Hogwarts: My Yorozuya has no taboos!

Chapter 73 Big Business

No matter where they are in the Muggle world or in the ancient underground Knockturn Alley, people associated with the Black Market always share one obvious trait: they are pragmatic.

Faced with the blatant threat of death, not a single fool would say they would fight Ares for the sake of dignity and integrity.

"This is a misunderstanding, sir."

An old witch with a few sparse strands of hair on her head, who had undergone some dangerous magical experiment and whose eyes were now just whites, grinned with her teeth showing.

"Yes, it was just a cute little joke. I'm sure someone of your distinguished status wouldn't mind!"

"That fire dragon is entirely your spoils of war, and I don't think anyone will have a problem with that!"

"Would you like a Veela, sir? It's completely free... just keep this gun away from my throat!"

The underground marketplace, which had been tense just moments before, instantly became harmonious, with people showing the friendliest smiles they could muster to express their goodwill to Ares.

"I am pleased to have reached an agreement with you regarding the ownership of this fire dragon."

Ares nodded slightly and said calmly.

Bang—boom!

The iron chains binding the fire dragon snapped with a series of crisp sounds, and the mother dragon's massive body fell to the ground with a tremendous roar.

When this enormous creature was freed... even though it looked like it was on its last breath, these black wizards, who usually treated it as an ordinary creature, unconsciously shrank back in unison.

However, given that Ares's spear was still pointed at their vitals, no one dared to move aside without permission.

They just watched... in utter silence as the black-robed wizard pulled out a glass bottle labeled "Buffet Brain Awakening Agent"... poured out the contents, and then stuffed the fire dragon and dragon egg into the bottle and put it in his pocket.

"Well then, have a good day, everyone."

Ares said this, and then he waved his hand to disperse the [Spears of Space].

The silence lasted for a while.

People watched as the black-robed wizard turned and left, his figure receding into the distance until he disappeared from everyone's sight.

Whoosh—

The frozen atmosphere melted away like snow meeting the spring sun.

The clamor of vendors hawking their wares and the fierce haggling returned to the marketplace. The only witness to the recent conflict was a corpse lying on the ground, its body growing cold.

A group of vampires quietly surrounded them.

Then, the body disappeared.

........

Although Old Tom at the Leaky Cauldron was hunched over and had an unattractive appearance, he was still the same as always. No matter what he was doing at the moment, he could always spot a customer as soon as they walked into the bar.

"Look who this is!"

After the peak seasons of July and August, business at the Leaky Cauldron slowed down considerably in October compared to the summer holidays. However, this gave Old Tom and the staff time to handle some things they wouldn't normally have time for, such as cleaning.

When Ares entered the bar through the back door, Old Tom was directing two employees to use their wands to control brooms to remove the dust and cobwebs from the beams, making the bar temporarily much cleaner.

"Recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class!"

At first glance, old Tom thought he was seeing things, but when he truly recognized Ares, he gasped and exclaimed with delight.

"The hero who saved the future of the British wizarding world—Mr. Ares Delfino!"

The two cleaning staff members were acquainted with Ares in the past, but now, their gazes toward Ares were filled with awe... as if they wanted to greet him but felt they weren't quite qualified!

"Instead of wasting your time being polite with me, Tom—"

From the moment Ares stopped the Hogwarts Express, he knew that some changes were inevitable.

However, this did not make Ares arrogant, because fame and power were never what he pursued.

He still had that same warm and welcoming smile as always.

"I'd rather you just get me a glass of whiskey."

"Of course, of course, it's my honor, Mr. Delfino!"

Old Tom also looked quite proud.

"And it's completely free—all your future expenses at the bar will be on me... if you're willing to tell me how you managed to stop the train that that bastard Quirrell wrecked!"

"What, you already know who the killer is?"

Ares walked up to the bar with a smile and sat down. His gaze swept across the bar, and he realized that his question was completely unnecessary.

On many of the bar's pillars, there were posters of Quirinas Quirrell's face, radiating an overwhelming sense of 'kleptomania'.

"Yes, who doesn't know that now?"

Tom said angrily that he slammed a copy of the Daily Prophet on the bar and placed it in front of Ares.

"This is yesterday's newspaper...it was just delivered to me, and then people from the department came to post the arrest warrant!"

Sure enough, when people try to shift the blame for themselves, their enthusiasm and initiative are far higher than usual.

Ares was secretly amazed by Fudge's efficiency, picked up his glass, and then asked with great interest,

"What are people here saying about this?"

"What else can be said... everyone says he's utterly depraved!"

Old Tom said with great sorrow,

"Robbing Gringotts is one thing, that's goblins' problem anyway, but he actually dared to tamper with the train the young wizards were riding on, that's completely unforgivable, even Mysterio never thought of that... Oh, I really didn't realize he was that kind of person before, Ares—"

In his heightened emotions, Old Tom reverted to his previous form of address.

"Otherwise, I would never have let him buy on credit from me!"

"Cough cough—"

Ares choked on his drink and looked away from the newspaper headlines—it was nothing more than fabricated nonsense, claiming that some traces of Quirinus Quirrell had been found on the train, and that when the train went out of control, some train staff had seen a wizard who looked like Quirinus Quirrell.

"A commendable awareness, Tom."

Ares smiled and raised his glass to old Tom.

Old Tom also made himself some whiskey and, flattered, clinked glasses with Ares.

His yellowish eyes darted around in their sockets as he asked cautiously.

"But weren't you teaching at Hogwarts all this time? How come you're here with me... You, oh, I see, you gave up that awful job, didn't you? If you ask me, that was a wise choice!"

"I'm sorry, Tom—"

Ares smacked his lips, savoring the wine in his glass.

Fame isn't entirely without its advantages; even the whiskey Old Tom served him was no longer diluted with water.

"While I agree with your point of view, I'm afraid I'll have to keep that job for a while longer."

"So, what brings you here this time?"

"Tom, who's doing the good for my lovely students—"

Ares put down his glass and looked at Tom with a friendly expression.

"Can you do me a favor, Tom? I'd like to invite some friends from Diagon Alley to your place for a get-together."

"That's naturally not a problem, but for what?"

"Ah, there's a big business deal we want to do with you... Of course, whether it can go through depends on your sincerity and determination."