Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 9: Fuzzy in the Forest

“I’m Taichi Arima, a Tamer. This is Luke, Pino, Chloro, and Nohr. It’s my first time with a request like this, so nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you!” they replied in unison.

At the Adventurer’s Guild, encouraged by Himeli, Taichi decided to accept a joint request. This time, he was accompanied by Luke and Cerberus, which felt very reassuring.

The other members included a party of Griez and a girl who was an Alchemist.

“Uh, nice to meet you… I’m Sophia, the Alchemist. Um, I’m not very good at parties either, but I’ll do my best!”

Sophia, the Alchemist, spoke in a timid voice, her platinum blonde hair reaching her waist and her honey-green eyes peering through black-framed glasses adorned with a plant-themed chain. She wore a white robe with large pockets that seemed capable of holding a lot of items. She appeared to be in her late teens.

Seeing Sophia’s nervousness, Taichi thought, She might be a beginner too. This realization eased his mind a bit.

“I’m glad to meet an Alchemist for the first time,” Taichi said.

“Um, this is my first time with a Tamer as well,” Sophia replied.

“Then we’re both beginners together!”

Taichi smiled at Sophia, who responded similarly.

Once the greetings were done, Griez clapped his hands.

“Alright, let me give you a brief explanation. We’re heading to ‘Koroguri Mountain,’ about half a day’s travel by carriage. We’ll be conducting our investigation there for a few days, roughly three days. We’ll keep watch while camping, but we’d appreciate your help with various tasks.”

As Griez spoke, his gaze frequently flickered towards Luke, indicating he had high expectations for him.

Taichi chuckled and replied, “I’ll do my best.”

(Well, if it’s Luke, I’m sure he can sense danger even while sleeping, so we should be fine.)

It probably wouldn’t be too dangerous.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Responding to Griez’s voice, Taichi and the others set off.

The carriage ride to Koroguri Mountain was arranged through the guild, with Griez serving as the driver. The carriage had a waterproof cover, and Taichi was seated in the cargo area. Luke was napping on his favorite bead cushion, while Cerberus joyfully watched the scenery.

“This is my first time traveling by carriage; it’s so… bumpy!!”

As a company worker who found solace in trains, Taichi felt uneasy with the jolting movements of the carriage.

*(I guess the unpaved road is partly to blame?) *

Even though it was a gravel road, it was somewhat paved.

It wasn’t as neatly laid out as concrete, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Hey! Look, Taichi! There’s a slime over there!”

“Should we defeat it?”

“That’s just a weak one, so we can ignore it.”

“We won’t do anything until we reach the mountain unless we’re attacked.”

Taichi patted the excited heads of Cerberus and the others and said, “Let’s just relax.”

The real work would begin once they arrived at the mountain, so they shouldn’t exhaust themselves here.

*(Although, Cerberus seems to have boundless stamina…) *

Taichi felt a bit anxious about whether he could keep up.

Half a day later, they arrived at Koroguri Mountain.

“Good job! Today, we’ll proceed while keeping an eye out for dangers, and we’ll camp about halfway up the mountain. We’ll use that as our base and start our investigation from tomorrow.”

Griez explained, and everyone nodded in agreement.

For today, they would primarily defeat monsters while advancing, meaning Taichi wouldn’t start taming until tomorrow. Sophia would also gather herbs then.

(Halfway up the mountain… huh.)

Looking up at the mountain, it seemed quite tall.

Since it was winter, the peak was covered in white. Most likely, snow would start accumulating just past the halfway point.

(For now, I’ll do my best not to be a hindrance.)

Just then, a soft, fluffy sensation brushed against Taichi’s leg.

Luke had wrapped his fuzzy tail around him.

“Rururur, Luke?!”

(Sudden display of affection!?)

Taichi’s spirits soared, making him feel like he could conquer even the mountain peak effortlessly.

“Want me to ride on your back?”

“Ah, uh… no, everyone else is here, so I’ll pass. I really appreciate the offer, though…”

“I see.”

Normally, Taichi often rode on Luke’s back for transportation.

While he desperately wanted to ride now, doing so would require Luke to revert to his original size.

*(If that happens, it might reveal that Luke is a Fenrir…) *

Also, it seemed somewhat awkward for a guy like him to ride on Luke’s back. He wanted to show off his manliness a little.

As Taichi pondered these things while interacting with Luke, a tree beside him suddenly rustled.

“Kyuu?”

“Whoa, a cute squirrel!!”

He had encountered yet another fuzzy creature.