Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 142

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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 run by the Heir of the Dark Guild.
142
“What kind of proposal?”
“They want to buy materials for beverages in bulk from the village.”
“Huh?”
The Knight pulled out a bundle of documents he’d prepared in advance and handed them to the Village Chief.
“I’ve written out the details here.”
“Let me see. My eyes haven’t been great lately…….”
The Village Chief, squinting as he held the paper at arm’s length to read it, suddenly went wide-eyed.
“…?! These amounts are all far too large?”
“Since it’s a fixed rate, I deliberately set it quite generously.”
“Why are you offering so much?”
“My master believes the ingredients sourced here are worth that much.”
I’d deliberately hidden Cayden’s name to avoid alarming the Village Chief, but since he came from such a wealthy house, there was no real problem.
The Knight offered the Village Chief another contract.
“We’d like to build a warehouse in the village for regular transactions. We’ll purchase vacant land if possible.”
The land price was even marked significantly above market rate, which sparked suspicion in the Village Chief’s eyes.
“Miss, this person isn’t a con artist, is he?”
“No. He’s from a prestigious house.”
“Hmm…. This isn’t something I can decide alone. Let me discuss it with the others.”
There was no need to search them out—people from around the village had already gathered behind the Village Chief: the dumpling shop owner, the general store keeper, the carpenter, all watching us intently.
“Come over here, everyone.”
“How much is it? Let us see too.”
The villagers came running, their eyes bright with curiosity.
Seeing the contract’s terms, their eyes went round just like the Village Chief’s, but no one disliked being offered more money.
“Let’s accept these terms.”
“You won’t back out later, will you?”
“There’s a contract—what could go wrong?”
Worried the Knight might change his mind, they signed the papers in a flash.
‘They really are pleased.’
I’d felt uneasy bringing the Knight here, but at least the villagers were happy about it.
“Instead of building a new warehouse, the village has quite a few empty houses. Would one of those work?”
It was a way to save both time and money, but the Knight shook his head.
“I noticed a location on the way in. Shall we go see it together now?”
“Very well.”
I wondered when he’d scouted the location, but I followed him anyway.
Once we’d left the main street, the spot the Knight mentioned turned out to be on the outskirts, where villagers rarely ventured.
It was near the village’s old entrance, which had been closed off after the road was cleared and a new entrance built.
“We don’t really come out here anymore. I’d feel guilty charging a high price for this land…….”
“The land is spacious, which is ideal. I’m planning to build a large warehouse. With your permission, we’d also like to renovate that old entrance for our use.”
“Well, there’s no road beyond it anyway… Sure, go ahead.”
Since every condition favored the village, the Village Chief didn’t ask further questions and agreed to the Knight’s proposal.
“Well then, let’s head to the office and discuss this further. Thank you so much, Miss!”
I exchanged farewells with both of them and left the village.
The Knight had offered to have his subordinates escort me back to the café, but I made an excuse that I had somewhere to stop by first.
I nodded to the Knights waiting outside, then walked quickly to an empty lot where no one could see.
And I waited for a moment.
“…Grandfather?”
I’d expected him to appear immediately, but he wasn’t there.
I’d naturally assumed he would have followed me from the café. Realizing how dependent I’d become, I let out an involuntary laugh.
“I’ve really gotten too comfortable lately.”
To clear my head, I broke into a run back to the café. My legs felt heavy after such a long sprint, and my breathing came unsteady.
“Phew. Worn out over just that distance? Pathetic.”
Still, the sweat felt good after so long, and my body felt refreshed.
I stretched and opened the café door. And then——
“……?”
My eyes met a mountain of stones. Piled high and reaching the entrance, their sheer quantity made my eyes go wide.
“Welcome back.”
Grandfather, stacking the stones neatly, poked his head out to greet me.
“What are you doing?”
“I brought back some Magical Stones.”
“…Some? This is way more than some.”
I stood beside Grandfather, carefully avoiding stepping on the scattered Magical Stones.
I’d suspected he would do something else while I was gone, but mining all of this alone from the mine seemed beyond imagination.
Looking over the pile of Magical Stones, even at a glance their quality far surpassed what the miners had extracted before.
“You didn’t bring me along.”
“Next time we’ll go together. I went ahead to scout first—didn’t want there to be any danger.”
“You mined these using Magic without the miners?”
“Yes. I enchanted the tools with Magic. Extracting from the harder inner deposits wore through quite a bit of my Magical Power.”
“Did you use the Map?”
I tensed at the thought of the organization that used Demonic Beasts appearing, but Grandfather shook his head.
“I considered it, but then I remembered we have another method.”
“What other method?”
“Lili’s passage.”
“Oh!”
Grandfather had hidden Mother’s room away, so I’d forgotten about it—but there’s a Magic Circle in the café that Mother created.
While it’s inconvenient having to use that specific Magic Circle, I was relieved we had a way to reach the mine without relying on the Map.
“But when will you process all of this?”
“It’ll go quickly once you get started.”
If Grandfather did it himself, it would finish in no time, but the stones were still in their raw, unprocessed state, which made me hesitantly ask the question.
“Surely I’m not doing all of it alone?”
“You are. I’ve been doing the mining. Processing is your job.”
I blinked at the sheer amount spread out before me—enough to keep anyone occupied all day.
“All of this?”
“You’re more than capable.”
Though he normally forbade me from doing difficult work and turned a blind eye to anything related to Magic, his intentions now felt suspicious. Still, Grandfather just chuckled.
“Don’t worry. Would this old man ever ask you to do something beyond your ability?”
“…I suppose not.”
Besides, having him mine all this and transport it here was already an enormous help.
It would be unreasonable to ask him to process it too, so I found a spot on the floor and sat down.
I picked up a Magical Stone, determined to finish quickly so I could rest.
Three hours slipped by before I knew it.
“That’s right. Getting faster every time.”
“It’s because I’m repeating the same task. At this rate, I might actually specialize in processing Magical Stones…?”
Was that what he’d been aiming for all along?
I set down the processed Magical Stone and whirled around to look at Grandfather.
He was lounging comfortably in a rocking chair, watching me.
His long, fine silver hair swayed gently with each creak of the chair. For the first time, I found him irritating.
“Magic is fundamentally all the same at its core. Master the technique, and you’ll advance quickly to any level.”
“I’m not learning Magic right now—I’m processing Magical Stones.”
“Ah yes, of course.”
As if it made a difference. All the Magical Stones in the café were my responsibility to process.
“But how come we haven’t had a single customer? Did you do something?”
“I did. I cast Confusion Magic around the area so anyone approaching would naturally turn back.”
“That’s thorough.”
With that, I refocused entirely on processing the Magical Stones.
Except for the evening meal I shared with Cayden, I stayed completely absorbed in the work.
By the time I’d finished processing every Magical Stone in the café, the morning sun was already rising.
“How long have I been doing this?”
“Just over twenty hours now.”
“Twenty hours? It felt like barely thirty minutes.”
Even though I’d been up all night, I felt no fatigue whatsoever. In fact, my body felt refreshed, which was bewildering.
Yet Grandfather smiled knowingly, as if he’d anticipated this reaction.
***
Two days had passed.
Young noblewomen who visited the café regularly were holding their periodic meeting.
Though not from the most distinguished houses, they were society figures, and I often gleaned useful information from their conversations.
I whittled away at a quince, sharpening my ears to listen.
“It’s truly unexpected. That the Crown Prince would steal his own brother’s woman for love—I never imagined he was that sort of person.”
“The Second Prince had it rough, but I support both their love.”
“Isn’t it wonderfully romantic?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“About what?”
“The Crown Prince. There’ve been some rumors lately… Haven’t you heard?”
“The one about him only pursuing married women, you mean? And that his marriage to the Princess wasn’t about love but pregnancy…?”
“Exactly. There was apparently a huge scandal at the New Year’s gala. It’s because of that incident that the Second Prince’s standing rose so dramatically.”
“That’s why? I had no idea. I’ve just found the Second Prince so charming lately… My heart’s been wavering away from just looking at Seniel.”
“Oh my! Apologize at once. We’re always Seniel today, Seniel tomorrow, Seniel forever!”
It was their meeting’s motto.
The first time I heard it, I was shocked, but now I’d grown so accustomed that I’d actually feel disappointed if they skipped it.
“Still, the Second Prince has been more noticeable lately. Apparently several houses have already begun arranging marriage talks.”
Biedler’s situation, once dismissed by the nobility, was changing.
Good news, and yet my chest felt heavy. It was a different feeling than when I’d heard praise of Seniel.
‘He’ll marry a woman from a good house…. There’s no need to pretend to be his partner anymore. Good for him.’
It was a good outcome, yet somehow my throat felt parched.
I gulped down water and caught sight of a newspaper carelessly laid out on the nobles’ table.
I arranged strawberries prettily on a plate as if offering a complimentary service and brought them over, speaking naturally.
“Please enjoy these.”
“Oh! Proprietor, thank you.”
“You’re very kind to travel so far to visit regularly. If you’re finished with this newspaper, might I borrow it for a moment? News travels slowly in the mountains.”
“Of course.”
They handed it over willingly, and I took the newspaper to the kitchen.
From the front page itself, I could see a photograph of the Crown Prince and the Princess gazing at each other with broad smiles, alongside their wedding announcement.

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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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