Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 99

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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.
Chapter 99
The man, transformed back from a cat to human form, stiffened his expression in embarrassment.
He’d seen it with his own eyes and couldn’t deny it. His head had been throbbing ever since.
“Why a cat, of all things?”
“It’s the animal the mages of the Magic Tower love most.”
When she stared at him with an unconvinced expression, he launched into a longer explanation.
“I’m old, but I’m poor at communicating. I simply didn’t know any other way to approach you except by changing into a form people would like. You’d hate me if you knew who I really am.”
“Why would we?”
“I didn’t even know my daughter—Lily—existed. Wouldn’t a grandfather like this be pathetic?”
Whether he was choosing his words carefully or not, his speech was very slow.
Though his manner was rough, there was an awkwardness to it that made his sincerity come through instead.
“Did you abandon our mother?”
“…In the end, it amounts to that. Your grandmother tried to tell me about Lily’s existence.”
I needed time to think.
Not knowing wasn’t an excuse, but I realized it wasn’t my place to forgive or condemn either.
“I’m not my mother, so I don’t know what she’d think. And I’ve never heard anything about my grandmother or grandfather.”
…….
“Even if you feel guilt toward my mother, you don’t need to carry that same burden with Seniel and me.”
“Can you accept me as your grandfather?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t feel anything at all.”
Even if all of this was true, it was hard to accept.
Someone I never knew existed my whole life suddenly appearing before me and calling himself grandfather didn’t make him feel like family.
Since I hadn’t yet called him grandfather, I decided to call him by his name for now.
“Did you really know nothing about our mother?”
“That’s right. Had I known, I wouldn’t have let Lily or your grandmother pass away like that.”
His voice was thick with regret.
“Then Seniel and I having abilities was…”
“Something you inherited from me.”
“But abilities don’t always pass through bloodlines, do they?”
“That’s what people generally believe. But this is…I’ll explain later, gradually.”
I let out a heavy sigh.
“Why hide it all this time and suddenly reveal everything now?”
“After you lost consciousness, I worried for days that you might not wake. I regretted so deeply not telling you anything. I thought—even if you resented me for it, I should have been honest and done whatever I could. The regret was overwhelming.”
The depth in his eyes looking at me was boundless. Suddenly I felt the age that lay behind that youthful face.
“Did you visit Seniel too?”
“Of course. I watched over you and Seniel in turns. When you weren’t at the café, I spent most of my time with Seniel. Though I changed my appearance.”
Learning that he’d been watching over Seniel all this time eased my heart a little.
“Tell Seniel as well. He deserves to know.”
“Will that be all right? Won’t he hate me?”
His anxiety showed plainly in his expression. He really was someone unfamiliar with this kind of relationship.
“He’ll certainly be surprised, of course. It might take him a long time to accept it. But still…how could he hate you when he’s found family?”
I turned my head sharply to the side and cleared my throat, struggling to get the words out.
“Family… ahem.”
Surprised by the odd sound, I looked over to find tears welling in Mason’s eyes again.
“Do you always cry this much?”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t cried in over a hundred years.”
I laughed softly, pointing at the corners of his eyes.
“You can’t convince anyone saying that with tears already gathering.”
“I suppose not. But…it’s much better to see you smile.”
He hesitated, hand hovering near mine as if he wanted to take it.
I noticed, but since I hadn’t fully accepted him yet, I quickly pulled my hand under the blanket.
“I won’t force you to accept me. You don’t have to call me grandfather. Just…let me stay by your side. From now on, I’ll protect you.”
“I can take care of myself well enough. I’m not so weak that I need anyone’s protection.”
I gripped the blanket tightly as I spoke.
I hadn’t grown up so weak that I’d have to rely on someone.
“Do you think I protect because you’re weak?”
“What?”
“Even if you were stronger than me, I’d say the same thing. It’s not the stronger one who protects—it’s the one who cares more.”
In Mason’s blue eyes, rippling with emotion, my mother’s face came to mind. The longing welled up so suddenly that I bit my lip.
“From now on, I’ll protect you.”
For the first time in a long while, I felt like I had someone to lean on, and my heart trembled.
One of the locks I’d fastened tight to keep from growing weak finally came undone.
“…Just like before.”
I murmured softly.
“If it’s as a cat, Mason’s presence every day in the café will steal all of Seniel’s fans.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
When Mason smiled, the space around him grew bright. Now I could clearly see who Seniel took after.
With gleaming silver hair and beauty no less striking than Seniel’s, I could already hear the rumors of his fans being drawn away.
“But do you know who attacked me?”
“The Empress.”
“It was Strophan again?”
“Yes. Because of the café’s location, it seems. I went and warned her personally—this won’t happen again.”
“You met the Empress directly? You went to the Imperial Palace…?”
“Of course. Someone hurt my granddaughter. I couldn’t just let that pass.”
Just remembering it made his eyes turn fierce with anger.
Seeing how drastically his expression changed, I realized that the face I was looking at now must be quite different from his usual one.
“I’ve set a tracking spell on the knight who attacked the café. I’ll have him dealt with as you see fit.”
The man who burned my parents’ café.
I’d memorized his face clearly, determined to repay him, but he was ultimately just a subordinate following the Empress’s orders.
“That’s all right for now. I plan to repay that debt slowly and thoroughly going forward.”
I’d continue to clash with the Empress and the Strophan family because of Biedler and Seniel anyway.
“Do as you wish. I’ll help when you need it.”
I nodded, then lowered my head. The thought of the completely burned café troubled me.
“What about the café?”
“We’ll start again. Your grandfather is a mage—what’s there to worry about? If you want the same café, or even bigger, I could build one as large as the Imperial Palace itself.”
“You can make the exterior look exactly the same?”
“Of course. But…making it the same doesn’t mean it will be the same. It will inevitably be different from the place you lived with your parents.”
That was all right.
It was frustrating and regrettable that the café burned, but that didn’t mean all my memories of living there disappeared with it.
The café was just a space. As long as Seniel and I remember it well, that’s enough, I told myself.
“Then let’s go right away.”
“Now? It’s evening outside. Let’s sleep and start tomorrow. There’s no rush, is there? Rest a little longer.”
“…All right.”
I watched Mason’s receding figure as he left the room and sighed.
“So strong that his aura can’t even be sensed. No wonder I didn’t notice him right beside me all this time.”
Since leaving Raven’s headquarters, I’d been caught up in many things.
But the fact that I had a grandfather and that he was a Grand Mage was the most shocking truth of it all.
***
The next morning.
Biedler had been searching through the café—completely burned down during the days Rosia was unconscious—looking for traces.
Mason had mentioned that the attack used an Artifact, so he’d hoped some fragments might remain.
But most of the ash had already blown away, and the objects were completely melted beyond recognition.
On top of that, with the cold weather and frost settling in, finding anything was difficult.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
Biedler, who had come to the café early in the morning to look around, heard the sound and fed Armstrong.
A few days earlier, after Rosia collapsed, he’d taken Armstrong and the chicks from the floor and kept them safe.
He’d even built a new coop in the corner of the yard for all the burned chickens.
“I’m really glad they made it through safely.”
Biedler moved to the back garden, a short distance from the café, and gazed at the gravestones of Rosia’s parents.
Though charred, the stones fortunately remained intact, and while only the grass on top of the grave had burned, its form was preserved.
While Cayden had cared for Rosia inside the Temple over the past few days, Biedler had yielded his place and kept watch outside.
He hadn’t liked seeing Rosia beside Cayden, but it seemed better for her recovery that way.
“…She must be suffering greatly.”
Having learned from Seniel what kind of space this was, he worried about the shock Rosia would receive.
He let out a deep sigh, picked up a broom, and began rummaging through the debris again.
But as he was sweeping the ground diligently, he discovered something strange.
“What’s this?”
Kneeling on one knee and examining it closely, he realized it was part of a Magic Circle.
Biedler was startled and threw down the broom, carefully brushing around the Magic Circle with his hands.
Ash scattered about and stuck to his clothes and face, but he didn’t mind.
“It really is a Magic Circle. And it looks quite old, too…”
After clearing the area for a while, a fairly large Magic Circle revealed itself in perfect form.
Based on its location, it was certainly a Magic Circle that had been drawn in the café, but it seemed to have remained hidden and undiscovered all this time.
Biedler, worried the Magic Circle might activate, brought his palm to its center, but nothing happened.
“I need to tell Rosia about this.”
Magic Circles usually have conditions attached to them; this one might only respond to Rosia or Seniel.
He sprang to his feet and rushed toward the Temple where Rosia was resting.

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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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