The streets of London are always wet, and water can be seen everywhere on the roads that are not even smooth.
Passers-by came and went in a hurry, and most of them habitually held an umbrella in their hands. Living in this city where it rains continuously all year round, you always need to be careful, right
London is generally quite cold this year. Maybe the Muggles living in London will be able to have a snow-covered Christmas this time.
Maka was wearing a thick woolen coat, carrying a black umbrella like other Muggles, and walked forward with a calm expression.
Most of the shops on the roadside are closed. It seems that when people have been busy all year and now need a rest, these shops can no longer care about making money.
Everyone is waiting for Christmas to arrive.
All the hustle and bustle of the magical world can't be disturbed in the world of Muggles. It is always so harmonious and peaceful here.
Suddenly, Maka, who had been walking forward, turned a corner and came to an old-style residential area.
The environment here is obviously darker than the streets outside. The old walls are covered with creepers, and there are large areas of damp moss in the corners.
When Maka passed by the entrance of a dark alley, she could vaguely see a few fat rats scurrying quickly into the drainage ditches that can be seen everywhere in London.
He didn't hesitate and kept walking forward, leaving old houses one after another behind.
Soon, he stopped in front of a three-story apartment house.
The year-round erratic rainfall has turned the houses a bit black and made everything look dirty, especially the old houses.
The door to the apartment was open, and the large wooden door with its faded paint was being corroded and rotting bit by bit under repeated rainwater, emitting a strange smell that couldn't be described as unpleasant.
Maka raised her legs and walked in the door.
There is a guard room on the right side of the door, but there has obviously been no guard here for a long time. It is completely empty, with only a broken wooden chair standing alone behind the reception window.
Maka just glanced at it subconsciously, and then walked towards the front stairs.
When he made it all the way to the third floor and was walking into the slightly dim corridor, a door opened.
"Oh - it's a new face, kid... are you here to look at the house?"
A shriveled little old man walked out from behind the door. He pushed the eyes on the bridge of his nose, but still squinted and looked at Maka carefully.
"It's not bad here. The landlord is very polite, but he always likes to talk... As you get older, you always want to talk more while you can talk, don't you?"
Maka shook her head and said, "Uncle, I'm here to visit a friend of mine. She lives here and she just moved here not long ago."
"Really?" the little old man thought for a while and said, "Oh, is she the little girl named Werther? She is quite beautiful and has a good heart, but she lives a very poor life..."
Maka said calmly: "This is the life she chose..."
After that, he said goodbye to the old man and walked deeper into the corridor.
"You made a good choice... How many times do you have the opportunity to choose in this life..." Behind him, the faint voice of the little old man could be heard faintly.
"Dong dong"
Not long after, Maka came to the door of Room 306. He gently knocked on the shabby wooden door, which was not much better than the door of the apartment downstairs.
"Who is it?" A clear and melodious voice sounded from behind the door, with a faint hint of sleep.
"It's me, McClain... It's getting late, get up quickly, senior sister." Maka responded in a relaxed tone.
Suddenly, there was silence in the room, and then he heard a rush of footsteps.
With a creaking sound, the wooden door was suddenly opened from the inside, and a sweet breath rushed towards Maka who was standing at the door.
"Yeah!" "Bang!"
There was another exclamation, and the wooden door was closed again.
Maka took a step to the side with a complicated expression, trying to erase the scene she had just accidentally seen from her memory. He subconsciously looked towards the corridor, only to see the little old man nodding towards him with a clear face, and then headed towards the stairs.
Who would have thought that an adult beauty would be so careless? He actually ran to open the door for him while wearing such loose pajamas!
"Caught off guard... No, this is impossible to guard against..." Maka rubbed her forehead helplessly.
After a while, the door was opened again, and Charlotte, who was fully dressed, finally officially appeared in front of Maka.
"Little brother... just now... you didn't see anything, did you?" Charlotte still had a slight blush on her cheeks, but on the surface she was obviously unwilling to admit defeat, "If you see something you shouldn't see, I will beat you up." Until you lose your memory!"
She raised her white fist and threatened bravely.
"You made the room so dark, what can I see... What happened just now? The door opened and closed..." Maka cooperated with her and naturally pretended to be confused.
"... It's up to you to take care of it! I'm just trying to see if the door is closed well..." Charlotte waved her hand and said, "What are you still doing standing there? Come in!"
"Snapped!"
Maka walked past her and slapped him firmly on the back with a customary slap.
"Senior, can't we change this habit?" As he said this, he casually looked at the environment in the room, but found that there seemed to be nothing interesting to see.
Apart from a small round table and a chair, there is only a wardrobe and a bed.
On the south-facing wall, the curtains were drawn tightly, not letting in any light. In the entire room, an antique oil lamp that came from nowhere was glowing with a faint light.
"A habit is a habit, you can't change it! If you don't want to, just find a way to make yourself willing..." Charlotte said, and slapped Maka on the back again.
"Okay, you are willing..." Maka nodded repeatedly, "Senior, why is the room so dark?"
"The air outside is so humid, it would be nice to have less people coming in! Breathing once every day at noon is enough." Charlotte said, walking directly to her bed and sitting down, "You can sit down too, here!" You are a guest, and the only chair is given to you. Will Senior Sister be nice to you?"
"Okay, great."
"Why did you think of my place today? It's just a shabby room with nothing to look at..." When she said this, she suddenly smiled and said, "What, you see a beautiful senior living alone, do you want to do something evil?"
"Yes, I have evil intentions," Maka said with a shrug, "I just came to find out some things from my senior. By the way, I also wanted to see if the beautiful senior who is flying in freedom is happy."
"Then you see it! You have nothing, you live a miserable and poor life, and the roof is leaking... look, it's that corner." Charlotte still said with a smile, pointing to the crack in the roof opposite, a crack in the ceiling clearly visible above.
Seeing how miserable she said it, Maka nodded instead.
"Well, it's good. As long as you live happily, it's the best." He said, "This kind of ordinary life always makes people calm down... Speaking of which, have you found a job?"
Charlotte looked at him straight for a while, then blinked and said: "It's hard to find! It's too difficult for a person who comes out of nowhere to find a regular job... Junior Brother, You just said you wanted to find out something from me?"
"Yes!" Maka hesitated for a rare moment, and finally said, "Maybe I shouldn't mention this when you are enjoying your freedom quietly, but - does your family have a movie called "Abatelle"? "The magic book?"
Charlotte's expression suddenly changed. She was silent for a long time, and finally shook her head.
"... Do you also want to get it?" She pursed her lips, "Yes, this is no longer a secret, but... it is not something that ordinary wizards should be exposed to. Believe me, that magic book will give anyone People bring about terrible disasters.”
"I know, demon summoning and demon sacrifice... In fact, disaster may have already struck." Maka said in a deep voice.
Charlotte glanced at Maka hesitantly.
"Father also mentioned this... Is this true?" She looked a little uneasy, "The last time I went to McMillan's house was to issue a search order."
"Don't you know either?" Seeing her confused look, Maka couldn't help but ask.
"I never take the initiative to learn about family affairs...it's too late to hide!" Charlotte shook her head repeatedly, "It seems that you probably know more than me."
"I'm sorry, senior sister. I shouldn't have come to talk to you about these things, causing you to recall these messy things..." Maka thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly dropped the topic, "In order to express my apology, I I’ll treat you to a meal!”
Charlotte curled her lips and said, "You want to kill me with just one meal?"
"Then just two meals!" Maka spread her hands and said.
It seemed to be raining again outside, and it was pouring continuously. The howling wind carries the cold raindrops and blows back and forth between the buildings, cleaning the air over and over again.
Around the crack in the corner of the ceiling, layers of watermarks spread again, as if they would never dry out.
To be honest, this kind of bad environment is quite close to the bottom in the Muggle world. In a big city like London, it is just an inconspicuous little corner. But even such a poor life is the "real freedom" that Charlotte cannot ask for.
However, when a caged bird wants to find freedom, how can it be so easy to find it
"Little brother, do you know?" She looked at Maka walking in front and said quietly in her heart, "I don't have long to enjoy this hard-won 'freedom'."