Electric Town and Magic Town

Without Fred and George, this holiday would have had far less laughter.

But with Kenny and Jennifer here, they brought plenty of joy as well.

They clumsily learned how to use chopsticks, all the while complaining about how stupid the other was.

"I've got it!" Jennifer successfully picked up a piece of grilled eel and placed it in her bowl.

Even though the pieces around her plate could have made up an entire eel, managing it once was still worth celebrating.

"Stupid woman, I dropped less than you." Kenny simply stabbed a piece with his chopsticks. "Uncle, Auntie, I apologize for her."

"Mind your own business!" Jennifer huffily stuffed the grilled eel into her stomach.

She turned apologetically toward Hayahiko and Meiko. "Uncle, Auntie, Kenny's emotional intelligence is a little low. I apologize on his behalf."

The usually rule-bound Shingu Family became livelier because of this couple.

Hayahiko and Meiko waved their hands, seeming unconcerned by how quickly the two had made themselves at home.

Britons valued etiquette, Japanese people were reserved and restrained, while Americans were cheerful and straightforward.

There was no need to dwell too much on cultural differences. It was enough to take everything in stride.

Perhaps because he had expended too much energy, or perhaps because he was in such a good mood, Vincent ate until he was completely full.

Hermione and Daphne both lowered their little heads with red faces.

Rinne felt embarrassed too.

But it was not because of what had happened yesterday. It was because of that bastard Kenny.

Lockhart had proved that even the smartest girls could have terrible taste in men.

The atmosphere was harmonious. Though only Kenny and Jennifer's bickering could be heard at the table, everyone had a good appetite.

A vacation was for relaxing, not for scheming against one another.

At that moment, Vincent's mindset changed.

No matter what the Shingu Family was planning, the most important thing was to enjoy this holiday.

And if he ran into something unpleasant, then he would find someone to have some fun with.

Far away at Malfoy Manor, Draco suddenly sneezed.

"Are you catching a cold?" Narcissa gently stroked Draco's forehead, her gaze full of concern.

"I'm fine, Mum."

In the prosperous Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo Metropolis, there was a commercial street that was gradually declining.

The global oil crisis had made life harder and harder for merchants selling electrical appliances.

What had once been the largest "Electric Town" was now a shadow of its former self.

It could only transform. It had to transform.

This was Akihabara, located at the junction of four major shopping districts.

Vincent, following Rinne's lead as their guide, did not find it regrettable in the slightest.

Once the businesses here completed their transformation, Akihabara would once again become a "holy land."

He suddenly glanced at James, then let out a helpless sigh at the other boy's puzzled look.

"Akihabara is only a disguise—" Rinne stopped in front of an unmarked old curio shop.

"Our Wizarding World is hidden behind this door."

She gently pushed the door open.

"Welcome." An elderly woman seated behind the counter looked up, carefully sizing up the thirteen people who entered the shop, along with one round, plump owl.

Of course she recognized those at the front. But the ones behind them...

Wait—ash-blond hair, sapphire-blue eyes, a strong build...

"Miss Shingu, it seems the rumors were true." The old woman rose to her feet with the aid of her cane.

She walked over to Vincent, opened her eyes slightly wider, and said in fluent English, "Mr. Wayne, welcome to the Japanese Wizarding World.

"I am the gatekeeper here, Chizuru Takahashi."

"Hello."

The old woman's suddenly sharp eyes swept over the remaining children one by one.

Her gaze lingered on Hermione's face for a moment before she withdrew it meaningfully.

"I hope you all have a pleasant holiday."

Rinne nodded thoughtfully. "Grandma Chizuru, may we go in now?"

"Anytime."

Beside the counter stood a brick wall covered in demon masks.

Vincent suppressed his doubts and followed them over to the wall.

Rinne's wand was made of cherry wood, its shaft adorned with exquisite carvings.

She lightly tapped a black-and-white mask with fangs, and all the remaining masks slowly sank into the wall.

"Drift with the wind, reveal your true form—"

After the Japanese incantation, the fanged mask spread across the brick wall like ink.

It looked like a barrier, yet also like light and shadow.

"Let's go." She stepped inside, her entire body disappearing into it.

This was probably a form of teleportation magic, and it had clearly been set up long ago.

Under Chizuru's kindly gaze, Vincent and the others entered one after another.

The teleportation magic was far more comfortable than Floo Powder or Apparition.

Before their bodies could even react adversely, they had already arrived in an underground world.

The layout of the buildings was identical to Akihabara above ground, and they had emerged from an unmarked empty shop as well.

"This is Magic Town, the commercial center for us wizards."

Rinne pointed at rows upon rows of shops. "Just like your Diagon Alley."

Magic Town was beneath Electric Town?

Vincent and Hermione's first thought was that it was impossible.

Given their mutually repelling properties, they would have to be far enough apart.

"Miss Jingu, how deep is this place?" Hermione could not help asking Rinne humbly.

"Exactly 999 meters." Rinne looked slightly smug. "Converted into your units, that's about 3,200 feet."

"It's 3,277.56—"

Daphne lightly nudged Hermione's arm.

Even though she was a little displeased as well.

"Ahem—" Vincent coughed. "I'm actually more interested in the magic that transported us here."

"That was set up by the founder of the Magic Institute." Rinne looked a little uncomfortable.

"You should know who he was too. He was the 'Son of the White Fox,' Abe no Seimei."

The Abe Family's ancestor?

"What white fox?" Kenny's puzzled expression suddenly turned horrified. "Could it have been a Nine-Tailed Fox? Was Abe no Seimei really the child of a human and—"

Rinne raised her foot and kicked him. "Idiot, can't you keep your voice down!"

The wizards around them, all dressed in long kimono, looked over.

Foreign faces—they were probably tourists.

Kenny hugged his shin and pouted. "I was just saying it casually. Did you have to get so angry?"

"No one will think you're mute if you don't speak." Rinne turned away in a huff.

There had always been a legend in the Japanese Wizarding World.

Abe no Seimei, who had single-handedly built the Magic Institute on South Iwo Jima, was the child born from the union of a wizard and a Nine-Tailed Fox.

Unlike the tragic love story passed down among the common folk, his father, Abe no Masutake, had been wildly ambitious. In order to "create" the strongest wizard, he abducted a newborn Nine-Tailed Fox from Shinoda Forest.

A few years later, a boy appeared in the Abe Family.

He was Abe no Seimei, a wizard born with the ability to use magic.

No one knew The Truth. Even Ashiya Doman, who had vaguely sensed something, merely treated the father and son with particular hostility.

Yet for nearly a thousand years, not even a single Squib had appeared in the Abe Family.

That seemed enough to prove something.