Another World Fluffy Cafe

Chapter 25: Snow’s Great Performance

The river’s water was flowing with force, and occasionally, chunks of snow were floating down.

Just up the riverbank, there was an acorn tree.

“Oh, this is it!”

“Wow, it looks delicious!”

As Taichi and Haruru gazed at it with sparkling eyes, the captain began to explain the tree.

“This tree grew from an acorn that was partially eaten and discarded. It’s not that big yet, but it contains a little magical power, so it produces plenty of acorns!”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

It certainly felt like a tree from another world.

“But is it really okay for us to take such an incredible tree?”

Other Korogris would probably eat the acorns from this tree too. Even now, other Korogris were eating acorns.

However, the captain proudly declared, “It’s fine! There are still plenty of acorn trees around. But there aren’t any at Taichi’s place, so I want you to take this one!”

“Captain… thank you! I’ll take good care of it!”

“Thank you!”

Haruru also expressed her gratitude and bowed her head slightly.

Seeing Haruru, the captain pointed his finger sharply.

“It’s not a big deal. You’re a weakling, so eat plenty of acorns and grow big!”

“Y-yes, I understand!”

Haruru nodded earnestly, and the captain smiled with satisfaction.

“So, we’ll take this acorn tree home and plant it in the garden!”

“Yay!”

Himeri clapped her hands in applause.

“We have to pull it out by the roots, but what should we do…”

Taichi thought about using his skill, [Creation (Physical)], to make a tool, but Snow was pumped up and said, “Leave it to me!”

“I’ll tie a rope between my body and the acorn tree. Then I’ll pull it out!”

“Pulling it with a rope, got it!”

Taichi took a rope from his magical bag and wrapped it around Snow’s body and the tree. If everyone pulled on Snow’s side of the rope, it might work.

“All right, I’ll do my best too!”

“Yeah!”

As Snow started walking slowly, Taichi began to pull the rope alongside him. However, the roots were firmly embedded, and the tree hardly moved.

(This is going to be quite difficult…!)

“Luke, help me out!”

“As the supreme Fenrir, there’s nothing I can’t do!”

Luke picked up the rope with a confident expression and pulled with all his might.

However, his strength was so overwhelming that the acorn tree popped out easily, and Taichi and the others were thrown into the air as a result.

“Eh!?”

Taichi panicked at the unexpected turn of events. If this continued, they would fall right into the cold river!!

“Wind, help Taichi and the others! [Wind]!!”

Just as they were about to fall into the river, Himeri’s strong voice rang out, and Taichi’s body floated in midair. It seemed Himeri had used her skill to save them.

“Whoa, that was surprising! Himeri’s skill is amazing. Thanks for the help!”

“I’m the one who was surprised! Luke, you really are strong!”

Himeri seemed to have cold sweat running down her face as she wiped her brow with her hand.

Having successfully pulled out the acorn tree, all that was left was to carry it down the mountain and return to the fluffy café.

(Though, that seems like it will be the most difficult part…)

Taichi thought this as he smiled wryly. After walking this far, it was time for lunch.

He had woken up early to make sandwiches, so he took them out and handed them to Himeri.

“Thank you!”

“It’s just something simple. And here, this too.”

“Acorns?”

Taichi picked some acorns and used his skill.

“Using these acorns, [Cooking]!”

Some seasonings and ingredients were already in his magical bag. So, he thought about what he could make.

The Tamer skill, [Cooking], granted to him by the cat god, allowed him to cook food for magical creatures when the ingredients were prepared.

“You don’t have enough materials to cook. If you have ‘Flour,’ ‘Grimas,’ and ‘Acorn Leaves,’ you can make ‘Korog Leaf Wrapped Pie.’”

Details of the menu he could make with acorns became clear through his skill.

He had flour in his magical bag, and he could easily gather acorn leaves right there. However, there was one ingredient he didn’t recognize.

“What is Grimas?”

Taichi tilted his head at the unfamiliar name. He hoped it was something that could be gathered from this mountain…

Then, Snow stepped forward.

“If that’s the case, leave it to me. I’m good at it!”

“Oh, in that case, let’s have Snow take care of it!”

It seemed Snow knew what Grimas was and volunteered for the task.

“I’ve got to show off!”

With that, Snow dived into the cold river.

“Eh!?”

Taichi panicked at this sudden action, but Himeri reassured him, “It’s okay.”

“Grimas is a fish that lives in this mountain! It’s really delicious, but it’s so slippery that catching it is tough!”

“Oh, it’s a fish?”

He thought that the name did sound somewhat similar to rainbow trout. Grilled salt fish might be good too.

While Taichi was pondering this, he heard Snow’s voice.

“Whoa! I’m good at catching Grimas! Here I go!!”

With a shout, a shiny, dull-colored fish was flung onto the rocks, thrashing energetically.

“Oh, amazing!”

Taichi clapped, impressed by the bear monster’s abilities.

When he was little, he had once tried to catch rainbow trout with his bare hands, but the result was a disaster. To save face, he’d admit that it took a while, but he did catch some in the end.

“I’ll prepare a fire for when Snow comes back.”

Himeri gathered fallen leaves and dry branches using wind magic and started a campfire with fire magic.

“Oh, thanks, Himeri. Having magic is great; I’m so envious!”

“Really? I think it’s even more amazing that you can tame so many different magical creatures, Taichi. I want a fluffy familiar too!”

“You’re really hooked on fluffiness, aren’t you?”

Taichi laughed, and Himeri puffed out her cheeks.

“Berry rabbits are cute, and I can’t resist when the forest cats act whimsically. Of course, I’d love to pet Luke’s glossy fur too…”

As Himeri moved closer to Luke, flailing her hands excitedly, Luke swiftly moved behind Taichi.

“There’s no way I’d let a little girl touch me.”

“Gah, rejected!”

“Haha!”

It seemed that petting Luke would be a long way off.

As several Grimas were caught, Taichi tried using his skill again.

“Okay, [Cooking]!”

Then, a Korog Leaf Wrapped Pie wrapped in paper appeared. It seemed that five acorns, three acorn leaves, and one Grimas could make two pies.

They were warm and inviting, stirring a strong desire to eat them immediately.

“Wow, it smells great!!”

Luke quickly approached, and Taichi shouted, “Wait!”

“First, it’s Snow who caught the Grimas.”

“What? I could have caught a fish too, you know!?”

Luke puffed out his cheeks, clearly feeling aggrieved. Seeing this, Himeri laughed and suggested, “Why not share with Snow and Luke?”

“Since Luke helped carry it, I should at least give him that.”

“Good point…”

“Wow, sometimes you say nice things!”

Luke wagged his tail happily and started circling around Taichi, clearly indicating he wanted the Korog Leaf Wrapped Pie quickly.

“Wait, wait. Snow should warm up by the fire first.”

“Phew, I worked hard!”

“Good job, Snow.”

Taichi took out a towel from his bag and started wiping Snow’s body. If he left him like this, he might freeze from the cold.

(If only I had a hairdryer… oh!)

He remembered that Himeri had once dried the familiars after they came out of the bath with magic. A hairdryer that didn’t need electricity.

“Himeri, can you dry Snow with your magic?”