June!

"You saw a wanted poster for me in some country that took part in that war of annihilation, didn't you?"

Merlin looked at him calmly.

Fulvio nodded awkwardly. "In a port town within the territory of the Volgala Kingdom.

"It's a notorious slave-trading town in the North Blue. Almost everyone who lives there is a criminal, fugitive, mobster, or pauper driven out by one of the nearby kingdoms.

"As long as you have enough money, you can buy and sell people there however you like. In fact, even parents selling their children is considered perfectly acceptable.

"It's also a lawless place where pirates, bounty hunters, and gangsters run rampant. It's the biggest underground trading hub in the North Blue, too.

"That's where I saw your wanted poster, on a bulletin board.

"The place is called Black Pearl."

Merlin's eyes filled with thought. He'd heard of the place before. They said it was a place to strike it rich—and a place to fence stolen goods.

All kinds of shady merchants often went there to buy and sell "goods." He'd even heard that Devil Fruits occasionally sold for astronomical prices there.

Seeing Merlin's calm expression, with no trace of displeasure, Fulvio slowly relaxed. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty. He really needed to watch his mouth. Still, he was curious. Merlin noticed and asked, "What is it? Is there something else you want to ask? I might be able to answer, depending on what it is."

Fulvio blinked. "I won't be reopening old wounds, will I? After all..."

He didn't finish.

Some things went without saying.

Merlin shook his head. "If you don't have anything else to ask, then never mind."

Hearing that, Fulvio hurriedly spoke up, concern in his eyes. "I just wanted to ask... has your Lead Platinum Disease still not been cured?"

Yol's expression shifted, and her brows drew together slightly, but she didn't say anything. Merlin looked at Fulvio and saw the concern in his eyes. His brows furrowed. "Are you worried my Lead Platinum Disease might be contagious?"

Fulvio waved his hands frantically. He realized Merlin had misunderstood and quickly explained, "No, no, that's not what I meant. I've heard from some sources that Lead Platinum Disease isn't contagious.

"I'm just worried about your health. As far as I know, no one with Lead Platinum Disease has ever been successfully cured.

"I... just heard that patients with Lead Platinum Disease don't live long."

Teresa chimed in as well. "Merlin, my brother and I both know what Lead Platinum Disease does. You don't have to worry. We mean you no harm."

After watching them for a few seconds, Merlin chuckled. "All right. I believe you."

The siblings were both bewildered. Wait, he believed them that easily? Wasn't he going to be a little more suspicious?

He'd crawled out of a graveyard like Flevance, and he trusted people that easily?

The two glanced at each other, both seeing the peculiar look in the other's eyes.

"You two are exchanging meaningful looks right in front of me. Do you think I'm blind?"

Merlin spoke flatly. The siblings flinched, both suddenly tense, like they'd been caught doing something wrong by Pops when they were kids.

After all, they'd just poked at someone's sore spot. They couldn't help feeling guilty.

They both let out awkward laughs.

Then Merlin looked at them and said calmly, "For certain reasons, the Lead Platinum Disease in our bodies has already been cured."

The two stared at him in disbelief. Seeing their reaction, Merlin joked, "What? You don't believe me? Should I take off my clothes so you can check?"

Fulvio waved his hands frantically and laughed awkwardly. "I'm not into that, brother. Let's not. My sister isn't, either."

Just then, he glanced to the side and saw a glimmer in his sister's eyes. His mouth twitched. "Sasha! You're drooling!"

Teresa hurriedly wiped her mouth, but found nothing there. Her face darkened. Realizing her foolish big brother had tricked her again, she flushed with anger.

Yol's expression also turned a little strange. She gave Merlin an exasperated look. "If you're taking off your clothes to prove it, does that mean I have to take mine off, too, to play along?"

Merlin's mouth twitched, and he gave her a strange look. Teresa noticed her brother staring blankly, so she smirked and said, "Big brother, you're drooling!"

Fulvio waved her off. "Don't be ridiculous. My mouth's just dry."

Teresa continued in a distant tone, "Nosebleed!"

Fulvio hurriedly touched his nose, but there was nothing there either. He glared at his sister, his face dark. "How can you be so sneaky?"

Teresa lifted her chin with a smug smile. "I learned from you!"

Merlin and Yol exchanged a look, both speechless.

Those siblings...

They really were a strange pair!

Merlin gave them a helpless look. "You really are cut from the same cloth."

The two coughed awkwardly and turned their faces away, embarrassed.

Before long, Fulvio looked at Merlin with shining eyes. "I wonder which doctor cured Lead Platinum Disease. They must be a miracle worker! Could you introduce us?

"We can pay whatever the consultation fee is."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Do you have some kind of private problem?"

Fulvio's face darkened. "Pah! Don't make things up. I'm in great shape.

"Healthy as can be."

Teresa said in a dry voice, "He's certainly healthy. One time, he hired three beautiful women in a single night. He really isn't afraid of catching something! You should stop calling yourself Wave Sword. If you ever become a master swordsman, you should call yourself Kidney-Deficient Swordmaster!"

"Haha!" Merlin couldn't hold back his laughter. "That's a pretty good title."

Yol, however, looked at Fulvio like he was a bug.

Then she turned to Merlin. "Lami's class is about to start. I'll take her there."

Merlin took out his pocket watch and checked the time, then nodded. "All right. Go ahead."

Yol led a bewildered Lami away.

Fulvio let out an awkward sigh. "I just want to be prepared. You can never be sure that you or someone close to you won't have health problems someday."

Merlin nodded in agreement. "That's true. But that doctor is very busy right now, and I don't know if he'll have time.

"Let's talk about it another time."

Fulvio looked disappointed, but nodded.

Teresa turned to Merlin with a cheeky grin. "Let's stop talking about that! Have you recovered yet? If you've had enough rest, come fight me!

"You can't play favorites.

"Ful already had his turn against you, so now it's my turn."

Merlin looked at her and nodded. "All right. But I won't go easy on you."

Teresa grinned. "That's exactly what I want!"

When Yol returned after taking Lami to class, she saw Merlin and Teresa exchanging blows in the training yard, locked in a fierce fight.

She went over to the pavilion and watched quietly.

Time passed.

After Merlin and Teresa finished, Yol also stepped into the yard and sparred with Fulvio.

She lost, without a doubt.

But Fulvio was left completely shocked.

During their fight, Yol had stayed on the defensive the entire time, then seized an opening and smacked him in the chest with her sword.

Afterward, he clutched his chest and breathed heavily. Merlin used Calamity Vision and saw that a rib on Fulvio's right side was cracked.

But Merlin didn't heal him.

The injury wasn't serious.

He'd be fine after a couple of days' rest.

It would teach him a lesson, too.

Time flew by. Before they knew it, ten days had passed. Each morning, Merlin and Yol trained at the training ground.

In the afternoons, they sparred with the siblings. At dusk, they sometimes took Lami along with them to a nearby lake, where they'd go out in a small boat, fish, and have a barbecue.

During that time, Fiore finished forging a sword and a blade for Merlin and Yol.

Yol's was a silver-white greatsword with a cross-shaped hilt, 138 centimeters long and 5.2 centimeters wide. She'd been lucky—it was a Good Fast Sword.

Merlin's blade was rather unusual. It was a Demon Blade, forged primarily from an odd metal Fiore had come across years ago.

Fiore had made it after Fulvio passed Merlin a message and Merlin agreed.

As for why he'd agreed, no Demon Blade was an ordinary weapon. And the legend that Demon Blades devoured their wielders?

That was more like a joke!

Only mediocre people were afraid of their weapons turning on them.

The blade was also the same grade as Yol's sword: a Good Fast Sword.

Merlin paid a total of ten million Beli for the forging.

That morning, ten days later, the siblings left the dojo.

Merlin stood with Yol at the harbor, watching a merchant ship belonging to the dojo sail away on a trading trip. It had already shrunk to a black speck on the distant sea.

Merlin glanced at Yol and the greatsword at her waist. "Let's head back."

"Sure," Yol replied with a smile. "On the way back, let's pick up some dumplings, too!"

Before long, they'd bought some local snacks from the street and returned to the dojo, chatting as they ate.

Then, in the training ground that now belonged almost exclusively to the two of them, they began to swing their weapons and fight to their hearts' content.

They didn't limit themselves to swords, either. Every so often, they added punches and kicks to their attacks.

The pleasant clash of metal rang out again and again, interspersed with the dull thud of fists striking flesh.

Not long afterward, Fiore appeared at some point and watched them beneath a tree for a while. Then he left with a smile.

The days that followed were peaceful and comfortable.

They practiced swordsmanship. When they were tired, they meditated. Once their minds grew weary, they switched to physical training.

Nothing could hold them back, come rain or snow.

Every so often, Teresa and her brother returned from their travels, bringing local specialties from abroad to share with Merlin and the others as they ate, drank, and trained together.

After training together for a while, they would leave again and head out.

Sea Swallow Island had four clearly defined seasons.

Winter gave way to summer.

Their peaceful training life continued, and before they knew it, six months had quietly passed.