Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 143

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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 143
When I turned the page, there was an interview section full of content manipulated to look like a fated romance.
“Clever.”
Just as Biedler had described.
I was reading carefully through the contents when a bell chimed from the door.
It was the bell Seniel had hung again after his visit.
Not thinking much of it, I turned my head to look at the door—and my eyes widened.
“A papaya juice, please.”
“…We don’t make that anymore.”
“That’s unfortunate. I used to come here for it before and thought I’d stop by again.”
Riley, dressed neatly with freshly cut hair, smiled with a slight smirk.
I quickly assessed Riley’s condition with my eyes while handing over the menu.
“Choose from these.”
“Then I’ll have this one.”
Riley ordered just like a regular customer and sat down at the empty window seat.
Tall enough to naturally draw attention. The young ladies who’d been given the newspaper couldn’t help but glance over and blush.
‘If Riley dressed up like that all the time, he’d really be something.’
Always holed up in the guild working, and when he did go out, he mostly wore a mask. It was a shame no one knew.
If he went around like that, he could meet someone like those women and build a life together like ordinary people.
There was so much Riley had to give up to live as Master of Raven, and I felt a twinge of apology toward him.
I made the juice and brought it to Riley.
With customers still in the café, I glanced over occasionally, but fortunately he looked healthy and comfortable.
Time passed, and as closing time approached, customers began to trickle out.
When the last group left and only Riley remained, I quickly dried my wet hands on a towel and approached him.
“Why did you come?”
“To transport the Mana Stones.”
I’d messaged Sophia and Biedler last night before bed to come pick them up.
“I wasn’t expecting the Master to come personally.”
“You’re probably losing sleep worrying about me every day. Reassured now?”
“Who worries about who, really.”
I shot Riley a look for the jest.
Truthfully, I was relieved to see Riley’s face, just as he’d suggested. There was a world of difference between hearing a voice and seeing someone in person.
“No matter what happens, I’m not dying and leaving you alone.”
“I never thought you would.”
I thumped Riley’s shoulder hard for speaking so lightly about dying.
Riley exaggerated the impact, murmuring about pain, so I hit his other shoulder—and he straightened up properly.
I sat down beside Riley and gazed quietly into his eyes.
“…I’m sorry.”
Riley, reading my heart, smiled gently.
“Even if you were at headquarters, nothing would change.”
With that, he reached up and lightly patted my head.
“Have you found out anything about Black Rose’s whereabouts?”
“We’ve obtained a list of guild members and have been searching, but most have vanished completely—to an almost unbelievable degree.”
“If they were dead, there’d be bodies, wouldn’t there?”
“We’ve checked for unidentified bodies too. Still nothing. Except one person—we found someone admitted to a Prayer House run by the Temple.”
“A Prayer House? How did they end up there?”
“They’ve gone mad. Their eyes were completely vacant. With a terrified expression, they kept begging—saying he was coming, begging to be saved.”
“Who is he?”
Riley shook his head, saying he didn’t know either.
“And recently, rumors about Demonic Beasts have been circulating among the Dark Guild. There are more than a few sightings.”
“…That organization must be behind it.”
“Probably. I’ve confirmed some of them—the Demonic Beasts attacked people and abducted them.”
“Not just killing, but abducting?”
The situation was unfolding more seriously than I’d thought.
“With incidents this severe, the Guard Corps should have heard about it.”
“The Crown Prince’s wedding is coming up soon. Everyone’s keeping quiet because they don’t want trouble.”
Demonic Beasts appearing and people being abducted, yet they wanted to sweep it under the rug. The irritation boiled over, and I slammed the table.
“Riley, I don’t think this is something a guild like ours can handle.”
Riley replied without surprise, as if he’d already suspected.
“I already knew when I saw dozens of Demonic Beasts attacking the headquarters.”
“Yet the Royal Family won’t lift a finger. What should we do?”
“What do you mean, what? We’re just going to ignore the ones who attacked us? That’s not an option. We track them to the end and find out what they’re after.”
“Raven could be in danger. Actually, we’re already in danger.”
“When weren’t we in danger? Not fearing death is the Dark Guild’s creed.”
Riley lightly tapped my forehead with his finger to snap me out of it.
“We’re not here to save the world or stand in for the Royal Family—no grand cause like that. If we get the information first, it’s a big payday. We move for money, like always.”
“Right. That’s reason enough.”
I knew we were just talking that way, but it lightened my mood considerably.
We looked at each other and both let out a soft laugh.
“I’ll keep tracking that organization. The more I dig into Demonic Beast sightings, the more I’m bound to uncover.”
“Let me know what you find. I’ve already moved the Mana Stones to the back of the shop.”
After exchanging farewells, Riley took Raven’s share of the Mana Stones and departed.
***
Several days passed without incident.
As the Crown Prince’s wedding date drew near, every customer who came to the café talked about nothing else.
“There’s supposed to be a procession through the entire Capital right after the ceremony. I saw it in the newspaper.”
“Let’s go watch together.”
“I wonder how beautiful the Princess must be in person. She’ll surely be a wonderful empress.”
“I look forward to what lies ahead under their governance.”
I could feel the Crown Prince’s support growing by the day.
“How is the Prince doing? He said he’d come by but never showed up.”
Before I knew it, I’d thought of Biedler and startled myself, shaking my head vigorously.
Just then, the customers left and the shop emptied. I looked out at the blazing sunshine and suddenly stood up.
For the past several days, I’d been running up the mountain again to rebuild my stamina.
I dashed toward the Temple, both to see Cayden and to use my break time.
“Ugh.”
The path had become so familiar I could find it with my eyes closed, but vines suddenly appeared in an odd spot and caught my foot—I nearly tumbled.
As if deliberately blocking my path, something that hadn’t been there before shot up. Even worse, it writhed and wrapped around my ankle.
For a moment, I remembered the vines from that mountain that had taken me to a strange place, but I flinched—these were far thinner by comparison.
I glanced around cautiously, but the path hadn’t changed, and no cliff appeared like before.
Thinking that Grandfather wouldn’t stay silent if he sensed anything strange, I resumed running toward the Temple.
Soon the Temple came into view. But something felt off about its atmosphere.
I’d experienced enough times before to immediately recognize this as something related to Demonic Energy.
“Has something happened?”
I bit my lip and immediately dug through my pocket, drawing my blade.
Gripping the sword tightly, I approached the Temple, from which black smoke was seeping.
I circled around and carefully crept toward the Temple. While looking around for Cayden, vines suddenly shot up from the ground.
“……!!”
I hastily cut through them with my blade. But another vine lunged at me with perfect accuracy.
It wasn’t hard to dodge, but they kept appearing, which was annoying.
As I tried to hurry toward the entrance, the black smoke around me suddenly grew thicker.
Then a red light glimmered in the smoke.
“A sword?”
An enormous sword hung suspended in the air. I remembered seeing something like it before in the Temple courtyard.
“It had transformed into a snake back then.”
Tense, expecting another attack, I faced the sword. An overwhelming force radiated from it.
But this time it wasn’t attacking me—the sword began to hum and vibrate the ground.
Strangely, my heart began racing to match that vibration, pounding as if it might burst.
Simultaneously, a sharp pain lanced through my head, and an intense migraine crashed over me. I gritted my teeth; standing was almost impossible.
“Rosia! Don’t get any closer! It’s dangerous!”
Just then, I heard Cayden’s voice from beside me.
Cayden, his expression hardened, stepped in front of me and watched the sword warily.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. My head just hurts… but what is that thing?”
“It’s a Holy Sword. One that was fixed within the Barrier has manifested again.”
“Has something happened to the Barrier?”
Before my words finished, the ground rumbled violently, and three Demonic Beasts appeared beside Cayden and me.
“What?”
“Stay still since it’s dangerous. I’ll handle them.”
We could finish them quickly if we moved together, but with my head aching and wanting to assess Cayden’s abilities, I watched.
Cayden dodged the Demonic Beasts’ movements with natural ease, attacking only their weak points.
With minimal movement for maximum efficiency—there was a clear expertise from having fought many before.
‘It’s not just technique.’
He subdued the massive, ferocious Demonic Beasts in an instant. Even facing three at once, he didn’t look remotely overwhelmed.
It was too brief to judge everything, but his skill far exceeded what I’d expected of someone with the title Guardian.
After felling the Demonic Beasts, he pressed his hands together and used Holy Power toward the Holy Sword.
Thick chains appeared around the Holy Sword, bound it firmly, and dragged it down beneath the earth.
The moment the Holy Sword vanished from sight, my throbbing headache disappeared as well.
“I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
Cayden smiled bitterly and lowered his sword, which dripped with the black blood of the Demonic Beasts.
The black blood ran down the blade and fell to the ground in drops.
“What happened?”
“It seems… the Barrier has developed a problem.”

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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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