Chapter 39: Clash, Favors and Awakened Desires

Chapter 39: Clash, Favors and Awakened Desires

_________ POV Narration_________

Now, Ken wouldn't have been shocked if he had heard blades clashing in the land of iron of all places.

But the fact that it was coming from a random alleyway instead of a training ground was a bit interesting.

There was also the fact that the smell of blood permeated the area, though it was faint.

'Who would be so bold as to start killing in the middle of the capital?...'

Ken honestly had no clue, but he was about to find out.

When reaching that alleyway, he was faced with a rather intriguing scene. Three people dressed as ninjas and two dressed as Samurai cornering a single Samurai who was doing his best to protect what Ken assumed was a young noblewoman.

She seemed to be dressed in rather expensive clothes, but Ken couldn't really tell much else about her features. She was wearing a rather strange veil, which covered most of her face.

Near them, were the corpses of two other samurai, looking like they had been backstabbed.

'Ah, the usual tomfoolery between murderers. Infiltration and backstabbing, true classics in our line of work.'

Ken could somewhat appreciate decent work when it was in front of him. But they had made a major mistake...

'The samurai they're cornering... He looks a lot stronger than them, but he's likely stuck protecting that girl, so he is unable to go all out.

The 5 assassins should've aimed to finish this as soon as possible, alas, it already attracted unwanted attention after all...'

The assassins and the stronger samurai, who Ken assumed was a Hatamoto, seemed to be stuck in a stalemate for a few seconds.

The assassins knew that getting close to the Hatamoto would definitely lead to one of them being killed.

Ken had ample time to intervene... The true question was if it was even worth his time.

'Nobles being assassinated is not exactly uncommon, though I don't see how a young girl like her deserves such treatment...'

The Blind Swordsman stood there for a second, crouched down on a rooftop and studying the situation a bit more.

Surprisingly, the 'assassins' then started speaking.

"Tsk... Hatamoto! Stop resisting already, you know it's futile! The 5 of us can easily kill you! Hand Lady Harada over and we may even share the ransom with you."

Ken raised an eyebrow when hearing that. 'So, not assassins, kidnappers... Still, they made a rather elaborate plan to catch whoever this 'Lady Harada' is...'

The Hatamoto simply stared at the 5 men with hate in his eyes, the young girl behind him trembled a bit in fear.

"Heh! We'll even let you play with her as well!" One of the other kidnappers also tried to entice the Hatamoto, but he only received an angry shout.

"You dirty animals! She is but a teenager!" The Hatamoto scowled deeply, grasping his blade tighter in his hands.

'... Ok, they may have planned this out well, but not all of them are smart...' Ken shook his head a bit when hearing the exchange.

'I guess I could kill them, it would be as easy as breathing. But I could also track them down for a while, wait for the lady's father to pay the bounty, and steal the money from them afterwards...'

Ken was seriously contemplating that, before a realization hit him.

'Wait a moment... Wasn't the Daimy's family name Harada?...' Ken smiled deviously under his mask.

'Yes... Yes, it is... I guess getting involved in this suddenly became worthwhile.' The Blind Swordsman stepped along the rooftops without making any sound, he smiled as he walked with carefree steps.

It was extremely worthwhile to get the Daimy to owe him a favour. A favour like that was worth a lot more than any amount of money...

Ken didn't interfere immediately though. A good farmer always knew to wait for the fruit to be ripe enough for picking.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

Instead, Ken 'watched' the righteous Hatamoto fight with honour.

The five kidnappers quickly closed in on the Hatamoto when noticing they couldn't bribe him. The second they stepped forwards, the Hatamoto's blade was already gunning for one of the men's necks.

Even injured, he was more than capable of defending himself. The Hatamoto decapitated one of the kidnappers instantly, while the rest of them all dodged his slash with room to spare.

The Ring Leader's back was filled with cold sweat when he noticed that their bodies were being held up by metal wire... Strung up for display.

"W-when-" The Kidnapper was instantly filled with dread, and the noble girl's attention was also finally brought to the other kidnappers, and she also almost covered her mouth and almost vomited in disgust.

"People these days really need to learn to pay more attention to their surroundings..." Ken simply shook his head, acting disappointed while crossing his arms.

"I-I'll give you whatever you want! Please spare me!" The Kidnapper was instantly on his knees, knowing that there was no way he was killing or escaping from the man in front of him.

"Ooh? Spare?" Ken immediately turned into a blur and appeared right behind the kneeling kidnapper.

The kidnapper was knocked out cold before he even had the means to react, receiving an axe kick to the head, the street underneath him cracking heavily.

"Don't worry, you won't die... I'm sure the Daimy will appreciate having someone to torture and interrogate for this matter..." Ken wasn't even thinking of killing the man in the first place.

If he had wanted him dead, then he would've been dead before any words were exchanged, much like his comrades behind him.

"W-who are you? Are you hired by my father?" The Noble Girl finally mustered the courage to stand up, looking at Ken with wary eyes.

"Lady Harada, right? Heh. I am not under your father's employ. But I am an associate of his." Ken walked towards her slowly, approaching her carefully in order to not scare her in any way.

It seemed to work, as the noble girl composed herself and calmed down a lot more now that she knew the man in front of her was related to her father.

"I-I see... Thank you for your help, sir...?"

"Ken. You can call me Ken" The blind swordsman then turned his head up and threw a small piece of paper in the air. The paper proceeded to explode, it was a small explosion, but it was enough to echo throughout the entire city.

"Y-you can call me Yue... Thank you for alerting the guards..." Yue was a bit spooked by the sudden explosion. But she thankfully figured out what it was for rather quickly.

"No problem! I could walk you over to the castle myself, but I just left from there, and I don't want to make things awkward!" Ken nodded at the young girl in front of him.

Yue's smile trembled a bit when she heard that. 'You're worried about awkwardness in this situation?!'

'Well... From how the other kidnappers look, I guess this isn't all that special for him...' Yue sighed a bit internally as she remembered the sight of the two kidnappers standing with their heads twisted.

It was still a chilling scene for her, one that was sure to follow her into her nightmares.

Although, the fact that the person that was capable of doing such a thing saved her was certainly going to help her sleep at night...

"I-I'll gladly invite you back to the castle, I'm sure my father would love to reward you handsomely for your service!" Yue bowed slightly in gratitude when speaking.

"I appreciate the thought young lady, but I'll be fine. Just tell your father that he owes me a solid." Ken just waved his hand dismissively, smiling a bit under his mask as he started walking away.

"B-but-"

"You might want to reward the samurai that protected you before I came here. Were it not for him you would've been long gone before I even arrived at the scene."

Ken was apparently not bothered by interrupting what was essentially the princess of the Land of Iron.

Yue was a bit taken aback by that, she was used to people treating her with respect, but seeing the masked assassin's back getting further and further away gave her a strange feeling.

'... I guess some people can go about in the world without any fear...'

Yue's eyes shined, and now she looked at the strung-up corpses of her to-be 'kidnappers' in a different light.

It now looked more like a morbid work of art, rather than the barbaric scene she had seen beforehand.

'I want to be like that someday!'

The young girl clenched her fists and smiled underneath her veil, looking once again in the direction that Ken had left in, wanting to go after him, only to notice that he was already nowhere to be seen.

'I'm sure I'll meet him again... I want him to teach me as well... I need to become stronger!'

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Hope you liked the chapter!

Random encounter completed successfully! :)) Anyway, glad I managed to upload today, still have an exam tomorrow(and I had one today as well)

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