The professor at Tingen University was clearly a reasonable person. Upon learning that Klein had found a job, he expressed no objections and politely offered his congratulations.
Klein exchanged a few pleasantries with the professor and was about to leave when he happened to run into his mentor, Professor Quentin, and Mr. Azik, a teacher from the History Department.
Klein also noticed an unfamiliar young man accompanying the two teachers.
"Good morning, Mentor, Mr. Azik," Klein greeted promptly, then glanced curiously at the young man beside them. "May I ask how to address this teacher?"
The young man appeared to be around Klein's age, in his early twenties, with golden hair that shone like sunlight and emerald-green eyes. His striking appearance wouldn't seem out of place on the cover of a fashion magazine.
Professor Quentin first explained why he was there, then took the initiative to introduce the young man: "This is Mr. Jack Jones, a new teacher who just joined the History Department at Tingen University. He graduated from Backlund University and is exceptionally talented."
Jack Jones, huh? Are you a Pirate of the Caribbean?
Upon hearing the name, Klein couldn't help but inwardly snark. It wasn't his fault—the images of Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones were deeply ingrained in anyone who had watched the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Hearing a combination of those two names made it impossible not to comment mentally.
Still, despite his internal comment, Klein maintained a polite smile on the surface and extended his hand. "Hello, Mr. Jones. I'm Klein Moretti, a student of Professor Quentin, just graduated." He added with a touch of humor, "It's a pity—if I hadn't found a job already, we might have been colleagues."
No worries. Even if we can't be colleagues, we can still be fellow transmigrators!
The young man—Evah, in fact—was muttering to himself inwardly. On the surface, he flashed a radiant smile, shook Klein's hand, and said, "Hello, I'm Jack Jones. But no need to call me Mr. Jones—just Jack is fine. Nice to meet you, Mr. Moretti." After a brief pause, Evah added jokingly, "Actually, I'd prefer if people called me Captain Jack."
Klein's gaze flickered at those words but quickly returned to normal. As he withdrew his hand, he smoothly adjusted, "Alright, Jack. You can call me Klein too." Then, feigning curiosity, he asked, "Why Captain Jack?"
Could Emperor Roselle have brought Pirates of the Caribbean to this world too? Or perhaps…
"Because the name Jack just sounds perfect for a captain, don't you think?" Evah said with a hint of regret in his expression, as if he'd made a reference that no one caught.
Klein: …
No way. Did I actually meet a transmigrator like me?
Klein wasn't entirely surprised. This world had more than one transmigrator—Emperor Roselle was proof of that—but he hadn't expected to encounter a potential fellow transmigrator so soon in this alternate world.
The possibility sent a thrill through Klein, though he restrained himself.
After all, he couldn't yet confirm whether this person was truly a transmigrator. And even if they were, Klein wasn't about to immediately claim kinship.
Meeting a fellow transmigrator was exciting, but there was no guarantee they'd be trustworthy. Klein decided it was best to proceed cautiously.
Evah, unsurprisingly, wasn't fazed by Klein's reaction and had no intention of revealing anything outright.
As for the identity Evah was currently using, it was the result of his efforts over the past two days.
Jack Jones, a graduate of Backlund University's History Department, recommended by his mentor to teach at Tingen University, newly hired.
As someone who had juggled multiple aliases in the past, Evah knew how to forge a convincing identity. "Jack Jones's" records were now neatly filed in Backlund University's archives, detailing four years of academic history that would withstand scrutiny.
Even if the Nighthawks investigated at Tengen University, they'd find the identity legitimate—because it was, in fact, based on a real person.
The original individual simply wasn't named "Jack Jones" and that was the name Evah had adopted.
The most effective disguise was to assume the identity of an existing person. Of course, Evah wasn't some villain. He'd done something straightforward...
At Tengen University, he identified a recent graduate who was struggling, shared some physical similarities with him, and struck a deal.
After the transaction, he secretly sent the individual to another city, then disguised himself as them. With a recommendation letter in hand, he arrived in Tingen, aced the interview, and secured the job—thus becoming the Jack Jones now standing before Klein.
This approach wasn't flawless, but in an era without instant communication and where photographs were rare, the odds of exposure were minimal. Evah didn't need to maintain this false identity indefinitely—just long enough to build rapport with Azik and Pallez. Once that goal was achieved, it wouldn't matter if the identity was exposed.
Klein, of course, had no idea that the "Jack Jones" before him was a freshly crafted alias. He chatted with the teachers for a bit, and the conversation naturally turned to the "Welch and Naya" case, publicly described as a burglary-murder. In this era, Beyonders incidents were kept secret.
Though Klein knew some insider details, he brushed past them and deliberately mentioned keywords like "Solomon Empire" and "Antigonus Notebook" to gauge whether his knowledgeable history professors knew anything about them—information he was permitted to share.
"The Antigonus family?" While the two professors were still pondering, Evah timely displayed a surprised expression, clearly privy to some details.
"You know about the Antigonus family, Jack?" Klein looked over, both surprised and inwardly delighted.
He was eager to learn more about the Antigonus Notebook.
"Well, in my ancestor's diary… ahem, I mean, in some ancient texts, I've come across mentions of the Antigonus family. They were a highly mysterious and powerful family active in the Fourth Epoch. It's said they were not only tied to the Solomon Empire but also had connections to the Tudor Empire."
Evah paused here, withholding further details, and turned to Klein with a curious yet probing look. "But the Antigonus family has been defunct for ages, and hardly anyone knows of them now. Why are you asking about them?"
(End of Chapter)