Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 107

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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 café run by the Heir to the Dark Guild.
Chapter 107
***
The Mage Tower had sent out a search party days ago to verify the presence of Meyson’s aura detected near Alein Mountain.
“The Master wants to leave again? Send the younger ones for that.”
“Alex, while I’m away, you’ll be acting in my stead. Do well.”
“I’m sick of that tedious position.”
“Who do you think wanted this in the first place? I’ll hand it back to you the moment I find my master.”
“It’ll be a wasted trip anyway. Why bother going? Would the Master really be somewhere we could find him?”
Gathered in Wyatt’s office were Alex, Meyson’s student and an elder of the Mage Tower, and Zelen.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t go with expectations you’ll just end up disappointed.”
“Disappointed? This time I’m bringing him back for sure.”
Determined to fetch Meyson, Wyatt left the Mage Tower in the elders’ hands and set out toward Alein Mountain.
He had clearly sensed Meyson’s mana there once before when searching for him.
Wyatt was convinced there had to be something connecting the café he’d visited then and the aura he’d felt this time.
Using a Teleportation Magic Stone, Wyatt arrived at Alein Mountain in an instant and stretched his back straight.
“Let’s see. The path to the café should be….”
Judging it would be difficult to find the café in such a vast mountain, Wyatt changed his plan and decided to locate the Barrier Stone instead.
It was that same Barrier Stone where he’d felt Meyson’s aura most strongly before.
“It’s that way.”
Having spent decades at Meyson’s side, tracking his mana wasn’t difficult for Wyatt.
“Hmm? This is different from last time.”
Though he found the Barrier Stone, this time Meyson’s mana felt powerfully not just from the stone but from the entire surroundings.
Particularly from the café, whose exterior had been renovated, came a strong force—undoubtedly Meyson’s magic.
“Is he recuperating here or something?”
Keeping his distance from the café and wandering about, Wyatt discovered a grave and gravestone in the backyard.
“Lily….”
As Wyatt read the name on the gravestone, a cat’s front paw suddenly poked out beside him.
“Ack! You startled me! Nearly fell over from that cute little paw.”
Fond of cats, Wyatt immediately broke into a grin at the sight of the adorable paw and reached out his hand.
But the cat batted his hand away sharply and glared at him with an unsettling look.
“Silver fur…. That striking presence and aura…. Could it be?”
The moment Wyatt saw the cat’s luxuriant silver coat and those piercing blue eyes, Meyson came to mind, and he seized the cat at once.
“Master?”
“Mrow!”
The cat then cried out sharply and raked Wyatt’s hand with claws.
Its body swelled in an instant, transforming into human form.
“Master, is it really you?! What was that Transformation Magic? When did you learn it? Why are you in that form? And why a cat of all things?”
Meyson, returned to his proper form, shook his ears free of dust and clicked his tongue at Wyatt, who continued his barrage of questions.
“You ask too many questions about everything. I’ve told you to cut back on the chatter dozens of times already.”
“Master! Consider my position too. You suddenly vanished saying you’d find your family, and now you’re living like this…. Isn’t it strange?”
Meyson rapped Wyatt on the head and glanced around the surroundings.
“I made a promise to spend my days in cat form. Let’s go somewhere farther from the café first.”
“A promise? With whom?”
Wyatt was shocked to discover that Meyson, who feared nothing in the world, cared about appearances.
The two of them then withdrew to a place where the undergrowth grew thick enough to reach the shoulders and began to talk.
“What are you doing here? How did you find this place? What about the Tower?”
“It’s running quite well. No one feels the lack of your presence.”
Wyatt’s nose reddened quickly as his eyes grew misty at Meyson’s harsh tone.
“While you’ve been living as a cat, I haven’t been able to sleep. I’ve been buried in work.”
“Don’t cry and complain. I was only ever a figurehead Master anyway. Didn’t you divide the work among yourselves?”
“That would be true if it were just paperwork. But the empire’s barriers that you managed, Artifact Crafting, and so many other tasks that require mana—our strength simply isn’t enough for that.”
“So you came looking for me just to grumble?”
As Meyson spoke irritably, lowering his voice, Wyatt raised his hands to shield the back of his head and poured out his grievances.
“It’s not a complaint. Please come back now. How am I supposed to find family in a place like this?”
“I’ve already found them.”
“What? Don’t tell me… you’ve gotten married already? Is that why this house?”
Wyatt’s eyes went wide.
“You said you were going to find your family, and now you’ve built a house here and settled down… Have you gone mad with love?”
Seeing the expression on Wyatt’s face as if everything finally made sense, Meyson let out a long sigh.
“How did I ever take on a student with such poor comprehension?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Look here.”
Meyson grabbed Wyatt’s face and turned it toward the café.
Rosia was visible, having come out to draw water and walking toward the spring.
“Master…. Isn’t she too young? No matter how much love is involved….”
Having already visited the café and spoken with Rosia before, Wyatt risked a scolding and spoke frankly.
“She’s my granddaughter.”
“You mean your grand—? What? Are you joking? I know you’ve lived alone your whole life…. Where would a granddaughter suddenly come from?”
“I have my reasons, you understand.”
Wyatt took another blow and cradled the back of his head aggrievedly, clasping his hands there.
“If you really have found your granddaughter…. Congratulations. I mean that sincerely.”
“Not just a granddaughter. I have a grandson too. He takes after me—both of them are quite exceptional.”
Meyson slipped in mention of Seniel as well, and his expression softened, a smile spreading across his face.
Seeing that unfamiliar expression, Wyatt accepted everything.
It was simply because Meyson looked happier than Wyatt had ever seen him in all his time at the Tower.
“…I’m curious. If they take after you, their abilities must be outstanding too. Would you introduce them to me? Or have them enroll in the Academy?”
“They’re both already adults.”
“Age is no barrier. If they have the talent, it’s never too late. I’ll do my best to train them.”
“As if I don’t know what you’re scheming. You want to use my grandchildren to chain me to the Tower somehow.”
“Exactly.”
Wyatt admitted it readily and dropped onto a rock with a thud.
“Well then, how are things at the Tower these days?”
“They’re managing. All the magic you left behind is working properly. However….”
“However?”
“The Imperial Palace has requested we send additional mages to strengthen their barriers, and the Mana Detection Tower in the south has reported unusual phenomena.”
“Mages of the Tower are precious. We can’t spare any for the palace. Refuse them. And what’s wrong with the mana?”
“You’ll know well enough that the continent’s mana has been stable. About ten years ago, when the mana surged excessively, we reported it then. After that, everything normalized without further issue.”
“It’s surging again?”
“Yes. Though the numbers aren’t yet conclusive, the amount of mana being detected across the continent is definitely increasing.”
Meyson, who knew better than anyone that the Demon War hadn’t truly ended—only been sealed—let out a troubled sound.
“That seems like something that needs attention. Mana doesn’t increase without reason.”
“It could be a simple malfunction like ten years ago. Even the person in charge reported it more out of an abundance of caution.”
“I’ll visit the Tower myself. You do your duty as Master.”
At his offer to investigate personally, Wyatt brightened considerably and gripped Meyson’s arm.
“Master, you truly have no intention of coming back?”
“I trust you.”
……!
At those words, Wyatt’s nose reddened again. He turned his reddened eyes away and smoothed the bridge of his nose.
“Understood. Then I’ll care for it well until you return. In exchange, please visit the Tower occasionally. And introduce your grandchildren as well.”
“…Very well.”
Meyson gazed at Rosia, who was fetching spring water and heading back to the café, and smiled gently.
Watching him, Wyatt let go of any lingering hope of taking Meyson back with him and emerged from the undergrowth alone.
***
Cayden had prepared dinner and brought it to the café. It was the third evening meal they’d shared in the newly built café.
“Mushroom stew and potato salad.”
“Both of my favorites.”
“I know all of Rosia’s tastes by now.”
They laid out plates and utensils on the table and began eating together.
“What about Meyson?”
“He said he’ll handle his own meals.”
Just as he had when living as a cat, Meyson wasn’t having meals with them.
He seemed to eat occasionally, but it was as if he had no appetite at all.
I figured it was the way of mages and so we ate separately.
We had only just begun eating when I felt a familiar presence near the Barrier Stone and looked up.
Cayden felt it too and quickly turned his head toward the window, then averted his gaze when he noticed I was looking.
With a soft knock, the door opened slowly. The visitor was Biedler.
“You were in the middle of dinner.”
He paused as he entered, staring intently at Cayden sitting beside me.
“Did I interrupt?”
“No. Have you had dinner?”
“Not yet.”
“Then join us. Come sit. There’s plenty.”
Cayden smoothly dispelled the brief tension that had settled over the atmosphere and fetched a spoon and fork for Biedler.

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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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