Colin smiled and said, "I’m here to apply for a residency permit."

"I really owe you for last time, sir," the young Guard said. "I also realized I wasn’t cut out for the front lines, so I requested a transfer to a desk job. The work here is a better fit for me. Thank you again, sir."

After speaking, he looked inside the window and said, "Please help him fill out the form, Charlie."

The clerk, called Charlie, crossed his arms and said coldly, "You’re just a new transfer. You don’t understand our rules and regulations. This guy can’t prove his identity."

"I can—"

"This just proves you don’t know the rules here," Charlie said, slapping the table. "Or did this guy buy you off with a few Gold Coins? Get over here and arrest these guys!"

Colin sighed, slipped the ring from his finger, and placed it on the desk. "This should be able to prove my identity, right?"

"That’s more like it."

Thinking the other man had finally given in, Charlie snatched up the gold-rimmed ring.

Upon closer inspection, he froze.

The center of the ring was engraved with the City Watcher’s insignia, clearly a Seal Ring issued to field personnel. At the same time, the edge was rimmed with gold... This was a medal ring awarded to a New Blood squad for great merit!

After a long moment, he stammered, "Field personnel... elite New Blood... Colin? I’ll process the permit for you right away, Mr. Colin."

Colin watched him with a noncommittal expression.

Charlie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He grabbed a form from a nearby pile, filled it out quickly, then wrote out a copy and handed it to Colin.

"How much have you been extorting from the refugees in ’convenience fees’?" Colin asked, silently picking up his Seal Ring and ignoring the forms on the table.

Hearing this, Charlie exploded.

He stormed out of the guard post, marched up to Colin, and shouted,

"You damn little bastard, you want to make a scene, is that it?! Who the fuck do you think you are? I don’t mind teaching you a lesson right here!" After shouting, Charlie pulled the wooden stick from his waist and began swinging his arms wildly at Colin.

The man clearly hadn’t exercised in a long time; the fat under his uniform jiggled with his movements.

"Stop it, Charlie!" "This is definitely not a wise decision."

Several of the surrounding City Guards started trying to break up the fight, and even the refugees behind them gathered around to watch the spectacle.

The crowd murmured, discussing the clerk’s misconduct. Someone started it, and soon everyone began cheering for the young man confronting the City Guard.

Colin stood his ground silently, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

He looked at the other man and said, word by word, "I don’t want to cause trouble."

Charlie, who had been hysterical just a moment ago, suddenly deflated. He threw down the wooden stick, walked up to Colin, and clasped his hands together, pleading, "I have kids at home, brother. Please, let me go, for my children’s sake..."

"That will depend on your superior," Colin said with a shrug.

Ordinarily, he wouldn’t go out of his way to cause trouble for someone like this.

But if these people messed with him directly, Colin certainly wouldn’t let it slide.

He was merely averse to trouble, not a spineless coward.

With that, Colin noted the number on the man’s uniform and turned to leave. He happened to have some things to discuss with Edwin recently anyway, so he might as well settle this matter at the same time.

Seeing this, the surrounding crowd immediately cleared a path for the young man, leaving only a few City Guards to clean up the mess.

"I’ll go testify for you, Mr. Colin," the young Guard said, catching up to him.

"Alright. Thank you for the trouble," Colin nodded.

"You were really scary just now, Colin," Bob said, catching up a step behind. "For a second there, I thought you were going to chop Charlie’s head off."

"I was just giving him a warning."

"Your aura just now was really something. I almost thought you had a few kills under your belt," the young Guard joked, trying to lighten the mood.

When he saw that the other two didn’t laugh at all, he asked hesitantly, "You... you don’t actually have any kills, do you?"

"I’ve dealt with Cultists," Colin explained quietly.

Bob gave an awkward laugh. "Anyway, speaking of which, sorry about this, Colin."

Colin replied nonchalantly, "No one can predict the future, Bob."

The three of them talked as they walked, and it wasn’t long before they arrived at Edwin’s office.

With the young City Guard’s testimony, the matter with Charlie was quickly decided.

Colin’s residency permit would be processed free of charge, and Charlie would be dealt with.

After receiving written authorization from Edwin, the young Guard and Bob volunteered to go find someone to handle the situation, bringing the matter to a close.

After the two of them left, Edwin looked at Colin, who was still sitting in front of his desk, and asked, "Is there something else, Colin?"

"Haven’t there been reports of a lot of trouble near Thousand Masts City recently? So I was thinking of heading south to earn some money."

"Then what about Mr. Kase’s...?"

Colin quickly said, "We’ll be back in about a month. We can discuss the arrangements for the Orc Tribe then."

"I was afraid for a moment that a young man with a boundless future was about to leave Thousand Masts City," Edwin said with a laugh. "Of course, you can go."

"Thousand Masts City is the largest city in the Northern Lands, after all. Compared to the small city-states in the south, it’s much more suitable for living."

Colin continued, "Besides that, there’s one more thing..."

He took off [Silent] and placed it on the desk, then told Edwin everything about the dream he had after putting on the ring and how it triggered a hidden quest.

’Based on my own deductions, the quest from this ring might be the key to unlocking its true power. Also, the "Special Commission" in the Task Log is very intriguing.’

’What if I can get an extraordinary reward?’

’But first, I have to confirm that this ’what if’ is actually achievable.’

’Having the life to get it but not the life to spend it is the eternal tragedy of an Adventurer.’

’That’s why I’ve spent the last two days asking Donkexes and reading geography books at the library—all to decide whether or not to take on this special commission. And the most critical part of that is getting Edwin’s opinion.’

’So far, this Paladin is one of the most trustworthy and powerful people I’ve met. Asking for his opinion is definitely the right move.’

After hearing the whole story, Edwin stroked his chin thoughtfully.

He silently stood up, poured a cup of tea for each of them, then sat back down behind his desk and took a sip.

「After a long while.」

Edwin finally spoke. "Actually, I’d already heard about you and Mr. Kase consulting the Great Druid. That Druid also said that the soul of an Elf resides within the ring.

"Based on your description, we can confirm that the Elf was likely a master swordsman in life, and that he bears no ill will."

"So that means I can go check it out?"

"Not necessarily."