Badump!

Merlin's heart raced as he listened to the man's explanation.

He had never expected the city authorities to do something like that.

He and Luna were not from this era, let alone from the Kingdom of Avernia.

There was no way they could have resident cards from that kingdom.

"By the way, I've never seen you two before. Are you new here?" The man's voice pulled Merlin out of his thoughts.

Merlin gathered himself and replied weakly, "Yes, my sister and I are new to this city. We just moved here a week ago after our parents were killed by the Aldoria Kingdom's army."

He slowly lowered his head, his voice heavy with sorrow. "I sold everything my parents left behind and fled here, hoping to find safety and a better life. We are minors and don't have resident cards yet. Is there any way to fix that?"

Luna, standing behind him, looked just as sad and dejected.

The man felt pity for them, and his earlier suspicion immediately vanished.

"It's okay. Quite a few people like you have moved to this city in the past month," he said soothingly. "As for the resident cards, I can help you, kid. But the process is long—it might take more than a week. Is that alright?"

"A week?" Merlin froze in shock.

A week was far too long. He and Luna had to reach the capital immediately to meet the royal family.

If he remembered correctly, in the novel, Abel and Luna left this world after helping resolve the war between the two kingdoms.

He had to do the same to complete his mission of obtaining the Tharot family's scepter—and to leave this world.

Suppressing his anxiety, he shook his head and politely declined. "Thank you for your kindness, sir, but I don't want to trouble you. Just tell me where the residence card office is, and I'll handle it myself."

The man was impressed by his resolve and promptly told him the location.

A few moments later, after giving some final advice, the man walked away.

Watching him leave, Luna rose onto her tiptoes and whispered close to Merlin's right ear.

"What should we do, Merlin? Do you have a solution?"

For some reason, she seemed certain that Merlin would find a way out of this crisis.

"Wait a moment. Let me think," Merlin replied, gently pulling her back.

Then he began communicating with the system.

"System, can you create a fake document?"

System: "..."

The system didn't expect its master to ask for something so absurd.

Did he think this system was like the mafia, able to forge anything at will?

Still, it didn't scold or mock him. Instead, it replied casually, "[I can't do that, but there's an item in the system shop that can be used to create fake items.]"

"Oh?" Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Tell me—what is that item?"

"[Ding! Purchased Magic Brush! 4,000 system points have been deducted from your account!]"

Merlin was stunned. He didn't expect the system to buy it immediately without any further explanation.

Before he could protest, the system's calm voice echoed in his mind.

"[Go to the card shop and buy two cards the same size as the resident card. After that, use the brush, and you'll be able to leave the city immediately. But remember—the effect lasts only one day. Once the time is up, the cards will return to normal. So you must move quickly.]"

Merlin's expression turned serious. He reached into his pocket and felt the brush, which was about the size of his middle finger.

"Luna, wait here for a moment," he said.

Luna hesitated for a moment but didn't refuse. She simply nodded.

"Don't take too long."

Merlin smiled slightly, then walked toward the card shop, which happened to be only fifty meters away.

Ten minutes later, he returned with two plain silver cards in his hand.

Luna watched him approach, her eyes fixed on the cards.

"Cards? What are you going to do with them?"

Merlin just smiled and pulled her into a small alley.

After making sure the area was safe, he took out the brush. It was a red brush with golden bristles.

He began brushing the cards, just as the system instructed.

Under Luna's confused gaze, the two cards emitted a bright red light.

Moments later, the light faded, and the plain cards had transformed into resident cards—complete with fake photos and birth dates.

"How is that possible? How did you do that?" Luna exclaimed in surprise.

She was certain the two cards had been plain just moments ago, yet now they had turned into resident cards!

"Pfft!" Merlin chuckled softly as he handed her one of them. "I used a magic tool. Luckily, I had it with me when I went to your family's house."

His explanation didn't sound very convincing, but Luna didn't press further. She simply asked, "Can we go now?"

"Yeah, let's go."

They left the alley and walked confidently toward the row of horse-drawn carriages waiting for passengers.

Even with the tighter regulations, people still needed their services.

All the residents of this city were citizens of the Kingdom of Avernia, so they had no reason to be afraid like Merlin and Luna.

"Where are you two going?"

An armored guard stepped forward and stopped them.

Merlin looked at him calmly. "We want to go to the next city, honorable soldier."

"The next city, you say?" The soldier raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious.

"Yes." Merlin nodded slightly and handed over his resident card. Luna followed right after.

"I heard we have to show them first if we want to rent a horse-drawn carriage. How about now? Do you believe us?"

The soldier inspected the two cards carefully. After a moment, he nodded and handed them back.

"I believe you. Go ahead."

He stepped aside, giving them room to pass. Luna looked delighted and was about to cheer, but Merlin quickly pinched her.

"Ouch!" Luna winced, leaving the soldier confused.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, soldier," Luna replied with a blush.

Soon after, Merlin led her to one of the luxurious horse-drawn carriages pulled by two sturdy horses.

"Sir, I want to rent your carriage. How much is the fare from here to the capital?" Merlin asked firmly.

"The capital?" The coachman blinked in surprise. He looked the two up and down and asked, "Why do you want to go there?"

"Business, of course. But don't be too curious. I've already passed the security checkpoint, so there's no need to be suspicious. Just tell me the price."

The coachman relaxed and replied flatly, "Three gold coins."

"Three gold coins, huh? Alright, I'll pay."

Merlin reached into his pocket and handed him three gold coins. The coachman stared at them, his eyes widening in shock.

"You… you…"

Before he could finish, Merlin's eyes glowed faintly with purple light.

"Be quiet and leave. Understand?"

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