Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 46

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

A cafe run by the successor to the Dark Guild.
Chapter 46
The cat with fairy-like silver fur swished its tail and rose as if it had been waiting for me, stretching luxuriously.
Kayden spotted the cat and stopped mid-sentence in surprise.
“Is that…the one?”
“Yes. There couldn’t be another cat that looks like that. Was it traveling between the village and the mountain? That’s quite far.”
I dismounted and approached the cat. It didn’t retreat, only looked at me and meowed loudly.
Even when I lifted it, the cat remained docile, so I quickly handed it to Kayden.
“Take it. Check on Mason sometimes too, will you?”
“Of course.”
But the moment Kayden took the cat, it was a different creature—its fur bristled, it thrashed wildly, and it yowled savagely.
“Yeeowww! Screech!”
Then it leaped from Kayden’s arms and disappeared into the forest in a blur.
“…It’s gone. Seems like it only likes Rosia.”
“That it does.”
Watching Kayden stand there wounded by the cat’s rejection, I felt an oddly satisfied shrug settle into my shoulders.
‘It’s not even my cat.’
I cleared my throat and headed into the village. Kayden followed, leading his horse behind me.
Fortunately, the carriage driver heading back to the Capital happened to be staying in the village, so I secured a carriage without difficulty.
“Come back quickly.”
“I know. Look after the place while I’m gone.”
Though Kayden’s expression as he watched the carriage depart tugged at something in me, I set out for the Capital anyway.
***
There was someone else watching Rosia depart besides Kayden.
It was Mason, who had vanished into the forest moments before—now returned to human form.
After Rosia left, he glared savagely at Kayden as he rode back toward the shrine.
“How dare that whelp lay hands on me?”
Mason irritably brushed at his ribs and back where Kayden’s hands had touched him, as if trying to scrub them clean.
Then he leaned against a tree with a serious expression. The documents Rosia had found in the room came flooding back.
His daughter Lily had entered the Orphanage after Aleina died, and from there she appeared to have been adopted by the Strophane Family.
“Lily, what did you have to endure?”
The shock that struck him now was as great as when he’d learned Lily was already dead.
“I’m so sorry I left you alone. Though I couldn’t protect you, I will—I absolutely will protect your children.”
The moment Mason saw Rosia on the Alein Mountain Range, he made that vow.
The rest of his life would be spent for this child. Of course, that included Rosia’s brother Seniel as well.
Reading the documents—the Strophane name, the words “adoption” and “renunciation”—he could piece together the shape of things.
Even though he’d spent decades focused only on magical training, his eyes and ears closed to the world, news of how things moved had still reached him. He was the Master of the Magic Tower, after all.
Six hundred years after the Seal War, the descendants of the Five Great Families who had produced heroes were born with extraordinary abilities.
As those children grew, married, and had children of their own, abilities began manifesting not just in the Five Great Families but sporadically in other households too, and the world began to change.
Of course, those of direct lineage with more concentrated hero’s blood displayed the most exceptional powers.
This led the Five Great Families to marry only among themselves to maintain their bloodlines.
And among them, the Strophane Family placed the greatest emphasis on pure blood.
It was a selfish decision, but through such efforts they remained the most powerful family.
Yet as time passed and the present day arrived, even the Strophane Family had grown rare in producing children with abilities.
Sensing crisis, he’d heard that the Five Great Families were secretly adopting children to maintain their power.
As Mason’s thoughts reached this point, his eyelids trembled and his blue eyes blazed fiercely.
‘Lily’s ability.’
Judging from Aleina’s letter and Mason’s own talent, Lily’s ability must have been quite exceptional.
Likely such a remarkable ability caught the Strophane Family’s eye, which is why they adopted her.
“Repugnant.”
To adopt her and then renounce her. Whatever the reason, thinking of what Lily must have suffered made rage rise up unbearably.
Flames ignited in Mason’s hand. He shot them skyward—flames so intensely hot they scorched the surrounding air—then thought of Rosia, now beyond his sight.
‘She shows signs of proper training.’
At first he’d been startled by the demon beast’s appearance, but Rosia’s response afterward had exceeded his expectations.
Mason, who’d naturally been about to step in, was shocked speechless by Rosia’s skill in dispatching a high-rank demon beast single-handedly.
Laughing like a fool, Mason caught himself laughing and quickly closed his mouth, pulling out a Transfer Magic Stone.
He’d already used a Forbidden Spell to confirm Rosia’s location through his own blood, so he reached for it casually, but then—
“Wait.”
He paused and looked around. The presence of demon beasts wandering the mountain nagged at him.
“I should check the perimeter first.”
Mason closed his eyes and extended his magic far and wide, searching for any threatening presence, including demon beasts, in the area.
But his magic detected nothing. The demon beast from before must have been an anomaly.
Though relieved, he approached the Barrier Stone positioned around the shop to prepare for any unexpected trouble.
“Tch. As if this low-grade stone can protect anything.”
He rummaged through his Artifact Pouch and found the highest-grade Magic Crystal he possessed.
A single high-purity Magic Crystal was costly enough to cover a noble family’s living expenses for two years, yet he didn’t spare it a second thought.
He even inscribed the Magic Crystal with protective spells—twofold, no, threefold—then embedded it as a new Barrier Stone.
It had always bothered him to entrust his safety to such a pitiful barrier, and now, with Rosia away, he felt relieved finally having replaced it.
“She can’t find out about this.”
Mason was careful to alter the appearance of the radiant Barrier Stone so it wouldn’t stand out.
Satisfied that it looked perfectly identical to before, he smiled and rummaged through his Artifact Pouch once more.
“Shall we be off?”
He pulled out the Transfer Magic Stone and opened a portal. The air tore open, revealing a blue passageway.
***
The entire carriage ride annoyed me with its sluggish pace, but I endured it, worried the wound on my shoulder would worsen.
“When I come back, I’m buying a horse for sure.”
Having to borrow a horse from Kayden every time I came down the mountain was inconvenient.
I’d considered bringing the horse I rode at the guild, but that would be as good as proof I was Prince, which I couldn’t allow.
While I was resolving to buy a new horse, the carriage stopped. We’d reached the checkpoint at the Capital’s entrance.
I paid the driver what I’d promised, climbed out of the carriage, and lined up to pass through the checkpoint.
Soon it was my turn; I showed my Identification Badge to the guards and answered their routine questions.
“What is the purpose of your visit?”
“Visiting relatives.”
Without incident, I entered the Capital and immediately sought out the Information Branch where William would be, wanting to save time.
“Good, it’s still there.”
I’d worried the location might have changed, but it was in the same spot—though it looked even more conspicuous now.
‘What on earth…?’
A full parrot statue had been erected in front of the tent that once had feathers, and it was twice the size.
“They say that place sees things well?”
“What can I say? You know that famous boutique beyond there, right? The owner got a divination reading here and caught her husband’s infidelity. That story got around, so now reservations are hard to come by.”
I watched the long queue of people in front of the tent and listened intently to the murmuring passersby.
‘Has the owner changed?’
On a whim, I approached the woman managing the queue. Though her face wasn’t familiar, I’d seen her among the trainees before.
“Do you have a reservation?”
I gestured to her as she asked with disinterest. She approached reluctantly, and I whispered into her ear.
“I’ve come to see the rainbow.”
“…?”
The trainee flinched for a moment, then looked at me again, her pupils dilating.
“P-P-Pri—!”
I covered her mouth with my palm and jerked my chin.
“I’m going in.”
“Y-Yes! Yes!”
When I lifted the curtain of the tent—which seemed to have been made of different fabric—I saw William spinning a Crystal Ball.
Heavy makeup still applied, long hair dyed, at first glance William looked like a woman.
I let out a quiet laugh and drew back the thin curtain that let light through.
“Business is getting better and better? Can you read my fortune too?”
“Oh! Sister, you shouldn’t just pull back the curtain like that—Huh? Prince?”
William’s irritated voice cut short as his posture snapped straight. He sprang to his feet and bowed deeply.
“Welcome, Your Highness!”
“Stop. Sit. My head hurts.”
I removed my hat and set it on William’s table. Then I touched the divination tools scattered about—the Crystal Ball, the Divination Cards, stones, and more.
William awkwardly settled back onto the sofa across from me. With me in front of him, he broke into a wide grin.
“There’s quite a buzz about this place. Does Sophia know you’re doing this?”
“Of course! I submit an activity report every day.”
I could almost picture Sophia’s delighted laughter at this.
“Is an Information Branch supposed to look like this? It draws attention.”
“Actually, that’s why we’re less suspicious. Not a single guild member has ever come looking for this branch. Instead, I’m exhausted every day.”
I’d thought a successful Disguise Shop was a bad thing, but it seems that wasn’t necessarily true.
‘Should I have promoted our shop more?’
Watching William’s thriving shop, which seemed more successful than necessary, an odd competitive spirit stirred in me.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————