Professionalism!

"Teacher, the brothers Merlin and the others I told you about last night—the ones who want to learn swordsmanship at our dojo—have arrived."

Monde had come over to the sofa and was respectfully reporting to the man.

"Ah, Monde!" The man turned to Merlin and the others with a genial smile. He pointed to the sofa opposite him with his right hand. "Have a seat. Let's talk."

Merlin didn't stand on ceremony. He walked over and sat down naturally.

Yol and Lami followed Merlin over and sat down as well.

Monde, however, didn't join them. With a simple grin, he stood just behind the man's shoulder.

The man still wore his genial smile as he looked at the three of them. Merlin's expression remained unchanged as he calmly examined the man with curiosity.

He was powerfully built but well-proportioned, and didn't seem the least bit clumsy or heavy. His knuckles were large, and at the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, he had a callus similar to Monde's.

For a moment, no one spoke, making the atmosphere feel somewhat heavy.

A few seconds later, Fiore finally spoke with a genial smile.

"Monde tells me you want to learn swordsmanship at my dojo. Your name is Merlin?"

Merlin nodded slightly, then said, "I'm Merlin, but I should clarify: all three of us are here to learn swordsmanship.

"Monde told me you offer three different training plans. Yol and I will enroll as VIP students.

"As for the youngest, Lami, she'll learn the basics as a regular student.

"By the way, I don't know your name yet."

Fiore smiled and nodded. "You can call me Teacher Fiore. You're still young, so it's a little late to start learning swordsmanship, but if you're willing to work hard, you may still accomplish something in the future."

Fiore had a good eye. Lami aside, he could tell at a glance that neither Merlin nor Yol had any signs of prior sword training.

He turned to Yol and narrowed his eyes slightly. "This young lady must be Yol. Forgive my bluntness, but considering your age, unless you have exceptional talent, I'm afraid you won't achieve much in swordsmanship.

"You've never handled a sword before, have you?"

Yol nodded gently, her clear voice ringing out. "I haven't handled a sword yet, but I'll work hard to learn.

"I'm not afraid of hard work."

Fiore smiled, his expression noncommittal. "Just so you know, you can try the regular student program first and see whether swordsmanship suits you. If you have talent, you can always upgrade to VIP later."

Yol remained gentle in her reply. "Thank you for the offer, but there's no need. We decided before coming here that Merlin and I would study your swordsmanship as VIP students."

At that,

Fiore raised an eyebrow but said no more. After all, if people were eager to hand over their money, what was there to say? Naturally, he would accept.

"If you've made up your minds, then pay the tuition. It's paid by the quarter. Once you've paid and received your uniforms, I can teach you the basics of swordsmanship whenever you're ready."

Yol smiled and nodded. "All right."

As she spoke, she picked up her bulging handbag and opened it. She took out two bundles of one million berries each, then pulled out a smaller stack of ten 10,000-berry bills.

Fiore's eyes flickered as he watched Yol, then he smiled and accepted the money. He quickly counted the tuition for all three of them.

He glanced at Lami and said, "This little girl is too young. For now, she can only work on basic physical conditioning and learn the fundamental stances of swordsmanship.

"Will that be acceptable?

"There's a group of children under ten at the dojo. For now, she'll have to train alongside them in the basics.

"If you can't accept that, you can wait a year or two, until she's a little older, before bringing her here to study swordsmanship."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Lami piped up, "That's fine with Lami."

Fiore's eyes brightened at her words. The girl reminded him of his daughter when she was little. Back then, she'd spoken with the same earnestness.

Fiore smiled and nodded, then turned to Merlin. "I know the three of you bought a villa not far from the dojo, so I won't arrange lodging for you. Monde will tell you your daily training schedule in a moment. Oh, and the dojo only provides lunch, but there's plenty."

Then he turned to Monde beside him. "Now, take these three junior students of yours to collect their training uniforms and bamboo swords.

"Once you're done, bring Merlin and Yol to the VIP training area to find me."

Monde nodded with a simple grin. "Yes, Teacher."

Then he turned to Merlin and the others with a smile. "Come with me."

Merlin and the others stood up and followed Monde out. Along the way, he told them the dojo's daily training schedule.

Training ran from seven in the morning until noon, then from two in the afternoon until seven in the evening.

They could arrange the rest of their time as they pleased.

They could ask for leave if they had something to attend to.

Of course, that schedule was for regular students. VIP students had much more freedom, since Fiore and his two sons would teach them one-on-one.

Monde led them to a supply warehouse on the estate and skillfully found training uniforms and bamboo swords in the right sizes. Then he took them to a changing room.

Each person had their own locker in the changing room for storing their clothes.

The men's changing room.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw a well-fitted purple-black training uniform, a pair of cloth shoes on his feet, and a specially treated, sturdy bamboo sword in his hand.

"Not bad..."

A little later, Monde brought the three of them to an area with more than twenty children. A young man around twenty was teaching them swordsmanship.

Lami was left there.

Merlin ruffled Lami's hair and said, "Yol and I will go for now. Just watch and learn. We'll come find you when we have time."

Lami nodded vigorously and grinned at Merlin. "Don't worry. Lami can take care of herself."

Yol looked at her gently and said, "If anyone bullies you, come tell us. Your big sister will help you get them back."

Her training uniform clung to her figure, accentuating her curves. Paired with her delicate, gentle face, her threat didn't seem intimidating at all—in fact, it sounded almost playful.

But Lami looked a little embarrassed. She knew how strong Yol was, and quickly nodded with solemn resolve. "Lami understands. For everyone's physical and mental well-being, Lami will definitely take good care of herself."

Yol smiled brightly and nodded.

Then Merlin looked kindly at the young man, who met his gaze and smiled warmly. "Hello, I'm Orr. I'm the instructor who teaches these children swordsmanship. Don't worry. I won't let any of them bully each other while they're with me."

"My name's Merlin. I'm entrusting Lami to your care, Senior Brother Orr."

Merlin spoke gently.

Orr smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Merlin."

Yol also gave Orr a gentle nod. "Then I'll have to trouble you to look after her, Senior Brother Orr."

Orr nodded back with equal warmth, though a flicker of admiration passed through his eyes.

But it was only admiration...

After leaving Lami there, Merlin and Yol followed Monde to a quiet training ground behind the estate.

All around it stood dense golden ginkgo trees.

At the edge of the training ground was a pavilion, with a weapon rack inside.

A dozen or so weapons of three different types rested on the rack.

They were greatswords, rapiers, and katanas.

Fiore stood alone in the training ground, already dressed in his uniform. He was enormous, standing nearly three meters tall.

Compared to him, Merlin and Yol looked like preschoolers standing before an adult.

Fiore seemed to radiate an oppressive presence, drawing their eyes to him almost involuntarily.

Seeing the two of them arrive in well-fitting dojo uniforms, Fiore's lips curved into a satisfied smile.

"Good. You both look alert."

"By the way, Monde, you missed this month's public lesson because of work. Stay and listen with them now.

"No matter what the technique, the fundamentals are always the most important."

Fiore wasn't wearing his usual genial smile. His gaze was sharp and bright, like a blade already drawn from its sheath.

Monde's eyes lit up, and he nodded with a simple grin. "Thank you for your generosity, Teacher!"

Fiore gave a slight nod, then fixed his gaze on Merlin and Yol.

"VIP students at the dojo usually train on their own according to their preferences once they've mastered the fundamentals of swordsmanship.

"So no one usually comes here.

"And in the past month, you two are the only ones who've signed up as VIP students."

"All right, enough talk. Let's begin the lesson.

"Rockheart Kendo Dojo was founded by me, Fiore. The swordsmanship I know falls into three categories.

"One is the two-handed greatsword, which relies on broad, powerful movements. Another is the rapier, which emphasizes agility and speed. The last is the katana, which follows a more balanced approach.

"I'll teach you all three styles. Once you've learned them—or if you find that you prefer one over the others—you can choose for yourselves.

"Today, I'll teach you the basic forms of all three styles."

Seeing how attentively the three of them listened, Fiore's eyes filled with approval once more.

Then Fiore took a two-handed greatsword from the weapon rack and began explaining, starting with the basics and moving on to more advanced points. He went over how to hold the sword, how to move the body, how to change footwork in combat, how to judge the right distance for a swing, and how to breathe.

Once the two of them had formed a general understanding of how to use a two-handed greatsword,

he began breaking down each movement and explaining it in detail.

After that came the rapier techniques and the methods for using a katana.

In the blink of an eye,

the day had passed.

After cramming their way through the lessons, Merlin and Yol had gained a basic understanding of all three styles of swordsmanship.