Chapter 180: The Gallant Knight

The second piece was vastly different from the first song, the calm and slow pace that it started with gradually became a fast-paced fiery, emotional masterpiece. At its height, the invisible magical energies that surged through the Tavern Hall equipped a transparent, red, and yellowish hue. 

It also seemed to incite the dazed crowd, they began to shout with excitement and passion burning in their eyes.

After the fiery emotional middle section, the last parts of the song began to slow down once more and return to its calm, beginning state. The last notes were so quiet that it was akin to whispers to one's ears. 

Although unaffected by the drum's magic, Aiden had to admit that this group of musicians were a master at their craft. His friends, Mary and Cole were still under the effects and were standing and shouting with excitement as they loudly clapped their hands in synchrony with the rest of the crowd.

What surprised him the most though, was the elderly innkeeper that seemed to be able to resist the effects of the instrument. Just who was he?

Taking a few minutes to accept the crowd's appreciation, even if it was under the effect of their magic, the band stood silent. The central figure, the handler of the drums and singer at the same time looked through the crowd with his emotionless eyes, only perking up slightly when he noticed a pair of golden eyes staring back at him from a cornering table at the side. The boy seemed different from the rest of the crowd, just like the old man, he seemed to be able to resist the effects of his drum.

He gave a slight nod at the boy in appreciation of his strong willpower before he turned around and walked back and sat down.

Just like the drummer, the elder also noticed the golden-eyed boy who acted different from the crowd, he wasn't put in the same dream-like trance.

His gaze only lingered on the boy for a few seconds, before it traveled back to the dazed audience. His friendly smile turned stern in the next moment, he raised his hands in the air, and a moment later, a loud bang, his clapping boomed through the hall. The soundwave released by his clapping was so powerful, so blustering, that it immediately silenced everyone. He repeated the motion once again, releasing an even louder soundwave.

The sound of the elder's clapping also grabbed Aiden's attention. He looked at the old man, with interest, and focused his vision on his clapping. He felt something strange, something unnatural coming from him. He felt the air resonating all around the area as if reacting to the old man's claps.

As the second clap came, he was already focused, ready to learn the secrets behind his seemingly simple action.

Just as he expected, notifications began to ring in Aiden's mind, confirming his suspicion that whatever the old man was doing, wasn't simple.

[Spirit Magic discovered! Analyzing information… 1%

Warning: Spirit attribute is too low to complete the analysis.]

'Interesting… That old man is anything but simple…' Aiden remarked inwardly, looking at the elderly innkeeper. Before coming to the city, he was certain that his attributes were much higher than that of these humans. In fact, he was certain that besides a few special individuals, like his Master, he would stand high above everybody else. 

This theory of his seemed to be proven false time and time again ever since. He already accepted the fact that Granny and Number 3 were special existences, much stronger than that of the strongest of what humanity can offer, but now this seemingly frail old man, was capable of feats that his system was unable to analyze? Also, there was the Examiner's leader, Sarah. She also held many secrets, and while Aiden felt that he was stronger than her, he wasn't sure that he would come out unscathed if they had ever come to fight it out.

After the second clap came and reverberated through the tavern, clarity slowly returned to the dazed, expressionless eyes of the audience. Shaking their heads, they looked around with confusion and uncertainty reflecting in their gazes. They didn't know what happened, but from their rapidly beating, palpitating hearts they felt that they went through a surge of emotions listening to the concert.

They gave one last standing ovation and thunderous applause to the band before they returned to their seats.

The band itself didn't start packing to leave, but continued with a third song, albeit without using the magical effects of the drum this time. The music returned as a sort of relaxing background noise, instead of being the main attraction. 

The innkeeper gave another glance at the direction of the golden-eyed youth, before turning around and walking to the kitchen in the back. He made a mental note to investigate the youngster in more detail later…

"Woah, these guys are incredible!" Cole exclaimed with shining eyes, looking at the band as he returned to his seat. Contrary to him, Mary had a troubled expression, looking in front of herself, staring at nothing in particular. Her eyes revealed her confusion of the events of the last couple of minutes.

Noticing it, Aiden, gave her a friendly smile, giving her a friendly pat on the head.

"What is troubling you, Mary? Can I help?" He asked in a calm tone.

In response, Mary first looked shocked, her already perspired skin equipped a reddish tone, feeling Aiden's hand on the top of her head. She was unable to respond at first, looking at Aiden with a shocked expression that gradually turned to embarrassment. Once reaching a peak, she averted her gaze once more, turning towards the floor as if it held much more interest than those piercing golden irises of Aiden's.

"Uhm…" She mumbled eventually. "N-Nothing." Looking at her now-empty plate and mug, she took a breather and spoke. "Anyway, we should all soon head to rest, the day was long enough, and I am sure you both are exhausted from today's events." 

Turning towards Cole, she stood up, and gave a slight bow, before doing the same towards Aiden. "I should go home now, it's getting late, and I still have work to do. Thank you for the delicious dinner A-Aiden and Cole."

With her piece said, she turned towards the door and was about to leave when she felt a hand gently grabbing her shoulders, putting halt to her escape attempt.

"Wait…" Aiden's voice came from behind. Afraid to turn around, Mary kept staring at the door for a moment longer, before letting out a sigh to calm down and collect herself a bit before turning around and facing the boy that kept troubling her maiden heart.

"Allow me to escort you home Mary. There are many dangers lurking in the shadows, I wouldn't want you to come to any harm." He spoke with a compassionate expression.

"B-but… The area where I live is close-by and…" She wanted to argue, that thanks to the patrols, the entire neighborhood is safe, this area is an important section of the city, after all, the city can't afford to skim on the protection here. However, her words stuck in her throat as she looked at him, unable to voice these thoughts any longer. Her words trailed off, and could only stare at his eyes silently, lost in them.

"Please… Let me keep you safe." Aiden spoke again, in his usually calm and collected tone.

"S-sure… Thanks, Aiden…." Unable to come up with any thoughts, Mary didn't try to argue any longer, and just accepted Aiden's offer.

Cole nodded at Aiden, as if 'understanding' his thoughts as he smirked at him. Confused by this, Aiden only nodded back, before leaning towards him and whispering.

"I will escort Mary back, so no more harm comes to her. I will be back after that, but you should just turn yourself in for the night and rest. We will meet tomorrow morning here for breakfast, okay?"

Cole nodded once again, the same 'knowing' smirk plastered on his face as he responded with the same hushed, whispering tone.

"Sure man, enjoy yourself for the night!"

Aiden looked at him confusedly, not understanding what he meant, but before he could speak up and ask, Cole have already stood up and left them, quickly rushing towards the stairs. Once on the stairs, he turned around and waved at them, before turning around and entering his room on the upper floor.

While Aiden could not understand the meaning behind his friend's words and actions, Mary could. She could not hear what the two whispered about, but Cole's sudden exit and smirk on his face as he dashed towards his room was a clear sign for her of what he was thinking. 

She nervously glanced at Aiden, who had a momentary confusion flash through his eyes before returning to their usual calm state. As he turned around and smiled at Mary once more, she could feel her cheeks firing up once again, as the blood rushed towards there for the nth time today. 

She felt her heart beating rapidly, pumping the blood with eagerness. Although she was looking forward to their moonlit stroll, she was also afraid that her maiden heart would be able to keep up with the pressure any longer and would faint.