The alarm functionality provided by Cere’s microchip enabled her to wake up silently after having specified a precise amount of time. Certain limitations were placed to prevent sleep practices that significantly harmed its user. When Cere had set a four-hour alarm, these limitations were not triggered because the calculated amount of harm remained below the threshold value.

Clay and Claire were deep in slumber. With feathery steps, Cere made her way out of the bedroom without disturbing the siblings. Adhering to her prior promise, she would be leaving early in the morning—so early, in fact, that the moon was still monopolizing the sky.

Why did she seem to be in such a rush?

It’s because Cere was conflicted.

Receiving the generosity of the Miller family had given rise to a sort of attachment that begun to linger deep within Cere—and it would only grow stronger the longer she stayed.

But she knew.

She knew that this feeling was not an authentic one and that meeting the Miller family was merely coincidence.

Cere’s initial conversation with Canna had set off fireworks in her mind—but why?

Was it perhaps because it was Cere’s first conversation with a real person? And that, it did not matter if the first was with someone other than Canna?

Of course, Canna’s kindhearted and compassionate personality had warmed Cere’s heart to great extents, but was that hospitality not a result of Cere’s efforts to make a positive first impression?

To these questions, Cere fully acknowledged that she was lucky to meet a benevolent person like Canna. After all, there was always the chance that she could have ran into someone with malicious intentions.

Then, there were no disadvantages by staying with the Miller family, right?

But.

Deep in her heart, she knew more.

She was an orphan. Her upbringing was devoid of relationships, so she naturally longed for them. And much to her dismay, she was on Eyne for a mission that was impossible to fully ignore—it had to be completed eventually.

Which meant.

That she could not stay with a commoner family.

Was it because of money? No.

Cere could simply materialize currency in mere minutes. Of course, it would be better not to, as she would progressively saturate the economy.

Then, was it because of power? Yes.

She was in an aristocratic world. Social power would allow access to vast libraries of information that were exclusive to the upper-class echelon. If Cere were to become attached to a family, it would be to one that possessed such privileges.

That was her inner confliction.

As she grew more attached to the Miller family, her affliction also grew in equal proportion.

And so, Cere grabbed her robe from the wooden rack, took out her secret pouch, placed ten silver coins on the dining table, and left the house.

From here, the Kingdom of Runia was a three-hour walk.

✦✧

The gleaming moon, despite being tremendously high in the sky, was unable to lift Cere’s dreary mood. Perhaps if it became more massive, its increased gravity could have had a noticeable effect.

As Cere made her way to Runia, she passed by many other villages. Each village had placed several large torches along the wide dirt highway, brightening it with fiery light.

Even at this hour, a moderate number of merchants were still active, although noticeably less compared to daytime.

With only four hours of sleep, Cere was feeling a little tired, but she was confident that her stamina would be enough to reach Runia.

Before she left the house, she had placed ten silvers on the table—that was her way of showing gratitude. By nearly doubling the Miller family’s finances, there should no longer be any monetary problems during their visit. Perhaps they might even run into each other there. And by then, they could meet as acquaintances.

Once Runia’s colossal wall was less than ten minutes away, Cere used the materialization command to craft ten silver coins.

The main gate was a single huge arch in the wall with a small room hollowed out on each side. The left-side handled entrances while the right-side handled exits. The fire cauldrons placed around the perimeter made everything easy to see, although the sun had already started peeking from the horizon.

A total of ten guards were on duty. Six of the guards were patrolling around the area, a few engaging in conversation.

The remaining four guards managed the people who were waiting in line. The entrance had two lines: one for people without citizenship papers and the other for those who did. The people who were not citizens—visitors—lined up furthest to the left, one by one entering the room under the arch. Those who were citizens lined up near the middle and directly entered through the gate after they had been verified.

When Cere stood in line, there were nine visitors in front of her, three of which were merchants accompanied with large wooden wagons. All three wagons had a single ankylosaurus reined to them.

By now, Cere’s somber mood had mostly recovered. It almost felt as if she was overthinking the entire time. After all, to the Millers, they probably just thought of her as a guest.

Cere was now third in line and five people were behind her.

One of the guards approached her and asked, “Where are your guardians?”

The guard was covered in steel plate armor and was holding his helmet with one of his hands. He was a large, six-feet-tall man with short brown hair and sharp eyes who seemed to be in his late-forties. His facial hair and demeanor gave the impression that he was a veteran.

“I came alone,” Cere replied politely.

The guard looked at Cere with a worried expression and spoke in a troubled tone, “Those without citizenship papers have to buy a three-day permit. The price is two silvers. Do you have enough?”

Cere’s theory was proven true. The entrance fee had doubled in price, likely due to the emperor’s announcement. According to Canna’s calculations, it meant that just staying in Runia for three days now costed an amount equivalent to a hundred commoner dishes.

“Yes.” Cere replied.

“Ok, good.” The guard sounded relieved.

Cere was now first in line. When the visitor inside exited, the guard gestured her to enter the room.

The small room’s interior was the raw white stone from the wall. It was minimalist with only several torches and a large wooden table at the back with multiple stacks of paper.

Behind the table was a clerk in noble clothes who seemed to be in his twenties. He had a soft, neutral expression. Cere felt slightly intimidated by the two knights that stood behind the clerk—their presences were overwhelming compared to the guards outside.

“The fee is two silvers.” The clerk spoke clearly with confidence.

Cere placed two silvers on the table. After carefully depositing them in a fancy iron box, the clerk dipped a quill in ink and started writing on a piece of paper. Paper was still an uncommon item as there was not an efficient way to mass produce them yet. The clerk wrote ‘Janus, 02, 11’ in calligraphy and stamped the paper with a red wax seal.

“Welcome to Runia,” he said without smiling.

“Thank you,” Cere said while receiving the permit.

After exiting the room, Cere entered the Kingdom of Runia—the most prosperous territory on Planet Eyne.