Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 32

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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 cafe run by the heir to the Dark Guild.
32
Both Kayden and I turned toward the sound, only to find a cat with a mysterious coat color staring at us.
The cat that had emerged from the forest leaped onto the woodpile with a bound, then settled itself in an elegant pose, showing off its long fur.
A large body for a cat, soft and flowing fur. Eyes that gleamed like precious gems. Natural, languid movements.
“Is that actually a cat?”
“…It’s like a spirit of the mountain.”
I found myself strongly agreeing with Kayden’s assessment. The cat carried about it the bearing of a forest’s master.
“Must have caught the scent of meat.”
Figuring that a forest cat appearing before people had surely come for food, I tore off a piece of meat and tossed it.
But the cat paid no attention to the meat whatsoever, padding softly toward me instead.
“That cat’s eyes remind me of Rosia’s.”
“Mine?”
“Yes. The eyes.”
I wondered if that was true, and found myself gazing steadily at the cat, which looked only at me and showed no interest in the food.
The pale sapphire-blue eyes seemed more like Seniel’s, but they were certainly similar to mine.
“It seems to like that spot. Let’s just leave it.”
“Yeah. Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anyway.”
Left to its own devices, the cat settled in as naturally as if it had been with us from the start.
Its face moved back and forth — warming by the fire, looking at me — in an oddly endearing rhythm.
As I tore into the perfectly roasted meat, Kayden leaned over and whispered in a low voice.
“Rosia, I really can’t help myself. How about just one drink?”
“We don’t have any alcohol. How would we?”
“Well, actually I did bring some Seongjoo along.”
No wonder his chest had bulged out earlier.
He’d been hiding it the whole time we’d been talking about alcohol — I shot him a reproachful glance.
“Were you saving it for yourself?”
Faced with my look of disdain, Kayden protested that it wasn’t like that and pulled a bottle of Seongjoo from his chest, pressing it into my hands.
“It’s just that it’s Seongjoo, you see.”
My eyes lit up. I poured the Seongjoo into a cup and shared it pleasantly with Kayden.
“Ugh, it’s stronger than I expected.”
I’d thought a liquor made with Holy Water mixed in would taste clean and smooth, but it was the opposite. Instead, it burned down my throat with an intensity that was almost unbearable.
“Only at first. Once you’re accustomed to Seongjoo, other drinks taste insipid. It’s rare enough and expensive enough that nobles would line up just to try it once.”
“I know.”
I’d been contracted to steal Seongjoo before, but had never actually tasted it myself.
Thinking that Aunt would want to try it too, I let some spill onto the ground.
“Are you… drunk already?”
Seeing Kayden’s troubled expression at spilling something so precious, I couldn’t help but smile.
“There’s someone I wanted to give a drink to.”
The alcohol soaked quickly into the ground. I stared at the spot in silence as Kayden spoke in a quieter voice.
“Did you like that person?”
At the question of whether I’d liked them, I immediately shook my head, but my lips opened slowly.
“I hated them. I hated them all along.”
“That’s not what it looks like.”
I held the bottle and stopped the finger I’d been tapping.
“Yeah. I don’t really know anymore either.”
After my parents died, I was forced to spend my childhood in the guild.
After I made a promise with Aunt to send Seniel away, I worked for the guild without rest for even a moment.
My past ten years have always been painful and difficult. Every moment I had to endure was never of my own will.
But that doesn’t mean every moment in Raven was unhappy. Rare as they were, there were certainly precious memories I don’t want to forget, precious people too.
That’s what confuses me.
I thought the driving force that whipped me forward and made me live as Raven was simply the hatred and rage I bore toward Aunt for making me live this way.
After Aunt died, for the first time, I dimly felt that might not have been all there was.
My feelings toward Raven and Aunt have such complicated layers that even I struggle to understand them.
“If you don’t know, think it through slowly. As long as you don’t turn away from it, there will come a day when you understand.”
Confused, I brought the bottle of Seongjoo to my lips and drank deeply.
“Rosia! That’s Seongjoo… No! Did you really drink it all?”
Having drained the last drop, I looked at Kayden with slightly glazed eyes.
“Does that bother you?”
“…How could it? Nothing is wasted when it’s for you, Rosia.”
Despite his words, he looked genuinely reluctant. Kayden turned his chair toward mine and turned the empty bottle over, shaking out every drop.
Just then, the steady crackling of the firewood ceased. The light that had filled our space dimmed rapidly.
“Should I add more wood?”
“No. Let’s clean up and call it a night.”
As I stood to leave, feeling the first hints of intoxication, I stumbled. Kayden sprang up and caught me.
“Are you drunk?”
“Not at all.”
“If you are, I’ll carry you. You might fall and hurt yourself.”
“…I’ll walk on my own feet.”
I refused firmly and turned toward the cabin, but the cat, which had been watching us all along, rose and followed at my heels.
“It follows you so well. Why not keep it at the cafe?”
I opened my eyes wide and glanced back at the cat padding after me.
“Absolutely not. I hate animals.”
I’ve already got enough trouble feeding Armstrong as it is. At least Armstrong produces eggs. A cat would be useless.
“Then what about the Temple…?”
Kayden tried to grab the cat, thinking it cute, but the cat dodged nimbly and hissed at him.
Then it leaped directly into my arms. Without thinking, I caught it — and it cried “Meow,” as if asking for help.
“Looks like you don’t like him.”
“That’s strange. Usually animals follow me quite readily.”
I was startled by the cat’s solid weight and gently pressed its plump cheeks.
“This thing is really heavy. Fat, even.”
“Meow!”
The cat bit my finger, but it didn’t hurt at all. If anything, it tickled.
Since the cat nestled docilely in my arms, I brought it inside as is.
The mountain dawn is cold. Let it sleep warm in my room. Just for tonight.
“Sleep well, Rosia.”
“You too.”
After exchanging goodbyes with Kayden, I entered my room and closed the door. I blew out the candle on the nightstand, and it extinguished with a wisp of smoke.
The cat naturally found its place, curling into a ball. Then it looked at me with bright blue eyes.
“You sleep well too, little one.”
“Meow.”
As I lay down on the bed, the room spun. Thinking I was dizzy, I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, it was morning.
“Ugh… my head.”
I woke with a throbbing hangover and swept back the hair that had fallen over my face. My stomach churned, and my mouth was parched.
I’ve never been particularly good with alcohol. Since childhood, poison has been easier for me to metabolize than drink.
So during my years in the guild, I drank only very rarely. For someone like me to down a whole bottle of strong liquor meant my stomach was far from settled.
As I grimaced, trying to settle my nauseous insides, a pungent aroma drifted through the gap in the door.
“What is that?”
There’s no way something like that would be cooking in our house. I opened the door cautiously and saw a familiar silhouette.
“What are you doing?”
“Rosia, would you like to come see?”
Kayden, somehow having found an apron and dressed impeccably, smiled and held out a ladle.
It felt so natural that I couldn’t bring myself to object, and I stumbled toward him as if enchanted.
All the aroma I’d been smelling came from the pot Kayden was tending.
The moment the warm broth from the ladle ran down my throat and seeped into my chest, my eyes opened wide and genuine wonder spilled from my lips.
A taste that set my nerves on edge. I didn’t know how to describe it, so I bit my lip and stared blankly at Kayden.
“Is it alright?”
“It’s not alright. What did you put in this to make it taste like this?”
“I added bean sprouts. And a little pepper to make it spicy.”
“Bean sprouts? That’s barely used in cooking. I’ve never heard of it being put in broth before.”
“I only learned about it after a traveler I happened to meet taught me. Other ingredients don’t give the same taste. It has to be bean sprouts.”
“That’s remarkable.”
The feeling of my stomach settling after drinking, tasting this rich broth — it was incomparable to any delicacy I’d ever known.
I felt almost indignant that I’d lived so long without knowing this taste, so I committed the recipe to memory.
“Why didn’t anyone ever tell me you’re supposed to eat something like this after drinking?”
One bowl only made me thirsty for more.
As I looked at Kayden with pleading eyes, he laughed despite himself and guided me to the table by my shoulders.
“Sit. I’ll prepare a proper serving.”
I obediently sat where Kayden directed and waited for the food.
“You’ve never stayed until breakfast before. Why today?”
“Because you drank. I thought your stomach would be uncomfortable.”
You don’t need much to make it through the world.
If someone like this is beside you the morning after drinking……
“If you stare at me like that, I’ll get nervous.”
I came back to myself sharply. That won’t do.
I focused on eating, and before I knew it, the bowl was clean.
As my stomach settled, my belly filled, and my head cleared, I suddenly remembered the cat with the long, plump fur.
“Huh? Where did that cat go?”

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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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