Yuto had already seen plenty of strange customers.
Youkai, gods, skeletons, slimes, dragons...
Whether they were human or not, he had more or less grown used to all kinds of guests by now.
But a pure animal?
This was still a first.
Just now, the restaurant door had suddenly opened, and Yuto had instinctively prepared to say, "Welcome."
However, when he saw the "customer" standing at the entrance, the greeting caught in his throat.
The "customer" had not fully entered yet.
Through the opened door, all he could see was a fluffy body pressed against the entrance.
It should have been its stomach.
At least, that was Yuto's first guess.
Its round belly was covered in soft white fur, and above that mostly white stomach was a gray, upside-down crescent-shaped mark.
Seeing this scene, Yuto suddenly remembered when Tohru first came to the restaurant.
Back then, when the door had opened, what he had seen was the dragon girl's true eye.
That enormous dragon eye had filled the entire gap of the restaurant door.
Just like now.
While Yuto was observing it, the "belly" moved.
The round body squeezed against the doorway with a soft, rumbling motion, trying very hard to push itself inside.
Layer after layer of ripples spread across that soft belly.
Just as Yuto began worrying that the restaurant door might be squeezed apart, the creature finally slipped in.
'Gulp.'
Like a lump of springy jelly, the other party's soft body squeezed and bounced its way through the entrance.
Only after it entered the restaurant could Yuto finally see its full appearance.
It was very fat and very tall, with a white belly and gray fur, looking like an enlarged tumbler doll or a chubby baby doll.
On its head were two upright, pointed ears.
Its eyes were round, and six long whiskers stretched out from both sides of its face.
'A cat?'
That was Yuto's first guess.
'No, no.'
This fellow was far too fat and round!
Standing there, it looked like a tumbler doll whose top and bottom were almost the same width.
Yuto quickly rejected his own guess.
But... It really was cute!
That chubby belly made people want to lie down on it and sleep.
It looked as if it would be extremely comfortable.
Facing this strange "big cat," Yuto hesitated for a moment.
If he spoke human language...
Could it understand him?
"Awoo~~~"
"Food~~~"
Just as Yuto was wondering about that, the "big cat" let out a howl.
The sound itself was simply an animal's cry.
But what surprised Yuto was that he could actually understand what it meant.
"Boss, it says it wants food."
As a dragon, Tohru could communicate with animals.
She understood what the "big cat" had said.
However, the dragon girl thought Yuto did not understand, so she translated it for him.
"I can understand it." Yuto waved his hand.
Now it was the dragon girl's turn to be surprised.
Tohru: Mm???
Erina and Hisako, who were sitting at the counter resting, were both staring blankly at the "big cat" in front of them.
Their eyes were filled with the kind of fondness and amazement people naturally showed toward cute things.
Girls truly had very little resistance toward this kind of big, fluffy, adorable creature.
The "big cat" before them was simply too cute!
That fluffy belly, dazed expression, and pair of round eyes... it was practically a direct strike to the softest part of a person's heart.
Ainz, Rimuru, and Fafnir, who had already put on their headsets, naturally had no idea what was happening.
With the headsets on, they could not hear anything outside.
"Please... sit..."
Yuto tried communicating with it.
Although he could understand the other party's howls, he was not sure whether it could understand human words.
The "big cat" tilted its head.
Its expression was still dazed, even more dazed than Saitama.
Fortunately, it seemed to understand him.
It moved its legs and slowly squeezed its way toward the counter.
Its legs were hidden beneath its thick fur and large belly.
They looked very, very short, so short they almost seemed nonexistent.
Only its feet could be seen moving beneath all that fluff.
Yuto paid attention to its feet.
They were very thick paws.
After noticing that, Yuto shifted his gaze to the creature's hands.
They were paws too.
Also very thick!
"Kawaii!!!" Hisako could no longer hold herself back and shouted.
That shout instantly made the girl's face turn red.
Beside Hisako, Erina could still endure it!
But, Erina's face had also flushed bright red~~~
"Yi?"
The "big cat" looked at the two girls curiously, and a soft, confused cry came from its mouth.
That single sound finally made even the young lady, who had been desperately enduring, lose her composure.
Erina instantly seemed to lose all strength, as if the air had been knocked out of her.
Seeing this, Yuto could not help smiling helplessly.
Plop.
At that moment, the "big cat" had already reached the chair in front of the counter and sat down.
Perhaps because it was too fat, the moment it sat down, there was even a sound like air being squeezed out.
Beside it, was Ainz.
Ainz, who was currently wearing a headset, had absolutely no idea what kind of creature was sitting next to him.
"What would you like to eat?"
Since he knew the other party could understand him, Yuto felt much more at ease.
As usual, he asked in a gentle voice.
"Awoo~~~"
"Beans~~~"
The "big cat's" answer was very simple.
For a moment, Yuto could not quite decide what to do.
It was fine that it liked eating beans.
But...
Did it want raw beans or cooked beans?!
If this had been any other customer, Yuto would not have needed to think about that.
But the customer before him was, without question, an animal.
And animals usually preferred raw food.
While Yuto was thinking this over, something suddenly came to mind.
When he had gone to the supermarket to buy groceries that morning, he had also bought some broad beans.
At the time, it was because Tohru had gotten greedy and wanted snacks, so Yuto had bought them for her.
Now, they happened to be useful.
Yuto turned and looked toward Tohru and the dragon girl looked a little confused.
"Tohru, take out the broad beans I bought for you this morning."
Tohru: ???
"I'll buy more for you later. Don't look at me like that."
Yuto knocked the dragon girl lightly on the head with amusement.
In any case, no matter how much force he used, she would not feel pain~~~
Tohru was still obedient.
She thumped her way upstairs, then thumped her way back down.
In her hand was half a pack of crispy broad beans.
When the "big cat" saw them, its nose twitched slightly.
It seemed to have smelled the scent of beans, and a smile appeared on its face.
Perhaps because of its enormous size, the "big cat's" smile looked extremely exaggerated.
Its big white teeth directly took up almost half its face.
Drip, drip, drip~~~
Like pearls falling onto a jade plate, Yuto poured out a small dish of broad beans and placed it in front of the other party.
The creature made a "hoo, hoo" laughing sound, its big white teeth still showing.
Just as Yuto was wondering how it would eat, it suddenly took a deep breath.
Then the "big cat" looked at the broad beans in the dish.
Whoosh~~~
Like a sudden gust of wind, the "big cat" inhaled sharply.
Its belly gradually swelled as well.
At the same time, the broad beans in the bowl began trembling.
Clatter, clatter~~~
The sound gradually grew louder, and then... they took off.
It was like seawater being drawn up by a tornado.
Those beans were directly sucked into the "big cat's" mouth!
Crunch, crunch...
That was the sound of it chewing afterward.
Perhaps because the broad beans were too delicious, its eyes narrowed in satisfaction.
Its face was full of joy as it raised one arm, seemingly wanting to celebrate something.
But with that one movement, it directly hit Ainz beside it.
The "big cat" was already as wide as two people, so any casual movement from it was quite large.
Ainz took off his headset in confusion.
He had thought Yuto had called him for something.
But when he saw the "big cat" beside him, his thoughts seemed to stop for a moment.
"Totoro?" Ainz subconsciously asked, his tone somewhat uncertain.
Before everyone in the restaurant could think too much about it, the "big cat" beside him immediately smiled after hearing Ainz's words.
It showed its big white teeth and a joyful expression.
It seemed the word "Totoro" had made it happy!
...
In the fairy tales passed down by word of mouth in Japan, there was a creature known as Totoro.
They were spirits of nature and the forest.
Usually, they were responsible for guarding the forest, and at night, they would wander through the woods.
That was what Ainz said when Yuto asked him about it.
...
Sip~~~
Tap~~~
Yuto watched Totoro drink tea in front of him and could not help marveling at the sight.
It was extremely polite as its paws gently held a large teacup.
After lightly sipping from it, it slowly placed the cup back onto the counter.
"Uii~~"
Its eyes narrowed, and a broad smile hung on its mouth. The sound it made was also filled with obvious joy.
Its posture looked remarkably human.
Beside it, Ainz pinched his own jawbone with one hand and occasionally shook his head.
He looked as if he were admiring something incredible.
"I never expected to see Totoro in the restaurant."
Rimuru had also pulled himself out of the game.
After Ainz left the game, Rimuru thought something had happened, so he temporarily logged out too.
The moment he came back from the game, he saw Totoro's curious gaze.
At the time, Rimuru was startled, but he soon calmed down.
Coincidentally, he also recognized Totoro~~~
"Is Totoro very hard to see?"
Yuto heard the emotion and surprise in Rimuru's words.
He did not know much about the Totoro in front of him, so he naturally had many questions.
"According to legend, Totoro is a creature only children can see. Adults can't see them at all."
Ainz's tone also carried a trace of complexity and nostalgia.
He knew about Totoro because his grandmother had told him fairy tales when he was young.
Although the latter half of his life had been terrible, the first half had at least been a little better.
"Mm, that's right. I remember reading fairy tales about Totoro when I was little. Only children with pure hearts can see them. They become friends with pure-hearted children and give them all kinds of help~~~"
"Ah~~~ Since I can see Totoro now, does that mean my heart is pure?" Rimuru spoke cheerfully.
Yuto smiled helplessly.
"Probably not."
Ainz very decisively denied his friend's claim.
That made Rimuru a little annoyed for a moment.
Yuto looked at Totoro, and thoughts rose in his heart.
Fairy tales were still fairy tales.
How much credibility they had could not be guaranteed.
If Totoro truly only appeared before children, then the fact that everyone here could see it now was probably thanks to the restaurant.