Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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It’s a cafe run by the heir to the Dark Guild.
Episode 1
Ring-a-ling.
As the door opened, the bell hanging above the entrance chimed loudly.
I looked up from my work, where I’d been slicing strawberries with excessive precision to prepare a customer’s order.
“Welcome.”
“Oh my, there’s a cafe in a place like this? I was out for a walk and stumbled upon it by accident—the exterior looked so pretty I just had to come in.”
I surveyed the shabby furniture that looked ready to collapse at any moment and the dim interior where light only filtered through the window, keeping my expression flat.
“I’m sorry, but we’re all full.”
And I meant it.
There were only five tables, true, but every single seat was occupied when by all rights they should have been empty.
The young ladies who filled the tables were dressed lavishly as if they’d stepped out of a ballroom, sipping their beverages with exaggerated grace.
“Oh dear. Would… would sharing a table be possible?”
The young lady who’d just arrived cried out pitifully, looking on the verge of tears, but no one met her eyes.
“Unfortunately, it seems our guests prefer not to.”
“But I came such a long way…”
“Didn’t you say you discovered this place by accident?”
“Oh, you do have excellent memory. Tee-hee. The truth is, I’m the second daughter of Count Edria’s family…”
The young lady who’d been whispering to me suddenly stopped mid-sentence when the other ladies in the shop deliberately held up their Status Badges for her to see.
“Ahem, by the way, where does Seniel usually sit? What’s his favorite drink?”
Without bothering to hide her real purpose, she bombarded me with questions, her eyes gleaming.
I ignored her and turned my attention back to the cutting board.
“Seniel doesn’t come here.”
“I know all about it. This information cost me a fortune to obtain.”
She continued talking and showed no signs of leaving, and I was contemplating how to get rid of her when—
Ring-a-ling.
The cafe door opened again.
And the one who walked in was none other than the very person drawing all these pilgrims to my shop.
The young lady clinging to me and all the customers in the cafe screamed in unison.
“Kyaa, kyaaahhh!!”
“To meet Seniel in person like this… I can die happy now.”
Skin so pale it was nearly translucent, fine-boned features that were both striking and refined.
Soft silver hair that fell to his shoulders, accentuating his complexion, and eyes of a deep blue-black that contrasted sharply with it—yes, he was certainly enough to provoke such a reaction.
‘Why are you showing up in person at a time like this!’
Every customer in this cafe was a devoted fan of Seniel.
“Sister! I’m here!”
I grinned and snatched up the approaching Seniel, dragging him behind the counter.
“What brings you by? I told you not to come during the day.”
“I had business nearby, so I was just passing through. But…”
Seniel paused and glared at Kaedin, who was quietly preparing a drink in the corner.
“Why is that guy here again? A priest should be praying at the Temple, not hanging around here! Actually, are you even a real priest?”
I grabbed both of Seniel’s cheeks with my palms and turned his face back toward me, speaking sternly enough to make myself understood.
“Seniel. You’re the reason the cafe’s been doing so well. You know all these fans of yours are filling up every seat, leaving no room for other customers?”
“So what?”
“If you keep showing up, word will spread even more. And then the cafe gets busier!”
“Isn’t that good?”
Watching Seniel tilt his head in confusion, I barely managed to swallow back the words that had nearly escaped.
‘Because this isn’t a normal cafe!’
How was a Dark Guild branch supposed to function when it was crawling with customers like this?
“Hmm… If you hate having so many people, I could chase them all out.”
Seniel, apparently upset at being scolded, immediately began radiating an ominous aura around him.
The problem was that it didn’t work. Everyone here was such a devoted fan they’d sought him out precisely for this—they’d probably love seeing him like this.
Worried the effect might backfire, I was about to stop Seniel when the door opened once more.
“We’re full—”
I started to announce we had no seats, frowning, but the moment I saw who’d opened the door, I simply collapsed into a chair.
“Rosia, the usual.”
Without waiting to hear whether there were seats available, he rushed straight to the counter, exchanged a nod with Seniel, and left me utterly speechless.
“Since when do you have a usual order?”
“Aren’t I a regular here?”
Faced with the young prince’s innocent blink, I lost all will to respond.
“Sister, should I finish crushing these strawberries?”
“What are you doing back there? Step out of the kitchen. This is my workspace.”
“Your workspace? You’re claiming territory right next to my sister? Want to fight?”
Kaedin was certainly no eyesore as an impromptu assistant either, and the sight of three handsome men bristling at each other was undeniably—whether I wanted to admit it or not—quite the picture.
An exceptionally striking one, at that.
Which explained, perhaps, why—
The young ladies in the cafe didn’t just gasp and squeal anymore; they declared they’d be happy to die and actually started sliding out of their chairs in excitement.
Having given up on controlling the situation, I sat down and stared blankly at the chaos unfolding in my cafe, muttering to myself.
“Maybe I should just shut this place down.”
***
When I was young, my family ran a shop.
It wasn’t the kind of shop that sold one specific item—when customers asked for food, we sold food; when they asked for drinks, we sold drinks.
So what was the shop’s name, you ask?
It didn’t have one.
My parents didn’t even bother hanging a sign.
Nestled deep in a rugged mountain with good water and clean air, the only customers who found us were lost travelers or herb gatherers.
The shop was always empty, but I didn’t mind—in fact, I preferred it.
It meant the shop became a playground for my brother and me, and we got to spend plenty of time with Mom and Dad.
Because of this, I thought my family must be incredibly wealthy.
How else could you run a shop with no sign in a place with no customers unless it was just a hobby?
But when I was eight years old, my parents died in an accident, and the truth came out.
“I won’t see Mom and Dad anymore? Wahhhhh!”
“No. This is where we say goodbye.”
Standing before my parents’ grave, holding Seniel’s hand tight as he wailed while I held back my own tears, a woman in dark clothing approached me.
“You’re Rosia, aren’t you?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m someone your father borrowed money from. Read this.”
Borrowed money?
My endless tears suddenly stopped, and even the sorrow of my parents’ death paused for a moment.
I scrutinized the paper the woman held out.
It was a contract. And the handwriting and signature were unmistakably my father’s.
I recognized them immediately because Father had taught me to read.
“When your father died, a debt of one billion Jeri was inherited by you.”
One billion Jeri!!
My mouth fell open at the staggering sum.
It was a fortune I might never touch even if I worked my whole life.
Father had borrowed that much money? What could he possibly have spent it on?
The questions swirled, but only for a moment.
I decided immediately that I would not accept this debt and refused outright.
“I’ve never heard Father mention having a debt. And he’s already dead—how can it be inherited?”
“See this clause here? It clearly states that upon death, the debt transfers to the children. That’s the law.”
“Is there any way to refuse the inheritance?”
“There’s exactly one way. Both of you die here.”
The smile the woman wore as she said this was deeply unsettling.
“There’s no other option. Come along.”
The place the woman took us to was filled with children about my age.
Seniel and I were trained in Basic Physical Training and Strange Techniques, competing against each other day after day.
It was an endless competition—you had to place in the rankings just to eat. If you starved to death, they simply discarded you.
It was an environment far too harsh for Seniel and me, who had never fought anyone before.
As Seniel failed to place and went hungry more often, his body grew visibly thinner.
‘This can’t go on.’
No matter what the debt meant, I couldn’t endure this life.
I attempted to escape with Seniel several times, but we never succeeded. This place was like a fortress.
There were watchers everywhere—visible and invisible alike.
The first time we were caught, I begged the woman who threw us into the Prison.
“Madam, I’ll work myself to death, I swear. Whatever this Training Facility is building, I’ll do it—just please let my brother out.”
The woman answered coldly to my desperate plea.
“Don’t be mistaken. The weak have no right to choose.”
If there was no way out, I had to set aside my questions and simply survive.
Not just for myself—I couldn’t let Seniel die in this place.
So I began training my skills and body with obsessive intensity.
A month later.
I defeated a large man who hadn’t dropped from the rankings in over a year.
The adults said I had natural talent—the fastest anyone had ever climbed the ranks since entering the facility.
Climbing rank by rank until I finally reached first place, I went to find the woman again.
“Now can I choose?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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