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Chapter 50: Constantine?
🕑 Added 2025-02-22 14:44:25 +0000 UTC
Ms. Haifin was not in a good mood. Even after taking a walk with Noah in Griffith Park that afternoon, her mood hadn't improved.
Griffith Park was the largest urban park in the United States, located north of Hollywood and covering an area of 16 million square meters. It had golf courses, tennis courts, horseback riding trails, an observatory, a zoo, and more. Noah was somewhat familiar with the place because, in a game he once played, he had controlled a black boy and a middle-aged white man wandering around here. Unfortunately, the real thing wasn’t as developed as he remembered from that game.
Maybe this was just a prototype, and the complete version would come later?
Ms. Haifin’s sour mood lingered, and Noah could only accompany her. Ever since she returned from her meeting in the afternoon, she had seemed unsettled.
Noah had no idea what had happened during her conversation with the woman named Anna, but it was clear that things hadn't gone as planned. However, there was nothing he could do about it.
After all, this was the United States, and who knew how the local Ministry of Magic would react to him? As far as they were concerned, he might as well be an illegal immigrant.
After walking the streets aimlessly for a while, Ms. Haifin finally spoke up, sounding apologetic.
"I'm sorry, Noah. I feel like my mood has ruined this walk."
"It's okay, ma’am," Noah shrugged. The place was nice, sure, but after knowing what it would become in the future, he found it hard to be impressed.
"In that case, why don’t we head back?" he suggested.
"Yes, let’s go back and rest. We’ll go out for another walk tomorrow."
"I thought you'd want to go back early," Noah remarked.
"Of course not. I promised you a vacation, and I’ll keep my word. You have two months off, so enjoy this trip."
"Yes, yes, ma’am," Noah said half-heartedly.
Staying in Los Angeles for two months?
That didn't sound great. But Noah figured Ms. Haifin wouldn’t actually stay here for that long. The cost of living in the U.S. wasn’t exactly cheap. The hotel they were staying at alone cost a few hundred dollars per night.
Hailing a taxi, they got in. The driver was a young man wearing a cap, looking no older than seventeen or eighteen.
Noah and Ms. Haifin sat in silence, but once inside, Noah noticed something strange.
Near the driver's seat were various theological books, and among them—one book on exorcism spells.
Yes, an actual book on exorcisms. Whether it was real or not was one thing, but the fact that someone carried such a book meant they had at least encountered something worth exorcising.
This piqued Noah's curiosity. Could this guy be involved in the supernatural world? A wizard doing private work in the Muggle world?
Noah carefully observed the driver.
No magical energy was coming from him. That meant only one thing: he wasn’t a wizard.
"Hey, man, is this book yours?" Noah asked casually.
"Huh?" The driver seemed startled before responding. "Oh… yeah, it's mine. Why?"
"Nothing much. Just wondering how it ended up here. I’ve seen something similar in a library before." Noah’s tone remained nonchalant.
"What book?" Ms. Haifin looked up but couldn't see the title clearly from her angle.
"Wait a minute…" The driver’s expression shifted slightly. "You’ve seen it in a library? And—hold on, you have a British accent."
"That’s right. Strange?" Noah asked with a smirk. "Hey, are you just a taxi driver, or are you in the business?"
"No, no… I mean, I haven’t been recognized yet, so…"
"Recognized? Are you a Squib?"
"No, neither… It’s worse."
The young driver looked uncomfortable. Both Noah and Ms. Haifin caught his uneasy expression through the rearview mirror.
Though Ms. Haifin was curious, she didn’t pry. She had other things to worry about.
As for Noah? He was even less concerned.
He figured if she asked, he could just say it was some weird test from their private school. If push came to shove, he didn’t mind revealing a bit of his true identity to her.
The British Ministry of Magic was relatively lenient about magicians’ families knowing certain things. While Muggles weren’t supposed to know about magic, it wasn’t a big deal for family members to have some knowledge.
Who didn’t have family, after all?
The young driver, now interested in the conversation, wanted to continue, but Noah soon lost interest, leaving the driver slightly disappointed.
Anyone who recognized that book was either an exorcist or from a higher magical order.
The driver had always wanted to be an exorcist, but for some reason, he never met the requirements. That’s how he ended up as a taxi driver instead.
Just as he was deep in thought—
Someone suddenly stepped onto the road and flagged his cab.
Only then did he realize that he had unknowingly driven into Alvarado Street. The man who stopped them? An acquaintance.
He was handsome, wearing a black trench coat over a white shirt. His face looked pale, and he had a cigarette hanging from his lips.
The man glanced into the car, frowned slightly, then wordlessly opened the front passenger door and got in.
His actions were somewhat rude, but it was clear he was in a hurry.
"Hey! John, what the hell are you doing?" The driver—Chas—looked annoyed.
"Chas, Westlake Block 69. Step on it."
"Damn it! Can’t you see I have passengers?!"
"Then drop them off."
"You’ve lost your mind!"
Chas was frustrated. He never expected something like this to happen.
If Noah and Ms. Haifin were ordinary passengers, he might have let them go.
But that young man in the backseat?
He recognized the book on exorcisms at a glance.
His earlier question made it obvious—he wasn’t ordinary.
Chas had always wanted to break into the world of exorcists. Now, he had unknowingly picked up a magician who might be even more powerful than an exorcist.
He couldn’t just offend someone like that.
Ms. Haifin’s expression also darkened.
Her first day in the U.S. had already been stressful enough, and now she had to deal with this?
Still, she remained silent, keeping her composure.
Noah, on the other hand, had an extremely weird expression.
The moment he saw the guy who got into the car, his first thought was:
"Wait… is that Keanu Reeves?"
But no—he quickly realized who the man actually was.
And that realization made his stomach drop.
"What the hell? How did I end up running into Constantine?!"
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