Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 91

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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 heir to the Dark Guild.
Chapter 91
I opened the door to put a blanket in the chicken coop, but it was far too small.
“I’ll need to expand the place first. What a nuisance.”
I started to get up, muttering complaints, but then I caught sight of the little cotton-ball chicks nestled in Armstrong’s fur and lost myself for a moment.
“……They’re so small and cute.”
When I slipped my finger through the coop’s bars, Armstrong graciously pushed a chick toward me with a nudge.
The fluffy chick chirped and burrowed into my hand.
“……Well, if I’m going to build it anyway, I might as well use the sturdiest wood I can find.”
I sorted through the firewood I’d stacked behind the cottage, picked out the strongest pieces, and hammered away.
Even for a first attempt, it looked reasonably well-made. It was much larger than the original, easily spacious enough for the three of them.
Just as the new coop was taking final shape, Cayden appeared from behind.
“What are you doing?”
“As you can see. Building a chicken coop.”
“But why all of a sudden……?”
“We’ve got a new family member. Want to see?”
I grinned at the thought of showing Cayden the chick, but suddenly he started sniffing the air.
“What’s that smell?”
“Oh!”
It only then occurred to me that I’d left the pot unattended. I threw down the hammer and bolted into the café, but…….
“Hmm.”
The jam had already crossed a river of no return.
It was watery as water, and the sugar had burned it to the bottom of the pot.
“Do you mind if I ask what you were trying to make, Rosia?”
“Jam?”
“…….”
I avoided Cayden’s stunned gaze and awkwardly switched off the heat.
“It’s fine. I’ll just make it again.”
“I’ll handle the cooking from now on. You just eat, Rosia.”
Cayden scraped the burned jam from the pot and transferred it to a bowl.
Then he tasted it gingerly with a small spoon.
“It’s too sweet to eat plain, but… if we mix it with milk or something, I think it might work.”
“Really? So it’s not a total loss?”
“I have some milk at the temple. I’ll bring it this evening.”
I smiled at the thought that there might be a way to salvage it, and then I noticed the flower pot Cayden had brought.
“What’s this?”
“A Camellia. I wanted to show you the flowers in bloom, so I transplanted it into the pot.”
Red blossoms clustered among the large green leaves.
“This tree blooms only in winter. Doesn’t that show remarkable vitality?”
“It’s strong. But I’ve never actually grown anything before… will it be okay? I’m only good at killing them.”
Oh, that was a slip.
I closed my mouth quickly, but thankfully Cayden didn’t seem to have heard.
“You don’t need to do anything, Rosia. I’ll water it. Just look at it.”
I nodded and examined the petals more closely. It was remarkable that the tree could bloom through the mountain’s cold.
Cayden headed back to the temple, and I placed the blanket in the finished coop.
I worried whether the nearly featherless chicks could endure the cold.
“They’ll be fine.”
Seeing them tucked snugly into the blanket put my mind at ease.
“Oh! Eribel!”
I suddenly remembered Eribel, who had given Armstrong to me so long ago.
I rushed into the room and quickly tapped on Bidler’s communication device.
After waiting a moment, the green light came on.
“Your Highness! Are you still at the manor?”
“I’m still at the manor.”
“Perfect. Can you pass on some news to Eribel? The hen has hatched chicks!”
“…….”
Bidler was silent for a moment.
“Your Highness?”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“You have nothing to tell me?”
“What?”
“I mean, you’re just going to pass along news of chicks, not to me, but to Eribel…….”
The connection cut off abruptly.
“Did he hang up?”
Had something urgent come up?
I tilted my head in confusion, but then heard the café door open, so I went out to greet the customer.
Evening had fallen without my noticing.
The moment I finished tidying the café, which had been scattered about all day, I hurried back to crouch in front of the coop.
I was peering inside when I heard Cayden approach.
I glanced back and quickly pressed a finger to my lips.
“Shh. They’re sleeping.”
“You like them that much?”
“It’s not that I like them. I’m worried they might die.”
“Ha, I got it. Let’s eat.”
I went inside the café with Cayden and set out the meal.
“I brought the milk.”
“Should we try mixing it?”
My heart thudded as I poured the mysterious jam from earlier into the milk.
Once I stirred it well with a spoon, the color at least looked decent.
“How is it?”
Cayden’s eyes widened the moment he tasted it.
“It’s delicious. Incredibly delicious. It’s the best drink I’ve ever had at this café.”
“Really?”
I tried it without believing him, but I was genuinely startled by how good it was.
Sweet yet fruity, with a pleasant texture, but above all—it was the most wonderfully refreshing and smooth drink.
“I think we stumbled onto something here.”
“We should add it as a new menu item.”
We clinked our cups together to celebrate our accidental discovery.
As we continued eating in good spirits, I found myself wondering if Cayden might have spotted that strange area on Aleine Mountain during his travels.
I glanced at Cayden as he ate and asked carefully.
“By the way, have you ever seen a Magic Stone while wandering the mountain?”
“No. Why would something like that be on this mountain?”
Given the blank look in his eyes, it seemed certain that it wasn’t anywhere near here.
I wondered whether I should tell Cayden about the map.
But then.
Cayden suddenly began to cough.
“Cough…….”
“Cayden? You’re——blood!!”
Thinking it was just a cough, I’d been reaching for water when I noticed and jumped to my feet in shock.
Blood dripped between Cayden’s hurriedly cupped hands.
When I tried to dab it with a napkin, he turned away and covered his face.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“What hurts? Why are you suddenly coughing up blood?”
“I think I’ve just been overtired lately.”
Once he’d cleaned up and turned back to face me, his complexion was ashen.
Looking at the napkin stained entirely red, my heart sank.
“No amount of exhaustion causes you to cough up blood. Have you seen a doctor?”
“It’s Prayer season right now.”
Cayden managed a faint smile and rinsed his mouth with water.
“I’ve been praying at every spare moment, night and day, at dawn—I think my Physical Strength just gave out.”
“You can recover with Divine Power. Have you tried potions or medicines to boost your vitality?”
“Did you forget I’m taking Herbalism? Of course I’m managing that myself.”
I couldn’t bring myself to trust his words and gave him a skeptical look.
“I’m really fine. I know my own body well. I’ll handle it.”
His voice was still gentle, but he’d drawn a clear line—don’t push further than this.
“Everything will get cold. Let’s eat while we can.”
Cayden continued the meal as if nothing had happened.
But the lingering image of that blood-stained napkin killed my appetite entirely.
My parents died without warning, truly overnight.
I had to accept death with no preparation, and it tormented me for a long time.
And Quinn—when I returned from my mission, she was already beyond saving. She said what she had to say and died.
They all left my side like that.
So suddenly.
‘I don’t want to lose anyone else like this.’
I don’t want to lose someone precious without knowing anything about what’s happening to them.
‘I’ll call a doctor.’
I need to confirm with my own eyes that there’s nothing wrong with Cayden’s body. Only then will I have peace of mind.
***
Robin Parmer, Clione’s personal knight.
In childhood, he was saved by Clione and grew up as a common knight of Strophane.
Then, having caught Clione’s eye, he became her most trusted guardian.
Robin respected and loved Clione, who had saved him, and would do anything she commanded.
“This is the village.”
While investigating new orders he’d received from Clione recently, he’d made his way to a village near Aleine Mountain.
He began asking around the village to find the café related to a business venture Juliano was starting.
“Is there a café on that mountain?”
“A café? What café would be way out there?”
“Come now, what could you mean?”
“……You don’t seem to be from these parts. Who are you looking for?”
“There’s nothing. This village is all there is.”
The villagers warily kept their distance from Robin’s questions about the café and told him nothing.
Suspecting it was because of his knight’s uniform, he changed into civilian clothes and infiltrated the village again.
That’s when he witnessed something odd.
Noble carriages—far too grand for such a village—came and went frequently.
It was common to see carriages carrying high-born noble ladies resting in the village before heading elsewhere.
Robin changed his approach.
“Where are you heading?”
The carriage driver, unlike the villagers, freely shared information.
“There’s a café in those mountains. Our lady visits every week.”
So the café did indeed exist.
Robin followed the driver who said he was returning to collect his lady a few hours later, heading into the mountains.
“Originally there was no path here, but now that we get so many visitors, something like a trail has appeared.”
As they entered the forest along the flattened grass, a cottage came into view in the distance.
“Found it.”
Robin let out a hollow laugh at the sight of the cottage standing so forlornly deep in the forest.
“To think they’d conduct business in such a tiny place…….”
Having confirmed the café’s location, Robin kept watch over it from a distance for two days.
Then he returned to Clione and reported everything he’d observed.
“On the surface it seemed ordinary, but the clientele coming and going was suspicious. Especially so many noble ladies that I wondered if it might be some sort of secret social gathering.”
“I thought he was keeping quiet all this time… but was he scheming behind my back like this?”
Clione ground her teeth, her face twisted with displeasure.
“After all the trouble I went through cleaning up that mess ten years ago! Now I can’t even trust Father.”
With blazing eyes, she gave Robin a command.
“Shut that café down. Now.”

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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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