Big places had their own ways of living, small places had theirs. According to Zongze, this area often saw visits from young wizards. That meant trouble wasn't far behind, normal wizard families were wealthy, so the leftover money in a young wizard's pocket wasn't negligible. One or two kids were fine, but once there were more, someone was bound to take notice.
In situations like this, it was simple for a memory-erasing wizard to make a little extra cash. After all, the money was practically handed to them. Not taking it would be foolish.
After admiring the convenience once more, Allen flicked his wrist. With a sprinkle of Floo Powder, flames turned green. Holding his breath, the next moment he appeared at Mahoutokoro's communal fireplace.
The attendant efficiently cleared the ash with a flick of his wand and motioned for Allen to leave, this was peak time, and as the only fireplace, it couldn't be occupied for long.
When he stepped out, a group was already waiting. They patted the remaining ash from their hands while laughing and greeting others nearby, the sunset giving a vibe of workers just returning from a long day on a construction site.
No wonder, apart from upperclassmen, students weren't allowed to carry wands when leaving school. Especially for those traveling to the Muggle world, without a local senior to guide them, they couldn't even get out.
"Yo, Allen, did you have fun today? Keep going!" a Hufflepuff called from afar, tossing small packets of snacks to everyone, though several were too shocked to catch them because of the girl at his side.
She was the Hufflepuff sixth-year prefect, a big sister type among girls. Even seventh-years quivered when she got angry. Bold personality, decent looks, a carefree attitude. Naturally, she hadn't sold out.
The boy with her was no timid type, he was Hufflepuff's batter, ruthless when he acted.
How did these two even end up together?
Who knew. In any case, they happily shared the snacks, emitting an oddly pungent aroma, so Allen and his friends wisely stayed clear to avoid being blinded.
"Good heavens, these two aren't fighting?" He exclaimed dramatically, tearing open a snack. The two had been having fun and strongly recommending them.
"They being together is a Merlin-made miracle. If I were you, I'd just toss that stuff," Allen said, shaking the snacks in his hand, clearly labeled in Japanese as dog biscuits, aka dog food. Apparently, the two had been daydreaming during their mandatory language lessons.
After laughing at the duo, everyone felt oddly melancholic. Funny as it was, why did they suddenly feel a tinge of sadness?
In the bleak setting, the group hurriedly agreed with Zongze to visit Japan's largest magical shopping street tomorrow and then parted ways.
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"Big brother, what's this? Is it tasty?"
Allen facepalmed. Annie, just returned from a flower-arranging club gathering, immediately spotted the snack bag he hadn't thrown away. How had he raised this girl to be such a foodie?
Fine. Foodie or not, Allen placed the dog food at the corner of the table and started pulling snacks from his pocket.
After all, he was a foodie too, how could he resist buying all the edible things he saw?
As Annie happily munched on a wagashi in one hand and a dorayaki in the other, Allen brought out the main prize of today's shopping.
"Ah! So cute! What's this?" Annie quickly swallowed her sweets and took the plush toy Allen pulled out.
But this was just the beginning, one, two, three…
Eventually, in front of Annie was a tower of plush toys almost as tall as her, plus an oversized blue bear and pink rabbit, gifts from the shop owner.
After Allen emptied the second claw machine, the shopkeeper happily gave him a freebie and recommended he try another machine. Allen followed the advice, giving the rabbit as a gift to the other shop.
Cough… magic users grabbing toys was strangely satisfying.
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After sending off an ecstatic Annie, Allen turned to the bag of dog food at the table's corner, if anyone mistook this for a snack, disaster would follow.
However, nearly a third of the bag was gone.
Seeing Allen glance over, Valor triumphantly grabbed a piece of dog food, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.
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Allen's heart sank. Stealing owl rations or teasing them was one thing. Eating dog food, what the hell?
Valor seemed oblivious. When Allen tried to grab the bag, it dodged nimbly and flew off, dog food firmly in claws.
Panic set in.
After eating owl food, Valor's main diet had been owl rations. If he now became addicted to dog food, how embarrassing would that be? Owl food could be bought in magical pet shops, but dog food? Would Allen have to find a special store?
Suppressing his disdain for the unreliable crow, Allen started tidying up, changed clothes, shower, then headed for dinner.
Perhaps because it was the weekend, dinner was unusually lavish. Though held outdoors, it didn't look cheap, the silverware alone made it feel upscale.
The reason soon became clear.
Today marked the end of the first week of the exchange program. As a concluding day, all three headmasters attended.
The setup was large, with Hogwarts students sitting together. Except for Slytherin maintaining their usual aloofness, the other three houses were mixed, students sat with friends regardless of house.
Naturally, Annie sat beside Allen, nibbling a small pastry before the main course. Marshall groaned in frustration.
"Boss, didn't you say the pastries were gone?"
"They're gone, yes, but I meant your portion," Allen rolled his eyes, he ate a pound and had the nerve to complain?
As the group argued, a magically amplified voice rang from the main table, the proper leader was about to give a speech.
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