Once outside, Sunny spent some time finding Effie and Kai. The two of them were in the dining area of the lodge, discussing something between themselves.
There was no sign of Cassie anywhere, but he did notice Caster observing him from the stairs leading to the second floor.
'Is she avoiding me?'
Somewhat disappointed, Sunny landed on a chair next to the two locals he had come to know and gave them a dark look.
"What, the two of you know each other?"
Kai smiled.
"Who doesn't know huntress Athena? We had, uh… a few brushes in the past."
Deciding not to inquire what type of brushes he was talking about, Sunny sighed and asked:
"Does she know about that peculiar Flaw of yours?"
The charming young man blinked a couple of times, the said with confusion:
"I guess so? I don't make a secret out of it."
Great. Of all the people in the world, he got stuck with two weirdos who had no qualms about telling every random stranger about their most hidden vulnerability.
…Well, if he had a Flaw like Kai's, he wouldn't worry about it too much either.
'Lucky bastard.'
Since there was no point in pretending anymore, Sunny simply asked:
"Well? Was anyone in that room lying?"
Effie grinned.
"Ah, so that's why you dragged Night along. Paranoid much?"
Sunny would love nothing more than to ignore that question, but unfortunately, his own Flaw was much more restrictive than Kai's.
"Not at all. In fact, I think that I'm exactly as paranoid as a person should be. By which I mean extremely, of course."
Saying that, he looked at the charming archer with expectation. Kai hesitated for a few moments.
"No, no one said a single lie. Your friends are all extremely honest people, Sunny."
'Oh, you poor lamb…'
Not knowing how to react to that display of naivete, Sunny shook his head and lowered his voice:
"Not even Caster?"
Kai gave him a nod.
"No, he was honest, too."
Was Sunny wrong? Was Caster really just an honest and honorable guy? Was his distrust irrational?
Somewhat unsure, Sunny lingered for a bit and then turned to Effie.
"Neph and I agreed to continue our conversation in a week. Until then, you'll be under my protection."
The huntress giggled.
"Wow. That makes me feel real safe. Thanks, shorty."
He grimaced.
"Don't you worry. I might not look like much, but wait till you see my roommate…"
Kai suddenly choked on his drink and paled a little. Reminded of something, Sunny patted him on the back and said:
"Anyway, thanks for your help. Our deal is done. See you around, I guess."
He was not going to miss this guy one bit. Sunny wasn't winning any prizes with his looks already, but next to Kai, he seemed downright ug… uh… barely above average.
The charming archer looked at him for a few moments, then forced out a smile:
"Yeah, it was nice to make your acquaintance, Sunny. I can honestly say that spending time with you is… uh… an unforgettable experience."
With that, he glanced at Effie with something that resembled pity, rose, and left.
The two of them were left alone.
The huntress looked around with a weary expression, and then asked in a neutral tone:
"So? When do we leave?"
Sunny didn't hesitate.
"Right now. Honestly, I can't wait to get back to the ruins. This place… it gives me the creeps."
Effie gave him a strange look, then shrugged.
"Sure, no problem. Let's ditch this scary place and go hide in the ancient cursed ruins. At least we can feel safe there, right?"
***
Some time later, they were carefully walking through the streets of the Dark City. Being here in daylight was not something Sunny was accustomed to, so he was justifiably tense.
Luckily, both of them were experienced hunters and worked well together. Sunny fell into the familiar rhythm of cooperating with Effie without skipping a beat, as though three whole months had not passed since they last saw each other. It was honestly nothing short of jolly.
At some point, the unruly huntress glanced at him and asked:
"But seriously. How did you survive, Sunny?"
He gave her a dark look, then shrugged.
"How do you think? You know that I am very good at hiding in the shadows. I slept during the day and hunted during the night. Observed my prey carefully before striking at their weak spots. If I ever met something I wasn't sure I could kill, I ran."
She became thoughtful for a while, then said:
"It's noticeable, you know. You've changed. You look… feel like a true hunter now."
Sunny grinned.
"Well, I would hope so. I hunted more Nightmare Creatures than was reasonable, really."
She smirked.
"How many?"
That was a good question. Sunny hesitated before answering:
"Around sixty? Yeah, no more than that, I think."
Together with those terrors he had slain in the Labyrinth, his kill count had long ago moved past a hundred.
Effie blinked and looked at him with a dark expression. That many hunts in only three months… the number was nothing short of staggering.
Actually, it was completely insane. Out in the real world, it was widely known that Awakened Nightmare Creatures were too tough for mere Sleepers to fight. Anyone who managed to prevail in a battle against one would earn themselves a proper reputation. Killing a dozen would make a person famous.
If Sunny were to return home and claim that he had slaughtered a hundred, most of them in a cursed ruin populated by Fallen abominations, the news of his accomplishment would fly around the whole planet in an instant. He would be hailed as an unparalleled genius and a hope of the entire generation.
…And yet, there were dozens of people just like him in the Dark City, many of them even more accomplished. Much more. Effie had several hundred hunts under her belt. There were a couple more hunters in the outer settlement whose track record was just as impressive… even if with the death of Jubei, their numbers had shrunk.
Inside the Bright Castle, there was Gunlaug himself, his five lieutenants, all the Pathfinders of the Host, more than a few experienced Hunters, and even a handful of Guards with a lot of battle scars to prove their prowess. All of them were at a level that Sleepers simply weren't supposed to ever achieve.
The Forgotten Shore was truly an... interesting place.
If Nephis were to somehow succeed and bring even just several of them back to the real world, how would the world change? Would other things that had been considered impossible before suddenly have their status put under scrutiny?
Was it the reason why the Spell gave her the name Changing Star? Was Neph destined to not only create change, but also be the catalyst of it?
Consumed with these thoughts, Sunny walked through the cursed ruins. Soon, a familiar shape of the cathedral appeared before his eyes.
Looking at it, Sunny shuddered.
He had been honest when he told Effie about how he managed to survive all this time.
However, he had failed to mention how close he came to dying in the process.
The memory of his first visit to the cathedral, and its consequences, was something he really liked to avoid…