Changes in the Body

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The maids in the castle quickly cleared the dining table. Merlin rose to his feet, preparing to go upstairs and rest.

"Merlin, I have some news to tell you."

"What news?" Merlin turned around and looked at Macy in confusion.

"Tomorrow, Swordsman Pero will take us to the Church in Gran City to meet with young people from other cities."

Merlin frowned slightly. He knew that the "us" Macy spoke of definitely did not include him. It should refer to those with elemental affinity—those were the people with the greatest potential, the ones worthy of the Church's vigorous training.

"How many days will it take?"

"About four or five days."

Merlin nodded. "I understand. With Swordsman Pero leading you, it should be safe. That puts my mind at ease."

With that, Merlin headed upstairs.

Macy watched his departing back, a trace of confusion in her eyes. She murmured softly, "Merlin seems a little different from before."

The way Merlin had spoken and carried himself just now was indeed vastly different from before. In the past, Merlin would never have said something like, "That puts my mind at ease."

Back in his room, Merlin still did not feel sleepy.

So he sat on the bed and once again assumed the strange posture from the relief carving.

Merlin was already very familiar with the strange posture, so he did not feel awkward at all. Before he knew it, he had fallen onto the soft bed and drifted into a deep sleep.

*****

Early the next morning, Merlin woke from his sleep. It had snowed heavily throughout the night, and even a thin layer of ice crystals had formed along the window. The room was freezing as well.

Merlin could not help shivering. Only after waking did he realize that he was sprawled crookedly across the bed. He had actually fallen asleep without realizing it last night.

"I'm sweating again..."

Merlin wiped his arm with a hand and found it covered in greasy sweat. His whole body felt sticky and uncomfortable.

"Lucija, bring me some hot water."

Merlin opened the door and called for the maid Lucija. Though Lucija found it strange that Merlin wanted to bathe in such cold weather, she did not dare ask. She simply followed his instructions and filled the bathtub with hot water.

Merlin climbed into the tub and quickly washed the sweat from his body.

Although he had spent the whole night freezing, Merlin did not feel the slightest discomfort. Instead, he was full of energy, his complexion rosy, and his entire body seemed brimming with strength.

"Lucija, is Young Master Merlin bathing again?" A somewhat aged voice reached Merlin's ears.

Merlin quickly recognized it as the butler's voice. Clearly, the butler was asking Lucija.

Lucija answered softly, "Yes, Butler. Young Master began bathing as soon as he got up this morning."

"Mm. From now on, prepare more hot water every morning."

The butler gave the order quietly. Then the sound of footsteps gradually faded away; the two of them had presumably left.

"The butler is quite attentive."

Merlin smiled faintly. He knew the butler must have come to call him down for breakfast, so he reached out and opened the bedroom door.

"Hmm? Why is no one here?"

Merlin was somewhat astonished. He had clearly heard the butler and Lucija outside the door just moments ago. Their voices had been very distinct—how could no one be there?

Something was strange. He walked directly into the corridor and looked downstairs, only to find the butler and Lucija in the corridor below.

"Downstairs? How could they be downstairs? Their voices were so clear just now..."

Merlin raised an eyebrow as a possibility occurred to him. Could it be that he could even hear people speaking downstairs?

When he arrived downstairs, Merlin paid no attention to the lavish breakfast on the table. He merely picked up a piece of bread at random and ate absentmindedly.

"This year's weather is truly strange. It's already so cold before winter has even arrived."

"Nopu, get to work! If the butler catches you slacking off again, don't even think about working for the baron anymore."

As he ate his bread, Merlin carefully listened to the various distant sounds.

The people speaking had all been at least dozens of meters away from him, and some were even over a hundred meters away, yet he could still vaguely hear them. This showed that his hearing had greatly improved.

This change had come very suddenly. Merlin was certain that he had not possessed such hearing before falling asleep last night. Now, he could clearly hear everyone's footsteps within dozens of meters.

"Young Master Merlin, do you need anything else?"

The butler's words interrupted Merlin's thoughts. Only then did he turn back and realize that, at some point, he had finished the bread in his hand.

"I'm finished."

After saying that, Merlin wiped his mouth and hurried back upstairs to his room.

In his room, Merlin took out the relief carving hidden by his bedside. He knew that these changes must have been brought about by the strange posture depicted on it.

Moreover, improved hearing might have been only one aspect of it. Aside from his hearing, Merlin could also sense that his strength, agility, and other abilities seemed to have improved greatly.

As long as he continued practicing the posture from the relief carving, his physical condition would certainly become better and better.

Merlin remained upstairs for a while, then put on a thick coat, wrapped a gray scarf around his neck, and donned leather gloves. Only after bundling himself up tightly did he head downstairs.

After a whole night of snow, a thick layer had accumulated before the castle. The bare trees were blanketed in snow as well, and everywhere he looked was a field of white.

Moss had been waiting outside for some time. The cold wind had reddened his face, and he kept rubbing his hands together. Merlin had no mood to admire the snowy scenery and hurried into the carriage. "Let's go," he said to Moss.

The carriage started moving gently. Leaning back inside it, Merlin suddenly felt that the carriage seemed somewhat empty today.

"Wait, where's Macy?"

Merlin hurriedly asked Moss.

"Miss Macy left the castle a long time ago."

Hearing Moss's answer, Merlin shook his head slightly. Only then did he remember that Macy had gone to Gran City with Swordsman Pero and would stay there for several days. There was no need to go to the Church during those days either.

Etiquette class would not begin until the afternoon, so Merlin could arrange his morning freely. After giving it some thought, he realized that he had only been in this world for a few days and had visited very few places. Only Nathan's antiques had made him feel a little curious.

That magical relief carving in particular had given Merlin a great interest in antiques from the Molta Empire era.

"Moss, stop. We're not going to the Church. Go to Mr. Nathan's place."

Merlin shouted loudly to Moss.