Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 117

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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 operated by the heir to the Dark Guild.
117
“Why am I heading to the Temple right now?”
About halfway there, that question struck me. The snow had started falling, and I’d thought I simply had to go to Cayden.
“…It’s the first snow.”
I wanted to show him before it stopped falling.
My cheeks had warmed slightly, but thankfully the cold snow descended and cooled them right away.
Walking on, the Temple began to come into view. Yet suddenly an eerie feeling crept over me, and I tensed.
‘What is it?’
The exterior hadn’t changed, but something about the atmosphere felt wrong. I’d felt something similar before.
Not like that time, when swords had jutted up from the courtyard or snakes had lunged at me.
Just to be safe, I approached the Temple cautiously, on guard.
“Cayden?”
I called his name and glanced around the surroundings, then checked inside, but he wasn’t anywhere.
I went all the way to the kitchen, confirmed he wasn’t there, and leaned against the wall with my arms crossed.
“He’s gone again.”
Just as I was giving up the search and about to leave, I suddenly remembered him mentioning that he’d been in the basement.
“…Should I look down there?”
I’d come and gone from the Temple several times, but I’d never seen a path leading down to the basement.
It seemed he’d hidden an entrance somewhere. And I couldn’t shake the suspicion of what he might be doing down there.
I left the kitchen and examined places where a passage might be hidden. Then I spotted a corner of the floor that was especially worn.
“He really didn’t hide it well.”
I pressed the spots next to the statue in sequence, and immediately a stone wall slid aside, revealing stairs.
The heavy, damp air rising from below brought a wave of revulsion.
I hesitated, but this was my chance to find out what Cayden was actually doing down here.
“Now or never.”
I clenched my fists and stepped onto the stairs.
Unable to see ahead, I braced myself against the wall and descended slowly.
The further down I went, the harder it was to breathe, and an unpleasant feeling settled over me.
As I neared the bottom, light began to appear.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, torches set at regular intervals along the walls revealed the interior.
It was an extraordinarily vast and long corridor.
The passage, so long that I couldn’t see its end, had rooms spaced throughout.
“There’s a space this large under the Temple?”
I walked forward carefully, thinking it looked like a prison.
The atmosphere was so gloomy that I wouldn’t have been surprised if a monster suddenly leaped out from anywhere.
“Cayden?”
Even as I tried to muffle my steps, the sound of my footfalls echoed loudly in my ears.
The door to the first room I came across was closed. I reached for the handle, then pulled back.
It seemed like something I shouldn’t open, so I continued forward instead.
“Cayden… if you’re inside, answer me.”
My voice reverberated through the passage like an echo.
As I walked forward tensely, a second room appeared.
I was going to pass it by too, but I felt movement inside.
‘Someone’s in there.’
I swallowed hard and stopped, staring at the door.
I was wondering what to do if it wasn’t Cayden, when suddenly the door opened from inside.
I stepped back quickly and braced myself, but fortunately it was Cayden who emerged.
Water dripped from his entire body as he came out. His eyes widened in shock, and he quickly blocked my view of the room behind him.
“What are you doing here?”
Seeing Cayden in an unusual state, I couldn’t help but flinch.
“Are you all right? Your eyes…”
His eyes, which were normally purple, had turned murky—almost black.
His hastily thrown-on clothes clung wetly to his skin, and I could see wounds through the gaps in the fabric, making me frown.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Cayden flustered and hurriedly fastened his clothes, but I’d already seen the scars that covered his upper body.
……
As I approached with a serious expression, Cayden ran a wet hand through his hair and sighed.
“How did you find this place?”
“I remembered you mentioning something about the basement.”
“This is a space no one should enter.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll leave.”
It was true that I’d come in without permission out of curiosity.
Since I’d found the passage, I figured I should apologize and leave right away.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly vines burst from beneath my feet and coiled around my shoes.
Startled, I jerked backward and dodged, but the vines moved as if alive and coiled around my shoes again.
“What is this?”
The vines stretched far back into the corridor. More vines appeared and writhed toward me.
“Stay still.”
Cayden rushed inside, returned with a sword, and cut through the vines.
Though the vines had startled me, they let me see the structure of the room.
As I studied what appeared to be a hot spring, Cayden stared at the vines with disbelief.
“Why are these moving?”
“They’re not supposed to move normally?”
“Not once. The vines have never crossed the threshold before… How is this possible?”
Cayden looked into the dark depths of the corridor with alarm.
Following his gaze, I peered into the darkness where nothing was visible, and a strange feeling came over me.
My heart began to race. And I heard a faint singing.
“This sound…”
“What sound?”
“You don’t hear it? Singing.”
I covered my ears and shook my head hard, trying to shake off the sound.
Without thinking, I leaned against the wall, and this time the vines coiled around my hand.
Cayden gasped and pulled the vines away from me, but they coiled around again, and there was nothing he could do.
“This won’t do. We have to leave here.”
I tried to move, but the song ringing in my head wouldn’t let me.
As I stood frozen, Cayden called out to me and grabbed my wrist.
“Pardon me.”
With that, he lifted me up. Before I could even react, he rushed straight up the stairs to the surface.
Strangely, the singing cut off the moment we emerged into the Temple.
I came to my senses and opened my eyes, which had been tightly shut, feeling confused.
“What was that? Does it have something to do with the wall?”
“The wall?”
I’d talked about it before—had he forgotten? I lifted my head to mention the wall covered in thorns, but met Cayden’s gaze looking down at me instead.
Only then did I realize I was in his arms, and I quickly jumped to the ground.
“I, I need some water.”
I came to the kitchen, poured water into a cup, and drank it while reflecting on what had just happened.
“What is that place for?”
“…That’s why I’m here.”
Though Cayden didn’t explain in detail, I became all the more convinced that this place was connected to sealing.
“About those vines earlier—they’re the same as what we encountered in the forest before, right? Is there a wall there too?”
When I mentioned the wall, Cayden reacted sharply again.
“You speak as if you know about the wall.”
“I crossed beyond it once, when I was young.”
I thought it was safe to tell him now, so I set down the cup and spoke matter-of-factly.
Cayden’s eyes widened, and he furrowed his brow as if what I’d said was impossible.
“That’s impossible. What lies beyond the wall is not a place humans can reach.”
“But it’s true. I saw a being trapped in ice on the other side.”
“You saw him?”
Cayden’s face had stiffened, and he spoke in a grave voice.
“This is knowledge only those involved can possess. I’ve sworn to the Divine not to reveal anything. But that Rosia knows of him…”
“Then who would know about it?”
“The High Priestess of Helitria. Only they would. If Rosia truly crossed beyond the wall and met him…”
Cayden’s eyes trembled greatly.
“It might somehow be related to the sealing. I think it would be best to meet with the High Priestess.”
He then found a letter of introduction bearing an official seal that would allow me to meet with Helitria’s High Priestess immediately.
I folded it carefully and tucked it into my pocket, then exhaled a long breath.
“Are you all right? You don’t look well.”
“Meeting Rosia has made me feel much better. I was… not in a good state before.”
“You seemed like a different person.”
I observed Cayden’s eyes, which had now fully returned to their original color.
“That may be true. It’s hard to maintain composure down there.”
“You’ve been doing something down there all this time?”
Instead of answering, Cayden smiled softly.
“Your wounds…”
I reached out to touch the scars on Cayden’s body, visible through the gaps in his clothes.
Cayden lowered his head and turned away, but the deep scars beneath my fingertips ached in my heart.
“Everything that hurts you is connected to that basement, isn’t it?”
Again, Cayden couldn’t answer and only wore a sorrowful expression.
“When I come back after meeting the High Priestess, you have to tell me your story then.”
“…It’s getting late. I’ll see you there.”
Cayden changed the subject and stood from his chair.
As we left the Temple together, I spotted Meyson lingering in the courtyard.
Snow had piled thickly on his shoulders—though I didn’t know how long he’d been waiting.
Seeing him like that, I slowed my pace and looked back at Cayden.
“I should go.”
“Tell me before you go to Helitria.”
“Will you come with me?”
“I can’t leave this place.”
I accepted that I’d have to go to Helitria and come back to unravel everything, and I nodded.
After parting with Cayden, I walked toward Meyson, who was waving at me.
“Why did you come out here?”
“Thought we might walk through the snow together. It’s the first snow, after all.”
On the white snow that had accumulated on the ground, Meyson’s and my footprints lay side by side as we made our way back to the Café.

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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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