The Whole Holiday

To be honest, the timeline Noah found himself in was rather awkward.

At this point, both the Avengers and the X-Men were still in their infancy, and Noah had not found anything particularly interesting over in Britain either.

Of course, that might have had something to do with how young he was. Otherwise, Noah really might have felt the urge to seek out that so-called 007 and M to see whether they actually existed.

But that was merely Noah joking to himself. If he had been this age and possessed this level of strength in the year 2000, he probably would have cried his eyes out.

After 2000, this world began to undergo unimaginable changes.

First came Iron Man, and then, given the existence of Mutants, the X-Men emerged as well.

After that, all sorts of inexplicable people appeared one after another, as though they had shattered all the peace of the 1990s. By then, Noah probably would not have had much time to train himself properly, would he?

"Looks like the system has treated me well after all. At least it gave me around ten years to prepare for all this. If I can't even make good use of that, then I might as well stop playing. Finding a safe corner to hide in might be better."

Accompanying Hermione back to the ordinary world, Noah immediately felt an uncomfortable sense of dissonance.

Although everything looked familiar enough—after all, he had spent ten years here—the facilities were completely different from those in his memories of more than twenty years before. They felt exceptionally backward.

The feeling made Noah think that perhaps he really would be better off staying obediently at the academy.

Because at the academy, he could constantly feel the power and charm of magic. Compared to the world before his eyes, he liked the feeling of magic far more.

"Could it be that I'm naturally suited to living in the magical world?"

Noah shook his head with a bitter smile. After politely declining Hermione's invitation to visit her home, he headed straight back to the orphanage where he had once lived for ten years.

The orphanage was located on a relatively secluded street in Westminster. It was said that the reason it could be established here at all was because its director, Ms. Heifen, was capable enough to secure the place.

After all, Westminster was the only London borough under Greater London to possess city status!

Furthermore, Westminster was the administrative center of Britain, and the Palace of Westminster, home to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, stood within Westminster itself.

One could imagine just how significant this place was to England, so running an orphanage here required a certain amount of connections and ability.

Otherwise, they would have sent you to East London long ago!

Noah's return immediately drew everyone's attention. Although he had seemed somewhat withdrawn when he was here before, mainly because he truly rarely made friends here,

no one found it strange. Many children at the orphanage were like that.

After all, who knew when a child here would be adopted? Even if they made friends, they would rarely have the chance to meet again afterward.

Besides, the children who came here had generally suffered some misfortune in their families, making them rather solitary. Noah's behavior had actually been fairly normal.

"Long time no see, Ms. Heifen."

"It has indeed been a long time, Noah. More precisely, two months and twenty-nine days."

Seeing Noah, Ms. Heifen could not help smiling.

Noah did not know Ms. Heifen's surname. More accurately, there were probably very few people in the orphanage who did.

Ms. Heifen looked to be in her thirties. She was very beautiful and dignified. Noah had always been unable to understand why such a beautiful woman would come here to be the director of an orphanage.

Of course, that was someone else's family matter, and Noah had no right to pry.

In any case, Noah knew that Ms. Heifen's family was quite wealthy. Their orphanage never needed to seek sponsorships, beg wealthy families to adopt children, or have Ms. Heifen cater to successful men who came here to pursue her.

Peaceful and tranquil, without so much trouble and chaos—that was what Noah had felt during his ten years at this orphanage. He loved that feeling and was deeply grateful to Ms. Heifen for it.

"So, how is that academy of yours? What was it called... Hogwarts?" Ms. Heifen still wore a smile, and with her gold-rimmed glasses, she seemed even more elegant.

"Not bad. The headmaster, the teachers, and the students are all quite good," Noah said as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Then it must truly be a good school. I asked my friends, and they told me it was a private school with an excellent faculty, and that getting in was quite difficult. Congratulations, Noah."

"No, I should be thanking you, Ms. Heifen. If not for your support, I probably would not have been able to get in either."

"Don't worry about it. It was only a little money. By the way, Noah, have you made any friends there?"

At that, a teasing smile appeared on Ms. Heifen's face, and Noah immediately felt his heart race and his cheeks flush.

But Noah quickly pushed aside those inexplicable feelings and revealed a proud smile.

Back when he was here, he had indeed seemed rather withdrawn.

Of course, the main reason was that he felt he simply could not get along with those little kids. They were too childish!

That feeling had still existed at Hogwarts, but Noah had figured out what he ought to do, and Evan and the others had pretty good personalities as well.

On top of that, they all loved learning new things, which was why Noah had become friends with them—the kind of friends who were very close.

As for Hermione?

Although this girl could be childish at times, she was very mature most of the time.

Moreover, her future potential was immeasurable, and her personality was fairly good too, so it did not feel out of place for her to hang around with Noah and the others.

"Of course. I've made quite a few friends."

"Oh? Really? Let me guess—they wouldn't all happen to be your roommates or something, would they?"

"Uh, although I'd like to deny it, I have to admit you're basically right."

"That's perfectly normal, Noah. I've practically watched you grow up, so I understand your personality well. Still, congratulations. You finally have friends of your own."

Ms. Heifen looked at Noah, who was beginning to show hints of what he would be like in the future, smiled, and rubbed his head.

Noah was quite handsome now. Although he still looked very young, it was clear that he would grow into a good-looking young man.

Noah had wanted to dodge Ms. Heifen's gesture, but after thinking about it, he decided to let it be.

After all, there would not be many chances like this in the future. Though Noah knew he would still come here often, to visit the woman who had cared for him as he grew up.

"By the way, Noah, how long are you staying this time?"

"The whole holiday."

"Is that so? What about afterward?"

"Afterward? I'll come back every holiday. As long as you don't find me annoying."