Chapter 338: A Lively Morning

Merlin looked up and gave a slight nod. “I’m fine. How about you? Are you okay? Gustav didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Linda landed right in front of him and chuckled softly. “Don’t worry. He can’t hurt me—not even in his dreams.”

Although they were both at the First Spirit Core level, there was still a huge gap between her and Gustav.

Linda specialized as a mage, while Gustav was a close-range fighter.

Based on common sense, Linda should have been at a disadvantage. But reality proved otherwise.

Even though she relied on long-range attacks, intelligence, experience, and talent could easily change the outcome of a battle.

With her strength, overwhelming Gustav and cornering him was effortless.

Merlin felt relieved when he heard her words. Then he asked, “Did you manage to kill him?”

Linda shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. That man was as slippery as an eel. Even after being badly injured by my magic, he still managed to escape. I was too lazy to chase him, so I let him go. Besides, his wounds were serious. He’ll be suffering for the next few days.”

Merlin nodded without saying a word. Truthfully, he had hoped Linda would kill Gustav.

That way, the future threat would disappear. But it seemed that wish wouldn’t be fulfilled.

“Alright, let’s head back. I’m really sleepy,” Linda said, yawning lazily.

“Okay.”

In the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished from sight.

…

“Damn! Damn! Damn!”

Darting like a shadow, Gustav kept spewing curses.

His eyes turned red, as if blood were about to spill from them.

“Linda Thalsis… I will remember this grudge!” he growled.

He glanced at his severed left hand, which was still spurting fresh blood into the air.

The pain wasn’t that bad, but the humiliation burned far worse.

As a First Spirit Core-level expert, he should have been invincible. Yet just now, in front of Linda, he had been utterly defeated.

If he hadn’t managed to escape, he would have surely died by her hand.

“Not only did I fail to bring that fox girl back, but I even suffered such severe injuries. This is truly a devastating defeat,” he muttered through clenched teeth.

“But it’s fine. There’s still tomorrow… a month… a year… even a hundred years.”

His voice lowered, full of cold hatred.

“When I’m ready, I’ll repay this a thousandfold.”

Whoosh!

His body turned into a black shadow and vanished beneath the bright full moon.

…

“Hah… Finally made it. I’m so tired.”

Merlin opened the door to his room and let out a long sigh. The journey by ship had taken over two hours, and after reaching land, they still had to walk nearly a kilometer just to reach the teleportation point Linda had planted.

No wonder he felt completely drained.

Merlin glanced at the system panel floating in front of him, which still displayed the recovery process.

Fortunately, the percentage had already reached ninety-eight percent. At this rate, the system would be fully restored by tomorrow.

He headed to the bathroom and washed off the sweat clinging to his body.

Once he was done, he put on his robe and collapsed onto the bed.

“M-mm~”

A soft moan came from beside him, but Merlin was too exhausted to pay it any attention.

He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

That night, he had a strange dream.

He was standing in a pure white space, and his face was pressed against six soft, fragrant mounds.

Not knowing what they were, he instinctively reached out, squeezing them before biting down one by one.

Oddly, every time he did, different moans echoed from both his right and left. The sensation felt strangely satisfying, and he kept doing it again and again until he finally felt content.

***

The sun rose in the east, and its warm light slowly illuminated the world.

Merlin’s room, which had been shrouded in darkness, gradually began to brighten.

Merlin, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up without realizing it. His eyelids fluttered open, and the familiar ceiling came into view.

“It’s morning already, huh?” he muttered.

Suddenly, he felt his right hand go numb. At the same time, four soft, round objects were pressed against both his right and left sides.

Confused, he turned his head and saw a piece of white cloth brushing against his face, along with a faint, fragrant scent.

Merlin’s mind stalled for a moment before he finally came to his senses. He hurriedly sat up, and his vision cleared.

A girl with long, flowing golden hair was lying lazily on his bed.

She was sleeping peacefully, a beautiful smile resting on her lips.

“Margaret!?” His eyes widened in shock. “How could she be here!?”

He stared ahead blankly, then slapped both of his cheeks as if trying to wake himself up. After that, he quickly turned back toward her.

She was still there. This wasn’t a dream at all!

“N-not there, Merlin… that tickles… hehehe…”

“Big brother… I want more. Please feed me…”

Two muffled voices came from his left. Merlin stiffened, then slowly turned his head.

The moment he saw what was there, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Two other girls were lying beside him, wearing pink and blue nightgowns.

The girl in pink was Luna, while the one in blue was Catrine.

Merlin froze in place, completely unable to process what he was seeing.

It took him a full five minutes before he finally regained his senses.

“This is a real problem,” he muttered, massaging his temples. “How did they end up here?”

He had just come home last night and hadn’t even checked his bed.

Who would have thought the three of them would end up sleeping in his room?

And judging by their nightgowns, it seemed they had come here intentionally, as if they had prepared for this.

Letting out a long sigh, he turned to Margaret and patted her soft butt.

“Margaret, wake up! It’s morning already! What on earth are you doing? How did you get into my room and sleep next to me?”

Feeling the pat, Margaret, who had been lost in a sweet dream, slowly stirred awake.

Still half-asleep, she sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

“Good morning, my love. Did you sleep well?”

She leaned closer, wrapped her arms around Merlin’s neck, and pressed her face against his.

Merlin was left speechless, unsure of what to do.

This girl was way too careless. If it had been someone else instead of him… Margaret could’ve already been in trouble.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pinched her cheek, then raised his voice.

“Wake up, Margaret!”

At those words, Margaret finally came to her senses. She blinked a few times, then met Merlin’s purple gaze.

“Merlin?” She tilted her head in confusion. “Good… morning?”

Merlin: “…”

He could only shake his head helplessly and pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Don’t say good morning to me! Tell me—what are you doing here? How did you end up in my room?”

He clearly remembered locking the door before leaving.

So how on earth did these three girls get in?

“My room?” Margaret muttered absentmindedly. She glanced around, then her eyes widened as realization hit her. “Oh, right! I’m in your room. Yeah, me, Luna, and Catrine are in your room. We snuck in to surprise you. But you weren’t back yet, so we decided to sleep here until you returned.”

Her confused and broken explanation made Merlin’s head ache, but he understood the general idea.

“Alright, I get it. Now all three of you go back. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble. The dorm supervisor could come here any minute,” he said, glancing nervously toward the door.

He didn’t want to be labeled a pervert. That would destroy his reputation among the students.

And with three girls in his bed, he would definitely be treated like a complete scoundrel.

Strangely, there was no response. Merlin turned back toward Margaret, only to freeze.

She had already fallen back into a deep sleep.

Merlin took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

“What a troublesome girl…”

***

“So, can you explain everything?”

Merlin sat on the edge of the bed, his arms folded across his chest.

Standing in front of him were Margaret, Luna, and Catrine. All three had their heads lowered, their faces filled with panic and embarrassment.

“Umm… Actually, it was a misunderstanding, Merlin,” Margaret said, lifting her head and forcing an awkward smile. “I just wanted to visit you and surprise you. But you weren’t in your room. After that…”

She explained everything without leaving anything out.

Merlin listened quietly, and in the end, everything finally made sense.

“So that’s what happened.” He let out a sigh. “Alright, I understand. But it’s still against the rules. Don’t do it again, got it?”

“Understood…” the three of them replied in unison.

Merlin smiled and waved his hand.

“You three go back first. The dorm supervisor will be here soon. Don’t let her catch you.”

The three of them nodded. Without hesitation, they rushed to the door.

But just as they were about to open it, a voice came from outside.

All three of them gasped and quickly scrambled back toward Merlin.

“That woman is coming!” Luna whispered in panic.

Merlin’s expression turned serious. Pointing toward the wardrobe, he ordered, “One of you hide in there. Another one, under the bed. The rest of you, get on the bed. Quick!”

They immediately scattered. Catrine crawled under the bed, while Margaret slipped behind the wardrobe.

Luna climbed onto the bed and pulled the blanket over herself.

Merlin quickly lay down as well, covering himself with the blanket.

A few moments later, the door creaked open, and an old woman stepped inside.

She glanced at Merlin, who looked as if he had just woken up, and gave a small smile.

“Good. Go out to the yard and exercise,” she said.

Merlin gave a faint nod.

Just as the woman was about to leave, her nose twitched. Her expression suddenly turned serious.

“Why do I smell a girl?” she asked.

—//—

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