The guards worked through the queue at a steady pace, and it didn’t take long until it was Ackster’s turn. The guard inside the booth, tired and used to the process, spoke without looking up.

“Papers?”

“Um, I don’t have any.”

“What? Then why- Nevermind.”

The guard looked up after hearing Ackster’s answer. He quickly understood why Ackster didn’t have any documents. A lot of the homeless orphans simply didn’t have an official identity. They had either come up with their names on their own or been given them by the people around them.

Since they didn’t have any documents regarding their identities, homeless people usually couldn’t pay taxes. But they rarely had enough money to feed themselves, much less give money to the kingdom. So, the kingdom oversaw the fact that being homeless was the easiest method of tax evasion.

The guard let out a nigh-inaudible sigh before speaking again.

“Name and purpose of exit?”

“Mas. And I’m leaving the city to find herbs.”

“Uhum. Expected reentry, if any?”

“Later tonight.”

“And why are you leaving during the night instead of the day?”

“Fewer people. That means fewer people who will beat me up to steal my harvest.”

Ackster hoped to gain some pity points, but he didn’t know if it worked as the guard continued noting down his answers in the registry in front of him.

“Okay. Proceed.”

“Thank you.”

Ackster nodded politely and began walking toward the gate next to the booth. The entire gate wasn’t open since it was night. But a section of the gate, big enough for most carriages to pass through, was clear for passage. Two pairs of guards stood on either side of the gate, both on the outside and inside. Ackster could tell that they were stronger than the guard in the booth, but they didn’t feel dangerous enough to be proper knights, so he didn’t worry about them discovering him.

However, he only took one step before the guard in the booth called out to him.

“Wait.”

Slightly nervous since he wondered if he had been made, Ackster turned around with a slightly anxious but curious expression. He didn’t even consider running since he wouldn’t make it through the gate. Even if he did, he wouldn’t make it back inside.

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The middle-aged guard looked at him with a serious face.

“Be careful out there. I know you might not trust me. But if you ever need help, come and find me. I work this shift every day.”

“Thank you.”

Ackster thanked the guard before continuing on through the gate, a little touched by the guard’s sincerity. Compared to that guard, the attitude of the four guards watching the gate felt pointedly colder. But Ackster didn’t care. It was what he counted on. If they didn’t even bother to look at him, there was no way they would recognize him as the infamous son of the Phileam House. And the guard with a big heart was probably convinced that he was a homeless orphan living off the streets. He probably wouldn’t suspect that it was Ackster Phileam in disguise.

Assured that he had successfully fooled the guards, Ackster walked through the gate and out of the city. Compared to the city, where there were several street lamps and torches, at least in some places, the outside of the walls was completely dark. The only source of light were the stars and the two moons, who, despite being two, didn’t shine as brightly as the one back on Earth had done.

However, the moons on Millmeria did have more to light up since it was a bigger planet than Earth, at least if fan-made analyses of the book were to be believed.

But the darkness, now that the moons had risen, wasn’t so dark that Ackster couldn’t see anything. And when he got used to the darkness, in addition to his Strong Body enhancing his eyesight, he probably wouldn’t have a problem seeing.

Thankfully, what he was looking for wasn’t something as difficult to find as herbs during the night. At least not in theory. His target wasn’t visually difficult to find. But it might be a challenge to locate it.

Ackster took a few moments to take in the silent darkness of the night before he started walking along the road to the edge of the forest.

He couldn’t tell what grew in the fields that lay between the city walls and the forest, but it was probably some kind of grain.

Ackster walked on the side of the road so that he didn’t accidentally get run over by one of the carriages that passed by him. Considering that the road led to one of the kingdom’s larger merchant cities, a place where businesses didn’t sleep, Nereo, it wasn’t that strange carriages with goods traveled even during the night.

It was also The Hero and his party’s next stop on their journey, which meant that Ackster wouldn’t go there after faking his death. However, that was a matter for three days later, when he didn’t have to worry about dying to The Hero, regardless of the success or failure of his plan.

When he came closer to the forest, Ackster gradually sensed the danger that accompanied a midnight stroll through a monster-filled forest, and he focused his mind and senses. Getting distracted in the forest could easily spell trouble for him, even with his Strong Body skill.

The Degrest Forest was a relatively safe forest compared to other places in the continent, especially the edge of the forest and along the road. But during the night, when predators stalked the forest, no one could guarantee their safety, especially not someone who was just above average. Even with his Strong Body, Ackster didn’t have any confidence of surviving unscathed if he was ambushed.

Thankfully, Strong Body also strengthened his senses. So, if he stayed on alert and kept watch over his surroundings, he shouldn’t be ambushed.

However, even if he wasn’t ambushed, he could still get injured since ambushes weren’t the only way to attack.

Ackster entered the forest, prepared to walk somewhat far into it. His target probably couldn’t be found on the edge of the forest, where the herbs he said he was going to pick would most likely be. So, he would have to be prepared to go beyond the edge of the forest and deep enough to find his target.