Watching Fat Thor continue his conversation with the Valkyrie, Noah looked at him with a hint of doubt.
Because Noah was certain that neither he nor Odin had ever told this guy that bringing the Valkyrie back would involve resurrection magic as a bargaining chip.
Yet somehow, Fat Thor seemed to have completely seen through both Noah's and Odin's intentions.
That alone proved Fat Thor was actually quite clever.
He just looked like a bumbling fool.
Then again, thinking about it carefully, it wasn't hard to guess.
Noah had done something similar right in front of Fat Thor before.
Although that incident hadn't been completed due to the lack of a suitable vessel-leaving everything half-finished-it was more than enough for Fat Thor to believe Noah could definitely pull it off.
There was also another key factor.
Fat Thor had stayed in Asgard for quite some time.
He would have checked plenty of things with the Thor of this universe.
It was hard to say whether this fat fellow already knew about Cassandra, or even some of the embarrassing secrets belonging to this universe's Thor.
Noah didn't stop Fat Thor from continuing to talk.
Even though Fat Thor had disrupted Noah's original negotiation rhythm, Noah was more than happy to relax and let him handle everything.
After all, Noah had only come along as insurance.
A bargaining chip meant to be thrown out at a critical moment.
But now, Fat Thor had opened with a bombshell that left the Valkyrie completely stunned.
There was basically nothing left for Noah to say.
With nothing to do, Noah's thoughts began to wander.
He started thinking about how to find Gandalf, and how he should deal with that dual-wielding berserker.
It could only be said that Noah was truly bored.
Still, thinking ahead wasn't a bad habit.
Though he wasn't even sure he could find him, the thought of Gandalf being a Maia made Noah feel a faint sense of unease.
A Maia was a demigod.
A being born at the beginning of time-or more accurately, one that appeared alongside the universe itself.
Someone like that shouldn't be simple by any means.
Yet for some reason, in the stories, he came across as weak as a sickly bird.
Despite living for an absurdly long time, his displayed strength honestly made Noah look down on him a little.
Whenever trouble appeared, his first reaction was always to rally every faction before solving it.
He even managed to get himself killed fighting a Balrog.
Noah couldn't imagine something like that happening to him.
"Could it be that the novels were intentionally written that way?" Noah rubbed his chin.
"Or is it like the Marvel Universe... where that world is split into parallel dimensions? Maybe the books and movies are just different universes?"
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it felt.
After all, how could a demigod be chased all over the place by a group of Orcs?
Clearly a wizard, yet he insisted on hacking people with a sword.
And when he finally used magic, it was a simple light spell-then straight back to swinging the sword.
Rubbing his chin, Noah wondered whether he should even go check.
If he accidentally ran into the strongest version of that universe, wouldn't that just be suicide?
"Noah?" Fat Thor's voice suddenly rang out beside him.
"What are you thinking about? I've been calling you for ages."
"Huh?" Noah snapped back to reality and looked at him.
"What is it, Thor? Finished talking?"
"Yes, we're done."
The one who answered wasn't Fat Thor.
It was the Valkyrie.
"I want to confirm something with you," she said seriously. "Can you really perform resurrection magic? He told me you've done it before."
"I've done something similar." Noah didn't deny it, nor did he hide the conditions.
"However, the magic isn't fully mature yet. The most critical part is locating the souls of the deceased. King Odin and I already have a method in mind, but the execution will take time."
More than just time, really.
Noah couldn't even guarantee he wouldn't get cold feet when the moment came.
But half the truth was enough.
Too much detail wasn't helpful.
If he said everything, the Valkyrie would probably turn and run, forcing Noah to tie her up and drag her away.
After hearing his words, the Valkyrie didn't respond immediately.
She simply stared at Noah for a long time, her gaze sharp and serious.
Finally, she sighed.
"I can go with you," she said.
"But I need to see something with my own eyes. You have to resurrect someone in front of me. Otherwise, even if I return-"
"No problem," Noah agreed instantly.
"You'll see it once we're back."
Resurrecting one person wasn't difficult.
Coincidentally, there was someone ready right now, with all materials prepared.
Natasha from the parallel universe.
She was still lying un-resurrected in Thor's laboratory, mostly because Noah had been too busy.
And partly because he hadn't prioritized it.
But now, it worked out perfectly.
The Valkyrie hadn't expected the ferocious wizard to agree so easily.
Seeing his calm confidence, she didn't even know how to argue.
Didn't he just say it would take time?
Why was he suddenly so certain?
Was he lying before, or was he lying now?
Her lips twitched, but she didn't ask.
She wanted to see it for herself.
As she had said, she had nothing left.
If she was being deceived, she'd treat it as going home.
She wasn't expecting much anyway.
With that, the matter was settled.
Noah's first task from Odin was essentially complete.
That made him feel noticeably lighter.
With the remaining time, Noah considered whether he should still look for that damn Gandalf.
After some thought, he decided it was better to play it safe.
He could wait until his strength truly reached demigod-level.
If his luck was bad and he stumbled into a terrifying "main universe," he'd just be courting death.
At his current level, he was stuck in an awkward middle ground.
Bullying weaker universes was fine.
But encountering a core universe would end him.
Still, not going didn't mean he couldn't gather information.
Noah turned to the Valkyrie.
"By the way, Lady Valkyrie, have you ever heard of a place called Middle-earth?"
"Middle-earth?" She tilted her head, thinking for a while before frowning. "Are you talking about that universe the old Dwarf King ran off to?"
"Oh?" Noah was surprised. "You know it? That makes things easier."
"Yes. That place." He continued, "Are you familiar with it? Or do you know where it is?"
"I'm not familiar, but I know the rough location." Valkyrie nodded.
"I passed by once while drifting through the universe, but I didn't enter. That place felt... out of sync with my understanding of reality. Why? Interested? Looking for Mithril?"
"Something like that." Noah rubbed his chin.
"In the future, I'll need precise coordinates. I want to take a look."
Valkyrie didn't refuse.
There was no reason to.
Of course, there was a condition.
Noah had to help her accomplish certain things-or at least prove he could.
Noah paid no attention to her quiet calculations.
He was focused on her words.
After a while, he pushed the thought aside.
She had stirred his interest again.
It took some effort to suppress it.
"Let's go. Time to head back," Noah said, deciding the best solution was to leave this place as soon as possible.
"Alright." Valkyrie nodded. "But my ship can't take us out of here. The one that brought me was destroyed, and this one can't pass through wormholes."
As she spoke, she walked toward her ship.
But when she opened the hatch, she froze.
The two strange men were staring at her with oddly complicated expressions.
The wizard, especially, looked as though he were staring at an idiot.
That instantly irritated her.
"What?" she snapped. "Are you planning to stay here forever?"
"Of course not." Noah spread his hands innocently. "I hate this cursed place. But why do we need a ship?"
"You absolute idiots!" Valkyrie exploded. "How did you even get here?"
"Did you fly?"
"Idiots!"
"Do you remember," Fat Thor said helplessly, "how we arrived here?"
"And calm down. We're not enemies."
How they got here?
Of course she remembered.
This damn wizard had teleported directly in front of her.
Teleportation magic wasn't unfamiliar to her.
Asgard had the Bifrost.
But teleporting from Asgard to here was already impossible.
Teleporting directly between universes?
That was absurd.
And yet-
At that moment, she watched with her own eyes as the wizard opened a glowing ring.
Beyond it was a familiar world.
A world she knew all too well.
"...Is that," she whispered, "Asgard?"
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