The Space-Time Star was the key to opening paths to parallel universes that had already left markers within Noah's current universe.
That much, Noah had confirmed long ago.
As for where a specific marker would actually send him, that was another matter.
Thinking it over, Noah figured it should be somewhere with relatively low danger-somewhere even Hermione could handle without difficulty.
Last time he had opened one of these light gates, the destination had been the Star Wars universe.
To be honest, that place hadn't posed much of a challenge for him.
But its technology had been undeniably impressive.
Tony, in particular, had benefited greatly.
This time, Noah chose the nearest marker.
He couldn't be sure whether they would still be in New York after the teleportation, or if they would end up somewhere completely unfamiliar.
But one thing was certain.
He wasn't worried.
He was a tenth-rank mage now.
Finding the marker together with Hermione, Noah calmly activated the Space-Time Star.
For now, all of Hermione's time belonged to him.
And she was perfectly willing to follow him anywhere interesting.
As a faint golden glow spread, the two of them vanished.
When the light faded, they both immediately sensed it.
They had arrived somewhere new.
They looked around instinctively.
"This smells like the sea," Hermione said, laughing softly. "It seems Master Magician Finnier wants to show me the charm of the ocean."
"Hm," Noah rubbed her head. "Do you need sunscreen?"
"Or should I go buy you a bikini?"
"Forget the bikini," Hermione shook her head. "I don't like them."
"As for sunscreen... I don't think sunlight would affect me at all. But if it makes you happy."
She said it plainly.
Ever since her relationship with Noah had progressed, she had grown increasingly straightforward.
Noah liked that.
This way of interacting made him feel relaxed.
Comfortable.
Hand in hand, they didn't bother using magic.
They simply walked toward higher ground to get a better view.
But when they reached the vantage point and looked toward the nearby town, both of them froze.
The scene before them felt... ancient.
Their eyesight was sharp.
Even without enhancement spells, they could see clearly.
The layout of the town.
The clothing of the people.
The port.
And the ships anchored there.
Sailing ships.
Pure sail.
The two of them were momentarily stunned.
"Did we go back in time?" Hermione said, sounding amused.
"Although... dear, it seems your control wasn't quite precise. We might've gone back too far."
"That's what it looks like," Noah murmured, rubbing his chin.
"I just don't know if this is still Earth."
"Oh?" Hermione glanced at him. "You've ended up somewhere non-Earth before?"
"Yes," Noah replied. "A very primitive planet."
"That time, I teleported from space. When the crossing ended, I fell straight out of the sky."
"And smashed directly into Thor and Loki."
Fortunately, those two had served as excellent cushions.
Otherwise, it would've hurt much more.
Thinking back, Loki had probably suffered the most.
According to Thor, he'd been sandwiched in the middle, knocked senseless, and refused to get up afterward.
His luck had gone downhill from there.
They shook their heads together.
With a flicker of magic, they changed their clothing to better match the era.
Now, the real question was where this place actually was.
Earth?
Or some other universe entirely?
Plenty of worlds shared similar historical aesthetics.
Guessing blindly wouldn't help.
The best approach was simple.
Talk to the locals.
Gather information.
"Damn," Noah muttered as they entered the town. "This place stinks."
Both of them frowned.
Dirty.
Chaotic.
Poor.
That was their immediate impression.
To be blunt, it was awful.
Noah knew, in theory, that life in medieval times was nothing like fairy tales described.
But seeing it in person was something else entirely.
If not for the occasional sea breeze, the smell alone would've made him think he'd walked into a massive public latrine.
Trash littered the streets.
The cobblestone road-apparently the main road-was the cleanest part of the town.
As for the narrow alleys between houses, Noah didn't even want to get close.
He glanced at Hermione.
He was half-expecting to see disappointment.
Instead, she looked... unsurprised.
"I've read books that said living conditions in the medieval era were terrible," she said calmly. "Fairy tales really are lies."
"Looking at this, that seems accurate."
"Ninety-nine percent of fairy tales are lies," Noah said, casting a spell to isolate the air around them.
"But not all of them."
"For example, meeting you."
"Isn't that a fairy tale come true?"
Hermione caught his hand before he could pull it away.
"In other people's eyes," she said lightly, "it's more like the roles are reversed."
"Isn't meeting you my fairy tale?"
"We should probably stop being so cheesy," Noah laughed.
"Come on. Let's figure out where we are."
They walked toward a more crowded area.
Before long, they noticed something important.
The language being spoken was English.
That alone was a relief.
At least communication wouldn't be an issue.
Noah had already had more than enough experience with language barriers.
To this day, he still had no idea what nonsense that Naaru had been shouting.
Listening more closely, they caught the accent.
British.
Mentions of the British Empire.
Port Royal.
The two exchanged a glance.
"Did we end up in America before the Revolutionary War?" Noah muttered.
But as they continued investigating, something felt off.
Very off.
Eventually, the answer became clear.
They were in the Caribbean.
"...What?" Noah stared at Hermione. "We entered the teleportation channel in America, didn't we?"
"How would I know?" Hermione shrugged, clearly intrigued. "But honestly, it doesn't matter."
"So," she added with a grin, "do you want to be a pirate, Master Finnier?"
Pirates.
Caribbean.
Port Royal.
It hit Noah all at once.
Pirates of the Caribbean.
He stood there in silence.
Then slowly exhaled.
"So it's this place," he muttered.
To be certain, he walked Hermione around the town a bit more.
By the end, there was no doubt.
They were in Port Royal.
This really was the Pirates of the Caribbean universe.
"Well," Noah thought, "this isn't bad."
The scenery was beautiful.
The environment was messy, sure.
But that wasn't a problem for them.
More importantly, Hermione clearly found it interesting.
Seeing her curiosity alone made the trip worthwhile.
They didn't need to stay long.
A few days would be enough.
Besides, Noah remembered something intriguing about this world.
A very unique curse.
A curse that made people unable to die.
Even reduced to bones, they persisted.
Noah didn't know the exact mechanics.
After the curse was lifted, bodies seemed to recover.
But that only made it more interesting.
Especially Barbossa.
The man had died and come back.
That alone was worth studying.
"It looks like I'll have to get involved," Noah thought.
"I could just find the elf prince blacksmith, leave a marker, and leave."
"But the environment here isn't great."
"Since we're already here, I might as well follow the flow."
"Besides, Hermione seems curious about sailing."
With his plan roughly set, Noah relaxed.
Holding Hermione's hand, he started looking for a place with decent conditions to stay.
They could rest.
And wait for the story to begin.
But before they even found an inn, news reached them.
That unlucky man named Norrington was about to be promoted to Commodore.
Noah chuckled.
"It seems wherever I go..."
"I always arrive at just the right time."