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?"

girl tilted her head a little, then

insects produce by ingesting

slowly pushed the cheese plate

I see. Good

of champagne and tried to

his food. He had even sustained himself on raw, rotting

even he had his

what are they going to come up with

She was acting as if nothing had happened, and her face was perfectly composed. However,

down, Kai hesitated for a moment, and then

Did anything

attention to the lack of "lady" and

a strange conversation on my way back. Apparently, 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 is not

the small bowl of honey with disgust

they want it, they can have it. I have no objections. They are free to gobble it up, as far as

That was the point of today's outing, anyway. After days of serving as a punching bag for an untrained Master,

with delight. She quickly destroyed most of their food,

fun! We should go out

her in horror, while Kai

just a shame that they don't have live

with

my goal was always to become a

The archer smiled wistfully.

full 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

think about what she expected from the future, I… I can't believe how naive and shortsighted she was. She... feels like

fell on Sunny. He raised

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 talking about. For me,