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?"

tilted her head a little, then said with a bit of surprise

insects produce by ingesting

slowly pushed the cheese plate away from

see. Good

that, he gulped a mouthful of champagne and tried

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

he had

they going

returned. She was acting as if nothing had happened, and her face was perfectly composed. However, there was a hint of confusion in

sat down, Kai hesitated for a

Did

attention to the lack of "lady" and simply shook

a bit of 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

the small bowl of honey with disgust

it. I have no objections. They are free to

Sunny took a sip of champagne and relaxed a little. That was the point of today's outing,

Effie returned. The huntress was practically beaming with delight. She quickly

is fun! We should go

Nephis looked at her in horror,

just a shame that they

meanwhile, looked around with a

is strange, though. I never imagined living like this. I mean, my goal was always to become a Master. But now

The archer smiled wistfully.

a clear picture of what my future would look like. Then, for years, I tried not to think about the future at all. And now that I reached that future, it's not

out a

what she expected from the future, I…

gazes fell on Sunny. He

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 talking about. For me, everything