Shadow Slave

The Silver Bell rang once more, and a new customer walked in. Sunny was idly wondering what they would order when he noticed who it was. A moment later, his eyes glistened with professional interest.

It was a young woman wearing light armor and a white cape… an Awakened. Her elegant beauty and golden hair were lovely, but her expression was cold and composed, creating an uninviting impression.

Sunny did not really care about what she looked like, though. The aloof Awakened was important because she was one of his clients, and had come to retrieve a Memory. More than that, she was a Legacy. Which meant a hefty commission and a great boost to the Brilliant Emporium's reputation.

Plus, she was a passing acquaintance from Sunny's former life. Even though they had only met a few times, hers was still a familiar face.

He smiled and bowed politely.

«Awakened Telle. Welcome.»

The young woman glanced at him sternly and nodded.

«Master Sunless. I'll be leaving Bastion soon, so I wanted to check on your progress. It would be convenient if you procure a suitable Memory before I depart.»

He couldn't help but widen his smile a little.

«It is good that you decided to pay the Brilliant Emporium a visit, my lady. In fact, I have just recently acquired something that might be of interest to you.»

Memories, but he was hiding the extent of his abilities. So, for the more demanding commissions, he pretended to be a mere merchant. Very few people knew what he

a network of connections that allowed

signaled Aiko to hold down the fort and invited Awakened Telle to follow him downstairs. Passing through an ornate

was luxurious, but tasteful, exuding elegance and class. Various Memories were displayed in glass cases that were attached to the walls, sharp steel glinting on dark velvet. No sound from the upper floor reached this

to do with designing how the Memory Boutique looked.

to actually sell Memories, both because she had been close to Stev, the caretaker of the Bright Castle's arsenal, and because she had run the actual operation of Sunny's Brilliant Emporium in the past.

had explained her rationale well to make Sunny

still quite expensive. In that sense, they were much closer to luxury goods than to common tools. Therefore, a Memory shop had to cater to a luxurious clientele in order to seem

had only sold one Memory in the last two months, it was actually not that bad of a result. In fact, Sunny only had to sell a Memory once in a while to keep the business afloat… selling one every month, meanwhile, would be more than enough to turn a

them. Since Sunny did not want to reveal his secrets, he was reluctant to partner up with external specialists. Therefore, he did everything alone, playing the role of a blacksmith, jeweler, tanner, tailor,

well, actually, it was not very

a long time ago. Every Awakened knew how to survive in the wilderness, which included maintaining their equipment, constructing shelter, sewing up wounds, and many other things. Additionally, he deepened his knowledge of all

test when he lost access to the Nightmare Spell and had to survive in the remote regions of the Dream Realm alone for

importantly, though… Sunny was a weaver. His ability to craft weaves of essence strings made all other forms of craftsmanship seem accessible. He also had a golden touch due to

coordination, and precision were unrivaled, his senses were vastly superior to those of mundane humans, and his mental

would not lose to the famed forgemasters of Clan Valor when

all the tools and resources they had access

everything he used to do work, from a forge and a kiln to a pottery wheel and a sewing machine.