuckled as he imagined Cerberus’ requests turning the backyard into something outrageous. He didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention, so he decided to keep things simple… just simple.

“First, let’s put up a fence around the yard. [Creation (Physical)]”

Using his skill, a white fence adorned with paw prints appeared, neatly surrounding the backyard. He also added the café’s logo to the entrance.

“Ooh!”
“It looks great!”
“I can’t wait for spring!”

Cerberus ran around the yard, clearly enjoying it. Taichi, feeling motivated to make it even better, thought about what to create next.

However, since a dog run was meant for dogs to run freely, he wouldn’t add much to the space. A small storage shed for outdoor balls would suffice.

“First, let’s make a shed. [Creation (Physical)]”

A shed with a red roof appeared. Its off-white walls were decorated with paw print designs, resembling a large doghouse.

(Wait… wouldn’t this be perfect for Luke if he returned to his original size?)

Taichi stifled a laugh, imagining the legendary Fenrir lounging in a doghouse. A “guard Fenrir” instead of a guard dog.

(That would be awesome!)

Of course, Taichi knew better than to voice this thought, as it would surely anger Luke, so he kept it to himself.

“What a cute house!”
“But isn’t it too small to live in?”
“If we all snuggle in, it’ll be fun!”

Cerberus circled around the newly made doghouse shed, offering their thoughts, clearly mistaking it for a living space.

(That’s so adorable…!!)

“This is a storage shed, for keeping outdoor toys like balls.”

“Oh, I see!”

Realizing their mistake, Cerberus laughed.

“So, we’ll tidy up after playing and store everything here!”
“Exactly. Also, I’ll set up a place to wash your paws. [Creation (Physical)]”

Next to the shed, a washing station appeared, made of soft-colored bricks and equipped with a faucet. Water would come out just by turning it—a convenient addition.

“Ah… but a faucet won’t work here.”

Taichi realized that he, his familiars, and Himery could use it, but others couldn’t see such advanced plumbing. In this world, wells were used, so this kind of setup would draw unwanted attention.

He used [Creation (Physical)] again, modifying it to work with water drawn from a well.

“That should do it.”

As Taichi sighed in relief, Cerberus chimed in, “Good job!”

“Is it finished?”
“It’s looking great!”
“Let’s play ball!”
“Oh, right. Now for the outdoor balls. [Creation (Physical)]”

Using his skill again, balls appeared in Taichi’s hand—not just one, but several colorful ones. He stored all but three in a box, keeping a few out for playtime.

“Alright, here we go!”
“Yay!”

Taichi threw the three balls into the air, one after the other in a rhythmic arc. Cerberus darted off, jumping and catching each ball in their mouth, one after another, landing and leaping again.

“Wow, you’re amazing!”

“Hehe, praise me more—ah!”
“It’s easy for me—ah!”
“I did well, didn’t I—ah!”

Excited by Taichi’s praise, Cerberus responded but dropped each ball as they opened their mouth to speak.

…
Ears drooping, Cerberus looked downcast, clearly wanting to bring the balls back to Taichi. But Taichi found their reaction irresistibly cute.

“It’s okay! I’ll throw more!”
“Yay!”
“Promise!”
“Play more!”

Cheered up, Cerberus beamed and urged Taichi to throw the balls again.

“Don’t worry, the balls and I aren’t going anywhere! Here goes!”

With a spirited shout, Taichi threw the balls again, just like before. This time, Cerberus was even more determined, kicking off the ground the moment the balls were released. Faster, faster—

Just before the balls hit the ground, Cerberus caught them perfectly with their mouth. They had improved since the last round.

“You’re amazing, Cerberus! Good job!”

“Hehe…”
“We’ve been holding down the fort, so this is easy!”
“Glad we did well!”
“You’re all doing great!”

Taichi patted Cerberus, praising them as much as possible. Then, deciding to change things up, he threw three balls at the same time.

…!?

Cerberus noticed the change in timing but had already started running. Taichi watched eagerly to see how they’d handle it.

Cerberus leapt higher than before, catching the first ball in their mouth. Twisting in midair, they caught the second and third balls as well.

“Whoa, that’s incredible…”

Seeing such a display of skill left Taichi in awe. My familiars are the best! he thought, as he and Cerberus continued to enjoy their game of catch for a while longer.