Shadow Slave

Leaving the martial hall, they went for a walk. Sunny offered Nephis his arm once again, and they strolled along the lively streets of Bastion, making sure to be seen by as many people as possible.

It wasn't every day that ordinary citizens could catch a glimpse of Changing Star, so many were stunned and excited. She smiled politely at them and nodded from time to time.

Luckily, a Saint was different from a celebrity. Although she was immensely popular, people treated her with a sense of solemn veneration. No one bothered them wanting to receive an autograph, and no one tried to exchange words with her — they just looked from afar and kept a respectful distance.

Nephis herself, meanwhile, was quite curious about the details of the day-to-day life of the city. As they walked, she often asked Sunny to explain this or that, listening to his explanations with keen interest.

«…Before last year, most people in Bastion sustained themselves on the food rations delivered from the waking world and the meat brought back by the abomination hunters. But then, the fields outside the city were finally able to yield a harvest — crops capable of thriving in the Dream Realm soil had been cultivated decades ago, but scaling the production took time. In any case, the city is almost self-sufficient now. These food stalls became popular after the supply of locally sourced flour stabilized, as well. Would you like to try a fish cake? It's not really fish, of course… but it's still delicious…»

She smiled and shook her head.

«No, thank you. I am quite full.»

Hearing that, Sunny felt satisfied. It seemed that she had enjoyed the picnic.

Feeding people felt nice, indeed… Especially this particular person. Nephis looked at him with curiosity, and then asked in a neutral tone:

«Master Sunless… can I ask you a question?»

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

«Of course.»

She lingered for a moment.

«You've been observing my swordsmanship. What did you see?»

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He had expected her to ask that, somewhat.

The arrangement between Nephis and him was for the purpose of crafting a weapon for her, and to do that, Sunny had requested to study her swordsmanship and battle technique.

However, his persona was that of a sorcerer, not a warrior. Nephis did not know how deep his understanding of combat went, and if he was even capable of learning anything about her transcendent battle prowess. In fact, if anything, she would think that his knowledge of swordsmanship was shallow.

in the world, it was certainly the broadest. He doubted

how much he saw, and to what

then sighed and said

«Your swordsmanship… is ruthless.»

seemed amused by his

«Ruthless?»

contemplated his

surprised. You are renowned across two worlds as one of the most skilled warriors of humanity, Lady Nephis. You are also the daughter of Broken Sword, whose swordsmanship is legendary. And

She smiled silently,

and then

Master of that martial hall earlier would have beaten his students senseless if he saw them neglecting defense to that degree. Despite that, your footwork is too strange. It is meaninglessly conservative, to the point

Nephis laughed quietly.

other words… I am

smiled sadly, then

like that, but of course, it is not true. The truth of the matter

Sunny's smile faded slowly.

at all — not for your enemies, and not for yourself. You disregard defense because you expect to be hurt, mauled, and maimed. Your Aspect allows you to recover from almost any wound, after all, so no matter how terribly your body is mutilated, you

He sighed.

to replace every basic principle of combat connected to it with a new one, Incorporating being hurt into the very core of your technique. Your flesh might heal, but force is still transferred when you receive a blow. Your balance

His expression turned somber.

footwork is so strange. Of course, that impression is woefully wrong. In truth, you are not reckless at all… instead, you are so strategic that it is almost chilling. Your knowledge of physics, anatomy,

answer. She looked at him with visible

striking grey eyes were almost

such keen insight, Master

hesitated for a few moments,

There is a limit to how much I can learn from watching you practice. To truly understand enough, I'll need

widened a

sight, to see Nephis smiling

a shame, because her sincere smile was

his heart skipping

and then said in

shared your insight, but not your opinion. What do you think of my swordsmanship, Master Sunless? Care to give me a

away and hesitated