The quill scratched across the paper:
"Although she really is beautiful-even with all the women I've seen on Douyin, I have to admit that she has a certain refinement that can't be explained by her features or figure alone.
"But that isn't what I really wanted to talk about.
"In the week since I transmigrated into this world, the women I've seen most often have been the maids at home. They're diligent and reserved, and always instinctively lower their heads when speaking to me. Next come the noblewomen in my memories, such as my mother, Eleanor...
"Charlotte is different from all of them. She's certainly courteous and knows what is appropriate to say, but beneath that politeness is an initiative that's impossible to ignore-or perhaps rebelliousness is a better word. She isn't accustomed to meekly waiting for her father or some dependable man to decide everything for her. Tuesday was the perfect example.
"When she heard that Green and I were going to visit the printing factory, she immediately said she wanted to come along. The young noble ladies in my memories would have hesitated first, even if they were genuinely interested. They would have worried about whether going out with two young men would invite gossip, whether their fathers would approve, and whether the factory's dust and grease would dirty their skirts.
"But Charlotte had nothing but curiosity and excitement in her eyes."
At this point, Roselle paused and dipped his quill in the ink again.
"Then there was the beggar outside the printing factory. Although he later turned out to be an attacker who had approached us deliberately, none of us knew that at the time. Charlotte's first reaction was indeed disgust, but I could tell it was only because of the stench and filth, not his social standing."
"If that beggar had stood in front of me, I wouldn't have been able to handle it calmly... not even before I transmigrated.
"Those were all minor incidents. What really concerned me was what happened afterward.
"The attacker disguised as a beggar was so fast he barely seemed human. Green and I had military training and worked reasonably well together, yet he overpowered us several times and still managed to escape in the end. The other person in black who stopped Charlotte was probably no ordinary fighter either. If the people from the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun hadn't arrived, the consequences could have been serious.
"But Charlotte was clearly hiding certain secrets connected to the Church. Her explanation was vague, and she didn't seem as terrified and helpless as an ordinary young noblewoman would have been. The woman in black looked as though she'd been splashed with strong acid or something similar, yet there wasn't any strange smell in the storage room. And then there was that eerie flash of light...
"Of course, with the Church's people right there and Green badly shaken, it wasn't a good time to press for answers.
"But I'm certain that a corner of this world's hidden side is about to be revealed before my eyes."
Having written this, Roselle slowly exhaled and leaned back in his chair.
He had only intended to record his visit to Green's house that morning, but somehow he had ended up writing so much about Charlotte.
Beauty really is dangerous. Roselle-no, Huang Tao-you're a man destined for great things.
After this silent jab at himself, he lowered his head and continued writing:
"Father said there would be a noble hunting party next week. Quite a few local nobles from Sushit will attend, bringing their young sons and daughters along.
"This might be an opportunity.
"I need to find a chance to speak with Charlotte alone and get something out of her. The problem is that Baron Sauron clearly treasures his daughter. After these two incidents, he might not readily let her out of his sight.
"Speaking of which, I'm suddenly feeling a little homesick.
"If Dad and Mom knew I was being waited on like a young master in another world, they'd probably scold me first, then ask whether I had any way to come home.
"I usually complain about how annoying they are, but at a time like this, they're actually the first people I think of.
"Enough of that. No more melancholy. Back to business.
"There's still far too much to prepare for the newspaper launch. The existing presses aren't suited to printing densely packed small type. If I really want to attract readers, it'd be best to include both text and illustrations... but the price can't be too high, or ordinary citizens won't buy it.
"Sushit is a textile city, so there isn't any shortage of raw materials for paper. But if I expand into other cities later, the supply of raw materials will become a major problem. I'll need to improve the papermaking process. I know the general direction, but I can't remember the exact methods.
"Damn it, why didn't I memorize more useful information before transmigrating? Why can I remember gacha probabilities and all sorts of stupid memes, but not how paper pulp is supposed to be processed?
"Still, Charlotte immediately picked up on my tabloid idea and even thought of the publishing permit and guarantor requirements. That shows she has a keen understanding of this area too. Maybe she could help?
"Wait, how did I end up writing about Charlotte again?
"Woman, you're slowing down my money-making."
After writing the final sentence, Roselle stared at the page for a few seconds, then closed the notebook.
He leaned all the way back, slumping in his chair, and spent a while staring blankly at the slightly ornate ceiling overhead.
Suddenly, he found himself looking forward to next week's hunt.
In a bedroom in an apartment near the Factory District of Constant City.
Another, somewhat slender hand held a quill, slowly writing in an open notebook.
This, too, was Chinese, with its horizontal and vertical strokes and distinct characters, but the handwriting was neater and the spacing more even, as though the writer had put every point he wanted to record in order before beginning:
"February 22, 1143. This is my first diary entry in this world. I will write in Chinese, which only I know, rather than the Loenese this body is more familiar with.
"There are two reasons for this. First, to keep myself from gradually forgetting my original language and identity after spending too long in this unfamiliar world. Second, if I should unfortunately die someday, this will be a precious record left behind by me, a citizen of the Great Foodie Empire.
"...provided whoever finds this notebook can read Chinese. In that case, he or she will be a fellow countryman.
"Hello, fellow countryman. I'm Zhou Mingrui, though the name I use now is Klein Abraham.
"After a week of sorting things out, I've more or less figured out what happened to the original Klein. He discovered a Potion formula in the notes his parents left behind, then gathered all the ingredients after considerable trouble. Influenced by the notes' repeated warnings to 'beware of the full moon,' he concluded that spirituality was abundant on the night of a full moon, when the barrier between reality and the Spirit World was at its weakest, making it a suitable time to consume the Potion.
"There must have been something seriously wrong with his reasoning. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to wake up in the basement and watch the wounds on my body rapidly heal, as though time were flowing backward.
"And so I became a Beyonder, a Sequence 9 'Apprentice,' and inherited everything that belonged to Klein."
At this point, Zhou Mingrui-or rather, Klein Abraham-paused and shifted his gaze from the paper to his surroundings.
The room was reasonably spacious. The desk stood by the window, with a single bed on one side and a wardrobe containing a few changes of clothes on the other. Outside the window, he could see the grayish-white factory roofs and the distant coastline.
He lowered his head again and continued writing:
"From my experiments, the abilities of an 'Apprentice' are quite interesting. I can casually open most doors and locks, and I can pass straight through walls, floors, and similar barriers. Of course, this ability isn't limitless. I can't pass through anything as thick as a city wall, nor can I exploit a loophole to travel lengthwise through an entire thick wall. Otherwise, I could probably already become the hardest thief in the city to catch just by walking through walls.
"By comparison, certain pathways mentioned in the notes, such as 'Warrior,' seem more like Popeye to me. They might be more reliable in actual combat, but ordinary people can achieve those things through training too. They aren't as extraordinary as 'Apprentice.'"
As Klein wrote this, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly before his expression quickly settled again.
"Next are my plans for the future. As someone who transmigrated here, being alone might be safest. At least I wouldn't have to explain too many changes in personality or worry about acquaintances spotting inconsistencies. But I haven't given up on the possibility of going home... If I want to progress further in mysticism, the notes my parents left behind are nowhere near enough. I must contact other members of the Abraham Family and find out why this family lives scattered apart, and why they only record mystical knowledge instead of attempting to obtain more power.
"According to my memories, only one other Abraham household in Constant City maintained intermittent contact with the original Klein. Before approaching them, I must first establish whether they're trustworthy. I must also avoid revealing that I'm not the original Klein, and above all, I mustn't reveal that I transmigrated here.
"Then there's that space shrouded in gray fog.
"Using the Luck Enhancement Ritual I performed before transmigrating, I brought my spirit body into a mysterious gray fog. It exists outside reality, yet can interact with it.
"The first time I entered, two other people appeared at the same time. I couldn't determine what was happening then, nor did I know what relationship that gray fog had with me. So I could only take the safest approach: pretend I was a victim just like them, try to join the conversation, and observe their reactions."
Recalling the man and woman above the gray fog who had experienced something similar to him, Klein paused his quill for a few seconds, then continued writing:
"The advantage of this choice was that I gained their initial trust and learned why they had entered the gray fog, without letting them notice anything different about me.
"But the disadvantage was equally obvious. When I tried entering the gray fog again afterward, I discovered that the space seemed capable of responding to my requests to a certain extent. I could even actively pull them back into it. In other words, by pretending to be an ordinary person who had stumbled in, I had actually given up my greatest advantage.
"This mistake can be corrected, but I'll need to devise a new approach. That will have to wait until I'm familiar with the world of mysticism and understand that gray fog better.
"Perhaps I can be their companion while also pretending to be the lofty ruler of the gray fog, using their connections, knowledge, and resources to discover what this world is truly like.
"That will probably require me to further refine my 'Apprentice' abilities.
"Or rather, to act..."
Putting down the quill, Klein stared at the final word for a while, then slowly closed the diary.
He neither returned the notebook to the drawer nor hid it under the bed. Instead, he took it with him as he rose from the desk and walked to the wall, then extended his right hand and slowly pressed the diary against it.
The pages and cover did not strike the wall. Instead, they sank into it as though submerging in water, finally vanishing inside.
Once he was certain the notebook was safely hidden, he withdrew his arm as though pulling it out of water, brushed nonexistent dust from his hands, picked up his coat, and left the bedroom.