Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 12: Your Name is…

『Honestly, I know everything about this mountain, kyu!』

The large Koroglis—referred to as Captain Koroglis—proclaimed boldly, standing tall with confidence. None of the Koroglis around him seemed to disagree with his words.

(So, this Koroglis must be the leader here, huh?)

“That’s impressive,” Taichi said earnestly, complimenting Captain Koroglis.

“You’re the leader of them all, huh?”

『Captain! That’s such a cool title, kyu!』

Captain Koroglis, looking pleased with himself, proudly patted the shoulders of the other Koroglis nearby.

『I’ll protect all of you, kyu! Because I’m the Captain!!』 『Then be a bit gentler, kyu!』 『I-I get it, kyu!』

Captain Koroglis laughed cheerfully, though it seemed he had a bit of a tendency to be overbearing. A female Koroglis scolded him, and he quickly grew timid.

(But, he seems to be popular… or maybe “squirrel”ar?)

If that’s the case, the other Koroglis in the mountain might listen to Captain Koroglis. That would make things very efficient.

“So, um… Captain. Would it be alright if I tame you?”

『Of course, kyu!』

Captain Koroglis’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Taichi. It felt like he was eager to get started.

“Alright then…【Taming】!”

『Kyu!』

When Taichi used the skill, Captain Koroglis was surrounded by a sparkling light, indicating the taming had succeeded.

The Tamer skill【Taming】, granted by the Cat God, allows the user to make monsters their familiars. The success rate depends on the skill level.

With the taming complete, all that was left was to give him a name. Taichi thought about naming him “Captain.”

(But “Captain” isn’t really a name, is it…)

“Hmm…”

As Taichi struggled with what to do, Captain Koroglis spoke up.

『So, I’m Captain from now on, kyu?』

“Huh? Well, Captain isn’t really a—”

But before he could finish, Captain Koroglis, looking very pleased with himself, flashed a delighted smile.

(If he likes it that much, I guess it’s fine.)

“Alright then, from today onward, you’re officially ‘Captain’!”

『Yay, kyu! I’m Captain, kyu!』

Captain Koroglis—or rather, Captain—raised his hands in celebration, announcing his title of “Captain” to the other Koroglis around him.

“Nice to meet you, Captain.”

『Nice to meet you too, Taichi!』

Taichi and Captain exchanged a firm handshake. Captain’s tiny hands were so cute, with a surprisingly soft texture. It seemed like he was careful not to use his claws so as not to hurt Taichi.

As soon as Taichi finished taming Captain, he felt several eyes on him. He turned around to find Gries and Sophia staring at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I should be asking you that, shouldn’t I?”

Taichi, oblivious to the situation’s gravity, didn’t seem to realize how significant his actions were.

“It’s unheard of for so many Koroglis to gather like this!”

“Oh—”

Taichi finally remembered that a large number of Koroglis had gathered. Captain clapped his hands and instructed the Koroglis, 『Everyone, return to your nests!』. Upon hearing his command, the Koroglis dispersed and headed back to their nests.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Captain.”

『This is nothing for me, kyu!』

Captain was delighted by Taichi’s praise, smiling broadly. He climbed up Taichi’s leg and settled comfortably on his shoulder.

Gries, watching this scene, seemed to give up on trying to understand and muttered, “Well, it is Taichi, after all.”

“For now, ask Captain—since that’s his name—about this mountain.”

“Got it.”

After spending a blissful moment surrounded by fluff, it was time to get back to the task at hand. Taichi’s goal was to complete this request, contribute to the guild, and eventually make his dream of opening a giant café come true.

Taichi looked over the document that had been prepared beforehand and began checking off the items one by one.

“Types of monsters living on Koroglis Mountain, huh?”

『There are us Koroglis, and towards the base of the mountain, there are Slimes and Berry Rabbits, kyu. In the middle, you’ll find Wolves, Wanfan, Goblins, and Kobolds, kyu. Further up, there are Starry Night Reindeer and Flower Bears, kyu.』

“Wow, that’s quite a variety of monsters.”

Taichi made a note of the monsters Captain listed and moved on to the next item.

“Any mutated monsters?”

『Now that you mention it, there was a subspecies of Wolf, kyu.』

“A subspecies of Wolf? Wait, that’s a big dea—”

“What did you say!?”

“What did you just say!?”

Before Taichi could respond, Gries and Nina, who had been listening nearby, jumped into the conversation. Regular Wolves weren’t particularly dangerous, but subspecies—mutated monsters—could be several times stronger.

This could be bad!

However, Captain casually said, 『It’s gone now, kyu.』

“Calm down, you two. Apparently, it’s already been dealt with.”

“Really?”

“That’s a relief.”

According to Captain, the subspecies Wolf was defeated by the Flower Bear.

(So the Flower Bear is stronger? It seems like the monsters get tougher the higher up the mountain you go.)

For now, the mountain seemed to be safe, and that was a relief. After gathering information about medicinal herbs, water sources, and other details from Captain, Taichi’s investigation was complete.