Shadow Slave

Sunny settled in a corner and stuffed his mouth with stew. A few moments later, the flap of the tent opened, and Morgan walked in, followed closely by Cassie.

The Princess of Valor seemed to be in a good mood. Her strange vermilion eyes were lively and vivid, shining with barely contained excitement. It was as though the calamitous battle had invigorated the usually restrained young woman, revealing a glimpse of her true self.

Without the habitual mask of composed decorum, Morgan looked... younger.

Her words echoed Sunny's thoughts. A pleasant - and disturbingly familiar - smile appeared on her beautiful face, and with a melodious laugh, Morgan said:

"That was spectacular! Dear sister, venerable Masters... you did not disappoint!"

With that, her lips twisted a little in an expression of wistful regret. She seemed disappointed by the fact that she had not received a chance to participate in the battle personally.

Morgan sighed.

"The whole camp is aflame with the tales of what happened in your corner of the battlefield. Even the feats performed by the Saints seem to have taken a back seat to what Changing Star has achieved. Ah... I'm so proud of my talented, capable little sister. Nicely done!"

She paused for a moment, and then added with a smile that seemed a little sharper than before:

"Your glory is clan Valor's glory, of course. So, I am very happy right now."

Sunny silently chewed his food. Hearing the word "glory" from a descendant of War God really rubbed him the wrong way, but he didn't let it ruin his appetite.

'Indeed, she has a good reason to be happy...'

If the war of the great clans was a popularity contest - which it was, in a sense - then Valor was currently winning. Not only had Sky Tide been the first of the Saints to slay her foe, but the potentially catastrophic breach in the defensive formation had also been repaired by Nephis.

'Was that why Morgan failed to send us reinforcements? To earn her damned clan some glory?'

a small one. Anvil's daughter was not someone who would sacrifice strategic benefits to earn a little bit of fame... especially because

he simply glanced at Morgan

to those reinforcements we were supposed to

looking particularly guilty or taken aback by his bluntness,

didn't look like you needed any, so I sent them someplace

wanted to rebuke her, but then changed his mind and turned

of the people directly participating in the bloodshed was, naturally, limited. Morgan, on the other hand, had enjoyed the broad view of the whole battlefield, especially because of Cassie. She must have known that Saint Tyris had

fact, Morgan might have been the one to coordinate with Sky Tide and make sure that the titan fell in front of the breach,

seemed as though the Fire Keepers had been left for dead from Sunny's perspective, she really could have had no reason to send reinforcements their

not sure that I'm buying it... but on the other hand, I'm also not sure that

were interrupted by the fact that Morgan

Sunny shifted.

"Uh... what?"

Her smile grew wider.

a daughter of Valor. You, however! Master Sunless, you gave me a very, very pleasant surprise. It seems that

a step closer and leaned forward, staring at him with something that almost resembled

I never understood what my little sister saw in you. But now! I take it all back. She has a good eye. You fought beautifully, Master Sunless... we really should spar sometime. I have not had a good sparring partner in a long, long time. My dear sister indulged me at first, but now, she is always

little. Sunny, meanwhile,

forgot. She's a

He coughed awkwardly.

fight Nightmare Creatures, so my habits are a bit... rough. So do tell me if I get

gleamed with a

get carried away myself, sometimes. That's why it's hard to find

Sunny shrugged.

that I

definitely not brittle, so there was no reason to be concerned. A spar was just

why was he suddenly feeling cold? As if he