Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 54

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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 café operated by the Dark Guild’s heir.
54
“Are you human?”
“Does that matter?”
The answer I wanted never came. Instead, the beautiful song I’d been hearing at the edge of my awareness grew louder and louder.
Young as I was, I couldn’t resist my curiosity and crept slowly toward the ice. The closer I drew, the clearer I could see what lay within it.
Though it held the shape of a person, I noticed enormous black wings spanning its back and realized it was no human at all.
With eyes closed, frozen like a statue, it was beautiful enough to captivate merely by looking at it.
“I wanted to see you.”
The being smiled beautifully and pressed itself against the wall. Still, its eyes remained closed.
“Why me?”
“Because you’ll set me free.”
After exchanging a few words, my fear melted away. I turned to glance behind me before asking quickly.
“How did you get trapped there?”
“For doing something bad?”
“Then I won’t free you.”
“Heh heh. Bad is always relative, child. I simply wish to return to my true world. I’ve grown so weary here.”
Contrary to its appearance, conversation with it was so ordinary that I drew nearer, curious.
“How do I do it?”
“Do you see my hand here? Take my hand.”
The beautiful voice and song made my thoughts grow increasingly distant and hazy.
I began to forget where I was, even who I was—there was room only for the thought that I must help this voice, and quickly.
I reached my hand forward, following the voice. Just as my palm was about to touch the ice wall, I heard my mother’s voice.
“Rosia? Where are you? Rosia?! Come back to me right now!!”
Thanks to her voice, my mind returned. I froze with my hand outstretched and stared straight ahead.
The Being in Ice’s lips curved upward markedly. A chilling smile made my skin crawl.
“Such a shame. I’ve waited so very long.”
“I… I want to go back.”
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the thorny undergrowth that had drawn me into this place wrapped around me again.
As I was pulled back along the path I had come, the Being in Ice’s voice carved itself into my mind.
“You must find me again. You must. Don’t forget. I’ll be waiting for you here.”
With that, I returned once more to the world under the blue sky.
A wall stood before my eyes. I still couldn’t believe I had actually passed through Beyond the Wall.
I stood dazed, pressing my palm against the solid wall and pushing, but it was hard as stone.
“Rosia!!”
Then my mother came running and tore away the vines that clung to me.
Tears streamed down her face as she embraced me tightly, then felt my body all over, checking that I was whole.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Only then did her fear give way to sudden anger.
“I told you never to go into the forest alone! Why won’t you listen? The forest is dangerous.”
“It wasn’t the forest. I went Beyond the Wall.”
“What? And you… what did you see there?”
“Ice. And inside it, a person so incredibly beautiful.”
“Did it speak to you?”
“Yes. It asked me to free it. Said I could do it. Is that… is that okay?”
I looked up at my mother and slowly closed and opened my eyes.
My mother’s pupils dilated sharply. She clenched her lips tightly and held me close.
She held me so fiercely my shoulders ached. I was about to ask her to let go, but her hands were trembling, so I said nothing.
“From now on, never listen to that voice again. Don’t respond to it. That isn’t real. You must never follow that voice.”
“But it isn’t real? I saw it. It said it would wait for me.”
“Whatever you saw, forget it all. Never—never enter that forest again. Promise me.”
She released me from her arms and held my shoulders firmly. Her eyes were grave.
“Now!”
“All right, all right. I promise.”
Startled by my mother’s raised voice, my eyes went wide.
This demanding version of my mother was strange to me, but she looked as though she might cry at any moment, so I couldn’t refuse.
She dropped to her knees and took my small hands in hers.
“Mother, why are you crying?”
Seeing tears overflow from her eyes, I tilted my head in confusion. She smiled weakly, as if to reassure me.
“I’m not crying. Something got in my eye.”
Then she murmured something under her breath. At the same moment, golden threads wound around our clasped hands.
“This is an unbreakable Oath. Fear that forest. Do not approach it. And forget this memory.”
“Mother…”
The golden threads seeped into me, and I collapsed, calling out to my mother.
“I’m sorry. And I love you, my dear.”
Murmuring these words, my mother held me carefully and carried me home.
In the distance, I could see little Seniel running over with a wooden sword in hand.
“Mother? What’s wrong with Sister? Is she hurt?”
“No. She’s just sleepy, I think.”
“I wanted to play with her.”
Seniel lost interest in me immediately and ran off, brandishing the wooden sword.
Mother continued walking and laid me down on the bed in my room.
Then she suddenly turned her head toward the real me, the one who had been watching all of this in silence.
‘You saw me?’
The shock was so great I drew in a sharp breath.
Our eyes had definitely met. In the moment her blue eyes twisted in sorrow.
‘You will find me.’
Along with the song-like voice of the being I had seen Beyond the Wall, my eyes snapped open.
“…ah, mo—”
The memory I had forgotten because of the Oath with my mother suddenly became clear.
The feelings, the sensations, the very touch of that moment—I experienced it all again as vividly as if I were living through it once more.
The sensation of my mother’s embrace came back to me, and I was overwhelmed by unbearable loneliness.
“Mo…”
Tears poured down my cheeks as I vividly felt my mother’s face and voice.
The longing crashed over me like a wave the moment I felt her so clearly, even in this fragmented way.
Tears obscured my vision, and I made no move to wipe them away, just let them fall—when a familiar voice came from beside me.
“Why are you crying?”
The voice’s owner reached out and wiped my tears away.
I flinched at the rough, cold touch and turned my head.
As my tear-blurred vision cleared, Bidler’s red eyes came into sharp focus.
“I remembered something from childhood. But… what are you doing?”
“How ironic. You collapsed right in front of me. Don’t you remember?”
Only then did I recall collapsing inside the carriage.
I also remembered Bidler carrying me down the Library stairs.
I was grateful, at least, that it had happened in the empty Library and avoided drawing attention. I averted my eyes.
“…Unfortunately, I do remember. I apologize for the trouble. But why are you still here?”
“Shouldn’t ‘thank you’ come first?”
“Thank you.”
“You sound like a parrot.”
Dissatisfied with our exchange, Bidler crossed his legs with irritation and leaned back.
“I found medicine and had you take it, but is that wound truly from a Demonic Beast?”
“Yes. In the forest behind the shop.”
“…So the rumors about Demonic Beasts appearing on Alein Mountain are true.”
“You’ve heard of it too, Your Highness?”
“Most of what was mentioned at the Library about Alein, I heard.”
So that was why he hadn’t seemed particularly shocked at the mention of a Demonic Beast.
Now I finally understood his calm reaction.
“There might be something hidden on that mountain.”
“That’s certainly possible. But you encountered a Demonic Beast—how did you end up with just that wound?”
“It was dying. It attacked me and immediately dissipated.”
“I see. Next time, be careful about venturing beyond the Barrier. I’ll give you this.”
Bidler handed me a round Artifact. He said it contained 5-Circle magic—an offensive Artifact of tremendous power.
It must be worth a fortune, but to a prince like Bidler it was nothing, so I accepted it without complaint.
“I’ll have to report this higher up. If you learn anything about Demonic Beasts, inform me at once. And…”
Bidler paused and fixed his gaze upon me.
“Lately I feel entangled in your affairs. First matters concerning your mother, and now Demonic Beasts. Do you naturally draw trouble wherever you go?”
“I only recently found out myself.”
The one most confused by all these strange happenings around me was myself.
Bidler shook his head and rose from his chair.
“I’m leaving. I’ll send someone to the shop soon.”
“Why?”
“To have a party dress fitted for you.”
Right. I had agreed to attend that party.
I let out a small groan and parted my lips, at which Bidler let out an exasperated sigh.
“Surely you haven’t forgotten already?”
“Of course not. I remember.”
Though in truth I had forgotten, seeing my composed reaction, Bidler’s eyes narrowed.
“Take care of yourself.”
“…Look after yourself as well.”
Bidler scanned me with an unreadable expression before departing.
Alone now, I slowly sifted through the childhood memories I had recalled.
I understood that something had happened to me, but I couldn’t fathom what it meant.
How had I crossed the wall? What was the being frozen in ice? Why could I be the one to free it?
“I don’t understand anymore either.”
Frustrated, I pulled the blanket over my head.
As I tried to empty my cluttered mind, I found myself thinking of my mother, whom I had seen last.
“I wish you’d appear in my dreams again. And Father too.”
Yearning to see their beloved faces once more, I closed my eyes.
***
Bright light seeped into Rosia’s darkened room.
It was light produced by sound-dampening magic springing to life.
A moment later, the window slid open with a soft sound, and Mason, transformed into a silver cat, slipped through the gap.
The cat leaped lightly onto the bed where Rosia lay sleeping.
From its mouth, it produced a paper envelope and brought it to her lips.
The powder inside trickled out, slipped into her mouth, and the moment it touched her tongue, it dissolved and seeped in.
“The Sleep Powder is potent—she won’t wake for at least two hours.”
Only then did Mason shift back into human form. Rosia, who had taken the Sleep Powder, noticed nothing.
Mason sat on the edge of the bed and carefully examined the wound that remained on Rosia’s shoulder.

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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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