Shadow Slave

Very soon, Sunny personally delivered a portion of his nearly immaculate waffles to Nephis, complete with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some freshly cut strawberries.

«I think I've outdone myself this time! If I do say so myself…»

He was in a great mood. Sunny wasn't sure what had come over him, but he was especially inspired today while making the waffles. It almost felt like he was on the verge of breaking through the bottleneck of his culinary skill.

Perhaps the missing ingredient was not the waffles themselves, but the customer for whom he was making them?

Contemplating these profound issues, he sat across from Nephis and smiled.

She wasn't wearing that clumsy disguise of hers today, so he could enjoy the sight of her lustrous silver locks. The few customers present in the dining hall were frozen in stunned awe, the name Changing Star ready to fall from their lips. Sunlight seemed especially radiant in her presence, bathing the Brilliant Emporium in a warm glow.

Sunny felt his heartbeat quickening.

Nephis spared him a short glance, then looked away to take a sip of tea. Finally, she picked up the spoon and took a small bite of the waffle with an aloof expression.

«She won't even look at me. Well, makes sense.»

«Why would she?»

Unlike Sunny, who couldn't herp stealing glances at Nephis, she was probably preoccupied with different thoughts.

He sighed.

«I can't help but notice that you are not hiding your identity anymore, Lady Nephis. I was under the assumption that you wanted to keep the commission secret, though. What changed?»

She put the spoon down, gave the waffles a strange stare, and then finally faced him.

«I still do. However, plans had to change due to our last conversation. Considering that we will have to spend a lot of time together, trying to hide our connection from Valor is not an option. They'll discover a new person in my immediate circle sooner than later… so, we will have to resort to a bit of misdirection, instead.»

A subtle smile touched her lips.

«Congratulations, Master Sunless. You are now the official Memory Purveyor of the Fire Keepers — an independent specialist we've hired to handle sales and acquisitions of sorcerous equipment. Of course, you will receive a generous commission for every deal you facilitate… which will pay for the actual commission.»

As Sunny froze, unable to speak, she studied his face for a few moments and then returned to the waffles with a small, but seemingly pleased smile.

We've struck it rich,

Fire Keepers was not much different from receiving a government tender. The Memory Boutique side of the Brilliant Emporium was about to explode in revenue… all of that simply to bury the exchange of

«Very crafty.»

come up

still did

He frowned slightly.

definitely delighted to hear it. But, my lady… even so, isn't it a little bit too strange for you to deliver the news personally? Surely, sending one of your subordinates would have

an exalted existence even among Saints. She would have never had to deal with something as mundane as hiring a procurement specialist personally. So, there was an obvious contradiction between

remained silent for a while, savoring her tea and dessert or pretending to savor them, most likely. It was hard to tell from her expression if she was really enjoying the taste of what Sunny had cooked… which, honestly speaking,

how Nephis was. She had never really had a

in the past four years. Her pretense of being engrossed in his waffles was incredibly convincing. Sunny wasn't sure that he could have put on such a

with a masterfully acted out hint

would not have solved the problem. You and I are going to be seen together often, after all, and there needs to be an explanation. So, I am here

paused for a

be a deeper layer of deception

Sunny smiled.

«A double misdirection?»

in

explanation and come to a false conclusion, thinking that they've discovered the truth. Not knowing that what they've discovered is actually another, more convincing

«Definitely Cassie's idea.»

tilted his head a

that more convincing

Nephis shifted a little.

suggests that you are worthy of my attention. However… how do 1 say this… you must

a couple

Lady Nephis, but I don't quite understand what you

enough, Nephis… seemed

while, then took a sip

she cleared

I am infatuated with you. That I've arranged for you to have a position with the Fire Keepers because you are my paramour. So, I am here today to plant

«A… paramour…»