Chris's Differential Treatment

"That was just in time..."

Newt wiped the sweat from his brow and asked, "Weren't you with the Romanian Ministry of Magic? What are you doing here?"

"The matter has been resolved."

Chris stepped forward and, together with Kyle, used the Whirlwind Charm to pull the Romanian Longhorn out of the swamp.

"Honestly, these past few days have been incredibly boring. I have to accompany them to various events and work meetings."

And that's not all. When I get back to the Ministry of Magic, I'll have to write at least five reports... I should have known better than to come."

"Working at the Ministry of Magic means you have to go through these things."

Newt chuckled and said, "That's how it was with Tina and Theseus back then; they always had endless reports to write after each mission."

"Yes..."

Chris sighed, then he and Newt checked on the Romanian Longhorn.

"Exhausted, and a few bones are broken too." Newt took a bottle of Potions from the box and poured it into the dragon's mouth. "But thankfully it's not fatal, and there aren't any serious external injuries. It should heal in a few weeks."

After treating the Dragon's injuries, he took out something that looked like a conch shell and tapped it a few times with his wand.

Soon, several dragon breeders flew over on broomsticks.

They first thanked Newt, Kyle, and Chris, then put the Dragon into a special black cage and flew away with it.

At the very edge of the reserve lies a desolate valley, remote and ideally suited to house these severely injured Dragon.

Chris then stayed on.

With his arrival, Kyle had nothing left to do and began to focus on collecting equipment.

He also learned a very useful spell from Chris, a kind of cleansing spell that can gather lightly weighted objects together.

This makes collecting dragon blood much easier.

When the melee ended, the three of them returned to the arena together.

Kyle prepared to return to his tent to tally his spoils, while Chris decided to check out the nearby wizarding community.

"I heard that the first thing the dragon breeders do after receiving their wages is buy a pair of John's Shield Gloves."

Standing in front of the tent, Chris said, "I've already found out the location of that shop; it's right in the middle of the settlement."

If the Shield Gloves are really that good, they would make a perfect gift for your mother.

"And what about mine..." Kyle suddenly looked up, "Is it a glove too?"

"Yours what?" Chris blinked, asking, puzzled.

"A gift."

"What gift..." Chris paused for a moment, but quickly realized, "Oh, if you want one too..."

He held out a hand. "A pair of gloves costs fifty Galleon. I can buy them for you."

"You want more money?" Kyle thought he had misheard.

We're all family, why are we being treated differently?

"What else?" Chris said matter-of-factly. "I've already given you your birthday present, and don't think I don't know you've picked up a lot of good stuff these past few days."

Dragon blood is priced by the pint, plus the teeth, scales, claws, and other parts...

"What you've earned in the last two days is more than my salary for two months."

"I collected those things bit by bit myself... I could only sleep four hours a day, it was really tough," Kyle muttered softly. "Besides, I kept all those things for myself, I never intended to sell them."

"Don't say so much."

Chris glanced at him. "Need any help? If not, I'm leaving."

But honestly, the Shield Gloves here are really good, several levels better than those elsewhere, and the price of sixty Galleon isn't too expensive."

"Sixty Galleon?" Kyle looked up. "Didn't you just say fifty Galleon?"

"A normal price is fifty Galleon," Chris said calmly. "But since we're all here, we should definitely buy something better. It's only ten Galleon more anyway."

Kyle gave him a suspicious look, but Chris's expression didn't change. He just told him to make a decision quickly, adding that the place might close down if he waited any longer.

Urged on by him, Kyle thought about it and decided to buy a pair.

Since we've come all this way, we should definitely bring back some souvenirs.

"How about I go with you?"

"No need." Chris shook his head. "It's quite chaotic there, and there are often unidentified wizards around. It's not suitable for an underage wizard like you."

"I'll buy it for you. You stay here and keep Mr. Scamander."

"Well... alright then." Kyle took a small bag out of his pocket.

These are the thirty Galleon that Professor Locknir gave him earlier.

He added another thirty Galleon and handed it over together.

Chris pursed his lips.

Sixty Galleon is no small sum, and he hadn't expected Kyle to actually produce it, and so... completely unfazed, as if it were sixty Sickle.

How much money did this kid actually make at school...?

Chris didn't say anything, took the money, and left the tent.

Kyle continued to take inventory of the items on the table.

As usual, the dragon blood will be split in half, and everything else will belong to him.

Kyle initially felt a little embarrassed, so he made sure to give Newt extra dragon blood when distributing it.

But Newt just smiled and shook his head, taking the smaller bottle instead.

When evening came, Chris returned and tossed Kyle a pair of dark gray gloves.

The gloves are made of Dragon Hide, and they feel stiff and rough to the touch. However, they do not restrict movement at all when worn, and they can automatically adjust to different sizes of the hands.

This alone makes it far better than his original pair of Dragonhide Gloves.

The standard gloves were a little too big for him; they would slip down easily if he wasn't careful, making them somewhat surprisingly inconvenient to use.

As for its anti-curse effect... Kyle didn't test it, but since Chris bought it, it means that this is definitely not a problem.

At night, a bonfire was lit on the ground.

Chris walked out of the tent with the Dragon Brandy he bought from the bar and sat down with a few acquaintances, grilling meat and chatting over drinks.

Although the possibility of an accident was slim, just to be on the safe side, they didn't dare to drink too much, each only having a small cup, less than a sip in total.

"This isn't authentic!"

Charlie pursed his lips. "You must have bought some cheap merchandise that Brown uses to scam wizard tourists."

"Fake?" Chris took another small sip; he actually found it quite good.

"That old dog is very cunning, and its brewing technique is also extremely skillful; even we sometimes fall for it."

Charlie didn't explain much, just smiled and said, "Give me the bottle in a bit, and I'll go get you two real ones."

Authentic Dragon Brandy, the first sip of which can truly make you breathe fire.

Chris looked at the cup in his hand with some surprise; he really didn't know what it was.

While they were chatting, Kyle found Professor Locknir in the crowd and, as previously agreed, sold him all the defective items he had selected.

Since Chris had taken over Kyle's job, he had more free time and naturally reaped more rewards than before.

Two packs, a total of fifty-three Galleon.

Adding the previous thirty Galleon, the cost of the Shield Gloves was immediately recovered, with some left over.