"Where are we going?"
Merlin thought for a moment, then asked Yol:
"Do you know of any famous sword schools in the North Blue?"
"A sword school?" Yol pondered. "Famous sword schools in the North Blue... Let me think!"
Yol had come from a church in Flevance, which had once been a trading hub in the North Blue. Travelers from all over the North Blue would occasionally visit the church to adopt children.
Over time, Yol had heard many famous stories about the North Blue.
But when it came to sword schools, as she thought back, her eyes gradually lit up.
"I remember! The famous sword schools in the North Blue that I know of are the Gale Kendo Dojo in the Volgala Kingdom and the Rockheart Kendo Dojo on Sea Swallow Island.
Are we going there?"
Merlin pondered. "The Volgala Kingdom? That's closer to us. But they were among the ones who surrounded Flevance.
Never mind. Let's wait until we leave this mountain range and decide after we get out. We have enough money, so we can go wherever we want."
At that, Yol smiled, her lips pressed together.
"Speaking of money, this is the first time I've ever seen so many Beli!"
Merlin's lips curled up. The suitcase he'd gotten from Viscount Mela had contained a full thirty million Beli.
Over the past few days, they'd also gradually collected more than two million Beli in loose change from the city.
That amount would be enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
But Merlin shook his head.
"It only looks like a lot. In reality, it'll probably last us for a while at most.
Once we start training, we'll have to pay for all kinds of precious ingredients, housing, and sword lessons. After all that, it won't seem like much."
Yol's lips twitched. After hearing Merlin's breakdown, she couldn't help feeling a little helpless.
"Then once we've settled down, I'll have to find a part-time job. We can't just live off our savings!"
Merlin shook his head and refused.
"You don't need to worry about money. We'll think about it if we run out.
While we're young, we should focus on getting stronger."
Then Merlin looked at Yol and asked:
"By the way, Yol, I haven't asked you this yet. Are you interested in learning swordsmanship?"
Yol hesitated. "I've never learned to use a sword before. I don't know if I have any talent for it.
Besides, I'm already twenty. Is it too late to start learning?
I heard that people who train in swordsmanship start laying the groundwork when they're very young!"
Merlin studied Yol's build. She was perfectly proportioned,
and with her natural strength and unusually dense body,
even though she'd never trained before, five or six grown men couldn't easily get close to her in a fight.
Feeling a little self-conscious under Merlin's gaze, Yol tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled gently.
"What is it?"
Merlin asked softly, "My father once taught me a close-quarters fighting style that he'd learned from a very capable old sailor when he was young. Would you like to learn it?"
Yol blinked and asked curiously, "Can I?"
"Of course," Merlin said with a nod. "If you want to learn, I'll teach you."
Lami asked curiously, "Can I learn too, Brother Merlin?"
Merlin ruffled her hair and smiled. "I can teach you some basic physical training."
"I want to learn," Yol replied, determination in her eyes.
"I want to get stronger. I want to be able to protect you all.
Without strength, there's nothing I can do when danger comes. I never want to feel that helpless again."
Merlin nodded, then looked around. The forest by the pool was quiet; few people ever ventured this deep into the mountains.
After a few moments of thought, he said:
"Then... how about we stay here for a while?"
Merlin asked them. First, after all the killing over the past few days, he wanted to let his mind settle.
Second,
ever since he'd entered the forest, he'd felt an odd sense of pleasure, as though he were home.
Merlin searched for the reason within himself. As he suspected, it was probably because he had equipped [Lynx].
He wanted to test whether being in the forest would help increase the Synchronization Value of his [Equipment].
Hearing Merlin's suggestion, Yol tilted her head and rubbed her chin as she looked around.
"I'm happy to go anywhere with you, but even though there's plenty of food in the forest, where will we sleep at night?
We're deep in the Fultons Mountain Range, after all. I've heard it's full of wild beasts. Would it be safe to stay by the pool at night?"
Merlin looked around and spotted a huge, lush tree about ten meters thick and fifty meters tall, a hundred or so meters into the forest to the right of the pool.
Pointing to several branches growing horizontally around the middle of the tree, each about a meter thick, Merlin said:
"Yol, you're strong. Do you think you could use a dagger to dig out a tree hollow about three meters long, wide, and high in the trunk, around where those branches meet it?"
Yol looked over, then turned to Merlin with a twitch of her lips. She had to admire his imagination.
But a glimmer of excitement appeared in her eyes. She'd never seen anything like this before.
"I can give it a try!"
Putting words into action, Yol held out her hand. Merlin gave her his dagger.
The three of them went to the tree. Yol gripped the dagger and quickly climbed up to the branches halfway up the trunk. Kneeling on a branch, she drove the dagger into the tree with her right hand, then pried hard, pulling off a piece of bark as long as her arm.
Next, she rapidly dug at the trunk with her right arm. In just a few minutes, she'd carved out a hole big enough for a person's head.
Standing twenty meters from the tree, Merlin couldn't help exclaiming:
"If Yol ever decided to tear down a house, she'd be great at it."
Lami, who was with Merlin, burst out laughing. But she quickly covered her mouth and gave Merlin a reproachful look.
"Brother Merlin, you're so mean! How can you make fun of Sister Yol?"
Merlin smiled, then looked at Lami. "Can you climb up this tree?"
Lami looked eager to try. She gazed up at Merlin.
"Should I give it a try?"
The two of them went to the foot of the tree. Lami grabbed the gaps in the rough, uneven bark with both hands and slowly climbed up like a caterpillar.
Seeing this,
a smile appeared on Merlin's lips.
Still, children in this world had to be far stronger than children their age had been in his previous life.
Merlin shook his head, then walked toward the campfire by the pool.
Yol saw Lami climbing up too and asked curiously, "What's going on?
You're too weak to help."
Looking at the wood shavings stuck to Yol's face, Lami smiled, her eyes crinkling, and brushed them away.
"Brother Merlin asked if I could climb up."
"Oh, I see!" Yol said helplessly. "Why don't you climb back down first? We haven't finished making the tree hollow, so it's dangerous up here."
"It's okay. I won't get in your way," Lami said, shaking her head. "Besides, look, Brother Merlin's coming over too."
Yol turned around and saw Merlin walking toward them with his backpack, suitcase, and swords.
When he reached the tree, Merlin used his hands and feet to climb easily onto a branch beside them.
As Yol and Lami watched curiously, he set his backpack, suitcase, and rapier on a branch two meters in diameter.
"I'm going to look around for large beasts. If I find one, I'll skin it and make a mattress and bedding out of the hide."
As Merlin spoke, he tucked two grenades into his pocket and picked up his katana. He ruffled Lami's hair.
"Your sister Yol has a job to do, and so do you. Wild beasts could show up at any time, so you're in charge of keeping watch around her.
Make sure some sneaky beast doesn't ambush her."
Lami nodded emphatically, then asked curiously, "What kind of beast is a 'sneaky one'?"
Merlin laughed. "A 'sneaky one' is a way of describing someone. I know a story about the seven Calabash Brothers.
The sixth brother can turn invisible, and he loves using that power to play tricks on people. So 'sneaky one' can also describe someone who's cunning and underhanded.
Got it?"
He patted her head. Lami's eyes sparkled.
"The seven Calabash Brothers?
It sounds like a story!"
Merlin smiled and nodded. "It's a pretty interesting children's story."
"Then will you tell it to me before bed tonight, Brother Merlin?"
Lami looked at him with eager anticipation. Seeing her expression, Merlin smiled.
"That depends on how well you do."
Then he stood up and slid down the trunk.
Lami puffed out her cheeks and looked down at Merlin. She cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and called:
"I'll keep a good lookout and do my best!"
Without turning around, Merlin raised a hand and waved, then headed deeper into the forest.
Lami turned and hopped onto a branch beside them. She took a grenade from her bag, gripped it in her hand, then looked at Yol with a serious little face.
"Lami will work hard too. Sister Yol, you have to be my witness!"
A smile appeared in Yol's eyes.
"Of course. Do your best, Lami. I really want to hear the story of the seven Calabash Brothers too!"
Before you continue