God of Knight

Chapter 14 - The Sacred Lion Book

“Young Master! Is it just me, or have you actually gotten taller?” Daigo asked Kazan, who was sitting on a chair in front of the house.

“Of course, Senior. Did you expect me to stay small forever, with no changes?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Daigo scratched his head; he felt like he’d said the wrong thing, prompting Kazan to ask him that in return.

Disciples lingered beyond Kenzou’s fence, whispering about making the little newcomer cry. None caught him alone outside; Takao was there in the morning.

After lessons he shut himself in his room; by nightfall Daigo was beside him again.

***

Kenzou finally returned at the end of the third month. He stopped at the sight of Kazan, his gaze moving from the boy’s face to the sleeves he had outgrown.

“I’m sure I’ve only been gone three months, not a year, but why is this kid growing so fast?” Kenzou thought as he looked Kazan over from head to toe.

Kazan watched him make the comparison and kept his face blank.

“What’s wrong, Master?” asked Kazan, feigning ignorance.

“Ah… Nothing, Young Master. I just feel like I’ve been gone for an entire year!” said Kenzou as he approached Kazan and placed a hand on his head.

“Taller again—and more handsome!” Kenzou rested a hand on his head. The Black Blood Cells he sensed had developed far beyond what he remembered.

He left his hand there a little longer. Was this the boy’s own development, or had someone helped him with medicine?

Training and suitable medicines were normally needed for such a change.

But Kazan had looked only five when he arrived. Kenzou could not imagine the child preparing those medicines himself.

“Young Master, if you don’t mind, may I just call you by your first name?” asked Kenzou.

Kazan simply nodded; he didn’t like being constantly addressed as “Young Master” either.

“Great, in that case, I don’t have to be so formal anymore! From now on, I’ll just call you Kazan!” said Kenzou, and then he and Kazan went inside the house.

“Oh, right! I stopped by your father’s house yesterday; he asked me to give you this!” Kenzou pulled out a cloth bundle and handed it to Kazan.

“What’s this, Master?”

“Just open it and see for yourself what’s inside!” said Kenzou.

Kazan opened the bundle and found three pieces of clothing inside.

“Clothes?” Kazan looked at them, confused.

“Your father sent them for you. He hopes you’ll wear them whenever you go out of the village.”

Kazan unfolded the clothes. He cared little for new outfits, but he smoothed each piece before putting it away.

“Kazan, how’s your reading and writing coming along? Is everything going smoothly?” asked Kenzou.

“Yes, Master. Now I can read and write fluently—all thanks to Takao-sensei’s guidance!” replied Kazan.

Kenzou nodded, then took out a small box and handed it to Kazan.

“Take this and keep it safe, Kazan. Inside is an Eastern Moon Pill, perfect for when you start training. Combined with a Rain Dew Pill, it will help you quickly attain three Circles of Ki. Keep it with the Rain Dew Pills Senior Koumei gave you!” said Kenzou.

He carried the box to his room. He had never heard of the Eastern Moon Pill—and Kenzou did not know that all four Rain Dew Pills had already gone into his decoction.

Kenzou watched him go. The boy moved without the fatigue he had shown on the journey, yet there was still no Ki to be sensed.

“Should I just start training him right away? It seems his body is already big enough, even though he’s not quite old enough yet!” thought Kenzou.

He would begin with gentle exercise, watching for strain. Masaki need not hear of it yet.

Kenzou waited until Kazan sat beside him in the living room before speaking.

“Kazan! Starting tomorrow, I’ll give you some light training! Just think of it as ordinary exercise!” said Kenzou.

Kazan nodded, keeping his hands still on his knees. At last, training.

“In five—no, ten years, I have to reach the Light Level!” Kazan thought.

A few exercises would be a beginning. He had spent three months waiting for even that.

“Come with me.” Kenzou led him into the teacher’s bedroom.

Kazan looked at the bed, then at the floor around it.

“A hiding place? In his own sect?”

He had known enough knights, heretical and orthodox alike, to recognize that pause before a secret was shared.

Kenzou uncovered a trapdoor and lifted it. “Let’s go down.”

Kazan hurried downstairs after Kenzou, who was walking toward a large wooden chest.

They squeezed into a cellar barely two square meters in area. A wooden chest left little room for both of them to stand.

“This is the Sacred Lion Book; it contains ten different techniques! I’m sure that someday you’ll master them perfectly!” Kenzou handed the scroll to Kazan.

“Why are you giving this to me, Master?” asked Kazan in surprise.

“Kazan, even though you haven’t trained in anything yet, I’m still going to give this to you. You know that life is full of mysteries! Before it’s too late, I’m giving you this scroll, so keep it safe!”

Kazan weighed the scroll in his hands. Its power lay in the writing, Kenzou explained, rather than any magic in the manuscript itself.

Its techniques, mastered fully, could make a knight deadlier than the martial artists Kazan had known.

The sect’s ordinary disciples studied a later text, containing only part of the founders’ teachings.

A married couple of knights had founded the Golden Lion Sect long ago.

The husband had written one original manual; his wife had written the other.

Neither was complete on its own. Art of the Holy Lion required the complementary forms in both to reach its full potential.

The Sacred Lion Book in Kenzou’s hands was the wife’s original. He had believed the sect’s teaching copy to be drawn from her husband’s manual.

“When you’re truly ready, study that book, but never use its techniques in front of Masaki!” said Kenzou.

Kazan nodded, then tucked the book away under his shirt.

The disciples he had seen carried swords or machetes. He glanced at the chest, wondering what other weapons the sect kept hidden.

“Let’s hurry out, and you should put that book in a safe place for now!” said Kenzou.