Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 58

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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 operated by the Heir of the Dark Guild.
Episode 58
That evening, my mind heavy with concerns.
I sat across from Cayden at the table, ready for dinner.
But I had no appetite, and my hands wouldn’t reach for the food.
“You’re not eating your potato soup—the one you love most? Are you unwell?”
Cayden, deeply worried, pressed a spoon into my hand.
“The café’s been packed with customers lately. You’ve seen it yourself, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why did it happen all of a sudden?”
“It wasn’t sudden.”
“What?”
When I simply held the spoon without moving, Cayden took my hand, dipped it into the soup, and brought it to my lips.
“People came looking for you even when you were away. They just left when they found the door closed.”
I swallowed the soup and dabbed my mouth, blinking rapidly.
“Where could the rumor have started?”
I could overlook the Knights Order regulars, but the steadily growing crowd of noble daughters was becoming a problem.
“Does it matter where it came from? It’s good for business. I can help when things get busy.”
“I don’t think it’ll get that busy. And it shouldn’t.”
I’d wished for the café to succeed, but not to be swamped with work all day long.
Especially not now, with so much to learn and magical beasts appearing in the mountains.
“Last time a magical beast showed up. What if a customer ran into one?”
“Don’t worry about that. There won’t be any more magical beasts now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Unless someone deliberately opens a rift. There might still be the occasional one or two like last time, but I’d sense that.”
“All right.”
Still, the fact that crowds had swelled on a mountain where magical beasts appeared bothered me, and I exhaled heavily.
“Rumors spread like wind and fade just as quickly. Things will go back to normal soon. Don’t worry—just eat.”
“I hope so.”
I agreed with Cayden and moved my spoon.
The umami of the soup I’d just eaten was already bringing back my appetite.
***
The next day.
Customers streamed in from morning.
The first was a Knight who’d recently begun training in the mountains.
“Boss, I need two drinks today.”
I’d already prepared a vegetable juice for him and handed over a bottle. “You’re not coming in the afternoon?”
“No. I’ve increased my training volume. I’ll be drinking four bottles a day now.”
“I see.”
The Knight was stopping by twice daily, and in just a week, his physique had visibly thickened.
‘He’s really going all out.’
I wondered if it was safe to treat my drinks like a nutritional supplement, but I had no reason to refuse customers.
He drained one bottle completely before me and grinned with satisfaction.
“Every sip is delicious. It fills me with such a wonderful sense of completeness.”
After the Knight headed into the mountains to train, a few female customers came and went.
Among them, I spotted a woman on her third visit to the café shyly sticking something on the wall.
“It was delicious. I’ll be back.”
After she left, I went straight to the wall to check what she’d posted.
It looked like a small visitor’s note, and when I turned it over, Seniel was drawn on it.
“I should’ve known.”
I couldn’t help but smile slightly at Seniel’s name written at the top.
I’d suspected as much, and my suspicion was confirmed—the influx of female customers was all because of Seniel.
“Where did the rumor start? Hestanya?”
I was about to crumple the note, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because it had Seniel’s face on it, so I put it in a box instead.
The women who came to the café occasionally nodded to each other—they were probably part of the same circle.
But given Hestanya’s nature, she didn’t seem the type to spread what she liked to keep as her own secret.
I resolved to ask next time she came and, for now, set my worries aside.
If the customers were coming because of Seniel, they’d all disappear once word got out that she never actually visited.
“Welcome.”
The Knight came again in the afternoon.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if his afternoon training had been particularly grueling.
“Are you all right? Your eyes are wet.”
As I handed him a drink, a tear rolled down his cheek.
“My girlfriend dumped me.”
“Oh… why don’t you cry?”
“If I cry… the muscles I’ve been working so hard to build will shrink. Sob. I’ll drink this gratefully.”
He’d already failed to join the Knights Order four times, and he said this year he had to pass.
For the first time, watching the Knight walk away, his shoulders sagging, I felt a pang of pity.
After him, I looked out the window to close up shop and saw a cat lounging lazily outside.
“Meow.”
Ever since the café got crowded, the cat had stopped coming inside during the day—apparently annoyed by people trying to pet it.
“You’ve got it better than me.”
Watching the cat look so comfortable, I muttered and stepped outside to flip the sign.
“Closed for today.”
The sun was already setting, so I hurried back inside to wash the cups.
“Maybe I need more glasses.”
With only a few cups to rotate, I’d run short if I didn’t wash them constantly.
“Rosia!”
I looked up at the call. Cayden, arriving earlier than usual, smiled brightly as he came into the kitchen.
“Busy again today?”
“Yeah. See all these cups piled up?”
“Let me help.”
Cayden immediately rolled up his sleeves and stood beside me. He plunged his hands straight into the sink.
“I’ll do the rinsing.”
Dividing the work and washing cups, we kept bumping into each other in the narrow sink.
I wondered if he was doing it on purpose and glanced at him sidelong. The corners of Cayden’s eyes were crinkled with delight.
“I wish I could smile as easily as you do.”
“Why?”
“I forced a smile for the customers all day, and now my mouth hurts.”
“Just be yourself.”
Seniel’s lips lowered as she regarded me impassively.
“It’s your default expression anyway.”
“You’ve figured that out.”
“I see you every day. It would be stranger if I didn’t know.”
It was a fair point—we ate together regularly, and I’d never worn a mask around Cayden from the start.
“You’re right. I don’t need to pretend to be a good boss.”
A café owner in the mountains didn’t have to be likable anyway. I decided to live as I was and washed the last cup.
I shook the water from my hands and padded over to the sofa.
“I brought a snack since you seemed tired. Have some and cheer up.”
Cayden pulled a baguette from his basket and topped it with an odd cream.
“What is that?”
“Just try it.”
The cream had flecks of green mixed through it, and I tilted my head uncertainly before taking a bite. My eyes widened at the explosive flavor.
“Well?”
“Shockingly delicious. What’s in it?”
“Green onion. Pretty surprising, right?”
He’d mixed green onion, cream, and cheese, spread it on bread, and the result was unexpectedly perfect.
“I found the recipe in a book by chance and tried it out. It turned out great, and I knew you’d like it.”
The bizarre idea of adding green onion to cream cheese was shocking, but the fact that it worked so well was even more so.
I finished the baguette in moments and looked at Cayden with sudden resolve.
“Could I get green onion seedlings?”
“Are you going to cook, Rosia?”
Cayden tilted his head in surprise.
“No. I was thinking of using them as a drink ingredient. What about green onion juice?”
“That sounds horrible.”
Since that was exactly the reaction I wanted, I grinned wickedly.
“Surely no one would come back after drinking that?”
“Are you going that far?”
“I won’t sell it to everyone. I’m preparing it for when I need to chase someone away.”
Despite Cayden’s protests, I obtained green onion seedlings and spent that evening tilling a plot in the yard.
The next day.
I slipped outside during a quiet spell.
In the field I’d prepared the day before, I planted the green onion seedlings Cayden had given me in neat rows and covered them with soil.
Squatting down to examine the seedlings arranged at regular intervals, I felt an odd thrill.
“Once they drink the green onion juice, they won’t come back.”
I’d never been good at keeping anything alive, but thinking about growing and harvesting these made my heart race.
Just then, the tips of the seedlings trembled slightly, and the ground rumbled beneath me.
I pressed my ear to the earth and felt horses galloping—quite a few of them.
Wondering who it might be, I remained in the field and waited. They’d have to dismount and walk the rest of the way up.
A moment later.
I sensed five auras. One of them was already very familiar.
Bidler, boldly leading the group, stared at me sitting in the field with bewilderment.
“You’re farming now?”
“If I need to.”
I brushed the dirt from my hands and stood up.
“You’ve got dirt on your face too. Wipe it off.”
I rubbed my cheek with my sleeve, but it didn’t come off well.
Bidler frowned, apparently frustrated, and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe my face himself.
“Not there—here.”
I stiffened at his touch and looked over the people who’d come with him.
Four of them were behind him, making no effort to hide their curious stares.
The man standing at the front had particularly striking attire.
Both his upper and lower garments were snow-white, and beads and lace dangled abundantly from them.

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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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