"Someone's already sitting here," Linde said to the two strangers in front of him, swallowing the chewed food with difficulty.
The taller of the strangers frowned upon hearing Linde's words, about to say something, but was stopped by the shorter youth. The youth then smiled and said to Linde, "We'll only sit here for a while. Once your companion returns, we'll leave, alright?"
This youth was probably only about ten years old, a bit chubby. Although his face still held the childishness typical of his age, his words and actions seemed mature, and this maturity wasn't his true nature; rather, it was more like he was deliberately imitating someone.
Furthermore, his voice was very pleasant, clear and resonant, like the singing of an oriole, seemingly imbued with some kind of spiritual power that gave his voice an extreme affinity and persuasiveness.
Linde, filled with curiosity, glanced at the young noble. He said nothing more, guessing that these two were certainly a young noble and his knight escort who had sneaked out of their residence for a night stroll, and there was no need to conflict over a seat.
However, the tall middle-aged man did not relax his guard. He sat to the young noble's right, separating the noble from the tavern aisle, shielding him against the wall. Should any sudden incident occur, he could fully protect the young noble immediately.
At the same time, he did not relax his control over Linde, his eyes under the hood constantly sweeping over Linde.
Linde naturally felt such obvious surveillance, and he was curious about the origin of this knight escort. Just by sitting next to him and looking at him, the man already exerted an extremely strong sense of pressure, a pressure he had only felt from Joel Flower before.
Although he felt the pressure, Linde showed no unusual reaction, nor did he mind the other party's actions. He ate the food in front of him at his own pace, his focus so intense that it was as if the two people at his table, and even the other people in the tavern, didn't exist.
Linde's behavior also piqued the young noble's interest. It was the first time he had seen someone maintain such a calm and relaxed state under the gaze of his sword master.
As he curiously observed Linde, the young noble noticed the two hand-and-a-half swords at Linde's waist, and a playful smile appeared on his face. He then self-importantly guessed, "Do you also like the stories of Bear Hunter? So much so that you wear dual swords to imitate him, just like my little brother."
Linde looked down at his dual swords and retorted, "Don't you like Bear Hunter?"
"Not really. I feel his stories are too exaggerated, very unrealistic, more like lies deliberately fabricated by bards for the sake of their songs. I prefer real stories, like the story of Dorne resisting the Conqueror Aegon Targaryen," the young noble shook his head, expressing his attitude without reservation.
At that moment, the hunter of bears song resounded in the tavern again. It seemed someone else had requested the bard to play this song, and everyone in the tavern began to sing along.
The original version of the hunter of bears song was not the one currently sung by bards, but an adaptation of a Reach folk tune, created by a few bards passing through White Village. In fact, they only modified the lyrics, changing other lyrics using the same tune into the story of Bear Hunter.
Because of this, the original version of the hunter of bears song was not widely spread, and those who heard it only paid attention to the story of Bear Hunter in the song.
However, the current version of the hunter of bears song was created by Linde. He adapted the theme song from a game about a Dragonborn story in his previous life, changing the lyrics to the current hunter of bears song. As a result, this epic song was very popular with the common people, and bards were willing to sing it, further accelerating the spread of Linde's fame.
Although the young noble did not like the story of Bear Hunter, he very much enjoyed the hunter of bears song. So, when the singing began, he couldn't help but hum along, his slightly swaying head showing his great pleasure at that moment.
It wasn't until the hunter of bears song was nearing its end that he snapped out of the song. At that moment, he saw Linde looking at him playfully, and an awkward expression involuntarily appeared on his face. He then couldn't help but explain, "I just like this song, that's all."
"No need to explain," Linde said calmly.
The young noble pouted childishly, displeased with Linde's attitude. This behavior was likely his true emotion, while his previous pretense of being an adult was a disguise.
The young noble quickly reined in his childish side and said, "Although I don't like the story of Bear Hunter, I greatly admire Bear Hunter's talent. To be able to compose such a beautiful song! I heard he was just a hunter before; I wonder where he learned all this knowledge?"
Linde couldn't help but be stunned by these words, because only he and Roman Weber knew that he had composed the hunter of bears song, and Roman Weber was the one who spread it. Yet, this young noble knew that he had composed the song, which made Linde curious about the family behind this young noble.
At this moment, he frowned, and his eyes suddenly became sharp. This change in his state of mind was not due to any unexpected action from the young noble in front of him, but because he suddenly realized that Joel had been gone for too long; something must have happened.
However, Linde's change in expression caused a misunderstanding for the knight escort. The knight escort's body shifted slightly, facing Linde directly, his eyes under the hood fixed on him, and his hand moved to the hilt of the longsword at his waist, ready to draw and attack at any unusual move Linde made.
If the pressure this knight escort had put on Linde earlier was like river ripples, then the invisible pressure now weighing on him was like ocean waves during a storm, threatening disaster if he wasn't careful.
Linde didn't understand why the knight escort suddenly became so aggressive, but he wasn't one to sit idly by. As the other's hand moved to the sword hilt, his own hand also rested on his sword hilt, and he met the knight's gaze, ready for confrontation.
Although the young noble beside them was not the target of either party, he could still feel the dangerous aura emanating from them. He didn't understand why, after just having a pleasant conversation, things had suddenly become so tense. But out of trust in his teacher, he chose to move slightly backward, putting distance between himself and Linde, and also hiding behind the knight.