Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 20: The Collapsed Hedgehog

The day after Taichi returned from the Kingdom of Azeln happened to be Mofu Mofu Café’s day off.

He enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and had the café all to himself to fully savor it.

“I can’t believe the café has become so cozy and full of fluffiness this quickly!”

Although Taichi had always dreamed of running a cat café, now he had Luke the Fenrir, Pino and Chloris the Cerberus, Knoll, and Marshmallow the Berry Rabbit. Each one was a precious companion, a part of his family.

As he enjoyed this blissful time, he suddenly heard a noise from outside.

“Hm?”

Luke was fast asleep on a beanbag, the Cerberus was playing ball with the Berry Rabbit, and the Forest Cat was happily climbing the cat tower. None of the animals seemed bothered by the noise, so Taichi thought maybe a sign or something outside had fallen over.

Not wanting to leave litter lying around, he decided to open the door and check outside.

“I hope it’s nothing serious—what!?”

As soon as he opened the door, there was a creature that looked like a hedgehog, collapsed on the ground.

“Wait, what? Is it… passed out?”

“Uuugh… I’m so hungry… I can’t go on, kyuu…”

“Whoa! This is bad!”

Panicked, Taichi carefully picked up the hedgehog-like creature. Luckily, its quills weren’t sharp.

(Quills? What am I even thinking about at a time like this?)

Realizing now wasn’t the time for idle thoughts, he rushed back into the café and called out to everyone.

“I found a collapsed hedgehog! It’s starving! Does anyone know what hedgehogs eat?”

“Whoa! That’s terrible!”

“I’ll grab a towel!”

“Will some meat help it get its strength back?”

The Cerberus quickly came to help after hearing Taichi’s call. It brought over a towel, and Taichi gently laid the hedgehog on it. Unfortunately, no one seemed to know what it ate.

They had meat, vegetables, and fruit—all kinds of food—but Taichi wasn’t sure what hedgehogs preferred. Since it was small, he thought vegetables or fruit might be okay.

(Didn’t I see on TV once that they eat insects or something…?)

He didn’t have any live food on hand—and to be honest, bugs weren’t really his thing.

While Taichi was puzzling over the situation, Ume approached with a bag in her mouth.

“Hey, isn’t that one of the rabbit cookies we sell?”

“Yep! I’ve heard that food made with a Tamer’s skill is good for the body.”

“I didn’t know that! Thanks for telling me, Ume. I’ll give it this, and then some water…”

Although the café had a water fountain, Taichi figured the hedgehog might not like the smell of it, so he quickly fetched a fresh dish and filled it with water. The hedgehog was too weak to eat on its own, so he crumbled the rabbit cookie into small pieces and placed them in front of it. However, the hedgehog didn’t respond and kept its mouth closed.

(What should I do? I doubt there’s a vet around here…)

As Taichi fretted, Ume calmly pressed some cookie crumbs into the hedgehog’s mouth.

“Wait, what are you—!”

“It’s fine, just watch.”

“…Ah, it’s eating.”

Though still weak, the hedgehog’s mouth started moving. Gradually, it picked up speed, and before long, it was devouring the rabbit cookie at a rapid pace. It ate so eagerly, and finished by drinking a large amount of water.

(Oh, thank goodness it’s recovering!)

After watching over the hedgehog until it seemed satisfied, Taichi gently spoke to it.

“Are you okay now?”

“Oh my, thank you so much! I really thought I was done for this time!”

“So… are you a hedgehog?”

“I’m an Ore Hedgehog! We’re actually quite rare, you know.”

The Ore Hedgehog grinned. It was only about 10 cm in size, but its quills were mesmerizing, made of gems and ores. Among its gray and silver quills, there were some that sparkled like rubies, making it especially beautiful. Judging from its voice and mannerisms, it indeed seemed to be an Ore Hedgehog.

The little hedgehog sighed in relief and relaxed its body. Then it looked up at Taichi and bowed its head.

“Thank you for saving me. I really thought I was going to starve to death!”

“I’m just glad you collapsed in front of my place. But why were you passed out here?”

When Taichi asked the reason, the Ore Hedgehog’s expression turned gloomy for a moment before it suddenly launched into its story with great energy.

“I’m on a journey to find a mate!”

“A mate?”

“Yes! I’m looking for a wife! Oh dear, how embarrassing!”

The Ore Hedgehog covered its face with its little paws but peeked out through its fingers to continue the story.

“I usually hunt for food, but there are so many adventurers near this town that I couldn’t catch anything…”

“I see.”

The hedgehog explained that it had been moving carefully at night to avoid being seen, but recently, it had several close encounters with adventurers while hunting. As a result, it had hardly been able to catch any prey.

“When I got surrounded by adventurers, I thought I was done for!”

“That sounds terrifying.”

“It really was! Just the thought of them plucking out all my quills… it’s horrifying!”

“Yikes.”

Just imagining it made Taichi shudder.

(I’m really glad it collapsed in front of my place…)

“Your quills are beautiful though.”

“They’re my pride! But that’s also why adventurers target me… So many of my kind have been hunted that there aren’t many of us left.”

The Ore Hedgehog looked dejected, and Taichi wasn’t sure what to say. But there was one thing he could offer.

“You can stay here and rest until you recover. It’s safe here.”

“Really?!”

“Of course.”

“Thank you, thank you so much…!”

Although familiars were only allowed in the café during business hours, there wouldn’t be any problem outside of that.

(If it needs company or someone to play with, I could always let a few of the others stay upstairs.)

Smiling softly, Taichi hoped the weary Ore Hedgehog could take its time to relax and recover.