Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 24

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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 successor of the Dark Guild
24
“It feels like the fatigue’s lifting? No, it’s not just a feeling—it’s actually happening.”
“……Is this a Magical Beverage? Not a Potion?”
His stamina surged back in an instant, the exhaustion vanishing completely. It had the effect of a high-grade Potion, easily outclassing the standard fare.
The faces of everyone worn down by fatigue brightened. As vitality returned, smiles bloomed at the corners of their mouths.
“Did the proprietor enchant this with Recovery Magic? Surely not—could the owner be a Mage?”
“That’s impossible. Mages are far too rare. A Mage managed by the Mage Tower wouldn’t be serving Magical Beverages in a place like this.”
“Then how do you explain this?”
The knights found the situation utterly unbelievable.
“Anyway, it’s no accident we ended up here. Now I understand.”
“Is the plan to push us to our limits, have us drink this, recover, and then repeat the whole cycle?”
Everyone folded their arms against the dreadful premonition.
Even so, whenever several of them caught glimpses of Rosia through the window, they stole glances and their ears flushed red.
Among them, the brave Eden headed toward the window, declaring he’d go check things out.
“I need another cup.”
“You too? Me as well!”
“Wait. Let me go first.”
But before he’d taken more than a few steps, Seniel caught him mid-stride.
“Where are you going?”
“Elder, can I take this? I’m interested in the proprietor.”
“Are you insane?”
Seniel smacked Eden’s back and spun him around, pushing him in the opposite direction.
“Eden, cut it out. That proprietor is Seniel’s sister.”
Eden’s jaw dropped at Orbis’s words.
“……? Her?”
“That’s right. Her.”
Eden, dazed, shuffled backward and returned to where he’d started.
The knights were beginning to warm up their bodies, performing all manner of peculiar exercises—push-ups with only one arm on the ground, and other strange routines.
When they saw Eden return so suddenly, they laughed mockingly.
“Got rejected?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
Eden pressed down hard on Henry’s shoulder as he started to rise with a taunt.
“Seniel’s sister, apparently.”
“Who?”
“The proprietor.”
That alone was enough to make everyone light up. Now they understood—both the extraordinary beauty and why they’d been brought to train out here.
“So the training that suddenly appeared, and our reason for rushing all the way out here…”
“It was all so we could come to this café and drink Magical Beverages.”
They all stared at Seniel’s grinning face with eyes full of complex, deflated emotions.
Of course, contrary to their assumptions, it was Bidler who had orchestrated the training.
But the fact that the Alein Mountain Range had been chosen for this reason remained the same.
As they continued talking about Rosia, Bidler suddenly emerged and addressed them in a chilling tone.
“Have you not trained enough? I hear unnecessary chatter.”
“No, sir!”
“We’re satisfied!”
The knights bolted upright in unison and waved their hands frantically.
“If you’ve finished eating, get up.”
“There’s still a bit left.”
“Is that so? I’ll drink what remains.”
Afraid his Magical Beverage would be taken from him, Henry set his jaw with determination and drained the last of what he’d been savoring.
“I’ve finished it all. I’ll return the cup myself!”
Then Bidler stretched out an arm to block him, saying:
“No. I’ll move the empty cups.”
“Pardon?”
“You all wait behind that tree. Leave at once.”
The knights’ faces darkened—they’d been hoping to catch another glimpse of Rosia under the pretense of returning the cups—but none of them dared voice a complaint to Bidler directly.
As the knights ran toward the tree in obedience to his command, Bidler tilted his head and muttered to himself.
“This mood is strange. Unpleasant.”
Until he’d received the special Magical Beverage from Rosia, he’d felt content, but now his spirits had abruptly soured.
Bidler, who typically experienced no emotional fluctuation, found this wavering state deeply unfamiliar.
“Special.”
Then, recalling the Magical Beverage Rosia had made only for him, a faint smile crossed his lips.
***
I leaned against the window and began observing the Black Eagle Knights in earnest.
With only elite soldiers gathered, every detail proved valuable. I took care to miss not a single one of them.
They appeared to range from their late teens to their twenties—all of them young.
With their upper bodies bare, their muscles were lean and well-defined.
To gauge their skill level, I narrowed my eyes and studied them intently.
But suddenly, Bidler, who’d stepped away earlier, walked toward the window. He collected the cups and blocked my view.
“What are you staring at so intently?”
Worried I might look suspicious, I laughed awkwardly.
“They all seem quite fit.”
“Fit, you say? Ridiculous.”
Bidler’s face hardened abruptly, and he immediately shouted for everyone to put their clothes back on.
‘What is his problem?’
I felt irritation spike as I watched the knights quickly cover their bare skin.
I hadn’t gathered nearly enough information yet. He was utterly useless.
“Why do you look at me like that? Did you want to see more of their bare bodies?”
“That’s not… yes.”
Bidler had annoyed me, but I answered readily, thinking perhaps he’d be willing to let me see more if I admitted it.
However, the moment he heard my answer, he let out a scoff of contempt and abruptly turned his head away.
Just as I was about to tell him to move aside, Seniel and Orbis emerged from finishing their cleanup, carrying all the remaining cups.
“Sister, it was a complete success!”
“I have to say, I’ve never tasted a Magical Beverage as generous as this. Sorry for doubting it earlier.”
Even Orbis, who’d hesitated until the very end about consuming what I’d made, was profuse with praise.
It was just a Magical Beverage—hardly worthy of such gratitude—and I smiled at the thought, when I felt a sharp gaze from beside me.
It wasn’t just me who noticed; Seniel and Orbis both simultaneously followed the piercing stare and looked to the side.
Bidler wordlessly pointed to the knights running behind the tree. The clear intent for Seniel and Orbis to join them immediately was unmistakable.
“Sister, watch out for that cleric. Don’t trust any man except me.”
Seniel’s whispered warning, meant for my ears alone as he departed, was the last thing either of them said before they vanished into the distance.
I waved goodbye to them, then turned my gaze sharply back to Bidler, who remained standing idly by the window.
“Aren’t you leaving, Your Highness?”
“I will. But… isn’t it dangerous for a woman to be alone here?”
“I have an Artifact and a Barrier.”
While one might reasonably think that way given the location, Bidler’s concern left me unmoved.
Despite my lukewarm response, Bidler still didn’t leave. I glanced at him as I placed the cups into the basin.
As I rinsed the cups diligently with water, Bidler suddenly leaned his head through the window.
“……?”
Startled, I looked up, and as he leaned toward me, our eyes met.
In the moment my gaze was caught by his strikingly crimson eyes, Bidler’s unusually long fingers grasped the sleeves of my garment.
Slowly, he rolled them up. After folding both sleeves, first left then right, all the way to my elbows, his expression showed satisfaction.
“So you don’t get them wet.”
His expression seemed to expect gratitude, but since I didn’t mind getting wet, I nodded curtly and uncomfortably.
“Come again.”
With that farewell, Bidler too departed to join the knights waiting for him.
“Why would you come again?”
Who invited you?
I murmured this while staring at my sleeves, still rolled up to my elbows.
Though brief, the touch of Bidler’s fingers as they brushed my wrist had been ice-cold. The sensation remained vividly fresh.
But the feeling was quickly washed away by the water, and with so many cups stacked beside me, there was little time to dwell on such things.
“I think I’d prefer it if only one or two customers came by each day.”
Between preparing ingredients and cleaning up afterward, the time required to sell just a few cups of Magical Beverage was far too long.
Since the café wasn’t meant to sustain my livelihood, I learned the lesson that to avoid excessive labor, I should refrain from expanding my customer base further.
That afternoon.
I brewed tea while gazing through the window at a sunset that blazed as if the sky itself were aflame.
As the fragrant aroma spread through the air, steam rose gently from the tea.
Stirring the tea once with a teaspoon so the leaves would steep better, I surveyed the shop.
“Perhaps I should add more tables.”
To preserve the shop’s atmosphere and shed the feeling of a residence, it seemed I would need to increase the number of tables, as others had pointed out.
While I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of many customers, it was still a shop after all, and I needed to maintain proper appearances.
“I’ll visit the village tomorrow.”
Having made my plans, I returned to sipping the perfectly steeped tea with satisfaction.
Just then, a rooster’s crow sounded loudly from outside.

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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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