I Want to Be His Neighbor

That night, Kyle ate two heaping bowls of steamed trout.

After enjoying a rather delightful dessert, Kyle, eager to master healing magic, darted into the kitchen to wreak havoc on the fresh ingredients tended by the House-elves.

Watching Kyle disappear at the end of the corridor, Alfred spoke up. "Come to think of it, Young Master Kyle's birthday is in two days, isn't it? Have you prepared a birthday present?"

Grindelwald spread his hands helplessly. "I don't know what to give him. He seems interested in everything magical. What do you think of a flying broomstick?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Alfred turned to Grindelwald and winked mischievously. "Perhaps you could take Young Master Kyle to an amusement park?"

"Do you think that would be appropriate?" Grindelwald tossed the question back to the old butler.

Alfred teased, "What's inappropriate about it? Young Master Kyle's childhood hasn't been as full of childish fun as other children's. Perhaps you could help him make up for what he missed."

"I think he'd be more interested in a bar than an amusement park." Grindelwald curled his lip.

Hearing Grindelwald's words, the old butler felt as if his mood had gone straight to hell.

"What about magical creatures?" The old butler narrowed his eyes. "For instance... a Niffler."

Of course, Alfred did not mean giving Kyle a Niffler as a pet.

Nifflers were quite dangerous magical creatures.

Even an outstanding adult wizard might not be a match for a Niffler in a one-on-one fight.

The old butler merely wanted to bring up how Newt Scamander had once used a Niffler to block Grindelwald's spell before taking the opportunity to subdue him, all for the sake of teasing him.

At Alfred's words, Grindelwald's face twisted slightly. "Speaking of Nifflers, I suddenly remembered something I need you to do."

"What is it?" Even without being told, the old butler could more or less guess.

"Find out where Newt Scamander lives." Grindelwald let out a string of dangerous chuckles. "Buy me a house next door to his. I want to be his neighbor."

A malicious smile curled onto the old butler's lips as well. "Understood. Do you have any other instructions?"

"I remember he has a grandson? He should be about old enough to start school soon, shouldn't he?" A dangerous gleam flashed in the Old Demon King's eyes.

Alfred, no better a person himself, wore a smile carrying a hint of mockery.

"I'll find out everything for you."

After hearing this, Grindelwald waved a hand. The old butler took a few steps back, then turned and left the dining room.

Meanwhile, somewhere far away in England Dorset, a certain Magizoologist inexplicably sneezed several times in a row.

Newt was in danger!

At a little past eight in the evening, Kyle finally emerged from the kitchen.

His grasp of healing magic had deepened considerably, and his progress was extremely encouraging.

Given a few more days, he would definitely be able to master it successfully.

Still, even if he completely mastered his healing magic, at most it would be able to promote blood circulation, disperse bruising, and speed up the healing of minor external wounds.

More serious injuries such as fractures were not impossible to heal, but they would probably take much longer.

If he wanted to heal his bone fracture completely in mere seconds like Alfred had, he still had a long road ahead of him.

As for why he had left the kitchen after practicing for only two hours...

Kyle let out an enormous burp. It was not that he did not want to keep practicing; he simply could not eat another bite.

After leaving the kitchen, Kyle leisurely headed toward his father's study.

Kyle knocked on the study door.

"Dad?"

There was no response. Was he not in the study?

Kyle pushed the door open directly and, like an old hand, ran to the bookshelf and took down a copy of Detailed Explanation of Dark Arts.

This was not the first time he had done such a thing.

Compared to Dumbledore, who strictly limited his exposure to Dark Arts, Grindelwald's restrictions were far looser. As the former Dark Lord, Grindelwald not only did not oppose Kyle learning Dark Arts, but even encouraged it.

That was also why, less than an hour after Kyle had acknowledged Grindelwald, he had ruthlessly abandoned Dumbledore, who acted like an old mother, and run off with his bargain-bin dad.

As for Dumbledore's claims that learning Dark Arts would affect a wizard's mind, they were just something to hear and forget.

If Kyle could still end up like that under Grindelwald's guidance... then GGAD might as well delete their accounts and start over.

Still, studying Dark Arts was a dangerous matter. Even with the Old Demon King's guidance, Kyle had to proceed step by step and cautiously begin with the most basic Dark Arts.

For instance, this Detailed Explanation of Dark Arts, which could be considered an introductory Dark Arts textbook.

Kyle had already read the book twice. Most of its contents were the author's understanding of Dark Arts, while it recorded relatively few actual Dark Arts spells.

However, Kyle had seen a particularly interesting spell in it—the Entrail-Expelling Curse.

For Kyle, who had mastered Konoha's strongest Taijutsu, Thousand Years of Death, this curse that greeted the lower regions possessed a uniquely deadly appeal.

The moment he had mastered the spell, Kyle had gone to the kitchen and inflicted it on a whole pile of chickens, ducks, geese, and the like.

Fortunately, this world had such a convenient cleaning spell as Scourgify, or that kitchen probably would have been unusable afterward.

What Kyle was most interested in now was whether this magic could be improved.

For example, changing the thing to be expelled from intestines to something else, such as the bladder, prostate, or corpus cavernosum.

Kyle supported his face with one hand while flipping through the book with the other, pondering how to improve the curse's effects.

There was actually nothing more worth reading in the book. What troubled Kyle now was another issue.

He had realized long ago that a wizard's will could alter a spell's effects to a certain extent.

If he infused his own thoughts into the spell while casting it, he should be able to change its target.

But ever since that incident in the kitchen, Grindelwald had forbidden him from casting this spell on the fresh ingredients in the kitchen.

He could not think of anywhere else to test the magic.

With lifeless eyes, Kyle shoved Detailed Explanation of Dark Arts back onto the shelf and began searching for other books.

His gaze landed on another volume—Twelve Uses of Dragon Blood.

If he remembered correctly, this book's author should be...

Kyle pulled the book from the shelf. Albus Dumbledore's name was written prominently on the cover.

It seemed his dad was quite the tsundere too.

The relationship between the two was somewhat like that of Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki.

Grindelwald clearly still harbored deep feelings for Dumbledore, yet he stubbornly refused to admit it.

When he had taken Kyle away from the tavern, he had not even been willing to say an extra word to Dumbledore. He had simply grabbed Kyle and hurried off.

Judging by the fact that Grindelwald still kept Dumbledore's books, the two of them could probably reconcile with just a single sentence.

It was simply that neither of them was willing to say it first.

Kyle casually flipped through the book, and a letter slipped out from between its pages.