Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 146

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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 146
“Is she the person who came to Helitria? I heard about it from the High Priest.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“What if we brought her to tomorrow’s Purification Ceremony?”
“Rosia?”
Cayden’s tone turned sharp with displeasure.
“You said she heard the voice. She even went into spaces only Guardians can enter. She might help us discover something useful.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? Even if she hears the voice again… it won’t be good for Rosia.”
“Cayden. You’re a Guardian. You haven’t forgotten your role already, have you?”
……
“Set aside personal feelings. What matters most to us is protecting this place’s Barrier. For the sake of the world’s order.”
Conflict flickered across Cayden’s eyes as he listened to Baget’s persuasion.
He agreed to some extent, but he didn’t want to drag Rosia into this.
“The Great Mage who kept her will understand our position. He’s in that kind of standing.”
Baget tapped Cayden’s hesitant shoulder gently.
“Well, we can’t force her to go, so her own will is what matters most. Ask her. We’re not trying to sacrifice her. We’re simply requesting her help.”
“Understood.”
Cayden wasn’t satisfied, but after Baget asked several times, he finally nodded after deliberating.
***
As evening approached, I stopped mid-motion while preparing plates and utensils for two at the table.
“Maybe he won’t come today either.”
Ever since that priest Baget visited two days ago, Cayden hadn’t come by the shop.
It seemed unlikely he’d come this evening either, but I waited a little, timing it to when Cayden usually arrived.
It was nearly seven o’clock when I felt a presence approaching the shop.
I smiled without thinking and rushed to the door.
I opened it before he could knock, and Cayden laughed, surprised.
“Were you waiting?”
Embarrassed at how eagerly I’d welcomed him, I quickly composed my expression.
“…Come in.”
“I can only give you this and then leave right away.”
“What?”
I noticed him hesitating at the door, but then Cayden pressed a three-tiered bento box into my hands.
“I know you can eat fine on your own, but I made this just in case.”
“And you?”
“I’ll be staying with Inspector Baget for a while. While he’s here, I need to eat with him. On a Priest Diet.”
At the mention of a Priest Diet, Cayden’s expression twisted slightly.
“Can’t you come during the day?”
“…I don’t want it to look like I’m staying close to Rosia. He’s already showing interest in her.”
“I don’t mind.”
Cayden’s lips parted as if he wanted to say something.
“What? Do you have something to say?”
With hesitation in his eyes, Cayden finally spoke.
“Actually… Inspector Baget wants to bring Rosia to the Purification Ceremony. He thinks it might help. But if Rosia isn’t willing…”
“I’ll go.”
Cayden’s eyes widened.
“It’s not a decision to make lightly. We don’t know what might happen in the Middle Ground. Rosia said herself she heard his voice and even saw him directly.”
“I still have those dreams sometimes. My head aches afterward. But if we can get any information about him, I want to go.”
“It would be better to discuss this with Meyson first. Where is he?”
“He went out on business.”
“Of all times…”
I tilted Cayden’s hesitant face up toward me, despite his own proposal.
The uncertainty in his eyes slowly steadied as our gazes met.
“When is the ceremony?”
“Tomorrow evening.”
“Then let me think about it and tell you.”
“All right.”
“And don’t skip your medicine just because I’m not here.”
“…Rosia always finishes all of it anyway.”
After seeing Cayden out, I returned to the table and unfolded the bento box he’d brought.
Adding what I’d already prepared, there was far too much food for one person.
“No point in setting all this out. I’m not even hungry anyway.”
While I was picking at the food with a fork, I saw a light flicker in the front yard—a portal opening.
At first I thought Grandfather had arrived early, but though the presence was familiar, it was someone else.
As I walked to the door to open it, I caught my reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall.
“A mess.”
I quickly ran my fingers through my disheveled hair and opened the door.
At that moment, a large flower bouquet suddenly thrust itself into view.
I found myself accepting it, and Biedler slipped past me inside.
“What is this? Where did the flowers come from?”
“I had someone to give them to. I bought a bouquet for you while I was at it.”
“Who are you giving yours to?”
The question escaped before I could stop myself, and I immediately regretted it. What did it matter who he gave them to?
Fortunately, Biedler didn’t seem to notice anything odd. He set a package on the table.
“Your favorite dessert. I got a whole strawberry cake.”
My appetite suddenly returned.
So my lack of hunger had been because I was saving room for dessert, I thought as I unwrapped the package.
As Biedler watched me hurry toward the cake, he opened a cabinet.
“Wasn’t there a vase in here?”
“I put it below.”
“Found it.”
Biedler retrieved the vase, filled it with water, and glanced at the empty seat at the table.
“The priest still hasn’t come?”
“A guest has arrived, so he won’t be coming.”
“Perfect. Then I’ll sit here.”
He arranged the flowers prettily in the vase and set it on the table, taking the vacant seat.
“It doesn’t look like Meyson is home today either.”
“He’s been away from the shop for a few days.”
Biedler’s crimson eyes gleamed with mischief.
“Just the two of us for the whole night?”
“That’s right.”
I handed him a knife as a warning against unnecessary thoughts.
“Don’t you usually give it with the blade facing the other way?”
“Oh, my mistake.”
I turned the blade toward myself and handed it back. Biedler chuckled and accepted it, setting it on his plate.
“So what brings you here?”
“Do I need a reason to visit?”
I couldn’t agree with that, so I simply looked at him expressionlessly while Biedler shrugged and crossed his arms.
“It’s a day when I need comfort. It’s my mother’s death anniversary.”
Surprised by the unexpected answer, I was momentarily flustered before Biedler cut a slice of cake and placed it on my plate.
“So the flowers were for your mother. May she rest well.”
I recalled the portrait of Biedler’s mother I’d seen and closed my eyes for a moment, offering a sincere prayer.
When I opened my eyes after the prayer, I noticed Biedler’s eyes were slightly reddened.
“Thank you.”
I pretended not to notice and pushed the bento box toward him.
“If you haven’t eaten yet, please help yourself. I just prepared this.”
“What’s this bento?”
Biedler looked at the bento on the table and asked, seeming puzzled.
“Cayden left it.”
“He really is thoughtful.”
He made a small sound of acknowledgment.
“I admit the priest’s cooking skills are exceptional. I can’t cook to that level, but… I’m confident in other things he can’t do.”
I didn’t feel like asking what those other things were.
“When Cayden is busy, he helps with the shop during the day. You can’t do that, though.”
“I can’t now, but once my business is finished, I could work as an assistant too.”
“You as an assistant? Your popularity has been soaring lately… just Seniel’s fans alone are enough to overwhelm the shop. If it gets any better, I’ll really have to close down.”
I made a point of expressing exaggerated distaste in my refusal, but oddly, he didn’t respond.
Wondering if I’d been too harsh, I stole a glance and found him staring directly at me. He was gazing so intently that I nearly choked.
“I hear you’ve been receiving quite a few marriage proposals. Don’t you have a preference among the young ladies? If you chose a daughter from a good family, there would be no need for me to stand in—”
“I have no interest in anyone else.”
Biedler didn’t even blink, his eyes filled only with me, as if no one else existed in this place.
“Marriage isn’t about love. It’s about need.”
“I want mine to be for love. I won’t live like my father.”
Growing uncomfortable under his gaze, I finally looked away and reached for my water glass.
I was about to drink when, without touching it, my fork suddenly clattered to the ground.
“What was that…?”
“I haven’t even confessed yet. Why are you so startled?”
Biedler spoke with a teasing laugh as we both reached for the fallen fork at nearly the same time.
His fingertips brushed against my hand as I picked it up.
Just for an instant, but it burned so hot I flinched and pulled away, gripping the fork tightly.
I straightened up and tried to drink more water to cool my burning face, but the fork I’d just set down fell again.
“What’s happening…?”
It wasn’t just the fork.
Everything in the cabinet tumbled out, dishes and glasses fell and shattered all around.
“Rosia!”
Biedler immediately rushed over to shield and embrace me.
“The floor is covered with glass shards. You’ll get hurt if you step wrong.”
“You know who I am.”
I pushed him away slightly and immediately began assessing where it was safe to step.
“Let’s leave here. I’ll go first, and you follow where I step.”
“…All right.”
We quickly escaped the devastated shop and stepped into the yard, only to find a far greater problem waiting.
Not just the shop—the entire mountain rumbled and trembled. Trees were uprooted in the distance.
Biedler and I exchanged bewildered glances as we looked around.
“Is it a landslide?”
“If it were just that, we’d be lucky…”
The ground beneath our feet shook too threateningly for it to be merely a landslide.
A deafening roar reached my ears, and I squinted as flames burst into view in the distance.
“That fire… it’s toward the Village.”

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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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