Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 66

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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 run by the Dark Guild’s successor.
Chapter 66
All this time, Bidler had seen Rosia as an unadorned person whose rough mountain dwelling suited her carefree nature perfectly.
So despite their lack of resemblance, he occasionally found himself reminded of his mother when looking at her.
As Seniel’s older sister, her striking appearance was only natural, but he’d never truly regarded her as feminine.
Yet the moment Bidler saw Rosia step out in a dress, he found himself holding his breath without meaning to.
His gaze caught on her exposed shoulders and the deep hollow of her collarbone, unable to look away.
He even felt the urge to conceal the curve of her waist, afraid anyone else might see it.
Bidler groaned, unable to accept his own feelings, which he couldn’t make sense of no matter how he thought about them.
“It must be… because she’s the older sister of a subordinate I care about.”
The moment he recalled that Rosia was Seniel’s sister, the tangle of emotions began to make sense.
The engagement proposal had been a clever strategy to prevent losing Seniel—solving two problems with one move.
“Ah, so that’s it.”
Of course it was.
Having found a reasonable explanation, Bidler smiled with relief, then hardened his lips again.
The memory of their parting soured his mood instantly.
“What’s the rush? Do you hate being with me that much?”
The party had ended in the evening.
She could have stayed and slept; she could even have watched the festival for several days.
But Rosia had flatly refused without a shred of interest and turned to leave.
“What does she have hidden on that mountain?”
As Bidler spoke curtly, the thought of the Temple Priest neighbor crossed his mind, and he kicked the bedding away in irritation.
The pale fellow with a dull appearance but sharp eyes.
“Is he a fake?”
Now that he thought about it, the very existence of a temple in a mountainous area without any faithful was suspicious.
Realizing there was much to investigate, Bidler climbed out of bed, bracing for a busy day ahead.
“I need to retrieve the Map of Great Sword first.”
As the Guild Master of Aide, Bidler’s most pressing priority was finding the Map of Great Sword.
The map marking the location of vast deposits of Magical Stones was like a goose that laid golden eggs.
The astronomical funds needed to achieve his goal could be secured through that map alone.
***
Even after returning from the Imperial Palace party, the café’s daily routines remained unchanged.
Cayden mentioned that during the days the shop was closed, many customers had made wasted trips.
“They went to the trouble of coming all the way out here to this mountain. From now on, I’ll try not to close if I can help it.”
Rosia was startled by her own sudden dedication to running the café, and began preparing the fruit Cayden had brought.
“This should do for today.”
Recently, she’d been expanding the menu, grinding fresh fruit into juice drinks depending on what was available each day.
As she wrote orange juice on today’s menu and wiped her hands clean, she felt a powerful Aura near the Barrier.
‘Stronger than me.’
The undisguised, immense Aura was so potent that she couldn’t fully gauge the person’s level of skill.
Tense against the strongest presence she’d ever encountered, she hid a sword within arm’s reach.
Ding-dong.
The door opened with the sound of the bell.
“Welcome.”
The man who entered was a middle-aged fellow with graying hair.
Looking quite weary, he removed his bowler hat and glanced around the café as if searching for something.
“A café tucked away in a mountain like this? How peculiar.”
While the man murmured to himself, the Cat resting at my feet suddenly sprang up.
Then, with the fastest movements I’d ever seen, it bolted out the window.
“……?”
At that swift motion, both the man’s gaze—which had been drifting toward the window—and mine locked together for a moment.
The man sighed heavily and walked toward me.
“Miss, how long have you been working at this café?”
“About half a year.”
It was clear at a glance that he wasn’t a regular customer.
I’d been worried he might cause trouble, but fortunately he had other intentions—he unrolled a piece of paper he’d been carrying.
“Then you haven’t seen anyone like this nearby?”
A handsome young man with long hair was drawn on it like a wanted poster.
The face felt oddly familiar, though I was certain I’d never seen it before, so I shook my head.
“Never seen them.”
“Strange. I definitely sensed an Aura in this area.”
“What kind of Aura?”
“A powerful one… no, wait. Could this Aura be…….”
Still muttering to himself, the man rushed outside.
“What’s going on?”
I ended up following him all the way to the Barrier Stone area, and he returned in quite a state of excitement.
“This Barrier Stone buried nearby—who gave it to you?”
“My brother did. He said it was a Lower-grade Barrier Stone, but is something wrong with it?”
“Lower-grade? Ha, that’s at minimum Highest Grade. There’s Magic etched into it that’s worth more than its weight in gold.”
He explained with such fervor that spit flew.
“The person who carved the Magic into this Barrier Stone is exactly the one I’m looking for. It’s hidden, so most people wouldn’t notice, but my eyes never deceive me.”
I couldn’t believe that the Barrier Stone Seniel had brought was such an extraordinary object.
More than anything, the man who could discern the Magic carved into it seemed far more suspicious.
“Who are you? I need to know before I believe anything.”
“Me? I’m just a Mage with a name I cannot speak. Ahem.”
The Mage suddenly clamped his mouth shut and, looking exhausted, slumped into a chair.
Then he sighed so deeply it seemed the earth might cave in, and stared at the Portrait.
“Really, you haven’t seen them? They’re not the type to leave their own magical work lying about anywhere.”
“Who are they, anyway? Some kind of vicious criminal?”
At my question, the Mage tilted his head and scratched his temple.
“Not a criminal, exactly, but they were certainly vicious.”
“Meoooow!”
A fierce cry came from outside.
Thinking the Cat might be hungry, I leaned out the window to look below, but saw nothing.
Tilting my head in confusion as I came back inside, I noticed the Mage’s shoulders sagging, his entire frame wilted and slack.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“A drink won’t do… do you happen to sell alcohol here?”
“No. I only sell what’s on the menu.”
At my response, the Mage’s gaze traced over the menu board slowly, his complexion darkening further.
“I really need some alcohol… Would it be alright if I drank something I have with me? I’ll pay well for the table.”
“Go ahead.”
For the first time, a faint smile crossed the Mage’s face.
“Much obliged.”
He rummaged through his Artifact Pouch and pulled out a large bottle.
“This is Wine from Duenne.”
“Oh! You know this? That’s right—it’s aged twenty years.”
It was a wine Quin used to enjoy.
The Mage uncorked the bottle, buried his nose in it, and breathed in the aroma deeply.
“Indeed. When times are hard, there’s nothing like a good drink. This aging is absolutely perfect.”
I handed him a clear glass, and he poured the wine carefully before taking a sip.
After having one glass, then another, his mood seemed to improve, and he struck up a conversation with me.
“Miss, isn’t life just unbearably bitter? Things never seem to work out the way I want.”
Running the café had made me adept at customer service, so I hummed along sympathetically while wiping a cup with a cloth.
“Is something troubling you?”
“There is. My superior, whom I’ve served all my life, suddenly ran away.”
“Well, people do abandon things. You can just hire someone new, can’t you?”
“It’s not a position that can be filled by anyone. They entrusted that seat to me.”
I could picture the situation well enough in my mind.
So his superior was an exceptionally capable person who, upon fleeing, had passed the position to him.
“What’s the problem? They wouldn’t have entrusted it to you if you weren’t equal to the task.”
At my blunt words, the Mage’s hand, which had been pouring wine, stopped short.
“You said your superior was remarkable?”
“Remarkable doesn’t begin to cover it.”
“Then you’re fine. Someone that exceptional wouldn’t entrust a position to someone incapable and then disappear. Have faith in yourself—in the person who was chosen.”
I happened to have an orange left unprepped, so I sliced it as a complimentary offering and arranged the pieces on a plate.
“Miss, you handle a knife remarkably well.”
The Mage’s face lit up with emotion as he grabbed a tissue, blew his nose with a soft pop, then picked up a slice of orange and ate it.
A full-grown man with tears pooling in his eyes, sniffling as he chewed the orange—the sight was rather peculiar.
“Thank you. I’ve been searching for that person all this time… but perhaps what I truly wanted to hear was this. Reassurance that I’m enough. That I’m acceptable.”
“Why would reassurance from someone else matter? The person who knows you best is yourself.”
The Mage held the orange slice in his mouth and stared blankly for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
“You’re absolutely right. Thank you truly. My eyes have opened.”
Then he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a round Gold Lump.
“I’d like to pay with this. Will you take it?”
“I don’t need money… you said you’re a Mage?”
I declined the Gold Lump and my eyes brightened.
“I am.”
“Then you’d be well-versed in Seals and Incantations too?”
At my question, the Mage burst into hearty laughter.
“Well-versed might be understating it. As for me… this frustration of not being able to speak about it. Do you have something you’d like me to examine?”
“Yes. Could you take a look at this?”
I carefully removed the Map of Great Sword from the Artifact Pouch.
I’d spent a long time wondering whether it was safe to show it to a stranger, but I had no way of knowing if such an opportunity would ever come again.
Deciding to trust my judgment of people, I handed the map to the Mage.
“The Aura on this is no ordinary matter.”
The Mage spread his palm open and made the map float in the air.
As he chanted an Incantation, a glow surrounded the map, and it began to spin slowly.
The Mage examined it seriously, his eyes widening as wonder flooded his expression.
“Miss, where did you get this?”

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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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