An Appointment

"Actually, I've always been curious—how can you speak foreign languages so well?"

Since the holiday began, aside from doing her summer homework, Nia had spent nearly all her remaining time practicing foreign languages with Albert. Luke and Sansa had joined in these family chats as well, preparing for their upcoming trip to the Far East.

"Maybe I'm just exceptionally gifted in that regard," Albert said without so much as blushing.

Nia clearly did not believe him, because Albert spoke a whole bunch of foreign languages.

Even if someone was exceptionally gifted, no one could be that exceptionally gifted.

A language needed to be used often before one could master it fluently. The recent practice had given Nia a deep understanding of that, yet Albert clearly did not have such opportunities.

"Why don't you think highly of the subcontinent?"

Casually flipping through the books Herb had brought back from the Far Eastern colonies, Nia found another topic. "The subcontinent has quite a large population too, and plenty of English people still live there."

"There are very few real people there," Albert commented simply. "It's dirty, chaotic, and unfriendly toward girls. People who aren't used to it can easily fall ill there."

"You seem to know a lot." Luke smiled. "Did you get that from books?"

"I investigated it before," Albert said quietly. "If I hadn't become a wizard, I probably would have considered making some money here first, then using it to go to the United States or the Far East. You should know that economic crises break out in cycles. They're disasters, but they're also opportunities."

"Fine, I'm not an idiot. I get what you mean." Nia knew that Albert's reasons for having their parents go to the Far Eastern colonies were clearly connected to this.

It was an opportunity.