Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 100

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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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A café operated by the Dark Guild’s successor.
Chapter 100
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After my conversation with Mason, I fell back asleep and woke in the morning.
When I left the guest room, I saw Cayden cleaning the temple.
I leaned against the wall and watched him for a moment, and when he noticed me, he startled and rushed over.
“Is it okay if I see you?”
“Yeah. I’m really fine now. Where’s Mason?”
“I haven’t seen him since yesterday evening. The prince left early.”
“I see.”
I nodded and thanked Cayden.
“I’m grateful for everything. Thanks to you, I recovered quickly and got good rest.”
“I slept plenty at Rosia’s shop too. This is what neighbors do for each other. And you can stay longer if you’d like.”
I could feel that he was being considerate so I wouldn’t feel burdened.
“No. I need to reopen the shop. Did you hear about Mason? I mean, grandfather?”
“Yes. The fact that the cat was Rosia’s grandfather was a huge shock.”
Cayden had spent just as much time with the cat as I had.
Thinking about how bewildered he must have been while I was unconscious made me laugh.
“I’m sorry you got wrapped up in all this. Anyway, Mason said he’d rebuild the shop with magic. It shouldn’t take long.”
“That’s a shame. It was nice seeing you whenever I wanted.”
His expression looked genuinely disappointed, though I couldn’t tell if it was sincere or just his consideration.
“I’m going to take a walk around the shop.”
“Should I come with you?”
“No. I want to walk slowly and look around on my own.”
“Understood.”
I left the temple under Cayden’s worried gaze.
I walked slowly up the mountain path, settling my mind so I wouldn’t be shaken by the sight of the vanished shop.
But on the way up, I ran into Mason, who came rushing toward me, panting.
His face, clothes, and hands were smudged with soot—I couldn’t tell what he’d been doing.
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Were you by a fire?”
“Yeah. Ah… I must have some on my face.”
“Yes. Right there.”
Mason tried to wipe his face with his sleeve, but the sleeve was also covered in soot, and it only made things worse.
“That’s just going to smudge it more.”
I decided it was hopeless and gently pulled my sleeve across Mason’s cheek to wipe it clean.
“There. All better.”
“…Thank you.”
It was just a light touch, but Mason avoided my gaze and covered his face with his hand.
When I wondered why, I noticed his face was flushing. I suppressed a smile and stepped aside.
“Go on. I was heading to the shop to look around.”
“I was coming to find you.”
“Me?”
“I found a Magical Circle where your shop was. Did you know about it?”
Mason’s voice grew animated.
“No. Why would there be something like that in the shop…?”
“I think it would be good if Mason looked at it too. Where are you?”
His sudden remark struck me as odd, but his expression was so serious I couldn’t help but believe him.
“He wasn’t at the temple… Ah, there he is. We might as well go straight there.”
I didn’t know where he’d come from, but I felt his presence behind me.
It seemed he’d followed me when I left the temple.
“Why is he keeping such a distance?”
“Maybe it’s awkward for him?”
Meeting him as a person rather than a cat was still strange for both of us.
I shrugged and walked with Mason to the shop.
And the moment we arrived, I couldn’t help but stop.
……
It was completely in ruins.
I couldn’t find a trace of the shop I’d decorated with my own hands—only charred ash and soot covered everything.
“You must be deeply disappointed.”
“Even though I’d prepared myself, it still hurts.”
When I saw the tree in the courtyard I’d loved, now snapped and burned, my emotions surged intensely.
“Show me what you found.”
My voice cracked.
“You can rest for a moment.”
“No. I want to see it now.”
Mason looked at me sympathetically, then lowered his head and walked deeper inside.
“It’s here.”
I followed him through the debris, stepping carefully. He’d cleaned it thoroughly—a clean floor was visible among the blackened remains.
“It really is a Magical Circle.”
Though faint, it had a perfect form, and I doubted my eyes.
“How long has this been here?”
“I don’t know. Magic isn’t my area.”
Mason knelt and placed his hand on the Magical Circle.
“It doesn’t respond to me.”
I turned and gestured toward Mason standing at a distance.
He hadn’t seemed concerned, but he’d been keeping his distance and following us the whole time since I left the temple.
“Did you know this was here?”
“Finding an inactive Magical Circle is beyond my abilities.”
Mason bent down, examining the Magical Circle with interest.
“There must be conditions attached. It seems likely to respond to you. Let me observe—would you touch it?”
“Of course.”
I lowered my body and placed my palm at the center of the Magical Circle drawn on the floor.
Immediately, light spread from my palm, and the entire Magical Circle began to activate.
A warmth flowed through my palm, and in that same instant, a handle formed right beneath my hand.
“Lily must have left this for you. I can feel her intent.”
Mason examined the Magical Circle carefully, his expression moved, searching for some symbol I couldn’t discern.
“If mother left this for us, she would have said something about it. I had no idea.”
It seemed to be underneath my parents’ room, and I felt a twinge of resentment—how was I supposed to find something so carefully hidden? I grasped the handle.
Then Mason suddenly wrapped his hand over mine to stop me.
“You’re opening it right away?”
“Yes. We need to see what’s inside.”
“What if there’s something dangerous?”
The shock of what had happened to me must have been severe—Mason seemed cautious about everything now.
But I didn’t sense any dangerous aura from below.
Since there was no harm in being careful, I looked back at Mason.
“Can I open it?”
“I don’t want to believe your parents would install a Magical Circle to put you in danger. I’ll stay right behind you, so open it freely.”
I agreed with Mason.
Whatever might be below, I was certain it wouldn’t be dangerous, and I pulled the handle down.
The floor was a door—a round lid opened, revealing a long passage and a ladder leading downward.
“Where does this lead?”
“I’ll go down and check.”
As I leaned in to look down into the opening, Mason pulled me back, saying it was dangerous.
Then he placed his foot on the ladder to descend himself.
‘Should I just tell him everything?’
If he knew I was the Prince, he wouldn’t try to stop me like this.
It frustrated and annoyed me that he kept treating me like someone who needed protection.
“Wait. Let me create some light for you.”
Mason used Lightning Magic to create a glowing sphere.
He sent it down the passage, and it descended for quite some time—the opening was quite deep.
“I’m going down. If you’re worried, follow me, Your Highness.”
“Can I come too?”
I nodded to Mason and started descending the ladder before Mason could.
If mother really had left the Magical Circle, I was burning with curiosity about what lay beneath.
I followed the light, climbing down the ladder for a long time. Finally reaching the bottom, I stepped off and saw a door ahead.
Mason descended next, then Mason after him, and we stood staring at the door.
The two of them waited quietly for me to open it. I hesitated for just a moment, then pushed it open.
A vast chamber appeared, as if someone’s entire study had been transported here.
I gasped, my mouth falling open, as I looked around.
Especially striking were the bookshelves packed without a gap—and seeing that the books had no titles, they didn’t appear to be published works.
I slowly approached the shelves and pulled out one of the books, opening it.
“Mother wrote this herself.”
The pages were filled with records in mother’s handwriting. As I read, a tremendous shock struck me.
“What’s written here?”
“This is…”
I couldn’t continue and dropped the document I was holding.
“Are you all right?”
Mason rushed to my side, alarmed, and gripped my shoulder.
“Yes. I’m just… shocked.”
“What does it say?”
“See for yourself. I think all the records in this bookshelf are related to the same matter.”
I steadied my quickening breath and picked up the dropped document.
Soon both Mason and I bore shock on our faces as we read the other records.
“Mother was… one of the administrators of a Magic Stone mine. She belonged to the Strophan Family.”
The documents packed into the shelves were daily records of work at the mine.
Everything from the quantity of Magic Stones extracted to the numbers of processed stones was recorded.
The administrator’s name was Lily, and both the signature and handwriting matched mother’s perfectly.
“This section has different content.”
With a grave expression, Mason pulled out bundles of papers from across the room and handed them to me.
These detailed exactly how the Strophan Family had secretly extracted and processed Magic Stones and through what channels they’d smuggled them out.
“I’ve never heard of a Magic Stone mine on Alein Mountain. They must have kept it completely hidden and disposed of the stones this way behind closed doors.”
I’d suspected roughly what was happening, but confirming that mother really had worked for the Strophan Family, and that neither Seniel nor I had known the truth, devastated me.
“Even while we were here with them, they must have continued…”
“Probably. For now, we need to examine all the records here.”
Mason’s voice had turned cold. His expression showed him struggling against anger.
I understood his feelings entirely—they mirrored my own.
I clenched my fists hard, my words tumbling out.
“The Strophan Family exploited mother all this time, and perhaps… they were also involved in our parents’ deaths.”

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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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