Shadow Slave

Effie wisely chose that moment to disappear and join the dancing crowd below. Sunny ground his teeth for a few moments, then shook his head and walked to the table, landing on a luxurious lounge chair with a sigh.

Kai briefly glanced at him and smiled.

"Where are Effie and Lady Nephis?"

Sunny stared at him for a few moments, then looked away.

"Effie went to dance. Neph is in the bathroom. Also, will you cut it out with the "lady" stuff? The two of you spent months traversing the Forgotten Shore together, back when we were returning from the Hollow Mountains. She is also younger than you. That is more than enough to drop the formalities, don't you think?"

The archer coughed.

"Oh. Well… I'll try."

He didn't sound very convincing, forcing Sunny to roll his eyes.

"Anyway, what do we have here?"

At some point, a waiter had entered the lounge and placed a tray of various foods on the table... while trying very hard not to throw reverent looks at the distinguished guests. Knowing that there would be no chance for him to taste anything once Effie returned, Sunny used the opportunity to try a few.

As he chewed on a piece of cheese that had been dipped into a sweet, viscous amber liquid, Sunny smiled in delight and asked:

"Wow. What's that sugary syrup?"

Cassie turned to him, then smelled the air.

"I... I think it's honey."

Sunny blinked a couple of times. The word was familiar, but he usually heard it used as a term of endearment. Who knew that it had actually come from something this delicious?

"What is honey, though?"

a little, then said with a bit

sort of liquid that special insects produce by ingesting and regurgitating

pale, and slowly

see. Good

gulped a mouthful of champagne and tried to discreetly rinse

sustained himself on raw, rotting mimic meat for

even he had his

what are they going to

her face was perfectly composed. However, there was a hint of confusion in her

sat down, Kai hesitated for a moment, and

Did anything happen…

no attention to the lack of "lady" and simply shook her

there is a little snack here in the VIP lounge that those women would want to taste? Odd. Why wouldn't they just order it themselves... well, maybe it

the small bowl of honey with disgust

have no objections. They are free to

the point of today's outing, anyway. After days of serving as a punching bag for

with delight. She quickly destroyed most

fun! We should

Nephis looked at her in horror, while Kai

that they don't have live

with a

never imagined living like this. I mean, my goal was always to

The archer smiled wistfully.

of surprises, isn't it? Before the Forgotten Shore, I had a clear picture of what my future would look like. Then, for years, I tried not to think about

out a small

my younger self and think about what she expected from

on Sunny. He

is exactly how I imagined my life would go, actually. After I returned from the First Nightmare, I thought that I would soon be a full citizen, super rich, and have unlimited access to tasty food. So I don't know what you're