Kenshin no Keishousha:Volume 1 Chapter2
Kurou dragged the maid outfit wearing girl by the hand and led her into the depths of the school.
Once there, no other figures were in sight. Interrogating the baffling girl in a place like this seemed profoundly fitting.
“So what’s with all this?”
The girl known as Hinako kept her back against the wall and raised her head as she blankly looked towards Kurou. If other people were to witness this, they may misconstrue this as Kurou coercing a girl. However, regardless of how other people viewed him, Kurou could not even comprehend what was going on himself.
“These were my orders, to serve you starting today. That’s why I came here.”
“Serving me......who ordered you to do so?”
“That’s not an issue at the moment.”
“It’s a huge issue!”
Does this girl even know what she is talking about?
During that one night while attacking the sun cultists, her appearance was indeed very bizarre.
No, this was perhaps not on outlandish levels.
That was because the mysterious light phenomenon wasn’t something that could be just promptly understood. As a result, he just forgot about it after writing the report, yet.......
“Anyways, I’ll be working for you. Anything outside of that isn’t my problem.”
“So extreme......”
Kurou weakly muttered. Following that, he sensed that class was about to start. There was no time to be engaging in nugatory disputes with this uncanny girl.
“Let me confirm something first. You’re a human right?”
“Well, I believe so.”
Although it was an amusing reply, Kurou was nearly certain that was the case. This girl appeared to be very feeble, completely different from a Swordie.
“Even though I have no idea what’s going on, you might as well go back. Other than humans who stroll around here working as servants, anyone else would be driven out.”
Within the academy, there was quite a large group of humans. They were not students or teachers but rather servants.
Other than the people employed here or those taking care of miscellaneous tasks within the school, the servants brought along by the students were largely comprised of humans as well.
Despite the academy disallowing humans from enrolling into the school as students, it was ok for them to be at the campus if it was purely work related.
However, if a human did not possess a permit to enter the Swordie school, things would inevitably get chancy.
“It’s fine, I already have a permit.”
“Huh? Where did you get it......hmm?”
Kurou suddenly turned around.
There were several colossal trees planted there. Just as Kurou was scrutinizing one of them————
“As expected of Kurou, you’re quite sharp.”
“It’s easy to detect your aura. Do you get that often?”
Lars walked out from behind the tree. He was wearing his school uniform and carried his sword by his waist just like Kurou.
“Was it you that brought her along?”
“All I did was lead her here. Afterwards I handed her over to you. Like raising kids, as long as they can work for you it should be fine.”
“No no, suddenly bringing up servicing or being serviced is too out of the ordinary! I don’t have the money to employ a servant!”
“Is the issue money? Well, I believe this aspect has already been taken care of! It’s because of————the director.”
“So this stunt was her doing!”
Thinking about it for a second, there was no one else who was capable of meddling to this extent.
“It’s still quite perplexing why she’d tend to the money related problems behind my back. What the heck is going on, explain yourself.”
“There’s really no other way it seems.”
After Lars took a glimpse at Hinako, he urged Kurou to move to somewhere else in order to get some separation from her.
Following that, he gave a run-down of the situation with a nonchalant tone.
Lars was most likely called to headquarters early in the morning by Manaka. Once there, he encountered this maid attire wearing girl and was imparted with all the details.
“She’s————the cult founder’s daughter.”
“Daughter? You mean there’s a founder or something within the sun cult?”
Although the people the Sabers suppressed were practically all followers of the sun, Kurou had limited knowledge about their higher-ups. What he did know was only the cult’s battle strength————equipment, and battling personnel count.
“Well, I guess a founder probably does exist. Story has it that it’s been over ten years since he last publicly appeared. However, the Sabers did receive reports indicating the cult founder has a daughter. Since DNA confirmation was not utilized, we don’t know whether or not she really is a legitimate daughter of his but she did say so herself.”
“Herself————sounds quite suspicious. We still don’t even know what she may be plotting.”
Hinako seemed to be completely uninterested in Kurou’s conversation as she leaned against the wall and leisurely stared into the sky. No matter how one looked at it, she did not resemble any of the dangerous sun cultists.
“That girl seems to be harboring some secrets. At the very least, she doesn’t seem to be the cult founder’s daughter, having not been placed on that high of a pedestal.”
“I agree.”
If she was a human who was influenced by the sun cult to oppose Swordies, then she probably would not have been inserted into a school filled with them. At the very least, she wouldn’t have shown up early in the morning wearing a maid outfit.
“Except, the so-called daughter of the cult founder isn’t a known truth. It’s a matter still under investigation. What is known is that the sun cult members seemed to be very focused on her, this is without a doubt. During that night, the sun cult’s movements appeared to be very flurried. Even that secretive criminal ringleader made her move. We questioned the apprehended sun cult followers numerous times, they appeared to have been ordered to ‘retrieve the package.’”
“That package probably referred to the girl. If she is the cult founder’s daughter, presumably that was a huge event back then......”
“Besides, even if that Hinako girl is really the cult founder’s daughter, there doesn’t seem to be a trace of criminal activity linked to her. Even if she was a follower of the sun, as long as she’s just a believer, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Hmm......”
Just like Lars said, the sun cult itself didn’t face restrictions from the law.
In the words of the Swordies, they were just a group of people with extremist values......
“When facing opponents who carry weapons, we Swordies will show no mercy in routing them. However, one of our rules is that we don’t harm those who don’t carry weapons. In short, it’s just the cultists who are armed.
“What a peculiar group of people.”
Kurou wryly smiled.
Even seventy years ago when the Swordies fought against humans during the Great War, the Swordies would not attack civilians. Especially those who were defenseless, they definitely would not have crossed swords with them.
It could be said that this was one of the restraints of a Swordie swordsman. Even if they strongly detested the opponent, they would not attack someone that was defenseless. What an extreme moral idiosyncrasy.
“However, Kurou wants to add himself to this group of bizarre individuals right? Thus, take her as your maid!”
“Well......wait, I need to attain a Swordie ID, what does having her be my maid have anything to do with that!?”
Kurou couldn’t help but shake his head towards Lars’s enthusiastic urging.
Kurou wished to protect Hinako, that was all. Anything after that should be dealt with by the upper management of the Sabers. Basically, handling this fell on Manaka and the others.
“However, even the Sabers would have a hard time dealing with a child. She may be the cult founder’s daughter, but there’s no reason to arrest her because she isn’t a criminal. That said, we could fabricate an accusation but for it to be something done by a girl like her, there’s no way something like that would pass. Nevertheless, if we were to leave her alone then......hence, it was determined that she would be handed off to Kurou.”
“What an absurd leap of judgment!”
Why was there a girl with such a problematic standing, so much so that she was strongly forced onto the hands of a normal member like Kurou.
“Furthermore, humans can live normally within the academy so her guise is quite well-done. That said, her identity may lead to some trouble but as long as Kurou is around, no matter what happens she should be fine right?”
“So you’re saying for me to become her bodyguard and guardian?”
“Kurou is also about to receive his pay from the Sabers so you can’t decline. This is an order———I believe that was what the director had said.”
“......Damn it.”
Kurou seemed to have no room to voice complaints once again.
Indeed, even if he had already earned his money, Manaka’s orders were final. In addition, if he loses his earnings from the Sabers, then there would be no way for him to maintain life down the road. Although his current gains from reward money were kept in his savings, he didn’t want the path to a steady future be discontinued.
“Well then, good luck Kurou.”
Lars stated as he was beaming with excitement.
The Sword Academy covered a lot of ground. There were numerous facilities and it even had a courtyard constructed.
In accordance with the Swordie’s love for greenery, countless plants were planted within the courtyard. Throughout the year, there would be flowers embellishing the flower terraces and very beautifully well-kept grass fields.
In one of the corners of the gorgeous, vast courtyard sits a small piece of forest. Within the forest was a small wooden hut.
“Is this the place......”
Kurou stopped in his tracks. He lifted his head and gazed attentively at the small hut. Lars and Hinako did the same.
The person who constructed this courtyard was a human landscaper. In hopes of taking care of the landscaper, the school prepared a small hut for him.
That landscaper passed away a couple years ago and since the current landscaper was away on official business, there was no one else living here.
“So I’m suppose to live in this comfortable room?”
Kurou harshly glared at Lars who was explaining things nonstop.
“Pretty much. A couple of the higher-ups even wanted her to be placed under house arrest within this academy.”
If it was house arrest, then this facility would probably be even more suitable————Although they figured it was just going to be Kurou by himself, the entire Saber’s upper management still completely shifted this task to Kurou.
“Well then, I’ll leave the rest to the two of you.”
“Wait Lars, where are you going?”
Kurou grabbed Lars as he was about to leave.
“I’m going to school of course. First period has already started, if I don’t leave now......”
“So you’re seriously going to leave all the troublesome matters to me......”
“I’ve been told by my parents that I have to graduate. Well, it is what it is.”
After giving a slight smirk, Lars left without further interruptions.
Since Kurou understood that what Lars said about his parents was true, it was hard to keep him here.
“......There’s really no other way.”
Kurou muttered and proceeded to open the door to the hut using the key Lars gave him.
The interior setup was in a Japanese style. After removing his shoes, he entered inside and thoroughly scoped out the place.
There was an eight tatami living room along with another six tatami Western style room. There was also a conveniently placed kitchen, shower room, and bathroom. Even though from the outside it looked like an outdated tiny hut, the inside decor was exceptionally well adorned.
There was a TV, fridge, and what appeared to be a washing machine. Other things such as tables and chairs were already available. The preposterous sense that this place was not inhabitable was completely absent. It was probably because there was someone who would tidy up around here on occasion.
“Well, living here doesn’t seem too bad. Walking to school only takes five minutes and the facilities here are quite complete.”
According to what Lars said, there was no need for room and board. It seems even the electricity and gas costs were already covered by the school.
To Kurou, it did not seem that bad.
“Ha——, so this is a tatami. It’s my first time seeing one.”
“......”
Hinako took a seat in the living room and affectionately stroked the tatami mat.
It wasn’t that bad but————that was with the prerequisite that this annoying girl wasn’t living here as well.
Except, if protecting her was part of the objective, then there was nothing he could do about it. Kurou had already come to accept this worst case scenario.
“I believe I haven’t made a proper introduction. My name is Kurou.”
“Kuro?”
“Well the sounding is a bit off......whatever, it’s fine.”
“Are you a human? You’re different than the Swordies, do you have a surname?”
“Yes I do. My original name was Katsuragi Kurou. However, if I were to live within Swordie society, there’s no need for a surname.”
“So it’s like that.”
Hinako seems to have understood and nodded.
“By the way Kuro!”
“Calling me by my name directly already? Whatever, what’s the matter?”
“What should I be doing?”
“......”
Regarding this matter, it was something Kurou really wanted to inquire from her instead.
She obviously dressed up in maid attire and told him that she would serve him. However, he didn’t actually know what in particular she should do.
“......For now, just stand up.”
“Right.”
Hinako mannerly nodded and stood up. Kurou once again inspected her.
Her body was extremely petite, approximately 150 centimeters tall. Her hands, legs, and even her waist were slender to the point of seeming unstable. However, there were two massive bulges coming from her chest.
It was probably because that green and black colored maid outfit was quite exposing around the chest. That captivating deep ravine was pretty visible. The skirt was short, as if it was meant to be worn while in combat. It would seem that if there was even the tiniest of movements, her panties would be exposed.
However, did she not have any thoughts at all about this maid outfit seeing as she was completely unprepared for this.
“......”
Kurou couldn’t help but think who was the one that picked this outfit.
No, it should be obvious. It was the one who sent Hinako here————in other words, Manaka. She was someone who kept up with fashion trends. Within the Sabers, her uniforms were always accompanied by a beautiful overcoat stemmed from her interest in these matters.
In the end, if he were to become Hinako’s bodyguard, then there was no need to call Lars in. Calling for himself instead would most likely be a much better option. Instead, she specifically sent Hinako over to the academy thinking this would perhaps be much more interesting.
“About how old are you? What’s your age?”
“I’m 15, turning 16 this year.”
In other words, the same age as Kurou.
There was really no choice but to live with a beauty around the same age under the same roof......of course, if it was a mission then there was no way he would try anything unreasonable.
“......Well, whatever. For now just tidy up the place a bit. Seems like there’s plenty of dust around here. Since there’s a lot of useless stuff piled up in that room, I’ll go ahead and straighten things out over there."
Kurou decided to first clean up the stuff he saw in front of him. Although he skipped school on just the second day since he transferred, he probably wouldn’t be forced to drop out just because of this.
In another room was a bed. Having this room designated as Hinako’s room should be ideal. As long as Kurou could set up a shakedown in the living room he should be fine. He wasn’t one of those sensitive sleepers who couldn’t sleep without a bed. Even though he had a dream the previous night about sleeping on a comfy bed with a lovely wife, that kind of situation was something he was expecting in the years to come.
“I’ll leave tidying up the living room to you. No need to overdo it.”
Kurou pointed to the vacuum cleaner located in the corner of the room and then walked towards the bedroom.
Compared to a casual conversation, Kurou much preferred staying active.
This was because he didn’t know what to do with this————human girl of the same age.
“This must be a vacuum cleaner, it’s my first time near one.”
As soon as Kurou heard this eye-opening statement, he rushed back to the living room.
“You haven’t even used a vacuum cleaner before?”
“I’ve seen other people use it. However, this thing must be broken. It’s not making that whirrrr sound.”
“......Did you plug it in and press the on button?”
He knew that she wasn’t someone who was accustomed to the ways of normal life, but who would have thought that she was clueless on how to use a vacuum cleaner.
Hinako followed Kurou’s instructions, unraveled the power cord and plugged it in.
“Well then, it should be ready now.”
Hinako muttered and began cleaning up the tatami. Although she wasn’t familiar with the fine details, she did pretty much get the gist of operating the vacuum cleaner.
With that daringly skimpy miniskirt along with having to lean over as she moved the vacuum cleaner around, it was quite difficult on the eyes. Every day from now on, he would probably be in the presence of this appearance constantly. Kurou felt a bit tired from this. Being unable to rid himself of this overly revealing maid outfit wearing girl all because of his boss, it was really quite tragic.
“I should probably tidy up here a bit too.”
“Eh!?”
Hinako suddenly began to move the vacuum on top of the table. Kurou did not even have time to stop her. Once the table was thoroughly cleaned up in this fashion, she started to shift the vacuum on top of the TV placed in the corner of the room.
“Hey hey hey! H-H-Hold on a sec, you shouldn’t be cleaning these places! No, just forget about this place......oh yeah, I’ll have you clean up the shower room for now.”
“Understood.”
Hinako nodded her head. It would be disastrous if she were to break the TV or some other electrical appliance.”
“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
“Hold on, first set aside the vacuum cleaner.”
Stupid wouldn’t be the right description for her since Hinako seemed to be quite diligent.
It was more than just having a bad premonition about this. If Hinako were to be allowed to mess around with the household equipment, the result would be something quite frustrating. Although this was the case, it would be unbearable if he were to clean the entire place by himself.
Kurou explained in detail how to clean the shower room to Hinako and then sent her off.
“She should be fine......although it won’t be smooth sailing, I should be getting to work myself.”
After depositing the unnecessary furniture the landscaper had into the hut’s storage room, he began sorting through the necessities sent to them by Manaka and then he redid the vacuuming for the living room.
“That’s about it. Well then, is she still cleaning the shower room......”
“Ah——”
“......”
Suddenly, Kurou’s face tensed upon hearing a cry from the shower room.
He had considered ignoring it but that was out of the question. Kurou despairingly looked down.
“I must say, having warm water enter the shower room makes it much more tiring.”
“This sort of thing, I already know.”
Hinako was sitting inside the bathtub in an unnatural position with her legs laid spread out.
Her tiny skirt curled up, revealing her white striped panties.
In addition, the showerhead that fell into the tub was spraying out water. Her maid outfit was tightly stuck to her body after being drenched.
“Let me first ask, how did it turn out like this?”
“After the water came out, the showerhead started to go out of control. I wanted to grab it but then I fell into the bathtub.”
“Really now?”
It was just as he predicted. Having someone who was incapable of even operating a vacuum cleaner go tidy up the shower room was never going to work.
Kurou took Hinako back into the living room and was currently drying her soaked long black hair with a towel.
Hinako did not reveal an annoyed expression, continuing to let Kurou dry her off.
If he were to remove the maid outfit and rub her body dry, she probably wouldn’t even mind————these types of diabolical thoughts coursed through Kurou’s mind.
“......Well then, you can dry yourself off now.”
“Ok, I’ll do my best.”
Just like that, Hinako dried her half exposed chest and legs.
“Looks like the only thing qualified about you is your body.”
“Yes.”
Hinako nodded.
If she had denied that statement then he would have felt quite troubled. Rather, with her nodding in agreement, it was hard to respond to that. Kurou couldn’t help but clutch his head.
“With this, you’re pretty much just a busty freeloader right?”
“That’s how it is.”
“In that case, stop nodding and agreeing so willingly. Jeez......”
Kurou helplessly stated as he stood up. He glanced over at the time and noticed it was approaching noon. It was most likely due to the heavy task at hand. Or was it because it was tiring having to deal with Hinako. In any case, he did feel quite hungry from all of this.
“First let me ask, are you able to cook?”
“I can eat but I can’t cook.”
“......I see.”
The task of cooking will probably be Kurou’s responsibility for the most part.
From the materials Manaka sent, there seemed to be a large quantity of instant ramen and other instant food products. If it was only for today, this should suffice.
“However, even though you’re a highly regarded girl of the sun cult, it’s surprising that you can’t even handle tidying up. Just what kind of caged bird are you.”
“I’ve never been in a cage before.”
“It’s a figure of speech. Just who in the world raised you......”
“Even if you ask, there’s nothing to say really. It was my first time going outside not too long ago, that’s all.”
“Eh, in that case it’s pretty much like being in a real cage......that said, hmm? For the first time?”
As Kurou walked out of the kitchen, he immediately stopped upon inquiring as such.
“You said you’ve never been outside before......why is that?”
“I was locked within a room.”
“......”
Kurou pressed his fingers against his temples.
In other words, the cause was most likely her imprisonment. If what she said about this being her “first time” was taken at face value, then the reasoning behind “you can’t even handle tidying up” would change once again.
If she were to be raised away from the masses and prevented from doing anything during her entire life up to now......
“Gurr——”. Suddenly, a silly sound echoed.
“......I’m hungry.”
“Well then, we’ll continue this later.”
It was improbable that anyone could be focused on a conversation when their tummy was growling.
Kurou once again headed towards the kitchen.
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