Rockheart Kendo Dojo!

In the living room on the first floor.

Merlin leaned back comfortably on the sofa, flipping through the day's newspaper.

Three cups of ginger juice, emitting wisps of white steam, were placed on the coffee table before him, the faint aroma filling the air.

At this moment, he looked at Yol, who was sitting on the opposite sofa, a smile appearing on his lips:

"Tomorrow, we'll go handle enrollment. You and I will enroll as VIP students, and Lami can enroll in the regular student courses!"

Yol's lips showed a hint of a gentle smile, but she hesitated for a moment:

"I've only just started learning the basics. Do we really need to spend so much? Why don't I just enroll as a regular student too? If I show talent later, it's not too late to switch to VIP, right?"

At this, Lami sighed like a little adult and said to Yol, not unkindly:

"Sister Yol, that's where you're wrong. How can the instruction from regular students compare to being taught by the owner of the place or their children personally?

It's precisely because we need to build a foundation that we should find the best people to teach us. What if the students aren't skilled enough and teach you the wrong things?"

"It's like how my Father taught my brother medicine. No matter how busy he was, he wouldn't let his apprentices teach; he'd teach them himself, hand-to-hand. My Father is the best surgeon in the country."

Lami said with a proud look on her face.

"Haha!" Merlin burst out laughing, looking at Lami with admiration in his eyes:

"That's right. If Lami weren't still young and needed more physical training, and if we could teach her ourselves once we learned, then I would have her take the VIP courses too."

Yol gave a helpless smile, "I was wrong, okay? But you two, when did you become a team?"

Lami, sitting beside Merlin, hugged his right arm with a giggle and winked playfully at Yol:

"Of course, we've been a team from the very beginning!"

Upon hearing this, Yol deliberately put on a look of disbelief, as if on the verge of tears. She clasped her hands together, covering the lower half of her face, and her voice turned mournful:

"So that's how it is. It seems Lami has never liked me?

Sob, sob..."

Lami blinked, then looked at Yol with a helpless expression and retorted:

"That's too fake, Sister Yol. I'm not a child anymore, you can't fool me like that."

However, despite her retort, Lami let go of Merlin's arm, hopped off the sofa, and went to Yol's side, hugging her neck to comfort her:

"I was wrong, okay? Lami and Sister Yol are a team!"

Seeing this, a playful glint appeared in Yol's eyes. She said softly, "Then aren't you going to be with Brother Merlin anymore?"

Lami rolled her eyes, looking quite speechless:

"Compared to me, Sister Yol, you're more like a little girl! A petty little girl who gets jealous easily."

Hearing this, Yol's composure faltered. She immediately hugged Lami possessively and began tickling her all over.

"Hahaha, I was wrong, I was wrong, okay? Sister Yol, please spare me! Brother Merlin, save me!!!"

Lami laughed until tears streamed down her face, struggling continuously...

But alas, how could the little Lami escape Yol's clutches? She was firmly held in her embrace, at her mercy.

Merlin watched the scene, his lips twitching, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

Right, when he was little, he was also often "tormented" by her like this.

Hearing Lami's cries for help, Merlin placed the newspaper in his hand on the coffee table and couldn't help but speak:

"Yol, that's enough! If you don't stop, I'll hit you!"

Yol's tickling stopped. She stared at Merlin with a lingering gaze. Seeing this, Merlin's lips trembled slightly. Then, pretending he hadn't seen anything, he got up and cleared his throat:

"I'm a bit tired these past few days. I'm going back to catch up on sleep. I didn't say anything."

Seeing Merlin head upstairs, a nostalgic smile flickered in Yol's eyes. She then looked at Lami in her arms, who looked utterly defeated, and chuckled:

"Sister or Brother, who do you want to be on a team with?"

Tears welled up in Lami's eyes, and she quickly said, "It's Sister! It's definitely Sister Yol."

A satisfied smile appeared on Yol's lips. She was very pleased with Lami's quick thinking. She pinched Lami's cheek and said with a smile:

"Is that so? Then I'll believe you for now!"

Lami: "..."

Back in the master bedroom on the second floor.

Merlin surveyed his room. By the window, a 2.5-meter wide bed had been made.

Light gray, neat sheets, with brown bedding neatly folded at the foot of the bed.

Clean, dark brown wooden flooring.

On one side of the bed stood a wardrobe, a small round table, and a single small sofa next to it.

In the center of the small round table, a vase with a bouquet of orchids was placed.

The faint scent of flowers 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 on the washbasin, Merlin's reflection appeared. His fair skin had a healthy, wheat-like complexion.

His muscles were firm, not exaggeratedly bulky, but rather streamlined, as if twisted from steel wires.

The muscle lines were smooth and the proportions were coordinated.

He brushed his teeth, took care of personal hygiene on the toilet, and then lay down in the bathtub to soak in water of a suitable temperature.

Twenty minutes later.

Merlin drained most of the water from the bathtub and then picked up a dagger from the washbasin, beginning to inflict various wounds on himself.

Soon, the water beneath him turned red with blood.

Black Flame rose from his body, enveloping him.

After a while, on the ten fingers of both hands, except for the middle finger of his left hand which was scarred white from the root, the other nine fingers all turned scarlet red from the root.

The bullets were stored.

Scarlet Lead and Scarlet of Wounds.

Merlin could now fully understand the composition principles of these two Calamities.

His complexion was somewhat pale, making him appear weak, which was also due to the excessive consumption of mental and physical energy. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Merlin slowly got up, rinsed the blood from the bathtub with clean water, and then washed off the bloodstains from his body under the shower nearby.

After quickly rinsing, Merlin dried himself and walked to the window by the bed.

Through the window, he could see a clear lake about five hundred meters away.

The bright, crystalline moonlight shone upon the lake, creating shimmering ripples.

"The environment here is indeed good, but how long can I stay here?"

Yol had not guessed wrong; Merlin was indeed very interested in Doflamingo.

Because everything he possessed could be a resource for becoming stronger, and it was the most accessible for Merlin right now.

A cyan light screen appeared before his eyes. In the Equipment Slot, he looked at the Synchronization Value of [Lynx].

[14%]

It had increased by 1% in the past two days.

Having acquired the skill specialization [Lynx Body Tempering Technique], Merlin felt a subtle connection with the Lynx every time he cultivated, thus accelerating the synchronization process.

As for the Calamity Fruit, the progress was a steady 1% increase every three days.

Thinking about the newspaper he had just seen, it was now early November.

Today was the third of the month.

And it was a Monday.

In the newspaper, there were no major events worth noting in the North Blue these past two days.

It seemed peaceful.

A quiet life.

But, it was only that nothing major had happened.

And the recent newspapers no longer featured news related to Frevanz. It was as if the incident of its destruction had been forgotten by the people of the sea.

He raised his left hand, extended his middle finger, and looked at the deep scar white on it.

The expression in Merlin's eyes was as calm as an ancient well, showing no hint of fluctuation.

The next morning.

Merlin opened his eyes from his bed, feeling a heavy pressure on his chest.

He somewhat helplessly threw back the covers, and suddenly, two heads with different hair colors appeared on either side of his body.

Yol and Lami, wearing pink pajamas, occupied both sides of Merlin's body. Merlin looked at Yol's fair, tender arm resting on his chest, rolled his eyes, and pushed it away:

"Since you're awake, let's get up. Don't pretend to be asleep.

Also, starting tonight, you two will sleep in your own rooms."

Yol opened her eyes, yawned, and sat up in bed. She rolled her eyes at Merlin and said grumpily:

"Aren't you satisfied with two beautiful girls sleeping with you? Besides, I've gotten used to sleeping with you two lately. If I hadn't had insomnia last night, I wouldn't have come to find you. And why are you only talking about me and not Lami?"

Merlin's expression was difficult to maintain. "And then you slept on me like a pillow all night? Can you even hear what you're saying?

How old is Lami? How old are you? Fine, I won't say anything more. Starting tonight, I'm locking the door."

"Brother Merlin?"

At this moment, a weak voice emerged. Lami, with her eyes open, said pitifully:

"Can you not lock the door? I'm scared sleeping alone?"

"Then go find Yol."

Merlin was speechless.

Lami said helplessly, "I went to find her last night and found you here instead."

Merlin sighed, "It's settled then. We didn't have the conditions before, but now we do, so you should go sleep on your own."

He got up and, after a while, Merlin washed up and sat on the sofa in the living room, glancing at the time on his pocket watch.

Seven-thirty in the morning.

Yol came down after washing up and began taking milk, bread, and ham out of the refrigerator to make breakfast in the kitchen.

Afterward, Merlin took Lami to the bluestone courtyard to start their exercises.

Breakfast was finished after that.

A short rest followed.

The front door was knocked on from outside, and Monde's loud voice was heard simultaneously:

"Brother Merlin, it's time!"

Merlin heard the sound and looked at a round clock with a dark gold coating hanging on the living room wall.

The time was eight-fifty in the morning.

Right on time.

Soon, Yol, carrying a brown handbag, and the three of them, all dressed in gray-brown casual sportswear, headed out.

Led by Monde, they walked towards the outskirts of town.

Before long, the four of them arrived at a vast estate spanning several miles, located outside the town at the foot of Sea Swallow Mountain.

The estate was surrounded by a three-meter-high wall. The estate's steel gate was wide open, and two youths in purple-black training uniforms stood guard outside.

Monde exchanged smiles with the two guards and then led Merlin and the other two into the estate.

Inside the estate, a spacious and flat bluestone clearing appeared. Boys and young men of various ages were neatly practicing sword swings with Japanese bamboo swords in the field.

Monde smiled and gave a brief introduction, then led the three of them to the living room on the first floor of the estate's main building.

In the center of the living room was a reception area with a sofa and a coffee table.

At this moment, seated on the sofa was a man in a purple-black training uniform.

He held a teacup in his left hand and flipped through a newspaper with his right.

A robust middle-aged man in his fifties with short purple hair.