Ashok couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction as he reflected on the knights' ignorance.
"Of course, they had no idea who the man in the bamboo hat really was. If they had, they'd have handled that message with far more care, perhaps even double-checked it by reading it twice before passing it along. But they hadn't." thought Ashok as he snickered in his mind. He could already picture the man's reaction when he read the message.
The knight approached the man, his tone brusque as he called out, "Hey, you". He wasn't in the mood for pleasantries.
The man in the bamboo hat didn't flinch. He simply turned slowly, the dark shadows beneath the brim hiding most of his expression. "Yes?"
"There's a note for you from that kid outside the gate. He's claiming that you're from the same hometown as him." The knight didn't elaborate further, but his eyes flicked towards Ashok's direction.
