Following the grassy bank along the stream, two hours later, at 9:30 AM.
The sound of splashing water came from not far ahead. Merlin could feel the moisture in the air on his face.
It felt cool and refreshing.
As the three of them climbed over a rocky slope, a gleam appeared in Merlin's eyes:
"We've arrived."
Hundreds of meters straight ahead was a waterfall cascading down from a cliff.
Because of the low-lying terrain, a pool with a diameter of twenty meters had formed at the bottom of the cliff.
The water in the pool was clear to the bottom, with fine sand and stones of various sizes visible beneath the surface.
Interestingly, the center of the pool was nearly divided in two by a huge rock.
One side was shallow, and the other deep.
Visually, the deepest part on the left side of the pool was about 1.5 meters, while the deepest part on the right side was at least 3 meters deep.
On the shore of the pool, large bluestones were piled haphazardly. Directly in front of the pool was a gap where the clear water flowed out, winding into the distance.
This was exactly the direction from which the three of them had come.
At this moment, smiles appeared on the faces of Merlin and the two females.
"Hehe, it's so beautiful here, the water is clear, and there are fish and shrimp in it!"
Lami pointed excitedly at a large black fish in the pool, giggling.
At this time, Yol poked Merlin's shoulder with her finger. Merlin turned his head and saw the longing look in her eyes.
"Can Lami and I wash first? How about you keep watch for us on the side? Please!"
Saying this, she clasped her hands together, a trace of pleading in her eyes.
Merlin nodded and walked to the bank on the left side of the huge rock. He reached in to test the water. Perhaps because the Lynx could withstand cold, he felt the water temperature wasn't icy.
Then he looked up at Yol: "You try the water temperature? I think it's okay."
Yol was pleasantly surprised and hurriedly came over to dip her somewhat dirty right hand into the water:
"Eh? Really? The temperature isn't cold for me."
But speaking of this, she looked at Lami hesitantly: "But Lami is still young; the water temperature might not be friendly to her."
Merlin's eyes flashed, and he glanced at her and said: "Don't be afraid of catching a cold; I should be able to absorb it.
"I'll go find some firewood nearby to make a fire later. After washing, warming up by the fire should be fine.
"Besides, we found some cold medicine in Flevance these past few days."
Lami put her hand in the water at this time and said with a grin:
"Don't worry!
"I'm not that kind of delicate little girl. Except for Amber Lead Syndrome, my brother and I rarely got sick when we were little.
"Our family rarely gets sick."
However, speaking of this, her eyes darkened slightly. Yol noticed and reached out to gently stroke her head.
But at this time, Lami looked up with a smile on her face again. "Sister Yol, no need to be like this. Lami is very strong.
"Mom and Dad definitely wouldn't want Lami to be sad every day.
"So Lami won't cry. Lami wants to live happily every day.
"Sister Yol, you too, be happy every day!"
And her unspoken brother. Since Law's body hadn't been found, Lami held onto the hope that he was still alive, so she dared not say anything bad.
She could only pray for him in her heart.
Hearing Lami's words, Yol's eyes filled with emotion:
"Lami is amazing!"
Saying this, she turned to stare at Merlin without blinking. Seeing this, Merlin was speechless:
"Alright, alright, I'll go keep watch for you right now."
Saying this, he turned and left. Yol watched Merlin go to the right, a gentle smile rising at the corner of her mouth.
At this time, Lami asked in confusion: "Why did Merlin-niichan leave? Can't we wash together?"
The corner of Yol's mouth twitched. She looked at Lami helplessly. "Generally, boys can't bathe with girls."
Lami was puzzled. "But I used to soak in hot springs with Mom, Dad, and Brother?"
Yol was tongue-tied and hurriedly explained.
"That's different..."
---
Ancient trees towered around the pool.
So there was no shortage of dry wood nearby. Before long, between a few large rocks ten meters to the right of the pool, Merlin used a lighter to ignite dry grass and kindle the wood.
Flames rose high.
At this time, Merlin looked at a backpack and a suitcase beside him.
The backpack contained his change of clothes. The metal vest he was wearing had been taken off.
Beside it lay the katana and the rapier. Merlin put down a grenade in his hand: "Only seven left?"
It was worth mentioning that the rapier Merlin picked up, although not a legendary sword, had the quality of a Wazamono (Sharp Sword), considered the lowest grade of Meito (Famous Swords).
Two strange characters were engraved on the upper part of the blade near the hilt.
[Sasame Yuki] (Light Snow)
At this moment, he picked up a bamboo pole as thick as a wrist and five meters long beside him. This was cut from a nearby bamboo forest when he was gathering firewood. He sharpened one end of the bamboo with his dagger.
The bamboo tip had a barb.
Listening to their playful sounds amidst the splashing water to the left of the huge rock, Merlin stood up and went to the edge of the pool, looking at the fat black fish swimming in the water.
Holding the bamboo pole, aiming the sharp end at the water surface, Merlin stood motionless, staring, warm sunlight falling on his body.
His breathing became steady.
The pupils of both eyes gradually constricted.
At a certain moment, Merlin waved his right arm violently. Splash! A spray of water rose, and the sensation of piercing flesh was transmitted. He pulled the bamboo pole out abruptly, a smile appearing at the corner of Merlin's mouth:
"Technique hasn't gotten rusty."
In Flevance, Merlin occasionally went to the river to catch fish. Over time, he developed a good skill for spearfishing.
Looking at the half-meter-long fish pierced by the bamboo tip, Merlin couldn't stop smiling.
Throwing the struggling fish aside, Merlin continued to aim. Before long, fully five large fish were speared.
"Eh? Merlin, you know how to catch fish?"
Suddenly,
A surprised voice sounded. Yol walked over wearing a white and green striped shallow V-neck short-sleeved shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and brown short boots.
Her grapefruit-pink medium-short hair reaching her neck appeared wet at the moment.
Lami beside her also changed clothes, wearing a light yellow shirt on her upper body and jeans and short boots on her lower body.
These clothes on them were acquired for zero cost in Flevance two days ago.
At this moment, whether from the cold water or something else, both of their faces were somewhat flushed. Merlin smiled and said:
"Do you know how to grill fish?"
Yol nodded and smiled: "Of course, my cooking skills are very good."
Then she continued to smile: "Why don't you go wash up? Leave the grilling to me."
Merlin nodded with a smile, placed the bamboo spear on the ground, took out a set of his clothes and sandals from the backpack, and walked towards the left side of the pool.
Arriving there, seeing two sets of clothes discarded randomly on the shore and a bar of soap placed on a rock, Merlin was speechless:
"Even if you don't want them, you can't just throw them anywhere! At least burn them with fire!"
Regaining freedom meant getting rid of bad luck, so naturally, old clothes couldn't be kept.
Shaking his head, Merlin took off his clothes and slowly stepped into the water.
Calves, thighs, slowly sitting down. At this time, a strong sense of weakness and collapse surged in his heart.
Looking at the pool water submerging his collarbone, a look of understanding appeared in Merlin's eyes: "It seems the equipment slot really can't ignore this negative effect of Devil Fruits."
Merlin recalled some information about Devil Fruits from his previous life.
He knew that ability users feared seawater because within the water resources of this world...
There widely existed a miraculous substance called—
"PYROBROIN".
This substance was also called Seastone Factor.
The only difference was that this substance existed more in seawater, but although it was present in fresh water, the content was less.
And contact with water over a small area wouldn't affect ability users.
Moreover, this substance generally wouldn't be absorbed by the human body, so even if an ability user drank a lot of water, it wouldn't affect them, and it would be naturally excreted from the body with daily waste.
At this time, with a thought, the [Equipment Slot] appeared before his eyes. Merlin looked at the effect in the Calamity Fruit:
"This restriction from nature cannot be erased, but it can be [Weakened].
"So how to weaken it?"
For a moment, Merlin was puzzled, but he believed there would always be a chance to find a way to "weaken" this negative effect in the future.
Not thinking more about it, struggling hard, Merlin moved backward until the water was only up to his waist.
Ten seconds later, the feeling of weakness lessened until it no longer affected his condition.
He picked up the soap on the side, lathered up, and scrubbed the dirt off his body vigorously.
Feeling the comfort brought by the water washing his body.
A moment later, Merlin, wearing a brown stand-collar short-sleeved shirt on top, cropped pants below, and sandals, brought the clothes of all three over.
At this time, Yol, who was grilling fish on bamboo skewers, saw Merlin coming over with dirty clothes, a strange look appearing in her eyes:
"I could have gone to get those unwanted clothes myself later."
Merlin calmly threw the clothes aside on the ground and sat down next to Lami by the fire.
Rubbing her head, he chuckled and said, "Are you cold?"
Lami shook her head vigorously and giggled:
"Not cold! It's so warm here."
Not long after, the grilled fish was thoroughly cooked, and a rich meaty aroma wafted in the air. The three of them ate big mouthfuls of the incredibly delicious and tender grilled fish.
Yol ate two, Lami ate half, and Merlin ate two and a half alone.
The feeling of fullness came. Merlin could sense a warm current continuously filling his body from within.
The accumulated fatigue was also disappearing.
Food in this world often possessed rich and abundant high-energy nutrition.
This was one of the reasons why creatures in this world were generally strong.
"So full! This black fish meat in the pool is really delicious! This is my first time picnicking in such a deep mountain forest!"
Lami rubbed her little belly, her eyes shining with happiness. Yol beside her also nodded in agreement.
A smile appeared at the corner of Merlin's mouth:
"Then rest assured, it will take us several days to walk out of this mountain range. There will be enough for you to eat!"
"Merlin, where are we planning to go next?
"We found a compass in the city before.
"Although we aren't afraid of losing our direction, where exactly are we going?"
Yol asked curiously at this time, and Lami also looked over with curiosity. This was considered her first time traveling far from home!