Shadow Slave

It was still very early in the morning, so the streets of Bastion were mostly empty. However, someone had already come to the Brilliant Emporium.

As the door opened, a melodious sound spread through the interior of the Marvelous Mimic. There was a beautiful silver bell affixed above the door, its soft and pleasing ringing welcoming the entering customers.

Of course, it was the Sonorous Silver Bell.

Sunny looked up from what he was doing, then wiped his hands on his apron and left the kitchen. There was an elderly gentleman standing at the door, dressed in a patchy enchanted robe. He had messy grey hair, absentminded eyes, and a pair of bushy eyebrows that seemed to have a life of their own.

Sunny suppressed a smile.

"Awakened Julius. You are here early."

The old man looked at him and smiled politely.

"Ah, Master Sunless! Well, I am a night owl. Plus, you know what they say, the early bird gets the worm. Wait... I am mixing metaphors..."

He hesitated for a moment, then coughed.

"Sorry. I seem to remember that you dislike birds. In any case, it is nice to see you on this pleasant morning."

Sunny nodded.

"Likewise. The usual?"

As the old man assumed his favorite spot near the window, Sunny returned to the kitchen. There, he went about making coffee for his former teacher, while at the same time preparing a light breakfast.

are running low on coffee beans, indeed. I'll have to visit NQSC

Sunny's selling point. That was because he exclusively used the pure water from the

the cezve on the fire. The stove had been created by him by reversing the enchantment of a long-destroyed charm of his, [Memory of Fire], which

Spring off the shelf, poured water into the cezve, and placed it back on the fire. Ideally, he should have been using a pan of

coffee was brewing, he ignited a second flame and put a pan on it. Then, Sunny opened the icebox and took out a few eggs, butter, and a jar of

past. In fact, it was more of a large cabinet than a box, made out of natural wood instead of synthwood. So, in a sense,

There was a luminous enchantment, too, activated when the door of the cabinet was open. A third enchantment created a dedicated reserve of essence that powered the

eggs with one hand and putting butter on the pan with the other, Sunny mixed the eggs while slowly blending milk in and poured

to set, then effortlessly flipped and folded it, finally adding some mushrooms, vegetables, and ham. Well...

ready. Putting them on a tray, Sunny glanced at

cup in front of Teacher Julius, he curiously glanced at the book the old man was reading. Its cover was

Report on the Tomb

nobody

it seemed like a shame to just leave all the knowledge he had accumulated in the Third Nightmare go to waste.

and everything he discovered in the Estuary to himself, though, concentrating on the unique culture

but also because some knowledge was simply too dangerous to share. There were very few people in the world who could withstand a mere mention of

his report had caused a furor in

caused a furor in some other circles,

the

had ventured into the Nightmare of the Tomb of Ariel, after all. And since none of them was the author of the report...

written by nobody, was under a lot of scrutiny. Which was why even a respected professor like Teacher Julius chose to hide its cover under a jacket and read it in the Dream Realm, as opposed

smelled the delicious fragrance of coffee, he got

looking forward to it all

smiled and pointed to the