Shadow Slave

Chapter 1808 Down the River Sunny held Neph's hand to help her step into the boat, then untied it, pushed it away from the berth, and jumped inside nimbly. His movements were so light that the boat did not rock at all.

Nephis sat down on the bench at the front, while he took his place on the bench at the stern. They were facing each other, with only the picnic basket between them.

He took the oars and moved them gently, guiding the boat to the middle of the river. It floated smoothly, cutting the water with a pleasant sound. The lively streets of Bastion crawled past them, with plenty of interesting scenes to be seen. The further from the shore they moved, the quieter it became, until the bustle of the city had turned into a quiet hum.

Sunny was not looking around, though. He was looking at Nephis, and in turn, she was looking at him.

Both were smiling.

Nephis leaned to the side and lowered a hand into the water. Watching her fingers cut its surface, she sighed deeply, and then closed her eyes for a moment. Her features relaxed.

"How peaceful."

Hearing her say that made him happy.

Sunny extended his shadow sense in all directions, so he knew that there were no Nightmare Creatures hiding under the water. He did not spoil the mood by telling her to be careful. Instead, he used the few moments she had her eyes closed to stare at her with an unabashed craving.

Then, he averted his eyes and concentrated on rowing.

After a while, Nephis looked at him with a subtle smile. The city was behind them by then - there were no other boats on the river, and no ships in sight. The only sounds breaking the silence were the rustle of water and the soft splashes produced by the oars.

She leaned back a little and asked in a leisurely tone:

"Won't you grow tired from rowing?"

Sunny chuckled. It was obviously a question asked for the sake of being polite. He was supposed to be a Master, after all - guiding a small boat downriver would not tire him. lіght\nоvel\world~c\о\m. He could have used a measure of strength suitable for an Ascended and sent the boat flying at great speed to strain himself, but then the oars would probably explode into splinters.

That wouldn't be nice at all.

"Oh, I might not look it, but actually, I'm quite strong."

He let go of one of the oars for a moment and showed her his hand.

of mine can crush

Nephis laughed.

feel guilty watching

remained silent for a moment. Then, his smile turned

you come here and help

shifted to the side to give her some room. A few moments later, they were sitting side by side, each holding one

wide enough to fit two people,

from the surface of the water. The river was peaceful and quiet. Sunny could feel the heat of her body through his clothes,

He inhaled deeply.

this manner was a little tricky. The oars had to move both simultaneously and with equal amounts of force - otherwise, the small vessel would either turn to the shore or

They were perfectly in syne - the oars rose and fell in tandem with each other, and

they were so close, each holding an oar with one hand, maintaining

it around Neph's waist, firmly holding her in place. She glanced at him

silent for a while, rowing in harmony while enjoying the breeze,

awkward or tense. Instead, it was comfortable and soothing, easing

Nephis looked at him and

you thinking

for a moment, then

life, I guess. How it is sometimes full of sorrow, and sometimes full

carefully, then turned to enjoy the view of

Mostly, I

looked at

lived in service of her goal... which didn't mean that she was miserable. It just meant that her mind

a life. Still... Sunny felt that she was

for a

Then, when was the last time you felt joy? And when was the

with a faint smile. She remained silent for a bit, then

"I don't quite remember."

looking at

it was not important

and