Shadow Slave

Shockingly, nothing disastrous happened while Sunny slept. A Gate did not open in the middle of the supply depot, and a stray titan did not break through the blast doors to devour every last person under his protection. Somehow, the world did not collapse.

Instead, Sunny woke up to the sounds of peaceful conversation and the smell of cooking food. He remained still for a few minutes, then climbed out of the sleeping niche, checked on his healing wounds, and summoned the Puppeteer's Shroud to cover his bruised body.

In the lounge area of the Rhino, several members of his cohort were eating a hearty breakfast. Surprisingly, Professor Obel was the one cooking, masterfully using rations scavenged from the depot supplies to create something that smelled unexpectedly tasty.

Walking closer, Sunny heard Luster speaking with surprising enthusiasm:

"...amazing! How did you even make this?"

The old man chuckled.

"Ah, food was much more scarce during my youth than it is now. Ancient relics like me all know how to make a feast out of nothing, young man."

Noticing Sunny, Luster pointed to his plate.

"Captain! You have to try it!"

He stuffed his mouth with something that looked like vegetable lasagna - which was rather strange, considering that military rations did not include fresh vegetables - and smiled.

"Oh! And we are also flush with water again. Shower is back online!"

That... was a piece of surprisingly good news. The Rhino had a very robust water filtration system, but they had to start rationing it many days ago. The thought of an actual hot shower made Sunny smile.

He sat down and curiously tasted Professor Obel's cooking. It was, indeed, rather delicious.

Noticing his reaction, the old man chuckled.

"Everything potslop. That's what we used to call this Frankenstein of a dish, back in my days. Times may change, but some things always remain the same."

Sunny stared at his plate, and then frowned.

"...What's a frankenstein?"

Professor Obel gave him an amused look.

"Well... it is a fictional monster. A sort of jigsaw corpse reanimated by a troubled scientist. Actually, perhaps it was the scientist who was the monster."

Sunny gave him an understanding nod.

"Ah, I see. A jigsaw corpse... I think I fought one of those before. Although it was more of a mountain of bones. I guess you could make bone broth out of that?"

'The Professor is really being too harsh on himself. His cooking does not taste like corpse meat at all. I should know!'

Ignoring the strange glance directed at him, Sunny shrugged and concentrated on his food.

The first shift of the Irregulars sent into the Dream Realm was not back yet, so there was nothing pressing for him to do. Sunny finished his meal in peace, then chatted with his men for a bit. One after another, they left to resume their work on preparing the convoy for eventual departure. Beth was probably dealing with the refugees, so she was nowhere to be seen.

That left Sunny and Professor Obel alone with each other.

The old man studied his face for a few moments, and then suddenly asked:

"How are you holding up, Captain Sunless?"

Sunny looked at him in confusion.

"Me? Fine... I guess."

Professor Obel sighed.

"It must be hard, especially for someone so young. In this dire situation, you are responsible for the wellbeing of hundreds of people... but there is no one caring for your own wellness. So, that was why I asked. How are you, really?"

Sunny wanted to retort, but then thought for a while, and shrugged.

"Actually, it's a bit strange. Everyone here is fighting tooth and nail to survive. Most of them have no control over whether they live or die. Every minute might be their last... and they all know it, too. But not me. I am more or less safe. Unless I actively try to do something stupid, I will most likely survive even if the whole convoy is obliterated. My Aspect makes it really easy for me to escape most dangers, you know."

He hesitated, and then added with some uncertainty:

"So, the mental strain that I experience should be far less than that of all these vulnerable people. But... for some reason, it does not feel that way. I should not really care how many strangers die around me, but I do. It's like a mental hex, really, me caring... actually, it's exactly like that. Especially because I do find myself doing stupid things to prevent them from dying."

Sunny frowned.

'...Wait. I am not really under a hex that compels me to defend this damned convoy, am I?'

Professor Obel suddenly laughed.

"A mental hex... that is a very unique way to put it.

Isn't it normal for people to care about each other?"

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

"No? Of course not."

He shook his head, then added with slight bewilderment:

"No one ever cared about me... until I became powerful, and thus useful. That's just how things work."

Sunny had been alone for most of his life. True, after becoming infected by the Spell, he had made several good friends... but he had no illusions about the reason for the bond between them. If he had been someone weak and useless, people like Effie, Kai, even Nephis and Cassie... would have never wasted time on becoming close with him.

And why should they?

Well, there was Rain, too... but that was different. She was family, not a random stranger.

Professor Obel let out a sad sigh and remained silent for a while. Eventually, he asked:

"So why do you think you care about whether the refugees and the mundane soldiers survive? Why are you risking yourself to help them?"

Sunny scratched the back of his head.

"That... I am actually not too sure myself. Ah, maybe it's pride. These people are under my protection, so their deaths would demonstrate my incompetence. Makes sense... it is weird, though. I never really claimed to have something as useless as pride."

The old man looked at him with a strange expression, then shook his head.

"Do you want to know what I think? Sunny raised an eyebrow.

Yes?

Professor Obel smiled.

"1 think that you are giving yourself too little credit, young man."

Sunny stared at him in confusion.

'Huh?'

What is that supposed to mean?

The old man chuckled.

"Ah, don't mind me. It's just an old man's rumblings... maybe you'll understand when you're my age. Until then, please keep caring for these poor people, stupid as it might seem. There's this one truth that I've learned after long decades, you see... humanity would have never survived without a bit of stupidity..."