The Heavenly Knight

Chapter 17 - Hidden Training

Shinra Kazan’s training routine remained the same for months on end; the only difference was the volume of his training.

Usually, Shinra Kazan was told to run five to ten laps, but the number increased every month.

As a result, Shinra Kazan could already lift his body with one hand and raise and lower himself with great ease.

Shinra Kazan and Kenzou Arata are currently sitting in front of the house. Kenzou Arata asks Shinra Kazan to read and write every morning.

It wasn’t without reason that Kenzou Arata asked Shinra Kazan to do this; Kenzou simply wanted to avoid arousing the suspicion that he was actually always training Shinra.

“Kenzou-san, am I bothering you?” Masaki Raikou came over to Kenzou Arata.

“Not at all, Chairman Kenzou! Come sit with us here,” Kenzou Arata invited.

Masaki Raikou looked at Shinra Kazan, who was reading a book in the chair next to Kenzou Arata; Masaki Raikou’s sharp gaze made Shinra Kazan lift his head and meet he’s gaze.

“Kenzou! I don’t understand why you’re hardly ever home—even this kid isn’t home,” said Masaki Raikou.

Kenzou Arata laughed as he poured tea into a small cup and handed it to Masaki Raikou.

“Hahahaha…! Chairman, where do you think I’d go? We’re always at home every day. I have received no missions for the past few months, so I’ve just been keeping Shinra busy by teaching him,” said Kenzou Arata.

“Really? Then why didn’t the messenger from the Haruki family meet with you two yesterday?”

“What? An envoy from Mr. Haruki came here?” The news surprised both Kenzou Arata and Shinra Kazan.

“You said you had gone nowhere, so how come you didn’t know the envoy had arrived?” asked Masaki Raikou with a cynical smile.

“Oh, maybe yesterday we were out looking for medicinal plants near the mountain!” said Kenzou Arata.

“Did you really go looking for medicinal plants? Isn’t there still plenty of medicine in the storage shed? Why go all the way out there?” asked Masaki Raikou.

“I was just looking for some common medicinal plants!” replied Kenzou Arata, glancing toward Shinra Kazan, who was listening to their conversation.

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s good then!” Masaki Raikou nodded slowly.

“Chief! Do you know what that messenger is bringing? Will he deliver a message or a letter?” asked Kenzou Arata.

Masaki Raikou withdrew a scroll of paper from beneath his shirt;

“The messenger simply entrusted this letter to me and asked me to give it to you!” said Masaki Raikou as he placed the scroll on the table.

Kenzou Arata immediately picked up and unrolled the scroll while Masaki Raikou finished the tea in his small cup.

“Kenzou, thank you for the tea. Next time, come to my house—I just bought some Arak from the Fengrui merchant!” said Masaki Raikou.

Kenzou Arata immediately stopped reading—he hadn’t even gotten through a single line—when he heard Masaki Raikou mention Arak’s name.

It wasn’t just Kenzou Arata—even Shinra Kazan turned to look at Masaki Raikou.

“Are you kidding, Chairman? Fengrui Arak is incredibly expensive!” said Kenzou Arata.

“It’s true that Fengrui arak is very expensive, but the taste doesn’t disappoint, especially the aroma…!” said Masaki Raikou as he took a deep breath through his nose while closing his eyes.

Kenzou Arata swallowed hard; he felt his saliva pooling in his mouth, and Shinra Kazan swallowed just as hard.

“All right, I’ll stop by sometime, so save a little for me!” said Kenzou Arata.

“Of course, Kenzou. Well then, I’ll be going now!” Masaki Raikou didn’t even glance at or greet Shinra after saying goodbye to Kenzou.

Shinra Kazan didn’t care about Masaki Raikou’s attitude toward him because he didn’t like Masaki Raikou either.

If it weren’t for his respect for Kenzou Arata, he’d want to curse at Masaki Raikou.

“Teacher, what did Dad say in the message?” asked Shinra Kazan.

“Ah, I completely forgot!” said Kenzou Arata; then he went back to reading the letter.

“Kenzou Sensei, I’m sorry I’m only letting you know via letter! Last night, Sayuri gave birth to a baby girl, so I hope Kenzou Sensei will bring Shinra here right away to see his little sister!”

“Huh? So Sayu…! I mean, Mom has given birth?” Shinra Kazan startled.

Kenzou Arata smiled as he ruffled Shinra Kazan’s hair. “That’s right, Kazan—you have a little sister now! Based on the due date, your little sister should have been born four days ago, so we’re heading over there today!”

“Just the two of us, teacher?” asked Shinra Kazan.

“Huh? Yeah, just the two of us! Do you really want to bring all the students there?” asked Kenzou Arata.

“No!” replied Shinra Kazan. Then he immediately got up and gathered a few essential items.

“Let’s get going right away!” urged Kenzou Arata, and then he and Shinra Kazan immediately set off for Kasen City.

***

In a spot deep within the forest.

“Water Blade! Do you already know the name of the knight who attacked our Five Groups in Tsukihara Village?” asked a middle-aged man who was twirling a blade in his hand.

“I’ve investigated it and found out the name of that knight from the Golden Lion Sect! His name is Kenzou Arata, one of the most skilled knights in the Golden Lion Sect,” replied the figure known as Water Blade.

In the Blood Blade Circle, there are four knights nicknamed the Four Killing Blades: Water Blade—who is currently giving this report—Fire Blade, Wind Blade, and Earth Blade.

These four Blade Knights are all high-ranking knights, and they all possess extraordinary skills.

The middle-aged man standing before Water Blade was the group’s leader, Sky Blade.

“Kenzou Arata? Why have I never heard that name before?” asked Sky Blade.

“That Knight is the grandmaster of the small Golden Lion Sect; he rarely goes out, and according to the information I’ve gathered, he often protects the family of Haruki,” replied Wind Blade.

Sky Blade stopped playing with his blade and stared at the wooden doll beneath his hut.

Sky Blade threw his blade at the human-shaped wooden doll, and the blade lodged itself right in the doll’s forehead.

Even though the distance between him and the doll below was about a dozen meters, his blade throw hit the doll’s head with pinpoint accuracy.

“So it’s that sycophantic Knight! How dare he meddle in our affairs,” said Sky Blade in a furious tone, then turned his gaze back to Water Blade.

“Then what about the knight who captured two of our people in the forest before Kenzou Arata? Do we know who that knight is yet?” asked Sky Blade again.

“As for that, I haven’t been able to find any information yet, but according to one of our members who survived, that Knight seemed to be drunk, yet he was extremely difficult to defeat even in that state,” said Water Blade.

“It’s impossible for a drunk knight to fight so flawlessly, right? Could it be that he’s actually that skilled, or were our members just too weak?” said Sky Blade.

“I’m not sure about that! But I’m still going to find out about that old knight. If I ever run into him, I’ll teach him a lesson—or kill him if necessary!” said Water Blade.

The Circle of Blood Blades is a group that was formed about ten years ago; the group only robs and kills, so they have no information about who Kenzou Arata is, nor about the drunken knight who captured two of their members.

All of this is because they’re so focused on robbing that they don’t realize there are still many powerful knights outside the forest.

“Water Blade, tell him to monitor Kenzou Arata—who knows, he might leave his sect!” said Sky Blade.

Water Blade hadn’t answered when suddenly a blade shot toward him at high speed.

Water Blade immediately caught the flying blade with two fingers; the blade had a white handle, which meant it belonged to Wind Blade.

Water blade turned the end of the blade’s handle, and a small roll of paper appeared inside.

“What message did Wind Blade send?” asked Sky Blade.

“Kenzou Arata is currently on his way to Kasen City with a little boy!” replied Water Blade.

“Just the two of them? In that case, let Wind Blade capture him on his own—after all, with 13 members, there’s no way Kenzou Arata can win!” said Sky Blade with a broad smile.