Kenshin no Keishousha:Volume 1 Chapter3

Chapter 3 - The Hunter and the Hunted

It was currently the morning of the next day.

Kurou and Lars returned to the scene of yesterday’s incident.

“Hmm, there are actually burn marks left on the surface.”

Lars squatted down over the pathway, feeling the ground as he spoke.

He called Lars out during the early hours of the day in order to inspect the situation from yesterday. Regarding this matter, they had already reported this to both the Sabers and the academy and received permission to investigate.

“Speaking of mystic arts, I get the feeling there might be yet another blast from the past.”

“It was totally out of the blue. I couldn’t believe that someone who could use that sort of thing would actually appear.”

“I’ve never heard of any Swordies who could use mystic arts either. Actually, it would seem there still remains many mind-boggling things about this world.”

“You two don’t seem to be surprised......”

Hinako quietly muttered as always.

Although a new incident had occurred, his mission as Hinako’s bodyguard was still in effect. Because of this, Kurou was forced to travel with her frequently.

Consequently, Hinako had to tag along even during an investigation at the scene of the incident.

“No, I am shocked. After all, these are forgotten techniques from ages ago. Nowadays, these mystic arts or whatever————”

After speaking till that point, Lars suddenly placed his thumb over his lips and began pondering over something.

“Forgotten......? Hmm......”

“What is it Lars?”

“It’s nothing. Something just randomly came to mind all of a sudden.”

Lars smiled and shrugged.

“Actually, perhaps the mystic arts aren’t even relevant. The only thing I’m focused on is how someone as strong as Kurou got into an arduous battle.”

“Kurou getting into a grueling battle, is this really that unimaginable? Although I don’t quite understand, is Kurou truly that formidable? Olden Style or something of the sort, before he had mentioned some nonsense like that......”

“Did you really just call it nonsense, jeez......”

Even though Kurou felt frustrated, he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

From Hinako’s perspective, someone who didn’t know anything about swords was most likely unable to comprehend Kurou’s swordsmanship.

“Ah, so you even mentioned the Olden Style? Well, there’s no doubt Kurou is powerful, however it’d be hard to answer exactly to what extent. Furthermore, strength is all relative, sometimes there’s even luck involved. With that said, the chance of defeating an opponent who outclasses you at some point is very possible.”

“In other words, there’s no such thing as absolute power?”

“No, there is.”

“......Eh?”

For a moment, Hinako was dumbfounded towards Lars’s rambling and then questioned him in reply.

Hinako was astonished. However, based on Lars’s expression it didn’t seem like he noticed as he continued to survey the area.

“That’s not exactly the case for the person who Kurou had difficulty dealing with......that said, relying solely on this it would seem that apprehending the criminal will be very problematic. That’s because in this world there are many powerful people who we know nothing about.”

“Even if we know she can use mystic arts, the criminal didn’t leave any traces. Also, there is no chance she would just use mystic arts in public under normal circumstances. I felt her battle style was a bit archaic but there’s no way that could be used as a clue.”

“A familiar style of swordsmanship......did you get that sort of feeling?”

“That I don’t know. There’s practically no distinctions among Swordies.”

Basically, each Swordie honed their own style of swordsmanship.

Even though its foundation came from their parents and master, after that they would create their own exclusive sword techniques by themselves. It could be said that their own class of swordsmanship comes from combining their own physique along with whatever suited their fancy. Essentially, becoming someone’s disciple was pretty much just seeking out individuals who were considerably tough to practice against.

If it was between siblings, there are cases where similarities will arise. However, if you were to make a who resembles who comparison, it would be very hard to gauge for any semblances.

Lars switched hands and quietly continued on.

“As for clues the criminal may have left......ah Kurou, you did mention wounding her right?”

“It was just a graze. With the recovery abilities of a Swordie, the wound probably healed a long time ago.”

The flesh of a Swordie wasn’t just robust, even their recovery rate was phenomenal. That kind of body appears to be made for combat. If it was a small wound, it would be most likely instantly healed.

“Then with that, there’s no point staying here looking for clues. For now, let’s just head back to school first.”

Kurou nodded in agreement and walked off with Lars. Hinako’s pitter-patter footsteps clicked from behind as she followed.