socalfunplaces Chapter 43: The visitors are hostile! Slaughter!
Chapter 43: The visitors are hostile! Slaughter!
The sun rises in the east.
As the first rays of dawn break through the silence of daybreak.
The sky was gradually tinged with a gentle hue, as if by nature's most delicate brushstrokes. As the first rays of dawn appeared, everything seemed to begin to awaken from its slumber.
Ian is the same.
[Successfully read Latin, language proficiency +1]
[Successfully read Native American language, language proficiency +1]
[Successfully read Chinese, language proficiency +2]
……
Daily morning reading is an essential part of his routine. No matter how many other things he has to do, Ian almost never forgets to improve his proficiency in [language proficiency].
There are no shortcuts on the path to "listening to the voice of all things." Only by accumulating and learning various languages, even one's former mother tongue, can Ian gain something.
"Syrup pie and overnight tea, another day heading toward diabetes." Ian brewed a whole pot of tea last night, while Dumbledore only had a small cup.
He ate his breakfast with yesterday's black tea. Outside the cabin, the wizards who lived there had already begun their day.
"That Tom who grows pumpkins, he made those noises again last night from his house. What a shameless old man! I don't know why any witch would fall for his tricks!"
"Could it be a rare talent?"
"Have you heard? There was a fight at the Hog's Head Bar last night, and one of the wizards had a pig's tail hanging from his butt! The Aurors couldn't catch the culprit at all!"
"I saw it last night, someone stole Jenny's underwear that was drying outside!"
……
The villagers have endless gossip to share every day.
Ian felt that they were full of perplexing contradictions.
Those romantic escapades hidden in the shadows seemed to never escape the eyes of these old wizards, yet no one noticed the commotion he caused by summoning a horde of corpses that night.
Ok.
Perhaps nobody cares?
As usual, Ian took a stroll around the village. He didn't hear any rumors about him setting the fire, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief and went back to the cabin to find the potion books.
"It's time to return them."
Keeping one's word is one of the few virtues Ian possesses. He used the remaining wooden planks to piece together a box and neatly arranged all the potion books inside.
"Set off."
Using the head of the phoenix he had just used the night before, Ian imitated the way the Indian guys carried goods, balancing the wooden box on his head and walking towards the bookstore with his hands on either side.
no way.
The baby's body hasn't fully developed yet, so the box is really hard to hold in your arms.
Following the winding cobblestone street, past the quill pen shop that Ian had lost a single pen business because he was too diligent, Ian saw the deserted storefront of the secondhand bookstore.
He didn't go in immediately, but instead ran to the street corner and waited for more than half an hour. The bookstore owner, Kraft, came out on time, just as he had observed in the past few days.
Wearing a trench coat.
Wearing a hat.
They were in a hurry.
I had no idea where he was supposed to go each day at a set time. After seeing Kraft Apparate away, Ian put the wooden box containing the books back on his head and went into the bookstore.
The air was filled with a faint scent of ink and the unique aroma of paper.
There was also the smell of dust.
The German girl remained quietly seated behind the counter, completely absorbed in the book in her hands, seemingly unaware of Ian's arrival.
"Miss Grindelwald, as promised, I've come to return the book."
When Ian was walking around.
The wooden floorboards creak.
His voice pulled the girl back from the sea of knowledge.
"That surprised me a bit."
Aurora Grindelwald's exquisite face was like delicate porcelain, but it couldn't compete with the allure of her heterochromatic eyes, which seemed to shimmer with a captivating brilliance.
"We're friends, how could you think I'd run off with the book!"
Ian looked on with an incredulous expression.
"These secondhand books can't compare to our brief but steadfast friendship."
He always liked to speak to people in a way that suited him, a kind of thick skin he had developed as an orphan.
"..."
Aurora remained silent for a moment.
"I just didn't expect you to have finished copying these books before the start of the semester," she explained, without denying the friendship Ian had mentioned.
This is a young person who longs for friendship.
Ian had already sensed this during their first meeting. Although [Mind Perception] had been somewhat restrained under his control, it didn't mean it had lost all its function.
"Do you see this hand?"
Ian placed the wooden box on the counter.
He raised his hand.
The German girl nodded and leaned closer to examine her closely.
"Aside from its long, slender fingers and prominent knuckles, it's not particularly special."
After a while.
Aurora made her assessment.
"But it is indeed a highly efficient tool. A mere seventh-grade potions textbook is nothing compared to the miracles it has created."
Ian's thoughts seemed to drift back to his summer vacation in his past life.
"To die and come back to life is a miracle."
Aurora shook her head, a hint of sadness flashing in her heterochromatic eyes.
"..."
Ian didn't know how to respond.
"How's that book going?" Aurora suddenly changed the subject.
It is clear.
She was referring to the book "The Secrets of Cutting-Edge Black Magic" that she gave to Ian.
"That's amazing, I love your gift."
Ian gave a thumbs up.
"So, what about my return gift?"
Aurora's expression remained as aloof as ever, but a hint of anticipation flickered in her eyes.
"..."
Ian had really forgotten about that.
"I'll definitely do it next time!"
He grinned somewhat awkwardly.
"Um."
The girl wasn't disappointed; she simply nodded quietly.
"I'll quickly scatter these books among those piles of books, in case your elders suddenly come back." Ian picked up the wooden box and began stuffing books into the messy piles of books that hadn't changed much at all.
This is not a problem.
soon.
As Ian carried the empty wooden box, preparing to return to the counter to say goodbye and tell Aurora that he would definitely prepare a thoughtful return gift for her when school started.
"Da da da~"
The sound of the wooden planks moving could be heard.
Ian stood on the left-hand bookshelf and looked up.
All I saw was...
A man dressed in a black robe and wearing a hood, with a face covered in scars, walked in, holding a magic wand. His sharp and fierce gaze swept across the entire bookstore.
He glanced at Ian, his eyes showing disdain.
At last.
Their gazes were fixed on Aurora.
"The intelligence was correct; it was indeed here."
The man raised his wand and pointed it at Aurora.
"You brat from the Grindelwald family, come out here now and come with me. Your grandfather owes me something, and I need you to get it back from him."
This person clearly has ill intentions.
Ian's heart pounded as he hid behind the bookshelf.
An enemy has come knocking?
How could he just happen to run into such a ridiculous situation?
"My grandfather owed a lot of people, but anyone who dared to ask him for money... obviously wasn't anyone respectable." Aurora didn't seem afraid at all.
She even dared to mock the man who barged into the bookstore.
She made no move, remaining seated with a detached expression.
"You sharp-tongued brat, do you really think I wouldn't dare to make a move here? You should know you're not in Hogwarts Castle now!"
The man holding the magic wand was somewhat annoyed.
The tip of his wand gleamed slightly.
"Hiss~"
Hiding behind the bookshelf, Ian felt a strange excitement, and... an urge to try it out, for some reason. However, he managed to suppress this urge well with reason.
Do you want to help with a sneak attack?
Even a level 1 Avada Kedavra should be effective enough to work its magic. It's just that this hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress trope is so cliché!
"I'm a witness, they might not let me go. That man saw me." Ian weighed his options, his left hand already instinctively reaching for his wand.
If there is a choice.
He certainly didn't want to get involved in other people's grudges and feuds.
just.
Having missed the opportunity to ambush Aurora because his opponent was now neglecting him due to his age, he was unlikely to have another chance to do so.
Hoping for the wizard's mercy?
You might as well trust the magic wand in your hand!
Just as Ian made his decision and prepared to take action.
"ah!!!!"
Without any warning.
A blue flame suddenly erupted from the man's body.
This adult wizard.
There was absolutely no time to react.
He was completely engulfed by the blue flames, and his wand, which should have been worth a lot of money, turned into gray dust in the blink of an eye.
"Fierce Fire!"
Ian gasped.
He looked incredulously toward the counter. The girl had already put down the wand that had appeared out of nowhere and was watching the flames gradually disappear with calm eyes.
"Could you get me the broom? It's behind the bookshelf next to you." Despite having just killed someone with terrible magic, Aurora remained remarkably calm.
It's hard to imagine.
A child who has just reached school age is able to silently perform such profound magic!
"Isn't a freshly cleaned product a good idea?"
Ian paused for a moment.
"I haven't learned it yet."
Aurora's answer was concise and to the point.
Ok.
Another child who excels in only one subject.
Ian understands perfectly.
"Um, let me find where the broom is."
Ian was not calm about the death of a living person in front of him, but he was clearly not the kind of righteous person who would question why the other person killed him.
The male wizard clearly had ill intentions.
Being soft-hearted solves nothing.
Moreover.
They questioned the perpetrator.
Do you even want to live anymore?
"I didn't see anything, so don't even think about killing me to cover it up!" Ian walked to the filthy floor with a broom, somewhat worried about his current situation.
Where's the hero saving the damsel in distress?
How come heroes are now afraid of women?
"I wouldn't lay a hand on a friend, and besides..."
Aurora walked to where Ian had been, picked up the wooden box that Ian had dropped, squatted down next to Ian, and gestured to Ian with her eyes to sweep the ashes into the box.
"We are now accomplices."
Just like the first time we met.
The German girl seemed unusually fixated on this relationship.