After finishing today’s battle report and the production status of the territory, Lind raised his head and indeed found Lena sound asleep.
It seemed she had been sleeping for quite a while; the blanket was thrown around everywhere, drool was flowing out, and a small part of her clothes had been lifted up without her noticing. Her right hand was scratching her stomach, making her look completely like she was lost in sleep.
As a person who had traveled through worlds, the thing Lind couldn’t tolerate the most was someone sleeping with their belly button exposed, so his obsessive-compulsive tendencies kicked in, and he helped Lena cover the blanket properly.
Looking at Lena’s leisurely sleeping posture, Lind recalled the question: “Do you like it?”
Perhaps this question would never have an answer; both had already incorporated parts of each other’s lives.
At that moment, Lena was asleep on the makeshift cot set up in the camp’s large tent, right next to Lind’s office. However, it didn’t seem to matter; it appeared that several times before, Lena had dozed off right after listening to Lind’s report, even ending up sleeping beside his desk.
Her sleeping posture had increasingly transformed from that of a sleeping beauty to something more uninhibited, seemingly because being near Lind made her relax more and more.
Like a cat, out in the wild, she would be highly alert and unable to sleep deeply, maintaining a fighting posture even while asleep. But after being adopted for a while, her sleeping posture began to loosen up.
According to Lena’s own words, even in her dreams, as long as someone stepped into the realm of her knights, she would immediately react, including her knights. That’s why Lena could sleep soundly while on duty.
But this rule didn’t seem to apply to Lind at all. No matter if Lind came in and out with documents or helped cover the blanket, Lena showed no reaction at all. If it weren’t for a maid accidentally stepping into the tent while handing Lind a document, Lind would have even wondered if Lena’s knightly senses had ceased to work.
After extinguishing the lantern, Lind walked out of the camp tent, where the guards had been waiting for a while.
“You captured a strange prisoner, didn’t you?”
“Yes, my lord.”
The guard explained, “He was dressed in a bizarre costume and was blindfolded, claiming to be a bard from the Epic Compilation School who came to join us. We tried many methods to control him, including tying him up with ropes, locking him in a cell, and putting shackles on him, all of which he easily escaped from.”
The guard’s description was becoming increasingly bizarre, and Lind entered the cell with the lantern to see the shackled bard.
“King! My esteemed king, it is an honor to meet you! I am your most loyal jester, Lucanus!”
Through the iron bars, Lucanus, who was wearing shackles, displayed an unusual excitement upon seeing Lind, performing a grand bow. However, in the midst of the bow, the shackles hindered Lucanus’s movement.
Seeing this, he quickly pulled his hand back, allowing the shackles to fall off, and then continued to bow meticulously.
This was indeed very strange. Lind stroked his chin in contemplation. Lucanus’s movement resembled a skill of body flexibility, but it was different from what Lind had seen in his past life. Lucanus’s actions flowed seamlessly without need for preparation, and more importantly, the way he moved gave the impression that this body was not his own.
To Lucanus, the body seemed like a toy that could be casually manipulated.
“My noble king, are you satisfied with your jester’s first performance?”
Lucanus lay prostrate, truly resembling a jester clown.
“Is there a misunderstanding? I am merely a border viscount, not your king.”
The attendant brought over a chair, and Lind comfortably sat down.
Lind had always been cautious of bards. Most bards also undertook the work of spies, often double agents, and more frequently, unconnected spies who were responsible for collecting information and selling it. Who they stole from and who they sold it to did not matter to them.
If merchants could still be understood, as they were primarily focused on gold coins, bards were completely incomprehensible in their intentions.
“No, you are my king; your identity will not change because of your denial.”
“But according to investigations, weren’t you once a retainer of Wisk? Are you planning to surrender now that your side has lost?”
Lind was also somewhat puzzled. After all, this bard clearly had the ability to escape directly. Why was he insisting on hanging around with him?
“Because before, we were very confused. The world is about to be swept by a storm, and we still haven’t identified the starting point of the epic. We can only continue to expand our targets and list all possible individuals as candidates for the starting point of the epic.”
After hearing this, Lind became even more puzzled. What was this storm? What was the starting point of the epic?
Seemingly sensing Lind’s confusion, Lucanus said, “My king, I am your jester, and I will speak nothing but the truth to you.”
“I believe you have also noticed that the Demon Clan has begun to emerge from the Eternal Frozen Land, the Human Empire is fracturing, and subsequent kingdoms are also beginning to crumble. The southern Anju Dynasty has started reforms, cultists are stirring, and the other races are waiting, just like before, for humanity’s self-destruction, ready to seize the glory of humanity.”
“And we, as witnesses of history, need to find the starting point of this epic story and witness this heroic epic!”
Lind more or less understood. The bard meant that this world was about to change, and they were responsible for recording history.
“So did you think Wisk would be the key to this historical turning point?”
“We still believe he is. He is merely a footnote to your undertakings and, likewise, the perfect stepping stone for you.”
Lucanus’s face displayed unabashed fervor, even bordering on madness, resembling a fanatic.
“So what exactly are you bards? Do you only record history? Then why do you act as spies for the nobility?”
Initially, Lind thought bards were merely a group of singers who doubled as spies, but it seemed that the bards in this world were not that simple.
“We bards primarily belong to two factions, namely the Epic Compilation School to which I belong and the Historical Recording School.”
Lucanus seemed genuinely forthcoming with Lind, continuing, “We Compilers believe that when writing historical records, we can infuse some of our own viewpoints to make the history grander and more magnificent. Therefore, when we record, we would choose to participate ourselves, becoming retainers of certain nobles and orchestrating dramatic scenarios.”
“And the Recorders, they are a bunch of stick-in-the-muds—neither interesting nor loyal.”
I see, no wonder those bards would engage in meaningless provocations; they merely wanted their recorded epics to seem more exciting.
“So you also intend to manipulate me to add some dramatic elements to the epic you’re recording?”
Seeing that this guy was truly willing to reveal everything, Lind continued to probe further.
“No, you are different. You are not only a record in our epic, but you are also our king. I have only infinite loyalty to you. Of course, you can choose not to trust us, but our loyalty has nothing to do with whether you believe it or not.”
“You have referred to ‘us’ from the very beginning. Are the bards of your faction a collective?”
Lucanus did not hesitate and continued explaining, “No, humans have never been united. We bards are the same. Even though we are all Compilers, each of us recognizes different kings or protagonists, which gives rise to differing factions. Most bard groups have gone to the southern Anju Kingdom because their ruler is actively reforming and ambitiously pushing forward, reorganizing the army—seeming more like the victor of the next segment of history than the Cape Kingdom.”
“But our faction is different; the corrupted shell is easier to nourish the living’s vitality, and heroes in adversity attract people’s attention more.”
“From now on, you will be the only king of our Lucanus faction, and we will provide you with all the information collected by the Lucanus faction bards.”
