Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 8: The Issue of Leaving Pets Behind

After hearing from the Grizzes, Taichi immediately headed to the Tamer Guild to hear the details of the request from Shalti.

“Hello!”

“Welcome, Taichi! I’ve been waiting for you!”

As Taichi entered the guild, Shalti’s face lit up with a bright smile as she greeted him.

“Could it be about the joint request?”

“Oh, you already know about it?”

“It seems that an acquaintance of mine who is an adventurer took the request. I just heard about it earlier.”

When Taichi explained about the Grizzes, Shalti nodded in understanding.

“Then we can get to the point quickly. The details of the request are exactly as you described, Taichi.”

The request would begin in a week, and the investigation would take about three to five days. The Tamers would need to tame several magical beasts in the forest and mountains and, if possible, use their conversation skills to gather information. If that was not possible, just observing the behavior of the tamed beasts would suffice.

“Taichi, you can handle both taming and conversation, right?”

“Yes, I can do that.”

Shalti informed him that some Tamers had low levels or simply lacked the skills. However, in Taichi’s case, thanks to the cat god’s special service, he had no issues.

For now, everything seemed fine with the request. The only concern was having to camp outdoors, but as a guy, that didn’t bother him much. In fact, it sounded like it could be fun, almost like camping.

(I wonder if there are tents in this world?)

It might also be nice to bring a pot and make curry. Just thinking about it made him excited.

As Taichi was daydreaming, Shalti smiled mischievously.

“By the way…”

“Huh?”

“This request contributes greatly to the guild. If you accomplish it, you’ll be close to ranking up!”

“Really!?”

Taichi felt his excitement rise at Shalti’s words. He had just recently ranked up, so he thought it might be a while before he could do so again.

(If I’m with the Grizzes, I can contribute to the guild, and maybe I’ll even meet some new fluffy creatures!)

With a big smile, Taichi looked at Shalti and declared, “I’ll take this request!”

“Joint request with the Adventurers’ Guild? I think it’s great!”

After Taichi explained the situation to Himeli, she readily supported him. It seemed he could leave the café in her hands while he was away for the investigation.

Honestly, Taichi didn’t want to burden Himeli too much, but…

(That’s a huge help…!)

Now, he just had to do his best not to mess things up on his first party request.

“The party members you’ll be with are regulars at the café, right? So it should be a breeze!”

“I hope so… Is there anything I should be careful about?”

Since Himeli was a senior adventurer, Taichi would be happy to receive any advice she had.

Then, Himeli glanced around the café.

(…?)

Wondering why she was looking around, Taichi watched as she spoke up with a hint of apology.

“I think it might be tough to bring back any more fluffy magical beasts than this due to space… If you really want to, maybe you could bring back up to two small ones? Bringing back something big like Luke might be a problem.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

He was hoping for some adventure tips, not a discussion on how many more fluffy beasts he could tame.

“Huh? Wasn’t that it?”

With a confused look, Himeli must have been sincere about her comment.

“No, I meant if you had any tips for adventuring or things to keep in mind during the investigation. Plus, I’m a little anxious since it’s my first party.”

“Hmm…”

Himeli tilted her head at Taichi’s words.

“But you know, I’m more worried about the adventurers who will be going with you. After all, you tend to be quite… unique, and I hope they won’t be too shocked.”

“Eh, really?”

Taichi shook his head, denying it, but Himeli insisted, “Oh, it’s totally true!”

(That’s actually Luke who’s unique…)

Something felt off. While Taichi pondered this, a Cerberus nuzzled its head against his leg.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

“Taichi, we want to go too!”

“It’s not fair that Luke always gets to go!”

“Eh!?”

Taichi was surprised by Cerberus’s words, realizing that he had indeed left them at home alone far too often. However, bringing both Luke and Cerberus would leave the café’s defenses thin, which worried him.

As he contemplated this, Himeli peeked at Cerberus’s face and asked, “What are they saying?”

“Uh, they want to join me on the request.”

“Ah… They’ve always been left behind, huh? Why not take them along?”

Taichi forced a smile at Himeli’s easy response.

“Well, they’re kind of playing a watchdog role here.”

If he took Cerberus along, there was a risk that the other summoned beasts could be harmed if anything happened. That was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Then Himeli suddenly barked like a dog.

“Then I can be the watchdog! I’m pretty strong, you know, woof!”

“Eh!? No way!?”