The Heavenly Knight

Chapter 12 - Golden Lion

"Welcome to the Golden Lion Sect, Young Master!" said Kenzou Arata, smiling broadly at Shinra Kazan.

Shinra Kazan looked at the entire wall surrounding the Golden Lion Sect building. This wasn’t the first time Shinra Kazan had seen the Golden Lion Sect—it was actually his fourth time.

“Kenzou Sensei!”

Several students greeted Kenzou Arata warmly. Kenzou Arata 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!” said Kenzou Arata, then he pulled out a cloth bag.

“Take this! It’s a gift from the Village Chief because we’ve captured the five criminals most wanted by the government!” said Kenzou Arata.

Kenzou Arata took out all the gold coins from the pouch — 250 gold coins.

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 Aoi Mei, and then we’ll meet with the Head later tonight!” Kenzou Arata suggested.

Shinra Kazan had no choice but to comply and followed behind Kenzou Arata; several students, from newcomers to seniors, all looked in Shinra Kazan’s direction.

“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 Arata after he and Shinra Kazan arrived at the front door of his house.

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

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

“Oh, who’s this kid, Dad?”

A 26-year-old woman came out and greeted Kenzou Arata; she was Kenzou Hiyori, Kenzou Arata’s daughter, who was married to one student from the Eagle Eye Sect.

"Hiyori, this is Young Master Kazan; he’ll be a new disciple here at the sect soon!" said Kenzou Arata, then he looked behind Kenzou Hiyori.

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

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

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

“Grandpa…!” A tiny little girl with tiny steps ran toward Kenzou Arata.

Kenzou Arata smiled broadly, then picked up the little girl, who looked to be about 2 or 3 years old. The tiny girl was none other than Aoi Mei, Kenzou Hiyori’s daughter and Kenzou Arata’s granddaughter.

Her cute face and long black hair made Aoi Mei look adorable as her tiny feet scampered along.

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

“Really? Then show it!” said Kenzou Arata.

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

“Huh…? Grandpa, who’s that?” Aoi Mei stopped counting when she saw Shinra Kazan standing near her.

“Oh…! That’s the Young Master! This is my granddaughter, Aoi Mei!” said Kenzou Arata.

Shinra Kazan smiled gently at Aoi Mei; he didn’t understand why Kenzou Arata wanted him to be friends with this little girl when there were so many other kids his own age.

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

Shinra Kazan accepted Aoi Mei’s hand with a wry smile; he had absolutely no intention of making friends or playing—especially not with a little girl.

“Mei, you can play with the Young Master sometime. Besides, Young Master is just practicing reading for now, so you’ll have plenty of chances to play later,” said Kenzou Arata.

He said this so his granddaughter wouldn’t be disappointed, especially since Aoi Mei wouldn’t be staying at his house for long—she would surely return to her father’s home.

“Hmm,” Aoi Mei, still innocent and naive, nodded enthusiastically and then tried to count.

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

“But Grandpa just asked me to count!” said her.

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

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

“Do you want to play with me?”

Shinra Kazan didn’t answer right away; he looked over at Kenzou Arata, and in the end, it was Kenzou Arata who responded to Aoi Mei’s invitation.

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

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

“Young Master, please rest for a moment; we’ll go see the Chairman soon!” said Kenzou Arata.

Shinra Kazan sat on his lounge chair and looked outside, where many students had gathered and were trying to peek inside Kenzou Arata’s house.

They had all heard that Kenzou had arrived with a little child, so they had gathered to glimpse Shinra Kazan.

***

Kenzou Arata was now standing before Masaki Raikou, while Shinra Kazan was outside, accompanied by Daigo Renji.

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

“Chief Masaki, what’s the problem? Isn’t this good for our sect’s future? Additionally, a child with Black Blood Cells is a millennium-level event, making it clear they will rise to 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 Raikou was worried that The Demon Mask might come and discover that the child—who was once the subject of a dispute among the five siblings of the Demon Sect—was in his sect.

Masaki Raikou isn’t afraid if The Demon Mask were to attack his sect; even though he could kill The Demon Mask, the price he’d have to pay would be extremely high.

There would certainly be many disciples who would fall victim, considering that The Demon Mask is a Knight of Light.

“Chief Masaki, please reconsider your decision. Even Senior Koumei wants the Young Master to become his disciple if he hasn’t already become a disciple of our sect,” said Kenzou Arata.

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

“That’s right, Chairman—it’s Senior Koumei Hisen! And from the way he spoke, it seems he entrusted the Young Master to be trained under the Chairman’s guidance until he can protect himself,” said Kenzou Arata.

“That boy would be safer than Senior Koumei’s student! However…”

Masaki Raikou paused mid-sentence; he no longer knew what to do—whether to accept Shinra Kazan.

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

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

Kenzou Arata smiled broadly upon hearing Masaki Raikou’s words. “Thank you, Chief. I was confident you’d accept him!”

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

“Starting tomorrow, have Takao Renshi take the boy to the reading hall. Teach him there, and you don’t need to accompany him because I’m assigning you to escort a caravan of merchants to the Aokusa region!” said Masaki Raikou as he handed a letter.

Kenzou Arata read the letter, which stated that several merchants from the city of Kasen were going to Aokusa to trade, and that the merchants had hired knights, one of whom was from the Golden Lion Sect.

Completing the mission and ensuring the merchants’ safety yields an enormous reward;

700 gold coins is an enormous sum, and such a payment is reasonable considering that the merchants aren’t just one person, but 20 merchants along with their workers.

“In three days, you must depart for Kasen City. Take one disciple with you, and as for that child, let Daigo’s disciple accompany him!” said Masaki Raikou.

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