Cedric could now pass through walls whenever he pleased.
More troublesome still, once he entered that state, ordinary physical attacks could not hurt him. Fists and knives alike passed through him without doing a thing.
He had yet to test magical attacks. He could hardly cast a few spells at himself just to find out, so he had no definite answer as to whether Spatial Shift could block magic.
The ability was not free to use. Each time he activated Spatial Shift, it consumed Magic.
The faster an ordinary object passed through him, the more Magic it consumed. If the object carried Magic, the cost rose even further.
Cedric had discovered that by testing it with his fourteen-inch wand.
He slowly pushed the wand through his palm and found that it consumed more Magic than passing his entire body through a wall.
Judging by that result, Spatial Shift might offer some resistance to magic, but not much.
If he stood still and took spells head-on, his Magic would probably run dry after only a few hits. Dodging was clearly the easier option.
Having finished testing the ability, Cedric sat cross-legged on his bed and laid everything he had left in front of him.
The gold coins dazzled his eyes. Silver coins gleamed beside them, while the dull copper coins mixed in barely caught his attention.
He counted the money.
He had one hundred Galleons, ten Sickles, and twenty-eight Knuts on hand.
Then he took out the earnings he had accumulated over the past few days.
Ron had been holding that money for him. It included everything he had earned each day from selling special dishes. Collecting a dozen or so coins daily was too much trouble, so Cedric had asked Ron to save them until the sum reached a round number.
Including that money, he now had three hundred Galleons, ten Sickles, and twenty-eight Knuts.
Since even the cheapest dish sold for one Galleon, all his new earnings were gold coins. There was not a single Sickle or Knut among them.
Ron's Kitchen really had been a great help.
Not only could Cedric eat all three meals there, but he could also turn what he made into gold. And with Ron bargaining ruthlessly when buying ingredients and charging steep prices when selling the dishes, Cedric's purse had finally stopped shrinking. It was slowly growing fuller instead.
Of course, the regular customers willing to pay for his food deserved some credit too.
"I'll leave Dragon Liver alone for now, until the market price settles down. I've made Biting Cabbage three days in a row. Even the best sweets get tiresome if you eat too much, and the price has gone up lately..."
Cedric propped his face on one hand, his elbow resting on his knee, and thought for a while.
I should go out today.
Buy a few clothes while I'm at it, and see if I can find any other ingredients.
He could not keep circling the same few options. After all, he intended to taste his way through every Fantastic Beast in the magical world.
So he was taking the day off.
Anyone else could put up with disappointment, but his taste buds would not. Those people waiting for his food could endure one day.
"Ron... sir, sorry for the trouble, but could you let everyone know there won't be any special dishes today?"
Cedric came downstairs with Xuanse, and that was the first thing he said when he saw Ron.
Ron's face fell at once.
The wizards waiting for news in the tavern erupted into chaos, their wails rising one after another.
"No! I was counting on Mr. Grey's food to keep me alive today!"
Someone cried out on the spot.
"You can't take a day off! Bring out the food!"
Another person shouted at the top of his lungs.
Someone else even resorted to a threat:
"Get back to the Kitchen! Do I have to get on my knees and beg you?"
But Cedric had decided to rest today, and a few cries of protest would not change his mind.
"Sorry, everyone. I need a day off too."
He brushed them off and turned toward the back door of the Leaky Cauldron, intending to browse Diagon Alley.
He had barely lifted a foot when someone hurried over and blocked his way.
It was Hawke.
One of Cedric's most loyal customers, Hawke sounded anxious as he spoke.
"Please wait, Mr. Grey."
Cedric glanced at him and headed off the requests he expected to hear.
"I'm not available for private bookings, and I'm not considering long-term employment either. Was there something else?"
Over the past few days, people hoping to hire him to cook in their homes had formed a queue.
Those customers were all wealthy. Some had even sent House-elves dressed in smooth silk to negotiate with him in person.
The offers they made were extravagant.
One person offered to pay all his expenses through graduation from Hogwarts and promised to keep him on as a chef afterward. Another offered to cover his lodging, meals, and ingredients, and had even picked out a future wife for him. There seemed to be nothing they would not promise.
Cedric had rejected every proposal without hesitation.
Accepting one would indeed give him access to more magical plants and animals and let him indulge his appetite.
But being tied down by a contract and its benefits was not the life he wanted.
Besides, the more he heard, the stranger their offers sounded. He had a feeling they were interested in more than his cooking. They seemed to have designs on him, too.
Otherwise, why would they go so far as to arrange a wife for him?
Hawke knew what Cedric was like when he turned people down.
He sounded polite, but his politeness went no further than that.
"You've misunderstood, Mr. Grey."
Hawke hurried to explain.
"I'm not here to hire you as a private chef. I wanted to ask whether you'd be interested in working with me to make some money."
Cedric stopped before he could leave.
His ears perked up.
"Make money together?"
He turned around.
"Tell me more."
Hawke began by introducing himself.
"I particularly like your Rock Sugar Biting Cabbage, so I'd like to buy the recipe and develop it into a magical candy."
He paused, then added:
"I'm in the magical candy business myself. Apart from a handful of products whose makers have exclusive recipes, I supply more than ninety percent of the candy on the market."
Cedric's interest was piqued. He looked Hawke up and down.
"Sounds like you have quite a business."
He did not beat around the bush.
"Since you came to me, I'll ask you directly. Do you want the Rock Sugar Biting Cabbage that strengthens Magic, or just the ordinary version that tastes good?"
Hawke froze for a moment.
But his earnest expression quickly returned.
"The first one, if I can get it, of course."
"But if that's not possible, I can accept the second."
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