Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 152

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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.
Episode 152
“What on earth is going on here?”
“Information moves slowly in this place. It’s frustrating.”
While Biedler shared information regularly, his position in the Imperial Knight Order meant he kept his distance, so he couldn’t know everything.
Biedler relayed to the two who seemed left out every detail of what had happened in the village and the additional information gathered over the past few days.
Seniel, whose expression had been grave the entire time, pressed forward with a question the moment Biedler finished.
“What about her? She wasn’t hurt, was she?”
“Fortunately not.”
Only then did he let out a relieved breath.
“Rosia went to Raven’s headquarters. She said she’d contact us when she arrives.”
“We won’t see her for a while, then.”
At the news that Rosia had returned to the guild, Seniel’s eyes darkened.
Biedler, noticing this, hesitated briefly before speaking.
“If you’re worried, you can go.”
“What?”
Both Seniel and Orbis lifted their heads in surprise, exchanging glances.
Biedler always tried to keep Seniel close. Especially in a situation like this, where there was so much to be done.
That he would speak of rest first, when he never even granted vacations—this was unexpected.
“You’d send me away in a situation like this? Are you serious?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Confronted with Seniel’s suspicious gaze, Biedler flustered and cleared his throat.
“Your Highness… surely not…?”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That you care for Rosia…”
“When did she become more important to you than me?”
At the two’s pointed questions, Biedler’s ears flushed crimson.
Biedler pushed back the two pressing close and averted his gaze.
“I don’t know what you mean. I simply said you could go if you wished. Your family would worry, after all.”
But this wasn’t the sort of reason—mere concern, a private matter—that Biedler would allow.
“Then answer this. Which matters more to you—me or her?”
“…….”
Unable to answer at once, Biedler’s heart was laid bare to Seniel, whose expression grew sullen as his eyes narrowed.
“I’m telling you plainly—even if you’re a prince, you can’t have her.”
“Seniel!”
“Wait, Your Highness—are your ears actually red right now?”
At Orbis’s words, Seniel spun around to peer at Biedler’s ears.
“They are. They really are. You were caught red-handed, weren’t you?”
Biedler instinctively raised both hands to cover his ears and took a step back.
“That’s disrespectful. Step away.”
Though he obeyed the command and stepped back, Seniel’s sullen expression remained unchanged.
“I can’t go to her. Even if I wanted to… I don’t know where she is. That’s why it was good when she was at the café.”
Seniel, recalling those early days when he had only ever waited for Rosia to arrive, wore a wistful expression.
“She told me she’d contact you first. Things are different now than when I had no choice but to keep it from you then.”
“Yes, I know.”
Only Rosia could draw such melancholy from Seniel, who was always so lively and bright.
For just a moment, Biedler caught himself thinking that if Seniel’s fans saw him like this, they might faint on the spot.
“I’m not a child waiting passively anymore. If she doesn’t come to me, I’ll go find her.”
Speaking with quiet conviction, Seniel asked in a determined voice.
“So what do we do?”
“How much longer do we have to stay with the Imperial Knight Order? I want to leave now.”
Biedler fell into thought, watching the two of them.
“It’ll be decided at today’s council, but I’m planning to volunteer for deployment to a regional territory. I’ll have you both assigned to me.”
“Yes! Finally! You promised!”
“My body’s been getting stiff all this time. If I stayed here much longer, I’d lose all my edge.”
The two, who were built for movement rather than rest, bounced on their feet with joy.
Seeing them suddenly full of energy, Biedler’s lips curled into a smile as well.
“I should head back. I’m the youngest, so there’s plenty of work waiting. It’s exhausting.”
“If you’re gone too long, they dump all the tasks on you by dawn. Petty bastards.”
As Biedler watched the two leave, he suddenly thought of Meyson.
“Aren’t you curious about Meyson?”
“No. My only concern is her.”
Seniel didn’t even turn his head at the mention of Meyson’s name, simply drifting further from Biedler.
“He’s worn paths in his visits here. He must be quite disappointed.”
How many times had he seen a cat that must have been Meyson prowling the Imperial Palace?
And so Orbis and Seniel bounded away in opposite directions, each heading back to his own post.
Left alone, Biedler touched his ears. So they were red after all—and they felt hot to the touch.
“If I’d just said Seniel first, I’d have avoided the suspicion. Why couldn’t I say it? It must have been obvious. Sigh. Hiding your feelings… is difficult.”
Muttering to himself, Biedler too departed to prepare for the council.
***
“This is it?”
After traveling through the night to find the location Raiely had indicated, I found an ordinary-looking inn.
I circled around and inspected it carefully, but it was just an inn—nothing remarkable at all.
The village wasn’t far from the territory where Seniel had been adopted in the past, so it was easy to find.
Since many travelers passed through, I was able to pass through a security checkpoint even at dawn.
They didn’t seem particularly wary of strangers, which made it the perfect location for the Dark Guild.
After finishing my inspection, I entered the inn. An elderly woman at the counter yawned while glancing at the clock.
“Alone, miss?”
“Yes.”
“Strange hour for a visit.”
The woman looked me over quickly from head to toe, but asked nothing further and promptly retrieved a key.
“How many days will you be staying?”
“A week.”
Uncertain of how things might unfold, I paid generously and took the key.
“Third floor. Our inn has excellent breakfast—don’t forget.”
For a moment, I wondered if that was a code, but having no way to know for certain, I simply nodded.
On the third floor, I opened the door to my room. Though worn, it was clean and well-kept. I sat on the bed, tilting my head.
‘Is this a disguise? But the innkeeper doesn’t give off that feeling at all.’
She was a stranger to me, and if she were in the same line of work, I’d sense something—but I felt nothing.
‘It’s unlikely Raiely gave me wrong information. Might as well sleep.’
Despite the confusion, since this was where Raiely had directed me, I decided they would come find me if I waited.
And so I closed my eyes briefly.
I jolted awake at the sound of footsteps and voices as people moved up and down the stairs.
“Is it morning?”
The clock showed past seven, yet it was dim. Even when I drew back the curtains and checked the sky, it was full of dark clouds.
With an unsettled heart, I looked at the sky, then drew the curtains shut again.
Wondering if what I’d heard last night might have been a code after all, I washed quickly to go have breakfast.
I covered my face roughly with a robe so as not to stand out, then made my way downstairs.
When I entered the dining room, there were four people besides the woman.
“Breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“Sit there.”
The woman deftly ladled beef stew from a large pot and set it in front of me.
‘Is this actually breakfast?’
Taken aback, but hungry after the night without food, I was drawn by the stew’s aroma. Instinctively, I picked up the spoon.
The stew was quite good, just as the woman had confidently promised. Yet it wasn’t as good as what Cayden used to make.
Memories of days at the café came flooding back, and my appetite vanished. I forced down another spoonful.
As I ate, I eavesdropped on the others’ conversation, which was entirely ordinary.
“Why is the weather so dark today?”
“Looks like rain’s coming.”
“My knees have been aching all night.”
“That’s just age, old man.”
“Bah, you youngster—is nothing sacred? Don’t you age too?”
“The fact that you’re getting defensive means you admit it. Here, have more. You’ve got to live long.”
“You cheeky thing!”
Hearing such mundane talk made anger flare up—it felt dreamlike compared to last night’s events.
‘That village was the same.’
Recalling the landscape of a village I would never see again, I set down my spoon.
If it had nothing to do with a code, there was no point continuing breakfast. I left money on the table and quickly slipped out of the inn.
I strolled through the village like a tourist. I visited shops, bought a few fruits, and acted like any other traveler.
And then I began to sense it—someone was watching me.
‘I’ve picked up a tail.’
The moment I realized it, I left the main shopping district and ducked into an alley.
Unfamiliar with the streets, I backtracked several times searching for a suitable spot before finding a dead-end alley.
“This will do.”
I stood with my back to the wall and pulled back my robe. A sword wasn’t practical here, so I drew out several throwing daggers and gripped them between my fingers.
Then I waited, and just as I expected, someone attacked me.
I leaped off the wall, hurling short daggers and came at them relentlessly.
But I recognized the familiar pattern and dodged all the daggers before diving in at my attacker.
I threw a throwing dagger; they dodged it well, but my last one caught them. Their mask tore, and their face was revealed.
“…Still the same, I see.”
“You’ve improved quite a bit.”
“Is that sarcasm? You dodge everything and then say that? That just makes me angrier.”
Obelia removed her torn mask, holding it in her hand as she glared at me.
“You came to fetch me. Let’s go.”
“…Follow me.”
Though Obelia made it plain she didn’t want to escort me, still her footsteps led toward headquarters.
We moved through the village like friends, naturally making our way to the outskirts.
I had naturally expected we’d be heading outside the village, but as we approached, I asked in confusion.
“Don’t tell me the headquarters is actually inside this 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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