Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 65 23. The Wizard's Warning

The next afternoon, the travel-stained Merlin hugged an ugly cat, and finally found an extremely old-looking bar on the outskirts of this remote town.

An iron sign that was so dirty that the words could hardly be read was hung outside the house, on which was a galloping horse.

This is where Merlin's fate is about to be decided.

But just when Merlin wanted to push open the door of the bar, he was stopped by an old man who was sitting at the door of the bar, smoking a pipe leisurely.

The gray-haired old man glanced at Merlin with blurry eyes. He coughed a few times and said to Merlin:

"Outsiders are not welcome here."

"I have a date with someone."

Merlin said softly, and the old man asked again:

"Who?"

"Mr Arthur."

"Which Arthur?"

The old man got a little impatient, and Merlin ignored the impatience in the old man's words, and he replied:

"Mr. Arthur Weasley."

"Oh?"

When he heard the name, the old man let out a puff of smoke. He looked up and down Merlin suspiciously. After a few seconds, the old man snorted and retracted the arm that blocked Merlin.

He warned:

"I don't know where you heard this name, but you'd better not lie to me. Although the Weasley family is poor and poor, although they have a good impression of Muggles, they also inherited the rules of the pure-blood family. Those who dare to deceive them... hehe."

Merlin ignored the old man at the door. He hugged Crookshanks, pushed open the door and walked into the bar.

This time is not the time when the bar is open, so the decoration is very old. In the small bar with deer heads dotted on the walls, there is no customer except for a black bartender.

Merlin sat on the bar counter, and he said to the bartender in front of him:

"Have a glass of wine, any wine is fine."

The bartender glanced at Merlin, and after a while, he brought a small glass of wine for Merlin.He put the amber-colored wine in front of Merlin's eyes, folded his arms, and said:

"Four years of Wolfsbane, the price is 4 Galleon and 1 Silver Sickles. How will you pay the bill, sir?"

"Uh..."

Merlin suddenly realized a problem when he saw the weird cocktail in front of him.

In New York, he heard from the unreliable third-rate wizard Constantine that wizards in the wizarding world use another currency that only circulates among wizards, and Merlin does not have this currency at all.

And Merlin still remembered what Constantine said about the exchange rate between Galleons and British Pounds.

1 Galleon equals £5, or $7.

Merlin looked at the wine glass that was so small that it couldn't be smaller, and the wine that was only two-thirds of the wine in the glass, he knew... he was cheated.

"Do you accept cash here?"

Merlin opened the wallet and looked at the bartender, who smiled indifferently:

"No!"

Seeing the sneer on the bartender's face, Merlin knew that this guy in front of him was looking for trouble on purpose, maybe he was bullying his first life, and he had never seen the world.

But Merlin didn't need to be afraid of him at all. In his dark perception, he could clearly perceive that the magic aura on the bartender in front of him was extremely weak, even worse than that of the old man at the door.

In other words, this guy is simply putting on airs!

Merlin's face also turned cold, he took out something from his coat and patted it on the bar counter.

"What about this? Do you accept it?"

Boxy and cold and deadly in the light, it was a... heavy-bore pistol, loaded and loaded.

Maybe it can't deal with official wizards, but with just one bullet, it can send this real "squib" to the sky.

The black bartender obviously recognized what Merlin was holding, and he took a step back subconsciously, only to see the scornful smile on Merlin's face.

At this moment, he knew that he had exposed himself.

This made the bartender a little annoyed, but just when he was about to make things difficult for Merlin again, a deep voice came from the door.

"That glass of wine should be worth $5. Well, Mr. Merlin, don't embarrass Kit. He's just a prankster. Let him go."

The appearance of this voice made the bartender who was about to make trouble immediately become submissive, even flattering, and he said to the person:

"Good day, Mr. Arthur, are you still drinking 'Three-Headed Dog's Hair' as you are used to?"

"Well, have a drink."

The man gave some instructions and sat on the chair beside Merlin.

He looked to be in his 40s, with reddish-blond hair that looked like it had been done carelessly.

He is tall, about 1.85, wearing a black windbreaker, a slightly old gentleman's shirt, a purple tie, and a slightly worn handbag in his hand.

This man has piercing eyes, a big nose, and a broad forehead. He looks young and vigorous, and has a gentle temperament.

He seems easy to deal with, his voice is magnetic, and always soft, as if afraid of disturbing something.

"You are Mr. Arthur? Lord Ron's father?"

Merlin looked at the man beside him, who nodded, but his attention was all on the silver pistol in Merlin's hand.

"The technology of steel, the reuse of gunpowder."

The man looked at the cold pistol, and he said with great interest:

"In the Muggle world, there are always such interesting things born. They are really smart...but it is dangerous, especially for little wizards who are weak in experience and strength. A pistol can trigger A disaster."

"Can you give it to me? Mr. Merlin, I am very interested in these things. Maybe through the research on this dangerous thing, I can come up with a way to keep young wizards from being threatened."

"of course."

Merlin stretched out his fingers, and pushed his gun to Mr. Arthur's eyes. The latter was a little clumsy, but he picked it up with great interest. Under Merlin's teaching, this man who seemed to have never touched a gun, only spent In less than 2 minutes, I knew how to use this weapon.

He backed out of the magazine, and with a flick of his finger, the brass-colored bullet jumped out of the magazine.In a suspended manner, it hovered in front of Arthur's eyes.Then the entire gun, under the control of the invisible hand, quickly disassembled.

"Wonderful idea!"

Arthur let out a sigh, and stroked those parts with his fingers, but after a moment, he looked at the pistol in his hand that was reassembled but could no longer be fired in embarrassment.

He must have misplaced a part or two.

Merlin smiled. He took the pistol, disassembled it in a dazzling way, and reassembled it in a few seconds.And handing it to Arthur, he said:

"Perhaps you need a textbook on the principles of firearms and gunpowder."

"Really? Is there such a special teaching material in the Muggle world?"

Mr. Arthur put the pistol back in his handbag, took his drink, and chatted with Merlin.

This Mr. Wizard is very talkative, from gunpowder to elevators, from cars to airplanes, from engines to ships, he is very interested in almost everything in what he calls "the Muggle world".

This also made Merlin a little puzzled, he asked:

"Mr. Arthur, the knowledge you want to know can be found in any library. There is no reason why a wizard like you can't find these books?"

"I know they're in the library, but I can't get them, Mr. Merlin."

Arthur drank a glass of wine with some regrets, and he talked to Merlin:

"I work in the Ministry of Magic, a department called the Misuse of Muggle Articles Department. With the encouragement of some enlightened wizards, I wrote the "Muggle Protection Act" by myself, but unfortunately, wizards have very negative stereotypes about Muggles. It is difficult to eliminate. My daily work is to prevent my fellow citizens from excessively using the items you produce, so as not to impact the traditions of the wizarding world from civilization from outside."

"There are billions of people in the Muggle world, but there are less than 300 million wizards in the world, even including the squibs... This means that once the window of communication between the two parties is opened, wizards have adhered to the tradition of thousands of years , may be completely annihilated in less than 10 years."

Arthur shrugged and said to Merlin:

"So, some of our insistence may seem a little closed to you, but it is necessary for the inheritance of magic."

"Oh...is that so?"

Merlin nodded knowingly, he still wanted to know some more information about wizards.But Mr. Arthur took out a simple pocket watch from his pocket, looked at the time, then coughed lightly, and put down the wine glass in his hand.

His expression became serious, and he looked at Merlin:

"Well, entertainment time is over, Mr. Merlin."

"I heard Hermione say, you're a squib from North America? Want to get some magic textbooks from me?"

"um, yes."

Merlin tried hard to look sincere, and said with sad eyes:

"My parents are..."

"No!"

Before the lie he made up started, he was interrupted by Arthur. The wizard in front of him looked at Merlin, and he said calmly:

"you are not!"

Merlin's expression froze instantly.

He heard Arthur say slowly:

"Children are always simple-minded. They know some legends about squibs and think they can take advantage of them. But they ignore one point. I have worked in the Ministry of Magic for more than 30 years. I have seen more squibs than they have read books. many."

Arthur looked at Merlin and said:

"You are not a Squib, Mr. Merlin. The difference between you and a Squib is so great that if I were blind, I could easily tell the difference."

He pointed to the busy bartender Kit on the other side, and said to Merlin:

"That's the attitude that a Squib should have. You can talk to Muggles and be in awe of wizards. But I can't see a trace of humbleness and flattery in your eyes. You should also be a respected person in the Muggle world." A decent man, maybe a public servant, Merlin... am I right?"

"The wizard's observation skills are really sharp."

Merlin heaved a sigh of relief. He looked at Arthur calmly, took out his ID from his arms, and said to Arthur:

"You guessed it right, Mr. Arthur, I'm not a squib, I'm a government official, responsible for security, believe me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with magic. So far, All it brings me is pain."

"Well, tell me."

Arthur patted his handbag, and he said to Merlin:

"The things you need are here. But you have to tell me your past so that I can judge whether I should help you. Merlin, just like the guns you gave me, although these textbooks are worthless But I don't want it to be spread among the Muggles either. It's my job to keep these ancient secrets..."

"Also, Merlin, I have to warn you in advance."

Mr. Arthur's expression became a little dangerous, he looked directly into Merlin's eyes, and he said:

"You have a very close relationship with Miss Hermione. I don't know how you became her friend, but as an official wizard, it is my bounden duty to protect little wizards. I hope you can handle your relationship with Hermione correctly. relationship, I am not asking you to leave her side, but I am asking you not to approach her with evil intentions, let alone use her!"

"If she or her friends are hurt because of you, then the cage of Azkaban or Nurmengard will be your destination for the rest of your life."

"can you do it?"

Facing Arthur's unceremonious questioning, Merlin said seriously:

"I can do it!"

"My duty is also to protect innocent people and fight against hidden evils. The reunion of Hermione and I was just an accident, but I want to thank this accident for bringing me life... If you need it, I can Make an oath. You wizards should have this kind of magic that binds oaths?"

Merlin's question made Mr. Arthur hesitate a little, he coughed lightly, and said:

"It does. But I won't allow you and Hermione to restrain each other in that way..."

"Merlin, after you accept this set of textbooks, you will be included in the monitoring list of the British Ministry of Magic. If you use magic to do evil on British soil, then unfortunately, all the Aurors in the whole of the UK will try their best to hunt you down. "

"What if it's in North America?"

When Merlin asked, Arthur smiled and said:

"That's the matter of the Magical Congress of America...Listen to me, compared to our style of conduct, our counterparts in North America are a little rude and cruel. So no matter where you are, you'd better restrain yourself .”

"Okay, now, tell your story."

Mr. Arthur leaned on the bar, looked at Merlin, and said:

"Use a true story to convince me, don't try to lie, I am a formal wizard, I have many ways to judge the authenticity of what you said."

"Now..."

"Begin your story, I'm listening."

(End of this chapter)