"Congratulations for what? Do you believe I asked this little guy to turn around and call you 'Dad' in front of Tonks?"
"Oh, Maka, I was just kidding—don't do that!"
Seeing Lupine wanting to make fun of little Delphi, Maka responded quickly and pushed him back, causing Lupine to wave his hands repeatedly.
In fact, after getting along with each other for several years, Tonks, who was pursuing Lupin, finally showed signs of success. If it hadn't been for Haierpo's sudden appearance, Maka might have been able to attend the wedding banquet of the two of them by now.
Of course, with Lupine's good-natured temperament, it has recently become more and more predictable... what the two of them will be like in their future married life.
"Seriously, where did you get this child?" Lupine immediately changed the topic about Tonks, looking at little Delphi in Maka's arms and said, "Well, this little one looks so long. Deke is so beautiful!”
Hearing this, Maka pulled out a chair with one hand and sat down, while also looking down at little Delphi's face.
To be honest, he really wanted to tell the child's life experience and see what everyone's expression would be after hearing it. It's a pity that whether it's for little Delphi or for some other reason, he obviously can only rot in his stomach silently about those past events.
After a short pause, he could only say casually:
"This is my... well, the daughter of an 'old friend'! The couple asked me to take care of this little girl for a while..."
After dealing with it like this, Maka stopped chatting and started talking about sending the children to Chateau Blois in France.
Finally, he said again:
"By the way, let Sirius come back. This time I have to ask him to help me finish the matter. By the way, he may need to go to Scotland Yard later and bring someone back from the Muggle police station."
Since Maka planned to personally investigate the so-called "disappearance cases" next, he was ready to hand over trivial matters like this to the Order of the Phoenix directly.
After talking briefly with Lupine, a strong fragrance suddenly drifted in from the door, causing Maka to stop talking immediately.
"Mr. MacLean, I served some peas with the roast beef and potatoes... You haven't dined here for a long time, I hope this still suits your taste."
Lena, who had always spoken very little, rarely spoke more than two words this time, which showed that Maka had indeed not been here for a long time.
Maka looked at the plate of sizzling roast beef and couldn't help but swallow a little.
"This looks very good," he said with a smile, "Thank you... Oh, come and help me hold this baby! I have to taste it while it's hot."
After Lena carefully took the little Delphi from Maka's hand, Maka immediately picked up a piece of beef cut just right for the mouth, put it into her mouth and chewed it happily.
After this small piece of beef was swallowed into his belly, he nodded repeatedly while savoring the tender taste:
"Lena, your skills are really getting better and better. It seems that I will have to come here more often in the future!"
Lupine on the side watched Maka feasting there, and he had no choice but to get up and leave to deliver a message to Sirius.
Before leaving, he couldn't help but murmured in a low voice:
"That's why you're here. Usually we only eat so well during festivals!"
…
After eating lunch carefully prepared by Lena at the Black Mansion, Maka did not sit still for a while longer. He left little Delphi to Lena's temporary care, and then went back to St. Mungo's to bring out all the Mundungus' report information.
To be honest, after he heard about these incidents from Mundungus last night, he had some guesses about the bizarre cases.
After a whole afternoon of screening and investigating the case, he finally confirmed that some of his initial speculations were correct.
Not to mention whether this was a good thing Haierbo did, at least it is a certain fact that magic was involved.
In the evening, Maka paced gently in a deserted alley.
Although his behavior seemed a little aimless, as if he was just walking alone, he never stopped sensing the magic floating in the air.
"...Is it this way?"
Suddenly, he paused at a T-intersection, then turned and walked to the right.
As the buildings on both sides became denser and taller, the environment in the alley gradually became darker and darker. If we judge according to common sense, a place like this will always associate people with an eerie atmosphere, and that often heralds the emergence of clues.
But not long after, an inexplicable noise came from afar, which instantly shattered Maka's calculations.
"what's the situation?"
He followed a rather obscure remnant of magic power, and he believed that as long as he followed the seemingly absent magic power fluctuations, he would probably be able to find the culprit that caused many bizarre deaths in recent days.
But when he heard the noisy voices and distinguished them carefully, he knew that things might become troublesome again.
Sure enough, after he walked some distance further, he could not help but sigh when he came across an alleyway with people coming and going.
This is a merchant street for Muggle civilians... No, it is not so much a "street" as it is a large alley that is at most a little wider than before.
To be honest, he would rather his destination be in a cold and scary dark place than a place like this with a lot of people.
At least there wouldn't be too much interference in that kind of place, and it would be much easier for him to find it.
Of course, at this point, there is no point in complaining. Maka didn't think any more, and took a few steps to blend into the crowd in the alley, casually looking in both directions as she walked.
As you can see, there are many small bars on both sides of this alley. Places like this are mostly the first choice for Muggles who are not financially well off.
In this world, no matter which city there is, there will be class differences, even in a prosperous and wealthy place like London.
Maka walked slowly among the crowd, and it was obvious that he was even walking much slower than before.
In fact, if the magic power fluctuation is normal magic, then it will not be more difficult to track in a place with many Muggles than in a deserted street.
Unfortunately, what he was groping for this time was not an ordinary magic spell.
Just like the blessing elixir can affect a person's fortune, this strange magic has the completely opposite effect of the blessing elixir.
It can bring intense bad luck to some people.
If the target of this magic were wizards, perhaps the consequences would not be so serious, but this time the targets it targets are just ordinary Muggles who have not even awakened their own magic power.
As a result, a series of deaths that were traceable but felt very bizarre were born...
All right! For now, these are just Maka's conjectures. To say what the actual situation was, he had to follow the traces and find the right place to truly determine it.
"Down here?"
Suddenly, Maka, who was walking forward in the alley, turned around, opened a door next to her without hesitation, and hurried in.
"jingle-"
This is an ordinary underground bar, and its dark interior environment is one of its characteristics.
According to the brass nameplate nailed to the door with iron nails, this place seemed to be a tomb many years ago. Now it has been rented by the owner of this bar and transformed into a slightly peculiar restaurant. The "Tomb Bar".
As soon as I walked inside, I was greeted by a chill, which often made the guests who came in suddenly shrink their necks.
Maka wasn't very interested in this exotic environment, and he certainly wasn't here to drink today. What's more, the main business hours of the bar are usually after dinner, and there are really not many customers here now.
Walking down the stone steps leading to the entrance, he saw a tomb passage that had been opened within a few steps.
When he went downstairs, the two waiters who were cleaning with brooms were slightly stunned. After all, it was not common to see many customers coming so early.
"Oh, I'm sorry... We haven't officially opened for business here yet," one of the older waiters said, then turned to the younger one and said, "Did you forget to hang the sign outside again?"
After scolding him in a low voice, he continued:
"Of course, if you don't mind, beer and the like are fine. After all, the bartender hasn't come to work yet, so it's just some simple..."
"No, no need."
Maka didn't wait for him to finish, she just waved her hand casually and continued walking inside.
Behind him, the two waiters were stunned for a while, and then they lowered their heads and swept the ground as if nothing had happened.
It seems that this place has indeed not opened for business yet. Except for the two waiters just now, there is no one inside.
After pausing for a moment, Maka simply walked around the empty bar and walked directly to the wooden door behind the bar.
At this point, in his perception, the remnants of the magic power had become clearer and clearer.
"Squeak-"
Pushing the wooden door open, the kitchen behind appears brighter than outside. And when Maka stopped at the door to observe for a moment, his eyes gradually fell on another wooden door deeper in the kitchen.
It was a doorway with a lot of debris piled up at the door. It could be seen from the style of the wooden door that that door was much older than the one outside.
And just behind the wooden door, the fluctuations of magic power were as real as Maka's induction - he didn't find the wrong place, it was the right place.