God of Knight

Chapter 11 - Among Golden Lions

A day before Jun’s visit to Enjou, Kenzou led Kazan through the Golden Lion Sect’s gate. “Welcome, Young Master,” he said.

Kazan looked at the wall surrounding the Golden Lion Sect’s building. This wasn’t his first visit—it was his fourth.

“Kenzou-sensei!”

Several students greeted Kenzou warmly. Kenzou responded with a nod and a smile.

“Kanezawa, I’ll take the Young Master to my house first. You and Daigo should head home—your parents are probably waiting!” Kenzou pulled out a cloth pouch.

“Take this. The village chief rewarded us for bringing in those wanted criminals,” Kenzou said.

Kenzou took all 250 gold coins out of the pouch.

Kenzou gave 50 coins to Kanezawa, 50 to Daigo, and 50 to Kazan, while he kept the rest for himself.

“Young Master, please come to my house first; I want to check on Mei, and then we’ll meet with the Sect Leader later tonight!” Kenzou suggested.

Kazan had no choice but to comply and followed Kenzou; disciples, from newcomers to seniors, all looked his way.

“Who’s that little kid?”

“How should I know? Maybe he’s Kenzou-sensei’s new student!”

“That kid’s way too young to be a student here! I can’t imagine him crying later because the training is so tough!”

***

“Please come in, Young Master!” said Kenzou after he and Kazan arrived at the front door of his house.

“Master! I’d rather stay outside!” said Kazan.

“Young Master, there’s no need to be shy—just treat this like your own home!” said Kenzou as he urged Kazan to come inside.

“Oh, who’s this kid, Dad?”

A 26-year-old woman came out and greeted him. She was his daughter, Kenzou Hiyori, who was married to a disciple of the Eagle Eye Sect.

“Hiyori, this is Young Master Kazan; he’ll be a new disciple here soon!” Kenzou looked behind her.

“Where’s Mei? Is she still not feeling well?” Kenzou asked.

Hiyori smiled and answered Kenzou’s question, “Mei is all better, Dad! Instead of standing here at the door, let’s go inside! Please come in, Young Master.”

Kazan could only nod with a friendly smile as he stepped inside the house, following Kenzou.

“Grandpa!” A tiny girl ran toward Kenzou on little feet.

Kenzou scooped up three-year-old Mei, Hiyori’s daughter, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Her long black hair brushed his cheek as she leaned back to tell him her news.

“Grandpa! Mom taught me how to count earlier, and now I can count from one to ten!” Mei said excitedly.

“Really? Then show it!” said Kenzou.

Mei nodded, then hopped down and got ready to count.

“Huh…? Grandpa, who’s that?” Mei paused when she saw Kazan standing nearby.

“Oh! That’s the Young Master!” Kenzou turned to Kazan. “This is my granddaughter, Mei.”

Kazan smiled at her. Kenzou saw two children who might become friends; Kazan saw a three-year-old he would be expected to entertain.

“My name is Aoi Mei, Young Master. Would you like to play and be my friend?” she asked, holding out her hand.

He took the offered hand, suppressing a sigh. Playing was the last thing on his mind.

“Mei, you can play with the Young Master another time. He’s only going to be learning to read for now, so you’ll have plenty of chances later,” said Kenzou.

Mei would soon return to her father. Kenzou spoke gently, unwilling to disappoint her during this short visit.

“Hmm.” Mei nodded enthusiastically and tried to count.

“Mei, Grandpa still has a lot to do, so why don’t you go play with Mom again?” said Hiyori.

“But Grandpa just asked me to count!” Mei protested.

“Yes, later, when you’ve really memorized all the numbers, you can show them to Grandpa,” Hiyori coaxed.

“Okay!” said Mei. Then she turned to Kazan.

“Do you want to play with me?”

Kazan didn’t answer right away; he looked at Kenzou, who answered Mei’s invitation for him.

“The Young Master is still tired, Mei, so let him rest first!”

“All right!” replied Mei, and then she cheerfully walked off in another direction.

“Rest here for now, Young Master. We’ll meet the Sect Leader this evening.”

Kazan sat in a lounge chair and looked outside, where many disciples were trying to peek into Kenzou’s house.

They had heard Kenzou had brought a small child and gathered to catch a glimpse.

***

That evening, Kenzou stood before Masaki. Daigo had returned to accompany Kazan and waited with him outside.

“Kenzou-san, why did you bring that child to our sect?”

“Sect Leader, what’s the problem? Isn’t this good for our sect’s future? A child with Black Blood Cells appears only once in a millennium. Surely he’ll become a knight and enhance our sect’s renown!”

“I know that, Kenzou! If only we were the only ones who knew about this child’s condition, it wouldn’t be a problem! But one of the Five Demons of Death also knows about this child—have you forgotten?”

Masaki tapped the arm of his chair. “If the Demon Mask comes looking for him, it’s our disciples he’ll find first.”

He believed he could defeat that knight. Protecting the whole sect during the fight was another matter.

A Knight of Light could cut through ordinary disciples before their Sect Leader reached him.

“Sect Leader, please reconsider. Even Senior Koumei wants the Young Master as his disciple if he hasn’t already joined our sect,” said Kenzou.

“Koumei? Are you referring to Senior Koumei, the Drunken God? So you’ve actually met him?” asked Masaki.

“That’s right, Sect Leader—it’s Senior Koumei! From the way he spoke, it seems he entrusted the Young Master to your guidance until he can protect himself,” said Kenzou.

“That boy would be safer as Senior Koumei’s disciple! However…”

Masaki looked toward the door where the child waited. His fingers stopped tapping.

“All right, if Senior Koumei has indeed entrusted this child to us! However, he’s still too young to train. Teach him to read first so that later he can read the manuals.”

“Once he reaches eight or nine years old, then we will give him real training!” said Masaki.

Kenzou smiled broadly upon hearing Masaki’s words.

“Thank you, Sect Leader. I was confident you’d accept him!”

“If there were any other option, I’d choose that one instead!” thought Masaki.

“Before you leave, arrange for Takao Renshi to teach him to read in his room. You needn’t attend every lesson. I’m assigning you to escort merchants on a trading route through the Tsukigawa Kingdom.” Masaki handed Kenzou a letter.

Twenty merchants from Kasen, together with their workers, needed escorts to trade in other parts of the kingdom. The hired knights would include one from the Golden Lion Sect.

The reward for completing the mission and ensuring their safety was enormous: 700 gold coins. Such a payment was reasonable, considering there were 20 merchants and their workers to protect.

“In three days, you must depart for Kasen City. Take one disciple with you, and let the disciple Daigo accompany the child!” said Masaki.

“Yes, Sect Leader!” said Kenzou. He then intended to take his leave and go out to inform Kazan that he was now a disciple of the Golden Lion Sect.