The date of Merlin’s departure drew nearer with each passing day. Many things changed since Merlin had that big talk with his parents and aunt. The rumor that he had become agoraphobic ever since he woke up from the coma, had reached even the capital of Klausna Kingdom, however no one had gone to take his life, so Klausna’s King firmly believed that as long as the child was alive, the “Council of ten”  wouldn’t claim his life before the appointed time.

Lupa, Bastet, and Adelle became even more engrossed in their training, and their control over their primary affinity was getting better. Tessa had joined the other three girls in their training, and after asking Merlin for permission, they had started to teach her the martial arts they had learned from him.

Rose, Arnold’s wife, had gotten pregnant, and although Merlin regretted not being able to be present to celebrate the baby’s birth with his family, he didn’t dare to delay his departure, because the time he had was very limited.

One of the innovations Merlin had made in Ragnarök, was a public school. The education imparted there ranged from simple math and teaching how to read, to basic mana manipulation. Merlin’s third brother, Bly, became a teacher for the earth affinity there.

In spite of it being called public, the school only admitted children whose age was between 5 -12 years old, and the children’s families had to be residing in Ragnarök or Laklostia. That was highly criticized nobles of other territories, even more so when some of them realized that the quality of education there, was the same their own children were receiving from their home tutors, but what irked them the most, was that the commoners were receiving it for free.

The situation got to the point that even some nobles tried to send their children into the school, to either avoid paying the home tutors or disrupt the classes in the school, nevertheless, the children stood out and were kicked out of the school. 

The school didn’t ban nobles from assisting, as long as they resided in Ragnarök, however, the school wouldn’t give them any preferential treatment based on their status, and the children of the nobility didn’t usually take it well when they were treated the same as commoners, so they always ended acting up.

Another innovation Merlin had made, was the way to handle criminals. He had copied the system used in the kingdom to keep the slave registry, and adapted it in his own territory to keep a record of the criminals.

Those who committed a crime in his territory would be added to the registry, and if after having paid their debt to society, they committed another crime in Merlin’s territory, once they had finished serving their time, they would be kicked out of the territory, and banned from ever entering again.

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Merlin’s POV:

Now, I have finished my training with Shin, and finished meditating, so it’s time to deal with the matters concerning the “Council of ten”. Argenta will continue being mother’s bodyguard, while Vania has started to give some young recruits their spy training, and Janus will continue inquiring into that “Chimera”  organization of which we have barely any information at all.

*Oh! Fuck, I completely forgot about her!*

I’ve just realized I haven’t contacted Mandy yet, and she is probably waiting for me to do so. I gave her that enchanted parchment for emergencies, but it’s not like she can use to have a conversation with me. The night just fell, I should visit her before it gets too late.

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Klausna Kingdom’s capital. Duke Risme’s mansion.

“Kyaaaa!”

A scream resounded in the mansion, waking up Duke Risme and his wife who had just fallen asleep. They quickly got up and went toward Mandy’s room. A few of the guards in the mansion were going there too, however, when all of them got there, they saw Mandy covering herself with a bedsheet, her face showing extreme embarrassment.

D. Risme: “Mandy, dear, are you ok? Why did you scream?”

Mandy: “Sorry, father. I was changing to go to bed, but a spider fell on my shoulder and I screamed. I’m sorry I bothered all of you.”

Duchess: “Don’t worry, honey, what matters is that you are ok.”

D. Risme: “Ok, people. It was a false alarm, so go back to your posts!”

Duchess: “I think we all should go back to bed. Sweet dreams, honey!”

Mandy: “Thank you, mother, you too.”

D. Risme: “Good night, dear.”

Mandy: “Good night, father.”

After they closed the door and left, Mandy looked to her wardrobe and called out to Merlin.

Mandy: “They are gone, now, you can come out!”

Merlin got out of wardrobe and looked at Mandy.

Merlin: “Sorry, I didn’t intend to startle you when I teleported here. I thought that you had probably fallen asleep, or didn’t go to bed yet. I never expected to catch you in the middle of changing…”

Merlin’s wry smile could be seen despite the hood of the outfit, which enraged Mandy.

Mandy: “I’ll make sure that Merlin punishes you for seeing my naked body! Even if you are a member of the ‘Council of ten’, you don’t have the right to see me naked, only Merlin does!”

Merlin: “Wow! Those are some big words for a little girl like you! And quite disturbing must I add, please refrain from saying that again in my presence. Besides, how do you intend to make me punish myself?”

Mandy stared at him wide-opened, trying to process the meaning behind Merlin’s last question. She understood the meaning, but the person in front of her had the body-built of a boy 12-13 years old, while to her knowledge, Merlin was a 7-year-old.

Noticing her state of confusion, Merlin smiled, and took the hood down to let her take a look at his face. Seeing his face, Mandy realized that it really was him, although he looked a lot older than he actually was.

Mandy: “Merlin!”

She dropped the bedsheet, run to Merlin and hugged him. That startled Merlin, who was half-expecting it, but what he didn’t expect was the nakedness. Unable to withstand the situation, Merlin stopped looking at her, and turned his line of sight to the side.

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Merlin: “Mmm, Mandy…?”

Mandy: “Yes, what is it?”

Merlin: “I don’t mind if you want to hug me… but could you please put some clothes on first, please? You are going to catch a cold if you continue naked like this…”

Hearing his words, Mandy looked down and saw she really was naked. Her cheeks quickly turned red and she run to the bed to cover herself with the bedsheet. She then started to look shyly at Merlin, the embarrassment being too much for her.

Mandy: “C-could you, pl-please, t-turn around? ”

Merlin: “You want me to turn around so that you could put on some clothes?”

Mandy: “Y-yes.”

Merlin: “Ok” *However, at this point, I have already seen everything… What is the point of getting all shy and embarrassed after showing me all you have to offer? Anyway, it’s not like I would lust after you now, but who knows in a few years… For what I have just seen, you are going to grow into a real beauty…*

As Merlin’s thoughts were straying away, Mandy’s thoughts were in turmoil. She had said that only Merlin had the right to see her naked, but she still felt embarrassed and ashamed of exposing her body to him. While she was certain that Merlin wouldn’t try anything at that moment, she couldn’t help but being shy when thinking about the future.

Mandy: “Sorry, about that.” *I hope this accident was worth my embarrassment, and will make him look for me when we grow enough…*

Merlin: “Don’t worry, I don’t mind. I have great expectations for you in the future…”

Mandy: “Thank you.” *YES! It looks like the embarrassment was worth it… This will make him keep me in mind when he chooses his wives in the future, hahaha!*

Merlin felt a little unsettled when he saw the face Mandy was making, but he quickly dismissed his worries and asked her how the situation was in Klausna and if anything noteworthy had happened lately in the capital or the kingdom.

Mandy: “The rumors about a war with the Shephiran Kingdom that were around the last time we met, have disappeared, probably due to something you did back then at the palace…”

Merlin’s face clearly showed his astonishment, because he didn’t expect Mandy to connect the dots so easily. Seeing that, Mandy smirked in self-congratulation and continued her report.

Mandy: “Most of the nobles that were in the same faction as my biological family, have now joined father. Of course, they don’t know I am actually Mandy Zircon. Aside from that, there has been a lot of movement in the slave market, and there are even rumors of slaves disappearing without trace, but the veracity of those rumors has yet to be confirmed.”

Merlin: “You are unexpectedly good at this!”

Mandy: “Of course I am! Who do you think this genius is?”

Merlin: “Ok, ok. Don’t get cocky now, or else I won’t ever praise you again!”

Mandy: “Sorry! Please, don’t do that! It feels good when you praise me…”

Merlin: “Good! Anything else?”

Mandy: “Nothing that I can think of…”

Merlin: “Very well, in that case, I should get going!”

Mandy looked at Merlin, she gave off the impression of wanting to say something but not daring to. Merlin caught on her gaze, and remembered he had forgotten to give her the communication stone he had created for her.Realizing the problem of being unable to be in touch with his only information source inside Klausna Kingdom, with Lokiseth guiding him, Merlin had created two identical communication stones.

Their function was similar to that of walkie-talkies, only being able to connect with each other. If someone were to see them in function, they would consider the pair of stones an artifact from the Great Magic Era.

Usually, Lokiseth wouldn’t have given Merlin that kind of knowledge, and he made sure that Merlin understood it was a 1-time-deal. However, Lokiseth had felt a strange and undetermined sensation when Merlin had been in contact with Mandy’s body the first time they met, so he had decided that it would be good for Merlin to be in good terms with her, just in case.

Merlin wasn’t aware of Lokiseth’s predicament, and simply thought that Lokiseth had been in an extremely good mood and had decided to be nice to him.

Merlin: “Oh, I almost forgot that I have something to give you, Mandy!”

Mandy: “You have brought me a gift?! Thanks”

Nevertheless, she was extremely disappointed and puzzled by his “gift”  when she received the stone from Merlin’s hands.

Mandy: “A stone? Why are you giving this to me?”

Merlin: “This is no regular stone, Mandy. This is a communication stone, and theoretically it should work no matter in which part of the world we are, even if we were in different continents!”

Hearing those words, Mandy’s face stopped showing disappointment and changed into one of extreme happiness. She made Merlin bend over like she were to tell him a secret, and she lightly kissed him in the lips before retreating to her bed and sitting on it.

Her actions had left Merlin dumbfounded, and he touched his own lips while thinking *What the heck is wrong with the little girls on this world? Are they always this bold when they are young? First were Lupa and Bastet, then Adelle, and now Mandy too?*

Unbeknownst to Merlin, back in his pseudo-realm, Lokiseth was on the ground clutching his stomach and laughing, while Jasmine was looking at him, wondering what was so funny.

Lokiseth: “Bwahahaha… I totally didn’t see that coming! That gift was supposed to be a logistic support to a member of the ‘Council of ten’, to think that he would conquer her heart in one go with it… but really, this boy’s luck with women, specially of the troublesome kind, is really off the charts. However the face he makes when forced in one of this situations, is really priceless… Hahaha”

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