"It's taking too long. What is Merlin doing?" Luna wondered curiously.

Five minutes passed, but Merlin still hadn't appeared. A sense of fear crept into her heart. Did he leave me?

She quickly shook off the thought. No, it was impossible for him to do something so cruel.

Even though Merlin always seemed to hate her, he wouldn't go that far... it was impossible.

Still, it would be a lie to say her heart wasn't swayed by that thought.

Just as panic began to crawl in, the sound of footsteps came from the mouth of the alley. A moment later, Merlin appeared with a faint smile.

"Come out," he said.

Luna's panicked and sad expression vanished, replaced by joy and excitement.

She immediately ran to him and hugged his arm tightly.

"What happened?" Merlin asked, confused. "Were you scared?"

Luna stayed silent, her lips pressed together. Merlin quickly understood and smiled softly.

"Relax, I won't leave you," he said gently.

Well, he had indeed been very annoyed with Luna because she was the reason behind Merlin Clay's ruined future in the novel.

But now, those feelings were gone.

The future hadn't happened yet, and it didn't make sense to keep hating her, right?

So, leaving this girl was out of the question.

"I believe in you," Luna whispered weakly.

Merlin smiled and quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, let's go find a place to stay first. I've got some money."

He reached into his pocket and took out four gold coins and ten silver coins.

Luna was startled and looked at him in shock. "How did you get that? Wait—don't tell me you..."

Her words trailed off, but the meaning was clear.

Sensing Luna's suspicious gaze, Merlin felt a bit embarrassed but stayed calm as usual.

"Don't worry about it. What matters now is that we can rest for the night while figuring out how to get out of this city as soon as possible," Merlin said, glancing at the increasingly empty streets.

Luna nodded, realizing he was right, and didn't ask any more questions.

After that, Merlin took Luna to the nearest inn.

To avoid suspicion, he deliberately chose a mid-range inn instead of a luxurious one.

Fortunately, Luna didn't complain, saving him from giving a long explanation that wasn't needed anyway.

The inn was called "Floating Leaf." It was located in the city center and was quite lively, with people constantly coming and going.

"Why did you choose such a busy place?" Luna asked hesitantly.

Logically, Merlin should've picked a quiet and secluded inn. Yet here he was, choosing the opposite.

Luna really couldn't understand his way of thinking.

Merlin tightened his grip on her hand and asked, "Have you ever heard the saying that sometimes the most dangerous place is actually the safest?"

"The most dangerous place is the safest?" Luna repeated softly. "No, I've never heard that before."

"What I mean is, the safest place in this city is actually right here in the center. Everyone in the city, including the guards, already knows about us. In their minds, we've probably already fled or gone into hiding, right?"

Luna nodded slightly. "Yeah, that's what they'd think."

"Well…" Merlin smiled faintly. "They probably think we're hiding on the outskirts of the city—in some remote inn or quiet place. But who would expect that we're actually hiding somewhere they'd never imagine? Do you get what I mean?"

Luna was startled by his logical reasoning. She hadn't thought that far ahead.

Her gaze toward Merlin softened into one filled with admiration.

"You're really brilliant!" she said sincerely.

"[Ding! The affection of heroine Luna Tharot has increased by 3 points! Current affection: 68 points (40)]"

Merlin simply smiled and led Luna inside. The inn's interior wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't shabby either—it was decent enough.

They walked to the receptionist, and Merlin immediately asked for two rooms.

"I'm sorry, young man," the female receptionist said apologetically. "There's only one room left. If you'd like, you can take it. Luckily, it has two separate beds, so you and your younger sister can sleep comfortably."

"Younger sister?" Luna was stunned. She wanted to protest, but the words caught in her throat.

Seeing Merlin's tall figure beside her smaller one, she felt a mix of frustration and helplessness.

Merlin held back a laugh and asked, "May I ask why all the rooms are full? From here, it doesn't seem that crowded."

He glanced around the lobby, which had about twenty guests—not too few, but not enough to fill every room either.

"That's because the Royal Palace has booked all the accommodations in the city," the receptionist said weakly. "The war is about to begin, and soldiers have started arriving to prepare."

"The Royal Palace booked all the inns?" Merlin raised an eyebrow. "So the rooms are for the soldiers?"

"I'm not sure," the receptionist replied, shaking her head. "But I don't think so. The total number of rooms in all the city's inns is less than five hundred, so they're probably reserved for military officers or other important figures."

Her voice trailed off, as if she was afraid to say more.

Merlin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Logically, it didn't make sense for the commanders to rest comfortably while their soldiers slept in cramped tents.

'There's something off about this,' he muttered under his breath.

Still, he didn't dwell on it and nodded. "All right, please prepare the room. How much is it?"

"Just a moment," the receptionist said, taking the key to room number fifteen and handing it over. "It's three silver coins, including three meals for both of you."

Merlin didn't say anything more and quickly paid.

After that, he led Luna upstairs to their room on the second floor.

When they arrived, Merlin opened the door, and the room's interior came into view.

There were two beds on the left side of the room, placed side by side. Two windows were set into the wall above them, while on the right stood a wooden wardrobe.

Not far from it was another door—most likely leading to an en suite bathroom.

"Well, not bad," Merlin said as he stepped inside and sat on the edge of one of the beds. "We'll stay here for one night before escaping tomorrow. That's fine, right?"

Luna entered hesitantly. "Umm… Are we really going to sleep in the same room?"

Merlin blinked with an innocent look. "Of course. There aren't any other rooms available, remember? You heard the receptionist yourself."

Luna's face immediately turned red, her body trembling slightly.

"But… isn't that inappropriate?"

Merlin finally realized what she meant and burst out laughing. "What are you thinking, Luna Tharot? We're just kids, you know? I didn't think your mind would go that far… you pervert."

Luna: "…"

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