Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 8

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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.
Episode 8
But while looking at those bizarre postcards, I suddenly realized something.
‘These things are actually in circulation. So when he said she was repaying her debt with her body, was he talking about this?’
If the Seniel in these images was real, then that talk of repaying debt with her body actually made sense.
Suspicion deepening, I examined the postcards intently, my eyes widened so much the veins stood out.
As her sister, I didn’t want anyone else buying these, but I didn’t have nearly enough money to purchase them all.
If I’d known this would happen, I’d have robbed a bank if necessary.
After serious deliberation, I picked out the postcards where Seniel’s exposure was highest and handed them over.
“These will do.”
The Merchant looked up and glanced at me sideways.
“So that’s your taste, Miss? Then you should take this too.”
With an air of generosity, he produced a few rolled papers he’d been hiding in the back.
“What is this?”
At my question, the Merchant winked and gestured for me to come closer.
When I leaned in, he whispered softly, his voice too quiet for others to hear.
“Trust me, you won’t regret it.”
Hearing his confident tone, I came to my senses only to realize I’d already paid triple the price of the other postcards and bought the rolled papers too.
“Good grief, what did I just buy?”
Sitting back on the bench to calm my rattled nerves, a young noblewoman suddenly crept toward me.
Her face hidden behind an ornate fan, she carefully took the seat beside me and immediately proposed a deal.
“Would you resell that to me? I’ll pay five times what you paid.”
“Five times?”
“Yes. I waited in line, but they sold out before I could buy one. I really waited so long.”
My eyes went wide at the mention of five times, when another young noblewoman appeared and called out that she’d pay ten times.
“Please sell it to me. I’ll pay whatever you want!”
“Excuse me! Isn’t it rude to interrupt a conversation?”
The two began quarreling over me, each insisting I trade with them.
Since I had no intention of selling anyway, I simply fled, leaving the noblewomen clinging to me.
As I walked briskly and glanced back, I could see one noblewoman sobbing in disappointment at not having gotten postcards.
“What is all this commotion?”
I suddenly recalled [Addendum: Very popular.] from the report I’d once read about Seniel.
The word “fans” that Orbis had mentioned too. I never knew it meant something like this.
The thought that Seniel might be doing this sort of modeling work again now that she was in the Capital made my blood boil.
“Calm down and talk to her first.”
She’d least want me to know about something like this. I needed to create an atmosphere where she’d have no choice but to explain.
I stopped by the Market and purchased fresh vegetables and cooking ingredients for dinner.
My plan was to feed her food I’d made myself and coax her gently into talking.
For dinner, I prepared a Tomato Stew simmered slowly with plenty of vegetables, a vegetable salad, and roasted chicken brushed with sauce.
As the stew bubbled steadily and the cooking neared completion, Seniel and Orbis arrived home.
“We’re back, sister.”
*Sniff sniff*, what’s that smell? You didn’t actually… cook, did you?”
I was just skimming the broth to taste the seasoning and glanced over to greet them.
“That’s right. I showed off a little.”
“Oh no… we should have come home earlier.”
“Yeah. Maybe we should eat out instead right now…”
“Close the door, Orbis.”
“Yes, sister. I’m closing it.”
Orbis, who’d been about to leave again, received my icy stare and meekly entered the house.
There was a reason for their skepticism about my cooking.
I had no talent for cooking—even when I followed recipes exactly like everyone else, something unidentifiable would result.
So I’d stayed away from the kitchen my whole life, but I wanted to cook something for Seniel with my own hands, so I tried a few days ago.
The problem was that Seniel and Orbis suffered from stomach trouble all the next day after eating my food.
After that, I wasn’t allowed anywhere near the kitchen, and Orbis took over dinner duty, so I understood their reaction.
“Sister, we agreed you wouldn’t cook.”
“This time will be different. Look, it looks much better than last time.”
As I spoke firmly and pointed to the stew, Seniel couldn’t hide her wavering eyes and asked in a trembling voice.
“But sister… what would make a stew turn purple?”
“Cabbage, maybe? Just try it. I tasted it and it seemed fine enough.”
I cleared my throat with a cough and pretended not to hear as I showed them the ladle.
But Seniel lingered, pretending to hang up her coat, and Orbis hovered nearby, hesitating.
“Seniel, how could I eat the sister’s cooking before you? Go ahead and taste it first.”
“What are you talking about, Orbis? You’re standing in front of me.”
Unable to listen to their bickering anymore, I held out the ladle firmly and spoke coldly.
“My arm’s getting tired, so either of you eat.”
“I’ll eat it, sister. If you made it, I can eat it even if it’s poison.”
“It’s not that serious, is it?”
Seniel approached me, squeezed her eyes shut, and tasted the stew.
After a moment, she silently gestured to Orbis.
In the tense atmosphere, Orbis also followed Seniel’s lead and tasted the stew from the ladle.
“How is it?”
“Sister, please never cook again. You might damage those beautiful hands.”
“That’s right, sister. If a person is too perfect, what are the rest of us supposed to eat? It’s fine if you can’t cook.”
Understanding their implied meaning, I sighed and picked up the entire bowl of stew.
“It’s not good, then. I’ll throw it out. I can’t have another incident like last time.”
“Why throw away something you worked hard to make? Even if it doesn’t taste good, I can eat it all. There’s your sincerity in it.”
“That’s right, sister. I can manage to eat it if you made it.”
Both were kind but brutally honest.
“Is it really that bad?”
I tasted it again but still couldn’t tell.
I tilted my head and set out the completed dishes on the table anyway.
Interspersed with the occasional cry of distress, the meal proceeded slowly in what was otherwise a warm atmosphere.
I waited for Seniel and Orbis to put down their spoons before broaching the subject naturally.
“I went out to the Plaza today and bought something like this.”
I picked up the postcards I’d prepared on the chair next to me and laid them out one by one on the table.
Seniel gasped softly and froze like stone. She looked genuinely shocked.
“Sister… how did you get those?”
“It was by chance. When I saw your picture in them, you can’t imagine how surprised I was.”
As I spoke calmly, Seniel seemed to recover some composure.
Of course, that composure would vanish immediately thanks to Orbis, who was cackling beside her and practically splitting his sides with laughter.
“Puhahaha. I’d only heard rumors, but seeing the real thing for the first time, it’s incredible! Can I keep just one?”
“Absolutely not! I’m throwing all of them away.”
With her ears beet-red, Seniel reached over and pulled all the postcards I’d spread out toward herself.
I watched her reaction carefully and opened my mouth cautiously.
“Seniel, I’m on your side no matter what you do. So trust me and tell me everything. We’re family.”
At the word family, Seniel’s pupils trembled noticeably.
“Thank you, sister. But there’s nothing to tell, really…”
Was the postcard not enough to convince her?
“Would this make it easier to talk?”
Rather than explain in words, I placed the rolled paper the Merchant had handed me at the end on the table.
There was a reason it had been rolled up.
Unlike the postcards, it was much larger, and most importantly, Seniel was drawn completely nude.
“Good heavens.”
Upon seeing the unrolled image, Seniel fell into despair, lost for words, and squeezed her eyes shut to deny reality.
“Pfft, pfft, pfwahahaha.”
Orbis threw his head back like a man possessed and laughed wildly, running his hand over Seniel’s body as drawn on the paper.
“The anatomy’s a bit off here. This should be thicker, and this part should be much bigger…”
“Shut up! Sister, where did you buy this? I’m not letting this slide!”
I immediately made Seniel sit back down, grinding her teeth as she prepared to hunt down the Merchant, and asked her seriously.
“Did you do this today too?”
Seniel’s face had grown hollow, and she tilted her head in confusion.
“Do what?”
“Model. You’re not doing this kind of work to repay a debt, are you?”
“What debt do I have?”
“…?”
Seniel and I stared at each other and realized we weren’t communicating well.
“That man who came to the Villa said you owed him a debt and were repaying it with your body. Isn’t that right?”

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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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