The long platinum hair floated in the air without any wind, as if it was weightless, fluttering with the light dance. The smooth and delicate skin shone like a bright moon under the slightly dim light, and every inch exuded an aura of temptation.
In this strange bar with soothing music, the petite and graceful woman attracted the attention of most of the guests, but she continued her slightly restrained publicity without caring.
That was a Veela who was the center of attention wherever she went. Even though it can be seen that she has paid considerable attention to propriety in such a crowded small bar, the inherent talent of that race still makes the atmosphere in this small space charming and moving.
Maka leaned sideways on the edge of the bar deep in the bar, supporting her cheek with one hand and gently resting her other hand on the bar, playing with the gold galleons that would serve as drinks for a while.
This is a wizard bar in New York City. Unlike London, wizards in the United States do not often gather in a specially built wizard street.
Perhaps it is due to the history of this land. Although the opening of the American magical world has a connection with the United Kingdom that cannot be ignored, the races here are richer than those in the United Kingdom, and the ways in which various races get along with each other also have some subtle characteristics.
Maka already had some idea of this just by sitting at the corner of the bar and watching quietly.
The bartender in this bar is a house elf, but it can be seen from the conversations between him and the guests that although he still seems to be more or less cautious in his words and deeds, he is more of a server. Reserved and polite.
Opposite the bar, between the small round tables similar to those in the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade, several humanoid races of different shapes and appearances were mixed with male and female witches and wizards. Although it seems to be far from "harmony", even if you can squeeze in a bar to laugh and curse and throw away the joys and sorrows of life, it is worthy of Maka's nod and secret praise.
To be honest, Maka really doubted that the guy wrapped in a slippery cloth robe with a few tufts of dark green hair leaking out of the headband was actually a mermaid that climbed up from the bottom of the lake!
You know, the wet robe on her body was still dripping with water!
From the data, we can find some records about mermaids, saying that they can indeed breathe above the water. But how long Maka can survive outside the water world and live ashore is completely unknown.
He sat quietly in a corner of the worldly bar, his eyes drifting back and forth among the various people around him, trying to find a suitable person for him to pick out information from.
At this moment, his cuffs trembled slightly, and Xiaoba hidden in his sleeves crawled along his arms to his fingertips, and clicked his mouthparts a few times.
"Oh, do you want some snacks too?" Maka glanced at it, then turned her head and shouted towards the bar, "Please give me two pieces of bread, thank you."
"Okay, sir."
The house elf who was serving a certain wizard immediately bowed slightly to him.
Not long after, the croissants dotted with snow-white powdered sugar were placed on a plate and floated in front of Maka. He picked one up and tore it open gently, then sprinkled some crumbs on the bar table.
Xiaoba immediately jumped off the back of his hand and ate it with relish.
"Oh! What an amazing little guy... Did you raise him?" As soon as Maka put down the bread, someone came up to him, "... Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
"Of course not," Maka raised the wine glass and gestured to the other party, "Please feel free to do so."
"Hmm... What kind of breed is this little guy? I seem to have seen it somewhere, but I can't remember..." The other party spoke very quickly and seemed quite familiar, "Anyway, I'm sure it's not the right breed. Reiner's Gray Gland Spider—although it does look a bit like...ah, does it always have its eyes closed?"
While the other party was looking at Xiaoba talking eagerly, Maka was staring at her.
Yes, this is a woman with short dark brown curly hair, and the clothes she wears look very casual. Although there is a unique elegance in her beautiful appearance, her tone of voice is relaxed and relaxed.
She didn't seem to care at all about Maka, a wizard who looked like a young boy.
"... Well, beautiful lady... I'm afraid it's not suitable to talk about the topic of Xiaoba. After all, I heard that the law in the United States prohibits the random raising of magical creatures." Maka chuckled, "However, it seems that you are not interested in these things. The little thing seems to have done a lot of research?"
"Ah! Sorry..." The other party smiled apologetically, "I don't have many hobbies, but I have always been obsessed with magical creatures. I was a little rude just now... By the way, is this your first time in New York?"
"Yes!" Maka said calmly, "I just have some things that need to be dealt with. It's a short and hasty trip!"
"Oh, this is really good... but don't you need to go to school? Or have you just graduated and want to adjust your mood before working?" The other party asked curiously, "To be honest, when I just graduated from Ilvermorny, , but I started working without even having time to think about it! Look at you now, I really regret it... "
"Well, actually I'm already working, but... ahem..." Maka shrugged, "As you can see, due to some unstable factors, I seem to be a little..."
"I understand, I understand," the other party said with an empathic look, nodding his chin repeatedly, "Once I entered the society, I discovered that although there is a lot of knowledge taught in school, how to be a human being has to be learned slowly by yourself. Experience and understand. The boss's decisions are always messy, and the feeling of instability makes people want to escape from that cage from time to time... Well, listen to me... "
I saw that this lady had a misunderstanding of what she said, and she was talking more and more energetically, as if she was talking on her own, and she was complaining endlessly about her work and life.
Maka smiled helplessly, brought the wine glass to her mouth and took a sip, her eyes began to wander elsewhere involuntarily.
Although this sister is quite straightforward and makes people feel good when getting along with her, she is obviously not a suitable person to exchange information with.
If Maka was just here to kill time, there would be nothing wrong with making friends, but now he was looking for someone.
"... Treating my report as a complete waste of paper, you say, what on earth is this? How irritating! A boss like this doesn't understand the importance of professionalism at all! He only likes those gimmicks! As long as he can make money, sales will He was satisfied if he could go up... My colleague O'Sullivan, the kind of good things he does not happen to happen every day! Who would have thought that you can bump into a big spider while walking on the street? Hmm... Huh? It looks like the same thing. Does this little guy look similar?"
"...What? Big spider? On the street?" Maka suddenly came back to her senses, a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.
He didn't expect that he could get new clues if just anyone came up to him.
"Ah, don't you know?" the other party said casually, "Yeah! Haven't you seen this news? Oh - yes, you just arrived in New York not long ago, right?"
"Well," Maka said, pretending to be curious, "A big spider appeared on the street? This sounds very dangerous..."
"Who says it's not?" The other party shook his head, which was slightly groggy due to alcohol, and spread his hands. "It's a pity that our newspaper only published one issue before the Magic Congress got involved - poor O'Sullivan was also taken by Congress. Went to assist in the investigation.”
"This is really bad..." Maka echoed, "So, not many people are paying attention to this matter?"
"The incident attracted a lot of attention. After all, many Muggles were injured at the scene - the people in Congress spent a lot of manpower to deal with this matter!" The other party shook his head and said, "I heard that the big spider has not yet It was found. How could it not be found with such a large body? This is probably a long-planned incident - this is what the higher-ups have guessed."
"Hmm... Has it been planned for a long time? Just to attack Muggles?" Maka asked tentatively.
"No, I heard there was something else at the time, but after O'Sullivan came back, he and the president closed the door and chatted for a long time. The article written by O'Sullivan later didn't have much actual content... I just said it. , that bald guy only likes gimmicks! A vague magic photo is enough for him to enjoy!"
"This is really..." Maka shook her head along with her.
Although I accidentally learned some relevant information, the amount of information contained in it was too little. Having said that, it's always good to have a clue.
Sirius should be in this area. Although it is not possible to find him yet, as the range becomes smaller, the possibility of finding him will greatly increase.
What the lady in front of me, who seemed to be a female reporter, said was enough as a backup clue.
"I want to ask you a question." Maka seemed to have remembered something, and then asked, "Does this bar lead to somewhere else? For example, a wizard shopping street where items are sold?"
"Do you want to buy anything? There isn't anything here, but a little further to the west, there is an entrance leading to Jackson Trading Square - most students in Ilvermorny do shopping there, but there are not many daily necessities. It is mainly a shop for magic learning and research.”
"Oh... I'll go take a look later. Can you tell me in detail?"
In this slightly noisy bar, the two of them were chatting casually, looking very inconspicuous. But no one would have thought that the big spider that had recently caused public opinion in the American wizarding community was now obediently lying on the bar counter eating the crumbs of the croissant.
As for its owner, he is a young wizard who has not yet reached adulthood.
No, maybe someone has noticed—
In a corner behind Maka, two wizards who refused to take off their scarves in the room were staring at the bar table at Maka's elbow intentionally or unintentionally, with a certain gloomy aura in their eyes.