"Have you thought of something?"
Seeing that the tavern owner seemed to have recalled something through his conversation with Maka, Maka immediately raised his eyebrows and asked.
And immediately afterwards, without any further urging from him, the other party took the initiative to explain:
"It's like this... Guest, you just mentioned Hufflepuff, didn't you? I suddenly remembered that my friend Martin just came back from abroad some time ago, and he came to my tavern to chat about the past. Oh! He was also from Hufflepuff back then, in the same class as me."
"Really?" Maka nodded, "Could it be...that something strange happened to your friend?"
"That's right!" Boss Ted immediately continued, "Martin had always done very well in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Soon after graduation, he was hired by a foreign family to be a private curse-breaker—you You are also a student of Hogwarts, right? Don't you think this is a very rare excellence for Hufflepuff?"
"Well, that's true."
Maka didn't comment much on this, just smiled and agreed.
Of course, the boss obviously didn't talk about these things just to praise his friends. After briefly introducing Martin, he immediately said:
"In fact, when he returned to China before, it was mainly for work. I remember that after the disaster in the city, the family that hired him wanted him to come over to check on the current situation of the British wizarding world and see if there was any need to Several shops set up here are temporarily closed..."
As the boss said, although with Maka's efforts, the British wizarding world is gradually returning to its original state, and ordinary wizards have become much more relieved.
But some of the larger wizarding families are not as optimistic as the common people.
Under the calming water surface, many pairs of shrewd eyes continued to watch. As long as the confrontation between Maka and Haierbo remains unresolved, no one can guarantee what kind of choice those forces will ultimately make.
Seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages obviously exists everywhere, and Maka will not be surprised at all.
After briefly mentioning this little thing, the tavern owner seemed to realize that he was a little off topic, and immediately smiled apologetically at Maka.
"I'm sorry, I'm often like this. I forget what I was going to say while talking!" He said, "Well, I just mentioned that Martin is a curse breaker, right? You must also know that this kind of job is basically It’s just dealing with curses, jinxes and the like. But in fact... "
The boss was talking, suddenly paused, and then said:
"Martin had already wandered around here before he came to my place. When we were drinking together and reminiscing about old times, he seemed to have mentioned that he had found some traces of a curse about half a mile away - I was In fact, I didn’t pay much attention to it, but now that the guest mentioned it, I thought that there seems to be such a thing!”
"Half a mile away?" Maka frowned slightly, "Did your friend tell you exactly where it is?"
After hearing Maka ask about the detailed location, the boss Ted raised his head habitually and recalled it again for a while.
"It seems to be in the northwest?" He hesitated, then shook his head after a moment and said, "I really can't remember the rest... Oh, Martin said he saw an old Muggle factory there!"
"Thank you, that's enough!"
Maka nodded again and expressed her gratitude with a smile.
"Excuse me... I'm sorry for asking you to talk so much." He said while waving to the windbreaker wizard opposite, "Give me the menu again, I have to take care of the boss's life-"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly looked at the menu in his hand and laughed.
"Looks like it won't be needed anymore."
Wizards generally don't spend too much time cooking, and this is naturally thanks to Helga Hufflepuff, who was particularly fond of studying cooking spells.
Although none of her recipes seem to have been handed down, many of her cooking magic spells have gradually changed over time and continue to this day.
Soon, the dining table where Maka and the windbreaker wizard were sitting was filled with all kinds of delicacies.
To be honest, Maka was not sure why the windbreaker wizard ordered so many dishes at once. But that doesn't matter. From the time he and the other party got along, it can be understood that there must be the other party's reason for doing this.
Because in his impression, this unknown witch was actually a very frugal person who lived a makeshift life.
Of course, what's more important is that he really doesn't care about the gold galleons now - to be honest, it would be great if everything could be solved with money!
However, only more than ten minutes later, Maka suddenly understood why she ordered so many dishes.
"Are you okay?" Looking at the windbreaker wizard opposite, he couldn't help but ask, "Is it possible that you really plan to fill your stomach with all the food on the table?"
"Huh?" When the other party heard Maka's question, the hand holding the fork suddenly paused, "Ah, I'm sorry... Am I too good at eating?"
At this time, Maka actually wanted to say that he had never seen a normal person eat such a large amount of food in his life - maybe it could be compared to that giant hybrid Hagrid, right
"No, it's okay, just eat it—" Maka said in a dumbfounded voice, "It's a good thing to be able to eat it. If it's not enough, you can order more!"
Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh:
"I'm afraid you haven't had enough to eat, right? Why, you know how to be polite in front of others, but you're fine with me? Does this mean that my gaze doesn't matter at all?"
He said this naturally as a joke.
After all, although it is really rare for people to eat so much, in the magical world, weird things can happen, so there is really nothing to be surprised about.
However, the windbreaker wizard seemed to take Maka's joke seriously. After being stunned for a moment, he tried his best to explain as if he wanted to resolve this "misunderstanding" no matter what:
"No, that's not the case! You are really, really important to me! The reason why I am like this in front of you is because you are my-"
Maka really didn't expect that it was just a small joke, but it almost caused the other party's patience to fall short.
Fortunately, at that last moment, she seemed to remember her mission here, gritting her teeth and swallowing back the words she was about to blurt out.
"Okay," Maka said with a wry smile at that time, "It's my fault, I shouldn't have joked around - just eat! Forget everything just now, keep eating! I will forget all that too."
When Maka felt a little regretful, the windbreaker wizard couldn't help but pursed his lips and pulled the brim of his hat lower on his forehead.
I almost said it, just by a tiny bit!
If you expose your identity here, then what are all the efforts you have made before
Yes, after coming here and seeing the person in front of me, the emotion deep in my heart has been surging. But even so, for the ultimate goal, he must continue to persevere.
After that, everything suddenly became quiet between the two of them. After Maka filled her stomach, she drank coffee and watched silently as the other person stuffed the rest of the meal into his mouth.
"...I really ate it all."
After secretly complaining, Maka greeted the boss Ted to settle the bill, and while expressing her gratitude again, she left the change as a tip after the meal.
A few minutes later, while taking the windbreaker wizard for a walk on the street outside, Maka suddenly asked casually:
"How is the taste?"
"Yes, it's very delicious." The windbreaker wizard who followed him nodded immediately.
"Well, I think so too..." Maka thought for a moment and said, "Then, let's go back to Hogwarts now!"
"Eh?" Hearing this, the other party couldn't help but said doubtfully, "Mr. McClain, didn't the boss just say something suspicious? It's not night yet, why not go and take a look -"
"No, there is no need to look for that place." Macasui shook her head and interrupted her, "There will be nothing there."
…
And at the same time that Maka said those words, in the Hanged Man Tavern.
The boss, Ted, was standing in the kitchen at the back of the tavern, looking at the portrait hanging on the wall, with a sinister flash in his eyes.
"Old woman, step aside quickly! Make room for my teacher!"
Before she finished speaking, Mrs. Grayman, who had occupied the photo frame, immediately shrank aside tremblingly, revealing a wooden door hidden behind her.
As the wooden door in the magic portrait was pushed open with a creak, a figure covered in black flames was immediately revealed.
"Please allow the students to show their highest respect to the teacher!"
"Well... there is no need to say more about these words." A voice suddenly rang in the boss's mind, "Remember what I told you, this door can only be opened every 13 days - tell me, what happened Already?"
Upon hearing this, the boss Ted hurriedly explained:
"That's right! As the teacher expected, that McClain finally came to this tavern just now and asked me some questions. I followed what the teacher said and gave him a completely irrelevant clue."
"Didn't it arouse his suspicion?"
"Of course," the tavern owner nodded immediately, "I'm just an ordinary wizard. I haven't even learned black magic. How could he notice any problems?"
"That's good," the black figure said, "Don't worry, once my goal is completed, you can learn any magic you want... Hum, I appreciate young people like you who are both talented and know how to work hard. But that’s all…”
Before he finished speaking, the tavern owner also showed an excited smile.