Chapter 3 – Part 6

“Are you from another world?”

“Yes.”

Noah’s straightforward answer.

“Is it okay to tell me this?”

“I feel I can trust you, Erica.”

I appreciated the trust, but what made him so sure?

We’d only met for the second time today! Though we did become friends last time, still!

I was astonished by Noah’s nonchalance, and he continued speaking.

“Because you’re like me, Erica.”

Hearing that, I froze.

‘So, he figured it out.’

When had he noticed? How did he know? Was I that obvious? Wasn’t I supposed to keep it hidden? My diary friend had told me to hide it because it was dangerous if found out.

Noah spoke.

“Don’t worry too much. You’re safe here.”

Then, with a gesture, an armchair identical to his appeared beside me.

Magic again.

I awkwardly got up from the display chair and sat in the armchair Noah provided.

Sitting in a comfy chair relaxed me a bit…or so I hoped.

Was I that easy to read?

“Noah, how did you know?”

“Call it experience. When you live as long as I have, you start seeing things.”

Him saying that with a face that looked barely in his twenties was surreal.

Noah seemed happy. Maybe meeting someone in a similar situation made him feel that way.

He had a smile that suggested he would readily answer any question I had.

‘My diary friend keeps warning me about danger and never tells me anything clearly.’

When else would I get the chance to ask someone about this?

Overcoming my nerves and hesitation, I asked.

“Noah, you came from a world with magic, right?”

There was no magic in the Earth I lived in, just like here. I guessed Noah must be from another world with magic.

Noah nodded.

“That’s correct.”

“But, you also know about Earth, don’t you?”

Otherwise, the name “Noah’s Square Ark” wouldn’t make sense.

‘It’s obviously derived from Noah’s Ark.’

Noah answered.

“Yes, I had a friend from Earth. They gave the shop its name.”

“Oh, then…!”

I was about to ask if I could meet that friend, but hesitated.

Noah had said he sold magical items he made himself even 150 years ago, so…

‘That friend who named the shop is already…’

Noah, who had been quietly observing my expression, spoke.

“My friend was from Earth, so they passed away a long time ago.”

“Oh…”

So that’s how it was.

“When they heard my name, they insisted the shop should be called this.”

A gentle smile crossed Noah’s face as he reminisced about his old friend.

“The lucky diary was also their idea. I remember it being a fresh perspective because random manifestations of magic weren’t my usual style.”

Noah rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a moment, then continued.

“Come to think of it, you mentioned the lucky diary I sold 150 years ago just now reappeared.”

He was talking about the diary my diary friend was using.

“Do you think the person who bought that diary 150 years ago is still alive?”

They must be a ghost by now, right?

‘The pen pal I fell for was actually a ghost.’

Was that why they didn’t want to meet me?

Noah observed my distressed expression silently.

“It’s unlikely you’re conversing with a dead ghost.”

How did he know what I was thinking? Was this magic too?

Noah smiled gently and continued.

“It’s not magic. Your thoughts are written all over your face.”

‘I don’t know what expression to make in times like this.’

Should I smile?

While I was fumbling internally, Noah continued.

“That lucky diary carries a light luck spell. It’s not strong enough to transcend time.”

“Ah…”

“Someone must have recently started using the diary I sold long ago. I have an idea where, but…”

Noah knew where my diary friend lived?

“Where is it?”

“I can’t divulge customer information.”

“Noah, that’s so mean!”

Why mention it if you’re not going to tell me? That just makes me more curious.

Seeing my pout, Noah laughed again.

“I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you something else. Didn’t you want to know about outsiders?”

This was indeed important.

I leaned in toward Noah and asked.

“By outsiders, you mean people from other worlds like us?”

“Yes. Those who fall into this world are called outsiders. There are various ways—possession, reincarnation, dimensional travel… If only the soul crosses over and occupies a body from this world, it’s possession. If one is born with a new body, it’s reincarnation. And if both body and soul come over, it’s called dimensional travel.”

This sounded very familiar.

“I must be reincarnated, then. What about you, Noah?”

“I’m a case of dimensional travel. I was conducting a magic experiment in my original world, and… ended up here.”

Astonishing.

Had Noah accidentally opened a portal like in fantasy novels?

“What kind of experiment were you conducting?”

“…I didn’t expect it to turn out the way it did. I tried to shut it down when it started going awry, but I couldn’t stop the equipment.”

Noah’s eyes looked distant, as if recalling a far-off memory.

I asked Noah.

“So, you couldn’t go back to your original world?”

“No matter how hard I tried here, I couldn’t recreate the same resonance phenomenon. And it’s been a long time now. It’s an old story.”

What an unfortunate situation.

Noah smiled calmly.

“So I’ve settled down, running this little shop.”

“The shop’s location keeps changing because it’s a magical shop?”

“Well, if I stayed in one place, I’d be caught quickly.”

“Caught? By whom?”

“Be careful, Erica. As long as your status as an outsider isn’t discovered, you’ll be fine.”

Who would discover us?

Now that I thought about it, my diary friend had said something similar to what Noah was saying.

“I’ve heard that before. My diary friend said outsiders often meet bad ends.”

Noah rarely showed surprise, but this time he did.

“Who told you that?”

“My diary friend. We got close exchanging diary entries with the diary I bought from you.”

“Is that so.”

It was more like real-time chatting than a diary exchange, though.

“And they also told me to be cautious but didn’t explain what to be cautious about. Isn’t it necessary to know what to avoid?”

Thinking about it again made me feel frustrated.

After listening to me, Noah pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Not everyone has met a bad end. As I said, as long as we’re not discovered, we’ll be fine. We can live normal lives.”

“Who are we being discovered by?”

Noah thought quietly for a moment before speaking heavily.

“…You must never tell anyone what I’m about to say. Not even your diary friend.”

And then Noah said something completely unexpected.

“The emperor of the Empire also serves as the head of the Holy Knights.”

Why is the emperor being mentioned here? And wasn’t the role of the head of the Holy Knights just a ceremonial title?

After all, there is no Holy Knights Order.

Seeing my bewilderment, Noah continued calmly.

“The Holy Knights’ purpose is to track down and capture outsiders like us. It’s publicly known that there are no members, but that’s not true. They are secretly organized and operate as the emperor’s private soldiers.”

Wait, hold on a minute! I’ve just heard an enormous state secret!

“So, Noah, are you being pursued by the Holy Knights as well? Is that why you keep moving your shop?”

“Yes. When I first arrived here, I used significant magic to try to return to my original world, and I was quickly discovered.”

“And you’ve been on the run ever since?”

“That’s right.”

Noah must have had a tough time too.

“Moreover, my shop sells magical items. To run a magic shop in a world without magic, I have no choice but to keep moving.”

Noah smiled softly, trying to lighten the mood.

“As long as you don’t cause big trouble like I did, you won’t be discovered. I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

I don’t have the ability to cause such trouble anyway.

But what did he mean by ‘you don’t need to worry about that’?

I asked Noah another question.

“Does that mean there’s something else I should be worried about?”

“Yes. What you need to be cautious of are other outsiders. Not all of them are as kind as you, Erica.”

“That makes sense…”

When I thought about it, it made sense.

“Earlier, you wanted to meet my outsider friend, right? Other outsiders feel the same way. It’s like being drawn to each other like magnets.”

It was true. I wanted to meet them without even knowing who they were.

“So, be careful.”

Noah warned me.

After finishing our conversation, I said goodbye to Noah, not knowing when I would see him again. When I stepped out of the shop, the sky was already darkening.

I would have had to hire a carriage to get from the fountain square back to the palace, which would have been very inconvenient.

But Noah opened a door near the crown prince’s palace wall, allowing me to return easily. Magic is amazing.

Back in my room in the servants’ quarters, I opened my diary and saw a new message from my diary friend.

[I received the handkerchief and pearls. Thank you. The embroidery on the handkerchief is beautiful. I will cherish it.]

A simple thank-you message from my diary friend, who was clearly not a chatbot or a ghost.

I replied immediately.

[I’m glad you received them safely! And thank you for accepting the gift, even though it was sudden. But what was that blue door? A secret passage? It was really fascinating.]

[That door is an emergency secret passage. I will now erase the location and usage details I shared in the diary.]

My diary friend crossed out the map and part of our conversation with ink.

By the way, if it’s an emergency secret passage of the merchant guild, isn’t that highly confidential?

‘I’m glad my diary friend trusts me this much.’

After finishing my brief conversation with my friend, I fell asleep as soon as I lay down on my bed.