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.

low on coffee beans, indeed. I'll have to

Emporium could not contend with more prestigious restaurants in Bastion, hot beverages like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate were Sunny's selling point. That was because he exclusively used

beans, poured the fragrant powder and a little sugar into a copper cezve, then sent a wisp of essence into the stove and placed the cezve on the fire. The stove

heated a little, he took the Endless Spring off the shelf, poured water into the cezve, and placed it back on the fire. Ideally, he should

a second flame and put a pan on it. Then, Sunny opened the icebox and took out a

icebox had also been created and enchanted by him, in the best attempt to imitate the luxurious refrigerator he had greatly enjoyed owning in the 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, it was

of another charm he had lost, [Memory of Ice]. 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 first two, so Sunny just had

with the other, Sunny mixed the eggs

folded it, finally adding

on a tray, Sunny glanced at Aiko, who was still going over the books, and left the kitchen

Teacher Julius, he curiously glanced at the book the old man was reading. Its

Report on the Tomb

was the nobody

seemed like a shame to just leave all the knowledge he had accumulated

in the Estuary to himself, though, concentrating on the unique culture of

was simply too dangerous to share. There were very few people in the world who could withstand a mere

report had caused

furor in some other circles,

the Great

of them was the author of the report... then who the hell

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 to

old man smelled the delicious fragrance of coffee, he got distracted from his book and

smell! Ah, I've been looking forward to

and pointed to the