Shadow Slave

Effie regarded the cathedral for some time, then glanced at Sunny with doubt.

"I know for a fact that nothing comes out alive from that temple. Are you sure that this is where you live?"

With a carefree smile, Sunny shrugged. The fact that Effie knew about the danger hiding inside the ruined church did not surprise him. Even if it was situated outside of her usual hunting grounds, she had extensive knowledge of the Dark City, some from her own exploration, some from sharing information with other hunters.

Dead tired and longing to return to the peaceful silence of his home, he didn't waste any time and told her about the Black Knight who guarded the cathedral.

The unruly huntress scratched the back of her head.

"So… there's a Fallen Devil inside? He's the roommate you were talking about?"

Sunny gave her a nod.

"The bastard endlessly patrols the ground floor and kills anything that comes through the doors. However, if we enter through the roof and stay hidden, we can reach my living quarters without any problem. More than that, nothing will bother us once we're there, because the bastard never comes that way and obliterates anything that tries."

Effie was silent for a while, then grinned.

"So, you basically have a devil for a butler. Pretty smart…"

Sunny chuckled.

'Was that a compliment?'

"...for a doofus like you."

'Ah, there it is.'

Once they climbed up to the roof, there was a slight problem. Sunny failed to consider that the hole in the tiles that he used to enter the cathedral, while wide enough for his small frame, would be too tight for the tall and robust huntress to crawl through. Looking at the narrow gap between the massive plates of dark marble, Effie gave him a gloomy look.

However, before Sunny could come up with an alternative plan, she simply bent down, grabbed one of the incredibly heavy plates, and moved it aside. The words died on his lips.

'S—strong. So strong. I wonder who is stronger, she or the Stone Saint.'

Honestly, he wasn't sure.

Before proceeding further, Sunny instructed Effie on how they were going to get her inside the hidden chamber and watched as the huntress reluctantly dismissed her bronze armor. With only a short white tunic covering her lovely olive skin and abundant figure, she looked very… uh… comely. For a moment, his displeasure of having someone intrude upon the secluded peacefulness of his lair evaporated.

…But only for a moment.

strange ideas. Your armor is just too much of a risk. We can't allow ourselves

Effie grinned.

having strange ideas all

his teeth, turned away to hide his blushing face, and crawled into the hole

'Damn woman!'

Although the sun was still high

of the grand hall were drowned

darkness. Not one born from the absence of light, but true darkness, one which even his sight could not pierce. Sunny didn't know if it was summoned here by the Black Knight or simply obeyed him, but this was how the bastard had managed to sneak up on him unnoticed back when they

of the cathedral. One wrong step, and they would plunge

'What a bother.'

their bodies were to each other, Sunny quietly sighed and took a step forward. It

who's having strange ideas?

reached the hidden balcony behind the statue of the unknown goddess. Despite the fact that nothing out of the ordinary

was going to be a really long

light and speak. Not wasting any

belonged to the priestess of this ancient temple was suddenly flooded with soft light. The intricate engravings on the walls created an atmosphere of sanctity and elegance. Here and there stood various pieces of furniture, most made out of opulent pale wood, with a few mismatched

Effie whistled.

to give it to you, Sunny. You sure know how to live in style.

He smiled.

"Jealous?"

She sighed.

important thing is that even if Gunlaug tracks us here, none of his people would be able to enter.

Slightly disappointed, Sunny shrugged.

yourself at home. I'll show you the back

his home more presentable. If he had known that there was going to be a guest here, he would have cleaned up the mess

attention. She walked around with

then, suddenly, Sunny heard a loud giggle coming from

a stone panel. The wardrobe was currently open,

him

is she staring at

"What?"

Effie shook her head.

thought — look at this tiny boy! He's just like a toy! You just want to dress him up like a doll and

of times, then scowled

calling tiny? I'm not

the huntress glanced at the