Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 148

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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 Heir to the Dark Guild.
148
I confirmed his breathing had stabilized and exhaled with relief, sinking down beside him.
Grandfather placed a hand on my shoulder as he watched Arno.
“Child, this is not your fault.”
……
“Who could have foreseen such a thing? Even if we had known, it would have been difficult to prevent.”
“Perhaps we couldn’t prevent it, but we might have reduced the casualties. If only we’d arrived sooner then.”
I had brought the knights to the Village and helped them construct the warehouse.
I couldn’t shake the thought that this had greatly multiplied the victims of what transpired.
Particularly, regret flooded over me for passing by those imprisoned in the basement, knowing they were there.
Why had so many people needed to die?
For what purpose?
Amid those thoughts, my eyes snapped open.
“Grandfather, you went to investigate Juliano, didn’t you? Did you discover anything?”
“Ah, that man. His heart was black as pitch.”
I waited expectantly for Grandfather’s next words, perplexed.
“He’s been pretending to live in seclusion, but actually he’s been running some organization. He looked like a heretical cult leader.”
“You mean Juliano himself?”
Biedler, who had been gazing beyond the Barrier, turned to us in surprise.
“Deep within the Strophane lands lies a Cave. People gather there daily, doing something or other. Nothing shows on the surface, but they’re scheming in secret.”
“You went inside the Cave?”
Grandfather swept his hair back irritably and tied it up roughly, shaking his head.
“Dark Magic was laid as a ward. Only those who’ve offered blood can pass through. Breaking it would be troublesome, and the moment I did, I feared they’d destroy the evidence, so I left it alone.”
“Dark Magic again?”
“It follows the same principle as the Barrier placed over this Village.”
Suspicion flickered across all three of our faces.
“Given that he’s had his eye on this Village all this time and brought Arno and soldiers here, it might well be Juliano’s doing.”
“If that were the case, wouldn’t he have evacuated the soldiers before the incident occurred?”
That was indeed strange.
“They might have been knights he intended to discard from the start, or perhaps he simply couldn’t extract them in time.”
Since everything was mere speculation, there seemed no choice but to confirm it directly with Juliano himself.
“I picked it up from among the debris scattered throughout the Village. It’s the same as the Artifact that set fire to our Café. If we find the person who created this, they’re certain to be connected to Strophane.”
“May I take it for investigation?”
I nodded and handed Biedler the shell of the Artifact I’d found in the Village.
Grandfather murmured darkly as he gazed back at the Village, still wreathed in flames.
“Magical Vines that drain life force, a Barrier… If they’re using the life force gathered this way for dangerous Blood Ritual Magic….”
“Blood Ritual Magic? There’s Magic that uses human life?”
“There is. Usually such Arts violate natural order and should never be performed.”
My throat went cold at Grandfather’s words.
Just then, Biedler suddenly tore open his shirt and knelt on one knee before me, bowing his body.
“Why… Ah.”
My eyes widened in surprise, then I swallowed hard as I grasped his intention.
Throughout our conversation, I’d been clenching my fists; my nails had dug into my palms and blood was flowing.
“I didn’t notice.”
Biedler wrapped my hand in cloth, layer by layer, and let out a sigh.
“I understand the shock, but pay closest attention to your own pain. Don’t hurt yourself.”
Biedler gripped my hand as it was wrapped in cloth. The warmth transmitted through his palm softened my trembling heart somewhat.
Hrmph!
Grandfather let out a loud, deliberate cough while glaring, but Biedler remained steadfast.
Then Arno coughed up blood.
We all gathered simultaneously around Arno’s face.
Arno, gaunt-faced, fluttered his eyelids and opened his eyes weakly.
“Arno!”
“Sister… I knew… you’d come….”
He tried to smile seeing me, but his strength failed and his lips drooped.
I gently placed my hand on Arno’s cheek, transmitting warmth, and asked.
“What happened?”
“Suddenly, explosions sounded from all over the Village. I went to look, and already everywhere was an inferno.”
“Did you see who did it?”
“I saw the knights running about, throwing something. But… they died first.”
“What?”
“Strange Magical Vines burst from the ground and pierced people without mercy. There was no time to escape—everyone was pierced, and….”
Arno trembled as he recalled the horrific scene, tears streaming down his face.
“It was all planned. For days, the knights were controlling the Village people, and they guarded the entrance so no one could leave.”
“For what reason?”
“It made no sense. They even checked the roster of Village people I’d given before, and… I wanted to alert you, but I couldn’t leave the Village.”
As Arno sobbed, struggling for breath, I tried to calm him while exchanging wary looks with Biedler.
“The Village Chief allowed that?”
“He was drunk. And there was no one trying to leave anyway. After the money was distributed, they all threw themselves into revelry and wouldn’t work.”
Arno wept with guilt.
“I’m the one who helped them. I thought it strange, but I should have found some way to leave and told you…… Sob.”
His fingers moved, barely grasping the hem of my robe.
“Sister. If I die… my younger siblings at the orphanage… please….”
Arno lost consciousness again. As I wiped the blood from his lips, I examined him, and the life force I felt was far too weak.
“Send this boy to the Mage Tower. He’s the only survivor. We need to keep him alive and find out what happened to him.”
“The Mage Tower would be safe. That would be best.”
Grandfather said he would deliver Arno and opened a portal using a Teleportation Magic Stone.
Before he left, I took the Light Source he handed me and lit the dark path as Biedler and I continued climbing the mountain.
“The path has changed.”
“I felt it too. This isn’t the way we usually go.”
Sensing something alien about our usual route to the Café, we decided to turn back and find another path instead.
Pushing through the undergrowth, forging our own way, I spoke to Biedler.
“Those Magical Vines in the Village—they belong to ‘that’ being.”
“Who?”
“The entity sealed beneath the mountain.”
Realizing what I meant, Biedler flinched and narrowed his eyes.
“The stolen Sacred Relics and the Vines too. It must be related to the Demon Realm. Though why the Strophane Clan is involved remains a mystery.”
“It’s time the Imperial Palace stepped in. We should report this forcefully so they deploy their military forces.”
As we climbed the mountain, the hazy smoke around us grew denser, becoming visible to the eye.
I drew my sword and grasped it, offering counsel to Biedler as well.
“I sense Demonic Energy. We don’t know when a Demonic Beast might appear and attack, so it would be wise to draw your blade.”
“Is this unpleasant, sticky smoke the Demonic Energy?”
Biedler also drew his sword and advanced slowly, keeping alert to his surroundings.
Given our position, we seemed closer to the Temple than the Café, and that’s likely why the Demonic Energy was so dense.
“Has something happened to the Barrier again?”
I thought I should meet Cayden, and was looking about when—
“Ugh. They really did come out.”
Two Demonic Beasts suddenly burst forth before us.
One resembled a person wielding an axe, while the other had a bovine form with horns and reeked of a foul stench.
Biedler and I, already armed and ready, each took on one and disposed of it.
“This is my first time actually seeing a Demonic Beast. How are they wandering the mountain?”
“I’ve seen them several times.”
Separate from his surprise, Biedler’s Sword Technique was flawless and precise.
Watching how cleanly he’d cut down the Demonic Beast, I felt his technique was far superior to mine.
“Could there be more?”
“Possibly.”
Before the words had even finished, something came rushing toward us from the forest at tremendous speed.
The Demonic Beast that soon revealed itself was far stronger than those before. It even had wings on its back.
It bared enormous fangs and drooled as it charged toward us.
“Ghastly creature. Rosia, can you circle around while I engage it head-on? Those wings look like the weak point.”
“Yes.”
I braced myself and was about to charge the Demonic Beast when—
Suddenly the creature shrieked and beat its wings, then turned away from us and began attacking someone else instead.
But it didn’t last long before its body was split in two and it collapsed.
At the same moment, Cayden appeared and rushed toward me in one breath, embracing me.
“Rosia!”
His violet eyes, which swept rapidly to the side, brimmed with moisture.
“I was so worried. I thought I wouldn’t be able to meet you like this—I was beside myself with anxiety.”
Biedler, looking displeased beside us, pried away Cayden’s arms from around me.
“Perhaps we should have this conversation at a distance?”
“Oh, I greet Your Highness. I was so focused on Rosia, I didn’t notice.”
“I’m this large, aren’t I? You didn’t see me?”
Muttering in bewilderment, Cayden paid no attention and carefully checked me for any injuries.
“How did you escape from the Café?”
“Why the Café?”
“Ah….”
Cayden, flustered to realize I didn’t know, began to explain.
“The Café is completely enveloped by Magical Vines. There’s not even a small gap. And from the Temple to your Café, everything above has transformed into an Intermediate Zone.”
Cayden began to recount what had happened at the Temple until just now.
It seemed to have taken place shortly after we felt the mountain shake and left 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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