In the living room on the first floor.
Merlin leaned comfortably on the sofa, flipping through a copy of today's newspaper in his hand.
On the coffee table in front of him were three cups of ginger tea emitting curling white mist. He sniffed the faint fragrance permeating the air.
At this time, he looked at Yol sitting on the sofa opposite him, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth:
"Tomorrow we'll go to register for enrollment. You and I will register as VIP students, and Lami will register for the ordinary student course!"
A gentle smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, but Yol hesitated at this moment:
"I'm just starting to learn the basics; there's no need to spend so much, right? How about I just register for the ordinary one? If I have talent later, it won't be too late to switch to VIP?"
At this time, Lami sighed like a little adult and said grumpily to Yol:
"Sister Yol, that's where you're wrong. How can being taught by ordinary students compare to being taught personally by the dojo master or his children?
"Precisely because we are building a foundation, we need to find the most capable people to teach us. If the students aren't skilled enough, what if they teach you wrong?
"Just like when my dad taught my brother medicine before. No matter how busy he was, he wouldn't let the apprentices under him teach; he did it himself, hand-in-hand. Mmh, my dad was the best surgeon in the country."
Lami said with a face full of pride.
"Haha!" Merlin laughed out loud immediately, looking at Lami with admiration in his eyes:
"Not bad. If it weren't for the fact that Lami is still young and needs more physical exercise, and we can teach her personally after we learn, otherwise, I would have let Lami take the VIP course too."
Yol smiled helplessly, "I was wrong, okay? But when did you two become a team?"
Lami, sitting beside Merlin, hugged Merlin's right arm with a grin at this moment and blinked playfully at Yol:
"Of course, from the very beginning!"
Hearing this, Yol deliberately put on an unbelievable expression as if she were about to cry. Crossing her hands to cover the lower half of her face, her voice became sorrowful:
"So it's like that. It seems Lami has never liked me?
"Sob, sob..."
Lami blinked, then looked at Yol with eyes full of helplessness, complaining:
"Too fake, Sister Yol. I'm not a child; you can't fool me like this."
But complaining aside, Lami still let go of Merlin's arm, jumped off the sofa, came to Yol's side, hugged her neck, and comforted her:
"Lami was wrong, okay? Lami and Sister Yol are on the same team!"
Seeing this, a playful look appeared in Yol's eyes. She said softly: "Then aren't you good with your Merlin-niichan anymore?"
Lami rolled her eyes, very speechless:
"Compared to me, Sister Yol, you act more like a little girl! And a jealous stingy ghost at that."
Hearing this, Yol's expression became difficult to maintain. Immediately, she grumpily hugged Lami in her arms and tickled her all over.
"Hahahaha, I was wrong, I was wrong, okay? Sister Yol, spare me! Merlin-niichan, help!!!"
Lami laughed until tears came out, struggling constantly...
But unfortunately, how could little Lami escape Yol's clutches? She was ruthlessly held and toyed with in her arms.
Merlin watched this scene with twitching lips, always feeling a sense of déjà vu.
Right, when he was young, he was often ravaged by her like this too.
Listening to Lami's cry for help, Merlin put the newspaper in his hand on the coffee table and couldn't help but say:
"Yol, that's enough! If you don't stop, I'll beat you!"
Yol's tickling movement paused. She stared at Merlin gloomily. Seeing this, Merlin's lips trembled slightly, then he pretended not to see anything, stood up, and coughed:
"I've been a bit tired these past few days. I'm going back to catch up on sleep. I didn't say anything."
Seeing Merlin go up the stairs to the second floor, a nostalgic smile appeared in Yol's eyes. Then she looked at Lami in her arms, who looked like she had lost the will to live, and chuckled:
"Sister and Brother, who do you want to be on a team with?"
Lami, with tears in the corners of her eyes, hurriedly said: "It's Sister, definitely Sister Yol."
A satisfied smile appeared at the corner of Yol's mouth. She was very satisfied with Lami's tactfulness, pinched her cheek, and smiled:
"Is that so? Then Sister will trust you for now!"
Lami: "..."
...
Back in the master bedroom on the second floor.
Merlin looked around his room. A 2.5-meter large bed by the window was already made.
Light gray neat sheets, brown bedding folded neatly at the foot of the bed.
Clean dark brown wooden floor.
There was also a wardrobe on one side of the bed, and a small round table with a single sofa placed next to it.
In the center of the small round table, there was a vase with a bunch of orchids.
A quiet floral fragrance lingered in the room.
Merlin took off his clothes and went into the bathroom near the door. A set of toiletries was already neatly arranged on the washbasin.
In the mirror above the washbasin, Merlin's figure was reflected at this moment. His smooth body glowed with a healthy wheat color.
His muscles were firm, not with exaggerated bulges, but a streamlined physique like twisted steel wires.
Muscle lines were fluid and well-proportioned.
Brushing his teeth, cleaning up personal hygiene on the toilet, and then lying in the bathtub for a bath with moderate water temperature.
Twenty minutes later.
Merlin drained most of the clear water in the bathtub, then picked up the dagger from the washbasin and began to cut various wounds on his body.
Soon, the clear water under him was dyed red with blood.
Black flames rose from his body, lingering around him.
Before long, on the ten fingers of both hands, except for the middle finger of the left hand which was white to the root, the other nine fingers all turned crimson to the root.
Bullets fully stocked.
Patchy Platinum Lead and Crimson Pain.
Regarding these two types of Calamities, Merlin could now fully understand their composition principles.
His face was somewhat pale at this moment, making Merlin appear weak. This was also because of excessive consumption of spirit and stamina. At this moment, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air from his mouth.
Merlin slowly stood up, rinsed the blood in the bathtub with clear water, and then washed the bloodstains off his body under the shower head on the side.
After rinsing quickly, Merlin dried the water on his body and came to the window by the bed.
Through the window, he could see a clear lake five hundred meters away.
Bright and crystal moonlight spilled on the lake, shimmering with watery light.
"The environment here is indeed nice, but how long can I stay here?"
Yol didn't guess wrong before; Merlin was indeed very interested in Doflamingo.
Because he possessed all the resources that could make people stronger, which were also the easiest for the current Merlin to access.
The azure light screen appeared in front of his eyes. In the Equipment Slot, he looked at the Synchro Value of the [Lynx].
[14%]
It increased by another 1% in the past two days.
Possessing the Skill Specialization [Lynx Body Tempering Arts], whenever Merlin cultivated, he would vaguely establish a connection with the lynx.
Thereby accelerating the synchronization process.
As for the progress of the Calamity Fruit, it was a steadfast 1% increase every three days.
At this moment, thinking of the newspaper he saw just now, it was early November.
Today was the 3rd of this month.
Also a Monday.
In the newspaper,
There were no major events worth recording in the North Blue these past two days.
Seemingly plain and tranquil.
Years of peace.
But, it was only that no major events happened.
And in recent newspapers, news involving Flevance no longer appeared. It seemed that the country-destroying event there had been forgotten by the people on the sea.
Raising his left hand, holding up his middle finger, looking at the deep patch of white on it.
The look in Merlin's eyes was as calm as an ancient well, showing no fluctuation.
Early the next morning.
Merlin opened his eyes from the bed. At this moment, feeling the heavy pressure on his chest.
Somewhat helplessly lifting the quilt, instantly, two heads with different hair colors appeared on both sides of his body.
Yol and Lami, wearing pink pajamas, occupied both sides of Merlin's body. Merlin looked at Yol's fair arm resting on his chest, rolled his eyes, picked it up, and pushed it aside:
"Since you're both awake, get up. Don't pretend to sleep on me.
"Also, starting tonight, you two sleep in your own bedrooms."
Yol opened her eyes, yawned, sat up from the bed, rolled her eyes at Merlin, and said grumpily:
"Are you not satisfied with two beautiful girls sleeping with you? Besides, I've gotten used to sleeping with you guys during this period. If I hadn't had insomnia last night, I wouldn't have come to find you. Also, why don't you scold Lami? Why only me?"
Merlin's face was hard to maintain. "Then you treated me as a body pillow for the whole night? Can you listen to what you are saying?
"How old is Lami? How old are you? Fine, I won't say more. Starting tonight, I'll start locking the door."
"Merlin-niichan?"
At this time, a weak voice appeared. Lami opened her eyes and said pitifully:
"Can you not lock the door? I'm scared sleeping alone?"
"Then go find Yol."
Merlin was speechless.
Lami was helpless: "I went looking last night, and then found her here with you."
Merlin sighed, "Let's settle it like this. Before, we didn't have the conditions, but now we do. You go sleep by yourselves."
After speaking, he got up. Before long, Merlin finished washing up and sat on the sofa in the living room, checking the time on his pocket watch.
7:30 AM.
And after Yol finished washing up and came down, she started taking milk, bread, and ham out of the refrigerator and began making breakfast in the kitchen.
Then, Merlin took Lami to exercise in the courtyard paved with bluestone.
After breakfast was finished.
Rested for a while.
The outside gate was knocked, and at the same time, Monde's loud voice appeared:
"Brother Merlin, it's time!"
Hearing the voice, Merlin glanced at a round clock with a dark gold coating hanging on the living room wall.
The time was 8:50 AM.
Very punctual.
Soon, Yol carried a brown handbag, and the three of them went out dressed in gray-brown casual sportswear.
Under Monde's lead, they walked towards the outside of the town.
Not long after, the four arrived in front of a vast manor covering several miles located outside the town near the foot of Petrel Mountain.
Outside the manor, it was surrounded by a three-meter-high wall. The manor's steel fence gate was wide open, and two young men wearing purple-black training uniforms were on duty outside the gate.
Monde greeted the two young men on duty with a smile, then led Merlin and the other two into the manor.
Inside the manor, a spacious and flat bluestone clearing appeared. Teenagers and young men of different ages were holding Japanese-style bamboo swords, neatly swinging them in training in the field.
Monde gave a simple introduction with a smile. Before long, he brought the three to the living room on the first floor of the manor's main building.
And in the center of the living room was a reception area with sofas and a coffee table.
At this moment,
Sitting upright on the sofa was a man wearing a purple-black training uniform.
Holding a teacup in his left hand and reading a newspaper with his right.
A middle-aged man in his fifties with a sturdy build and short purple hair.