She had practically watched Merlin grow up.
Yol knew Merlin well. As a child, he had been obedient, though a little withdrawn—or rather, he had been precocious. After both his parents passed away, he became far too mature for a boy his age.
Back then, she had worried that the precocious Merlin might fall in with the local street thugs and turn bad.
But it turned out she had been worrying too much.
So all the methods she had thought up to teach Merlin a lesson had gone completely unused, which had left her feeling rather frustrated.
Now, hearing Merlin say that, Yol sighed helplessly. There was a hint of exasperation in her eyes as she said,
"I watched you grow up, and Sister Lucia always took such good care of me when I was little. Since you're her son, of course I have to take good care of you, too!
"But you hardly ever pay me any attention. And whenever I try to find you for a chat, you're often nowhere to be found."
As she spoke, Yol looked both annoyed and helpless.
"But now, you're clearly the one taking care of me. I can't help feeling like such a failure!"
Merlin was just about to complain.
But then—
Footsteps sounded. Merlin turned and saw Rainer coming up the stairs and walking toward them.
Noticing Merlin watching him, Rainer smiled apologetically.
"I hope I'm not interrupting.
"By the way, I came to deliver Abyss's bounty."
Rainer came over. Merlin watched him lift the briefcase and hold it out, then took it and handed it to Yol.
"Count it for me."
Yol rolled her pretty eyes, took the briefcase, and carried it into the cabin, where she set it on the bed and began counting.
Meanwhile, Merlin noticed Rainer seemed to have something to say but was holding back, so he asked,
"Just say it."
Rainer gritted his teeth, then asked about what had happened with Gerard earlier. Merlin's expression didn't change as he calmly replied,
"Did you come to call me to account? For killing one of your ship's sailors?"
"N-no."
Rainer quickly shook his head, looking helpless. "I'm not an idiot. Gerard was thrown out of here by you.
"I just wanted to know how he offended you."
Rainer was practically bursting with the will to survive.
He had no intention of provoking Merlin over a dead sailor who hadn't even been well liked by the others.
He just wanted an explanation.
He needed a reason that would silence the crew. After all, he was the Guard Captain and was responsible for managing the ship's sailors. If he did nothing at all, how could he expect to manage them in the future?
Now that he had said it, he believed Merlin could understand what he meant.
Merlin wasn't an idiot, and he understood the implication. So, calmly, he recounted how Gerard had come into the cabin and talked to Yol about pirates, then how Merlin had returned and dealt with him.
He didn't embellish the story at all.
Rainer knew he couldn't beat Merlin, and there was nothing aboard the passenger ship that could threaten him. So Merlin had no reason to lie.
As Rainer listened, cold sweat broke out on his face. His expression shifted, and he ground his teeth. "That damn traitorous bastard.
"I knew it! The Blood Wolf Pirates were roaming around another sea not long ago. How could they suddenly show up here?
"So there was a traitor!"
As he spoke, Rainer looked at Merlin with immense gratitude.
"Thank you. If you hadn't stepped in and helped us deal with this threat, who knows when we might have gotten into trouble again?"
Merlin glanced at him. That was quite a lot to say. "I don't like owing people favors, but I don't like people owing me, either."
Rainer's eye twitched, but he immediately put on an even more grateful expression and said excitedly,
"Thank you so much for your help! I'll go find our captain right now and make sure he prepares a reward for you!"
Just then, Yol came out, looking puzzled as she said to Merlin,
"The total is 11 million. Isn't that a million too much?"
Merlin looked at Rainer, who smiled awkwardly.
"I said earlier that we'd refund your fare. Add that to the 10.5 million bounty, and we rounded it up."
That stingy captain had only added another 200,000 Beli.
Rainer was so embarrassed that he immediately came up with an excuse and hurried away.
Merlin had no comment. But Yol was looking at him strangely now, clearly having heard what he'd said earlier. Merlin rolled his eyes at her.
"You can't skimp on raising you all. Of course I'm going to make money whenever I get the chance!"
Yol let out a helpless laugh, stepped behind Merlin, and began massaging his shoulders with her porcelain-white hands.
"Mm-hmm, I understand. I just feel bad making you play the villain."
Merlin was speechless. Her tone was so sarcastic that he couldn't help giving a disgruntled shrug, shaking her hands off his shoulders.
Yol chuckled. "It's almost dinnertime. The passenger ship's dining hall should have the food ready. Shall I go get dinner for our great hero?"
Merlin pursed his lips. "Go on, then! I'm hungry. I want meat."
A smile curved Yol's lips.
She nodded brightly, then called to Lami, who was closing the briefcase inside the cabin.
"Lami, let's go! We'll get a delicious dinner ready for the great hero of our family."
Lami cheered happily.
"Yay! Let's go get dinner!"
Lami ran out and took Yol's hand. The two of them left together.
Merlin hadn't expected much from the so-called reward. He hadn't even seen the captain once in the past two days aboard the ship.
But he had heard the sailors describe him as an incredibly stingy man.
Sure enough, after dinner, when Rainer came by again, all he had with him was a thin envelope filled with Beli. He scratched his head awkwardly.
"I'm sorry. The captain only gave you 300,000 Beli. I hope you won't mind."
But he quickly added, "You can choose any luxury suite on the fourth floor, and all your meals aboard the ship will be free from now on."
Merlin glanced at him and chuckled. "You don't have to feel awkward. I wasn't expecting much to begin with.
"I don't need to change rooms. I'll take the reward."
Then Merlin smiled. "Mr. Rainer, I can tell you're capable. If you get the chance, you should jump ship sooner rather than later."
With that, Merlin said no more.
Smart people understood.
There was no point explaining things to fools.
Rainer gave a wry smile.
"Thank you for the advice. I won't bother you any longer. Get some rest.
"If you need help with anything, feel free to come to me. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely take care of it for you."
Rainer left Merlin's room.
Merlin closed the door and smiled faintly, finding the situation a little amusing. He opened the envelope in his hand. Inside was a stack of thirty 10,000-Beli bills.
He took ten bills out and handed them to Yol, then gave five to Lami.
"Pocket money for you two!"
Yol accepted it with a sigh. "This is the first time anyone's ever given me this much pocket money."
Lami took hers and smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Brother Merlin. It's the first time Lami's ever gotten this much pocket money, too."
Merlin folded the remaining 150,000 Beli and tucked it into his pocket. When traveling, it was always good to carry some cash.
As for the total of 50 million Beli in the other three briefcases, he had already consolidated it all into a single case.
The two empty briefcases were being used to carry their personal clothes.
Time flew by.
Another day and a half passed.
At one o'clock that afternoon.
After lunch, they spotted a strangely shaped island in the distance.
From afar, the island looked like an enormous, vivid green swallow connected to a base.
It was incredibly beautiful and wondrous.
The swallow was the entire mountain, which the islanders called Sea Swallow Mountain.
Dense vegetation covered the mountain, making it look like an ancient giant beast that had lived from time immemorial to the present day.
Looking at the island, Merlin's thoughts wandered. There were so many ancient creatures in this world as large as islands. Could this place be the fossilized remains of a colossal stone swallow?
He shook his head and stopped musing. Before long, the passenger ship reached the port along the island's coast and docked. A thriving port town came into view.
Sea Swallow Town.
With a backpack on his back and a glove on his left hand, Merlin carried a briefcase.
Under the sailors' awed gazes, he and Yol and Lami disembarked from the right side of the passenger ship, stepping down onto the gangplank.
As his feet touched the bluestone street, Merlin felt a sense of security well up inside him. He couldn't help sighing.
"Land really does make you feel more grounded!"
"True. After all, we used to live on land, too."
Yol smiled in agreement. Today, she wore a blue-green striped dress that fell below her knees.
Over the dress, she wore a brown cotton jacket. Her straight, exposed calves were clad in black tights beneath the hem.
A pair of delicate black leather shoes completed her look, making her seem both youthful and radiant.
Just then, Lami looked at Merlin curiously. "Brother Merlin, where are we going now?"
At her question, Merlin looked at Lami. She wore a navy-blue trench coat that reached her thighs.
The hem of a red plaid pleated skirt peeked out beneath it, and black cotton tights covered her slender legs.
She also wore a pair of dainty black leather shoes.
"People around ports like this are usually well-informed.
"They often help travelers passing through with all sorts of things."
"Are they really that nice?" Lami asked in surprise.
Before you continue