Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 84

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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 to the Dark Guild.
Episode 84
“Aide will receive far more attention now. Raven is too small in scale and too new a guild to form an alliance with.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Yes. Let’s dig into this thoroughly—the Majeongseok. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“I hope we become good allies.”
They exchanged brief pleasantries, but the glances they shared carried an icy chill.
“Did you bring the blood?”
“Of course. You have the map, don’t you?”
“Yes. Then let’s begin at once.”
Raily laid the map on the table, and Bidler set down a vial of blood.
An invisible tension seized the entire café once more.
“Mew.”
The cat stretched and approached the table.
I quickly lifted the cat onto my lap and hushed it quietly.
“I’ll pour the blood.”
Bidler uncorked the vial and tilted it over the map.
The blood inside trickled out—drip, drip—falling onto the surface.
One drop. Then a second.
The moment the third drop fell upon the map.
An enormous light blazed forth.
The map, which no force could ever unfold, suddenly spread open wide.
I hadn’t understood why it was even called a map when it was simply a rolled sheet of paper, but now the reason became clear.
There was no map drawn inside—instead, a holographic map of the entire continent materialized in midair.
And in one particular place.
A cluster of light shimmered brilliantly at the location where the Majeongseok was buried.
Raily and Bidler, upon seeing that position, gasped in shock simultaneously.
“…It’s beyond belief.”
“How could it be here again?”
Unable to restrain myself any longer, I stood abruptly and looked at the map.
The hologram was so large that even from my seat I could see where the light glimmered.
‘That place is…’
Alein Mountain.
Right here where we are now.
I too was struck with shock and sank back into my chair with a heavy thump.
‘It was here all along?’
I had naturally assumed it would be in the Northern Region or across the sea on another continent, so I was deeply confused.
But as I thought it through again, I became certain that my hypothesis about the seal from six hundred years ago was correct.
This was no coincidence.
The Majeongseok carried the spiritual essence not of this world, but of another dimension.
If the seal remained on Alein Mountain, then the Majeongseok would have been generated in abundance, affected by the magical aura released from that location.
‘It all connects in the end.’
While I made sense of the map’s revelation, Bidler spoke with a grave tone.
“We can’t find it with this alone. The position is too vague. We can’t search the entire vast mountain.”
Bidler was right—such a rugged, expansive mountain couldn’t be searched haphazardly and yield results.
If it were so easily discoverable, someone would have already stumbled upon it and spread word.
Yet I had never heard any rumor of Majeongseok buried in the Alein Mountain Range.
“These characters seem to be a clue…”
Indecipherable symbols floated beside the continental map.
“They look like an ancient language.”
“It certainly seems to be a language we cannot interpret.”
Everyone seemed disappointed that just as one seal was broken, another obstacle had appeared.
Bidler suddenly turned to look at me—or rather, it seemed he was looking at the cat on my lap.
“…?”
But it was only for an instant; he soon turned back to face Raily and spoke.
“Staying longer seems a waste of time. Let’s return and investigate separately.”
“We’ll take the map with us.”
“Wait.”
The knight who had been behind Bidler stepped forward and quickly transcribed the floating characters.
“Let’s exchange progress reports weekly.”
“Agreed.”
With the negotiation concluded, both men gathered their things and stood to leave.
Raily, masked once more, glanced briefly in my direction as he departed.
After Raven had slipped away, Bidler walked toward me.
“Thank you for lending us your café. You must have been quite surprised watching all that.”
“Yes. Though I’m not entirely sure what any of it was.”
“That was a map showing where the Majeongseok is buried.”
“So it’s on this mountain? How is that even possible? Was this place really so significant?”
“I can’t believe it either. I’m amazed such a coincidence could even exist.”
Bidler seemed just as bewildered by the map’s revelation as I was.
“For now, we’ll have to solve the riddle.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“No. Don’t wander the mountain searching for it, just in case. It’s too dangerous. Ah, and… stay in touch through the communication stone.”
Communication stone? What communication?
While I tilted my head in confusion, Bidler also left the café.
The cat leaped from my lap right on cue and dashed out after him.
In the sudden silence and emptiness of the café, I waited for Raily.
A moment later, the door opened quietly.
“Alein Mountain again. You really did pick a good location for your café. Did you know something about it?”
Raily laughed teasingly and ruffled my hair.
“I simply inherited my parents’ café. I’ve been just as surprised as everyone else.”
I certainly agree that the café’s location was exceptional.
“It might have been foreseen from the beginning. It’s only natural that Majeongseok appears where magical aura is strong.”
“Right. It’s not coincidence—it’s all connected. The only strange part is how the Strofan Family fits into all this.”
Raily nodded in agreement with my words.
“For the ancient language, check with scholars at the Research Institute. There are also Academy professors who study rare dialects.”
“The key is finding out without drawing attention.”
“That’s Raven’s specialty, isn’t it?”
When I playfully nudged his forearm as if to say he was worrying over nothing, Raily’s eyes softened with warmth.
“Keep your eyes open when you’re out. If you see anything strange on the mountain, observe it carefully.”
“Understood. I’ll search too.”
Raily was about to leave when he paused and regarded my face carefully.
“What?”
“You’re beautiful.”
“…Go.”
I narrowed my eyes and shooed him out.
Then I drew back all the curtains to let light into the dim café.
***
After the alliance negotiation concluded,
it wasn’t only Rosia and Raily who spoke privately.
Once outside the café, Bidler sent his knights ahead and sought out the cat.
“Let’s have a word.”
The cat in the yard moved as if to lead him further, then crossed beyond the Barrier Stone and changed form.
“Once inside the Barrier Stone, Rosia can sense our presence, so…”
Now that Bidler knew Rosia was actually Seniel in another form, he nodded without concern.
“You were watching the whole time?”
“I was.”
“Those are genuinely ancient characters, aren’t they? I thought if anyone could understand the content, it would be you, Master Meison.”
“Why should I tell you anything?”
Meison sneered at Bidler’s confident approach, as if he were simply retrieving something he’d left behind.
But this time, Bidler had leverage.
“Please tell me. If you don’t, I’ll tell everything to Master Wyeth.”
“You brat…!!”
At the mention of Wyeth’s name, Meison flushed with alarm for the first time.
“I heard recently while observing the Magic Tower’s movements. Master Wyeth is still searching hard for you. There’s even talk of placing a bounty.”
“A bounty, for someone who’s not even a criminal… Tsk, heartless bastards. How much longer do they intend to exploit an old man?”
It was clear that if Wyeth learned Meison was staying here, he would come searching immediately and cause endless trouble.
And worse, it wasn’t only Meison who would be bothered—that damned disciple would hold his grandchildren hostage and work them to death.
“Absolutely not. Before that happens, I’ll have to dispose of you.”
Enraged, Meison barked and reached out his hand.
Though it was merely a gesture, Bidler felt the threat keenly.
He quickly raised both hands in appeal, speaking rapidly to calm him.
“Please. I must know that location.”
“Why? It can’t be that you’re in such desperate need of funds right now. There are other ways to raise capital besides Majeongseok.”
Meison’s pointed question struck home, and Bidler’s pupils flickered with disturbance.
“…Please.”
Despite all his shouting and anger, Meison’s heart softened slightly at the sight of Bidler, bowing without wavering.
“It’s not an ancient language. I can read a few characters myself, but… to interpret it completely, you’d need a specialist.”
“Who would that be?”
“Ha! That’s for you to figure out!”
Of course, his softened heart lasted only a moment; he immediately grew irritable and tapped Bidler’s head sharply with his staff.
“Thank you.”
Even as he took the blow, Bidler bowed with genuine gratitude and departed.
Meison’s eyes deepened as he let out a thin sigh and transformed back into a cat.
“Meow. (What on earth is this mountain?)”
The fact that vast quantities of Majeongseok lay buried on Alein Mountain was something even the Master of the Magic Tower had never heard before.
Over time, Meison had conducted numerous investigations and drawn closer to the truth.
He had learned that the mountain held remnants of an ancient war, and that the Temple kept a priest like Cayden stationed there to guard it.
He had not found the exact seal, but he had drawn close to a thicket where powerful aura erupted forcefully.
Yet he could not pass beyond it. He had considered using magic to forcibly break through the barrier, but abandoned the idea.
A powerful and dangerous presence emanated from beyond the wall—he instinctively understood that such force could never be released into the world.
‘It must remain as it is.’
All he could do was pray that the aura remained sealed away.
“Meow. (I should go see Seniel.)”
Weary in body and spirit, Meison opened a Portal—desperate to see his grandson, for even a day’s absence made him feel as though thorns pricked his mouth.
He was already burning through expensive and rare Teleportation Stones, squandering at least three or four per day.

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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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