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Chapter 47 – Departure

Many days had passed since the incident with Mandy, and Merlin had already put it into the back of his mind. His current worries were not to forget anything he might need in his troubles, and organize the future plans of the “Council of ten”. The preparation of the food, crafting materials, and clothes was easily carried out, the organization of the future plans for the council, not so much.

The main problem was the number of fronts the “Council of ten” had to deal with: two secret organization whose real purpose was unknown, the protection of Merlin’s territory from the shadows, the recruit and training of new operatives, the expansion of their information net through Merlin’s and the surrounding territories, and last, but not least, making the necessary preparations in Klausna Kingdom so that the current King will be deposed and Duke Risme crowned new King.

After thinking hard about it to the point of giving himself a headache, Merlin decided to just give them some general pointers, and then decide on the specifics when the time came. As the saying goes “no plan survives a real confrontation”, so he decided to take the easy way out, and instead of planning the specifics ahead and that after something unexpected happened, those plans were abandoned, he chose give a general plan and decide on the specifics after seeing how the situation developed.

The members of the “Council of ten” applauded his prudence, and for the sake of convenience, Merlin created another pair of communication stones and left one in Argenta’s care. However, this new pair of communication stones was unable to connect with the other pair, Merlin had made sure of that. 

It wasn’t that merlin distrusted either Mandy or the other members of the council, but Lokiseth’s words about her had unsettled him, and he had decided that until he knew what her deal was, it would work better for all the implicated parties that they didn’t have contact with each other. 

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The time for Merlin’s departure had arrived. That day, his room had been more crowded than usual, ever since he woke up in the morning, there hadn’t been any time thorough the day, in which the people in his room amounted to less than 6. 

The four girls, Lupa, Bastet, Adelle, and Tessa, didn’t know what all was about, they just were happy that they got to pass more time with him… even their lessons had been cancelled that day! The adults had all wondered how Merlin planned to make the girls accept his departure, but they got their answer when Merlin invited the four of them to have dinner with him in his room, and added a little “extra” to their plates when they weren’t looking.

After the girls fell asleep came the drama time. Merlin already expected it to happen, but seeing his mother and aunt tearing up still broke his heart… However, he had to do what he had to do, and staying wasn’t an option.

Anthon: “Son, I won’t try to dissuade you from going, but you must be careful!”

Merlin: “Thank you, father. I know.”

Anthon: “Also, beware of vixens, swindlers and prostitutes. Don’t go near a brothel, they are nothing but a source for trouble!”

After hearing those words, both of his wives smacked him and furiously glared at him.

Merlin: “Father… You do realize you are talking with your 7-year-old son, don’t you?”

Anthon: “I know, but your body development is that of a young man 12-13 years old, so it wouldn’t be that strange if you sword already stood up sometimes, waiting to be polished… That’s why I said that if you need it polished, don’t go to a brothel, just go to a slave merchant and buy a female slave to satisfy your needs!”

Merlin: “…” *How the heck did he know that? I haven’t told anyone about it, it was too embarrassing!*

As soon as he had finished saying those words to his son, Anthon felt two murderous auras behind him and started shivering. Then, his two wives pinched one of his ears each, and dragged him to the side, before starting to beat some sense into him. Glenna took the chance to approach Merlin, and introduce to him the young man who was accompanying her.

Glenna: “Hello, Merlin. This is my son, Dean.”

Dean: “Nice to meet you, Merlin.”

Merlin: “Likewise.”

Glenna: “Merlin, Dean also wants to be an adventurer, like you… Do you mind if he goes with you?”

Merlin: “Well, I actually do. The whole point of starting in another city is to make the people think of Merlin the adventurer and Merlin the son of the Pendragon family as two completely different boys!”

Glenna: “But…”

Merlin: “No buts! People know you, and if we were to go adventuring together, it wouldn’t take long before people connect the dots, and those who want me dead would strike again against my family!”

Glenna: “But…”

Dean: “It’s ok, mother. He is right. Merlin, I just wanted to become your friend and go adventuring with you. It seems I was too pretentious, I won’t bother you anymore, sorry!”

Merlin: “Wait!”

Dean was surprised that Merlin had called out to him right after he had rejected his friendship and companionship. He stopped and turned around to face Merlin.

Dean: “Why? We have nothing else to talk...”

Merlin: “You seem to be mistaken about something.”

Dean: “Oh? Could you please enlighten me and tell me what exactly I am mistaken about?”

Merlin: “I never said that we couldn’t be friends and go adventuring together, I just said it is impossible to do so right off the bat! However, you should register in the Adventurers Guild here in Ragnarök, and after you become a D Rank adventurer here, you can come looking for me. At that time, I will probably have made a name for myself already, and nobody would associate the adventurer me with the sick boy me!”

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Dean: “Ok, I understand. I’ll do just that, then!”

Merlin: “Thanks.”

After Dean and his mother left, Emelyn and Leyla went to give their farewells to Merlin, followed by a pig-headed man with panda eyes, his father.

Emelyn: “Merlin, dear, don’t pay any heed to what this good-for-nothing of a father told you before. Although it is something practiced by many adventurers, you are too young to engage in that kind of activities. Besides, you have the girls to think of… how would they take it if they knew you had been unfaithful?”

Merlin: “I understand, mother.” *It is not like I was intending to do that, anyway. It might be an usual practice among adventurers, but that doesn’t mean that I have to do it too, does it?*

Leyla: “Good! You must come back from time to time, or we will worry to death, ok?” 

Merlin: “Ok, aunt Leyla.”

Then Emelyn closed the distance between her and Merlin, and started to whisper in his ear.

Emelyn: “You have to come back here at least once a month, independently of where you are, with the teleportation orb you have no excuses not to do so!”

Merlin: “O-ok, mother. I understand.” *Holy shit! That was fucking scary! I have always known the tender and caring mother, and the angered mother… but this scary mother, I don’t want to see ever again!*

Anthon: “Son, take care.” *I would tell you to make use of this time to fool around all you want, because you won’t be able to later on… but I don’t want to be beaten again, so figure it out on your own, kid!*

Emelyn and Leyla said their farewells to Merlin, and hugged each other in tears, while seeing Merlin’s figure getting smaller in the distance.

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At the same time, in a tree nearby.

Shin: “Aimi, why are you here, crying?”

Aimi: “Sorry, brother *sob* I didn’t want him *sob* to leave…”

Shin: “Then, why don’t you go with him? You know as well as I do, that he has things to do, so it is impossible to confine him here… However, you could always go with him…”

Aimi: “No! *sob* I’m too *sob* weak!”

Shin was at a loss on what to do. He knew his little sister was a martial genius rarely seen in his clan, her talent was one that appeared once in a hundred generations, and at 10 years of age, her strength could rival that of a D Rank adventurer. 

However, she had a very low self-esteem, and she belittled her abilities way too much. It was probably due to her inability to do anything during the attack that led to the annihilation of their clan. Shin had tried to make her realize her own capabilities, but to no avail.

Shin: “Aimi, are you sure about this? You might regret it later…”

Aimi: “Yes, brother *sob* I’m sure.”

Shin: “Ok, I won’t bring it up again, then. You should go back home and rest.” *I wonder when she will realize her own power… Well, it isn’t like our master needs our protection, for he is more than capable of dealing with anything that might be thrown at him. Nevertheless, it would be very beneficial for Aimi and the clan if he took an interest on her…*

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Merlin was running under the cover of the night. He regretted never having been in Daferma before, if he had, he would have been able to use the teleportation orb, and would have been able to avoid 2 days of travel there. On the bright side, Lokiseth’s training regime had allowed him to be faster than a horse when running, and he wouldn’t lose any time even travelling without one.

Four hours later, Merlin decided to take a rest. He found a comfortable spot on a tree, and decided to take a nap. Soon dawn came, and sounds of battle woke him up. A little disoriented for not waking up on his bed, it took a few seconds for Merlin to remember that he had already set out for Daferma and was sleeping in a tree.

As the battle sounds persisted, Merlin descended from the tree, stealthily run from behind a tree to behind the next, and finally managed to see what was going on. A group of about 20 bandits had surrounded a carriage and killed most of the guards. The remaining guards were wounded, and few were able to continue fighting.

Assessing the situation, Merlin decided to help the people in the carriage. He first sneaked behind the two lookouts and broke their necks, however, the rest of the bandits were so engrossed in the battle, that they didn’t notice the two men had gone missing. 

Merlin went for the archers next, he used the daggers he had looted from the lookouts, and threw the daggers at them, straight through their hearts. But that time it had been too eye-catching, so the bandits discovered him. Merlin didn’t mind, though, it was time to attack them head-on.

As Merlin attacked and killed a bandit after another in just 2 or 3 moves, the bandits surrounding the carriage stopped trying to get in and focused on attacking Merlin. The guards defending the carriage, on the other hand, they didn’t miss the chance to regroup, and the few guards who were still able to fight started to attack the bandits from behind. 

The bandits, who had relied on their numerical advantage in the beginning, were then caught in a fight between 2 fronts: on one side Merlin, who had descended on them like a god of death, and on the other side, the wounded guards who wanted retribution for the lives of their fallen comrades. 

The bandits didn’t really have a chance, in less than 5 minutes, all of them had lost their lives. When Merlin went to speak with the guards, they were wary of him and they all went for their weapons the second Merlin tried to approach him.

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