The Tough-Faced Owner of A Fluffy Cafe ~ The Strongest Mercenary Feared as the Headhunter, Living Leisurely Surrounded by Little Girls and Cute Monsters ~ - Chapter 38
Episode 038: Headhunter, Engaging in a Strength Contest with a Giant Fluff
The wolf towered over Ack by several times in height.
Fluffy that fills the field of vision. It’s fluffy violence.
A talking fluff!?
Ack is astonished by the wolf sitting in front of him and looking down on himself.
While tamers can communicate to some extent with monsters, monsters that can speak human language are very few.
Only highly ranked species among monsters can do such a thing.
So, the wolf in front of Ack is likely not a normal mutated individual of the usual wolf-type monster, but rather a highly ranked monster.
There was only one thing Ack could think of regarding such an existence.
It’s a legendary wolf-type monster called Fenrir.
It is said to be over 10 meters long, with a pale blue fluffy coat, and is one of the strongest races in the world that manipulates cold.
Fenrir is admired by every tamer for its strength and noble appearance. Of course, since childhood, Ack had admired it ever since he saw it in a book.
And from its fluffy coat, Fenrir has earned itself the title of King of Fluff.
Ack is about to jump at Fenrir before him, but he manages to keep his composure and answers the question.
“I came to get the perennial ice in that cave.”
“The ice in the depths of my territory?”
“I heard it could relieve the heat.”
“Is that so?”
Fenrir nodded in agreement upon hearing Ack’s answer.
Fenrir also knew about the perennial ice, but he didn’t think that someone would come to get it by overcoming the harsh environment of the Great Blizzard Mountain.
So, intrigued by Ack, who had overcome such a harsh environment, Fenrir called out to him.
Ack continued to speak.
“I also wanted to meet you.”
“…Why?”
“Because if possible, I wanted you to become family.”
“What?”
Fenrir is puzzled by the unexpected answer.
He had never been told such a thing before.
Because Fenrir is indeed a monster that every tamer admires and is also one of the world’s strongest monsters.
Most humans, even if they admire it, when they meet Fenrir, who possesses absolute power, they show expressions of fear and run away. The rest of the humans are all hostile.
There were arrogant people, but Fenrir had never encountered such a friendly human as Ack.
Fenrir exuded such an overwhelming presence.
“Will you become my family?”
Thinking Fenrir didn’t hear him, Ack asks again.
“Do you really want to welcome me into your pack?”
“That’s right.”
“…Very well.”
After careful consideration, Fenrir nodded.
Fenrir had spent hundreds of years alone. Although that was the way of life for Fenrir, living alone was lonely and boring.
And now, he realized that talking to someone like this was enjoyable.
Ack will probably leave once he gets the ice.
Thinking that, a feeling he had never experienced before struck him, a feeling of not wanting him to leave, a feeling of loneliness.
“Is that true!?”
Ack, who never expected to be accepted, was astonished.
“Yes. However, there is a condition.”
However, there is no way the mighty Fenrir could simply become a companion without any conditions.
So he decided to set a condition.
“What is it?”
“If you defeat me in a test of strength, I will join your pack.”
Not only Fenrir but also wolf-type monsters have a tendency to follow the strong.
If he loses, there would be no problem even if he becomes a companion.
“Is that so…”
Upon hearing the condition, Ack’s expression darkened.
“What’s wrong, got scared?”
“No, I just don’t want to hurt you.”
Even when faced with Fenrir, Ack still didn’t feel like he would lose. He was more afraid of his own fist hurting the fluff.
“Do you think a mere human like you can hurt me? You underestimate me.”
“I don’t intend to do that, but…”
Even though Ack had no intention of hurting Fenrir, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Fenrir, an overwhelmingly powerful being, to feel offended if someone was worried about injuries.
“Humph. Your incessant talk is something to see. Let’s begin.”
“Alright.”
Both of them got into a combat stance.
“Here I go!!”
Fenrir starts moving. He closes the distance with Ack and swings his foreleg down.
—Thud
Ack raises his left arm to block without running away. The attack makes Ack sink slightly into the ground due to its weight.
“What!? Did I hold back too much? How about this?!”
Fenrir, surprised by Ack’s nonchalant reception of his attacks, relentlessly claws at him like a raging storm.
Ack deflects all of it with just a swing of his arm.
“This won’t work on you… Are you truly human?”
Fenrir, astonished by the thought of a human effortlessly evading all his attacks, never imagined such a thing.
“Just your average human, anywhere.”
“That can’t be!! But, you won’t be able to fend this off!”
Fenrir, while commenting on Ack’s reply, backs away and opens his mouth wide, exhaling a pure white breath.
It’s Fenrir’s ultimate move, Blizzard Breath. A freezing cold that freezes everything assaults Ack.
Ack is engulfed by the Blizzard Breath.
As the mist clears, Ack emerges encased in ice.
“I had some expectations… but…”
Disappointed by the anticlimactic result, Fenrir had hoped to break free from his lonely and tedious existence.
*Crackle, crackle,* *Shatter!*
However, it was premature.
As the ice covering him breaks, Ack emerges unharmed.
“Impossible…”
Fenrir stares in disbelief at what he sees.
The only time his Blizzard Breath has been blocked was when he fought an Ancient Dragon, the same strongest species as himself.
He has never had it blocked by anyone else, especially not a human.
“Shall we continue?”
“Of course!!”
Awakening from his surprise at Ack’s words, Fenrir launches another attack.
Though surprised, he finally feels excited to face someone he can take seriously after so long.
Then, Fenrir’s attacks come at Ack countless times.
Yet, none of them manage to harm Ack.
“Pant… Pant… Pant… Pant… I admit defeat…”
After hours of relentless assault, Fenrir finally concedes defeat to Ack, who effortlessly repelled all his attacks.
Ack emerges victorious without hurting Fenrir.
“Will you keep your promise?”
“Of course. Fenrir doesn’t go back on his word.”
“Alright then. I’ll tame you.”
“Very well.”
And thus, a new member joins the Fluffy Café.
