Leo and Lily headed towards the place where the forged identifications were being made.

After showing their badges, they were asked for their names, desired ages, and backstories.

Soon, Leo's identification was completed. He received an identification based on his role as an adventurer. It was a universal identification that could be used anywhere within the Empire to prove his origins.

╔════════════════════╗

║ IDENTIFICATION ║

╠════════════════════╣

║ Name : Evan ║

║ Age : 62 ║

║ Race : Human ║

║ Sex : Male ║

║ Class : Swordsman ║

║ Rank : Mid 2-star ║

║ Occupation: Adventurer ║

║ Kingdom : Drakensoul Kingdom ║

║ Affiliation : Adventurer's Guild. ║

║ ⚔◈✠◈⚔ ║

╚═════════════════════╝

The symbol at the bottom was an authentication seal used to verify whether the ID was genuine or fake, along with its hidden serial number.

As for how the Academy could create authentic fake IDs, it was simple—they had authorisation from the Emperor and the legitimate materials provided personally by him to craft legit IDs.

When it was Lily's turn to have her identification forged, the forger was left bewildered. But since his job was to quietly forge IDs, he didn't question much.

"I will need a slave collar for that, since a slave's identification is magically engraved into their collar."

"What about any ownership proof?" Leo asked.

The forger shook his head.

"The collar itself is enough proof. In fact, once someone becomes a slave, their entire identification is tied to their owner."

Leo nodded as Lily brought out the silver collar, after which the forger immediately went to call a priest since only they possessed the necessary know-how.

The priest quickly completed the required procedure.

"Alright, I have engraved the basic details. The only thing missing is the actual slave seal. In other words, the collar can be removed and worn at will."

The collar displayed the following details when examined through the appropriate magic.

┌────────────────────┐

│ PROPERTY RECORD │

├────────────────────┤

│ Slave No. : DK-HM-901 │

│ -71782094827 │

│ Name : Natalie │

│ Race : Human │

│ Owner ID : ⚔◈✠◈⚔ │

└────────────────────┘

The slave ID was minimalist, as though they were nothing more than merchandise instead of a living being.

After that, Leo and Lily walked to the designated area for the top 10 individuals, where the last-minute briefing will take place.

22:40, 14 March

The other 8 were already present, talking among themselves. Leo noticed that every girl had changed her hair colour. Dhalia's cyan hair had turned brown, while Lyra's blonde hair had become black, similar to Lily's. Among the boys, only Kaelion and Ronan had changed theirs.

Kaelion's light purple hair had become white, while Ronan's red hair had turned grey, similar to Aaron's. Apparently, Aaron and Ronan were going to play the role of blood brothers in their group.

After meeting up, they exchanged casual greetings before the same professor who had conducted their mandatory class appeared.

"Alright, now that all of you are here, there are a few important things you need to know."

"First, you will be sent outside the walls of a nearby city that is free from the Demon's influence, not directly to your target city. This will support your cover stories perfectly. You simply need to travel straight from where you appear, and the city will soon come into sight."

"Second, try to make friends with any random group heading toward the target city for their own mission. You can easily find them around mission boards or various guilds. This will further erase any suspicion toward you. You might not realise it, but the demons are extremely covert and cunning. They haven't managed to seize an entire city right under our noses for nothing."

"Third, there are no teleportation arrays from that city to the target city. In other words, you will most likely travel by carriage or flying beast. Be prepared. And if both options are available, I suggest taking a carriage. During the journey—which may last a week—you'll have plenty of opportunities to deepen your bond with your new friends. That is another layer of protection, and they may even assist you when you begin the destruction of the city."

"You can easily make them follow your orders by revealing your true identity as students of the Academy."

The students nodded.

"And lastly, don't be in a rush. 1 month's time is plenty, and a special leeway has been granted to the top 50 students, allowing them to extend the mission by 10 days. As for returning to your territories after the mission is complete..."

The professor handed a talisman to each of them.

"Once you use it, the Academy will be notified that your mission is complete, and you will be immediately summoned back here. Of course, you may also use these talismans if your life is in genuine danger due to unexpected circumstances. But remember, if you flee out of cowardice, punishment awaits... though I am sure our top students are not like that."

After that, the professor escorted the students toward the teleportation arrays. Soon enough, the different groups were called one by one and sent away.

Finally, it was Leo and Lily's turn.

At a very, very distant location...

A cave suddenly lit up with an intricate array, from which two figures emerged.

They were Leo and Lily.

Klink!

A sharp metallic clasp echoed through the cave as Lily immediately put on the collar.

"Masterrr!!!" Lily squealed as she immediately pounced onto Leo's back, clinging to him like a koala by wrapping her limbs around his abdomen and neck while showering his cheeks and ears with affectionate kisses.

Leo promptly steadied himself.

Phew, thankfully I already confirmed with Professor Gunther that no one is accompanying us... or this might have been really embarrassing, Leo thought with a sigh.

But he didn't hold himself back. He supported Lily with one hand on her back, but instead of simply steadying her, he gave her butt a firm squeeze, making her gasp softly.

"Natalie, you'd better be careful, lest it becomes uncomfortable walking tomorrow morning."

Leo had already assumed his role, and so had Lily. However crazy she was, she wouldn't want to make out with Leo right now. She quickly looked for a distraction and noticed the fading light outside the cave.

"M-master... Look! The sun is setting. We should get inside the city walls before the dangerous nocturnal beasts become active," she said, though her face continued rubbing affectionately against Leo's neck.

She was already looking forward to the time she would spend with Leo, having him all to herself.

As for why the sun was only setting there while it was already midnight at Aurelius Academy, it was simply because of the vast distance between the two places.

Lily calmed herself and focused on the important matters. They changed out of their fine-looking clothes and into rough garments befitting their current identities, while Leo equipped himself with his light armour and iron sword.

Both shouldered their decent-sized travel bags, and after sharing a brief kiss, they headed straight toward the border city of Varthi—their cover city before making their way to Tilgarth.