A Bentley drove up slowly.
The car came to a stop at the curb.
Victor Wick stepped out, straightened his coat, and looked up at the bookstore across the street.
This was the shop he had spotted when he was taking Harry home.
To confirm his suspicions, Victor had doubled back right after his meeting with Dumbledore.
Judging by the decor, it appeared to be an antique bookstore.
As the name suggested, the books sold within were all quite old, and as it happened, Victor was very interested in such things.
Over the years, to expand his vocabulary in Ancient Runes, he had collected all sorts of ancient books and manuscripts. He had even trekked through various ruins and ancient wizarding tombs to find them...
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had so many dark artifacts to sell through Mr. Burke.
"Welcome! What kind of books are you looking for? Perhaps I can offer some recommendations."
Just as he stepped into the shop, Victor once again saw the kind-faced, white-haired little man walking over to greet him.
"Do you have anything on Ancient Runes?" Victor asked.
Ancient Runes didn't just exist in the wizarding world; Muggle books had records of them too. That was why Victor asked so directly.
"Ah... that really is a niche category. If you went anywhere else, you might not find a thing, but in my shop, we have every category imaginable!" The little man turned and hurried toward the depths of the bookshelves.
Victor's calm composure wavered for a moment. 'Damn, could it really be him? But isn't this the Harry Potter world? How can characters from other stories be here?'
Before he transmigrated, he used to watch TV series occasionally when he wasn't working overtime.
He remembered a British show called Good Omens that featured an angel who ran a bookstore among humans, and a demon. The show was about an angel and a demon who were secretly friends...
And the little man in front of him looked exactly like the angel from the show...
Victor decided he needed to verify this.
While waiting, Victor glanced around at the shop's decor. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.
Before long, the little man returned carrying a large stack of books.
He set the books on the table. "Most of the books on Ancient Runes are right here."
Victor pulled over a chair and began flipping through the volumes.
Soon, his eyes lit up.
The shopkeeper was right; these were rare, unique manuscripts.
Moreover, finding books in the Muggle world that could actually provide him with inspiration was a rarity indeed.
"I've honestly never heard of these books before! You have excellent taste, sir!" Victor praised.
The little man, who had just brought Victor a cup of coffee, looked delighted. "It's a small hobby of mine, sir. I collected these books while traveling the world in my youth. I'm so glad you can appreciate their value."
"I happen to be very interested in classical texts myself. Perhaps we could be friends," Victor said with a smile.
The shopkeeper replied with a smile, "The honor would be mine."
"I'm Victor Wick." Victor smiled and extended his hand.
"Oh... I'm Aziraphale." The little man reached out and shook Victor's hand.
"Can I call you Mr. Fell from now on?"
"No, no, no. My name is just Aziraphale. I have no surname."
"Oh... no surname? That's quite unusual..."
The two then began to chat about rare editions of ancient books.
Having immersed himself in ancient texts for over a decade, Victor found himself getting along famously with Aziraphale.
At this point, Victor was absolutely certain that the little man before him was the angel from the show...
However, Victor quickly accepted the fact. Since he could transmigrate into a world from a book, encountering characters from other stories in this world wasn't exactly beyond the pale.
But this meant the world might be much more complicated than he had previously thought.
Since angels existed, did that mean there were also such things as Heaven and Hell?
Just as Victor was planning to fish for more information, a sharp screech of tires sounded from outside.
Then, a shout rang out from the door. "Aziraphale! I've found a wonderful French restaurant! Maybe we could—oh... you have a guest."
A man dressed entirely in black, wearing sunglasses and exuding a cool, roguish charm, strode inside.
He glanced at Victor, then acting as if he'd found something fascinating, he leaned in and scrutinized him from head to toe.
"Crowley!" Aziraphale quickly tugged at the roguish man. "You're being incredibly rude!"
"Haven't you noticed how special he is?" Crowley said excitedly. "He doesn't look like an ordinary mortal at all!"
"Crowley!" Aziraphale tried to stop him, worried that Crowley would offend his new friend.
But Crowley ignored him completely, staring intently at Victor.
Victor lightly stroked the rough cover of the book in his hand. "From what I can tell, you two don't seem like Muggles, either."
"Muggles? Ha! You're a wizard!" Crowley laughed excitedly, turning to Aziraphale. "I told you! Suddenly there's a whole bunch of people called wizards out there! There's no doubt about it—we've really come to a new world!"
Victor's eyes narrowed. "A new world? What do you mean by that?"
"A new world means a wonderful new world with no Heaven! No Hell! Where God and the Devil only exist in legends! Aziraphale! I told you, we're free! Completely free!" Crowley grabbed Aziraphale's arm excitedly, looking as though he were about to start dancing with him.
Crowley's excited words caught Victor's attention regarding a crucial piece of information.
It seemed this world wasn't a mix of many worlds, but rather that characters from other worlds had appeared here... Their presence was like a patch added to the original world.
Furthermore, the two in front of him seemed to have long since realized they were in a new place.
Thinking about it that way, the world didn't seem quite so dangerous after all... probably...
"I don't quite follow what you mean," Victor said.
Even though he had also recognized the anomalies of this world, he wasn't in the habit of revealing his background to just anyone.
"Oh... you're lying!" Crowley leaned in again. He took off his sunglasses, revealing slitted pupils like those of a venomous snake. "I can smell the scent of a lie... Of course you know what it means. Let me guess... You must have sensed something off about this shop and came in to investigate, didn't you?"
Victor frowned. His Occlumency was perfect—so perfect that even the Dark Lord couldn't see through it.
Yet Crowley could tell he was lying?
"Surprised, are you? Although your mind is protected by a strange power that even I can't see through... to tell if someone is lying, one only needs to look at their micro-expressions and facial expressions."
"I see... it seems I still have some room for improvement," Victor said seriously.
As an undercover agent, acting was the absolute foundation. Crowley's words told Victor that his performance still had flaws...
"Improvement? You mean improving your lying skills?" Crowley's serpentine eyes widened as he looked at Victor with excitement. "How interesting! Lying really is a vital skill! Now, you're qualified to be a friend of mine! I can teach you how to craft lies that no one can ever see through!"
"Crowley! You can't say things like that! Lying is bad!" Aziraphale said urgently.
"What... I'm a demon. Is a demon supposed to tell the truth instead of lying?"
"Crowley! If you keep this up, I'll... I'll never speak to you again!" Aziraphale said, sounding quite cross.
"Uh..."
Crowley, who had been talking non-stop, suddenly fell silent.
Victor watched their exchange, feeling a twitch in his eye...
'Damn it, these two lovebirds... It really is a British specialty, isn't it?'
'Bloody hell, is this place cursed or something?'
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