"Christine, speaking of which...how did you and Charles think of opening a store in a place like this? Isn't it...not very safe here?"
There were still quite a lot of customers in the store. Maka and Tonks waited until Charles came back from delivering the goods, and they had time to chat with Christine for a while.
"Oops! Tonks, let me tell you... In fact, the boss behind this store is sitting next to you!" Christine waved her hand with a refreshing smile on her face, looking just like Huo. It was no different with Gwartz.
"Eh? Maka is the boss?"
Tonks didn't know how many times she had been surprised. Ever since she walked out of the door, she felt like she had been surprised by the surprises that followed.
"Yes! Tonks, you should also know... You see, Charles and I don't have a lot of money, how can we afford to open a potion shop?" Christine spread her hands and said, "Don't look at this store. It’s not that big. You know, every inch of land is very valuable in the black market! What’s more, purchasing goods also costs a lot of money... "
Kristine sat behind the cashier and talked nonchalantly, while Charles, who was soliciting customers in front, would steal glances of concern towards her from time to time, and occasionally show a hint of gratitude towards Maka.
Speaking of which, the two of them didn't actually spend much time with Maka. Even though they were both Hufflepuffs and had even been on the Quidditch team, they probably didn't have much time to come into contact with Maka.
If you think back, you can see that Maka spent most of his time studying and researching, right
However, at the bonfire party to see off the graduates, when the two of them accidentally chatted with Maka for a few words about opening a store, they did not expect that Maka would really take it to heart.
This store not only gave them a very "money" future direction.
If anything, the financial support this store brought to them must be indispensable for the fact that this poor couple was able to get married so quickly.
In the hearts of this future couple who both graduated from Hufflepuff House, Maka has truly realized the heartwarming declaration of "We are all Hogwarts" at the bonfire night.
The happy story of Christine and Charles will probably be one of the many bonds born in every farewell event for graduates.
Even though Maka no longer hosts that event, his name, as the founder of the event, has always been engraved on the banner of every farewell party.
"For many things, perhaps the purpose behind them is not pure, and even the process is full of dirt, but as long as the final result is good, what does it matter?"
During the conversation, Maka looked at the faint warmth in this store with a smile, and thought so with emotion in her heart.
"...So, the situation in the black market is actually worse than outside?"
After the three chatted for a while, Maca obtained some valuable information from Christine.
This is indeed the case. If you want to know news related to potions, directly asking the operators of the potions store is undoubtedly a more appropriate way.
"Yes, as far as I know, there are already more than a dozen wizards in the black market who suddenly went crazy..." Christine nodded and said, "However, I think you also know that crazy wizards are actually not a big deal, because You can’t use magic spells!”
"...So, although there were a few minor disturbances, they were quickly resolved."
Maka nodded clearly, and then asked: "I have found out the reason why those wizards went crazy before - it was probably because they took some kind of magic potion. Do you have any clues here?"
"Well... at least there are no problems with the suppliers in our store... Ah!" Kristen said, suddenly paused, as if she recalled something.
"What's wrong? Did you remember anything suspicious?" Tonks couldn't help but ask.
"... I remember... about three or four days ago! A trance-like guy passed by the store and knocked over the sign I put up outside..." Kristen recalled, "At that time, I thought it was probably... Drunk or something like that... you know, that's pretty common."
She paused and then emphasized: "But now that I think about it, that state seems very similar to what those crazy wizards look like when they are not crazy."
"What's wrong with that guy?"
"I saw him swaying forward while still muttering something in his mouth... Well..." Christine thought about it carefully, then nodded to herself, "Yes, he said, 'Goddess, I The goddess, no one can touch her... Well, it's probably something like that... "
"'Goddess'? 'No one can touch'?" Maka repeated these words, lost in thought in confusion.
"...Ah, actually I'm not sure, maybe it's just a drunk guy?" Kristen thought about it for a while, and finally shrugged in confusion.
"That's about all I know...I wonder if I can help you..."
"No, although I can't understand it at the moment, knowing this is already a good harvest." Maka came back to her senses, then smiled and waved her hand.
After that, the three of them continued chatting for a while, and Maka left with Tonks.
"Maka, I didn't expect that you would do such a good thing when you are always busy on your own!"
On the roadside, Tonks said casually as she followed Maka forward.
"You are my classmate after all. If you can help me, I'll help you... Anyway, it's all a matter of mutual benefit. I happen to be short of manpower, so I don't feel comfortable finding someone else!" Maka said with a smile.
"Hey!" Tonks glanced at him and smiled, "But to be honest, we can get clues so quickly. It seems that we are pretty lucky..."
"Yeah, I didn't expect it either." Maka nodded slightly, "Actually, I didn't plan to ask anything from Kristen - after all, they haven't been in the black market for a long time."
"Then what are you doing?" Tonks asked in surprise.
"How about taking this senior sister of yours to meet the junior students?" Maka said meaningfully, "How about you get your face exposed by that young couple?"
"Hey, I swore an oath - I will not get married until I become a real Auror!" Tonks raised her chin with a proud look on her face.
"In short, we still have to find the most professional way to get information," Maka paused and said, "The place we are going to next is our real destination tonight."
Afterwards, Tonks followed Maka around and around again, and finally came to a sparsely populated old square.
In the center of this small square, there was a fountain that had dried up long ago, and in that pool stood a half-collapsed statue of a wizard.
As for the stone-carved seats around this small square, most of them can no longer accommodate people.
But what's most interesting about this old square are the weird trees scattered everywhere. Those dry and dark branches moved automatically without wind, creaking and waving, almost covering the entire square.
What makes people feel even more uncomfortable is that those trees are emitting waves of whispers that make the hair stand on end. No matter how you look at it, it is a place that you should not come to.
"This is really ominous..." Tonks said hesitantly, "Does it mean... we have to go inside?"
"Yes, the entrance is in the fountain pool." Maka waved and said, "Follow me, don't worry about those Siberian howling trees, they are just used to scare people."
"Is the Ghost Howling Wood just 'scaring people' when it comes to your mouth?" Tonks pressed his shoulders, frowned and emphasized in a more serious tone, "Why do I remember the book said, The Ghost Howling Wood?" Will it absorb the soul of living things?"
"Because the method of dealing with the Howling Wood is too simple, it can only be used to 'scare people'." Maka shrugged, indicating that she could just follow him without any worries.
However, as the two of them got closer to the strange trees with waving branches, the original whisper suddenly became louder and seemed extremely harsh.
"Do you still remember? There is a note in the book that 'Siberian howling trees especially like the cold.'" Maka took out her wand and waved it forward, "It's just that the author didn't continue to explain that when they encounter cold It’s just what happens…”
With a wave of his wand, a simple freezing spell fell on the howling tree in front. Almost instantly, the Howling Ghost Tree began to howl with unusual joy, but the originally dancing branches fell down quietly.
"Actually, you can't blame the author, because the naturally growing Howling Woods are concentrated in the north of Siberia, the area closest to the Arctic Ocean... The environment is already very cold. How did the author know that when the Howling Woods were transplanted to warmer climates? What will it look like when we are in a different place?”
"So... the reason why it screamed so harshly just now was because it was afraid of the heat?" Tonks couldn't help but grinned.
"Ask it!" Maka rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not a howling tree. How do I know what they mean by howling like a wolf?"
Under each freezing spell, the branches of the howling trees they passed drooped. As long as you don't touch the howling trees, they are a completely harmless plant.
Of course, it looks a little scary at best.
After a while, the two came to the fountain pool in the center of the square.
In fact, standing here, you can see that there is dirt everywhere under the dry pool, and it looks extremely dirty. The broken part of the wizard statue fell sideways in the pool, and the broken stones and debris were almost scattered all over the pool.
Maka pointed the wand at the head of the statue at the bottom of the pool and waved it slightly.
The next moment, the eyes of the stone statue head suddenly glowed with gray light.
"Member code, 'Silver Eagle 991'." He said softly.