Something was missing. His memory was missing. As if a big chunk of it had been bitten out, only coming back when needed. Noel clenched his fists, his teeth grinding.
'Since I came to this world, everything seems to be going wrong. First, the hallway incident where parts of memories of my death came back, and now... this? What is the purpose of that notebook...? Why can't I remember anything no matter how much I try?'
'Is it somehow tied to the 'thing' that caused my death? Any connection?'
Pressing his temples as if soothing the pain, he let out a sigh. He realized overthinking was futile.
'I can't ignore this, but I also can't keep thinking about it all the time. What do I do...? At this rate, I'll start losing my sanity before I even face the lurking dangers of this world. And I can't afford that. Not before I know who brought me here, and why.'
Looking at the glass ceiling, which showed the light grey clouds, he narrowed his eyes in contemplation before looking back at the girl, hands behind his back as he walked toward her.
'Luckily, I've stumbled upon this little princess, so I have hopes that it'll be quite simple to extract information from her. After all, she looks intelligent, but not to the extent that I have to be wary of her. But even so...'
Sneaking a glance at her, he let out a sigh once more before he crouched in front of her, as if attempting to take a peek at the book she was reading.
'There is no guarantee for anything. I can't trust my instincts in this world where common sense is a luxury I can't afford.'
He would have believed that she was reading... if the book hadn't been upside down. Her apathetic display did not fool him for a moment, his eyes flickering briefly to the small fingers that played with her left drill.
"What… is that book?" he asked casually, observing the girl from every angle, attempting to make her uncomfortable. A basic tactic to make her more prone to releasing information and making more mistakes.
The girl didn't look up this time, her eyes apathetically flipping a page.
"What do you think, for-fo?" she said, but her voice was slightly raised, as if holding herself back from saying something.
"You have a-a... already failed part one of the test, for-fo..."
Noel arched an eyebrow.
Although he was curious about the book, there was something from earlier that had kept bothering him every time the little girl spoke. Something that kept lingering on his mind.
He calmed down, his eyes still drifting toward the book, yet he pushed his worries aside, determined to understand the secrets this book carried.
Perhaps... this book could be the key to understanding where and why he is here. He pushed the cover of the book for a moment to memorize the title, its name sending a strange sense of unease through him.
'The Null Manuscript; Edition 1: The Void's Tears'
The name was unsettling, to say the least. He scanned the cover, attentively searching for the author, yet he found nothing about the writer. Nothing about the author. Nothing about the editor.
He touched his chest gently, as if soothing the erratic beat.
Something was wrong. And he wouldn't rest until he found out what it was.
"Girly, I got a question. Why do you keep saying 'for-fo' after each sentence? You look like you're holding yourself back from saying something." His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward into her face, slowly climbing the stack of books she had built.
Flustered, the girl leaned her head back in panic, her face crimson.
"P-preposterous? Do you not know who I am? A-and do not call me that insurmountable name that does not give me justice, girly! I'll have you know I am over eight hundred years old, for-fo," she sputtered, her hands trying to cover Noel's face, which he dodged effortlessly.
"No?" he answered casually. "Mind enlightening me, little girly? Eight hundred years old? Girly, go trick some senile man. And tell me why you keep saying for-fo. Is it some kind of mantra you keep repeating or you'll disappear? A swear, maybe? Gasp..."
Feigning as if hurt, Noel held his heart dramatically as he staggered back a few steps, his expression twisting into one of pain.
"We... only just met... and you're already swearing at me? Girly, where are your manners? Didn't Papa X and Mama Y teach you any manners?" he provoked.
That was the final line. However, the outburst he was expecting never came. Instead, all that came was a reply void of any excessive emotion. She merely sighed.
"It seems the cat is out of the bag." She gently closed the book and placed it to her side before locking her eyes on him. She gazed at him for a few moments before she began scanning her surroundings as if looking for something, and she jumped down from her position.
"Where did I put Stacy... where did she go..." She walked for a while, Noel walking behind her, blinking incredulously at her petite size. Despite knowing that she fit into the category of what many would call a loli, her small stature still surprised him.
The girl walked to a dusty shelf before she parted two thick books with impressive strength, gently reaching into the space between them, as if looking for something.
"Not here."
She looked around again, her eyes forming a frown as she walked toward a messy stack of books in the corner of the library, before walking toward it.
"You haven't answered my questions yet. Who are you, and why do you keep saying for-fo?" He asked with a tilt of his head, his voice neutral, as he examined the location she was in.
She merely ignored him. Using her hand, her fingers curled upward toward the direction of the books, before they flew into the air, to Noel's amazement.
WHOOSH!
He stood rooted to his spot, in awe of the view, yet his face remained as neutral as ever.
The open books closed neatly and flew to different locations in the library. Upon seeing that what she was looking for wasn't there either, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
She was about to look somewhere else when she found Noel merely lowering himself to the floor as he grabbed something. Her eyes widened in recognition.
Noel held it in his hands for a few seconds, blinking as he took in the dark purple stick with a small bunny sticker on it, resembling the magic wands of magical girls he had seen on television as a child.
The only visible difference was that this version was much more childish and a tad cuter than the ones on television. The real object.
"Were... you looking for... this object, perhaps?" He asked skeptically, doubting that a magic user like her would even give any attention to something like this. Even so, he couldn't help but feel there was something unusual about this wand, as it seemed to have a life of its own.
He had countless questions for her, someone who could give him some answers.
Where was he?
Who was she?
What was the book he had been able to read?
What did she mean by for-fo? Was it a secret message?
What was she looking for?
What was the stick he was holding?
Was the girl really a girl, or was she... an entity? It didn't make sense for a little girl to stay in a library unprotected, especially in a location as dangerous as the Devil God's castle.
And most importantly....
His eyes narrowed as he studied the widened eyes of the little girl before him, her mouth slightly agape.
'What is my purpose here?'
The little girl's eyes widened like saucers upon recognition of the object, rooted to her spot before she ran up to him, attempting to grab it.
He merely moved his hands upward, maintaining eye contact with the little girl.
"Hey, give me Stacy! She's mine! Get your filthy hands off Pepa's wand this instant, forget-me-not! Sister Betty gave this to me—" The little girl pouted angrily, attempting to take the wand from his hand before she froze in her spot, realizing that the cat hadn't left the bag.
It had run away at maximum speed.
She had exposed herself unwillingly, despite her efforts not to say the last word.
However, Noel didn't react much—a mere flicker of confusion flashed across his eyes before disappearing as if it was never there.
He merely looked at her apathetically, then signaled with his head for her to sit.
"Take a seat. It seems we will be having a long... chat."