"Mandy, come with me."
Blake called out, leading Mandy to the training ground.
The homes of Celestial Dragons from the Waste Faction typically didn't have training grounds.
Years ago, Blake, in an effort to defeat the random passerby in the Card Space, had trained diligently for a period and specifically built a training ground.
He looked every bit like he was about to join the Elite Faction.
It wasn't until he awakened his Observation Haki that he pretended to be unable to endure the hardships of training and returned to the Waste Faction.
However, the training ground was kept.
Upon arriving at the training ground, it was immaculate despite years of disuse, with all facilities in a state of absolute readiness.
The weapon racks gleamed with silver light, and the star-sand sandbags were as full as ever.
The mist system operated automatically, the sword-testing stone was smooth and unblemished, and the sonic feedback device awaited activation.
Taking a rapier from the weapon rack and testing its weight, Blake tossed it towards Mandy.
Unexpectedly, Mandy didn't move, nearly getting impaled by the longsword.
Seeing this, Blake slapped his forehead.
"It seems this woman will take a long time to re-adapt to a normal life."
"I'll have to keep her by my side for a while."
"If I let her go now, she might just be captured again by some Slave merchant."
Thinking this, Blake could only say:
"Pick up the sword and attack me. Let me test your strength."
Mandy then picked up the longsword but didn't attack.
Blake's head began to throb faintly.
At this moment, he suddenly understood the volatile behavior of the other Celestial Dragons.
After much coaxing, persuasion, and even some threats, he finally convinced Mandy that he wasn't testing her.
Mandy thrust her sword straight, her movements extremely precise, almost rigid.
Blake lightly parried, deflecting Mandy's attacking longsword aside, and frowned, saying:
"Continue!"
After a few more rounds, Blake had a good grasp of Mandy's strength.
As the Slave merchant had said, Mandy's strength wasn't particularly high.
She could handle a Marine like Nezumi without an issue, but defeating Morgan would probably be a bit difficult.
Her physical quality was stronger than most ordinary people in this world, but it hadn't reached a monstrous level.
The biggest problem lay in her swordsmanship.
The good news was that her fundamentals were solid, and her basic training was very thorough.
It was clear that Mandy had put a lot of effort into swordsmanship during her time in the Warubukonding Kingdom.
Such a person, once they gain insight, can easily see their strength grow rapidly in a short period, much like Zoro.
As for the bad news, there was quite a bit of it.
Like many court swordmasters, Mandy's swordsmanship was too rigid and focused on aesthetics, neglecting adaptability in actual combat.
Presumably, the teacher who taught her swordsmanship never intended for her to have strong combat abilities.
Having ascertained Mandy's capabilities, Blake had already planned out her improvement path in his mind.
"For the next period, you will train swordsmanship with the guards in the manor."
"First, you must forget all the patterned swordsmanship you learned before."
"You need to discover a set of swordsmanship that belongs to you through sparring with the guards."
Mandy's problems couldn't be solved in a short time; both her combat skills and personality needed to be reshaped, and it had to be done gradually.
After completing Mandy's training plan, Blake resumed his decadent and corrupt Celestial Dragon life.
During the day, he would tease Perona and others, and at night, he would rest with Stella.
Another month passed in this manner.
In February, Blake's results were not ideal.
Struck out!
Blake's luck was not very good; he drew a minor character, and the ability card only enhanced physical qualities.
He thought about it and decided not to use it on himself.
With Blake's current physique, an ability card of this level was already better than nothing.
He called Koala to his side:
"How is it? How are you getting along with Robin and the others?"
Koala still wore her habitual smile:
"Thank you, Your Highness, your manor is the most comfortable place I've ever lived."
"Sister Robin and Perona both take great care of me, and Sister Stella is also very patient and gentle."
Blake shook his head and chuckled.
It was possible that Robin took care of her, but it was already good if Perona didn't cause trouble.
However, Koala's emotional intelligence was not low, so it was not surprising that she only spoke pleasantries.
"You don't need to be afraid. You, Mandy, Robin, and Perona are all the wings that will help me soar to the top of the world. I will not punish any of you."
Blake's voice was as gentle as possible, avoiding stimulating this sensitive young girl.
Although he knew that even saying this, Koala wouldn't change her mindset immediately.
But it didn't matter; as long as he reminded her often, it would leave an imprint in her heart.
Over time, Koala would naturally get used to it.
Blake was actually a selfish person.
The best things, the unique things, he would certainly keep for himself.
But for ability cards that were no longer of much use to him and could be repeatedly acquired, he didn't mind using them to cultivate his influence.
Looking at Koala's slightly unnatural smile, Blake gently placed his hand on her head, activating the ability card in his hand.
Instantly, Koala felt a warm current surge through her entire body, causing her to involuntarily let out a whimper like a kitten.
"Woo..."
Immediately after, Koala's eyes widened. She felt her entire body filled with strength.
She instinctively jumped, actually leaping five or six meters into the air.
"Wow!"
When she fell from the air, Koala was clearly startled, flailing her arms and legs and losing her balance.
Blake chuckled as he caught her and set her on the ground.
"Your physical qualities have greatly improved; you need to adapt quickly."
"Also, this is our secret, okay?"
Blake knew very well that the best way to get closer was to share a common secret.
Blake's positioning of Koala was as a woman who could help him in his career, so he naturally couldn't resort solely to coercive methods; appropriately building a closer relationship was very necessary.
Loyalty bound by emotion would be more stable.
Koala nodded blankly, then covered her mouth and said in a muffled voice:
"Your Highness, don't worry, I won't even tell Sister Robin."
Seeing her amusing expression, Blake chuckled and tapped her forehead:
"Go play."
...Half a month later, Aramaki arrived at Blake's manor.
"Your Highness, your subordinate is ready to depart."
"So soon? Won't you rest for a while longer?"
Blake was a little surprised; Aramaki's work enthusiasm seemed a bit too high.
"Your subordinate wishes to complete the task assigned by Your Highness as soon as possible to serve Your Highness."
Blake nodded:
"In that case, you first go to Ohara. Before the Marine, find Nico Olvia's location and secretly bring her back."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Initially, Blake hadn't wanted to bother with Olvia.
This woman had become obsessed with historical research.
As mentioned before, people in this world always liked to risk their lives for some inexplicable reasons.
Olvia was a typical example of this.
Blake genuinely didn't like this woman very much.
However, Robin was working under Blake, and Blake's positioning for her was as a secretary.
Once Aramaki's intelligence organization was established, news from the seas would need to be conveyed to Blake through Robin.
He still had to consider her feelings.