Shadow Slave

Leaving an avatar behind to help Aiko in the kitchen, Sunny left the Brilliant Emporium with Nephis.

The avatar did not have the benefit of wearing the Nebulous Mantle, but his Transcendent presence would be safely contained as long as he did not enter the dining hall. Since the entire interior of the Brilliant Emporium was situated in the dimensional storage of the Marvelous Mimic, anyone would find it hard to catch a glimpse of what was happening in the kitchen.

The café would still close for the day as soon as the current customers left, though. When Sunny told Aiko about the contract with the Fire Keepers, she was beyond happy for a few moments... however, pretty soon, they discovered a problem.

Although the real purpose of the Memory Purveyor position was to hide the commission of an enchanted sword for Nephis, that cover still had to be maintained. Which meant that the Brilliant Emporium would really have to handle the sales of the Memories earned by the Fire Keepers, as well as the acquisition of the Memories they wished to purchase.

The problem was that Sunny's reputation as a Memory broker was all a smokescreen, and he did not really possess a network of connections to facilitate such deals. Luckily, Aiko still had some contacts from running the Brilliant Emporium alone in the past - so, she had to come up with a business plan and accomplish a lot of relevant things with utmost haste.

The petite girl seemed daunted by the sudden task, but he could almost see piles of coins reflecting in her eyes.

In any case, that was what was happening to Aiko and the avatar in the Brilliant Emporium.

Sunny himself, meanwhile...

Was accompanying Nephis on a leisurely stroll across Bastion.

He had to admit that they made for quite a pair. Nephis looked elegant and sharp in her crisp civilian clothes, while his attire was refined and tasteful. Sunny noticed that the two of them collected a lot of stares - some people even turned around to watch them go.

Some of them recognized Nephis, some of them didn't.

He felt a little uncomfortable with all that attention, but knew that it was the very reason they were out in the open.

The streets of Bastion were lively at that time of day. Nephis looked around with curiosity, a faint smile playing on her lips. Eventually, she asked:

"Have you lived in Bastion long, Master Sunless?"

He shook his head.

"No... only for about a year."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Where were you before?"

Sunny lingered for a few moments, then shrugged,

"After Antarctica... here and there. I spent some time exploring the wilderness after the Nightmare."

Sunny did not specify which Nightmare he meant, letting Nephis make her own wrong conclusion. There was nothing strange with saying that he had wandered the Dream Realm for years before settling in Bastion, either - it would have been a deadly affair before, but after the Dream Gates were open, there was much more travel between various Citadels.

Both the Sword Domain and the Song Domain were swiftly turning into actual states, as opposed to loose alliances of isolated strongholds. There were all kinds of activities going on in the wilderness of the Dream Realm these days - roads were being constructed, trade routes were being established, fortified relay stations were being constructed, and so on.

Domains was being built at a staggering speed, there was a

was not a place where only warriors could survive anymore. Of course,

part of

She smiled.

am away, the actual number of days I've spent in Bastion won't even account for three months. So, in a sense, you've been

grew

in Bastion? On

about it for a few moments, then answered in a

the city is boiling with activity, but unlike the cities of the waking world, it's less suffocating here. Both literally and metaphorically. The air is clean, and the people are... optimistic about their lives. Back on Earth, everyone spent their days pretending not to know that everything was falling apart. Here, everyone is working

then

lake come from Antarctica, so they are scarred and traumatized. In the worst cases, people reach their breaking point and snap. Crime is not exactly rampant, but it does exist... worse than that, with how many Awakened there are now, the

at Nephis and smiled

to have

stared at him for a moment, then

alright. It is exactly what I wanted to hear. People like me are tasked with protecting humanity, but, strangely enough, we mostly exist in isolation from the actual people we are meant to protect. So, it is good to learn such

lake, heading for the distant ferry. This section of the lakeshore was fashioned into a park, and there were a lot of people

Many young couples included.

felt

whose profile was contoured by the radiance of the

bother you? The

wanted to answer, but at that moment, Sunny's eyes

His expression changed.

the hell...

shook the Nameless Temple in the distant Godgrave. He was momentarily distracted... and slipped on a wrapper someone had carelessly dropped on

be happening... I'm a Saint!

time he saw Nephis, he ended up tripping over

he wanted to perform a sudden somersault to regain his footing, but that would look even more ridiculous than falling. Using Shadow

himself and prepared to hit

A moment later, though...

took a step forward and wrapped her arm around his waist, gallantly

suddenly found

his entire weight effortlessly supported by her strength, staring into her

almost pressed against each

him calmly, Nephis asked

are

Sunny's heart fluttered.

silently,

He... was not alright.

the hell is that?! Am I in a romantic drama?! If so... why the hell am I the one being caught?! It's the man's job to catch the