Shadow Slave

At first glance, the interior of the Instructors Lounge seemed simple and cozy. Most of the furniture was made out of wood, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Bright sunlight streamed through the tall windows, which were open slightly to let in the chilly winter air.

However, his eyes widened slightly when Sunny realized that all the wood around him was natural, not synthetic.

'Extravagant! Wasteful!'

Noticing his expression, Master Jet smiled slightly.

"Let me guess, you have never seen that much real wood in one place?"

Sunny hesitated, then gave her a nod.

"Only in the Dream Realm…"

The young woman grinned, moved a chair back with her foot, and sat down at one of the tables.

"Where do you think all this came from?"

He looked around, seeing the Instructors Lounge of the Academy from a completely new perspective, then silently sat down, lost for words.

Master Jet summoned the menu, made a selection, then leaned back and tiredly rubbed her face.

"Believe it or not, the chair you're sitting on is made out of a dead titan."

Sunny stared at her, shocked. Suddenly, he had a strong impulse to jump out of the chair.

"...What?"

She chuckled and gestured around:

vast — and very hungry — forest. The whole thing was one giant Nightmare Creature. Clan Valor spent decades at

on the wooden table. The

been a part of

food arrived. Sunny half-expected for it to be delivered by an actual Echo,

juicy roasted meat, a salad made out of real vegetables, a bowl of fragrant soup, several pieces of oven bread, butter, jam, and even chocolate pudding for

beautiful sight he

position of a research assistant once promised to him by Teacher

"Uh… please excuse me…"

concentrated on her own food. Not wasting any time on manners, Sunny assaulted his

verge to bursting open, he pushed away empty plates and leaned back with a

'Ah… this is life!'

glanced at him with

is where they hide the good

looked at the empty plates with regret and

eating almost nothing except for monster meat, I would have been

at the mention of the most common food in

beautiful dark tea steamed in front of them, Master Jet sighed, then took out something from the inner pocket of her

on the table, she

wondering why

stared at the metal box for a few seconds, and then answered in a cautious

be honest, I am

then

a very beneficial one, at that. Put your finger

she had told. The sensor buzzed for half a minute, and then a small green light ignited on the metal box. With a quiet click,

and took out several objects — a slick communicator made out of flexible glass, a memory chip with the government seal etched on its surface, and a

she lingered for a moment,

are now officially a citizen. Of the seventh rank, no