Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 28

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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 run by the Dark Guild’s successor.
Chapter 28
“Phew. Finally done.”
I rolled my shoulders and stretched my arms overhead, working out the stiffness.
I hadn’t slept properly all night worrying about the intelligence agents, and my eyes felt gritty.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
Just as I was debating whether to catch a few more winks, Armstrong crowed.
“…Right. Time to work.”
Though I’d fed him at dawn, he was crowing again—so I headed to the coop to give Armstrong more feed.
I opened the coop door and reached for the eggs, but there were none today. This had never happened before.
“That’s strange. Is he unwell?”
I furrowed my brow.
Setting aside my disappointment, I filled his trough with grain and gently stroked the comb of the huddled rooster.
Next, I went to the front yard and changed the shop’s sign to “Open for Business.”
When I returned to the cabin, I stopped short and frowned.
The morning sun streaming through the windows made every speck of accumulated dust visible.
The floor, the walls, the grimy windows—and insects crawling slowly across everything.
“Peaceful as it is… living in the mountains takes so much work.”
After spending several days here, I’d come to understand: surviving in the mountains requires relentless diligence. Tasks pile up every single day.
I’d thought I’d escaped training and guild duties to live comfortably, but instead things were busier than ever.
Yard sweeping, weeding, pest control, floor scrubbing, feeding the chickens, gathering supplies, preparing food, washing cups, cleaning windows, laundry.
Every task recurs daily, and the more you think about it, the more work multiplies—it never shrinks.
“Why does this feel harder than training?”
Buried under endless housework, I was beginning to seriously question whether this was the right way to live.
A single day of neglect and spiders spin entire webs.
“Sigh.”
Still, after spending all afternoon cleaning, I felt proud looking at the now-gleaming, tidy shop.
I wiped the sweat beading on my forehead and collapsed onto the sofa, when I sensed a presence.
‘They’re here.’
They were moving with utmost stealth to avoid detection, but the familiar aura made my mouth twitch upward.
I pressed myself against the wall beside the window and waited for them to draw closer.
My mouth went dry; I moistened my lips. The moment the window began to slide open, I thrust my face forward.
“Ahhhhh!”
“See? I told you he’d know.”
The figure in Raven’s Uniform was pitch-black from head to toe, face obscured except for the eyes.
With fluid grace, they vaulted through the window in an instant.
The moment they saw me, the smaller one pulled off their mask, and a shock of red hair tumbled free.
“Rosia! Have you been well? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Sophia rushed toward me and flung her arms around me, launching into a barrage of fussing. I steadied her and held her close.
Reilley slowly removed his mask and made a leisurely circuit of the shop.
“So this is it. Where you grew up. It’s better than I imagined.”
“Come, sit.”
I guided Sophia, who clung to me stubbornly, to a chair, and called Reilley over from where he was examining every corner.
“Are you eating properly?”
“Yes. I’m eating very well.”
“Liar. You can’t cook. I was worried you’d be out here stripping leaves all day. Worse, what if you ate a poisonous mushroom without knowing and…”
“Hmm.”
If not for Kayden, I certainly would have. Just look at how I used poisonous mushrooms to catch those intelligence agents.
I covered Sophia’s mouth as she started up again and turned to Reilley.
“How did you both get away? Can the Guild Master really leave his post at a time like this?”
Though I was happy to see them, I was worried that the core operatives of Raven would abandon their posts so soon after Reilley took over as Guild Master.
“There was a job nearby. I’ll leave immediately after.”
“A job, my foot. I was going to come alone, but the Master insisted—insisted on tagging along. He wanted to see you so… mmph!”
Watching Sophia and Reilley bicker as they always did, even as they aged, made my mouth rise in a smile.
I studied Reilley across the brief span of time, noting how much more composed he’d become.
“I suppose I should call you Master now.”
“Please don’t. You’re the only one who gets to call me by my name.”
I patted Reilley’s back at his protest and set the mood.
“We don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to it. We captured a member of Seiling yesterday. I had to hand them over to my brother, so no interrogation yet.”
“Before we came at your note, we did some quick digging. When Seundel fell, Seiling’s traces vanished too. They’d completely scattered, but it looks like they’ve regrouped recently.”
“To what end?”
“That’s what we need to find out. If they’re truly involved in a war… this could become very serious.”
“Between Aide’s troubles and now talk of war, which countries even have the capacity for it?”
Sophia, the sharpest mind among us, pulled out a notepad and scribbled furiously, then tapped her cheek with the pen as she spoke.
“I think Seundel’s involvement is possible. They could have been lying low in the shadows, gathering strength all this time.”
“…I don’t think we should jump to conclusions. Let’s gather as much information as we can and discuss it again next time.”
We shifted the conversation to the next topic, a tense air hanging between us.
“What about Aide?”
“No signs of rebellion. No unusual movements. The Empress has been preparing the Crown Prince Appointment Ceremony for the First Prince recently, so most are predicting he’ll be the next Emperor.”
I nodded and explained what I’d observed of the Black Eagle Knights’ forces. I was almost certain they represented Aide’s military strength.
Sophia wrote down every detail in her notebook without missing a word.
“Oh, Aide is still trying to make contact with us. They want to meet you.”
“What are they saying?”
“They claim they know how to break the Seal on the Great Sword Map.”
“That Seal that supposedly can never be broken?”
“Yes. We’ve tried every method we know, but we couldn’t.”
Ever since obtaining the Great Sword Map, we’d been attempting to break the Seal, but all efforts had been fruitless.
Frustrated, I reached for the drink in front of me, but Sophia snatched it away and chugged it.
“What is this? Why is it so delicious?”
“It’s just a drink, but… it really is tasty. Did you make it?”
Reilley, still suspicious, drank some and suddenly looked shocked, turning back to me.
“Rosia, what did you make this from? The flavor profile seems unusual.”
Sophia, whose palate was particularly refined, tasted it again and tilted her head uncertainly.
“I learned some top-tier information.”
Kayden had told me to keep it to myself, but sorry, Kayden.
“There’s a temple nearby.”
“A temple? In these mountains?”
“Yes. The reason is… a Sacred Area. This region is actually a Sacred Area. A hidden one that the temples haven’t revealed.”
Sophia spit out her drink.
Reilley froze, staring at me blankly. The revelation was that shocking.
“Is it true?”
“Yes. That’s why a drink made from the water here works like a potion—fatigue melts away, the mind clears, things like that.”
“…A priest told you this directly? Isn’t that grounds for excommunication?”
I shrugged. He’d told me to keep it quiet, but given how readily he’d shared it, there was probably no binding contract against disclosure.
“How is it that after leaving the guild, you keep uncovering these impossibly rare secrets?”
“I’m wondering that myself.”
The information kept coming in rapid succession, each piece more astounding than the last. I didn’t even know where to begin.
“Come on, let’s stop talking business for now. Look at this. I brought you a gift.”
Sophia made a dramatic gesture as she offered me a beautifully wrapped box with a ribbon.
“I don’t want it.”
“You need to stop rejecting everything outright.”
Since guild regulations had prevented us from exchanging gifts, and Sophia wouldn’t normally give presents like this, I regarded it suspiciously before untying the ribbon.
I opened the box and froze. Inside lay the sword I’d left behind. My heart raced at the sight of it after so long.
“You left it behind.”
I traced the blade’s grip, where “Prince” was engraved in small letters. I’d spent my entire childhood in pursuit of this.
“You’re still our Prince, Rosia. You’ll take command of the branch, won’t you?”
Unlike Sophia, who pressed with childlike insistence, Reilley draped a gentle hand across my shoulder from behind.
I stared at the blade for a moment, then slowly nodded. I reached into the box and drew out the sword.
The familiar grip settled perfectly in my palm. The sensation, felt after so long, made my fingertips tremble slightly.
“Only until Reilley’s guild is firmly established.”
“Yes! I knew you’d say that.”
I couldn’t leave things easy for myself while Reilley takes on the guild. That’s all there is to it.
“Rosia, wherever you are, we are your home. Don’t forget that.”
Reilley’s grave voice resonated in my ears.
Without a word, I felt Sophia’s hand and then Reilley’s warmth enveloping mine.
I’d told myself over and over that I’d only joined Raven out of necessity because of the old woman, that it meant nothing to me.
So why were tears threatening to spill at their sincerity?
Then I sensed movement. Sophia and Reilley felt it too—they pulled their hands away and darted to the wall, asking quietly,
“Is someone coming?”
“The priest I mentioned.”
It was time for Kayden’s evening visit.

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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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