Shadow Slave

After the five of them walked inside, Nephis remained silent for a few moments as she looked around. Although her face was still and stoic as ever, Sunny could have sworn that he noticed a hint of curiosity reflected in her cold grey eyes.

After a while, she asked:

"This is your home?"

Due to her sheltered upbringing, Changing Star had probably never been in a normal residence. Strangely, she was someone who had only experienced living in upscale manors and squalid Dream Realm slums, with nothing in between.

Still, Sunny was not discouraged. He grinned and nodded proudly.

"Yes. Bought it fair and square, with the contribution points from my first research paper. I own this place!"

Nephis hesitated.

"What happened to the walls?"

His smile dimmed a little.

"...Effie happened."

Of course, he had long cleaned the mess that the huntress created after Ascending. However, Sunny had been too preoccupied with other matters to enact proper repairs. As the result, the guest bedroom only had a flimsy curtain covering its irregular-shaped entrance, but no door.

'Maybe I should get to it…'

Sunny cleared his throat, then gestured at the living room section of the main space.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll make us something to eat."

As the cohort settled, he walked to the kitchen area and stood in front of the open refrigerator for some time, thinking. For some reason, Sunny had a strong desire to cook up something special. Nephis must have been sick of eating monster meat for years… so…

Finally, he produced a number of ingredients and laid them out on the cooking surface, then started the preparations.

'Fried rice… fried rice should do the job. Omurice? Do I have eggs?'

As he went about it, the discussion reached a poignant moment. Cassie was finishing describing the important details of the reason for their tense relationship with Clan Valor.

"...And so, we accomplished our goal and Ascended. However, that man… Mordret… he must have Ascended, as well. His clan doesn't know that yet, so their response was only mildly aggressive. Sky Tide of White Feather took most of the blame for his escape and the consequent death of Saint Cormac. That did not save us from all fallout, sadly."

She paused, and then added somberly:

"They have secretly captured two of the loyalist Forgotten Shore survivors. The rest of us took shelter in the Dream Realm. For the past six months, Sunny's contact in the government acted as an intermediary to arrange a peaceful negotiation. It seems that Valor is finally ready to talk, but they aim to recruit at least one of us into their clan."

The blind girl sighed.

"The four of us are already a very important asset, but with the addition of the Fire Keepers, our value is nothing short of tremendous. If they can't get all of us, they are determined to at least make sure that we don't pledge allegiance to their competitors. Of course, now that you are here, the situation has become even more fraught with tension. Valor will be much more motivated."

Cassie smiled weakly, and then said in an apologetic tone:

"Uh… I'm sorry to have to burden you with all that right after you return.

Nephis remained silent for a few moments, then shook her head.

"No. You were right to inform me. Thank you."

A grim and thoughtful look appeared on her face.

Sunny, meanwhile, listened to the conversation silently. He was darkly perplexed by the fact that his life had turned out in such a way that encountering words like "loyalists", "government contact", and "allegiance" in a casual conversation did not seem out of place.

Effie, meanwhile, looked at Changing Star with curiosity and asked:

"I get what our problem with the great clans is. What's your problem with them? I thought that you, of all people, would have been chummy with the top Legacies, princess."

Nephis looked at her without any amusement.

"They want me dead."

The huntress blinked a couple of times.

"What? Why?"

Changing Star shrugged.

"You'll have to ask them."

Effie remained silent for a while, thinking. After some time, she frowned and asked:

"So was Caster…?"

Nephis simply nodded.

"He was."

Kai looked at them with confusion:

"He was what?"

Everyone turned to him, suddenly realizing that the archer was less informed about some of the darker secrets of what had happened on the Forgotten Shore than the rest of them. After a while, Effie shook her head.

"I mean… aren't you the walking lie detector? What do you think Caster was up to?"

Kai coughed.

"Oh… he was indeed a bit dishonest sometimes. But I just assumed that he was trying to hide his feeling for Lady Nephis…"

At that moment, Sunny walked over carrying seven plates. He held two in his hands, two more in shadowy limbs that played the role of a second pair of hands, balanced two on his forearms, and the seventh was swaying slightly on top of a tangible shadow that resembled a long tail.

Placing a plate of delicious, steaming omurice in front of Kai, he said with a crooked grin:

"Oh, he had feelings for her for sure. The feelings of wishing to kill her to complete his mission. Sadly, he stumbled on me first."

It was a sad thing, indeed. If Sunny had not killed Caster, if Nephis had known in advance that slaying the Crimson Terror would force the Spire to seek another conduit, if Cassie's vision had been more detailed… well, there was no point in feeling regret now. What had been done was done.

The current conversation just went to show that Kai's strange Flaw, while useful, was also often detrimental and misleading.

As Kai stared into the distance in stunned silence, Sunny placed the other plates on the table, pushed three of them toward Effie, dismissed the shadows, and landed on a soft armchair.

Then, he picked up his utensils, smelled the omurice, and let out a satisfied sigh.

"What are you waiting for, fools? Dig in…"