Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 5

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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.
Chapter 5
“I’m itching to test myself against them too. But they don’t leave a trace, so there’s no way to find them.”
Seniel and Orbis couldn’t hide their competitive spirit about Prince.
“So the map came up in trade talks?”
“Not yet. It doesn’t look like they’ve made contact with anyone. Raven’s been active lately, but they’ve gone quiet recently, so we’re keeping an eye on it for now.”
“Let me know if you hear anything else.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Since my sister’s here, I’m going to take a break.”
“In this situation?”
Orbis tilted his head and pulled out a letter that had been underneath some documents.
“Your Highness won’t allow it.”
The letter contained Prince Bittler’s handwritten note saying that once training ended, he was to come directly to him.
Seniel frowned and let out a groan.
“I want to spend time with my sister while she’s here. Even if he tells me not to, I’m taking a break.”
“Then I’ll take a break too.”
“…Why you as well?”
“When I think about it, I haven’t properly rested since joining the Knight Order. I figure I’ll take some time off too.”
Seniel shot Orbis a disapproving look, but Orbis, already excited, pulled out parchment and happily began writing out a vacation request.
***
I’d thought the bedding was unusually comfortable, and I’d actually slept deeply without waking in the middle—a rarity.
“It’s been forever since I woke up at a normal hour.”
I grabbed the scattered blankets and tidied the bed neatly before heading out.
It was late morning, well after sunrise—something I couldn’t have imagined during my time at the Guild.
When I came downstairs, I spotted Orbis eagerly cleaning with a feather duster in hand.
I stopped short, startled to see someone as large as Orbis wearing a delicate lace apron.
‘Compose yourself.’
I’d been through enough that I usually accept most things without flinching, but Orbis in that getup would take some adjustment.
“Sister! Was the bed uncomfortable?”
Seeing Orbis wave at me jolted me back into motion.
“I slept well thanks to the bedding.”
“The bedding here is wonderful, isn’t it? They say it was made by an artisan employed exclusively by the royal family, and you can really tell the difference.”
Orbis rattled on cheerfully, volunteering information I hadn’t asked for.
“Oh, Seniel left early this morning to go home.”
“You’re not going?”
“I’m on vacation.”
I tilted my head, puzzled by how animated Orbis seemed about being on leave.
If he was on vacation, why was he so enthusiastically cleaning the house like this?
I didn’t understand it, but I didn’t press the matter.
Orbis followed me around with the duster, almost as if he were trying to drop hints.
“If my staying here is at all inconvenient, just tell me anytime. I’ll leave. Seniel’s being obstinate.”
“Come on, sister. I’m staying here myself on borrowed time. There’s someone else who actually owns this place.”
“Who?”
The friend who supposedly owned the house wasn’t Orbis?
I stared at Orbis with a questioning look.
Orbis seemed flustered, as if he shouldn’t have said anything, and scratched the back of his head.
“I’ll introduce you when they arrive. They should be here soon.”
“…All right.”
I wondered if the house’s owner even knew I was staying here.
I was beginning to doubt whether Seniel had gotten proper permission.
Feeling uneasy but deciding to move forward, I asked Pendelik to get me the Continental Map.
With the map in hand, I went outside and made a quick circuit of the grounds, identifying good hiding spots and escape routes just in case.
“This should be enough.”
But then I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck. Someone far away was watching me intently.
“Who is it?”
It didn’t feel dangerous, but the persistent gaze was unsettling.
There shouldn’t be anyone here watching me. I tensed, wondering if someone had figured out who I really was.
To identify the watcher, I pretended not to notice and walked casually, then suddenly turned my head toward where I felt the gaze.
There I caught sight of a pair of yellow eyes glinting dangerously.
“Orbis!”
I briefly considered apprehending him directly, but decided there was no advantage in revealing my abilities here, so I called out instead.
Orbis came running in an instant, and the flat of his drawn sword flashed in the sunlight.
“Sister, what’s wrong?”
His eyes blazed with killing intent despite the lace apron still tied around him.
“Someone’s over there.”
“I’ll check it out.”
Orbis moved so fast that my eyes could barely follow him as he disappeared into the distance.
“Seems capable. Impressive.”
There weren’t many people in the Guild as fast and agile as that.
Though I hadn’t sparred with him directly, Orbis seemed like he’d rank among the upper tier even compared to other Guild members.
While I studied his movements, Orbis returned after checking the surroundings.
The fierce expression on his face had shifted back to an innocent one.
“I know who it was. It’s Butler Grandfather’s Granddaughter. She must have snuck in from outside the fence.”
“Why?”
“She’s a fan of Seniel’s.”
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar word ‘fan.’
“What does that mean?”
“It means liking someone in a broader sense than romantic interest. Seniel’s quite popular, so he has a lot of fans.”
Every report I’d seen about Seniel mentioned that he was popular.
But to have even a little child take a liking to him?
“I’ll be inside, so call me if anything happens, just like before.”
“All right.”
I stood there looking dumbfounded for a moment, then shook my head and unfolded the map.
***
Two days passed.
It was an unremarkable, perfectly peaceful daily routine.
Having grown somewhat accustomed to the Villa, I settled under the sycamore tree in the Garden and unfolded the map once more.
On the map were several spots I’d marked with circles.
“I’ve marked everywhere I could guess at. But just looking at it like this, I can’t tell. I suppose I’ll have to visit them in person.”
What I was searching for on the map was the location of the shop where I’d spent time with my parents as a child.
Just then, a single leaf drifted down onto the map.
I picked it up and gazed at it quietly, when I felt a gaze again.
This time, it wasn’t a distant observation—it was the sound of footsteps creeping closer to my shaded spot.
‘Pretending not to notice is annoyingly difficult.’
Afraid of being too quick to catch on and seeming suspicious, I feigned ignorance and began doodling with a pen, when the other person threw something at me.
“What affiliation are you—”
—they shouted as something flew toward me, which I caught in one motion.
Turning to look at my assailant, I found a small child with freckles and braids on both sides of her head, her mouth wide open.
“Y-you caught it? How?”
Recognizing her as Butler Grandfather’s Granddaughter from Orbis’s description, I felt my energy drain.
Relieved it wasn’t an actual attack, I gave the mischievous child a sharp look.
“What have you been doing since yesterday?”
“What about you? Back off from our Seniel! Seniel can’t belong to just one person. There’s the Empire Alliance, you know. Showing up out of nowhere and stealing him is betrayal!”
What alliance was she talking about, and what had she misunderstood about me?
As I pondered how to deal with this absurd child, I checked what she’d thrown—it was an egg.
“A boiled egg?”
I was baffled, but since I was getting hungry anyway, I thoughtlessly began peeling the shell.
The moment I bit into the perfectly formed yolk—
“…Why is this so good?”
It was softer and more tender than any egg I’d ever eaten. The texture was like pudding yet firm at the same time—what was this?
“Come here.”
I beckoned the child over with a curious gesture.
“Did you boil this yourself?”
“Hmph! It’s good, isn’t it? I raise native chickens really carefully. I don’t feed them just anything.”
Now that I’d complimented it, the child’s cheeks flushed with pride, as if she’d forgotten she’d thrown it at me moments before.
“The taste is admitted. But you’re getting on my nerves, so run along and play, kid.”
“I’m not a kid! I’m only ten years younger than Seniel!”
The child spread all ten fingers wide to show me.
If Seniel was eighteen, that made her eight years old. She was definitely a kid.
“Fine. Whether you’re ten years younger or five, one more annoying stunt and I’ll hang you from that tree.”
I made the threat deliberately in a colder, harsher tone. I can’t stand children who run amok without understanding boundaries.
I thought that would settle it, but the child lingered, hovering uncertainly around me.
Growing irritated by her reluctance to leave, I sighed with exasperation and looked at her.
“What? Do you have more business?”
The child fidgeted with her hands and offered me another boiled egg.
“I’m s-sorry for throwing it. That one’s my absolute favorite, so I thought you wouldn’t mind. I’ll give you this one too, just don’t tell Grandfather, okay?”
“…I’ll take it.”
Food, especially delicious food, isn’t something to refuse.
As I peeled the shell of the boiled egg the child had given me, I found the absurdity of the situation rather amusing.
During missions, I sometimes end up eating poisoned food.
I’ve trained for it, but as a rule, I’m suspicious of food from others and rarely accept it.
Yet here I was, contentedly eating an egg from a child I’d just met.
“It’s good, right?”
“Yeah.”
At my honest answer, the child’s face brightened.
Her already prominent cheeks puffed out even further.
The sudden urge to poke them came over me, and I reached out.
Soft.
The tender, squishy sensation was quite pleasant to the touch.
As I went to poke again, the child stared at me and asked,
“What are you doing?”

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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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