Flushed because of the liquor, Sunny slowly smiled:
"Oh… yes! In fact, if it wasn't for me, she would have been long dead. Do you know how many times I saved her life?"
This part was entirely planned, aimed to create a false sense that Harper's plan to use pettiness and jealousy to loosen his tongue worked. However, the next words came out of Sunny's mouth on their own.
Gritting his teeth, he suddenly paled and whispered:
"...and for what? Huh? For… for this? This wasn't supposed to happen. How did this happen?!"
Then, Sunny grabbed his head and forced out a dark laugh.
'This is bad… what am I even saying?'
Mistaking his terror for the sign of the liquor doing its job, Harper got a little braver:
"You must have fought side by side with Lady Nephis a lot!"
Sunny lowered his head, then shrugged.
"Yeah."
The gaunt young man hesitated for a few moments, then cautiously asked:
"So… you must have seen her Aspect Ability?"
Learn your enemy's Ability, learn their Flaw, learn their vices… that's how you kill them. Staring at Harper, Sunny suddenly remembered his first battle after meeting Nephis. Back then, she asked him if he had ever dissected a dead carapace scavenger to learn its weaknesses.
That's what the cowardly Sleeper was doing right now. Dissecting them. Even though they weren't dead… yet.
"Sure. It can be used to heal."
Harper eyes gleamed.
"So she's a healer! Of course. Such an Ability suits Lady Changing Star very well. Everyone knows that she's an angel…"
'Good…'
His first goal was achieved. Sunny had successfully created a misunderstanding, leading Harper to believe that Neph's Aspect was limited to healing. There had to be other spies in the slum, of course. With them collaborating on that statement by recounting how she had healed the wounded hunters today, Gunlaug and his people would most likely believe that Changing Star had no offensive Ability.
Who would ever assume that her flames could both heal and destroy?
Harper, meanwhile, was pouring more liquor into the cup.
"By the way, I always wanted to ask. Do you know how Lady Nephis received her True Name?"
Maybe because of his terrible state of mind, or maybe because of the liquor, or maybe simply because of a momentary lapse of judgment, Sunny didn't think his next words through well enough before answering:
"Probably the same way I did."
Then, he froze.
'Curse you!'
He was so preoccupied with creating a false image of Neph in Harper's mind that, for a second, he had forgotten to keep his own true identity a secret.
'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'
Not letting the panic show on his face, Sunny tried to salvage the situation by throwing his head back and laughing, creating an impression that his last statement was a joke.
Luckily, Harper seemed to believe him. He laughed, too, and then glanced at Sunny with humorous sparks in his eyes.
However, his next words sent Sunny into a cold embrace of horror. It was as though the gates of hell opened right beneath his feet.
Wishing to play along, the gaunt young man grinned and said jokingly:
"Oh! Of course, of course, Lord Sunless! What is your True Name then?"
Sunny stared at him, the smile frozen on his face.
'Think! Think! How do you get out of this?!'
But there was no way out, at least none that he could see. He was caught.
The familiar pressure appeared in his mind. Slowly, Sunny became deathly pale.
Harper was still grinning, waiting for the answer. His face was gaunt, tired, and full of both fear and desperate hope.
He was just a weak, pitiful kid, after all.
The pressure was replaced by blinding pain, sending a tremble running through Sunny's body.
Why, why did he have to ask that question?!
But it was too late. What happened couldn't be changed.
Like a cornered beast, Sunny could think of only one thing...
Harper finally sensed that something was wrong. His eyes widened.
"Sun…"
...how to survive.
Just a second before the pain overwhelmed his limits and forced out an answer, Sunny suddenly leaned forward, picked up the crude iron knife, and stabbed it through the poor young man's heart.