Chapter 368: Cafe Delaciel’s New Owner

The moment Ruvian stepped into the cafe, the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee immediately greeted him.

Its deep, roasted fragrance lingered pleasantly in the air, blending with the subtle sweetness of freshly baked pastries wafting from somewhere beyond the counter.

Ruvian lingered near the entrance for a moment, his steps coming to an unconscious halt as a strange sense of nostalgia slowly settled over him.

It had been quite some time since he last came here.

And although being kidnapped afterward certainly had not been part of his plans back then, Ruvian could not deny that the memories surrounding this place were still rather pleasant.

His gaze slowly wandered across the cafe.

He could no longer recall every insignificant detail from his previous visit, but it did not take a particularly sharp observation to notice that the cafe had undergone a fair amount of improvement.

Several pieces of furniture looked newer, while the wooden tables had been replaced with cleaner and more polished ones.

Small decorative lamps now hung along the walls, accompanied by neatly arranged plants and several paintings that Ruvian was fairly certain had not been there during his previous visit.

Even the counter appeared to have been renovated.

’Well, I suppose that’s what happens when a business does well for a few months.’

Ruvian glanced toward the menu displayed behind the counter before another thought crossed his mind.

’Maybe I should actually buy myself a proper coffee this time instead of plain water.’

After all, he was rich now.

Technically.

As Ruvian ventured farther into the cafe, his attention was soon drawn toward a woman standing near the end of the counter.

She was dressed in what appeared to be Cafe Delaciel’s uniform, a neat black-and-white servant dress with a fitted apron wrapped around her waist.

She looked to be somewhere in her early thirties, while her dark hair carried a subtle golden sheen, neatly gathered into an elegant braided bun behind her head with several loose strands framing the sides of her face.

Ruvian’s steps abruptly slowed.

His eyes widened.

"You—!"

He recognised her.

She was the thug woman back then.

Vible Venselle.

Meanwhile, the woman merely stared at him for several seconds. Then, her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth.

"Tch."

The irritation on her face was very apparent.

Yet, despite that thoroughly reluctant expression, Vible clasped both hands neatly in front of her apron and bowed, assuming the practiced bearing expected of a proper cafe attendant.

"Welcome to Cafe Delaciel, honored customer. May the fragrance of our finest brews lighten your spirits, and may every bronze spent within these walls return to you someday in greater fortune."

Her delivery was smooth, courteous, and embellished with precisely the sort of flowery merchant eloquence Ruvian remembered from their first encounter.

Ruvian stared at her.

’...What the hell is she doing here?’

Vible ignored his reaction entirely and sighed.

With another faint click of her tongue, she extended one hand toward the deeper section of the cafe, gesturing for him to follow.

"This way, you damn brat. Lady Silvena is waiting for you."

Without waiting for his response, Vible turned around and began walking toward the rear section of the cafe.

Ruvian followed behind her, passing several empty tables before they eventually reached a narrow corridor tucked beside the kitchen. At the end of it stood a wooden staircase descending beneath the building.

His brows rose slightly.

’There was a basement here?’

Vible seemed to notice the brief hesitation in his steps.

Without bothering to turn around, she casually explained that the underground floor was part of the cafe’s recent renovation.

Apparently, quite a lot had changed since Ruvian had last visited.

Cafe Delaciel itself had already been purchased by Silvena some time ago, and nearly every alteration he had noticed upstairs had been made under her direction.

The new furniture, the decorations, the improved counter, and even this underground section had all been added after she became the owner.

Ruvian stared at the back of Vible’s head for a moment.

’Of course she bought the entire cafe.’

For some reason, that revelation did not surprise him nearly as much as it probably should have.

Once Ruvian reached the bottom, there was not much to see aside from a narrow, dimly lit corridor with only a single door at the very end.

Vible stopped there and turned around, seemingly preparing to head back upstairs. Before leaving, however, she released a weary sigh and decided to explain one last thing.

"For your information, the entire cafe has been reserved exclusively for the two of you for the whole day. So enjoy yourselves with whatever you two are planning to discuss down here."

She yawned lazily before speaking.

"I’m just going to stay on the upper floor and laze around for a while. So avoid doing any indecent business down here, alright? Because I’ll be the one responsible for cleaning up whatever mess you two make."

Ruvian stared at her with a disgusted expression.

"What? A handsome man and a beautiful woman, alone together in a basement. I’m just making sure I don’t come back to something I’ll regret seeing."

*****

The room beyond the door was quite small, but it was clearly more luxurious than the rest of the cafe.

A polished table stood in the center with several comfortable seats around it. On the opposite wall was another strange-looking door, its frame covered in faintly glowing runes.

Silvena was already seated at the table with one leg crossed over the other, a cup of chamomile cappuccino resting near her hand.

The moment Ruvian entered, the corner of her lips curved upward.

"How do you like it? The changes I made to this cafe."

Ruvian let his gaze travel around the room once more before returning to her.

"It looks good. Much better than before."

He pulled out the seat across from her and settled into it.

"I guess you really liked this cafe if you were willing to buy the whole place for yourself."

Silvena’s smile widened faintly, as though she had already expected that comment. Then, she reached for a small menu beside her and slid it across the table toward him.

"Since you’re here, you might as well order something. Pick whatever you want, it’s on me today."

Ruvian caught the menu and opened it, his eyes quickly moving through the list.

"You own the place now, so saying it’s on you doesn’t sound nearly as generous as it should."

Silvena gave him an amused look.

"Does that mean you’re refusing?"

"Haha, of course not, free coffee is still free coffee."

Ruvian slightly chuckled and looked through the drinks again before settling on one of the cappuccinos.

"I’ll take the cinnamon cappuccino."

"Good choice." Silvena reached toward a small bell placed near the side of the table and gave it a light ring.

The faint chime immediately made Ruvian think of the woman waiting upstairs. Remembering Vible’s irritated face from earlier, another question finally came to mind.

"But is that woman really working here now?"

One of Silvena’s brows rose.

"Vible?"

"Yeah. I thought you sent her somewhere else as punishment for what she did."

"Well, that was the plan at first."

Silvena rested her elbow against the armrest and tilted her head slightly.

"But I decided to give her a second chance."

Ruvian’s eyes narrowed with mild surprise.

"What about the other three?"

"Yes, them as well."

Silvena shifted comfortably in her seat. "They weren’t really suitable for working here, so I placed them somewhere else."

She briefly glanced toward the ceiling, as though recalling the headache they had caused her.

"They begged for another chance and promised they would change, so I decided to give them one."

Ruvian gave her a doubtful look.

"That generous of you?"

A small laugh escaped Silvena.

"Of course not."

She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"There’s a Mana Contract involved. They’re forbidden from returning to their old criminal activities or betraying the agreement they made with me."

Ruvian immediately understood.

Silvena leaned back again, looking perfectly relaxed.

"If they really intend to change, then they have nothing to worry about. And if they don’t, the contract will deal with them."

Ruvian nodded slightly before letting out a small chuckle.

"I see."

He sighed.

"Anyway, let’s talk about the main reason I wanted to meet you today."

Silvena gave him a long look.

"Of course, even though you decided to arrange this at the very last minute, one night before you wanted to meet."

Her eyes narrowed just enough to make the accusation clear. "You really are something, Ruvian."

Ruvian rubbed the back of his neck with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. I was planning to contact you sooner, but something came up with my family."

His hand slowly fell back to his side.

"There was some trouble involving a local guild, and they came directly to my house to threaten my father."

The amusement vanished from Silvena’s face.

"Yeah, I already read what you wrote in the letter. From what you told me, that group only started becoming active recently, and you believe they might have some connection to demons?"

Ruvian nodded.

"Yes, which is why I need your help looking into them."

He leaned forward slightly.

"I want a proper background check, especially on the people running the guild and anyone supporting them from behind."

Silvena’s gaze sharpened as she considered it.

"Do you have anything else I can work with besides what you already sent me?"

"I do."

Ruvian had already added Edric’s name into [Bookmarks] after their confrontation. (-7,000PP)

Because of that, he had been able to gather a few more pieces of information about where the man had gone afterward.

He gave Silvena everything useful he had managed to collect. He mentioned the places Edric had visited, the people he had met, and several locations that kept appearing around his movements.

Silvena listened without interrupting him.

At certain details, her brows would draw together slightly, while at others, her eyes shifted aside for a moment as though arranging the information in her head.

Once Ruvian finished, she remained quiet for a few seconds.

Then, she gave a slow nod.

"Alright, I’ll see what I can find. I can’t promise how deep this goes yet, but this should be enough for me to start pulling on a few threads."

Ruvian’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Thank you."

He meant it.

Silvena remained quiet for a moment before shifting slightly in her seat.

"Aside from that, I also have my own reason for wanting to see you today."

Ruvian raised an eyebrow.

’Hm?’

Silvena met his gaze, and this time there was no teasing in her expression.

"It’s about Calyra, and the gathering we’re supposed to hold in a few days at my new guild regarding the dungeon expedition."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"I forgot to mention this earlier, but I should tell you now—"

His expression turned troubled.

"—Calyra might not be able to join us for the dungeon expedition."

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[Chapter 368: Cafe Delaciel’s New Owner]

Plot Points = 295,000